The Discarded Husband: Lucian Vale - The sovereign Collector

Chapter 4

Seeing Amara lying helpless in the pool of wet sludge, Lucian’s jaw hardened.

The silver-haired girl had absolutely no reason to risk her life to protect him tonight.

"Just watch us have some fun, crippled dog," sneered a burly thug.

He spat into the filthy puddle, showing off his row of yellow, alcohol-rotten teeth.

The filthy man stepped forward with wide, arrogant, and confident strides.

His steel boots splashed foul-smelling waste into the air as he approached Amara’s unconscious body.

"Her skin is as white as snow. Perfect to warm us on this freezing night," he said disgustingly.

His rough hand shot forward, ready to forcibly tear apart the girl’s elite academy uniform.

"Don’t touch her, bastard!" Lucian shouted hoarsely, forcing his body to stand.

He lunged forward without hesitation, pushing the burly thug’s chest away from Amara.

But his strength was no more than the weak shove of a dying man.

His body was still regenerating, no different from a newborn.

"Who do you think you are, huh?" the burly thug roared angrily, immediately swinging his fist at Lucian’s face.

Thud!

The heavy blow struck Lucian’s temple, throwing him back onto the rocky asphalt.

Lucian coughed, fresh blood pouring from his nose, but he refused to give up.

"I won’t let you touch her!" he growled, focusing his mind to summon the golden annihilating light again.

He screamed in frustration within his mind, trying to draw out the shadow chains from the depths of his soul.

But nothing happened, the night remained silent, and his body stayed weak.

The thugs exchanged glances before bursting into mocking laughter.

"Look at this crippled dog! He thinks he can scare us with his desperate screams!" another thug sneered.

Two large men stepped forward and began beating and kicking Lucian mercilessly.

Thud! Crack!

Lucian’s ribs, which had just regenerated, shattered again under the force of their boots.

"Fight me! Fight me, you bastard!" Lucian shouted, thrashing wildly under the rain of blows that blinded him.

He swung his hands desperately, trying to grab their legs, but they were immediately stomped down hard.

The unbearable pain tormented every nerve in his body, while from the corner of his eye he saw something horrifying.

The burly thug had already undone his leather belt, standing over Amara’s nearly naked body.

"Perfect... this girl will scream in pleasure under me tonight," the man chuckled as he lowered his hand.

"No! Stop!" Lucian roared, his chest feeling like it would explode from uncontrollable rage and despair.

He glared fiercely at the thugs, his eyes gleaming wildly as if he wanted to tear them apart alive.

"All of you will pay for what you’ve done!" he shouted, cutting through the heavy rain.

"Pay your debts to me right now!"

At that very moment, the air in the narrow alley suddenly froze as if time had stopped.

An invisible pressure struck the thugs’ shoulders and chests, forcing their massive bodies to bow stiffly.

"What kind of magic is this? I can’t move my legs at all!" the burly thug shouted in panic.

"This dog’s tongue must be cut off immediately!" he barked, trying to command his arm muscles.

But his hands refused to move to draw his sword, his muscles locked by an unnatural fear.

Shadow chains suddenly burst out from the empty air around them with a horrifying hiss.

Sraaash!

Those pitch-black chains shot through the air like a swarm of giant venomous serpents starving for blood.

In less than two seconds, the icy coils bound every thug’s neck without mercy.

"Ghhhk...! L-let go... of us...!"

The karmic chains strangled their airways, completely cutting off oxygen to their lungs and brains.

Their filthy hands clawed at their own throats violently, trying to tear off the invisible bindings.

Crack!

They scratched their skin raw and vomited fresh blood from their own nails.

The veins in their temples throbbed wildly, turning deep purple from suffocation.

One by one, their massive bodies collapsed onto the rocky asphalt.

Thud! Thud!

They writhed violently in the corrosive sludge like fish dragged onto dry land.

In the blink of an eye, the breath of life completely left their mortal bodies forever.

The remnants of their life energy were forcibly extracted, greedily pulled into Lucian’s dark domain.

That energy surged wildly like a flooding river, rushing uncontrollably into his veins.

"Arghhhh!"

Instead of gaining strength, Lucian was struck by total destruction exploding from within his body.

BOOM!

Lucian’s arms and legs suddenly exploded into pieces in the night air.

Flesh, bone, and fresh blood scattered grotesquely, staining the already filthy alley walls.

He collapsed forward, his remaining upper body slamming onto the rocky ground.

Thud!

"Ugh!" he groaned, enduring agony far worse than death itself.

Fresh blood poured endlessly from his mouth, staining the rainwater beneath his chin.

His heart pounded violently, as if a burning giant hand was trying to rip it out from inside his chest.

Yet amidst that near-death torment, his body’s cells reacted unexpectedly.

A forced regeneration cycle began, new flesh and bone rapidly growing and fusing from the explosion wounds.

With blurred vision and broken breaths, Lucian dragged his newly formed limbs, crawling through the toxic sludge.

He forced himself to kneel beside Amara, gently touching the pale girl’s shoulder to ensure she was safe.

His still-glowing golden eyes caught a magical anomaly the moment he touched her skin.

A high-level protective seal enveloped her, concealing her identity from the outside world.

"A sealing barrier... what great secret are you carrying tonight?" Lucian whispered weakly.

Before he could analyze further, a much sharper cold swept through the entire alley.

The sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed through the pouring rain.

From the far end of the darkness, a towering man slowly stepped forward.

Zephyr Ironveil, the king of the underworld who controlled the city’s darkest side, revealed himself.

Behind him, dozens of fully armed elite subordinates moved in silently.

Zephyr stopped right in front of Lucian, who was drenched in blood.

He raised one hand into the air without even glancing back.

Dozens of his subordinates instantly froze in place without making a single sound.

Zephyr’s sharp eyes carefully examined the pile of corpses without wounds and the blood splatters on the walls.

The feared man of the underworld suddenly bent one knee onto the rocky ground.

He lowered his head deeply, a gesture of submission from a king.

"Grand Master," Zephyr said, his heavy voice sweeping through the alley and breaking the rain’s silence.

Lucian looked up, staring at the underworld ruler with ragged breaths.

"Get up from that mud. What is the meaning of all this nonsense?" Lucian hissed in confusion.

"I never expected to witness the Awakening of the Karma Judge in this era," Zephyr said firmly, refusing to rise.

"You hold the authority to collect all debts in your hands, a great power long lost to history."

Lucian stared blankly at his newly formed arms and legs.

"Collecting debts? What does that mean? And why did my body explode when I used it earlier? Ugh—" he asked, enduring the pain.

"You possess the power to collect all debts and karma of every person in this world," Zephyr explained.

"You just collected a debt far beyond the value they actually owed."

"The law of karma in this world is absolute."

"The debt that is paid must match their sins, you are not allowed to take a greater payment than the original debt."

"That is why your arms and legs exploded as backlash, Master."

Zephyr lowered his head even further, showing genuine respect.

"At best, you will only lose your limbs and regenerate, at worst, you will lose your sanity and become a complete karma monster."

"Your mortal body is clearly not ready to contain such authority without protection and guidance," Zephyr continued.

"The underworld can hide you, train you, and ensure you are not destroyed by your own power."

Zephyr extended both his hands openly toward the silent Lucian.

"Allow me and my entire faction to become your first blade starting tonight, Grand Master."

Lucian stared at the scarred man’s outstretched hands in silence for several tense moments.

"Take this girl to a safe place first," Lucian decided, his jaw tightening."

"Clean up all this trash without leaving a trace, and you officially become my blade tonight."