When the scorching light destroyed the defense system and pierced through the entire Fire Punishment from top to bottom with unstoppable force, the ten-thousand-ton giant ship trembled for a moment. The passengers on board swayed with the ship's overall vibration, and many fell as they lost their footing during the shaking.
The scorching light only lasted for an instant before disappearing without a trace. In the hall of the Fire Punishment, everyone stared in astonishment at the spot where the scorching light had vanished. Hajeta, who had been running there moments before, was now completely gone, replaced by two large holes, two to three meters in diameter, on the floor and ceiling. The previously quiet environment was now filled with blaring alarms and extreme noise.
"Report! Captain Clifton, the emergency shield has been breached, and the ship's bottom has been penetrated. Our vessel is taking on a large amount of water!" A priest burst through the door and stumbled into the hall, shouting urgently at Captain Clifton. Upon hearing the priest's words, Captain Clifton's grim face fell again, and he immediately spoke.
"Immediately use all efforts to stop the leak!"
"Yes!" After responding, the reporting priest quickly ran back. Captain Clifton then quickly turned his gloomy gaze towards Sister Evi, the ethereal Sister who was slightly floating nearby, and said with barely suppressed anger.
"Sister Evi... do you know what you're doing?!"
"Of course I know. I am protecting a key witness from harm..." Facing Captain Clifton's words, Sister Evi spoke calmly, while Captain Clifton continued, his anger undiminished.
"You are killing someone! Killing on the Fire Punishment! Killing on the Inquisition's territory without my permission! And you damaged the Fire Punishment! Do you know the consequences of this?!"
"Consequences? What consequences could there be? Do you intend to judge me? Do you, a mere Captain Clifton, have the qualifications to judge me? Let alone you, even if Grand Inquisitor Klama came, he would need the Holy See or the Cardinal Council's approval to judge me. If you appeal to the Cardinal Council, I also suggest you report the video recording of you holding back your own people and allowing the culprit to harm an important witness just now. Let's see what the final result is?"
Facing Captain Clifton, who was visibly furious, Sister Evi spoke slowly with a calm expression. Hearing Sister Evi's words, Captain Clifton's face twisted. He gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, then said through gritted teeth.
"Sister Evi... don't push your luck!"
"Then I also advise Inquisitor Captain Clifton to be more restrained in your actions and more upright in your attitude. If you continue to mess around unfairly like this, then the force I use will not be just what it was just now. To ensure that a major scandal like the Fire Punishment being sunk by friendly fire from the saint church does not happen, I think both sides should exercise restraint and refocus the matter on the case."
Sister Evi continued to speak to Captain Clifton calmly and indifferently. Although her words were detached, they conveyed a great pressure that was difficult to resist. For a moment, Captain Clifton felt himself shrink under this pressure. He could only suppress his anger, and after glancing at Robert and Ma'ad, who were in front of him with ashen faces, he said through gritted teeth.
"Good... good... Let's put other things aside for now and return to the case..." Saying this, Captain Clifton's face turned grim as he turned his head and looked towards the center of the magic circle in the middle of the hall. There was Prince Mazhar's spirits, which had been successfully summoned and were also greatly frightened by the scorching light just now. Just as he was about to ask something, Robert, whose face had been ashen, suddenly stood up and shouted loudly at Captain Clifton.
"Captain!"
Hearing Robert's words, Captain Clifton turned his head and looked at Robert, who was standing in front of his seat, his face horrified and full of expectation as he looked at him. Facing such a Robert, Captain Clifton glanced at Sister Evi on the other side, who had a calm expression, then sighed inwardly. Finally, he focused his gaze on Prince Mazhar's spirits.
"Prince Mazhar, do you remember how you died?"
"I..." Facing Captain Clifton's words, Prince Mazhar's spirits was slightly confused at first, then the expression on his face became determined, showing pain and anger. He turned around and looked at Robert and Ma'ad nearby.
"I was strangled! Strangled to death alive! After I was shot at the station, my consciousness was blurred, and then I was taken to a room and locked up. They lied to me and said they would treat me here, but two days later they killed me directly!
"I recognize... they are from the City Guard! They are subordinates of the Mayor here, Robert! The person who strangled me... was none other than the Captain of the Guard named Hajeta! He is definitely Robert's man! I was completely killed by Robert!
"Also... and my uncle Ma'ad, he is very close to Robert. That day I went to the station for the welcome ceremony, and it was Ma'ad who insisted that I go! He must have conspired with Robert to send me to my death!"
With obvious anger, Prince Mazhar's spirits pointed at Robert and Ma'ad and shouted loudly. The summoner nearby broadcast the spirits' words in the hall almost simultaneously.
Listening to these words, the people in the hall fell silent. Captain Clifton rubbed his forehead in frustration. Robert, whose face was ashen, his legs went weak and he slumped onto his chair. Ma'ad nearby opened his mouth wide and fainted from fright. Sister Evi's face remained unmoved as she surveyed the whole scene with indifference. Vanya clasped her hands in front of her chest and began to pray.
Meanwhile, on the deck of the Fire Punishment, countless crew members were busy repairing the damage caused to the Fire Punishment by the scorching light not long ago. One of the crew members sat down to rest after working hard. During this process, he couldn't help but look up at the dense clouds in the sky, towards the gap in the clouds where the scorching light had shot down.
In the thick clouds, the crew member's "Light" power operated slightly. Then, in his eyes, above the heavy clouds, a huge outline seemed to appear.
...
Just as the confrontation on the Fire Punishment was ongoing, on the other side of Kankdar's foreign residential area, Dorothy, dressed in a short-sleeved dress, was sitting in a cafe, drinking a cup of coffee and looking out at the scene of the distant pier. Just a short while ago, she had seen the dazzling scorching light that descended from the sky and vanished in an instant.
'What powerful destructive force, that Sister Evi... I didn't expect there to be such an existence in the Church faction supporting Vanya. It seems they are really taking Vanya seriously...
'But thanks to this Sister Evi being here, we can confront the Kankdar officials and the Inquisition. Otherwise, we would have had to carry Vanya and run away overnight...'
While drinking coffee, Dorothy thought to herself. By remotely observing the entire confrontation process from Vanya's perspective, Dorothy already knew that the general matters on the Fire Punishment were mostly concluded. The general situation was within Dorothy's expectations. The only thing that surprised her was possibly Sister Evi's action. After observing Sister Evi's method of action, Dorothy had a few more conjectures about Sister Evi.
'Phew... Anyway, if everything goes smoothly with the Fire Punishment, this matter in Kankdar is almost concluded. Then, the next step is some minor details...'
Saying that, Dorothy focused her attention on another direction in Kankdar.
...
In Kankdar's foreign residential area, on a bustling street, Naifnis, wearing a long robe, headscarf, and face veil, was standing at the edge of an intersection. In front of her were crowds of people coming and going and horse-drawn carriages on the road. On the opposite side of the road, in the direction Naifnis was facing, was a pawnshop with a rather large facade.
"According to the address... it should be here..."
Looking at the pawnshop's facade, Naifnis murmured. Then she carefully crossed the road and came to the street on the other side. After looking around here for a while, she stepped onto the stairs and walked into the pawnshop.
Inside the pawnshop, Naifnis glanced at the somewhat luxurious decoration around her, then looked at the several counters in the hall. After observing carefully, she walked directly towards one of the unoccupied counters. After a short while, she reached the front of the counter.
"Welcome, are you here to pawn something?" Seeing Naifnis walk over, the clerk behind the counter greeted her politely. Naifnis nodded and then asked the clerk.
"I would like to inquire, do you accept Stone Core coins here?"
"Stone Core coins..."
Hearing Naifnis's words, a strange look appeared in the clerk's expression. After sizing up Naifnis in front of him, he spoke again.
"Madam, we do accept Stone Core coins here, but I don't accept them here. You need to go to the appraisal counter. If you really want to pawn Stone Core coins, I can take you there."
"Then I would be grateful."
Naifnis replied to the clerk. Then the clerk came out from behind the counter and walked towards one side of the hall. Naifnis followed closely behind. After walking to the edge of the hall, the clerk opened a small door and walked in. Naifnis immediately followed him into the door.
Behind the door was a narrow, long corridor. Naifnis walked along the corridor, and Naifnis followed all the way. After turning a few corners and passing a few intersections, a iron door appeared at the end of the corridor. The clerk walked to the iron door and then turned to Naifnis and said.
"Okay, we've arrived. The transaction you need can be completed inside."
"Thank you." Naifnis replied to the clerk's words. Then, after watching him leave for a distance, Naifnis turned back to face the iron door, reached out and opened it, then walked in decisively.
Behind the iron door was a relatively small stone room. The stone room was surrounded by airtight stone walls. Gas lamps were hung on the stone walls to provide weak light to the stone room. On the stone wall in front, a small window was opened. The window was sealed with iron plate, and several holes were punched in the iron plate to connect the stone room with the space behind. A chair was placed in front of the window.
The scene before Naifnis was not unfamiliar. Last year, she had seen similar rooms in Tivian. That's right, this was a secret trading room inside a White Stone Craftsmen's Guild outpost, used for trading various secret items. This pawnshop was the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild's outpost in Kankdar.
After casually glancing at the scene inside the stone room, Naifnis sat down on the chair in front of the window. Then she looked at the window sealed with iron plate in front of her and spoke.
"I want to confirm the assets in my account and withdraw a portion."
"Voucher."
A low voice came from inside the window. After hearing it, Naifnis searched inside her long robe, then took out a golden ring and handed it towards the window. An opening was made in the iron plate at the window, and the ring was taken in.
After that, Naifnis sat on the chair and waited slowly. After waiting for about two minutes, an unexpected voice came from behind the window.
"This is... the voucher of Baruk's first heir, Crown Prince Mazhar?"
"Yes." Facing the doubt from inside the window, Naifnis nodded directly in response, and a voice immediately came from behind the window.
"As far as we know, Prince Mazhar was assassinated a few days ago. Who are you to him?"
"This... asking for customer information is not your Craftsmen's Guild's style, is it?" Hearing the words from behind the window, Naifnis continued, and the window responded.
"We have no intention of inquiring about customer information, but we must also ensure that the customer's assets are properly stored. Madam, if you want to take away Prince Mazhar's belongings, you must prove that Prince Mazhar agreed to let you use his assets during his lifetime.
"Otherwise, you must prove that you have a sufficiently close blood relationship with Prince Mazhar, or that you are directly his wife. However, as far as I know, Prince Mazhar was not married."
The voice inside the window sounded again. Hearing these words, Naifnis took a deep breath, then took out a folder from her long robe, which contained a stack of documents.
"This contains Prince Mazhar's personally signed will. The will clearly states that if he dies, he will leave all his property to me. This has Mazhar's handwriting, spirits seal, blood seal, and the special seal of the King of Baruk. You can see for yourselves."
Saying this, Naifnis handed the folder in her hand over. After a slight hesitation, a hand reached out from the window and took the folder.