Chapter 19 — The God of Light's Swapped Bride

The main hall of Co Bat Uy's mansion was splendidly decorated for the forced wedding, with candles burning brightly and incense filling the space. Co Bat Uy stood on a high platform, neatly dressed, his eyes full of triumph as he watched Y Nhi being escorted in, even though she was still bracing herself to fight back step by step.

"Let me go!" Y Nhi screamed, yanking her arms out of the grip of the two maids, but they still held her tightly, pushing her towards the high platform where an old shaman - the one who had been bribed by Co Bat Uy to preside over this illicit ritual - was waiting with a scripture in his hand.

"Miss, there is no need to resist in vain anymore," Co Bat Uy said, his voice still holding a terrifying calmness. "As long as you stand still and let the magician complete the ritual, everything will end smoothly."

"I will never let you achieve that!" Y Nhi screamed, and in the moment she was pushed close to the ritual altar, she suddenly waved her hand, knocking over a large incense vase placed next to it. The ancient porcelain vase shattered on the stone floor, incense ashes scattered, creating an instant chaos that made the maids step back in panic.

"Fire! There's a fire!" Y Nhi shouted, taking advantage of the cloud of smoke and dust from incense ashes and a few tilted candles hitting the nearby curtain, creating enough of a fake commotion for her to break free from the hands of the two maids and run towards the hall door.

"Catch it!" Co Bat Uy shouted loudly, his voice revealing true anger for the first time. The guards rushed in, quickly blocking Y Nhi's escape route, holding her tightly in the middle of the hall, pulling her back in front of the ceremonial platform even though she still struggled, scratched, and bit off any hand that touched her.

"Do you think just binding my body is enough?" she screamed, tears and sweat streaming down her face, but her eyes showed no signs of submission. "My heart belongs to someone else, and you can never take that away, no matter how many times you force me to stand in front of this altar!"

She struggled violently, using all her strength to kick hard on the shin of a soldier who was holding her left arm, causing him to painfully relax for a moment. She immediately turned around and bit hard on the hand covering her mouth, causing the remaining soldier to pull his hand back and cry out in pain. In just that short moment, she was able to partially free herself, though not enough to escape completely, but enough to prove that she would never obediently accept her fate.

"This brat!" Another soldier roared and rushed forward to try to hold her back, but Y Nhi was able to grab a nearby bronze candlestick and swing it strongly at him, forcing him to dodge, buying a few more precious seconds.

Co Bat Uy gritted his teeth, stepped down from the high platform, grabbed her chin, forcing her to look straight at him. "You're so stubborn," he hissed. "But I have waited too long to have you. Today, whether you volunteer or not, this ritual will be completed."

Just as he signaled the magician to continue, a loud noise rang out from the entrance of the hall. The thick, heavy wooden door, reinforced with solid iron bars, suddenly shook violently, then burst off its hinges in a deafening explosion, flying dozens of meters away, crushing several guards standing nearby.

A beam of bright white light poured into the hall from the broken door frame, so strong that everyone in the room had to cover their eyes with their hands, unable to look directly at it. As the light gradually softened, a figure appeared in the middle of the door frame, his whole body covered with a golden halo as bright as the morning sun, his black hair now shimmering golden, his eyes shining like two burning stars.

"Da Vu!" Y Nhi shouted, her voice breaking with intense hope.

Da Vu walked into the hall. With every step he took, the surrounding candles burned more intensely for a moment and then went out all at once, as if they could not stand the presence of the primordial light source radiating from him. The guards standing nearby fell to the ground, not daring to raise their heads to look directly at the god present before their eyes.

"Let go of my wife," Da Vu said, his voice echoed throughout the hall like a bell, carrying a power that made the whole space shake.

Co Bat Uy, even though his heart was filled with extreme horror at this unprecedented scene, still tried to maintain the calm appearance of a powerful man accustomed to holding supreme power. "You... what are you?" he asked, his voice trembling even though he tried to hide it.

Ta Khac Dung, standing in a corner of the hall, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, stammered orders for the remaining soldiers to rush in to stop, but none of them dared to take another half step towards the light shining from Da Vu. The entire hall was engulfed in a heavy silence, with only the sound of Y Nhi's panting and Da Vu's steady, slow but powerful footsteps echoing on the stone floor.

"I'm something you should never anger," Da Vu replied, his eyes swept over Y Nhi who was being pinned down in the middle of the hall, the anger in his heart became even more intense when he clearly saw the bruises on her arms from being held too hard by the guards.

Y Nhi, taking advantage of the moment when all eyes were on Da Vu, mustered all her remaining strength, yanked free from the hands of two soldiers who were loosening in fear, and rushed to a ceremonial sword displayed on a stand near the altar. She pulled out the sword, although her hands were shaking because she had never held a weapon before, her eyes firmly pointed the sword's tip towards Co Bat Uy.

"Back off," she said, her voice sharp even though her whole body was still shaking from the struggle she had just gone through. "I won't let you touch me again."

Co Bat Uy looked at her, then looked at Da Vu who was gradually approaching, his eyes gradually revealed the panic of someone who realized he had gone too far, with no way back. But his arrogant and cruel nature accumulated over many years of holding power makes him unable to easily accept defeat.

"Do you think just that flash of light can threaten me?" he roared, pulled out the long sword hanging at his waist, his eyes sparkled with desperate desperation. "I am the Earl of the Nine Great Families, holding military power throughout this capital! Even the king has to respect me a little. You are just a ragged musician, how can you dare to challenge me?"

"I don't need to rely on any identity to protect my wife," Da Vu replied, his voice cold as ice. "You used your power to trample on the dignity of an innocent woman, colluded with greedy people to harm her, and used the most despicable kidnapping tricks to force her to submit to your will. Today, you will pay for all those crimes."

Co Bat Uy roared with anger and despair, swung his sword and rushed straight towards Da Vu, no longer able to maintain any composure of a powerful man who once looked down on everything. Y Nhi screamed in horror, but Da Vu simply stretched out his hand, and just as the blade was about to touch, a beam of blinding light burst from his palm, stopping the sword in mid-air, causing it to vibrate and break in half with a loud noise.

Co Bat Uy staggered back, looking in horror at the broken sword in his hand. For the first time in his life, he felt extreme fear before a power far beyond any earthly power he had ever held.

"No... that's impossible," he stammered, backing away until his back touched the wall of the hall, with no way to retreat.

Da Vu approached Y Nhi, reached out to hold the trembling sword in her hand, his eyes gently looked at her. "You did very well," he said softly, his voice filled with both pride and sadness as he saw the bruises on her skin. "Now let me take care of the rest."

Y Nhi nodded, put down the sword, leaned against him for a moment to regain her breath, but her eyes still did not leave Co Bat Uy trembling in front of them, a strong determination burned in her heart: today, all his crimes must be exposed to light, he cannot be allowed to continue to get away with it again.

"You're here just in time," she said, her voice still shaking but mixed with a smile of relief amid her recent panic. "I tried my best to delay, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out."

"You were braver than anyone I've ever known," Da Vu replied, his eyes filled with sincere admiration. "It was your resilience that held everything together until I got here."

Outside the hall, a bustling noise began to resound, the pounding of horse hooves and the stern shout of orders - it seemed that news of the incident at Co Bat Uy's mansion had spread far enough to attract the attention of court officials, who had long been wary of the Count's growing power.