Clash
During the day, dark clouds loomed over Kankdar, with gusty sea winds blowing across the port and surging waves crashing against the shore. The sea was turbulent, and the ships docked at the pier swayed back and forth. Under the gloomy sky, the vitality of the entire Kankdar seemed to have diminished.
Facing the fierce sea wind, a carriage team was traveling along an open road toward the harbor. Soon enough, they arrived at the dock.
The carriage team stopped at the dock, and then the doors of the carriages opened one by one. Many guards dressed in the city guard uniform got off, including Captain Hajeta, who quickly walked to the largest carriage after getting off. After personally opening the door, Robert, dressed in formal attire and leaning on a cane, was assisted by a maid as he stepped down from the carriage. He appeared as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.
Not far from Robert’s carriage, the door of another luxurious carriage also opened. Prince Ma Aide Marad, wearing a large beard and a splendid traditional robe of Northern Ufeiga with a headscarf, stepped out. After adjusting his clothes, he looked ahead, where a black giant ship’s rail was visible. This was the Church’s heretical tribunal ship, the Fiery Trial.
After inspecting the huge black ship with nearly 20,000 tons of displacement and over a hundred meters long, which seemed to emit a faint acrid smell, Ma Aide felt a sense of oppression. Then he turned around and walked to Robert’s side. At this moment, a group of clerics in tribunal robes were descending the boarding ladder. The leading cleric greeted them.
“Sir Clifton is waiting for you two on board. Please board.”
“Oh, alright, please lead the way,” Robert responded with a smile, leaving most of the guards behind and following Hajeta, Ma Aide, and a few attendants with the clerics up the boarding ladder.
After boarding the Fiery Trial, Robert and the others followed the welcoming clerics down to the cabin. After walking through a long, narrow, and oppressive corridor filled with rust and other ominous signs for some time, they entered a spacious hall. Bald Judge Clifton was seated on a high platform in the center of the hall, surrounded by several clerics in black and red robes with masks covering their faces. On both sides of the hall were rows of seats, and sitting there in one of the seats was Vania, dressed in white nun’s clothing, looking around nervously.
“Haha… I didn’t expect Sister Vania to arrive before us. It can’t be helped; injured people move rather inconveniently,” Robert said with a smile, looking at Vania sitting in the hall. Sitting on the main seat, Clifton glanced at Robert and the others and spoke.
“Mr. Robert, Prince Ma Aide, thank you for coming. Please sit over there.” Clifton then looked at the seat opposite Vania in the hall, and Robert and the others went over and sat down.
Seeing that everyone had taken their seats, Clifton cleared his throat slightly and began speaking.
“We have invited you today because Sister Vania has provided a crucial piece of evidence regarding the investigation of Prince Mazale’s assassination. This evidence involves Mr. Robert’s leadership of the Kankdar municipal government and Prince Ma Aide representing the Baruch royal family. Therefore, we have invited both of you here today to verify this evidence.”
“Oh? Important evidence? What evidence did Sister Vania find? And what does she want to prove with this evidence?” Robert asked with interest after hearing Clifton’s words, looking at Vania across from him. Vania took a deep breath and replied.
“I hope to prove that I, my bodyguards, and the envoy group I traveled with to Adis experienced life and d*ath together, are not related to any heresy, nor are we responsible for Prince Mazale’s d*ath. We are innocent…”
“Do you mean that your entire envoy group is innocent? Hmph… Sister Vania, that might be difficult. You know, one of your bodyguards attempted to assassinate Prince Mazale, and you personally held him down. If you plead for him now, wouldn’t you risk being implicated yourself?” Robert said with a light laugh after listening to Vania’s words, and Vania quickly responded.
“If we are all innocent, why should we fear being implicated? As the leader of the envoy, I have the duty to help others clear their names. The evidence I brought can do just that.”
“So, what exactly is the evidence, Sister Vania?”
“It’s this…” Speaking on behalf of Vania, Clifton, who was seated, gestured. Several clerics carried a board into the hall. A white cloth covered the board, beneath which something lay. From the outline, it appeared to be a person lying down.
“This is…” Robert said curiously, looking at the object carried into the hall. At this moment, Clifton directly said.
“This is Prince Mazale’s corpse, brought by Sister Vania’s party.”
“Oh… So it’s Prince Mazale’s remains. I was wondering where the prince’s body, which was displayed in the mansion, had gone. It turns out Sister Vania took it…”
Hearing Clifton’s explanation, Robert showed surprise in his eyes and replied, while Ma Aide angrily slammed the armrest of his chair and loudly said.
“Stealing the prince’s remains is absolutely outrageous! Sister Vania, such despicable behavior is not something those of us in the Holy Church should do! If you don’t give us Baruch a satisfactory explanation today, this will be hard to justify!”
Ma Aide angrily accused Vania, which startled her. Just as Vania was about to continue speaking, a shadow slowly appeared on the seat next to her.
“Stealing the remains of a royal family member… This indeed goes against the teachings of our Lord, not something His servants should do. But if such actions could uncover hidden secrets and clear the names of the innocent, I believe the Lord would forgive such actions.”
With a soft female voice, the translucent nun Evi slowly appeared beside Vania. Seeing Evi appear, Ma Aide was momentarily stunned and did not know how to respond. Meanwhile, Robert continued to speak with a smile.
“Ahh… So it’s Sister Evi. I’ve heard that Saint Amanda sent you here to ensure Sister Vania’s safety. I apologize, as I haven’t had the chance to properly meet you due to my injuries during the assassination attempt.”
“You meeting me now is not too late. Let’s get to the point. We brought out the prince’s body because we discovered significant clues on it. If these clues turn out to be useless, we will naturally compensate the Baruch family. There’s no need to rush.”
Evi said to Ma Aide while sitting next to Vania. Seeing Evi, Ma Aide paused and then continued.
“So… Sister Evi, you say there were clues on the prince’s body. What exactly do you mean?”
“The bl**d in Prince Mazale’s body contained toxins, enough to cause d*ath. However, the city guard claimed that Mazale died from gunshot wounds. Generally, gunshots don’t leave much toxin in corpses, right? Could it be that the assassin’s bullets were specially made to carry poison? If so, why wasn’t this factor clearly stated in the d*ath report submitted by the guard?”
Facing the crowd, Evi directly said. Listening to Evi’s words, Ma Aide looked around nervously, while Clifton remained silent. Robert, smiling, responded.
“Toxins in Prince Mazale’s body… Sister Evi, are you suggesting that Prince Mazale didn’t d*e from gunshots but from poisoning?”
Seeing that Evi did not respond and seemingly acknowledged his statement, Robert continued.
“After Prince Mazale was assassinated, my people were in charge of his treatment. If someone wanted to poison him, they could only have done so then. This means, Sister Evi, are you implying that I ordered the poisoning of Prince Mazale? Are you… trying to accuse us based on the toxins found in his body?”
Robert said with a meaningful expression, seemingly luring them to accuse him of poisoning. Evi did not directly respond but said instead.
“If the toxins in Prince Mazale’s body were not injected during subsequent treatments, then where did they come from?”
Listening to Evi’s words, Robert’s expression became somber. He stared at the two nuns and asked.
“Haha, although I don’t know why, the two sisters suddenly seem to have such great malice towards me. But remember, the body of Prince Mazale lying here was not only touched by my people but also by you two. Is it possible… that the toxins in Prince Mazale’s body came from your people?”
“Oh… That’s quite a bold guess. I wonder, what evidence does Mr. Robert have for such a claim?” Evi curiously retorted, and Robert did not hesitate to respond.
“Haha… I’m just speculating. To find the basis for my speculation, further verification of Prince Mazale’s body is needed. I think such verification should be handled by professionals. Don’t you agree, Judge Clifton?”
As Robert turned his gaze to Clifton, who had been silent until now, Clifton slowly opened his mouth.
“The testing of the bl**d from Prince Mazale’s body started before we began our discussion here. The results should be almost ready by now…”
Clifton said, and then a cleric suddenly entered the hall and approached Clifton. After bowing respectfully, the cleric said.
“Sir, the test on Prince Mazale’s bl**d has been completed.”
“Give me the result…”
“Yes, according to the test, we detected a large amount of toxins in Prince Mazale’s body. We have identified this as a snake venom, specifically from the Sand-scaled Yellow-spotted Snake, a specialty of Northern Ufeiga.”
Holding the test report, the cleric respectfully reported to Clifton, who then turned to Robert and said.
“Oh… Really poisonous? This means that Prince Mazale didn’t d*e from gunshots but from poisoning?”
“No, we can’t say that. During the examination, we found another situation. The toxins in the target’s bl**d were too numerous and did not fully combine with the dead person’s bl**d. bl**d is bl**d, poison is poison; they were just mixed together. This is completely inconsistent with the symptoms that would appear after someone dies from Sand-scaled Yellow-spotted Snake venom. Only injecting poison into the body after d*ath could produce such results.”
Holding the report, the cleric continued to report to Clifton. Hearing the cleric’s report, the entire hall fell silent, and everyone was speechless. Robert’s smile, which had been on his lips, deepened.
“Hmm, everyone heard that, right? Although Prince Mazale’s body fluids were toxic, he did not d*e from the toxins but was poisoned after d*ath. Sisters, if you use the toxins in Mazale’s body as evidence against me, and now these toxins were injected after d*ath, isn’t that a bit unreasonable…”
After hearing the report, Robert directly said, while Ma Aide stood up from his chair, covering his eyes and crying out.
“This is too much… Not only did the Holy Church steal the remains of our compatriots, but they also committed such despicable acts! Prince Mazale died from a heretic’s m*rder, and now members of the Holy Church are insulting his remains! This is truly heart-wrenching… Sir Clifton, you must give us an explanation for this matter…”
Crying, Ma Aide looked at Clifton on the main seat and knelt down, pleading. Clifton, after seeing this, sternly turned his head and looked at Evi and Vania, then silently said.
“Prince Mazale’s body, after being handled by Sister Vania, was poisoned after d*ath. Sister Vania not only stole the remains of others but also committed acts of desecration and attempted to frame others. Sister Vania… your actions are a stain on the Holy Church!”
Looking at Vania, Clifton sternly reprimanded her, causing Vania to shrink back slightly in her chair. After scolding Vania, Clifton immediately turned his head to look at Evi.
“Sister Evi, in the face of such evidence, do you still want to protect Sister Vania? If you insist on doing so, I will have to report this incident to the Council of Cardinals! By then, not only Sister Vania, but also Lady Amanda will be extremely passive! Sister Evi, I advise you to see the truth and maintain fairness!”
Looking at Evi, Clifton sternly questioned. In response to Clifton’s questioning, Evi calmly said.
“Judge Clifton, Mr. Robert, Prince Ma Aide, did you make a mistake? Did I ever say that the evidence we have is the toxins in Mazale’s body?”
Evi calmly said, and upon hearing her words, everyone in the hall paused, their expressions showing a strange glimmer. Then Robert asked Evi again.
“There are toxins in Prince Mazale’s body, and you said so…”
“Yes, I did say that, but I never said that the toxins were the evidence I presented. It’s just that you all assumed and verified it yourselves.”
Evi calmly responded, and hearing her words, Clifton frowned and said.
“So, what is the evidence you are referring to, Sister Evi? If not the tainted bl**d, what else could prove that Mazale’s d*ath is unrelated to the envoy group?”
“That would be Mazale himself.”
Evi continued calmly. Hearing her words, everyone present was stunned. Robert and Ma Aide exchanged glances, and then Clifton, who reacted first, asked.
“Mazale himself? Mazale is already dead? How do you make a dead person speak?”
“It’s simple, isn’t there a ritual to summon spirits? Judge Clifton, you can have your subordinates use Mazale’s remains as a medium to summon his soul here and ask the prince himself what happened before he was killed. There should be an ‘Enlightenment’ extraordinary being on this Fiery Trial who can assist you with the summoning.”
“Summoning a spirit? Hmph, don’t joke, Sister Evi. Mazale has been dead for a week, and his soul has sunk into the Netherworld. It cannot be summoned back now!”
“How can we know unless we try? If Judge Clifton is unwilling to send someone to perform the summoning, I can find someone myself.”
Facing Clifton, Evi firmly responded. Hearing Evi’s words, Clifton had no choice but to agree.
“Alright, since Sister Evi wants to see the summoning, I’ll arrange it. Let’s see if we can summon anything.” Saying this, Clifton, holding onto the last hope, began to instruct his subordinates to prepare for the summoning. Soon, the summoner on the Fiery Trial rushed to the hall to set up the magical array.
Watching the busy summoner, Ma Aide, who was wiping his tears, looked at Robert with a worried expression. Robert gave him a reassuring look and continued to watch the scene in the hall calmly. Before long, the summoning ceremony site was set up. After placing Mazale’s body in the magical array, the ceremony officially began.
As the summoner began to chant the incantation, spiritual energy fluctuations spread from within the ritual site. Everyone in the hall couldn’t help but focus their attention on the ritual site, watching intently as the ceremony progressed.
As time passed, on the wooden board covered with a white cloth in the ritual site, a blurry transparent figure gradually emerged in mid-air. He wore a long robe, and his plump figure gradually became clearer. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that this figure was none other than Prince Mazale of Baruch.
“Ah! How is this possible!”
Seeing this situation, the hall erupted into chaos. Hajeta froze in place, Ma Aide screamed and jumped up in fright, Clifton furrowed his brows tightly, and Robert’s face suddenly darkened, becoming grim and terrifying.
With a dark expression, Robert slapped Hajeta, who was almost frozen in shock, beside him. Hajeta, reacting to the slap, immediately looked at the emerging spirit in the ritual site. With a determined look, he drew two sigils and charged forward.
“Everyone be careful! This is an evil spirit! Quickly seal and exorcise it!”
Shouting loudly, Hajeta suddenly charged towards Mazale’s spirit. The clerics next to Clifton tried to stop him, but Clifton held them back. For a moment, no one in the hall tried to stop Hajeta.
Facing Hajeta running towards Mazale’s spirit, Evi, who was originally sitting, stood up. She fixed her gaze on Hajeta, and a faint glow emanated from her pupils.
At the same time, outside the Fiery Trial, amidst the surging waves at the dock and the dark clouds in the sky, a dazzling golden beam pierced through the thick clouds from above, shooting straight down.
Penetrating heaven and earth, the intense light shot down onto the Fiery Trial docked at the pier. The emergency self-defense system of the Fiery Trial immediately activated. As scriptures appeared on the ship’s railings, an orange-red protective shield enveloped the entire ship. Then, flames ignited on the shield, instantly placing the Fiery Trial under high-temperature protection.
However, when the intense light from the sky touched the flame shield, the shield collapsed completely in less than a second, shattering and dissipating. The intense light penetrated the Fiery Trial’s protective system like breaking through paper, passing through layer after layer of decks, and directly hit the hall, striking Hajeta who was rushing forward. Before he could react, he was engulfed in the intense light, vaporizing instantly without even having time to scream.
Then, the intense light continued downward, piercing through the remaining decks of the Fiery Trial. After breaking through the bottom of the ship, it plunged into the sea.
