The Man's Decree (Favo novel) novel Chapter 5806

"You—"

A wolf-clan elder with bandaged ribs lurched forward, fury flaring in his yellow eyes. Paxton seized the elder's arm, dragging him back before defiance became death.

Clara's heart twisted. Shame scorched hotter than her wounds—as if her master's flames had leapt inside her chest and left nothing but ash.

She turned. The Myriad Beast Sect survivors huddled behind her, and the new despair in their eyes felt heavier than chains. She swung her gaze to Paxton, who still knelt with half-healed wounds. His skin had gone a deathly shade of white.

A single breath of resolve, then she dropped to her knees and slammed her head against the stone—once, twice, a third time—each crack echoing across the gorge. Red welts ballooned across her brow before she even lifted her face.

"Master! Every mistake is mine alone. I took it upon myself to break the rules. I deserve any punishment—strip my cultivation, cast me out, whatever you decree, I accept without complaint. But please... please find a shred of mercy and save them! They have nowhere left to run. If the Infinite Soul Demon Sect captures them, they'll be torn apart. Master, I'm begging you!"

Her plea dissolved into sobs. For all his iron discipline, Reiner had always favored her as a disciple, and Clara clung to that final sliver of hope.

Watching his cherished student abase herself, Reiner's fury only deepened—yet now it aimed at Paxton and the ragged outsiders. They seduced her into disobedience and even drove her to injure herself for their sake.

"Stubborn child!" he snapped, his voice a blade.

He moved no more than a sleeve. The silk fluttered, and an invisible storm of molten fire lashed out—erupting like a volcano, cutting like sword energy.

It smashed into the kneeling girl. The gorge boomed.

Blood spattered the air as Clara shot backward. She crashed yards away, skidding across gravel before lying still. She tried to rise, limbs trembling, but her strength guttered out. Within heartbeats, her aura sank to a faint whisper.

"Clara!"

"Ms. Cloudridge!"

Sword Sect disciples and the battered beasts lurched forward, only to freeze when Reiner's chill glare swept over them. The look alone felt like being sealed in ice.

"That strike," Reiner said, voice flat as iron, "punishes you for defying my command, escorting strangers, and being disrespectful."

Clara lay on the dirt, blood leaking from her lips, eyes shining with pain and helplessness. Reiner's chest twisted, but his face stayed grim and unforgiving.

"Now take these feeble strays and vanish from my sight. Stay one moment longer, and the next blow will do more than bruise you."

Despair dropped over the Myriad Beast Sect remnants like a mountain. Their last flicker of hope had been snuffed out by Reiner. Some disciples sank to the ground, eyes empty, resigned to whatever doom awaited.

Paxton's fists clenched until his claws pierced his own palms, blood threading through his fingers.

He looked from Clara's broken form to his tribe's hollow faces, a storm of rage and helplessness roaring inside.

Is the Myriad Beast Sect really done for?

Jared dipped his head, urging them to calm down.

He knelt beside Clara. Her pulse fluttered; threads of blistering sword intent still gnawed at her meridians, the gift of her own master's strike. Jared's brow tightened. A ribbon of gentle, refined chaotic energy slipped from his palm, weaving around her heart to seal the damage and quiet the inner storm.

"M-Mr. Chance..." Tears welled anew in Clara's eyes—shame, hurt, relief tangled hopelessly. "I-I'm sorry... I couldn't—"

"Hush." His voice was a hand on her shoulder. "Breathe first. Words can wait."

He eased her against a slab of stone a few yards back, where the heat of battle no longer reached.

Only then did Jared rise, meeting Reiner's burning stare with a serenity as immovable as bedrock.

Reiner's initial shock ebbed, replaced by a keen, probing curiosity. He studied the young man before him—cultivation no higher than Human Immortal Realm Level Seven, yet his bearing felt ancient, mountain-steady.

Not a flicker of fear showed in Jared's eyes, even under the weight of a Heavenly Immortal's presence. And unbelievably, the youth had just used the long-lost Blazing Stride.

"Boy, who in the world are you?" Reiner demanded, voice low, edges sparking like steel across granite.

"Why do you wield the Blaze Stride? That footwork belongs only to the Fire Spirit Lord, a secret never taught. Across the entire world, barely a handful can use it. From whom did you steal such knowledge?"