Chapter 651: Justice Court

"De Sa De?" Viola stood up, her eyes full of surprise.

Lei En nodded.

This was a note sent by Consul Ge Nie Wu Si's men.

His expression was grim; De Sa De was a deliberately kept source, ostensibly to pry the mastermind of the attack from his mouth and force the Elder Council of Naisier to confess. In reality, only he knew that De Sa De possessed some inside information about Augulevi Master's fall.

He originally planned to covertly visit after two more days, before De Sa De's trial, hoping to extract some key information from his mouth.

But unexpectedly, the guy was already dead.

The Justice Church's prison is the Empire's most stringent jail, perhaps unrivaled; for a figure as important as De Sa De, Lu Si Pei Er wanted to use his life to intimidate the Church, so he assigned the Order Sword to guard him constantly, yet an incident still occurred.

Viola, seeing Lei En displeased, comforted, "If he's dead, he's dead; besides, the Grand Arbitrator wouldn't dare involve Hong Shi Duke."

Lei En sighed once, offering no further explanation.

He sat back on the bedside and suddenly asked, "Who do you think did it?"

"It must be Hong Shi Duke…" Viola answered instinctively, then realized it contradicted her previous statement.

Since everyone knows the mastermind behind the attack on Lei En is Hong Shi Duke, and the Justice Church has contained the incident's impact, with no intention of deep investigation, and the Empire's upper echelons have reached a tacit understanding, wouldn't Hong Shi Duke killing to silence be redundant?

De Sa De dying in the Justice Church's prison is tantamount to slapping the Church's face loudly.

Doing so might instead enrage the Justice Church.

Grand Arbitrator Lu Si Pei Er is not a member of the Supreme Council, but his strength, status, and authority actually surpass most Holy Soul Wizards, second only to the Empire's three great powers.

The Justice Church controls the Empire's judicial system, upholding justice and order, politically maintaining neutrality, but that doesn't mean they are all good‑natured.

Murdering to silence will certainly offend the Justice Church.

With Hong Shi Duke's wisdom, such a foolish act is impossible.

"Could it not be Hong Shi Duke who did it?"

Viola, bewildered, asked, "But besides him, who else has a motive? The Justice Church's prison is guarded by the Order Sword; to silently kill De Sa De under the watch of so many legendary Holy Sword Masters, at least a Saint Rank Transcendent or a Holy Soul Wizard would be the prime suspect…"

"If it truly were Hong Shi Duke who acted, why wait until today?" Lei En also raised a question.

"Also…"

Viola grew even more confused.

De Sa De had been imprisoned for two days; the Justice Church wanted to extract something from his mouth, and two days were ample— even if they intended to keep some testimony for later, Hong Shi Duke silencing him now would be too late.

The moment De Sa De was captured, Hong Shi Duke must have known.

There's no reason he would wait two days before acting.

"Could someone have framed him, deliberately causing a feud between Hong Shi Duke and the Justice Church?" Viola guessed, her gaze toward Lei En suddenly showing doubt.

If anyone had motive, Lei En would be the first.

Though Lei En had been by his side these two days, don't forget he also has a duplicate, Lei Silin, who appears and disappears like a phantom, with unfathomable strength; perhaps he could infiltrate the Justice Church's prison and eliminate De Sa De without anyone suspecting Lei En.

Lei En laughed helplessly, "It wasn't me; Lei Silin has already returned to Mo Du."

Bu Ao Yang Si is missing; to guard against this enemy seeking revenge in his territory, he sent Lei Silin back to garrison Ge La Mo Gen.

"I'm just guessing," Viola covered her mouth with a light laugh, "If not you, who could it be?"

Lei En also fell into deep thought.

The case has too many doubts, layers of fog, even he cannot see the truth clearly.

It is certain that De Sa De wasn't silenced because he might drag Hong Shi Duke down; his cause of death must be linked to Augulevi Master's fall.

In other words, whoever killed De Sa De must also know the inside story of Augulevi Master's downfall.

Hong Shi Duke remains the prime suspect, yet it's highly possible he didn't do it, because the timing is off; if he intended to act, he wouldn't wait until today. Since today he could kill De Sa De, he could have done so two days earlier; it's unlikely the prison's security was so tight that only today presented an opportunity.

Following this line of thought, there are two possibilities.

First, the murderer acted today because they just learned De Sa De was captured for interrogation.

Second, the other party knew that day but needed time to arrange.

For example, the truly capable perpetrator might not be in Nuosiruier but far away, taking two days to arrive; or the assailant might lack the strength to reach Saint Rank, thus requiring a meticulous plan, waiting for the moment, eventually succeeding in killing De Sa De.

The odds of the two possibilities are fifty‑fifty.

If it's the first case, the killer must be someone indifferent to Empire affairs; otherwise, the sensational capture of De Sa De wouldn't take two days to learn.

If it's the second case, the killer isn't in Nuosiruier, so the two‑day delay is more likely.

Lei En quickly clarified his thoughts, stood up and said, "I'll go to the Justice Church."

"Hmm." Viola adjusted his light armor and cloak, gently as a wife, "Go quickly; I'll wait for you to return so we can rest together."

"Alright." Lei En bowed his head, placed a gentle kiss on her lips, opened the portal and stepped through.

The portal's destination hovered over the eastern district of Nuosiruier; Lei En emerged, hovering midair, looking down at a grand, imposing building on the ground.

This was the headquarters of the Justice Church—the Justice Court.

The God of Justice and Order, Ti Rui Er, holds the divine offices of "Justice," "Order," "Law," "Protection," and "Arbitration;" his followers control the Empire's judicial system, and the Justice Court is both a symbol of Imperial law and a manifestation of Ti Rui Er's earthly renown.

In front of the Justice Court stood a massive statue.

It was entirely cast in gold, shaped as a scale; the central pivot was a sword pointing downward, its tip embedded in the center of a thick codex, which rested on a several‑meter‑high pedestal; the opened page was densely filled with the Justice Church's doctrines and the Empire's most important laws.

This is the Holy Emblem Codex Scale of the God of Justice!

A vast, awe‑inspiring divine power radiated from the emblem, compelling reverence.

Lei En scanned with the All‑Seeing Eye and found that, like the Temple of Truth of the God of Magic, many parts of the Justice Court were shrouded in divine power, rendering the All‑Seeing Eye unable to pierce through.

A carriage, under the arch of the Rui Ke Jin Wei Jun, rolled along the street from the direction of He Palace.

The standard‑bearer at the front of the procession hoisted a square battle flag embroidered with the double‑headed eagle representing the Empire's Consul; wherever they passed, nighttime pedestrians stepped aside.

Ge Nie Wu Si sat in the carriage.

Lei En waited a moment; when the procession reached the Justice Court, he deactivated his invisibility and descended.

The Rui Ke Jin Wei Jun sensed someone falling from the sky, went on alert, but upon recognizing Lei En, relaxed and allowed him to approach the Consul's formation.

Ge Niewusi got off the carriage, gave him a slight nod, and said solemnly, "Lei En, perfect timing, you've arrived; let's go in together."

The two walked around the Sacred Emblem of the Law's Scale and stepped onto the stairs.

A Justice Church "Arbitrator" was already waiting at the door, "Consul, Lei En Chairman, please follow me."

"Xisair, what exactly is happening?" Ge Niewusi asked aloud.

Lei En also recognized the powerful Holy Sword Knight.

The Justice Church's internal hierarchy is strict; one starts as a low‑rank Holy Sword Attendant, trains to become a full Holy Sword Knight, and only then enters the Church's rank system. A newly minted Holy Sword Knight must undergo years of training, memorize Empire law, practice doctrine, reach Mid-stage strength, and pass a series of examinations before being promoted to 'Executor'.

Executors hold law‑enforcement authority in the Empire, serving as both judges and executioners, eradicating crime and upholding justice and order, typically leading a particular chapel.

When Lei En first traveled through Longshande, he saw that Holy Sword Knight, who was an Executor.

One of the Justice Church's two major armed forces, the Silver Hand Sword Corps, selects each member strictly from among the Executors.

The next promotion above Executor is 'Judge'.

Judges are almost all Legendary High‑rank Holy Sword Knights, responsible for the operation of a city's Justice Temple and for law and order within their jurisdiction.

The Justice Church's strongest armed force, the Sword of Order, is selected from among the Judges.

The rank one level above Judge is 'Arbitrator'.

Arbitrators have entered the Justice Church's upper echelons; they are usually Legendary High‑rank, serving as commanders of the Silver Hand or Sword of Order, or overseeing a human nation's Justice Church, spreading Tiriel's doctrine and maintaining local legal order.

The Justice Church has over twenty Arbitrators, four of whom have risen to Saint Rank and hold the title of Sword Saint.

These four Sword Saints are respectfully called 'Arbitrators'.

The leading Lu Sipe holds the title Grand Arbitrator, serves as Pontiff, and, on behalf of Tiriel, governs the divine power in the mortal realm.

Xisair is one of the Justice Church's three Arbitrators, bearing the title "Silver‑Radiant Sword".

For years, Xisair has served as the Justice Church's representative in the cabinet, his official rank equal to that of a cabinet minister—essentially the Minister of Justice. The Earth Church also has a counterpart in the cabinet, a Grand Bishop who serves as Minister of Agriculture and Medicine.

So Ge Niewusi is very familiar with Xisair.

Xisair shook his head; clad in silver armor without a helmet, his weathered and solemn face was grim. After a few seconds of silence he replied, "We are still investigating; there is no result yet."

Ge Niewusi said nothing further.

Lei En remained silent, fully understanding why Xisair was so angry.

De Sa De's death was a considerable blow to the Justice Church. The criminal used to intimidate was gone, the plan was disrupted, and he died within a heavily guarded prison—truly a loss of face.

The three entered the grand, imposing Justice Court, passed through a palace guarded by rows of Holy Sword Knights, and finally arrived at a heavily fortified white structure that resembled a fortress, built entirely of a rare stone and etched with rune sigils, as solid as a wall of gold.

This is the Justice Church's prison.

Inside the fortress, a squad of Sword of Order Holy Sword Knights guarded the gate of an underground passage.

Xisair ordered, "Open the gate."

"Yes, Grand Arbitrator," several Legendary Holy Sword Knights reached out to the door, channeling the unique spiritual blade light of Holy Sword Knights, activating the control runes and forcefully pushing the gate open.

Xisair led the two down the passage steps.

Descending at a slant for dozens of meters, they reached an underground prison, where four separate cells appeared before them.

Each cell was isolated from the others, invisible from the outside, yet an outside observer could see inside completely; the walls were forged from magical alloy, unbreakable, and embedded with multiple rune sigils to block teleportation, restrict spellcasting, and interfere with meditation.

Three of the four cells were empty; only one had its door open.

A few Holy Sword Knights stood guard outside the door.

Lei En followed Xisair inside and saw Grand Arbitrator Lu Sipe; at his feet lay a corpse clad in an unenchanted robe, its body shrunken, limbs withered, skin rotted, the face unrecognizable as anyone's, as if it had been dead for centuries.

He was instantly shocked.

De Sa De's true age was close to a thousand years, near the lifespan limit of a Legendary High‑rank transcendent, yet his living appearance seemed very young, under thirty.

How could he have been dead for less than half an hour and already look like this?

"Your Majesty," Ge Niewusi saluted.

Lu Sipe turned his head and said lightly, "Consul has arrived, as well as Chairman Lei En; come and have a look."

Ge Niewusi had been observing ever since entering the cell.

He frowned at the corpse and asked, "Your Majesty, are you certain this is De Sa De's body?"

"It's him," Lu Sipe nodded. "I have already confirmed it." He paused, then explained in detail, "I asked the stationed Holy Sword Knights; at the time of the incident they noticed no abnormality, and De Sa De remained within their sight the whole time, never leaving."

"Then, in a daze, they suddenly saw De Sa De collapse and die, without any sound, and the prison's rune sigils were not triggered."

"Within less than ten breaths after De Sa De's death, he turned into this state."

Ge Niewusi's expression grew solemn.

Such a bizarre death process could not be performed by any transcendent below Saint Rank, and even a Holy Soul Wizard would find it difficult.

De Sa De was not an ordinary person without resistance; he was an eighteenth‑level Arcane Mage. Even stripped of all magical gear and confined to a cell that limits spellcasting, his protective and resistive abilities remained, making him far from easy to kill.

More strangely, De Sa De's death appearance seemed as if his life had naturally exhausted, revealing his true age after death.

What kind of spell could produce such an effect?

At that moment, Lu Sipe keenly noticed Lei En's change in expression, as if he had discovered something, and, fixing his gaze on Lei En, asked, "Chairman Lei En, what have you found?"

(End of Chapter)