Chapter 170 Chapter 168 Judgment (Part 2)
“Three days ago, at night, I rushed to the military camp’s safe zone and saw that the inside of the walls was piled high with headless corpses. With the stronghold collapsed and no way to escape, many people crawled out desperately before dying. I jumped in to investigate, and out of the flames came a terror wraith, who admitted that it was all his doing…”
Strange things happened. George’s straightforward language, when it reached people’s ears, formed detailed images in their minds. The horrific scene of the military camp’s safe zone, the terror wraith’s confession, and the expression of enjoyment on his face came to life vividly.
Ji Ma was no exception.
The ability of the “Judges”…
She kept it in mind and compared the images in her head with her memories, noticing they were almost identical.
Paladins cannot lie, so this ability cannot be fabricated. It must be a forced sharing of one’s observations with the audience.
While Ji Ma analyzed, she looked at the crowd below.
Many people showed sorrow, wiping away tears from their eyes. Among the more than four thousand dead, many were their friends and relatives. Some had trembling lips, showing fear.
“…The terror wraith said he immensely enjoyed the slaughter process, and he deliberately let people crawl over the walls so that innocent people would have hope, only to extinguish that hope himself, to gain more fear for the ritual of fear elevation…”
At this, many tightly pressed their lips together, their eyes gradually reddening, their fists clenching tightly.
In the crowd below, Si Zhuang’s mind was exceptionally calm. His intuition told him this was a good opportunity, so he said to a nearby person with red eyes:
“Look, this is the result of the paladin standing by.”
This sentence was like a match dropped into a dry straw pile, igniting a fire quickly.
“He ignores death.”
“He allows the terror wraith to slaughter the innocent.”
“It is he who watches coldly, even unwilling to extend a hand to help those crawling over the wall.”
Instantly, the crowd filled with whispers, buzzing like bees.
George said, “…Later I fought the terror wraith, and with Ji Ma’s help, barely defeated him. Before he escaped, he said his ritual was ready, and then he ran towards the noble area.”
Hmph, at least he remembered my contributions. If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead by now.
Ji Ma raised her chin, crossing her arms.
The murmurings in the crowd grew louder. At first, people feared George’s power, speaking softly, but now it had turned into half-public accusations.
“He admits he drove the terror wraith to the noble area!”
“It must have been agreed upon with that group of slaves. My uncle served as a soldier on the bridge. He said a fire waterfall suddenly fell from the sky, burning all the soldiers on the bridge to death!”
Si Zhuang’s neck grew thick with anger, and his earlobes turned red.
Indeed, that guy caused the noble area to fall. He is the one who caused Lily to die, he sees death as a mere spectator. Poor Lily even begged for help from this hypocritical creature before she died.
Seeing the crowd unusually angry, George said, “Do you have any questions? You can raise your hands.”
Everyone quieted down, looking at each other. As Si Zhuang raised his hand, ready to question him fiercely and expose his true nature, patrons from the tavern next to him all began to raise their hands.
George pointed to one, and that patron shouted hoarsely:
“What is your intent in luring the terror wraith to the noble area?!”
George answered fluently without hesitation:
“The terror wraith was originally holding a ritual in the noble area because he had the support of the Great Benefactor. To stop the ritual as soon as possible, I rode my warhorse into the noble area. I saw the ritual site surrounded by the Great Benefactor’s army, who tried their utmost to prevent me from disrupting the ritual.”
One image after another appeared in people’s minds. The conflict at the Great Benefactor’s estate, the muscular men fighting for their lives…
The strong impact of the truth on their entrenched beliefs caused many to feel confused.
Si Zhuang was affected the most. He held his head and shouted:
“No! No! This is all fake!”
But subconsciously, he believed it was true. The pain of cognitive reconstruction made many shout out loud.
“….I was exhausted, having defeated the terror wraith. At that moment, the Great Benefactor arrived. I questioned him, and he admitted to sacrificing thousands of civilians, placing the blame on me for forcing him to do so…”
George’s memory was replayed through words in the minds of most people.
They seemed to be present, witnessing that moment of questioning.
“You offered thousands of innocent people as sacrifices to the demon race. You kept slaves, isn’t a rebellion of the slaves justified? You personally destroyed Shalin City step by step.”
“Me?! Why would I do that? Wasn’t it because of your pressure? You crusaders against the Demon King only seek to satisfy your own sense of justice, forcing all of Shalin City into despair.”
“It’s your Shalin City. You have never regarded the people of Shalin City as human beings.”
“I’ve been good enough to them! They should thank me! Without me, how would they have jobs? How could they buy cheap slaves?”
Under the firelight, the Great Benefactor’s brazen expression appeared so loathsome.
Boom!
Many were cursing angrily, groaning, some utterly devoid of spirit, murmuring, “So that’s how it is, that vile Great Benefactor.”
“I knew it was him. I saw him let the nobles go first. He directly crossed the river, crushing all the small boats blocking the road.”
“Fake! Fake!” But nearly half the people screamed, “Isn’t it you? If it weren’t for you killing the Demon King, how could the Great Benefactor be forced to kill?”
“You are the murderer!”
The noisy and enraged crowd surged against the thin wall of soldiers guarding them. Because George had previously ordered against sharp weapons, the guards could only use wooden sticks to strike hard, unable to intimidate the crowd.
Watching the crowd about to lose control, Ji Ma showed a smile.
And George, unfazed, pulled down the white cloth. Revealing a head clad in a black helmet, with a pitch-black horn, its face mask filled with black holes, behind the black holes glimmered a faint red light.
It was the head of the terror wraith. Its supernatural essence was sealed in the head, preventing decay and retaining the aura of fear from before its death.
George lifted the head of the terror wraith. As he did, the red light behind the black holes flared up, emitting a wave of fear that rushed towards the angry crowd like a cold sea wave. Suddenly, most of their fury was extinguished, their legs stiffened, instinctively wanting to flee from the head.
George proclaimed passionately:
“He is the real murderer! The true murderer is all of you who do not regard your kind as human. You treat your kin as livestock, as commodities, wantonly enslaving and trading! Without oppression, where does rebellion come from? Without slavery, how could the Great Benefactor abduct my servant to sell? Without the auction, how could I have saved her? I merely saved my servant. The entire Shalin City is like a castle on the beach, easily destroyed.”
“Do you see? This is the demon brought by your slavery!”
George held the head of the terror wraith above his head.
The crowd instinctively avoided the head, falling to the ground, covering their eyes with their hands. Many cried out loud, wailing on the ground.
The painful reconstruction of cognition driven by the truths pouring into their minds had been suppressed by George.
Ji Ma sighed regretfully, realizing there would be no good show to watch.
George loudly announced:
“I declare the Great Benefactor guilty! Slavery is guilty! From now on, slave trading is prohibited! No more slavery!”
His words imprinted like a brand in people’s hearts.
Ji Ma keenly sensed the extraordinary power contained within. She speculated that this was “Judgment.”
As long as people were persuaded, and the truth was poured into their minds, their cognition reconstructed. At this time, the new order issued by the “Judge” would be imprinted in people’s hearts and gain their approval.
Although many were crying and cursing, they had subconsciously accepted it. It seemed that the method of playing the “Judge” was to overthrow the old evil order and establish a new benevolent order.
The preparations of the virgin were indeed good.
But Ji Ma didn’t feel influenced; perhaps it was because her beliefs were firm, or perhaps because she was a supernatural being.
Just when the overall situation seemed determined.
Ji Ma saw a person, his chest nearly filled with green fury, crashing through the crowd, roaring, ready to charge the stage. A group of muscular men followed him. She recognized his face; wasn’t that the great sycophant?
What was his name again?
He seemed to be a supernatural being, easily breaking through the guards’ defenses, watching how George would handle it.
Ji Ma glanced at George, only to see him bent down, pulling out a metal war hammer embedded in the table, just missing the red-haired Si Zhuang charging up.
Ji Ma’s tail suddenly lifted, targeting the red-haired Si Zhuang, and with a strong tug—his inner rage was extinguished, wobbling precariously, much like a candle blown out.
The red-haired Si Zhuang felt his anger suddenly fade, replaced by regret filling his heart. The calm and rationality driven away by his anger returned.
He suddenly realized that George had actually done nothing wrong. Wanting to save his succubus lover was entirely justified.
The terror wraith was summoned by the Great Benefactor.
The army was ordered by the Great Benefactor to occupy the bridge.
The Shadow King was also stirred up by the Great Benefactor.
He was merely venting his own impotent rage onto George.
But so what?
Wasn’t it still George’s fault? If he didn’t exist in this world, he and Lily would have had a baby by now.
Zhuang’s anger flared up again as he shouted at George:
“The destruction of Shalin City is still because of you?!”
Ji Ma scoffed and dragged Zhuang into a dream.
“Wrong, it is because of me.”
A cold male voice thundered down from above.
Zhuang was startled awake, looking up to see a nearly two-meter tall warrior, strong and robust, clad in thick black armor and draped in a pitch-black cloak. A white skull was painted on his mask.
“The Demon… Demon King Ji Ma?”
Si Zhuang’s legs went soft; he had seen Demon King Ji Ma, whose aura of fear left a profound impression on him.
“Because the Great Benefactor dared to touch my inheritance, he is merely a dog serving me.” The Demon King Ji Ma said mockingly, “When elephants fight, the ants astonishingly want to interfere, and that will lead to their family’s ruin.”
Si Zhuang slumped to the ground, blinking; what Demon King was on the stage?
It seemed like an illusion.
But Zhuang believed this was a warning.
The Demon King Ji Ma was surprisingly not dead! He must have some secret plan.
Zhuang was scared, feeling as if his heart had dropped into a cold abyss.
Stunned in place, he remained motionless.
Nearby patrons, now without a leader, scattered under the guards’ wooden sticks.
Ji Ma took the opportunity to escape from the crowd, feeling secretly delighted.
She had originally intended to scare the Great Benefactor just before his death, to let him reveal his regrets and shock at what he had done.
Unfortunately, the Great Benefactor did not die before her.
Using Zhuang to act tough, while it was not as good as showing off to the Great Benefactor, felt nice nonetheless.
Just not expected that in the end, she still couldn’t help but assist George.
Indeed, at my core, I am still a kind person.
At this moment, George finally pulled the war hammer out from the table and slammed it onto the surface, bringing silence to the scene. He loudly declared: “I will pay to redeem all slaves, restoring their status as free people, today only!”
Ji Ma’s expression darkened; she had forgotten about this.
The crowd was stunned for three or four seconds.
George announced again: “I have obtained the Demon King’s treasury, and with the money from this culprit, I will redeem the slaves at their original prices!”
The crowd reacted instantly, jumping up, cheering joyfully, some shouting: “Long live! Long live! Long live the hero!”
Their smiles were radiant, shining with joy.
Ji Ma’s face grew darker, her heart ached more as she raised her hand, covering her chest.
“What’s wrong with Ji Ma?”
“Much of people’s happiness is built on my suffering.” Ji Ma lamented, “It hurts so much, I feel like I’m going to split apart.”
