Chapter 117 The Enemy

"I am quite certain that the black-robed figure in the footage who helped Archbishop Ascencion of the Silent Extinction Church attack me was Duke Morojian!"

Sigrid said to Great Sage Isis.

Great Sage Isis fell into deep hesitation.

Although she now had a feeling that what Sigrid said was not without reason, the accusation that the black-robed man was Morojian was Sigrid of the Overheaven Church's subjective perception, lacking more conclusive substantial evidence.

As Duke Morojian Berenhardt, the most prominent authority figure in the Protos Empire, Isis was well aware of the consequences that rash action could have in the absence of solid evidence.

Isis's eyes shifted back and forth between Sigrid and Morojian, trying to find answers from their expressions.

"Heh heh."

However, Morojian appeared unusually calm. He faced Sigrid's accusations without fear.

Morojian calmly looked at Great Sage Isis, waiting for her judgment.

"…!"

Sigrid, on the other hand, appeared increasingly angry. Her fists clenched tightly, and facing Duke Berenhardt's relaxed expression, she felt a sense of mockery.

The other party seemed to be laughing at her: So what?

Then can you catch me?

Sigrid was convinced of the other party's guilt.

But without solid evidence, she also understood that whether her accusations could have a substantial effect depended entirely on Isis's judgment.

"Without sufficient evidence, I cannot make a judgment rashly. Duke Berenhardt, I will not take any action against you unless further evidence emerges."

In this tense atmosphere, Great Sage Isis finally spoke.

Although Isis's voice was calm, one could sense the helplessness in her words.

She knew that even if she had the intention and suspicion, she could not reasonably bring Duke Berenhardt to justice.

"Thank you for your understanding, Lady Isis."

Morojian bowed elegantly to Isis, then looked at Sigrid with a smile,

"Miss Sigrid, for slandering my reputation, you must be prepared to pay the corresponding price, correct?"

"It's not slander."

Sigrid kept her eyes fixed on Duke Morojian.

As for the black-robed man that day, Duke Morojian Berenhardt, today's sudden defeat of Ascencion was obviously a great disadvantage for Morojian.

But Morojian was in the shadows. If he chose to cast all his votes for Archbishop Yamiles of Mourning next, and tried to get Archbishop Yamiles to win, he could rightfully expel the Overheaven branch from the Protos Empire.

Then next, the Protos Empire's truly long game would begin.

This would be a compromise that neither side was willing to accept, but had to accept.

Even if Sigrid now understood that Duke Morojian Berenhardt was the black-robed man who was the source of the sin, so close at hand, she couldn't break him!

Once she took action, she would truly become an imperial criminal.

This distance, so close yet out of reach, made it difficult for her to suppress the anger in her heart.

Ascencion had just been tortured like this.

However, she, Sigrid, had a companion who was completely trustworthy and with whom she could entrust everything.

Her accusation was only to point out their final enemy to the one in the seat!

"Is it over like this?"

"It won't end."

"But today should be the end. The Overheaven Church and Duke Berenhardt obviously can't come to a conclusion."

In the eyes of the people in the council hall, this sudden accusation seemed to have come to a peaceful end, but the waves and storms it stirred up would not stop.

Even if it didn't explode today, the aftermath would continue to spread and explode completely at some point in the future!

However.

Just when everyone thought that the order of Franklin Hall would return to the archbishop election in a passive compromise situation where both sides were deadlocked.

"Great Sage, I also have a video here."

Rocky McCarthy suddenly spoke.

His voice rang out in the hall, attracting everyone's attention.

People didn't know why Rocky McCarthy had also entered the fray.

They also didn't know who he was helping at this moment, or what key mysterious evidence he was holding in his hand.

Isis nodded, and Lanky placed a crystal stone on his outstretched palm. Soon, the crystal stone floated up and came into Isis's hand.

Under the impetus of Isis's engineering magic, the crystal stone once again turned into a picture.

It was in the principal's office of the Protos Royal Magic Academy.

The figure in the picture was Rocky McCarthy himself, and Miss Chloris Berenhardt, dressed in noble hunting attire, sitting across the desk.

On the sofa sat a man in a black robe with a hint of deep melancholy in his eyes.

The people in Franklin Hall looked at the picture in the air in confusion. They didn't understand why Rocky McCarthy would take the initiative to release the footage of the meeting with Miss Chloris, who was suspected of treason, and Vice Professor Sidor, who had disappeared.

They didn't understand what the three of them were saying for a long time.

Until—

"My father has actually been missing for a long time. The Duke Morojian on the stage now is actually a puppet controlled by me."

Miss Chloris sighed and said to Rocky McCarthy.

Even the teacup in Principal Rocky's hand sitting across the desk paused. He was obviously surprised by Miss Chloris's violent remarks.

Next, every sentence of the conversation between Miss Chloris and Principal Rocky was a bombshell!

There was a video recorder in Lanky's office.

But Chloris and Sidor also knew it.

Chloris said these words in front of the video magic device. She understood that this conversation would be recorded, and it was also giving Lanky a handle as proof of sincerity.

The content in the image crystal stone ended before long, and there was an uproar in Franklin Hall.

Now they couldn't tell the truth from the falsehood.

If what Miss Chloris said was true, and Duke Morojian of Herlem had been played by a puppet controlled by the duke for a long time, then who was the Duke Morojian sitting here now?

Their eyes turned to Duke Berenhardt again, this time with obvious doubt and distrust.

Even the dignitaries sitting next to Duke Morojian began to feel restless, afraid that the duke next to him would suddenly turn into the black-robed man in the footage that Sigrid released earlier!

"Obviously, Vice Professor Sidor Arundel has bewitched my daughter. Now he is fleeing in fear of crime, and Chloris has deceived you. There has never been any puppet to replace me."

The turmoil in people's hearts finally caused Duke Morojian to frown. He claimed loudly.

His steady aura calmed the situation down again briefly.

Witnessing Rocky McCarthy's sudden personal appearance, Morojian was almost certain that Rocky McCarthy was the intruder who was messing around in the northern snowfield!

Although Rocky McCarthy's behavior still seemed neutral and he wasn't deliberately messing with him, he had no evidence to prove that Rocky McCarthy was the Overheaven Saint.

But now there was no need to prove it.

Just like Rocky McCarthy now knew that he was a black-robed apostle.

Both sides had no evidence, but they both knew it clearly.

Duke Morojian restrained his impulse to kill Rocky by force. On this stage, he had to gamble with Rocky.

What was really troublesome about Rocky McCarthy was not his combat power, but his ability to manipulate people's hearts.

This video with no substantive evidence had no effect on identifying the black-robed man in the previous picture.

But it just happened to be able to make everyone feel uneasy, encouraging people to start to doubt, alienate, and fear him, Morojian!

In the hall, Rocky McCarthy's question and Morojian Berenhardt's brief actions once again stalled the situation.

Even if the content of the picture was of great importance, Duke Berenhardt's response was still a reasonable explanation. At least in the absence of further evidence, the duke was very able to stand his ground.

Everyone was trying to analyze the situation in the next second, trying to figure out the truth.

"Mr. Rocky, what is your purpose and what are your intentions in releasing this picture at this moment?"

Morojian finally looked at Lanky and questioned,

"Could it be that you and Sigrid of the Overheaven Church have already colluded to bring me down, and then you will collude with each other, one black and one white, to control the entire Protos Empire? You don't want to act anymore?"

His relieved expression carried a hint of lament, as if he was asking everyone in the hall—

Am I the last obstacle for them to dominate the empire?

Are you also going to help them get rid of me?

Will they want to get rid of you next?

Faced with the duke, many nobles' eyes began to hesitate again, and then they looked at Rocky McCarthy in confusion.

"Haha."

Lanky laughed when he heard this,

"If I heard correctly, Duke Berenhardt's rhetoric is actually a kind of ism that has been newly circulating in the Northern Continent in the past few months?"

"So what if it is? Are you not guilty?"

Morojian did not give in an inch and asked coldly,

"Overheaven Saint, Rocky McCarthy?"

"!"

The public identification of Rocky McCarthy as the Overheaven Saint by Morojian's words shocked the dignitaries and made them look at each other.

They all knew that this was called "Wilfordism."

Duke Morojian could even admit it generously.

Because this was a malignant conspiracy, he was not afraid of letting his opponents understand it.

The innocent would clear themselves, and those with unspeakable secrets would be in a difficult situation!

"Duke Morojian, you said that I am Rocky McCarthy, that I am the Overheaven Saint... But who knows, who exactly is the Wilford in Wilfordism?"

Lanky smiled and looked up, leaning back in his chair, and asked this question that everyone didn't understand why he would ask, and couldn't answer.

"Don't answer my question with a question, Rocky. It will only make you look like you are trying to cover up your guilt."

Morojian's voice was still calm. For some reason, he felt that Rocky McCarthy's relaxed posture seemed to be mocking him, mocking him as an amateur,

"You keep saying that you support the Archbishop of Silent Extinction, but I can be sure that from the beginning you would make everyone vote for the Overheaven Church. You and this woman are of one mind. All the imperial people have been deceived by you, because you were originally from the Overheaven Church."

The people present looked at each other from left to right.

Although they all felt that Duke Morojian's words were more and more like splashing dirty water, how could Rocky McCarthy be the Overheaven Saint.

But Rocky McCarthy was actually silent at this time, and did not refute Duke Morojian immediately.

"Do you dare to admit it? Rocky McCarthy."

Morojian further pressed, his eyes seeming to pierce through Rocky McCarthy's mask.

Sigrid of the Overheaven Church also glared at Duke Morojian.

She couldn't tolerate the duke's despicable tricks for a second.

Duke Morojian struck first, turned the tables, and was extremely insidious. In an instant, they fell into a disadvantage.

Because this was indeed a fact that was impossible to admit and difficult to deny!

Sigrid knew better than anyone that her saint didn't like to lie.

As long as Rocky McCarthy admitted it, his imperial career would almost be over. The Protos Empire couldn't allow him and the Overheaven Church to dominate!

Even if he didn't admit it, the imperial people would guard against the two of them because of Duke Morojian's words at this moment.

In any case, Duke Morojian's strategy of disgusting their Overheaven branch had succeeded, only with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Several seconds passed.

Rocky McCarthy, who was identified by Duke Morojian, did not open his mouth to defend himself at all, which made everyone even more confused.

Until.

They saw that Rocky McCarthy finally reacted.

They found that at this moment, not only did he not deny or avoid suspicion, but he also generously looked at Sigrid and even smiled at her.

"So what if it is? Do you think I don't dare to admit it? Duke Morojian, I don't know what the consequences of admitting it are. I only know that denying it at this moment will disappoint her."

Lanky said it generously.

And Sigrid was immediately a little flustered and quickly turned her head away.

"What is he doing, what is he doing..."

She lowered her head and pursed her lips, muttering in her heart.

They had clearly agreed to pretend not to know each other on the surface.

Suddenly looking at her like this, she didn't know how to continue the act at all!

In a short period of time, a burst of rapid exchange in lowered voices broke out in the seats of the National Assembly Hall. Everyone couldn't analyze what the relationship between Rocky and Sigrid was!

Anyway, it didn't look like a saint and an archbishop!

(End of this chapter)