"Do you know Shadow Cult?" Berton's pain eased slightly.

  He exhaled sharply and, seeing Ryan's knowing expression, pressed him anxiously for an answer.

  "Hmm, I don't know." Ryan's expression suddenly returned to calm, his face emotionless as he stared at Berton.

  He had scoured all the information stored in his mind, yet still came up empty.

  That was normal. Most of the information he had about the magical continent was still from ten thousand years ago. His data was that outdated, lagging far behind reality.

  But judging from the five members of the Temple of Radiance who had disguised themselves as members of the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword, Ryan could easily draw a conclusion.

  In a place like the Central Continent, where orthodox magical forces were concentrated, for a sinister organization like Shadow Cult to operate openly, there had to be a major force protecting them.

  And the protector could not be insignificant; otherwise, it would be impossible to carry out such a flawless cover, without even a single decent attempt at a righteous purge.

  Ryan quickly reached a conclusion: the force sheltering Shadow Cult must be extremely powerful and influential.

  Otherwise, Shadow Cult would never dare to plant roots and build a nest on the Central Continent. Behind this, there was likely a conspiracy capable of shaking the entire continent.

  This conspiracy could even involve him personally, involve the Glacial Arcana Academy, and extend to countless regions across the continent.

  After all, even the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword, an orthodox force slightly stronger than the Glacial Arcana Academy, had been kept in the dark. This showed just how skilled the hidden force was at deception.

  Ryan decided it was necessary to interrogate Berton thoroughly. It would not take much time anyway.

  Once he extracted the key information, he would pass it to the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword.

  He had always dealt with these messy situations in this way.

  Unless the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword could not handle it and the danger threatened him personally, he would never intervene himself.

  "What exactly do you plan to do with these ordinary people you've captured?" Ryan asked, staring at Berton.

  Magical energy swelled faintly around him, as if he could strike and obliterate Berton at any moment.

  The moment Berton met that cold gaze, the faint hope he had been clinging to vanished. He snapped his mouth shut and glared at Ryan with pure malice.

  With his magic core shattered, rendered incapable of using magic, and facing certain death, he would never reveal the secrets of Shadow Cult. He would not let Ryan get what he wanted, even in death.

  Ryan watched Berton's sudden change in expression and curled his lips into a sinister smile. His laughter echoed through the empty streets, carrying a terrifying weight.

  He lifted the suffering Berton and carried him to the center of the street, throwing him to the ground.

  "Everyone hiding in the shadows, come out! Come out immediately!" Ryan shouted, his voice reverberating through the entire town."Whoever is selling love potions, step forward!"

  Those hiding in houses and cellars had long since peered through cracks, clearly seeing the situation outside.

  They knew that it was the powerful mage before them who had dealt with those black robed villains. Only then did they finally relax and cautiously step out of hiding.

  Before long, a large pile of love potions of all kinds was stacked on the ground in front of Ryan.

  Most of these were low level potions, completely ineffective against mages protected by magical energy.

  But Berton's magic core had already been destroyed. He was no longer a mage at all. To him, these potions were more than enough to inflict deadly torment.

  Berton lowered his head and stared at the pile of potions before him. Panic was clearly visible on his face. His body trembled uncontrollably, yet his teeth were clenched tight, refusing to utter a single word.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He was truly unwilling to accept this. Since death was inevitable anyway, he would never allow the brat who had ruined everything for him to obtain the secrets of Shadow Cult.

  "Are you going to talk or not?" Ryan's eyes turned sharp. His left arm shot forward as the metal hand clamped tightly around Berton's throat, lifting him off the ground, while his right hand swung up and struck him hard across the face.

  The crisp slap echoed through the street. Berton's cheek instantly flushed red and soon began to swell visibly.

  "Are you going to talk or not?"

  "Are you talking or not?"

  Heavy slaps landed one after another, beating Berton until his consciousness began to blur. Blood continuously seeped from the corner of his mouth.

  "You're choking him. Even if he wants to talk, he can't," someone in the crowd spoke up, a middle aged man with slightly more courage than the rest.

  He was not trying to plead for Berton. He simply felt that interrogating him this way was pointless.

  "Oh, right. I forgot." Ryan finally reacted. He released his grip on Berton's throat, and using the momentum of letting go, added another slap with his right hand.

  Berton collapsed to the ground, his consciousness completely muddled, yet he still clenched his teeth and did not utter a single word.

  Ryan was not foolish. He knew that if he kept beating Berton, the man would die completely, and then there would be nothing left to interrogate.

  He reached out and tore off the storage pouch at Berton's waist. After checking its contents, he took out a bottle of healing potion.

  This type of potion could only barely keep someone alive and did nothing to ease the agonizing pain caused by a shattered magic core.

  He pried open Berton's mouth and poured the potion in, then guided its effect with a trace of magic, barely preserving his life.

  "Are you going to talk or not?" Ryan grabbed Berton by the collar again and hauled him up.

  Berton suddenly lifted his head and spat a mouthful of blood tinged saliva straight at Ryan."If you have the guts, then kill me. You will never learn the secrets of Shadow Cult!"

  The spit was blocked by a magical barrier just a few centimeters from Ryan's face, then slowly slid down.

  "So you think you're tough," Ryan said, completely enraged.

  His original intention to gather information vanished instantly. Now he simply wanted to thoroughly torment this fool who did not know his place.

  He refused to believe that after being subjected to the ultimate humiliation, this bastard could still remain so stubborn.

  "You, go to the sheep pens outside the town and bring back a few rams. The faster the better," Ryan said to the onlookers.

  As soon as he finished speaking, several middle aged men in the crowd immediately left.

  They had long hated the deeds of those black robed figures. Now that they could help this powerful mage, they naturally did not hesitate at all.

  After a short wait, several middle aged men arrived quickly, leading a strong bull and two rams.

  "We only found two rams in the nearby pens. Do you think this bull will work?" one of the men asked loudly, wiping sweat from his forehead.

  "That's fine, that's perfect. Bulls are stronger, just what I need," Ryan replied with a cheerful smile.

  In an instant, dozens of magical crystals appeared in his hands. With a casual wave, he formed a closed magical circle around them.

  Then he bent down and rummaged through the pile of love potions on the ground. He quickly found a familiar packet.

  Beast Desire Potion. This was a highly potent love potion designed specifically for animals, with an overwhelmingly strong effect. With a bull present, Ryan immediately decided to use it.

  He first led the bull and the two rams into the magical circle. Then he turned toward Berton, who was collapsed on the ground.

  Berton looked at the potion in Ryan's hand, then at the bull and rams inside the circle. His face went pale in an instant.

  His body trembled uncontrollably. He could vaguely guess what Ryan was planning. His previous bravado had completely vanished.

  "I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!" Berton finally broke, trembling as he tried to beg for mercy.

  "Too late! From the moment you spat at me, it was already too late!" Ryan slapped him hard across the face, cutting off his plea.

  He grabbed several bottles of the potent love potion and forced them into Berton's mouth. Then he had a cup of water brought over and poured it down his throat to make sure the potion was swallowed properly.

  Afterward, he used magic to seal Berton's throat and esophagus, preventing him from vomiting or biting his tongue, and finally threw him into the magical circle.

  Ryan snapped his fingers. The magical circle immediately activated. A glowing barrier enclosed Berton and the three animals.

  Once Berton was dealt with, Ryan turned to the onlookers and asked,"I want to ask you something. When those black robed people came to abduct people, why didn't you run?"

  This was something he had wondered for a long time. The crowd began to speak, each explaining their side. Ryan listened carefully and finally pieced together the full story.

  It turned out that last time, when Shadow Cult came to plunder, those five people disguised as members of the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword also arrived. They pretended to intervene and quickly drove the black robed men away.

  Last time, the black robed men had only taken a few people. With the protection of those five, the townspeople felt safe.

  All of their property and farmland were in this town. They could not just abandon it.

  They believed that with those five righteous people guarding them, Shadow Cult would not return. They never expected that this time, so many of them would come and act even more ruthlessly, clearly planning a large scale abduction.

  Ryan shook his head helplessly after hearing the story.

  He could understand their choice. On this magical continent, without their property and resources, even if they escaped, they would most likely not survive.

  This time, the Shadow Cult and the five disguised people had clearly planned a large scale capture of the townspeople. They never expected that a variable like Ryan would suddenly appear.

  Inside the house, Evelyn leaned against the corner of the wall. Through the broken doorway, she quietly watched everything Ryan was doing outside.

  In her arms, she held Lyra, who clung tightly to her neck. Lyra's soft childlike voice called "mom… mom…," sweet and happy.

  Evelyn sensed Ryan approaching the house. She cast a quick glance at Lyra in her arms.