Five Hundred and First Conclusion
In the morning, bright sunlight poured into the spacious room, illuminating the vibrant carpet. Numerous armors and weapons were decorated on both sides of the room, with a large Glimmer Sun Badge hanging on the wall. Below the badge was a wide desk. Behind the desk sat a man dressed in red robes with short golden hair, looking at a document with a focused expression. His brows furrowed slightly, revealing a sense of gravity.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door of the vast room, the knocking sound carrying a hint of urgency. Hilbert, who was looking at the document in his hand, paused for a moment. Then, he glanced at the door that I was knocking on, and responded.
“Come in.”
In response to Hilbert’s words, the door opened, and a tall man with a shaved head, wearing a combination of clerical robes and armor, walked in quickly. He approached Hilbert’s desk. Before Hilbert could say anything, he spoke urgently.
“Sir! Something major has happened in Adus! I just heard the news that Adis suddenly suffered a severe thunderstorm attack. The upper echelons of the Adis Revolutionary Army were severely damaged, almost completely wiped out! A significant portion of Adis City was destroyed! It is said that those revolutionary soldiers defiled some ancient deity of Adus and received divine punishment!
“The upper echelons of the Adus Revolutionary Army are gone, and the entire Adus is going to be thrown into chaos!”
Standing in front of Hilbert’s desk, Blake, a man with a voice slightly raised, directly stated his concerns. Hilbert’s face showed no change as he calmly looked at Blake. After a while, Hilbert slowly spoke.
“Firstly, Adis did indeed suffer from the thunderstorm attack, and the Adus Revolutionary Army did suffer heavy losses due to the storm, but they were far from being completely annihilated. The thunderstorms were concentrated mainly in the temples in the eastern suburbs and the royal palace in the city center. Although there was significant damage, it did not spread to other areas outside these two locations. Apart from the revolutionary soldiers, no one else died from the thunderstorm. Additionally… this was not divine punishment from the gods themselves, but rather a purification carried out by the ground society claiming to act on behalf of the divine…”
Hilbert calmly corrected Blake. Hearing this, Blake was taken aback. Clearly, he did not expect that Hilbert would know so clearly about the situation thousands of miles away in Adis. Thus, he blurted out.
“Uh… Sir, have you already received detailed information from there?”
Instead of directly answering, Hilbert placed the document he had been holding onto the table and then continued speaking.
“Yesterday morning, the Secretariat received an urgent light message from the Adis envoy group reporting the sudden changes in Adus. In the evening, we received a detailed report about the incident. Sister Vania personally wrote in the secret report the entire process of the changes in Adis and the current state of Adis. This morning, the Consistory had an initial discussion on this matter…”
In a calm tone, Hilbert explained to Blake. Listening to Hilbert’s words, Blake was momentarily stunned, then he apologized.
“Oh… So that’s how it is. I’m very sorry, Sir. I was so excited when I heard this rumor that I came to you immediately without verifying it thoroughly, hence my many errors. Please forgive me…
“I didn’t think that under such a severe disaster, the envoy team led by Sister Vania would also be in great danger. I didn’t expect them to survive, so I thought the Consistory might not have specific information yet.”
Blake apologized to Hilbert. Seeing Blake’s demeanor, Hilbert did not blame him but continued to speak.
“The rumors outside have already gone through several hands and are likely filled with even more errors. Although the envoy team did suffer losses in the incident, they were not completely wiped out. Moreover, according to the report from the young nun, the thunderstorm did not k*ll all the high-ranking leaders of the Adus Revolutionary Army; it only killed part of them… And coincidentally, it was mostly the heterodox faction of the Savior Sect that was killed. The majority of those who were not closely related to the heterodox faction were spared…”
“What… Only killed the heterodox faction?”
Listening to Hilbert’s words, Blake’s expression showed clear surprise. He did not expect the thunderstorm to selectively k*ll people without causing too much collateral damage.
“Yes, the leader of the heterodox faction of the Savior Sect, Muhetar, and his personal guards were killed in the thunderstorm. On the other hand, Shadi, who belongs to the secular faction, was almost unscathed. The reason is that the heterodox faction had desecrated the temple of the ancient deity Judge of Heaven in Northern Ufeiga, which provoked a targeted retaliation. When they were negotiating the third round with the envoy team, a woman from Northern Ufeiga, claiming to be a priestess of Judge of Heaven named Isis, appeared in Adis, causing the thunderstorm, which destroyed almost all of the heterodox faction of the Savior Sect in Adis…”
Hilbert continued to explain to Blake. Listening to Hilbert’s words, Blake’s disbelief grew deeper. He then spoke.
“Muhetar… According to previous intelligence, wasn’t he a Red Tier ordained cleric? He was the highest leader of the heterodox faction in Adus. Could the power of the thunderstorm really be enough to k*ll a Red Tier?
“Furthermore… if the thunderstorm occurred during the third round of negotiations, wouldn’t it be too coincidental? Based on the information we received, the negotiations were bound to fail. The third round of negotiations was essentially the point where everything broke down. At that moment, an ancient deity society suddenly appeared, eliminating the heterodox faction and leaving the secular faction intact. Does this mean that now the Adus Revolutionary Army is controlled entirely by the secular faction? If so, doesn’t this mean that the outcome of the negotiations is…”
Blake said with a hint of unease. Through their informant within the envoy team’s guard unit, they had always known the details of the negotiations. They knew that the heterodox faction within the revolutionary army was stubborn and uncompromising. As long as these heterodox forces remained, the negotiations could never succeed. Now that the upper echelons of the heterodox faction had been mysteriously eliminated, the uncertainty of the entire negotiation increased.
For a moment, Blake became worried. He was concerned that this incident would lead the negotiations to an undesirable result. Seeing the worry in Blake’s eyes, Hilbert directly shattered Blake’s wishful thinking.
“In the report from the young nun, it is clearly stated that they have reached a secret agreement with Shadi, the sole leader of the current Adus Revolutionary Army. Shadi assured the envoy team that he has severed ties with the heterodox faction of the Savior Sect. After cleaning up the remaining heterodox forces in Adus and consolidating his own power, he will immediately announce the abolition of the Savior Sect faith throughout Adus, prohibiting any missionary activities by the Savior Sect. He will publicly promote the new Adus government’s absolute support for the religious authority of Sacred Summit and the orthodox position of the Three Saints sect. Furthermore, he actively requested us to station troops at the Adus border and send an Archbishop to supervise nearby.
“Huh… I never expected that the negotiation task we gave to the young nun would actually be completed.”
With a self-mocking smile, Hilbert explained to Blake. Hearing Hilbert’s words, Blake stood there stunned for a moment before mumbling.
“It was completed… Really completed. Isn’t this a bit too coincidental? Sir, isn’t this too coincidental! This Judge of Heaven Society, I’ve never heard of it before, and it suddenly appeared at such a critical juncture, eliminating the upper echelons of the heterodox faction in Adis and completing the task for the young nun!? The reason given is because they desecrated the temple… This is too absurd.
Blake exclaimed in surprise to Hilbert. Sending Vania to Adus was their overt plan, aiming to dirty her reputation and make her blackened, so that the people on Amanda’s side would be turned against her by propaganda. However, they did not expect that Vania was not dirtied by the muddied water, but instead the muddied water mysteriously disappeared on its own! This would make a lot of people mistakenly believe that it was Vania’s achievement, thinking she purified the muddied water.
The overt plan of Hilbert was unexpectedly backfired by the sudden thunderbolt. This made Blake anxious. He foresaw how Amanda and others would use this incident for propaganda once Shadi officially announced the respect for the Three Saints’ faith in Adus. Last time, they turned XiaTree’s tens of thousands of people into gospel preachers. This time, with the population of Adus at twenty million, wouldn’t they turn her into a saint right away!
Thinking about the actions of Amanda’s faction later on, Blake couldn’t help feeling angry. After stomping his foot on the ground, he continued speaking to Hilbert.
“Sir, listen to me. There must be something wrong with what happened in Adis… The mystery is too big… Especially… the mystery surrounding that nun…”
Blake analyzed to Hilbert, the doubt in his tone obvious. Listening to Blake’s words, Hilbert’s expression did not change much. He slowly brewed a cup of tea for himself, sipping it as he briefly spoke.
“What you mean is…
“Think about it, Sir. The nun’s luck is just too good. Just after the third round of negotiations declared her failure, a Judge of Heaven Society suddenly emerged, wiping out the heterodox faction and securing her success. This coincidence is hard to believe.
“XiaTree and Adus, the nun managed to escape twice, the first time in XiaTree can be understood because someone from the Abyss manipulated things and caused it to go wrong. But this time in Adus, it’s hard to explain. This Judge of Heaven Society, which no one had ever heard of before, suddenly appeared at this critical moment, eliminating the upper echelons of the heterodox faction in Adis and completing the task for the young nun!? The reason is just because they desecrated the temple… This is too far-fetched.
“Sir, the timing of the appearance of this society is too convenient, and they have the ability to exterminate Red Tier Extraordinary Beings but only revealed themselves now. There are too many doubts. I suspect that the young nun and they must have some connection. Perhaps they are pawns planted within the Holy Church, clearing out the heterodox factions in Adus to intentionally give the young nun credit, hoping she will rise higher within the Church, gain more power, and then turn against the Holy Church… Therefore, I believe that the Heterodox Tribunal should detain and interrogate this young nun strictly!”
Blake said with firm resolve and a stern tone. Listening to Blake’s words, Hilbert put down his teacup and looked at him, then spoke.
“You want the Tribunal to take her… Do you have any evidence?
“No, but you know, evidence against the heterodox is usually obtained by the Tribunal after taking the person into custody and interrogating them. As long as there is sufficient suspicion, the Tribunal has the authority to take people into custody, and once they have the person, they can always find evidence. I used to work in the Tribunal, and I know this very well. If you speak to Lord Krama, I think he would help on this issue…”
Blake said with conviction, seemingly confident that suspicion alone was enough to detain a representative of the envoy team. When Hilbert heard that Blake did not present any evidence, he shifted his gaze and picked up his teacup again, sipping his tea as he spoke.
“Your proposal, Lord Krama mentioned it in this morning’s Consistory meeting, but after the discussion, it was refuted by Amanda. Currently, the Consistory does not approve of investigating the young nun without direct evidence…”
“What… Does that mean none of the other Consistory members are suspicious about the sudden emergence of the Judge of Heaven Society?” Blake said oddly. Hilbert then continued to answer.
“There is suspicion, but they already have a more convincing explanation regarding the origin of the Judge of Heaven Society.”
“A more convincing explanation…”
“Mm… Actually, in the various reports from the envoy team, there are more detailed descriptions of the incident in Adis. On the final day of negotiations, it was not the Judge of Heaven Society that initiated the conflict, but rather the Adis faction of the Savior Sect led by Muhetar.
“According to the report, within the Adus Revolutionary Army, there were deep-seated contradictions and conflicts between the Savior Sect and the secular faction. During these few days of negotiations, the secular faction leader Shadi, who had long refused to take a stance, enraged the Savior Sect. In the second round of negotiations, Muhetar even left early, and in the third round, Muhetar surrounded the negotiating palace with troops, intending to forcibly eliminate our envoy team and force Shadi to step down and hand over power…”
Hilbert said like this, listening to these detailed reports from afar in Adus, Blake widened his eyes.
“What… Does this mean that the group of heterodox factions intended to stage a coup and seize power during the third round of negotiations?
“Yes, therefore, the third round of negotiations was never about it breaking down. It was a negotiation through force.
“According to the report, on the day of the third round of negotiations, Muhetar led his troops to launch a clean-up operation against our envoy team. However, Shadi seemed to have anticipated this coup beforehand. Not only did his guards suddenly join the fight and attack the heterodox armed forces midway, but Shadi’s close protection forces also surrounded the palace after the heterodox armed forces entered, launching an attack on Muhetar’s heterodox faction. All the troops were preemptively dispatched, as if they had foreknowledge of Muhetar’s actions.
“In the chaos in the palace, the lightning summoned by the Judge of Heaven Society only struck the heterodox faction and did not harm our envoy team or Shadi’s forces. Although he had foreknowledge of Muhetar’s actions, Shadi, a White Chalk, did not flee when facing a Red Tier but instead launched a counterattack with his troops. This shows that he must have found powerful assistance beforehand.
Hilbert continued to explain. Listening to Hilbert’s words, Blake blinked and then asked tentatively.
“So… the Consistory believes that the Judge of Heaven Society is actually connected to Shadi? That Shadi sought reinforcements after learning of Muhetar’s plans?
“Yes, this is indeed the view of most of the Consistory members.
“Shadi was originally a treasure hunter. According to intelligence gathered from the secret world of Northern Ufeiga, Shadi was quite unique among treasure hunters in Northern Ufeiga. Despite not having systematically studied the knowledge of the First Dynasty, he had a profound understanding of the cultural traditions of the First Dynasty. He navigated the exploration of the ruins of the First Dynasty like a fish in water.
“It is said that when he first started as a treasure hunter, he could actually read the writings of the First Dynasty and solve puzzles that even experienced old treasure hunters could not decipher. He relied on his profound knowledge of the First Dynasty, gained somehow, to navigate the secret world of treasure hunting in Northern Ufeiga, eventually amassing enough resources to start a revolution. Throughout his confrontations with Baruch, he miraculously escaped from Baruch’s Red Tier multiple times.
“His deep understanding of the First Dynasty and his ability to repeatedly escape from Red Tier pursuers suggest that Shadi may have inadvertently obtained some inheritance from the First Dynasty during his treasure-hunting journey, shaping who he is today. And Judge of Heaven… This was the main deity of the First Dynasty that had fallen.
“Perhaps, Shadi could have obtained information about the Judge of Heaven Society, which had been secretly passed down, from his inheritance, contacted them, and received their support, assisting him in eliminating the heterodox faction of the Savior Sect.
“In the view of most Consistory members, this is a highly plausible scenario, and it was one of the conclusions reached at this morning’s meeting. Amanda strongly advocates this view, and many more Consistory members believe her.”
Hilbert slowly recounted the situation of the Consistory meeting that morning. Listening to Hilbert’s words, Blake couldn’t help opening his mouth in astonishment.
