Chapter 516: Divine Artifact Overwhelms (10k Words Chapter) (3/4)

Chapter 516: Divine Artifact Crushing (Ten-Thousand-Word Grand Chapter) (3/4)

Therefore, some irrelevant individuals, or those who no longer hold any present value, could simply be tossed into the garbage recycling station for one final use—is York City not currently constructing a waste-to-energy incineration plant anyway?

Take Inquisitor Pavarotti, for instance; he was simultaneously dealt with and utilized. How perfect is that, really?

Defense counsel, please mind your language.

Chief Judge, I am merely framing a normal defense from the perspective of Adjudicator Vicolai. I believe that what I have said bears an exceptionally close relevance to this case.

...

In the gallery.

Aisly clenched her fists in a furious tight grip, muttering dynamic hatred: What on earth is this bishop babbling about!

Blanche nodded along in agreement.

Muri let out a sigh and said: This is a deliberate attempt to blacken your name. He is seizing the opportunity of the broadcast to steer public opinion on a grander scale. Many people lack a mind of their own; the moment they hear something this sensational, they immediately choose a side to stand on.

Bart added: Yes, and they will go as far as shouting, 'I never expected you to be this kind of person, I was truly blind.'

This makes things difficult, Muri remarked with some worry. I fear that once this trial concludes, regardless of the concrete verdict, the backlash against the Captain's reputation will not subside.

Ventura spoke up: I only feel that the Captain will be very angry.

...

Bishop Byrne’s gaze remained placid. He did not consider his rhetoric to be overly despicable, because he had done far meaner things in his life; even now, his own son still harbored deep resentment toward him.

He was highly curious to see what kind of reaction this young man before him would produce, and whether he would be utterly broken by such an assault.

Ah, if that were the case, it would be a bit of a pity.

Yet, if he were abandoned by the Whip of Order because of this, he could instead be absorbed into his own inner circle to be personally molded. His temperament was still somewhat ill-suited for the Whip of Order, or at least, the Whip of Order of the present moment.

Karen did not lose his temper; instead, he silently took another sip of water.

He was well aware that in the eyes of those present and watching the live broadcast, his frequent drinking of water would be interpreted as a guilty, defensive reflex born of being backed into a corner.

But he did not care.

Holding the water cup, Karen turned and left the spot where he had been standing all along, walking directly toward Bishop Byrne.

Bishop Byrne looked at him with a faint smile.

Karen said: The Bishop’s deduction is quite splendid. Yes, Mrs. Lake—oh, that is to say, Inquisitor Pavarotti's wife—is indeed a very beautiful lady. Especially when she cares for her two daughters, I see in her the fortitude and greatness of a mother.

Your Eminence, I happen to know a little about your past experiences, and I believe you are also a very remarkable person.

Bishop Byrne replied: Thank you.

But I assume you have never experienced the sheer embarrassment of having a mere few hundred points of merit weigh heavily in your hands, have you?

Bishop Byrne looked toward the Chief Judge and stated: Objection. The opposing party is speaking of matters completely unrelated to this case.

Jaspor declared: Objection overruled.

As the Chief Judge, one had to do something to manifest that this was indeed a tribunal of the Whip of Order.

Furthermore, you yourself did not exactly refrain from speaking of irrelevant matters earlier.

Not a single trace of disappointment crossed Bishop Byrne's face as he maintained his smile, looking at Karen and replying: Indeed, I have not.

But I have seen a father whose twin daughters were retaliated against and polluted years ago because he was hunting a deviant demon. Then, even though this father clearly possessed other means to procure the merit points needed to purchase the potions to suppress the pollution for his daughters, needing only to slightly lower his dignity and marginally loosen his faith for those merit points to be delivered right to his doorstep.

Yet he chose not to do so. He chose to rely on his own methods, continuously taking on missions to cure his two daughters.

At night, when the two daughters, deprived of their potions, buried their faces in their pillows and wept from the torment of the pollution, the one acting as a father could only stand at the doorway and weep silently by himself.

His body was covered in bruises, scratched and pinched by his wife, because his wife could not comprehend her husband’s actions; as a mother, she only knew that her daughters were enduring immense agony.

Your Eminence, do you know what kind of scene met my eyes the first time I beheld Inquisitor Pavarotti’s two daughters?

Allow me to describe it to you,

And let me also describe it to everyone present who is so deeply concerned, those who are already imagining just how lovely and beautiful those twin daughters must be.

Their bodies were covered in rotting skin. The bed they lay upon had to be wrapped in a layer of oilcloth during the day, because pus would continuously drip from their forms.

When I first saw them, they were obediently playing with stickers on the bed.

I brought along a potion that had been discontinued for a long time. When it was time to give them a bath, their mother, right before my eyes, tore the clothes... right off their bodies.

Their clothes were very thin, but even so, the fabric remained fused together with the rotten flesh.

Right before my eyes, they were stripped of their clothes and lifted into the wooden tub to soak in the medicinal bath.

Without the slightest shred of concealment, because at such a moment, for anyone possessing even an ounce of conscience, it would be utterly impossible for the slightest sinful desire to surface in your mind.

Bishop Byrne sighed inwardly. He did not understand why Karen was still entangling himself with this matter. The wisest choice would be to circumvent the issue of Pavarotti and concentrate the strike heavily on the second point—namely, what Vicolai had done at that venue.

This young man was still letting his emotions dictate his actions.

However, Captain Karen, from what I have heard, these twin daughters are currently recovering quite well. So now, where exactly are the potions they require coming from?

I paid the merit points.

Then the mother and daughters must surely be profoundly grateful to you, Captain Karen.

Yes, precisely. Mrs. Pavarotti told me just a few days ago that she intends to knit a sweater for me. I mentioned that I prefer a black turtleneck.

Then why is it that Mr. Pavarotti was still constantly away executing missions to earn merit points, seldom staying at home? That hardly makes sense.

Because there exists such a type of person in this world, one who steadfastly and rigidly abides by his own convictions; he was unwilling to owe me a personal favor.

Oh, so that is how it is. Bishop Byrne shook his head. Alas, you are only making it darker the more you try to paint over it.

Karen stepped past Bishop Byrne and walked up to that iron cage, looking at Vicolai who was confined within.

Vicolai was also staring at Karen, his lips curled into that signature, profoundly foolish mock of a smile that belonged solely to him.

I have read the report published by the defendant in the Order Weekly. Therefore, I wish to ask the defendant now: do you still maintain that you did not steal Inquisitor Pavarotti's achievements?

Of course not. He merely assisted me in gathering a bit of peripheral intelligence under my instructions; truth be told, it did not even play much of a role.

Karen inquired: Very well. Where did the Ziche case take place?

A sausage factory. The fallen Spell-adjudicator Ziche had arranged a breeding ground beneath the sausage factory, confining many girls inside to conduct wicked rituals.

That night, right beneath that sausage factory, the pollution was on the verge of erupting. Did you know that?

Naturally, I knew, because I was at the sausage factory at the time. It was I who pierced through Ziche's disguise, enraging him into a frenzy. I knew that by doing this I would be risking my life, but for the sake of the Order in my heart, I went forward without a backward glance.

Yet, defendant, you cannot even defeat a single formation master under my command.

My body sustained injuries during the process of handling the Ziche case. On that very night, right there in the sausage factory, if the members of the Enforcement Department had not arrived in time, I might have already perished at Ziche's hands.

That night, Inquisitor Pavarotti was not present?

Him? How could he possibly be there.

Bishop Byrne frowned slightly. He did not wish for Karen and Vicolai to conduct too much dialogue in this sort of environment, because he was well aware that Vicolai was foolish.

But he had no way to intervene, for Karen possessed a greater legal standing at this moment to question the defendant than he did.

As for whose achievement the Ziche case truly was, Bishop Byrne had a fair idea in his heart, but it did not matter; everyone involved in that case back then was already dead.

You are lying, defendant. Because on that night, you were not at the sausage factory at all. The one present was Inquisitor Pavarotti.

"Heh." Vicole started to retort, but catching Bishop Bourne’s stern gaze, he instantly fell silent.

Bishop Bourne walked over at that moment, speaking up: "Did Inquisitor Pavarotti tell you that too, Captain Cullen? I am truly curious, how many more stories have you fabricated through the eyes of a dead man?

To what extent must our poor Inquisitor Pavarotti continue to be exploited by you?

Besides, the Ziche case files were reviewed by the regional management at the time, and the rewards have already been certified and issued; everything complied with standard regulations and procedures."

"You misunderstand, Your Grace, it was not Inquisitor Pavarotti who told me."

"Oh, then who told you?"

"Actually, no one told me."

"Heh, surely Captain Cullen won’t claim that you were also present that night?"

In truth, there was a blind spot in Cullen's resume.

Anyone studying Cullen's background would, based on prior and subsequent events, inevitably stumble into this misconception.

That misconception was that immediately after obtaining his divine servant certificate at the ecclesiastical building, Cullen became an external member of the Whiplash squad.

Connecting this to Cullen's subsequent rise within the Whiplash system and his current position, any rational person would assume that Cullen had intended to join the Whiplash squad from the start, and had merely affiliated himself with Pavarotti’s tribunal to go through the motions.

This was a very common practice, one employed by many when arranging for the youth of their families to enter a position for training.

Yet, Cullen happened to be the exception, because back then, it was by pure coincidence that he met Neo, who subsequently recruited him as an external member of the Hound squad. That day, Neo had even given him a plastic ring, the kind that snapped with a single bend.

Even though Cullen had previously mentioned having prior contact with Pavarotti, to an outsider, it sounded merely like a polite narrative meant to make his affiliation appear less abrupt.

Cullen nodded,

and replied:

"Your Grace, you have guessed correctly. That night, I truly was present at the scene, standing right beside Inquisitor Pavarotti."

Saying this, Cullen pointed a finger toward Vicole once more: "That night, I did not see the silhouette of the accused."

"Hehehe," Bishop Bourne chuckled, "So, having already woven together so many coincidences, our Captain Cullen is still unsatisfied, and now wishes to step onto the stage himself to weave his own persona into the evidence?"

"I am not inventing anything. That night, I truly was there."

"Very well, but who can prove it? Eyewitnesses? Physical evidence?"

Bishop Bourne spread his hands; after all, everyone involved in the case was already dead.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Cullen's mouth, and he lowered his head to take a sip of ice water.

Weaving Pavarotti’s presence into the chain of evidence did indeed serve the purpose of fighting for the honor the late inquisitor deserved;

but that was by no means the sole objective.

Cullen, of course, knew that by arbitrarily adding a charge, it could easily become a vulnerability.

However, sometimes a vulnerability could just be a vulnerability, but when the opponent seized upon it to attack, that very vulnerability could transform into a mousetrap, snapping tightly down on their hand.

Cullen had divided his statement of the case into three specific points, which represented three directions open to assault; breaking through just one could invalidate the whole. Bishop Bourne was using the matter of Inquisitor Pavarotti to launch his assault, aiming to overturn the other points by this single element, thereby turning the entire affair into a conspiracy and a political game.