Chapter 846 A vast force is taking shape!
Chapter 846 A vast force is taking shape!
The Court of the Port District of Xifan Port.
The marble walls are carved with a scale symbolizing justice, and there are circles of chairs under the towering dome.
There are five judges sitting in the trial, all of them are around 50 or 60 years old, with solemnity written on their wrinkled faces, and they look highly respected.
The wide jury box is also full.
A small number of them are officers of the Southern Legion, and most of the others are local Willant citizens of Xifan Port, or Willant merchants who just happened to pass by.
People are very enthusiastic about this trial, and some even come from Yongye Port or other colonies, not for the business opportunities brought by the “upcoming 300,000 troops”, but just to see the court scene.
And the reason why people are so interested is not only because of the identity of the defendant, but also because the charges brought out in this trial involve three betrayals – betrayal of the Willant people, betrayal of the Legion, and betrayal of the Marshal.
So many big hats are put on one person, which is extremely rare in the history of the Legion.
Especially since this guy was an “honorary Willant” who was promoted based on his military exploits.
The people sitting in the jury box were even more curious!
It is said that the court collected a lot of money just for selling tickets to the jury box!
Looking at the man brought to the court, Penny, who was sitting in the jury box, couldn’t help but clench her fists, and sweat oozed from her palms.
In the corner on the other side of the jury box, a man wearing an officer’s hat also sat in the audience seat.
He looked young, with a bulge in the middle of his nose, and his eyes were firm and cold. He looked at the pangolin brought to the defendant’s seat with interest, like an eagle overlooking its prey.
This man was Gu Liong, the commander-in-chief of the combat area of Boro Province, and the three-star captain of the Southern Legion!
Before coming to Xifan Port, he heard a lot about the heroic deeds of this man named Pangolin.
For example, he single-handedly held back the alliance’s attacking forces for a full month and killed and injured thousands of alliance members.
For example, he single-handedly hunted down the Mother of the Dead Claw in the Valley Province and cut off her head.
Another example is the record in Haiya Province.
Now this guy has appeared in Borneo Province again, and before he came here, he did another earth-shattering event.
Gu Liong couldn’t help but be curious.
How does this guy who is trying to stop a car with his arms plan to get out of trouble this time?
Just as he was staring at the man called Pangolin with interest, a man came to his side.
The man pulled out a chair and sat next to him, and put his officer’s hat on the table.
Gu Liong glanced slightly, and saw that face, which was also famous, and couldn’t help but curl up a playful smile at the corner of his mouth.
”General McLen? What a rare guest, what wind blew the “chief instructor” of Borneo Province here?”
Due to the hilarious performance of the Xilan Empire in a series of fields such as military, economy, and diplomacy, McLen, who went to Borneo Province as an instructor, also suffered some influence in the military.
After all, those Borneo people who were swimming butterfly at the mouth of Yongliu River were nominally McLen’s students.
Even though their swimming skills had nothing to do with McLen, and were mainly taught by the civil servants of Triumph City, they still couldn’t get rid of the mark of McLen on them.
McLen didn’t care about General Gullion’s ridicule, and just smiled faintly.
”You are very similar to one of my… friends. You are as talented, elegant, capable and contagious as him… I see a lot of his shadow in you. I always argue with him, but I never win once.”
Feeling a little embarrassed by the praise, Gullion laughed and said modestly.
”Thank you for your compliment.”
With his legs crossed on his knees, McLen smiled.
”You’re welcome… But aren’t you curious about who he is?”
Gullion said gently.
”Then I’ll ask for the name of your friend, and please introduce him to me next time you return to Triumph City.”
McLen said in the same gentle tone.
”His name is Griffin, and he is also a three-star commander, just like you.”
Hearing Griffin’s name, Gurion’s face turned cold at a visible speed, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.
”What do you mean? Comparing me to a dead person?”
”Dead person?” McLen glanced at him slightly, slightly surprised. “General Griffin is a hero who received a state funeral. Are you showing disdain for him?”
Gurion’s expression froze for a moment, and thousands of words were stuck in his mouth. In the end, he could only force out a half-cold smile.
”…Hehe, the Eastern Legion used to fight with their mouths. I am ignorant.”
He knew about Griffin. It was said that he suddenly died of a stroke when the Eastern Legion’s expeditionary force had the upper hand.
The expeditionary force, which lost its commander, was forced to accept the ceasefire proposed by the Alliance and the enterprise, and unfortunately stopped the war before it was about to expand.
The Triumph News announced the victory of the Eastern Legion’s expeditionary force, and Griffin finally received a glorious state funeral as a general.
No matter how he evaluated Griffin himself, that honor was not something he could laugh at.
The only person who would be embarrassed if the news got out would be himself.
Looking at the frustrated Gurion, McLen smiled faintly and said.
”…Please don’t misunderstand, General Gurion, I don’t mean to quarrel with you.”
Gurion chuckled and cast his eyes on the defendant’s seat in the distance.
”I heard that you promoted that pangolin yourself?”
McLen nodded slightly.
”Yes, during the Luoxia War, his direct superior was Korwe, and both of them were considered my subordinates.”
Hearing this, Gurion immediately seemed to have caught an opportunity and said with a light click of his tongue.
”Tsk tsk, what a pity… But I’m not surprised at all. I can only say that the kind of boss leads the kind of subordinates. It seems that the civil service group didn’t teach him well.”
The sarcasm in the words was obvious.
However, McLen did not get angry when he heard this, but laughed openly and said with a big heart.
”I think so too. Those civil servants can’t teach him anything. It’s a waste of talent for him to follow them… But having said that, I am still very proud of myself for being able to lead such an excellent subordinate. He has lived up to my expectations of him.”
Excellent?
Gurion raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, glanced at McLen, and asked with interest.
”Do you think he still has a chance to turn the tables?”
”Turning tables?” McLen also glanced at him and said with a smile, “General Gurion, at least wait until you win before you say this.”
Gurion curled his lips disapprovingly and moved his eyes away from this stubborn guy.
Wait until you win before you say this?
What a joke!
The entire courtroom is full of his people. How can that guy who is not even a Willant win!
Seeing that Gurion did not speak again, McLen stopped talking and just smiled at the court not far away.
All pairs of eyes were focused on the center of the court, waiting for the solemn trial to officially begin.
The not-so-long opening ceremony ended with a slight sound of a gavel. The representative of the plaintiff standing in the plaintiff’s seat piled up the documents on the table and declared in an impassioned tone.
”Captain Pangolin! On behalf of the Southern Legion and all the Willant people, I am filing a lawsuit against you!”
”The massacre at Xifan Port is still vivid in my mind. Even on this piece of stone brick under my feet, there is the blood of the Willant people spilled here… Three thousand people! More than three thousand people were slaughtered by the criminals! And these murderers are still at large! They even sit on the throne that belongs to our allies!”
”And you! What did you do when we bestowed the honor of being a Willant person?”
The prosecutor glanced at the judge, then at the crowded jury behind him, and then at Pangolin standing in the dock, and said righteously.
”When we were fighting for the fate of the Weilants, you, on behalf of the Weilants of Triumph City, recognized the legal status of a brutal, dirty, and illegal regime that massacred the Weilants!”
”This is not only a betrayal of Triumph City, but also a betrayal of the Legion, all the Weilants, and even the Marshal!”
”This is an unforgivable sin! Thank the mercy of the law, we have pardoned your death sentence! But in return, we will deprive you of your honor, honorary identity and military rank, and sentence you to indefinite imprisonment.”
”You will repent in a windowless prison, watching the evil consequences of your appeasement disappear in the flames of justice, and spend the rest of your life in regret in the darkness… This will be the best punishment for you.”
After the representative of the plaintiff finished speaking, he raised his eyebrows provocatively at this “honorary Weilants”.
However, the battlefield atmosphere group did not look at him, but only looked at the judge standing in the court, waiting for his turn.
The judge did not look at him, nor at the plaintiff, but just tapped the gavel lightly.
”Silence! It is my responsibility to decide the criminal responsibility. The plaintiff only needs to state the criminal facts of the defendant.”
The prosecutor standing in the plaintiff’s seat seemed to realize his own gaffe and smiled and explained.
”Sorry, I was too emotional… Please understand my anger towards the traitor as a Weilant.”
”Then please understand the solemnity of the court.”
Although the result of the trial was a foregone conclusion, the chief judge still said this, and then looked at the man named Pangolin and said in a procedural manner.
”… Then, as the plaintiff stated, do you have anything else to say?”
The battlefield atmosphere group originally didn’t want to make extra defenses.
First, he knew it was useless.
The judge and the plaintiff were all General Gullion’s men. They could sentence whatever they wanted. It was nothing more than a matter of talking.
Second, he was really not very good at talking, and he didn’t understand the laws of the Legion at all. It was easy to make mistakes if he said too much. It was the
best way to not plead guilty and shut up.
If he couldn’t go to the court of Triumph City, it would be a waste of time for him to say more, which would only bring humiliation.
For example, at this moment, this court did not even arrange a defense lawyer for him.
But just when he was about to fool around and “skip” this plot, he caught a glimpse of a worried face from the jury seat…
Never mind.
It’s hard to wait three days for resurrection, and it’s not his style to let others decide his life or death.
The battlefield atmosphere group was silent for a while, and finally decided to try hard. So after brewing emotions for a moment, they looked up at the judge and said calmly.
”Mr. Judge, I have nothing to say.”
The chief judge was stunned.
The other four judges sitting in the trial bench were the same, exchanging surprised glances.
There was a whispering sound in the jury seat in the distance, as if no one expected that he would not even bother to make a defense.
Penny stared in surprise, wishing she could climb over the fence and rush to wake him up.
Captain Ross narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly he couldn’t see through this man.
General Gullion cast a victorious look at General McLennan, and wrote what he wanted to say in his eyes.
As for McLen, he was indifferent, just smiling at the calm guy.
He was able to go deep into the danger alone and persuade Abusek to defect. This guy is definitely not an ordinary person.
The fun has just begun.
This guy had the same expression when he came back with the head of the Mother of Deathclaw.
The prosecutor standing in the plaintiff’s seat, like General Gullion, had a triumphant expression on his face.
”It seems that the defendant has nothing to say. I think we can make a verdict.”
The chief judge calmed down and stared at the battlefield atmosphere group standing in the defendant’s seat and said.
”Do you mean to plead guilty?”
The battlefield guy said neither servile nor arrogant.
”I don’t mean that.”
After a pause, he said again.
”It’s just that I don’t think I have any obligation to explain anything to a group of ‘guys who use the lives of their compatriots as bargaining chips just for their own selfish desires’.”
”It’s not me who should stand here, but them!”
He didn’t say the guy’s name, but the implication was very clear-it was nothing more than those people sitting in the jury, waiting for him to explain.
At least some of them!
The moment he finished speaking, there was an uproar in the jury.
The officers of the Southern Legion stood up from their chairs one after another.
Most of them were decurions or centurions, and there were also some non-commissioned officers or soldiers.
They were not only young, but also full of vigor.
Faced with the naked provocation, they cursed back without hesitation… and this was also one of the traditions of the Willant people.
”What do you mean, man!”
”What do you mean by using the lives of your compatriots as bargaining chips for your own selfish desires!”
”Aren’t you the civil servants who have abandoned the lives of your compatriots?”
”The lackeys of the civil servants! Bah!”
”Cowardly and incompetent!”
”Sentence him to death!”
”Silence! Silence!”
The chief judge slammed the gavel in his hand, signaling the jury to be quiet.
However, the warlord stood in the dock as if nothing had happened, bathing in the surprised gaze of the prosecutor beside him, and turning a deaf ear to the raging anger behind him.
When the court finally quieted down, the chief judge stared at Pangolin angrily and said.
”Captain Pangolin, please watch your words! This court will refer to the opinions of the jury at its discretion during the trial. All irrelevant accusations you have made in court will only aggravate your crimes.”
”Irrelevant accusations!”
The warlord stared at the chief judge intently, repeated his words, and then turned to face the jury. His originally calm expression was now strangely angry.
”While I was alone in the heart of the Heavenly King’s Army to find the truth, what were you doing? Exchanging fire with unarmed civilians?”
The voice echoed in the empty hall, temporarily suppressing the noise in the hall.
Everyone was silent, staring at him intently.
”Two hundred people!”
The battlefield atmosphere group raised two fingers, one index finger and one middle finger.
At that moment, he seemed like a real Willant, proudly raising his head and nose.
”Two hundred civilians… They were frightened in the rebels’ land, dared not make a sound, and they were right under your noses! And what did you do? Revenge for the three thousand dead? You clearly knew where the people who really killed them were, but you did nothing!”
The prosecutor standing aside couldn’t listen any more, and coughed, trying to interrupt.
”I have to say something… It’s not that the Southern Army Corps did nothing, but because the survivors of the catastrophe concealed part of the truth, and we didn’t know that there were still people alive–”
”Shut up!”
The warlord suddenly roared, and the fierce eyes made the prosecutor stunned, and his feet seemed to be rooted, and his calves trembled slightly.
The eyes were like a ferocious beast, and the bloodthirsty breath made him unable to say a word.
He swallowed unconsciously,
and there was a trace of panic in his wavering eyes. Unlike him who talked nonsense in the court.
This guy is a real soldier, a ghost crawling out of the sea of corpses!
”… I didn’t ask you to speak, and the judge didn’t ask you to interrupt, so please shut up, now is my time to speak.” The warlord suddenly lowered his voice and said this.
The pressure on his shoulders suddenly eased, and the prosecutor nodded nervously, but soon realized that he was being led by the nose, and then stared at him angrily.
The battlefield guy stopped looking at him and once again faced the full jury.
However, this time he was not looking at the soldiers and officers who stood up.
He looked at Alman, his wife Margaret, and many people like the couple, as well as their children.
”Did you see that? Just like the prosecutor next to me, a civilian who has never been to the battlefield, I only need to stare at him, and his calves will shake like a wall clock, and he can’t help but kneel down to me.”
”I tell you, this is power! Even a person as small as me can easily control the power. And I am just a thousand-man captain, at most an awakened person.”
”In the face of this uncontrolled power, even the most dazzling truth can only be silent, and I don’t think that silence forced to submit is a sin… It’s more like a shame!”
”And it’s your shame!” The battlefield atmosphere group pointed to the officers who stood up.
Some people couldn’t help but sit down just now, but there were still many people standing.
”You keep saying that you are forever loyal to the Marshal, the Legion, and the Willant people, but you let your compatriots fear you, and then let more people fear your compatriots, and use their fear to grab your own interests… Am I wrong? This is the real you!”
”Two fires were lit in Xifan Port. One fire was started by a group of self-proclaimed unorganized thugs, and the other fire was started by a group of organized thugs… Why did the first fire burn out the Heavenly King’s Army?”
”Where did the weapons of the Heavenly King’s Army come from, and why did so many equipment appear in their hands? Who is supplying them!”
”And why! Why are those two hundred people right under your noses, but you would rather massacre civilians on the spot than take a step forward!”
”Yes, you didn’t know that they were in Earl Sharma’s manor, just as the prosecutor said, but what are your legs, eyes and hands for? Are they just decorations!”
”Why can I find them? But you can’t! Have you really done anything besides sending more gunpowder to Xifan Port!”
”What are you doing here? Answer me! Look me in the eye and answer!!”
The angry voice spread like a tsunami, fearlessly crashing into the group of officers who were glaring at him.
Although the officers standing in the jury box still had expressionless faces, the eyes of the people sitting next to them had changed significantly.
Margaret couldn’t help but cover her mouth, with tears of excitement in her eyes, and put her forehead on her husband’s shoulder.
Finally someone spoke out the fear in her heart that night.
Finally someone spoke out the fear that her children had faced.
Before they were sure that they were no longer important, they didn’t even dare to walk out of the manor and tell their children that they were still alive.
That was because of fear.
She didn’t want to die for unclear reasons and take all the truth into the grave.
Even if what she saw was just a blurry shadow, not even evidence…
Alman put his hand on her shoulder, hugged his wife tightly, and supported the man standing in the dock with a firm look to continue speaking.
Pairs of eyes converged into streams, and streams eventually merged into rivers.
A vast force was taking shape!
That was the power that once supported the Willant people and allowed them to break free from the shackles on their bodies!
Penny’s eyes flashed with tears of excitement, and she couldn’t help cheering for him.
The Willant people have their own backbone.
They are not the kind of spineless people who don’t have their own stance.
The sword of truth was emitting a dazzling light at this moment!
She could feel the boiling emotions and atmosphere at the scene, which made the maggots hiding in the gutter hide their foreheads in shame and move their pupils away.
Those dirty things dared not answer these questions.
They didn’t even dare to admit that the problem existed. They only dared to say some trivial words after the storm passed, or talk about something else.
The prosecutor standing in the plaintiff’s seat was sweating profusely, trying to distract attention by organizing the documents in his hands. What
could he say?
The evidence in this guy’s hands might be much more explosive than the few pieces of paper in his hand!
He no longer dared to face the crowded jury, and even dared not look at his teammates sitting in the trial bench – those judges who had already prepared the verdict.
More and more eyes were looking at the officers of the Southern Legion, making those who were still standing more and more unable to hold their expressions, and finally sat down.
What they couldn’t accept was that not only the citizens, but even their subordinates looked at them hesitantly…
Why didn’t they attack the Heavenly King’s Army, but instead vented their anger on the group of unarmed civilians!
Pete, biting his toothpick, also wanted to know, and he stared at his centurion intently.
After the centurion sat down, he looked at his boss’s boss Ross – the thousand-man commander who was speechless at the northern checkpoint.
Why?
He clenched his fist tightly, wishing he could hammer it on the table.
You guys should talk!
Say something!
Looking at the courtroom where the atmosphere had completely changed, McLen smiled and clapped his hands gently.
”Haha, wonderful.” He
is worthy of being a subordinate promoted by himself.
He has indeed grown a lot.
McLen could see that the guy actually wanted to give up for a moment, but eventually changed his mind.
This is the right choice.
If even he gave up on himself, then there would be no point in those who protected him no matter how hard they tried.
At least at this moment, he has the value of living, and he has earned it by himself.
Unlike McLen, who was smiling and applauding, Gurion, who looked at him with pride before, was panicking at this moment.
He didn’t know what kind of conspiracy the top leaders of the Southern Legion had, but he could also guess that the “King’s Rebellion” was by no means a complete accident.
In other words, there was an invisible hand behind the accident that was fanning the flames.
It might be his superior, or his superior’s superior, or even the legion commander who gave him the “highest command of the combat area in the Borneo Province”!
However, at this moment, this idiot actually threw such a secret in the court of public trial! Is
he crazy? ! !
Didn’t the civil service group make small moves behind the scenes!
Seeing this “self-destructing truck” crashing over, Gurion’s eyebrows were covered with a drop of cold sweat.
His original intention was to use this trial to severely humiliate the group of civil servants who were dragging their feet, but he didn’t expect to be counter-attacked and let him shoot himself in the foot.
He stretched out a trembling index finger to take off his hat and threw it on the table in embarrassment.
This was the signal he agreed with the judge.
He must stop this trial!
Stop that idiot from continuing to speak!
The Warlord had no intention of continuing to speak, but just quietly looked at the boiling atmosphere in the courtroom.
It didn’t look like a solemn court at all, and the noisy appearance was a bit like a vegetable market.
However, his goal was achieved.
The court could not completely ignore the opinions of the jury. The original undisputed verdict had at least caused enough controversy at this moment.
He actually didn’t have solid evidence for many things. The Southern Legion would not leave too many handles. It was enough for him to point out the doubts as a person who was throwing out bricks to attract jade.
As long as the voice of doubt exists, it is meaningful for him to do this.
Next, he will appeal to Triumph City step by step as he said, and go all the way with the hope on his shoulders!
”Well said!” Alman was the first to stand up. Like the other officers who stood up in defiance of court discipline, he shouted at the prosecutor in the plaintiff’s seat, “Answer his questions!”
The voices of response were deafening!
”That’s right! Answer his questions!”
”What are you here for! Are you here to save us, or to prepare for invasion?”
”Where were you when we needed you?”
”Why didn’t you go to save my mother! And why are there so many weapons in the port!”
Little Ruby, who was holding the railing with both hands, was also ignited with the fire in her heart, and shouted with bright eyes.
Although the slender voice did not stir up a wave and was easily drowned in the raging sound, she still made her own voice.
She will not forget the fear of that day.
Otherwise, all the courage will be meaningless. All
the officers who stood up have sat down. On the one hand, it was the warning from their superiors, and on the other hand, they really did not have the courage to continue standing and facing the questioning.
Pete’s eyes were filled with disappointment. He spat out the toothpick in his mouth, cursed fiercely, “Damn coward”, and clenched his fists to endure the humiliation.
He was not afraid of fighting a fair battle with the Alliance.
But this humiliation made him unable to raise his head.
”Silence! Silence!”
Looking at the noisy scene, the sweaty chief judge raised the gavel in his hand, and was about to knock it down but stopped.
He noticed the hat in front of General Gullion, and also noticed the urging eyes.
However, it was precisely because of this that the gavel in his hand was suspended in the air, and he was reluctant to knock it down.
He was very clear about General Gullion’s hint.
But he also knew very well what it would mean if he did so.
This was not just a controversial judgment, but it was completely contrary to people’s hearts. He couldn’t even think of how to quibble.
Could he still say to people, “Although there are doubts in this case, this judge is going to find him guilty”?
The bullet shot at the hero cannot erase the hero’s halo, but will make him immortal, while the person who fired the shot will be nailed to the pillar of shame and become an eternal shame and clown.
The real clown didn’t dare to shoot, so he handed the trigger to him, hoping that he would be the villain.
”This coward…”
You are a three-star captain after all!
The chief judge gritted his teeth, struggled for a long time, and finally hammered the gavel in his hand.
However, his ruling did not go as General Gullion wished, and even made the latter’s eyes show obvious disappointment.
”This court makes a verdict. Because the prosecutor’s materials are insufficient, it is impossible to assert that the defendant is guilty…”
”Since the prosecutor has proposed that the pangolin captain betrayed the marshal, the legion, and the Willant people… then let the marshal, the court of Triumph City, and all the Willant people come together to judge him.” After
a pause, he said again.
”The court in Xifan Port is too small to try such a big case.”
”Adjourn!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the jury instantly burst into warm applause!
Alman’s eyes flashed with excitement, and his hands clapped red.
He was not the only one.
There was also Margaret standing beside him, all the other survivors, and those who came here from distant colonies…Except for the officers of the Southern Corps, almost everyone present stood up and applauded!
Including General McLennan.
This was not just a victory for Pangolin alone, but a victory for all of them…even if they were still far from the final victory!
But at least at this moment, they did not choose to remain silent and let the out-of-control power do evil, but bravely stood up and defended the power in their hands!
The power to know the truth!
”Oh oh oh!”
Like the adults around her, little Ruby was cheering excitedly, and her whole body was hanging on the railing with excitement, her calves dangling in the air.
She didn’t understand so many difficult principles, she just thought that the brother named Pangolin was very handsome, and made those people speechless.
Of course –
compared to her own parents, he is still far behind!
Bathed in the boiling applause, the chief judge nodded slightly, accepted the cheers of the people ashamedly, and then left the bench with the other four judges.
General Gullion clenched his fist silently, his teeth clattering.
Just then, an annoying voice suddenly came from the side.
”I think you should focus on the overall situation. Let the big guys worry about the troubles of the big guys… What do you think? If you get involved too much, it’s easy to be like my friend, who suddenly had a stroke.”
General McLen, who had stopped clapping, looked at him with a triumphant smile on his face.
General Gullion glanced at him, stood up from his seat with a cold face, picked up the hat on the table and put it on.
”I don’t have to argue with a centurion.”
”Well, I don’t think you are that kind of person with no taste… Besides, you fought beautifully.”
McLen also picked up his hat and put it on, smiling and extending his right hand.
General Gullion did not shake his hand, or even look at him, and walked away without looking back.
At the same time, the battlefield atmosphere group standing in the cheers finally gently put down their clenched fists and their hearts that were raised to their throats.
He has never done such an awesome thing in his life.
This is much harder than facing the Mother of Deathclaws!
His chest rose and fell gently, and he looked at the survivors who applauded him. A smile suddenly appeared on his tense face.
But to be honest, this experience is quite interesting.
It would be a loss if he didn’t sell this game for tens of thousands of dollars!
(End of this chapter)
