It was morning, and the bright sunlight streamed into the spacious room. The space, covered with a vibrant carpet, was adorned with countless armors and weapons on both sides. A huge Light Sun emblem hung on the wall, and beneath it was a large desk. Behind the desk sat a handsome man with golden short hair, wearing a red robe, looking intently at a document in his hand. A hint of solemnity was evident in his brows.
Suddenly, the door of the large room was knocked on urgently. The knocking sound was slightly hurried, causing Hilbert, who was reading the document, to pause slightly. Then, he glanced at the door that was being knocked on and spoke.
"Come in."
Responding to Hilbert's words, the door of the room was pushed open. A tall man with a buzz cut, wearing a combination of a priest's robe and armor, and with a serious expression, quickly walked in. He walked to Hilbert's desk and, without waiting for Hilbert to say anything, spoke with an eager expression.
"Captain! Something big has happened in Adus! I just heard that Adis was suddenly hit by a severe thunderstorm. The high-ranking officials of the Adis Revolutionary Army suffered heavy losses, and almost the entire high command was wiped out! Half of the entire city of Adis was destroyed! It is said that the Revolutionary Army desecrated some ancient god of Adus and was punished by the divine!
"The high-ranking officials of the Adus Revolutionary Army are gone, and the entire Adus is about to fall into chaos!"
Standing before Hilbert's desk, the man named Blake spoke in a slightly raised voice. Listening to him, the expression on Hilbert's face showed no fluctuation. He looked calmly at Blake, watching him silently until Blake became a little flustered, and then slowly spoke.
"First, Adis was indeed hit by a thunderstorm, and the Adus Revolutionary Army did suffer heavy losses because of it, but it was far from being completely wiped out. Then, the thunderstorm in Adis was concentrated in the temple in the eastern suburbs and the royal palace in the city. Although it caused great destruction, it did not affect other areas outside these two places. Besides the Revolutionary Army... no one else died in the thunderstorm. Also... this was not a divine punishment personally sent down by a god from outside, but a terrestrial cult claiming to be the god's agent carrying out a purification..."
Hilbert calmly corrected Blake. Hearing Hilbert's words, Blake couldn't help but be slightly stunned, apparently not expecting the other party to be so clearly aware of the situation in Adis thousands of miles away. So he blurted out.
"Uh... Captain, have you already received detailed information from there?"
Listening to Blake's words, Hilbert did not answer directly. Instead, he put the document he had been holding on the desk and then spoke.
"Yesterday morning, the confidential department received an urgent encrypted report from the Adis diplomatic mission, reporting the sudden changes in Adus. In the evening, a detailed report on this change was received. Sister Vanya, the special envoy, personally wrote the entire process of the change in Adis and the current situation in Adis in the confidential report. This morning, the Cardinal Council has already had a preliminary discussion on this..."
Hilbert said this to Blake in a calm tone. Listening to Hilbert's words, Blake was slightly startled, and then spoke with some embarrassment.
"Ah... so that's how it is. I'm very sorry, Captain. I was just excited when I heard this rumor and came to find you without carefully verifying it, so there are many errors. Please forgive me..."
"I didn't expect that under such a serious disaster, the special envoy mission of that Sister should also have suffered heavy casualties. I didn't expect them to still be able to survive, so I thought the Cardinal Council here didn't know the specific news yet."
Blake said to Hilbert in an apologetic tone. Seeing Blake's appearance, Hilbert did not mean to blame him, but continued to speak.
"Those rumors outside have been passed on who knows how many times, and it is not surprising that there are even more errors. Although that special envoy mission also suffered a lot of losses in that change, they were not completely wiped out. What is more important is that according to the report of that little Sister, the lightning disaster did not kill all the high-ranking officials of the Adus Revolutionary Army, but only killed a part of them... and it happened to be the part of the Savior Sect otherworld. Most of the rest, who were not closely related to those otherworld, remained..."
"What... only the otherworld part was killed?"
Listening to Hilbert's words, Blake's expression showed obvious surprise. He did not expect that this lightning disaster would also choose who to strike, with little collateral damage.
"Yes, only the otherworld leader of the Savior Sect, Mukhtar and his immediate subordinates died in the lightning disaster. In addition, Shadi of the secular faction was almost completely unharmed. The reason is that those otherworld occupied the temple of the ancient god Judge of Heaven of North Wu and committed some desecration, which attracted targeted retaliation. Just when they were having the third round of negotiations with the special envoy mission, a North Wu woman calling herself a priest of Judge of Heaven, named Isis, appeared in Adis, attracted the lightning disaster, and destroyed almost all the Savior Sect otherworld in Adis..."
Hilbert continued to explain to Blake. Listening to Hilbert's words, the look of disbelief on Blake's face deepened. He continued to speak.
"Mukhtar... According to the previous intelligence, wasn't that a Scarlet Precepts Cult Lord? That is the highest leader of the otherworld in Adus. The power of that thunderstorm was actually enough to kill a Scarlet?!"
"Also... if the thunderstorm suddenly occurred during the third round of negotiations, wouldn't it be a little too coincidental? According to the information sent back by our own people, this negotiation is definitely impossible to succeed. This final third round of negotiations is when the negotiations break down. At this time, a cult of an ancient god suddenly appeared and wiped out the otherworld faction, and also left the secular faction. Then, wouldn't the Adus Revolutionary Army now be entirely controlled by the secular faction? Then, wouldn't the result of this negotiation be..."
Blake said with a slightly ominous expression. Through their own people embedded in the special envoy mission's guard team, they had always been clearly aware of the information about the special envoy mission's negotiations. They knew the stubbornness and inflexibility of the otherworld forces within the Revolutionary Army. As long as these otherworld forces in the Revolutionary Army were still there, the negotiations would not be successful. And now, the high-ranking officials of the otherworld forces were inexplicably wiped out, which increased the uncertainty of the entire negotiation.
For a moment, Blake immediately became worried. He was worried that this negotiation would lead to a result he did not hope for because of this change. And it seemed that Hilbert saw the worry in Blake's eyes, and directly shattered Blake's illusion of hope.
"In the report of that little Sister, it has been clearly stated that they have reached a secret agreement with Shadi, the sole leader of the Adus Revolutionary Army. Shadi guaranteed the special envoy mission that he has drawn a clear line with the Savior Sect otherworld, and after clearing the remaining otherworld forces in Adus and consolidating his own power, he will immediately publicly ban the Savior Sect faith throughout Adus, prohibit any missionary activities of the Savior Sect in Adus, publicly declare that the new Adus government will absolutely uphold the religious authority of Holy Mountain and the orthodox status of the Three Saints faction, and also actively request us to station troops on the border of Adus and send an Archbishop to supervise closely.
"Heh... I really didn't expect it. She actually succeeded in the negotiation job we found for that little Sister."
With a hint of self-mocking bitter smile, Hilbert explained to Blake. Hearing Hilbert's words, Blake was stunned in place for a moment, and after a long while, he murmured.
"It succeeded... it really succeeded. This... could this be a little too coincidental? Captain, this matter is too much of a coincidence! This Judge of Heaven cult, which has never been heard of before, suddenly appeared at this crucial point... wiped out all the high-ranking otherworld in Adis, and then made that little Sister successful!? The reason is just because they desecrated the temple... This is too outrageous."
Blake said to Hilbert in surprise. Sending Vanya to Adus to get involved in this muddy water was their open scheme, wanting Vanya to be stained and blackened by this muddy water, and to let the people on Amanda's side be backfired by their own propaganda. But they did not expect that Vanya had not been stained by the muddy water yet, instead, the muddy water mysteriously disappeared on its own! This would make a lot of people think that this was Vanya's credit, that it was her credit that purified the muddy water!
Hilbert's overt scheme has now backfired due to this inexplicable lightning strike. This made Blake feel a sense of urgency. He could already foresee how Amanda and others would use this matter for propaganda once Shadi officially announced Adus's respect for the Three Saints faith. Last time, they managed to praise the Sister as an evangelist for the matter involving over a hundred thousand people in Natsuki. This time, for the matter involving twenty million people in Adus, wouldn't she be directly praised as a saint!
Thinking of the actions of those in Amanda's faction afterwards, Blake couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. After slightly stomping his foot on the spot, he continued to speak to Hilbert.
"Captain, listen to me. There's definitely something wrong with the matter in Adis... The strangeness is too great... Especially... the strangeness about that Sister..."
Blake analyzed to Hilbert, his tone clearly showing doubt. Listening to Blake's words, Hilbert's expression didn't fluctuate much. He slowly brewed himself a cup of tea, and while brewing, he spoke briefly.
"You mean..."
"Captain, think about it. That Sister's luck is simply too good. As soon as the third negotiation finished, it was announced that her negotiation had failed. Then, suddenly, a Judge of Heaven appeared out of nowhere, striking down all the otherworld and perfectly completing her mission. This coincidence is too unbelievable.
"Natsuki and Adus, this little Sister has twice escaped danger. The incident in Natsuki is still understandable because someone from Ebergrass was secretly causing trouble and messed things up. But this time in Adus is hard to explain. What Judge of Heaven? I've never heard of it before. What ancient Lord is it from who knows when? Now, not only are there still people who believe in it, but it has also come forward to punish the blasphemers. Why didn't it come out earlier? Why didn't it come out? Why did it choose to come out during the third negotiation, completing that little Sister's mission? This is too suspicious..."
"Captain, the timing of this Judge's appearance is so coincidental. It has the ability to destroy Scarlet Extraordinary but has only just revealed itself. There are too many questionable points. I suspect that little Sister must have some connection with them, maybe she is a chess piece planted by that Judge within the saint church. Their clearing of the otherworld in Adis was intentionally done to give that little Sister credit, wanting her to climb higher within the Church and gain more power before acting against the saint church... So I believe the Judge should detain and strictly question this little Sister!"
Blake said with a determined expression and a stern tone to Hilbert. Listening to Blake's words, Hilbert put down his tea cup, stared at him for a moment, and then spoke.
"You want the Judge to take her... Do you have any evidence?"
"No, but you know that evidence of otherworld is usually slowly extracted by the Judge after the person is apprehended. As long as there are sufficient questionable points, the Judge has the power to arrest people, and once the person is in hand, there's no fear of not being able to produce evidence. I used to work in the Judge, and this is absolutely clear. As long as you say something to Captain Klama, I think he should help with this matter..."
Blake spoke with certainty, seemingly confident in detaining a representative of the special delegation based solely on questionable points. When Hilbert heard that Blake hadn't presented any evidence, he looked away, picked up his tea cup again, and started drinking tea. While drinking, he spoke.
"Your suggestion, Klama already mentioned it at the Cardinal Council meeting this morning, but after discussion, it was debated and rejected by Amanda. The Cardinal Council does not currently approve of any investigation into that little Sister without direct evidence..."
"What... Could it be that the other Cardinal Archbishops aren't suspicious of the Judge of Heaven appearing so coincidentally?" Blake said strangely, and Hilbert continued to answer.
"There are suspicions, but they have a more credible explanation for the origin of the Judge of Heaven."
"A more credible explanation..."
"Yes... In fact, among the various reports from the special delegation, there is a more detailed description of the upheaval in Adis. On that final negotiation day, the first to attack was not that Judge of Heaven, but the Adus Revolutionary Army's Savior Sect led by Mukhtar.
"According to the report, there have long been deep contradictions and conflicts between the Savior Sect and the secular faction within the Adus Revolutionary Army. During these few days of negotiation, the secular faction leader Shadi's long-term silence had already angered the Savior Sect, even causing Mukhtar to leave early during the second negotiation. And in the third negotiation, Mukhtar even led troops to surround the palace where the negotiation was taking place, intending to forcibly eliminate our delegation and force Shadi to make a statement and hand over power..."
Hilbert said this, and listening to this detailed intelligence from faraway Adus, Blake's eyes widened.
"What... So... that group of otherworld planned to stage a coup and seize power on the day of the third negotiation?"
"Yes, therefore, there is no such thing as the third negotiation breaking down. This was entirely a negotiation of force.
"According to the report, on the day of the third negotiation, Mukhtar led his troops to attack our delegation, but Shadi seemed to have known about this coup in advance. Not only did his personal guards suddenly join the battle midway and attack the otherworld forces, but Shadi's close guard troops also surrounded the palace after the otherworld forces entered it, launching an attack on Mukhtar's otherworld. All the troops were deployed in advance, as if they had anticipated Mukhtar's actions.
"During the chaotic battle in the palace, the lightning summoned by the Judge of Heaven only struck the otherworld. Not only did it not harm our delegation, but it also did not harm Shadi's troops. Although he had anticipated Mukhtar's actions in advance, instead of fleeing when facing a Scarlet, he launched his troops in an active counterattack. Shadi, as a Chalk, dared to confront Mukhtar, a Scarlet. This proves that he must have found powerful assistance beforehand."
Hilbert narrated this. Listening to Hilbert's words, Blake blinked his eyes, then tentatively inquired.
"So... the Cardinal Council believes that the Judge of Heaven is actually related to Shadi? That it was the reinforcements Shadi found after he knew about Mukhtar's plan in advance?"
"Yes, that is indeed the current thinking of most Cardinal Archbishops.
"Shadi was a treasure hunter in his early years. According to information gathered from the North Wu hidden world, Shadi is quite unique among the entire North Wu treasure hunting community. He clearly did not systematically study the knowledge of the First Dynasty, yet he has a thorough grasp of the various cultural traditions of the First Dynasty and is completely at ease exploring the ruins of the First Dynasty.
"It is said that when he first started out as a treasure hunter, he could actually read the script of the First Dynasty and solve many puzzles in the ruins that even very experienced old treasure hunters couldn't solve. He relied on this deep understanding of the First Dynasty, which came from who knows where, to thrive in the North Wu treasure hunting hidden world, to the point where he could finally accumulate the capital to start a revolution. In the process of confronting Baruk, he also miraculously escaped from Baruk's Scarlet hands multiple times.
"A profound understanding of the First Dynasty, a trump card that allowed him to repeatedly escape under the pursuit of a Scarlet. Based on these, many people believe that Shadi, in the process of treasure hunting, inadvertently obtained some inheritance from the First Dynasty, which shaped him into who he is today, and the Judge of Heaven... this is precisely a major deity of the First Dynasty that has already fallen.
"Perhaps, from his inheritance, Shadi was able to obtain information about the Judge of Heaven, which has been passed down in secret, establish contact with them, gain their support, and have them assist him in sweeping away the Savior Sect otherworld.
"In the eyes of most Cardinal Archbishops, this is a very possible thing, and it is one of the conclusions of our meeting this morning. Amanda strongly advocates this view, and more Cardinal Archbishops also believe her."
Hilbert slowly recounted the situation of the Cardinal Council meeting today. Listening to Hilbert's words, Blake couldn't help but open his mouth wide.