All eyes turned to follow the gaze. Those few guards who were about to charge forward had all been turned into ice sculptures.

It was eerily strange; one moment they were living men, the next they were blocks of ice, frozen solid to the ground.

No one present had ever witnessed anything so bizarre, nor could they imagine this was magic.

The citizens of the Winter Moon Empire shared a common flaw. They revered Swordsmen but held mages in rather low regard. In their minds, a mage took half a day to chant a spell—enough time for a Swordsman to have already cut them down!

But this time, they witnessed what true magic was! This kind of instantaneous freezing magic was utterly terrifying. They hadn't merely not seen it; they hadn't even heard of it!

"This... what on earth is going on? Is that really magic?"

Even Rhys, sitting at the table, was utterly astonished. While he had seen Robin use water-element magic, he had never witnessed anything so swift and uncanny.

It was likely that within the entire fifth floor, only Zhong Shenxiu and Kaynee understood how Robin had moved.

At this moment, Robin’s instant-cast magic had reached the height of perfection. Even facing an army of thousands would not allow a single hair on Robin’s head to be harmed!

While everyone was stunned, Robin slowly raised her small hand. The hands were fair and smooth, yet seeing them sent a chill down their spines.

They were convinced this was the hand of a demon masked by an innocent exterior!

As Robin cast "Repel-Attract" again, the gravity from the wristband pulled the prone Lorys back into her grasp. However, this time Robin didn't clutch her neck; she gripped her leg!

Lorys stared at Robin in utter terror. Though she remained silent, her expression clearly pleaded: Spare me, mistress!

Robin seemed to have lost her patience. Without waiting for another apology from Lorys, she brought her down with a sudden force, slamming Lorys’s face into the floor with a hard thwack.

With a dull thud, Robin then lifted Lorys up again.

Looking at Lorys now, she was unrecognizable—her hair was a mess, and the recent impact had left her face bloodied, her nose seemingly broken.

Don't mistake Robin for being cruel; she had actually held back considerably. Otherwise, that impact would have shattered Lorys’s skull, not just left her face lacerated and bleeding!

Another muffled thud echoed. Unexpectedly, Robin slammed Lorys’s face onto the floor again.

Blood trickled down Lorys's cheek onto the ground, yet strangely, not a single drop splashed onto Robin.

Lorys now felt dizzy and numb to the pain. She no longer begged Robin for mercy; she only prayed for a quick death. This torment had pushed her body to its limits, and her spirit was on the verge of collapse!

She couldn't comprehend how such a person existed in the world—someone who would dare strike a Duke’s daughter. More bewildering still was how Robin could be so abnormal; was she even human?

"P-please, show mercy!" Casius cried out involuntarily as he saw Robin preparing to continue. Although anxiety choked him, he dared not rush forward, knowing he would only share the fate of those guards.

But his words were no different than flatulence to Robin’s ears. Without hesitation, Robin slammed Lorys's face onto the ground once more.

It must be said that Robin controlled the force exquisitely; even after several repeated impacts, she hadn't managed to knock Lorys unconscious, merely leaving her awareness blurred!

"What should I do? What can I do?" Casius felt utterly helpless for the first time in his life!

Fortunately, just then, a sound like a celestial melody broke the tension: "Enough, Robin!"

The speaker was Zhong Shenxiu. Though his tone was level, to their ears, it was indeed the sound of heaven.

Robin stopped immediately, though she still held Lorys suspended.

All eyes now fixed on Zhong Shenxiu. He had risen from the dining table and was walking toward Robin—or more accurately, toward the nearly lifeless Lorys.

One child was already terrifying enough; now a second one descended. The tension among the onlookers reached an unprecedented peak!

"Hey, do you want her back?" Zhong Shenxiu suddenly demanded.

"Please, be lenient!" Casius nodded quickly.

"Bring ten thousand Diamond Coins!" Zhong Shenxiu added.

"What?" Casius faltered, unable to follow Zhong Shenxiu’s sudden shift in thought.

"This is the exit fee!" Zhong Shenxiu’s voice remained perfectly calm.

Casius recovered quickly. He didn't care what the fee was; he cared whether Zhong Shenxiu and Robin would release their young mistress. He wasn't afraid of Zhong Shenxiu demanding money; he was afraid if Zhong Shenxiu didn't demand anything. As long as there was a condition, things could be negotiated.

"Please wait a moment!" Casius, though proud, quickly instructed one of the guards beside him. That guard nodded after hearing the instructions and hurried downstairs. Soon, the guard returned, escorting an old man well over fifty years of age.

The old man looked somewhat bewildered, clearly unaware of what had transpired. He was a butler brought from Lorys’s home, primarily responsible for her allowance and managing various affairs.

"What happened? Where is the young lady?" the butler asked nervously. As he spoke, he scanned the room, his gaze finally landing on Robin.

Whether it was his old eyes deceiving him, or the current state of Lorys making her unrecognizable, he somehow failed to realize that the person Robin held was their mistress!

"Casius, what happened here? Where is she? Didn't she come in with you all?" When no one answered, and everyone wore a strange expression, the butler grew anxious.

Casius was currently preoccupied with how to get the old butler to produce ten thousand Diamond Coins. In that pause, Zhong Shenxiu’s voice rang out again.

"Hey, don't waste my time. If you delay further, your young mistress will die!"

Hearing the word "mistress," the butler turned his head again, first carefully sizing up Zhong Shenxiu and Robin, before his gaze finally settled back on Lorys.

"Ah!" The butler finally recognized her. He started to rush forward, but Casius grabbed him!

"You... What did you do to the mistress?" the butler asked in a trembling voice, gasping for breath in his agitation.

"What are you standing there for? Go and save the mistress!" the butler shouted back at Casius and the guards.

But his shouts were useless. Everyone remained frozen, showing no inclination to move! They were completely awestruck by Robin's display. Not only did they ignore the butler’s command, but even the Duke himself might not be effective here!

"Old Butler, we are trying to save the mistress now. Hurry and get the ten thousand Diamond Coins," Casius urged anxiously. He knew Zhong Shenxiu was right; every minute they wasted brought their mistress closer to death. Especially with the continuous bleeding, if they didn't stop it, she would certainly die from blood loss!

The butler looked somewhat blank, unable to understand why Casius and the others demanded money instead of saving the mistress.

However, after a sharp shout from Casius, the old butler finally caught on. Being a frail old man, it was best to comply. He hurriedly retrieved the money from his spatial storage.

Receiving the money, Casius shouted to Zhong Shenxiu, "The money is here!"

"Bring it over."

"Uh!" Casius paused again. He had intended to toss the money across. After hesitating, he reluctantly walked over, shuddering as he passed the ice sculptures and glimpsed the expressions frozen on those guards.

"Here is the money. Please let my mistress go!" Casius handed the money pouch to Zhong Shenxiu. He kept Robin in his periphery with sidelong glances, having no time to look at Lorys herself.

Zhong Shenxiu didn't take it; instead, Robin reached out and snatched the pouch.

Casius froze but dared not cause trouble.

"Give the person to him!" Zhong Shenxiu stated calmly. This was another celestial command in Casius's ears.

Casius lifted Lorys, who at this point could only be described as barely clinging to life.

"Stop!" Just as Casius turned to leave with Lorys, Zhong Shenxiu suddenly commanded.

Casius’s heart tightened, but he dared not disobey, forcing him to look back at Zhong Shenxiu with an expression of confusion.

"You will be fully responsible for all the things that were broken here!"

Casius nodded hurriedly. Zhong Shenxiu added, "Next time the exit fee will be several hundred times this amount. Remember that!"

Casius jolted. He understood the implication of Zhong Shenxiu's words perfectly: it was a warning. If they planned revenge, they should weigh their strength first!

"I will remember," Casius dared not waste time on trivialities, complying with Zhong Shenxiu’s demand.

"When you leave, don't forget to take your things with you!" Zhong Shenxiu gestured toward the ice sculptures.

Casius was burning with anxiety but dared not disregard Zhong Shenxiu’s nagging, nodding rapidly in compliance.

Thankfully, Zhong Shenxiu finally ceased speaking, and he and Robin returned to their seats.

Putting aside how Casius and his group would attend to Lorys’s critical condition and handle the aftermath, let us focus on Zhong Shenxiu and Robin.

Norwen and the other youths were no longer as relaxed as before. They now even hesitated to meet the eyes of Zhong Shenxiu and Robin.

As the youths stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do, Zhong Shenxiu suddenly spoke a sentence that made their hearts tremble!