Chapter 590: Flipping the Table! (3/4)

Chapter 590: Flipping the Table! (3/4)

"Understanding?" Volvuren paused, then continued his interrogation, "Then what about this one at the very beginning?"

Harry fell silent.

He could invent many reasons, but he knew that none of them could deceive the old man beside him, unless the old man were willing to pretend he did not see through it.

"This is different from the plan you previously discussed with me. When your subordinate, Minister Bernie, spoke for so long without announcing the first list, I felt something was amiss.

When that young man publicly announced the arrest of Yeder, though I found it somewhat incomprehensible, I could still suppress my temper, because I felt other young people might be flattered to their ruin, but he, he should be able to handle it.

But I never expected that you would actually go to this length. This sacrifice to the flag, surely you shouldn’t sacrifice the future? Are you really willing to part with him?"

"But he is the most suitable candidate. He starts this beginning, and he closes this end. I assure you, he will be fine. This is his oath, to dedicate everything to the Whip of Order."

"Heh, isn't that also your oath? Why isn't it you, the Regional Director, who steps up? Why isn't it Bernie? You will bury this young man's future—no, you have already strangled his future."

"You should be well aware that whether it is reform or a purge, a price must be paid. Someone always has to sacrifice. Choosing him is simply because he is the most suitable.

You are about to die, and you have no lingering attachments. You intend to take one last look at a cleaner York City Region before you go, and we understand that.

But we must consider how to wind things down, how to ease the conflicts after the Great Purge, and how to give an explanation to all parties. Therefore, we also hope you can give us your understanding."

"He is the one who helped avenge my family."

"So you still have time to make a new arrangement for him. If he cannot continue to stay in the Whip of Order, I believe that in other places, an outstanding young man like him will surely have an equally splendid future."

"This is exactly why I opposed the revival of the Whip of Order in the first place, and why I pinched my nose to help that Dun family. Because I know clearly that the whip is cold, but the minds of you who hold the whip are fickle.

Harry, you have failed your position as a whip-bearer."

"What right do you have to judge me? Did you not also completely open your mind and let go only when you reached this stage?" Harry's expression turned cold. "Perhaps, if we swapped circumstances, I would be more devout than you, and even more willing to smash all this old filth."

"You dare speak to me like that?"

"Back in the Pavaro Funeral Parlor, did I not say that compared to you, I can barely be considered a young man."

"Are you not afraid that I will terminate this operation right now?"

"No, you won't," Harry said with absolute certainty. "Because your devout heart has been thoroughly ignited. Let alone a Karen, at this moment, even if your family were to rise from the dead, it would not change your resolve."

...

"I say, isn't this a bit too exaggerated?" Deputy Commander Levin said, pointing at the screen in the projection.

"It's more than just a bit." Piro took a deep drag from his pipe, then exhaled slowly, "They intend to treat this knife as a single-use disposable item."

Mavallio nodded and said, "It seems a great wave is about to rise in York City next. I'm even starting to wonder exactly how high a wave is needed to match such a high-specification opening. Could it be they want a true Great Purge?"

Levin waved his fist and cursed, "I believe it now. This is absolutely not something that kid Karen cooked up. Back when he knocked me down with his God-servant certificate, he conducted himself very properly."

Piro puffed hard on his pipe, continuously blowing out clouds of smoke like a running steam locomotive.

Mavallio crossed his hands over his knees and said, "From the looks of it, it should be the York City Whip of Order Headquarters deliberately pushing him up to bear the subsequent pressure. This way, no matter what kind of major move is made next, the external pressure will have a focal point."

Upon hearing this, Levin immediately said, "Then what will happen to this kid in the future? Can he still stay in the Whip of Order? I say, this kid won't be killed by someone, right?"

Mavallio shook his head and said, "Getting killed shouldn't go that far, but the Whip of Order is probably a place he can no longer stay."

"Hehehe, cough cough cough!" Piro suddenly let out a laugh, then choked on the smoke and began to cough violently, but he still said through his coughs, "Just right... get him over... to my place... to study arrays with me."

Levin immediately countered, "What's the fun in your department? I'll arrange for him to enter the Knights. I thought this kid was an excellent prospect back then; it's a pity for him not to enter the Knights."

"The array masters in the Knights are only suited for mechanical, repetitive array operations. You are strangling a genius, you idiot!"

"You're the idiot! Your department studies broken arrays from before the era. If things go wrong, a broken array diagram might be studied for a lifetime without results. That is truly strangling talent!"

Listening to the bickering of the two old men, Piro and Levin, Mavallio gently rubbed his forehead with his fingertips:

Should he arrange a job for him in the Temple?

If he entered the Temple this way, he basically wouldn't be able to come out, and then the situation where he wasn't home or was too busy when Mavallio went to find him would no longer exist.

...

"Damn it!"

Neo cursed in a low voice, then stood up and began to straighten his clothes. Immediately after, he turned around, looked at Memphis sitting behind him, and pointed his finger upward.

These movements were not conspicuous at this time, because more than half of the people were standing.

But when Neo stepped out of his seat into the aisle and began to walk toward the podium, the surrounding gazes gradually fell upon him.

Philias, I now somewhat understand why you foolishly chose to lead a group of your supporters to roam the open sea.

I am very sorry. In the past, I thought your brain was filled with water, but now I realize you must have been fed up.

Look at us. The plan we agreed upon was directly crumpled into a ball and thrown into the wastepaper basket by others.

While thinking ourselves clever, we were played for fools.

Even before that, we never expected the blow to come from behind!

So, do you think I'll get fed up?

No, I'm not fed up. I still find it very interesting, and I want to keep playing.

They use the rules to play us, and we can use the rules to play them.

So, I still think, Philias, that your brain was filled with water, hehe.

Neo first passed the row where Minister Bernie was located. When Neo cast his gaze over, Minister Bernie also cast his gaze toward him, their eyes meeting.

Before Vicolas arrived, the headquarters was like a patch of overgrown weeds. At that time, they needed us to do things, so they supported us with all their might, even personally healing our wounds, saying we were their own people, people on the same boat.

Now, the wind has changed for the better, and the conditions have improved. When it comes to doing things together again, they think of better preserving themselves to reap more benefits, and they even treat us like rags?

Neo stopped his pace. He took the initiative to salute several ministers sitting on the outer side. Though the ministers found it baffling, they still returned the salute.

Right after, Neo stepped into the second row and came before Bernie.

From behind, or more precisely, almost all the eyes in the entire venue had gathered here at this moment, everyone seemingly anticipating what might happen next.

Neo bent down, bringing his face close to Bernie's, and then raised his hand to deploy an isolation barrier.

Subsequently, Neo began to nod his head continuously, nodding, and nodding again.

To outsiders, Neo appeared to be receiving instructions from his minister.

Inside the barrier:

"Are you thirsty, Minister? I'll have someone refill your tea."

"Alright, Minister."

"Yes, I understand, Minister."

"No problem, please rest assured!"

Bernie did not speak. Instead, he looked at Neo with a stern gaze, while slowly raising his hand.

Deep within Neo's eyes, a flash of rebellion clearly circulated. This meant that if you dare to strike, I will dare to choose the most violent resistance. Bernie's raised hand slowly lowered again.

Neo straightened his body, dissolved the isolation barrier, and said in a voice that was not very loud but loud enough to spread:

"Yes, Minister!"

Bernie's face gradually turned ashen, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

Neo returned to the aisle and continued forward. Though he cast a glance toward the first row, he made no further superfluous movements, leaping straight up onto the dais and saying to Garen:

"Stand back."

In this very moment, he, Neo, was no longer the Director of the Second Office, but the Captain of the Bloodhound Squad.

Garen took two steps back: "Yes, Captain."

Neo smiled with satisfaction. You brat, you've been teasing me for most of the day, and now don't you still have to obediently call me Captain?

When trouble truly struck, it was still up to me to stand before you and shoulder the burden.

It couldn't be helped. Who told you, kid, to only have two years left? If you really had to start over in a different place, there wouldn't be enough time no matter what.

In any case, being the Director of the Second Office was utterly tedious; I might as well throw it away to protect you through this round!

Neo reached out and gripped the back of Bishop Yeder's neck as he remained kneeling on the ground, forcing his body forward like a true prisoner.

But Bishop Yeder began to instinctively resist. He could accept humiliation from one person, but he could not endure it coming one after another.

Seeing that the other man refused to comply and even dared to resist,

Neo directly raised his foot,

And kicked straight down at the shackled Bishop Yeder.

"Thud!"

Neo's boot stomped onto Bishop Yeder's back, pinning his upper body flat against the floor.

For a moment, the entire venue fell dead silent once more!

Neo began to take deep breaths. He trusted that Memphis had the ability to control the defensive arrays here, because under the identity of "Eisen," Memphis had participated in the modification of the headquarters building's defensive arrays from start to finish. It could even be said that the entire initial blueprint was his work alone.

The problem now was that Neo worried whether Memphis could "read" his previous intention. Without his coordination, the effect would be dreadfully poor.

Neo raised his arm.

"Hum!"

In an instant, a silver-gray pillar of light cascaded down upon him.

Excellent. Perhaps Mr. Eisen was introverted and reclusive on ordinary days, but when it came to matters involving his nephew, his mind instantly became incomparably sharp.

Neo cast his gaze toward Minister Bernie sitting below.

"Hum!"

A much thicker pillar of light struck Minister Bernie's seat directly, making him the absolute focus of the entire room in a purely physical sense!

Neo spoke up:

"Having received a report, Bishop Adair, Bishop Pianis, Bishop Ferrow, Bishop Renason, and Bishop Sparky are suspected of violating the Orders of Discipline. You are now placed under arrest in accordance with the law!"

A total of seven regional bishops were present today. Bishop Yeder knelt here, Chief Bishop Wofulen sat in the first row, and the other five regional bishops—barring none—were all called out by Neo.

"Clank, clank, clank..."

From above the auditorium, thick, black iron chains began to rain down in dense clusters, binding themselves respectively around the five bishops in the second row.