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The dragon lord’s voice wasn’t particularly loud to the ears, but it rang like thunder in everyone’s minds, shocking them to the core.

And along with the dragon lord’s thunder voice, which demanded nothing but truthful answers, an incomparably powerful pressure descended upon them to coerce them into obeying his will.

Without a doubt, dragons were able to infuse mana into their words to amplify their will over others.

Vaan had only suspected it earlier. But after experiencing it first hand, it became a certainty.

Nevertheless, after hearing the dragon lord’s question, Vaan knew they had a chance of surviving. After all, the dragon lord did not outright sentence them to death but inquired about their background.

“We are from the Black Rose Kingdom, Your Excellency,” Elvira answered with difficulty.

“Bullshit!” Aeliana immediately refuted and said, “Don’t listen to her, Your Excellency. She may have originally belonged to the Black Rose Kingdom, but now she is hunted by the Black Rose Kingdom after becoming a Fallen Witch!”

“As for the rest of her Fallen Witch comrades, they aren’t from our kingdom!” Aeliana added.

“How do you know we are not from the Black Rose Kingdom? Do you know everyone that lives in the Black Rose Kingdom?” one of the other three Fallen Witches beside Elvira retorted. “So what if we are Fallen Witches? Fallen Witches can still originate from the Black Rose Kingdom!”

“The Black Rose Kingdom has no place for witches who have turned to the dark side,” Astoria coldly stated.

“That wasn’t the questions—”

Roar!

(Silence!)

Lord Narvim demanded silence with a thunderous dragon roar that immediately compelled everyone to shut their mouths, regardless of who they were.

No one could resist the dragon lord’s oppressive roar.

Even the others who weren’t speaking felt their lips tighten together subconsciously as if their bodies were obeying a heavenly mandate imposed upon them.

“I demand the truth and nothing but the truth! The next to lie shall bear my wrath! Keep that in mind, humans!” Lord Narvim thundered before saying, “Now, let us start over. Where are you all from?”

One of the Fallen Witches’ faces contorted upon meeting the dragon lord’s direct gaze as if she was using all her mental faculty to resist his will.

“Grr,” the Fallen Witch gritted her and said, “As Elvira said earlier, we are from the Black Rose Kingdom, Your—”

Before the Fallen Witch could finish speaking, her body combusted into flames after the dragon lord’s eyes emitted a fiery glow.

“Arghhhh—!” the Fallen Witch wailed with pain.

But at the same time, the pain helped her break free from the dragon lord’s oppressive aura. Thus, she attempted to save herself with magic.

However, the burning flames did not die out, no matter how many water spells she cast upon herself.

“Nooo—!” the Fallen Witch cried with despair.

The undying crimson flames couldn’t be extinguished. As such, the Fallen Witch’s struggle gradually died down to a complete stop.

Only a charred corpse was left behind before the crimson flames finally dissipated.

“Foolish human. Don’t think this Lord can’t tell when a lie is being spoken,” Lord Narvim coolly stated before warning the rest of them, “You all better wise up and answer my questions truthfully. Otherwise, you will join this black witch in death.”

Everyone felt their hearts turn cold and heavy.

Shortly after, Lord Narvim shifted his gaze to Elvira, prompting her to answer his question.

“I…” Elvira hesitated.

“Whatever you do, you can’t tell them the truth, Elvira. You can’t—Arghhhhh!” another Fallen Witch quickly combusted into flames under Lord Narvim’s fiery gaze.

Several moments later, another charred corpse joined the circle.

“It’s not a hard question. Why choose death?” Lord Narvim nonchalantly commented, but everyone vaguely felt the dragon lord gloating with amusement.

The dragon lord had the power to compel them into speaking the truth. But instead of doing so, he gave them the option to lie.

Lord Narvim wanted a reason to kill them for defying his demand.

‘This is no trial; it’s more like a game. The dragons didn’t have any intention of sparing those who killed one of their own,’ Vaan’s eyes flickered in silence.

Shortly after, he quietly informed his group, “When it’s our turn, speak the truth. We have no reason to lie.”

“That’s right. Lying will only get us killed,” Astoria agreed.

Nevertheless, Lord Narvim eventually returned his attention to Elvira for a second time and awaited her answer.

At that point, it was only her, and one other Fallen Witch left.

Claudette, their spatial-ability witch and ticket out of the Thousand Fog Mountains, had slipped with another Fallen Witch when they were just brought to Ninth Peak.

Evidently, the spatial lock was slightly different on Ninth Peak. Otherwise, Claudette wouldn’t have such a chance.

“We’re from the Black Witch Society; our headquarters is located in the Principality of Dainsleif that is a part of the Freedom Federation,” Elvira confessed.

She was still new to the Black Witch Society. Thus, she hadn’t developed a strong attachment and loyalty to it.

Nevertheless, the other Fallen Witch sighed with sadness after she sold out their society’s general location.

“It’s as Elvira said. I am also part of the Black Witch Society,” the Fallen Witch also confessed, seeing no point in hiding an exposed secret.

Several True Dragons in the crowd clicked their tongues with disappointment.

“What is your purpose for coming to our land? And why did you kill one of my kind, witch?” Lord Narvim interrogated.

“We were investigating the rumors of the dragons and tracking the whereabouts of a Wyvern-type Abomination,” Elvira answered.

“Upon finding a lone dragon playing in the fog, I couldn’t help but want to catch it for research purposes. But, alas, I overestimated its strength and accidentally killed it with a single spell.”

“If I knew there were so many more powerful True Dragons just a little further beyond the fog, I wouldn’t have acted rashly,” Elvira added.

True Dragons weren’t as rare as they thought, just secluded from the world.

“With everything said and done, do you think I should spare you?” Lord Narvim asked coolly.