Victoria’s expression suddenly turned feral, like a lioness ready to strike. “Miles, Liliana… Get behind me. Even if one of us dies today, I will make sure you walk away unharmed. Andrew, I give you my word. I won’t let anything happen to you here.”

Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Andrew felt a sudden rush of dread. “Victoria, you don’t have to…”

She raised a hand, cutting him off. “Foolish boy, there’s nothing more to say. I brought you here today, never expecting betrayal from the one I thought least capable of it. I misjudged him, and for that, I’m sorry. But believe me… These dogs, even together, are nothing to me.”

A wave of icy killing intent surged from her body, filling the room like a winter storm. Matthias, the so-called number one martial artist in Gabo Creek, frowned and stepped back again.

He raised his voice toward the Driscoll side. “Ms. Driscoll, Mr. Burke… be careful. Victoria’s Silent Nine strikes are not to be underestimated.”

Victoria smirked, her hair lifting slightly as her aura rose higher. “Scarlett, Walter, and the Driscolls’ prized lapdog, Bradley Perkings… You’re all worthless in my eyes. But before we start, I’m not done speaking.”

As she spoke, Scarlett and the others instinctively tensed up, not daring to make the first move. They had no choice because the cold energy radiating from Victoria was growing stronger, and frost was already forming on the table surface.

This was a sign of a martial saint-level powerhouse’s massive internal energy bursting forth and affecting the surrounding environment! Victoria was not a martial saint, but she was close to one.

Matthias chanted, “Praise the Eternal Eclipse,” while still putting on an act. He asked, “Victoria, why must it be like this between us?”

Victoria said coldly, “You’re an ambitious, fickle villain that I’ll never trust again. Others might not know about the things you did before becoming a monk, but I know everything. You’ve been heartless, so don’t blame me for returning the favor.”

Matthias’ face darkened. “Victoria, do you really want to burn bridges with me?”

She ignored him completely, turning instead to Scarlett. “Listen closely, you little wretch. Your current stepmother, Maurice’s second wife, Mia Hernandez, from the Southern Wilds, isn’t the wealthy heiress she claims to be.”

She continued, “She was actually Franklin’s naive junior, the one he lured away. This bald fraud was good with words. While stringing me along, he was also toying with her feelings. I told him to prove his devotion by killing her. And what did he do? He raped her instead, then promised he’d marry her.

“Thanks to his schemes, that silly girl happily married Maurice, thinking she’d won. And for years now, she’s been coming here, to this ‘holy’ cathedral, to sneak in a little filth with this fat fraud.”

The more she spoke, the more the room shifted. Bradley and Walter, both decades-long veterans of the Driscoll family, knew exactly what this meant.

Mia was not just anyone; she was the current matriarch of the Driscoll family. Now, it seemed she was having an affair with Matthias, which was extremely unbelievable.

“Enough, you bitch!” Matthias roared, his usually calm face twisting in fury.

The shame in his voice was the opening Victoria had been waiting for. In a flash, she struck, her palm crashing forward with a thunderous force aimed straight at Matthias.

At the same time, her other hand lashed out, yanking Walter toward her with invisible force.

Andrew’s breath caught. He had not expected Victoria to immediately take on two opponents at once. Moreover, one of them was Matthias, Gabo Creek’s top martial artist.

He understood clearly that Victoria was fighting the most troublesome enemies to reduce the pressure on him.

“Andrew, fight your way out!” she shouted, her voice steady and sharp even amid the storm of killing intent.