Woodrow"s expression was a little uncertain. Brandli"s sudden arrival had completely ruined his plans, and to make matters even worse, the former was familiar with the man who had killed his nephew. No matter what happened, he had to kill that man as soon as possible, both to avenge Warrick, and to prevent him from acting as a witness against his crimes.Woodrow stepped forward, and tried to take the initiative. "Master Brandli, I don"t know what kind of relations.h.i.+p you share with his murderer, but we have sufficient evidence that he was the one who committed the crime, so we have to arrest him along with these riotous citizens for interrogation. This is a case for our city lord"s castle, so I trust that the Gray Temple won"t intervene, right?"
Brandli"s brows furrowed slightly as he turned to look at Woodrow. Judging from his reaction, Brandli was almost certain that there was some fishy business going on. However, he was using the city lord"s castle"s backing against him, and it was quite difficult to ignore.
The victims in the crime here were people from the city lord"s castle, so according to the regulations, the Gray Temple really shouldn"t be stepping in.
"You"re lying! Grandpa Blah Blah, he"s a really bad man!" Amy was quite angry as she said, "That bad man wanted to bully Jessica and her mother, and then he wanted to kill Father, and that was why Father killed him. He also did bad things to many other people here!"
Woodrow glared at Amy, and roared, "Shut up! A stupid brat like you has no right to spout nonsense here!"
"Father, I"m scared." Amy immediately hid her head into Mag"s chest.
"Don"t worry, I"m here." Mag stroked Amy"s back in a comforting gesture, and turned to Woodrow with a mocking sneer as he said, "A pure child like my daughter isn"t allowed to speak the truth, but a fat piece of sh*t like you is allowed to say whatever he wants? Just because you"re obese doesn"t mean the whole world revolves around you! You only managed to get so fat by extorting all of these poor people here. Do you not have any conscience?"
"You!!" Woodrow pointed at Mag, and the rolls of fat all over his body quivered with rage. No one had ever dared to insult him like this before.
Brandli was also quite surprised as he looked at Mag. Who would have thought that the benevolent and amicable Mag would have such a sharp tongue?
He hesitated momentarily, and wasn"t in a hurry to say anything. He didn"t know what had happened to lead up to this crime, and he had to gather more information before deciding whether it was appropriate for the Gray Temple to intervene.
However, no matter what Woodrow said, he couldn"t allow Mag and Amy to come to any harm. Otherwise, Chaos City would have to face the wrath of two 10th-tier magic casters, and that would be a true calamity. As such, he whispered into the ear of one of the investigators, upon which the latter nodded, and quickly departed.
"You call these riotous citizens? You"ve withheld their compensation, and all of them are starving! These are "riotous citizens" consisting of elderly people over 60, women, and children below 14. These are "riotous citizens" who have lost the breadwinners in their families, yet still have to suffer humiliation every single day. You rape the women here for your pleasure, and even five-year-old girls are unable to escape that cruel fate. They"re just trying to struggle to get by, and yet you still insist on stomping them into the ground. These are the riotous citizens that you"re referring to." Mag"s smile grew colder and colder as he spoke. He looked at Woodrow and his soldiers, and interrogated, "Are they not supposed to be angry? Do they deserve to live like this? Think about all of the miners who gave their lives for the sake of constructing Chaos City; how are they supposed to rest in the afterlife, knowing that their families are suffering such horrendous treatment?"
The soldiers slowly lowered their heads, and also unconsciously lowered their sabers. Their eyes were downcast, and they didn"t dare to look at Mag.
A sobbing erupted within the crowd.
The young boy who had just calmly recounted how he had found his sister in a lake before burying her finally burst into tears as he collapsed on the ground.
An old woman hugged a girl who was missing a hand tightly to her chest, and she tried to suppress the sound of her sobs.
A woman with hideous scars on her face stared blankly at Mag as tears streamed down her face.
"This…" Brandli looked around him, and he felt as if his heart had completely constricted. If what Mag had said was true, then just how long had these poor people endured such inhumane treatment?
The city lord"s castle sent these people compensation every month in order to ensure their survival, but it was clear that they hadn"t received any of that money. So where had it gone?
Just how much hatred could spark an uprising consisting of women, elderly, and children, and make them mutilate those bodies in such a brutal manner?
The broken sobs and the soldiers who were hanging their heads in shame told Brandli all that he needed to know. He slowly clenched his fists; he could feel burning rage coursing through his veins.
A panicked expression appeared on Woodrow"s face as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Bullsh*t! That"s all bullsh*t! Detain them! Detain these people at once!"
The soldiers looked at each other; all of them were a little hesitant.
Woodrow kicked a soldier beside him to the ground, and roared, "I"m the governor, so you have to do what I say! Are you guys trying to revolt?!"
All of the soldiers were still quite reluctant, but they raised their sabers upon hearing that, and made their way hesitantly toward Mag and the relatives of the deceased miners.
Everyone from the Gray Temple knew what was going on upon seeing that. They all stood around Mag before drawing their longswords and wands.
"Why are you so fl.u.s.tered, Governor?" Mag"s rage continued to build as he listened to all of the sobs around him, and he looked at Woodrow with a mocking sneer as he said, "You don"t have to use the city lord"s castle to intimidate us; truth be told, I"ve already met the city lord himself. On top of that, he"s going to hold the conference between the dragons and the demons at my restaurant tonight. If you"d like to plead your case, you can come over tonight and talk to the city lord. I"m sure he"ll be very interested to hear what you have to say.
"But before that, I suggest you listen to these people around you first. Think about all of the heinous crimes you"ve committed! Think about all of the horrendous things that your b.a.s.t.a.r.d of a nephew has done!" Mag turned toward the relatives of the deceased miners, and his voice took a gentle turn as he said, "I know that retelling your past events is a painful experience for all of you, but please tell us your stories. Master Brandli and the Gray Temple will uphold justice for all of you, so let these sc.u.m receive the retribution they deserve."
Woodrow pointed at Mag, and roared, "Kill him!"
Right at that moment, Brandli, who had been silent for a long while, stepped forward. He brandished a black badge, and declared, "Not on my watch! I am an elder of the Gray Temple, and a 7th-tier magic caster, Brandli! This has now escalated to become a 4th-tier incident, so the Gray Temple will officially be stepping in! Anyone who is unrelated to this case, get back right now!"