As soon as He opened His Mouth, the holy light of Order enveloped everyone.
"Perhaps some of you know me, or perhaps you have never heard of me, but none of that is important.
Why the Grand Tribunal is here, I believe you all know.
Evil is spreading in Eternal Bloom Town, and sinners under the cover of night are wantonly depriving residents of their right to embrace prosperity.
This filthy and despicable act is not only a trampling of the Natural Alliance's Faith, but also a provocation to the Grand Tribunal's authority.
Order is above, judgment has come!
No sinner can escape punishment.
I, First Class Judge Mercsius, promise the Self-Governing Alliance of Eternal Bloom Town and His followers:
Today, we will definitely find the true culprit and restore peace to everyone!"
Mercsius's words were very encouraging, and many people's expressions improved noticeably, while the law enforcement officers around them looked even more expectant.
But immediately after, His tone became ice-cold and utterly playful.
"Alright, the routine announcement is over, let's discard these cumbersome restraints and get straight to the point.
I have found the murderer, He is indeed among you.
fear was once your sharp blade, but it will also be your dirge.
Under the gaze of Order, under the judgment of the Grand Tribunal, you..."
How do you plan to escape?"
Mercsius hadn't finished speaking when His gaze began to slowly move, starting from the far left, sweeping across everyone in the hall.
With every subtle angle turned, all the travelers within the area He was observing would subconsciously tense their bodies, glance left and right, and probe each other, fearing the murderer was right beside them.
This substantial pressure even made many travelers' legs tremble, almost causing them to fall.
Cheng Shi stood in the crowd, felt the sword-like gaze linger on Him for a moment, and then continue to the left, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
He was now afraid that this Judge would use the method He used to kill Yun Ni on Him, a Chaos follower, again.
Fortunately, He seemed to truly ignore the Players.
The pressure was still shifting, and panic was still brewing.
Just as Mercsius's gaze turned halfway, about to look to the right, a sudden change occurred!
Just then, a figure in a green trench coat suddenly lowered His Head, pushed aside the surrounding travelers, and crouched low, quickly rushing towards the outer edge of the crowd.
The travelers who were bumped into were stunned for a moment, and then began to shriek in fright.
"Ah!!!"
"Help! Save me!"
"Run, the murderer is going to kill someone!"
The law enforcement officers at the door, however, immediately perked up and chased after Him one after another.
"It's Him! Don't run!"
"Catch Him!"
The hall instantly became chaotic.
At the very moment this wave of chaos erupted, several Players keenly seized the opportunity and instantly reacted in completely different ways.
Fang Jue began chanting loudly, displaying His Order power without reservation, transforming it into golden chains of Order, chasing after the fleeing figure.
Du Xiguang flashed and disappeared, blocking the escapee's inevitable path as if predicting His trajectory.
But He did not obstruct this figure's escape; instead, at the right moment, with an inconspicuous movement, He 'accidentally' touched this'sinner'.
As for Cheng Shi...
He disappeared.
The moment the crowd scattered, He disguised Himself as a startled traveler and rushed out of the first floor's blockade, quickly running to the second floor.
But His action was not because He was scared, nor was it to save His life, but to search for clues!
Slacking off is impossible, it's impossible to slack off in this life.
This game is so exciting, you'll die if you slack off for a bit, it won't give you a chance to rest at all.
If you want to survive, you can only constantly stimulate your potential!
As early as the first day He investigated the hotel, Cheng Shi silently recorded the appearances of all the travelers in the hotel and the rooms they were staying in.
The moment the figure in the green trench coat moved, He immediately locked onto this person's identity.
Troubadour!
A Troubadour who claimed to be from the northern Kanliwar Empire.
The travelers in the hotel were in a state of panic due to the murder, and it was also thanks to the instigation of a few busybodies, led by Him!
In fact, when Cheng Shi knew there was a half-artifact like When Fear Arrives, He had also suspected this Troubadour.
As the saying goes, to do a good job, one must first sharpen His tools; to kill with fear, the best way is to first spread fear!
And the profession of Troubadour is most suitable for doing this openly and honestly.
They like to tell stories, especially chilling ones.
It was just that at that time, He was still shocked by Wei Guan's death, and His mind wasn't sharp, or rather, He couldn't make a clear judgment.
But now, everything matched up.
There was never any case of seeing a snake in the reflection of a bow; the reason He saw a snake was because that 'bow' was originally made of a snake!
The killer had already laid all the groundwork, just waiting for this half-artifact to prove itself:
When Fear Arrives!
Cheng Shi's footsteps were fast; He weaved among the fleeing travelers and soon arrived outside the Troubadour's room.
His thoughts were different from the other two.
Fang Jue clearly felt that the Grand Tribunal held absolute dominance after arriving; helping the Grand Tribunal pursue the murderer at this time might provide more convenience in the subsequent investigation and actions.
And Du Xiguang's idea was more direct: as long as He could touch someone, reading their memory would suffice.
What Cheng Shi was thinking was:
When a murderer confirms He has been locked onto, His first reaction must be to clear His suspicion.
And the simplest and most effective way to clear suspicion is to discard the murder weapon.
But a half-artifact is not something that can be casually discarded, so Cheng Shi was more inclined to believe He hid His dagger rather than throwing it away.
He came to the Troubadour's room immediately because He wanted to find some clues that could reveal the content of the Trial.
If He could 'happen' to find that dagger, that would naturally be for the best.
However, when Cheng Shi arrived at the room door like a ghost and personally pushed it open, in the room...
Someone was already there.
Before His Eyes was a man stripped to the waist, with veins bulging all over His Body, exerting force with His entire Body!
Ascetic Monk!
It was that follower of silence!
Cheng Shi was greatly startled, blinking His Eyes in confusion.
No wonder He could never see His figure; even after everyone was brought to the first floor by the Grand Tribunal, He hadn't seen Him.
So, He had also noticed the Troubadour's identity.
However, no matter how solitary Players were, they were still considered His own people, especially since He and the Ascetic Monk belonged to the same Fate, chaos; there was no hatred due to opposing Faiths, so He didn't need to worry too much.
But the other party's state...
Something wasn't right.
The Ascetic Monk clearly heard the door being pushed open, but He did not turn around.
His Hand seemed to be tightly gripping something, and He was tensing His Body, gathering strength, and resisting with all His might.
Cheng Shi saw the clue, felt that His state was declining, so He quickly cast a healing spell on Him.
A Priest's duty: Can't stand seeing teammates with less than full health bars.
Who knew the follower of Silence didn't appreciate it at all; He had set up a Silence Domain at some point, and the healing spell immediately became ineffective within the domain.
"?"
He's another one who hogs everything?
Cheng Shi was furious, and opened His Mouth to curse in a low voice:
"Don't pretend to be mute, if you don't speak, I'll call people!"
The Ascetic Monk's momentum clearly paused; after a few breaths, He clenched His Teeth and tremblingly turned half His Body.
As soon as He turned, Cheng Shi saw that His Hands were holding something.
Looking closely, it was a dagger emitting an eerie red light, struggling fiercely under His restraint.
"!!??"
When Fear Arrives!?