Book 2. The Grand Gathering. Chapter 28. Sentenced to Death.

Just like Rudford and the other people who supported Laien, Sinra revealed a very satisfied smile. The arguments Laien used were simple, but Sinra knew very well how hard it was to properly deliver them under pressure. What Laien did usually required quite some confidence and years of practice to pull off perfectly, but he did it regardless; this impressed Sinra quite a bit.

“May I have a voice?” Sinra stood up and directed the question to the three Grand Viscars. Now that the parties directly involved in the trial finished speaking, those who wanted to make a point themselves would usually be allowed to present it.

“Speak, seventh Prince,” the old Grand Viscar allowed Sinra to speak without doing anything unwise as trying to silence him.

“Everyone, you listened to my elder brother’s words, then to Fohan Cail and to my friend. If you could please, I wish to make a few things clear,” Sinra spoke loudly, taking a softer approach than Sauras or Fohan did. The noise in the court soon died down, though quite a few people quietly noted to themselves the fact that Sinra called Laien ‘his friend’. This was saying a thing or two about the relationship the two of them shared.

“The letter Laien brought up and showed you… I was there when it was delivered to him,” he revealed, causing a wave of shocked comments to spread throughout the Royal Court. “The reason Laien headed to the southernmost district of the Two Weeks City alone was as he said, exactly because of this letter and the threat to have his sister killed if he does otherwise. Thankfully, Laien and Siana were able to engage in a brief fight against the martial masters there, giving the Red Dragon School and the Twin Phoenix School time to rush over to the place after we informed them of what was going on,” he elaborated, pretty much rephrasing and adding a few details to what Laien said. The method was simple… but quite effective.

Sinra looked at Sauras, beginning to have an idea as to why his elder brother had suggested this whole trial to happen. The two of them exchanged a brief look and for now, Sinra chose to put off bringing up that it was Sauras who prevented him from intervening sooner. The top priority for him was to get Laien out of this muddy swamp and clear the name of his allies. Bouting with Sauras came after that.

“I quite understand Master Rudford’s anger which he had displayed at today’s trial,” Sinra brought up with a light smile and bowed his head slightly in Rudford’s direction. “The only reason we are here, to begin with, is because Master Rudford graciously agreed to hold a trial to deliver a proper, lawful punishment to the Cail family when my elder brother, Prince Sauras and I intervened to halt yesterday night’s battle. Yet, what had been done by the Cail family which should have lowered its head and accepted the punishment was nothing short of heinous. They started framing the two youths they were attempting to kill in order to preserve their own reputation and to destroy their political opponents. I can hardly blame Master Rudford for reacting the way he did,” he spoke calmly and with clear regret and a bit of accented disdain in his voice. Everything up from the tone of his words, to his gestures, expressions and body language was perfectly acted out and thus, very convincing.

Satisfied with the thoughtful reaction he got from the audience, Sinra sat back down and allowed everyone to calmly discuss everything amongst themselves. “It’s going unexpectedly well for us, but you won’t let it end like that right, elder brother? You seem to want to put your former teacher in place, but I imagine it would be troublesome for you if the Cail family suffered too much as a result of this trial,” he mused to himself, wondering what Sauras and Fohan were going to pull now.

Aware that many people were anticipating him to speak up, Sauras shook his head resignedly. It was just like Sinra imagined; he wanted to crippled Fohan’s influence through this trial, but he originally intended for both sides to wound each other and be weakened. As the case was going at the moment it would be Fohan who would end up being skewered while Sinra’s side would come out not only completely unscratched but more politically powerful than ever.

“May I speak?” Sauras stood up and said strongly, gazing at the balcony where the three Grand Viscars were sitting.

“Naturally, first Prince,” the old Grand Viscar replied.

“Little brother,” Sauras began, his words filled with regret. The court had quieted down the moment he asked for a permission to speak, so he continued smoothly. “I truly wished to settle the matters of the Royal Family privately between us, but why did you not mention that it was I who stopped you from intervening into that battle sooner and barred you from leaving the Royal Palace?” he asked, thoroughly shocking both Sinra and everybody else.

“I will tell you why you didn’t,” Sauras said with a sigh. “You promised the Red Dragon School and the Twin Phoenix School many things in return for their support, did you not? Else, why would two Great Martial Schools suddenly so strongly side with you who hadn’t even expressed his desire to obtain the throne nor did any preparations in order to do so until just about a week ago?” he inquired, the point he made causing the whole building to explode with discussions and shocked comments.

Truly, it was just like Prince Sauras was saying! They were all concerned with who was saying the truth and who was lying that they all forgot to look at the elephant in the room! It made no sense for those Great Masters and the schools behind them to support Sinra so strongly! They obviously needed to be collaborating with each other in a dishonest way! Thus, whatever they said during this trial was most probably nothing but a bunch of lies!

Sinra’s expression sank all the way to the bottom of the sea. He… he had totally forgotten to consider how his sudden alliance with those two Great Martial Schools looked to outsiders. He knew it was all thanks to Laien and Anatis and how much the two were valued and cared for by their guardians, but to someone from the outside, it looked totally suspicious and fishy. Was there even any way he could explain that to everyone? Simply telling them ‘they are helping me because Laien pushed things in motion since he felt like helping me’ wouldn’t be quite convincing, now would it?

To make the matters worse, many people started bringing up the bad blood between the Red Dragon and Twin Phoenix Schools and wondering aloud why the two suddenly stopped competing and became what seemed best friends and buddies. Could it be the two Great Schools were actually scheming with the seventh Prince for years? What was their goal, did they wish to take over the control of the country from the Heavenly Flame School?

However, just as Sinra was about to begin panicking, one of the entrances leading to the audience seats was smashed open and a young, black-haired girl who stormed into the Royal Court along with four red-robed Elders of the Red Dragon School. The building was made to be very audible, so even from quite far away the group had managed to hear most of what Sauras said a moment before; without exaggerating, those words caused Siana to feel even more enraged than she already was.

“You are lying about big brother!” Siana shouted, so aggravated that she ended up amplifying her voice with her Qi. “All of you accusing him of whatnot are a bunch of liars! Us attacking the Cail family? Our Masters scheming with Sinra? Lies! We met Sinra at the same day big brother and Anatis fought in one of the Two Week City’s arenas! There are thousands of people who can confirm that. Just go out, look for them and ask! Or do you not care about the truth and just want to punish us no matter what?!” she yelled all her feelings out with incredible anger and great concern at the same time. The mix of emotions, the tone of her words and the tears of anger and frustration flowing down her face… the force of those things was bigger than anything Sinra or Sauras could orate.

“Siana! She woke up!” Laien stood up, looking at his little sister with great relief as she was shouting at Sauras and all the people gathered here. He felt he had been forced into a pinch by Sauras, but his little sister appeared with the best possible timing and literally blew away the doubts everyone was having. The force of an angry, beautiful little girl in tears truly couldn’t be underestimated.

“I’ve heard about it from my servants! The duel between those two boys really happened about a week ago!” one of the noblemen stood up and shouted, so moved by Siana’s words and the tears she shed for her big brother that he completely forgot to ask for permission to speak.

“That’s right!” someone else stood up and joined in. “People were saying how the seventh Prince apparently revealed his identity after the duel and took those two boys with himself to the Royal Palace! They must have become friends and decided to support each other!”

“How noble of the Red Dragon and Twin Phoenix Schools to put off their differences for the sake of their juniors!”

“The young are our future, why are we even putting a kid on a trial? All of that doesn’t make any sense!”

“Right, it’s all the Cail family’s fault! They lied about everything!”

Before Sauras or Fohan could intervene, the crowd went into a stampede and shut-off any notion or possibility that the Cail family could have ever been in the right. Siana’s appearance coupled up with the arguments that had been made here before convinced them of Laien’s innocence and in turn, shifted all their anger towards the Cail family.

“Well, we are screwed,” Sauras thought and laughed helplessly. He could reason with Siana and pick her ‘arguments’, or rather statements apart… but it would bring him more bad than good to attempt to discredit a young crying girl who wanted to protect her brother. He knew full well how unreasonable the listeners would become when they began focusing on what they felt instead of what they knew. In such situations, the only option was to wait the period out and try to approach them on a later date. Unless something provoking equally strong emotional response the other way around happened, there was no point in keeping up any kind of logic-based discussion.

“It’s all over,” Fohan groaned quietly, spitting into his beard for ever agreeing to this damned trial. Although with the control he had over the inner workings of the country he could assure no ill would befall his family because of those events, he would need to expend quite a bit of the influence he had accumulated over the years and call in for some favors. All in all… he would surely find it hard to suppress and control Sauras from now on.

“The only good thing is that I made sure to ‘convince’ the Grand Viscars to give me the verdict I wanted. With the kid gone from the country for ten years it shouldn’t be too hard to dismantle this little, unsteady alliance of Prince Sinra’s,” Fohan mused to himself. He had finally gotten an accurate report regarding Laien during his brief imprisonment so he could see the situation much more clearly. He was aware that this whole ‘alliance’ he had been concerned about was just a whim of some brats who got support from their influential guardians or parents. With just a bit of effort, he would be able to cause it to crumble.

After a while of the steady clamor of chatting the old Grand Viscar coughed loudly and spoke up. “I believe everyone who wanted to had a chance to speak. If there are no more arguments to be made, we shall announce the verdict,” he stated and waited for about ten seconds for anyone who could possibly want to add his own two coins, but no one stood up or expressed his desire to continue the debate. He glanced at Lamuel, urging him to make his choice first in accordance with the tradition.

“Free of all charges,” Lamuel declared without hesitation. Had Laien come out as guilty in the trial, he would have sentenced him to an fitting punishment, but since he appeared as innocent both to him and to the majority of the personas gathered here he naturally proclaimed him innocent.

“Guilty of the treason, I call for the capital punishment,” the fat Grand Viscar stated coldly, throwing the Royal Count into another huge commotion.

“Does he really hold this much of a grudge against me?” Laien frowned slightly. He and Anatis might have ended up humiliating this man and his son, but they were asking for it. Should he really have not responded to their provocations to avoid any potential future trouble?

“It looks like the final say is mine,” the old Grand Viscar spoke over the clamor, causing it to quiet down considerably. “My verdict is… the capital punishment,” he said grimly, his gaze focused on the person of Fohan Cail.

At first, the whole court fell into an utter silence. Everyone started at the old Viscar, wondering if they hadn’t misheard or if the old man didn’t start going senile already. Death penalty? Even if Laien was deemed guilty of everything they would have felt it was too much to sentence a young, promising genius to death! Yet, it wasn’t only them who were shocked… Fohan himself was actually the most confused and surprised one!

“What is this senile bag of worms doing?” Fohan asked himself in disbelief. He knew what was about to happen… everyone would look at him and start wondering if he didn’t force the Grand Viscars to give this verdict! And in fact, he did manipulate the outcome… but all he demanded was Laien’s exile! If the trial went well a permanent one, if not at least a ten years long one! He wasn’t crazy enough to really push the capital punishment through especially after Rudford showed him how recklessly he was willing to act!

“You are going to get what you deserve, you scum,” the old Grand Viscar thought silently. “I still remember how forty years ago, when I didn’t want to help you, you threatened my family… now my family is far away in a place you can’t possibly reach. I hope Master Rudfords rips you apart and sticks your head on a spear for all to see,” he mused, then to heat the things up even further shouted at the guards of the Royal Court.

“What are you waiting for, apprehend that kid!”

“W-wait a second!” Laien returned to his senses and sprang to his feet. “This doesn’t make sense, death penalty? You must be kidding me!” he cried out, seriously getting worried for himself. How come every time everything seemed about to be solved, the whole thing would escalate again?

“Apprehend him before the Great Masters get involved!” the old Grand Viscar yelled again, the bunch of nervous guards getting so agitated they no longer knew what they were supposed to do. The twelve of them were martial masters, but all of them were merely experts of the second and third rank! Were they really supposed to capture that kid and threaten a bunch of Great Masters not to move? This was ridiculous!

Yet, four of them broke under the pressure and jumped forward; since they were stationed at the low-level of the Royal Court just where Laien was, they were much closer to him than Rudford. As long as they managed to get ahold of Laien, they would be able to decide what to do later.

“No, not again!” Rudford roared and jumped to the center of the Royal Court, the floor below his feet shattering from the mere force of his leap. A blood-red armor of scales converged around his body and in the blink of an eye, he smashed into the floor just at Laien’s side and brandished his longsword. The four charging guards froze in place, suddenly realizing what exactly they were trying to do and how stupid and reckless it was.

“Fohan, do you really want to force my hand that badly?!” Rudford shouted furiously, his killing intent leaking in huge amounts. “I don’t want to cripple our Kingdom through a civil war, but if you are intent on making me choose between the country and my family, I will choose my family! I will kill you and all those who dare to protect your Cail family as I burn it to the ground!” he roared, no amount of demands or pleas on the part of Royal Family able to stop him now. If Fohan truly intended to get rid of Laien no matter the consequences, then he would get what he damn wanted!

“It has nothing to do with me!” Fohan declared strongly, beginning to wish that he had allowed Rudford to kill Luren back then and spared himself from experiencing this hell. One way or another, everything was developing in a completely unpredictable, senseless way! Were the Gods trying to punish him or did he break a few thousand mirrors when he didn’t pay attention?

“You think I will trust any of your words at this point?” Rudford barked at Fohan, not convinced in the slightest.

“The verdict of the Royal Court cannot be changed after it has been made,” the old Grand Viscar said solemnly, hiding well the great feeling of satisfaction he was experiencing.

“The King can do it!” Sauras shouted, the perspective of being forced to either lose the Cail family or slaughter multiple Great Masters of the Kingdom not sitting well with him.

“The King isn’t here, call him if you can but I doubt he will come,” the old Grand Viscar said with a snort. He might have been reduced to nothing but an old man clinging to life when he should have been long since dead, but he had friends in many places. Right before this Trial began he got a certain piece of information; the King failed to make a breakthrough after forcing it and reduced his lifespan even further. The King thus went into secluded meditation and is refusing to see or meet anyone; all he now cares for is to gain enough insights to advance in rank in order not to die in five more years when his longevity will inevitably run out.

“Then screw the law, I’m not going to allow for this farce to continue any longer!” Rudford grit his teeth. He was pretty sure Fohan used underhanded methods to threaten those Grand Viscars, but given how many experts he could vaguely sense all around the Royal Court he couldn’t afford to simply attack Fohan either. His Elders were waiting outside the Royal Palace, but it would take time for them to get here… and until then, it would be almost impossible for the few of them who were present to simultaneously pursue Fohan and protect the kids. If Fohan fled, hid and started scheming revenge… they wouldn’t be able to rest in peace for a day of their remaining lives even if they rooted out most of the Cail family from the Sarkcente Kingdom.

Just as the tension was reaching its peak and it seemed like someone would fail to bear with it and do something very idiotic and trigger the biggest catastrophe in the last few hundred centuries of the Kingdom’s history, dozens of cries of pain resounded outside the Royal Court. The next split second the study walls of the building got slammed multiple times and began cracking.

However, the most terrifying thing was that judging by the sounds and the places those cracks appeared… they had all been made by bodies being smashed into the walls from outside!

“So fucking stubborn, can’t you just let me enter without making a fuss?” an annoyed voice rang out the same moment the small back door at the ground level got kicked in and smashed into pieces.

“Look at this gathering of clowns, I overslept a little and they all managed to turn themselves into complete retards,” the messy-haired man said with a laugh, walking forward casually with both of his hands in the pockets of his loose and oversized white shirt.

“Ma… Master Shire!” Laien exclaimed with his mouth hanging open. Judging from the Qi his master was openly releasing, he could tell Shire had actually broken through to the sixth Realm of Heroes! Just two years after returning to his training! After making this advancement he surely was at the same level of power as Rudford at the other supreme martial masters of the Sarkcente Kingdom! Yet, if he kept training at this rate he would soon become the undisputed number one expert not only in their country but in the entire south and possible the entire world!

“You seem happy to see me, my disciple,” Shire said with a laugh, walking past the guards of the Royal Court without looking at them or showing he noticed their presence at all. To him, they were beings less than ants; he could crush them at any time he wanted, but he didn’t even feel the need to do so unlike when he saw an actual ant.

“I can’t believe you allowed yourselves to be pulled into this ridiculous pile of shit here,” Shire commented wryly, apparently not caring about the tense mood in the Royal Court at all. “I can understand this training freak, but even those goldies didn’t do anything about it?” he asked with a smirk and a laugh, glancing first at Rudford then at Einrah and Ninrah.

The three Great Masters couldn’t help but have their expressions turn sour; they were also wondering how did they allow the matter to escalate to this level.

“Since none of you seem capable enough, I will do you a favor and wipe your adult asses off of this stinky shit. You better be grateful,” Shire added humorously, his gaze locking onto the balcony upon which the three Grand Viscars were seated upon.