Chapter 261 : Chapter 261
Chapter 261. The Dust Settled
A deathly silence filled the great hall. Immediately after, as though boiling water had been poured into a pan of oil, an irrepressible uproar erupted.
“Demons? Are they truly demons?”
“Heavens, this is simply unbelievable...”
“The fortress’s high-ranking officials were infiltrated by demons? Then could our territories also...”
The nobles whispered among themselves, and panic spread like a plague along both sides of the long table.
Amid all the clamor, the Minister of Finance, who sat on the left side of the long table, did not look well either. He sat silently in his high-backed chair, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.
He had lost.
He had lost completely and utterly.
Originally, he had intended to use the pretext of “exhaustive divination” to nail Logaris to the pillar of shame, then use that to ruthlessly suppress the Northern Territory and the Third Princess’s faction.
But who could have imagined that the proof the old charlatan Moros brought back would not only be Logaris’s flawless alibi, but would also expose an insider colluding with demons? This was fucking equivalent to feeding merit directly into Logaris’s mouth!
“Ahem.”
A deep, penetrating cough suddenly echoed beneath the dome of the Golden Rose Palace.
The Minister of Military Affairs rose to his feet and rapped the tabletop with his heavily callused hand, forcefully breaking the chaotic atmosphere. He held another battle report in his hand, one written personally by the veteran general Karlsas.
“Besides Master Moros capturing the insider, there is also a battle report from the front line. It was written personally by the veteran general Karlsas.”
His gaze swept across the entire hall like a hawk’s. His voice was deep and powerful, making the silver candlesticks on the table tremble faintly.
“The battle report confirms that during the critical moment when His Highness the Second Prince went missing and the command system was completely paralyzed, it was Professor Logaris who decisively stepped forward.”
The expressions of several nobles close to the Second Prince changed. Their lips moved as if they wanted to argue, but the Minister of Military Affairs’s sharp gaze nailed them firmly to their seats.
“Professor Logaris forcibly took over the defenses, mobilized the Northern Territory Magitech Legion, and carried out precise fire coverage.”
The Minister of Military Affairs shook the parchment.
“He prevented the fortress from falling. More importantly, he saved the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.”
The Minister of Military Affairs paused. He slammed the parchment heavily onto the table, his tone carrying undisguised admiration.
“Gentlemen. This was a great victory. A textbook example of crisis rescue. Professor Logaris rendered an extraordinary service.”
As soon as his words fell, a cool female voice rang out.
“Since it was a great victory, should some accounts not be settled?”
Viscountess Eleanor rose to her feet and elegantly adjusted the hem of her dress, but the look in her beautiful eyes was as sharp as a blade, stabbing straight toward the Minister of Finance opposite her.
“A few days ago, right here in this hall, someone made an extremely serious presumption of guilt against our meritorious contributor. He forcibly listed a scholar who had shed blood and sweat on the border as a prime suspect for colluding with demons.”
Viscountess Eleanor gave a cold laugh and pressed forward step by step, unleashing her full presence.
“Now the truth has come to light. I would like to ask Your Excellency, Minister of Finance: aside from humiliating a hero who had just risked his life on the front line, and aside from chilling the hearts of the soldiers, what practical use did your theory of ‘exhaustive divination’ have?”
Facing Viscountess Eleanor’s murderous gaze, the Minister of Finance’s expression did not change. He even snorted coldly, his tone still forceful and self-righteous.
“Your Excellency the Viscountess, mind your words! Before the truth was clear, anyone could be a suspect. His Highness’s disappearance concerns the foundation of the kingdom. Even a top scholar must accept an investigation! Initiating ‘exhaustive divination’ was an extremely necessary routine procedure. How could it be called humiliation?!”
“Does a routine procedure require using a ‘retrospective array’ to pry into the privacy of a top scholar?” Viscountess Eleanor slammed the table, her voice suddenly rising and echoing beneath the dome.
“This is blatant political persecution! This is a desecration of merit! If there is no explanation for this matter, who will dare to serve the kingdom in the future? Who will dare to step forward in a moment of crisis?!”
Facing Viscountess Eleanor’s relentless pressure, the Minister of Finance did not fly into a rage. His eyelids lowered slightly, concealing the sharp gleam that flashed through his eyes.
Of course, he knew there were still suspicious points around Logaris.
The deployment time of the Northern Territory’s magitech armored train was very suspicious. It had happened too early. This was clearly a premeditated military mobilization. As long as they dug deeper along this line, they would absolutely be able to expose a whole pile of filth from the Northern Territory.
But... he could not keep biting down on this matter.
What Moros had brought back was not only Logaris’s “innocence,” but also “ironclad evidence” of collusion with demons. Gerald, the witness, and the silver mirror that shielded divination had completely pinned the blame for murdering the Second Prince and triggering the beast tide.
At present, the “descent of demons” was the Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone’s head. It was an absolute red line that surpassed all partisan struggle.
If, in order to suppress the Northern Territory, he insisted on continuing to make trouble in the face of such ironclad evidence, he would instead appear to be a “fool with no sense of the bigger picture.” He might even be bitten back by his political enemies, who would accuse him of deliberately shielding demons.
He was a seasoned politician, and he knew very well when to bite and when to let go.
The Minister of Finance coldly glanced around. Several nobles who usually called him brother were now all staring at their noses and their noses at their hearts, lowering their heads and pretending to study the patterns on the floor, for fear of bringing disaster upon themselves.
He sneered inwardly, then shut his mouth and calmly leaned back into his high-backed chair, adopting an attitude of “I will not lower myself to argue with this woman,” silently accepting this retreat.
Just as the atmosphere fell into a brief stalemate, the Prime Minister, seated at the head of the table, tiredly rubbed his brow.
“Enough.”
The Prime Minister’s aged yet extremely authoritative voice rang out. He leaned forward, braced his elbows heavily against the edge of the long table, and interlaced his fingers beneath his chin.
“Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, there is no need to continue dwelling on it. The Minister of Finance also acted out of public interest. It is only that his methods... were indeed inappropriate.” The Prime Minister glanced at Viscountess Eleanor. Then his expression became extremely grave.
“The urgent matter now is not to pursue who was at fault, but the ‘demons.’”
The Prime Minister’s torch-like gaze swept over all the kingdom’s important ministers present.
“Gentlemen, demons have not left such clear traces in the present world for nearly a thousand years. The last time Hell’s tentacles reached toward the continent was during the turbulent era of Mad King Maxim.”
The Prime Minister’s voice was low, carrying a chill that could not be ignored. “A demon capable of completely shielding high-tier divination, an insider capable of silently infiltrating the core layer of Scream Fortress... This is absolutely not an accidental border friction. This is Hell testing the present world.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the great hall seemed to drop to freezing point. Everyone realized the severity of the situation from those words.
No matter how fierce partisan conflict became, it was still within the framework of humanity.
But once demons invaded in force, every person seated here would die without a burial place.
“This matter has already surpassed the scope of secular military affairs.” After a moment of contemplation, the Prime Minister made his decision. “Send word to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Have them immediately draft a state letter of the highest level and dispatch a special envoy to the Holy Land.”