Chapter 121: Is His Majesty the King Still Alive?

The rose‑red disc pattern is engraved on the massive banner that stretches dozens of meters.

The golden‑white banner flutters in the wind, standing before the magnificent royal palace.

That is the holy emblem of the Lord of Dawn—Luo Shanda.

Below the banner, a priest cloaked entirely in a golden‑white hood is surrounded by several imposing holy knights; he lifts his hood, revealing an aged yet wise face.

"Honored guest of the Dawn Church, Bishop Kang La De, the Royal House, on behalf of His Majesty the King, offers the highest respect to the Lord of Dawn." Regent Grand Judge Lai Ao Rui Er stands before the elder, smiling as he speaks.

"Oh, and you as well, Bishop Lao Lun Si, a distinguished guest of the Church of Knowledge—such visitors are rare in Yin Bu Tu."

Lai Ao Rui Er then, as if just remembering, apologetically welcomes Bishop Lao Lun Si beside him; the differential treatment draws a cold snort from Lao Lun Si, though he does not flare up, for the day's focus is Bishop Kang La De before him.

Bishop Kang La De first nods politely, then smiles affably and says, "It's been fifty years since I last came to Yin Bu Tu—haha, back then I was just a greenhorn, preaching in Ge Ben Lan with my master. Who would have thought, in the blink of an eye, fifty years have passed and everything I knew is gone."

Lai Ao Rui Er smiles without a change of expression and says, "What happened in Ge Ben Lan City truly is a tragedy; I never imagined my sister turned out to be the Red Robe Mage's spy. I am deeply disappointed; I never thought she would become a traitor who betrays the nation and its people!"

Bishop Kang La De's eyes flash with a sharp gleam: "Ah, right—your sister Mi Ci Li's matter, that is precisely why I am here, Grand Judge."

He chuckles, runs a hand through his graying beard, and pats Lai Ao Rui Er's shoulder.

"You do have a fine sister, Grand Judge. Fifty thousand people—fifty thousand followers of the Lord of Dawn—have, with your sister's aid, fallen into the mouths of abyssal demons. Do you know this has caused a huge stir within the Church?"

"Red Robe Mage, haha."

After Kang La De finishes speaking, his complexion turns icy cold.

"I've investigated Ge Ben Lan City for so long; how is it that I found no trace of the Red Robe Mage? On the contrary, the Royal House's commission appointing her to guard Ge Ben Lan remains intact!"

Naimi Xisi suppresses a laugh; the Dawn Church is full of actors. If Bishop Lao Lun Si hadn't already told him how Bishop Kang La De personally destroyed all evidence, he might have believed it.

As expected, Kang La De's words cause the ministers trailing Lai Ao Rui Er to change color.

The Dawn Church comes in with a fierce onslaught; the implication is clearly to shift blame onto the Royal House. Even the military ministers are evidently more aware of this, as their expressions now reveal.

On the other side, those opposing Lai Ao Rui Er and the ministers—Prince Lei En and Duke Jia Wen—stand calmly unmoving, not participating; after all, the advantage now lies with them, a pure advantage, and all they need is to cling to the great deity's side.

Naimi Xisi grows curious and begins probing these people's thoughts; Lai Ao Rui Er's memories are unassailable, but the other ministers clearly cannot resist the intrusion of his Mind Power.

"Damn, that bastard Lai Ao Rui Er—he clearly said the Dawn Church wouldn't come for real, yet the situation now can't just end peacefully… I'm finished; General Ke Long was the one I personally sent to Ge Ben Lan to die. If this gets uncovered, I'm done."

The military minister's inner monologue raises Naimi Xisi's eyebrows; so General Ke Long's trip to Ge Ben Lan wasn't an accident after all? Indeed, without me, General Ke Long would be Sai Er's army's biggest obstacle, so he had to be eliminated early. Naimi Xisi thinks this, then scans the other ministers' memories—nothing interesting; each shares the same view as the military minister. Why does Lai Ao Rui Er promise nothing will happen, yet the Dawn Church's stance is completely opposite?

"Yes, why? What leverage does Lai Ao Rui Er actually have?" Naimi Xisi suddenly gets a bad feeling.

Meanwhile, under Bishop Kang La De's questioning, Lai Ao Rui Er helplessly shakes his head and says, "Do you mean the Royal House itself orchestrated this disaster? That's truly alarmist. May I ask what benefit this brings us? Your actions force me to suspect you are using a private pretext to persecute the royal aristocracy!"

Bishop Kang La De sneers, "You still want to hitch yourself onto the Nobles' God's vessel?" Long before this investigation team set out, the Dawn Church had already clashed with the Nobles' God Church.

"Persecuting the royal aristocracy? Grand Judge, you're really wearing a huge hat. Since I arrived, virtually every church knows that the Nobles' God's priest is absent here; don't you understand what that implies?"

"You treasonous rebel colluding with evil demons!" Kang La De suddenly accuses loudly.

Facing this verbal assault, Lai Ao Rui Er remains unruffled: "Do you have any evidence proving the Royal House did this?"

Bishop Kang La De scoffs; he indeed lacks evidence, for the Red Robe Mage is the one who did it, yet he knows how to spin a tangled argument.

"Evidence? Today, now, immediately, have the King of Yin Bu Tu, His Majesty Saint Delis, appear before us and state in his own mouth that he did not orchestrate this conspiracy, and I'll believe it."

Lai Ao Rui Er frowns: "You know the King is gravely ill, bedridden, and cannot be seen."

"Then I'll go see him!" Bishop Kang La De declares loudly.

Lai Ao Rui Er sighs, seeming helpless, and the others also feel he has no recourse; Bishop Kang La De curls his lip, ready to pronounce the "royal guilt."

"Very well, His Majesty the King will come to see you."

His words stun everyone; whether Prince Lei En or the ministers beside Lai Ao Rui Er, they all cannot believe Lai Ao Rui Er's reply.

"The King will appear? He can really appear? Isn't he dead? Has he been gravely ill these years?"

Countless questions arise in everyone's minds, yet no one speaks.

Indeed, these nobles are all conspiracy theorists; none believed the King was still alive before today. They merely think the King may have long been dead, but the queen's faction refuses to lose power, thus perpetuating this claim to hide the truth of the King's death.

But now Lai Ao Rui Er says the King will appear? Was he truly too ill to be seen in previous years? For the first time, these nobles wonder if they've been overly conspiratorial.

"W‑what are you saying?" Kang La De, also a bit bewildered, glances back at Bishop Lao Lun Si, exchanging a look that seems to say, "This isn't the situation you described…"

(End of Chapter)