Three days later, the hearing commenced.The hearing was held inside a round hall, and the person on trial sat in the center. He was facing over ten referendaries, as well as a large batch of jurors and the audience behind him. The pressure was great.
Fang Yuan had managed to sneak into the crowd. He looked at Heinze"s back and the group of representatives sitting in front.
There were many sorcerers among the audience. He also saw Alwin. The sorceress held a notebook and was constantly jotting down something.
It was apparent that everyone was interested in a representative on trial.
Although it"s merely a hearing, this is the layout of a trial!
Fang Yuan shook his head discreetly. He knew that Heinze would be in serious trouble if he were to allow them to do as they pleased.
"The president has arrived!"
The crowd immediately started murmuring. An ashen-haired old man wearing a black robe slowly walked into the hall with multiple guard teams surrounding him. He eventually arrived at the highest seat and sat down.
His features were worn with age, and his eyes were blurry with cataracts, looking like any other sickly old man. This was the president of the Sorcerer Congress, John Joe Davis.
The guards, including Billy, that surrounded him earlier now stood at his sides. The atmosphere was rather solemn.
Billy saw Fang Yuan and smiled tauntingly.
"Silence!" John knocked the small wooden gavel in his hands. "The hearing of Heinze is now commencing!"
The entire place fell silent.
On the main stage, Parker stood up. With a disgusted and cold tone, he questioned, "Heinze Nader! Please explain your lack of loyalty to the congress, as well as your actions that undermined the congress" well-being!"
The sorcerers had no evidence, and Heinze knew it.
However, with the Buns.h.i.+nsaba"s testimony, even if Heinze managed to go unpunished, he would have to hand over the majority of his authority to escape further suspicion.
"Why? For myself, of course!"
Heinze stood up with his head held high and looked around.
The atmosphere was dead silent. Even Parker opened his mouth wide in surprise. He shouted hysterically, "Did you hear what he just said? He admits it! He admits it!"
Rumble!
The next moment, the entire hall erupted with commotion.
President John hit his gavel repeatedly before for everything returned to calmness.
"Heinze… do you understand the costs of what you are saying? Are you sure you"re in charge of your faculties?" John asked slowly.
"Of course… I am well aware! I"ve already… had enough of all of you!" Heinze replied loudly. "You bunch of degenerate, foolish trash… How could people like you be fit to possess treasures like the Philosopher"s Book? Today… it shall belong to me!"
Parker realized that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, so he hurriedly recited a spell and pointed with his right finger. "Bind!"
Golden chains appeared around Heinze"s body.
"Sorcery? You will soon discover that you are ignorant when it comes to true horror!"
Heinze growled. His entire body suddenly ballooned up, as though there had been a giant spirit residing in his body all this time.
The dark illusion expanded continuously, causing the chains to groan under the strain before eventually snapping.
Ping!
Before anyone was ready, a giant explosion formed.
Multiple black shadows exploded from Heinze"s body. They were like huge bats that hung in the air. Growling, they pounced at the sorcerers.
Whoos.h.!.+
Their wilted fingers were tipped with sharp fingernails, and they easily tore human bodies apart with a single swipe.
Soon, the entire hall turned into a slaughterhouse.
Screams, growls, and shrieks, as well as the splatter of blood, caused chaos in the hall.
"Petrification!"
In the chaos and clamor, a huge roar resounded, suppressing everything.
It was President John!
The ordinary old man now had a resolute expression, appearing more like a guardian than any of the guards and br.i.m.m.i.n.g with a radiance that instilled trust.
Buzz buzz!
A wave of magic spread and hit the black-robed monsters.
Unfortunately, these Demon G.o.d subordinates were specifically prepared by Heinze to tackle Sorcerers, and they were immune to magic.
The giant bat monsters dashed onto the main stage without hesitation.
"Protect the president and the representatives!" the captain of the guards bellowed. He drew a gun from his waist and shot at the monsters.
Behind him, the guards steeled their expressions and brandished silver swords, daggers, and other similar weapons.
"No… it shouldn"t be like this!" Billy held an épée in his hands, but his face was pale. "W-Why has it suddenly turned into this?"
He saw a black monster rus.h.i.+ng towards him. Overcome with fear, he screamed and suddenly tried to escape.
"Billy! Save me!" A cry for help rang out.
Billy turned around and saw that Alwin had fallen onto the floor. She had sprained her ankle, and a black bat monster was about to attack her.
"I"m sorry!" Billy forced himself to look away and dashed toward the exit.
"No!" Alwin"s eyes filled with endless despair.
Rumble!
Countless sorcerers crowded at the exit, creating a very chaotic scene. The once graceful sorcerers were pus.h.i.+ng, squeezing, and even stepping over each other as they fought for their chance to live.
Suddenly, there was a huge explosion.
The highly-packed area immediately became the scene of a ma.s.sacre.
Blood and gore flew everywhere; broken limbs and bones scattered all over.
Just as the bat monster was about to attack, a calm voice emerged. "Miss… you shouldn"t remain here. Let"s leave immediately!"
Alwin raised her head and saw Fang Yuan.
The monster seemed extremely frightened of him and quickly left. "As repayment for you showing me the way earlier, I have saved you. I can only wish you good luck for things that happen after this!"
Mr. Snow…
Miss Alwin was a little dazed as she watched Snow walking away toward the main stage.
"Go quickly!"
Parker"s face distorted as he chanted spell after spell.
Unfortunately, the spells did little to the bat monsters.
"All of you… will die!"
Heinze had turned into a black giant nearly three meters tall. He roared while charging forward and punched.
Bang!
A guard wearing full armor smashed into the wall, and blood seeped from his armor.
"Chain Lightning!"
"Great Fireball!"
"Cone of Cold!"
…
The other representatives recited various spells in a fl.u.s.ter to attack the black giant.
Unfortunately, as with the bat monsters, none of the spells had any effect.
"It"s your turn!"
Fang Yuan jumped to the periphery of the battle, and a tiny silver knife flew from his hands.
Parker screamed and collapsed onto the ground, covering his thigh with his hands.
"Blade Edge!"
Cold sweat covered his forehead as he looked up at Fang Yuan and squeezed out a spell.
A blade appeared and hurtled toward Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan waved his right hand, and a black monster appeared between him and the blade, s.h.i.+elding him from the strike.
"No! Spare me!" Parker was in tears. "I don"t want to die. I can give you anything you want!"
"How pitiful. Too bad you can"t give me what I want!"
Fang Yuan casually punched Parker.
Blood covered Parker"s head as he slowly fell.
"Sir President!" Heinze rushed in front of President John. "I need the Philosopher"s Book!"
"Impossible! The power of the book is at the pinnacle even among first-cla.s.s Derivatives. Overusing its power will bring disaster to the entire world!" John refused righteously.
"Keke… When it comes to overuse, no one can compare to you. Having invented so many spells… did you not know that every spell incurs a cost from something? Perhaps that something is the very universe itself!" Heinze said fiercely. He suddenly dashed forward.
Bang! Bang!
Those standing in his way, no matter if they were representatives or guard captains, all coughed up blood as they fell back.
"I just need a bit of your blood and the power of curses!"
He grabbed John, and strands of black lines started climbing onto him. It was not long before the president"s expressions turned dull.
As a Demon G.o.d who had been in hiding for decades, Heinze"s explosion of power was terrifying. He even directly controlled the president of the Sorcerer Congress!
Poof!
At this time, Fang Yuan pulled out a silver dining knife from Sheldon"s neck. "What should we do next?"
They had killed everyone in the hall. And the chaos was now on the outside, even turning worse as time went on.
"To the treasure vault in the bas.e.m.e.nt… The blood of seven representatives, in addition to John"s voice, can open the door!"
Heinze used a small bottle to collect the blood on the floor. "We have to hurry!"
Although he could defeat the Sorcerer Congress, it was all because he had been planning this for a very long time.
Things would not be so easy if they waited until the Derivative organizations from other countries arrived.
"I have an ill premonition. Things seem to be going too smoothly!"
Fang Yuan frowned while following Heinze outside the hall.
Above the White Sanctuary, the black robe monsters were floating and dancing as they ignored the magic protections, as well as nullification enchantments, to hunt and kill ordinary sorcerers at will.
"The path to the treasure vault is surely guarded by representatives. However, they"re nothing to us!"
Heinze found the pa.s.sageway easily and waved his hand.
The large group of bat monsters flew into the pa.s.sageway.
"Let"s go!"
After pa.s.sing through the pa.s.sageway, an enormous underground chamber entered Fang Yuan"s vision.
It was similar to a cave that had walls emanating with a layer of white fluorescence.
In the depths of the fluorescence, there was a huge golden door.
The bat monsters screamed and attacked the few sorcerers in front of the door.