Chapter 456: Taking the Scapegoat and Overturning the Case

"I served in the Axe Beach City Hall for over ten years, diligent and conscientious, yet once used by the Zhentarim, I fell into an abyss from which I could not extricate myself!"

"Though I had no choice, I deeply felt the harm these people brought to Axe Beach. Count Miss Puwei showed me great care, and personally, I could not let them continue like this. So whether it was arresting Miss Miss Wen Na or searching for the so-called Miss Puwei Vault, I went through the motions while exerting my full effort to gather evidence!"

"Look at this!" He hurriedly took out the gold ring in his hand. "This is a very secret recording magic item; inside is a recording of Virgil and his private troops revealing their schemes before me! My Lord Gorgon! I felt no one was trustworthy, and just at this moment, your Order of the Radiant Knights intervened! Only then did I have a chance to break the deadlock!!"

Regardless of whether anyone asked, Bogo Torres just spoke.

Going through the motions when arresting Miss Wen Na and searching the vault?

Rod chuckled lightly.

I doubt that very much.

This man is merely a double-dealer, keeping a backdoor for himself.

However, it is still an unexpected joy.

Rod grabbed this guy purely because he was annoyed that the man had just been making excuses for Virgil down below.

I didn't expect him to blow himself up.

Bogo Torres also knew his situation.

Speaking out this time meant a one-in-ten chance of survival.

But the taste of being held hostage by the Zhentarim was not good; the private troops basically never treated him as a human being behind the scenes, and their ambitions were vast, absolutely not limited to just a small Axe Beach.

Even as a puppet lord, they would not allow an outsider to hold the position for too long; by then, it would be the time for him to die.

Bogo Torres realized this point.

So he indeed had collected evidence that the Zhentarim disguised themselves as private troops to control Axe Beach.

At this moment, although he could not see Rod's expression, he could hear the sound of his disdainful laughter.

He immediately panicked.

He hurriedly activated the recording ring in his hand.

Rod conjured a high-quality 【Phantom Sound】 magic ring and used it on him.

Thus, the content of the recording was immediately amplified and broadcast into the ears of everyone present.

"."

". Since you are involved, I will tell you a few things early on"

". It was fake news we released to cover our attack on the White Dragon Tomb."

". On one hand, it was to fool the demons of Dragon Snake Fortress; the agreement we reached with the demons was—after seizing the Axe Beach government, we would gather the wealth, while the demons would harvest all life within Axe Beach."

"."

Recordings of conversations between Virgil and his subordinates came out one by one.

The militia members' faces changed upon hearing them.

Especially after hearing the terms of the agreement between the Zhentarim and the demons, many showed disgust and hatred, even turning their blades directly against the private troops.

The private troops, that is, the Zhentarim personnel, were ultimately just a ragtag mob.

Previously, with an eighth-level boss holding them down and everything going smoothly, there were naturally no troubles.

Now that Virgil, their leader, is gone, expecting these people to work together is sheer wishful thinking.

Almost simultaneously, a large portion of the Zhentarim quickly stripped off their private troop uniforms and fled rapidly to the distance.

The militia commander reacted extremely fast, immediately roaring orders to arrest all the private troops.

Damn it, Laozi has been suppressed by these damn dogs for so long; whether that recording is true or false doesn't matter, the enemy's eighth-level big brother is dead anyway; let's use this to crush these guys and secure our position first!

Right!

There is also Miss Wen Na Miss Puwei.

This is a bit troublesome; although Lord Bogo gave the order, as the commander who executed it, I fear I will be implicated.

Eh... wait, Miss Miss Wen Na has always been hiding very well; the militia never found her. The only arrest attempt was Old Ed acting on his own.

Coincidentally, this time Old Ed cooperated with Virgil to fight against the 'Gorgon' of the Order of the Radiant Knights in the sky.

The commander excitedly slapped his hands together.

'Old Ed was corrupted and betrayed by the Zhentarim! Although the militia commander, who leads with great wisdom, repeatedly stated that Miss Miss Wen Na's case must be investigated thoroughly first, Old Ed still insisted on his own way and arrested her privately!'

No flaws! The scapegoat is already decided! It's you, Old Ed!

As for seizing military power while the nation of Aethel is weak? Stealing the damn leadership of Axe Beach?

You are thinking too much.

The Miss Puwei family has operated in Axe Beach for a long time; their connections are deeply entrenched. As a town on the trade road and close to Waterdeep, most of the wealthy merchants here or in Waterdeep have significant interests tied to Count Miss Puwei.

After Lord Bogo came to power, he immediately made major changes to these operating strategies due to Zhentarim planning, which had already dissatisfied many big merchants.

Now that Miss Wen Na's patricide case has been overturned, these people will be more willing to trust the surname Miss Puwei, thus supporting Miss Wen Na to return to power.

Besides.

Let alone these big merchants, four out of the five deputy commanders of the militia are die-hard loyalists of Count Miss Puwei.

Every time they saw him, it was like a fan meeting; after learning of the news of the Count's death and Miss Wen Na's case, they all slumped in despair.

Now that the case has been overturned, these four deputy commanders will surely become active again.

Thinking of this.

The militia commander could not help but look up at the man in the sky again.

"All of this... is because of this man, 'Exposing lies, challenging hypocrisy'? The Order of the Radiant Knights? Does such an organization exist on the continent?"

Over here.

Rod did not care about the militia commander's thoughts.

After taking the gold recording ring, he directly threw Bogo Torres in front of the man.

He then ignored everyone, intending to descend to the side of Virgil's corpse.

If you had to call it a corpse, it would be more accurate to say it was half a pelvis and a pair of thighs.

This time he had learned from his previous mistake and deliberately avoided the spot where the spell pouches were.

At the very least, he wanted to be able to pick up some spoils or something.

But on second thought, he decided against it — he had only just announced his self-founded organization, and rushing off to loot corpses right after would be a bit lacking in gravitas.

He could just let Tally go pick them up.

Thinking this, he cast 【Gravity Wave】 with one hand to suck the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword back into his grip.

Too heavy — it didn't come back.

"."

Then with a sudden burst of force, he sucked it up along with a clod of earth.

Then in midair, he unleashed 【Repulsion Art】 from a single palm and both feet, blasting out three times the thrust.

BOOM—!!!

The stacked, swelling blast of sound exploded violently.

Rod shot up into the clouds, trailing a white wake, and vanished from sight under everyone's gaze.

Of course.

Once he'd flown far enough.

He secretly landed, changed clothes, canceled his Disguise Domain, and scurried back, looking rather sheepish.

Honestly, maintaining gravitas was a real waste of time.

This round trip had somehow taken nearly half an hour.

Tally had long been waiting in a small grove by the Delinbeil River, her face bored as she watched the militia organize people to rescue the collapsed city wall and the destroyed merchant ships.

The moment she saw Rod, she beamed, spread her arms, and went in for a hug.

Her sweet fragrance enveloped him; soft, pliant, and obedient, she pressed close against his chest.

Rod kissed her smooth forehead, which carried the scent of honey.

"The spell pouches — did you get them?"

"Of course, Master. Who does Tally look like to you? A succubus is good at stealing people, let alone stealing a few little things."

"The way you say that makes it sound like you've been sneaking off behind my back to have a little fun on the side."

"Tally is already shaped for her Master. The scent of Master's essence is etched into my mind — any other man who even comes close to Tally would only feel nauseous~~"

She released the hug, tilted her head cutely, and raised her hand.

In it were unmistakably two spell pouches and the heavy steel spear the Cambion had used, her face full of eagerness to claim credit:

"The Cambion's spell pouches and steel spear dropped when it got eaten, and I collected them for Master too!"

(End of chapter)