“Sir Gralin, my Devil’s Snare Ship will be docked in about 1 hour. What are your plans?”
“Sir Arthur, may I ask, your destination is…”
“The ship will just dock at the Red Dragon City, and my destination is Yerodisha, the capital of the Dragon Bright Empire.”
“It’s such a coincidence that I’m going to Yerodisha too. I wonder if sir will give me this honor to go with you?”
“Sir Cardinal is too modest.” Chen Rui smiled after ‘learning’ Gralin’s identity.
Gralin also smiled, “I hope that in the future memories, this trip will be the honor of my life.”
Maybe it’s your lifetime nightmare. Chen Rui added in his mind, but he didn’t break Gralin’s attempt to follow.
The importance of the Crown of Thorns to the church that lost the Snow Dallet Tree was self-evident. Originally, when Gralin was ambushed by the Black Death Followers this time, he had already prepared for the worst punishment; he would certainly lose his position of cardinal even if he survived the crisis.
At a critical juncture, the mysterious man ‘Arthur’ suddenly appeared, and the Crown of Thorns was ‘abducted’ away, which should have been a mission failure. However, for Gralin, ‘Arthur’ who had the [Body of Light Glory] and whom the Crown of Thorns recognized as owner, was the biggest surprise beyond expectations. Just reporting it was a great achievement. He definitely would not let this ‘His Holiness Holy Child’ leave his vision, so Gralin put down his status without hesitation and became a follower of a certain ‘His Holiness’.
The 3 ladies including Zola, who had been staying in the ship, also appeared, but at the suggestion of Chen Rui, Ms. Fairy Dragon and Ms. Yini changed their appearances. They both wore a veil. Although it covered most of their beauty, the vibe was still impressive.
Chen Rui learned from Gralin that there were 3 holy apprentices escorting the Crown of Thorns. They were Capricorn Holy Apprentice Clark, Scorpio Holy Apprentice April and Taurus Holy Apprentice Kurwich. Due to the intense fighting, Kurwich was killed and April was seriously injured. She barely held on because of Clark.
The Glorious Knights, including Clark and April, still had a good impression of the owner recognized by the ‘Crown of Thorns’. After all, he saved their lives. However, Chen Rui just talked to them politely without going too deep to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Soon, the land was seen ahead as they arrived at the port of the Red Dragon City.
After entering the Red Dragon City, Chen Rui and his party went to the Hall of Light in the Red Dragon City at the invitation of Gralin.
Strangely, Pastor Germas who was in charge of the Red Dragon City’s Hall of Light, was not there.
As Yerodisha would hold a trial of a Black Death Follower in 3 days, due to the special status of the Black Death Follower, Second Prince Garfield specially invited Chief Bishop Wintour of the Holy Light Mountain as the presiding judge. Wintour came to the Red Dragon City from the waterway and left for Yerodisha under the accompany of Pastor Germas.
What shocked Chen Rui the most was that the name of the ‘Black Death Follower’ who was about to be put on trial in the noble families circle was Samuel. Kemplot.
3 days later.
Dragon Bright Empire’s capital. Yerodisha.
Palace’s conference hall.
This conference hall could accommodate up to 20,000 people and was the largest conference center in the empire. Many famous conferences that decided the fate of the empire and the entire human world had been held here. But today, there would be a trial here.
The presiding judge this time was Chief Bishop Wintour who was specially invited from the Holy Light Mountain. The weight of the jury was also heavier. They were led by Lex. Roland, the Great Emperor of the Dragon Bright Empire.
Samuel, the ‘Black Death Follower’ who was being interrogated, was held on the stage by magic shackles. He was unable to use any power. He even lost the ability to speak.
Samuel was the second son of the Kemplot family; this identity was nothing to the entire Dragon Bright Empire, especially after the dismissal of Carlo, the patriarch and former financial secretary director. Nonetheless, Samuel was part of the dragon rider legion; a real dragon rider. It probably also involved some other secrets, so on the advice of Second Prince Garfield, he invited Chief Bishop Wintour of the Holy Light Mountain, especially for this public trial.
“Samuel. Kemplot, everyone should remember the scene when he was defeated by the capital’s top genius swordsman, the Loman Family’s Paul, when he was fighting in front of the church. In that battle, Paul was appreciated by Philip Family Patriarch Frett and agreed to the marriage contract proposed by Paul. The eldest daughter, Joanna. Philip became Paul’s fiancée while Joanna…”
Second Prince Garfield raised his hand to Joanna in the audience, “Was Samuel’s lover who for many years. As far as I know, the 2 almost eloped because of this. It was Samuel who wanted to prevent Joanna from being cast aside by her family, so he decided to run away. He was determined to train hard to win back his lover with his own strength. In the end, Samuel no doubt did it. In the royal arena, he defeated Paul, was canonized as golden knight by His Majesty, and became a glorious member of the dragon rider legion. This sounds like a very touching and inspiring love story. Sadly, no one could have imagined that Samuel actually went down the fallen path for this very purpose.”
Garfield expressed his regret. Joanna couldn’t hold back, stood up and said loudly, “Samuel hasn’t fallen! What evidence do you have!”
“Can I assume that this rudeness represents the attitude of the Philip Family on the side of the fallen one?” A murderous intent flashed past Garfield’s eyes. He ignored Joanna and looked at her father, Patriarch Frett of the Philip Family.
“Stop looking, Your Highness Garfield. I’ve left the Philip Family. I’m just Samuel’s wife.” Joanna regained her calm after being reminded in a low voice by the woman beside her. “I’m sorry for the gaffe in front of Your Highness, but, I want to ask, what evidence does Your Highness have that Samuel is the fallen one? Samuel is the dragon rider and golden knight canonized by His Majesty. This not only represents the glory of the dragon rider legion and golden knight, it also represents the trust of His Majesty!”
These words carried a lot of weight, especially when Lex the Great was mentioned. If Samuel was assumed as the fallen one, it would also question Lex’s vision.
Lex the Great, who had been listening to Garfield’s accusations without any response, moved slightly, and resumed his doze as if he were watching a play.
“If you want real evidence…” Garfield smiled lightly, “I don’t have any; it’s just a guess.”
There was a commotion from the noble families who were listening. Joanna quickly said, “Since there is no evidence, this is a blatant frame-up. I don’t know why Your Highness did so, but it’s Samuel today, who will it be tomorrow?”
The commotion of the noble families grew louder, and Joanna’s sentence was indeed provocative. Garfield, however, was confident. He only spoke up when the voice gradually subsided, “My guess is very simple. When Samuel lost to Paul, he was only at the Master level. When he dueled with Paul for the second time in the royal arena, he was already a Pseudo-Saint. Not only that, just a few days ago, Samuel’s strength actually broke through to the real Saint! It has been no more than 10 years since Samuel left. From the moment he entered the Pseudo-Saint to the real Saint, it only took at most 3 years, and his strength continues to rise rapidly! Have you ever seen such an advancement speed?”
Everyone was shocked. 3 years! From the initial Pseudo-Saint to the real Saint!
“If Samuel is so gifted, why has he been mediocre until now? No doubt, he was using external power!” Garfield asked Chief Bishop Wintour, the presiding judge, “Sir Wintour, as far as I know, even the holy apprentice serving the light cannot have such a growth rate. Instead, the Black Death Follower… has some kind of blood sacrifice ritual that increases strength?”
“Yes.” Chief Bishop Wintour said solemnly, “Most of the high level guardians of the Black Death Followers have gone through this ritual. This Samuel is progressing at an incredible rate, so he is probably a member of the fallen ones, but Your Highness really has no real solid evidence that he is the Black Death Follower.”
Chief Bishop Wintour’s unbiased remarks caused everyone to nod, and Garfield said calmly, “If you really want physical evidence, I still have 1. Knight Trinis, please bring that thing up.”
Trinis was a tall, thin brown-haired man. It was the same guy who broke Samuel’s hands and feet in the Thunder Prison. He came up with a sheathed long sword in his hand. The sheath was dark red and showed a touch of blood.
“This is a new weapon that Samuel got after defeating Paul. It’s hard to imagine that this is a powerful legendary weapon. Even among the legendary weapons, it is considered a top-grade weapon. Even a Saint powerhouse may not have this level of weaponry. I’m curious where this weapon came from. Now, Sir Wintour, take a look at this weapon.”
Top legendary grade weapons! The noble families in the seats whispered one after another, especially the generals and the knight, who were all staring at the sheathed long sword.
When the long sword was approaching Wintour, the chief bishop sensed something. He frowned as he carefully held the long sword, and slowly pulled it out.
The moment it was pulled out, black smoke came out, and a strong destructive breath instantly filled the entire conference hall. Wintour’s hands emitted strong light element power that made a buzzing sound when illuminating the black smoke. Wintour’s hands trembled slightly. He actually couldn’t suppress it.
Wintour was taken aback and quickly returned the sword to its sheath, and the terrifying breath disappeared immediately. The chief bishop exclaimed, “This has the fallen destructive power; so powerful!”
Trinis hurriedly put away the sword. The audience seemed a little confused. Garfield immediately shouted, “There is no doubt that Samuel is the Black Death Follower! Father, I suggest that the entire Kemplot Family be thoroughly investigated! If necessary…”
This was no longer targetted only Samuel, but the entire Kemplot Family!
