Chapter 127: Athena Desires Guidance
“What I mean is, a public trial.”
“Gather all the nobles, clerics, and even commoners of the Auville Imperial City and put Karsus on trial for his crimes in front of everyone,” Qin Chu said calmly, ignoring the shocked gazes around him. “If the venue can’t accommodate so many people, then use magic projections to broadcast the trial of Karsus.”
“Publish it on the front page of the newspapers, make sure that everyone in the Heavenly Continent knows that Karsus slaughtered 3200 Holy Knights of the Holy See, his crime is unforgivable, and he has been sentenced to death.”
These words shocked everyone!
This was a way to completely ruin Karsus’s reputation, to make him reviled even after death, to make him infamous for eternity… It was truly vicious.
Loseweisse and Athena’s expressions also changed. Their four beautiful eyes all stared at Qin Chu, shaking their heads subconsciously.
They absolutely couldn’t accept a public trial of Karsus. It would be a disgrace to the entire former Hero Squad.
The former Hero Squad was the only legacy Lord Jie Luo left in the Heavenly Continent. They would never allow his legacy to be tarnished and cursed.
“Brother Qin… Did you hear what I just said?” Wadsworth frowned, “Even if this matter is just leaked, it will cause unrest, let alone a public trial… We need peace and stability now…”
“Your Majesty Wadsworth, that’s exactly why we need to do this,” Qin Chu replied calmly.
Wadsworth became interested, “Why?”
When some particularly bad things happened in the past, the Auville Empire’s way of handling them was to cover them up as much as possible. If they couldn’t be covered up, they would downplay them. He didn’t understand why Qin Chu wanted to deliberately make this matter a big deal.
“Concealing it will only breed suspicion.” Qin Chu placed his hand on his chest and bowed in a gentlemanly manner, starting to explain his point of view.
“Your Majesty Wadsworth, do you really think the things you want to conceal can be kept secret?”
“No, don’t treat the people as fools. They know everything, they just don’t say it out loud.”
“The things you want to conceal will only become gossip among the nobles and commoners… The concealment you think you’ve achieved, the stability you think you’ve maintained, is just a false peace.”
Wadsworth’s expression turned a little ugly. This was the first time he had heard this kind of opinion, and it piqued his interest. This man seemed very open-minded and straightforward, “Brother, go on.”
Qin Chu nodded and continued, “Concealing it will only lead to the public not knowing the truth of the matter. This lack of understanding will make people subconsciously speculate and guess what the truth is… You know, once people start to imagine things, they tend to exaggerate. If the trouble you want to conceal is ten, then in the minds of the people, it will become a hundred, a thousand.”
“Trying to avoid panic by concealing things will only lead to greater panic in the end. It’s just that this panic is being suppressed by the people and hasn’t erupted yet. But once it erupts, all the panic accumulated over the years will be like a flood breaking through a dam, uncontrollable.”
“It’s the same with this matter. Can the fact that Karsus killed so many Holy Knights really be completely concealed? There must be others who know about it, and this news will spread and circulate in private.”
“People will speculate why Karsus killed so many Holy Knights. Is there an irreconcilable conflict between the Holy See and the Hero Squad? Will this conflict affect the united front against the Demon Beasts, thus breeding more fear?”
“Only by holding a public trial and calling on as many people as possible to watch, letting everyone know the truth, can we prevent the spread of panic,” Qin Chu said in one breath.
This was the punishment he had prepared for Karsus. What he had endured, he wanted Karsus to experience it too.
These words seemed to make sense.
Wadsworth, Augustus, and the others were definitely not fools. They were very shrewd, but because they had been in high positions for too long, they were out of touch with the thoughts of the common people.
Wadsworth seemed to be persuaded.
Loseweisse and Athena, on the other hand, were full of resistance, especially Athena. Her gaze towards Qin Chu became even more disgusted. If there was really a public trial, the former Hero Squad’s reputation would be completely ruined. This was something Athena absolutely couldn’t allow.
After a brief hesitation, Athena stepped forward to refute, “Hero, your words seem to make sense, but since the people could endure it before, I think it shouldn’t be a problem this time either. At this critical moment, it’s better not to complicate matters and cause unnecessary trouble…”
“Miss Athena, do you know where the people’s breaking point is?”
Qin Chu immediately countered. His attack was very sharp, and under his gaze, Athena subconsciously dodged.
“You don’t know, and neither do I… But who can guarantee that this matter won’t push them to their limit? Most of the Imperial Army is made up of commoners, and their supplies also come from commoners. If there is an outbreak, the chaos among the people will inevitably affect the army. The Imperial Army, the Church’s army, everyone knows that the Death Knight of the Hero Squad slaughtered a large number of Holy Knights, warriors… As the side that was slaughtered, they will subconsciously resist the experts of the Hero Squad.”
“Gradually, they will think that the strong have privileges, that even if they slaughter soldiers fighting against the Demon Beasts, they won’t be punished, and thus they will resent all experts.”
“Human unity will be torn apart by a huge wound. I don’t know much about Demon Beasts, I’ve only seen tens of thousands of Minotaurs… I don’t know how much weight those Minotaurs that were burned to ashes hold among the Demon Beasts, but I know that those Minotaurs are ferocious and cruel, enemies that must be treated with caution…”
“Miss Athena, do you think a divided humanity can still fight against the Demon Beast army?”
“If, in order to protect the reputation of this criminal Karsus, humanity loses in the fight against the Demon Beasts, can you bear this consequence?”
“If humanity fails, becoming slaves, food, or even extinct for the Demon Beasts, can you bear this consequence?”
“Can your Hero Squad bear it?”
Qin Chu pressed step by step, every word filled with aggression.
The pressure on Athena intensified, her face turning pale. She wanted to retort but couldn’t speak…
She saw through Qin Chu’s tactics. It was a very shameless method.
All the scenarios Qin Chu used to attack were things that might happen in the future, and they were the most extreme and worst-case scenarios. He even brought up the possibility of human extinction.
But Athena couldn’t refute his words, because no one could guarantee that such extreme situations wouldn’t happen in the future, and no one could bear the responsibility for human extinction.
This was sophistry, but sophistry was also the most difficult to deal with.
“But a public trial will also lead to the same situation, right?” Athena weakly resisted.
Without pausing, Qin Chu immediately gave his answer, “No, a public trial will be completely different. First of all, the people will know the truth and won’t make wild guesses.”
“For the Holy Knights and the soldiers fighting on the front lines, they will only hate Karsus, not others. The division won’t spread further.”
“Most importantly, the fact that Karsus, as a super expert, is sentenced to death for slaughtering soldiers will also make the soldiers on the front lines feel valued. Their morale won’t be lowered, it might even be boosted.”
Wadsworth and Saint Monique couldn’t help but nod.
“As for the members of your Hero Squad, it’s best for all of you to appear at the trial and publicly condemn Karsus. It’s best to proactively expel him from the Hero Squad. This is equivalent to clearly stating that you have drawn a line between yourselves and Karsus, that you are different. This way, you can protect the honor of the other members of the Hero Squad!”
“Moreover, with Benson’s death, it can be contrasted with Karsus, making the people believe that not everyone in the Hero Squad is a bastard like Karsus.”
Athena still wanted to refute, but she couldn’t find the words.
Moreover, Qin Chu’s words made sense. Benson was already dead, and Karsus’s actions had already been exposed. Since that was the case, minimizing the damage seemed to be the most correct choice.
Besides, Athena didn’t really want to help Karsus, this idiot who had been tainted by the power of the Evil God.
“Then… what about the reason? There must be a reason why Karsus killed so many Holy Knights, right?” Athena was almost persuaded.
“Reason? We can come up with as many as we want. Karsus was tainted by dark power, driven mad by the will of the Evil God, that’s all possible. The Pope and the Holy Maiden tried their best to save him, but they couldn’t bring back his consciousness, so they had to execute him… Isn’t that enough? Anyway, Karsus has done this kind of thing before, no one will doubt it.”
The four old foxes exchanged glances, all feeling that it sounded good. In the end, Augustus spoke, “The Hero’s words are very reasonable, and we agree with him. Since that’s the case, then we will imprison Karsus for now and hold a public trial after we’re ready.”
After a pause, Augustus’s gaze fell on Loseweisse, his expression gradually becoming sharp.
Loseweisse’s face turned pale. She knew what was coming.
“Loseweisse, you knew about Karsus slaughtering the Holy Knights long ago!” Augustus said in a cold voice, “Tell me, were you also involved?”
Loseweisse’s face was pale. Just as she was about to defend herself, Qin Chu stepped forward and shielded her behind him. He bowed gentlemanly, “Your Holiness, you misunderstood. The Saintess wasn’t involved.”
“The Saintess only asked me to keep this matter a secret because she didn’t want to cause a full-blown conflict between the Hero Squad and the Church, leading to a civil war among humans,” Qin Chu explained apologetically.
“I’m sorry, I knew about this matter long ago, but I didn’t tell everyone the truth.”
Qin Chu stepped forward and cleared Loseweisse’s name. Although she was still at fault, it was much less serious now.
However, the implication of his words was much more insidious. See, the Hero Squad wasn’t afraid of a direct conflict with them, and they were even willing to start a civil war. Be careful!
Athena and Loseweisse might not understand, but Wadsworth, Saint Monique, and Augustus, who controlled the army, couldn’t ignore these words.
Loseweisse’s eyes sparkled as she stared at Qin Chu’s back. She suddenly felt that this man wasn’t bad at all.
He was still speaking up for her at this time. If it wasn’t for Lord Jie Luo, she might actually develop some feelings for him.
Of course, compared to Lord Jie Luo, he wasn’t even worthy of carrying his shoes.
But since he helped her out this time, it wouldn’t be impossible to give him some benefits in the future.
This kind of man, with just a little temptation, would immediately throw himself at her, like a dog…
Athena’s gaze was a little pitiful… This poor man, still speaking up for Loseweisse. He didn’t even know what kind of people Ekaterina and Loseweisse were, let alone that they were plotting to kill him behind his back.
What a pathetic man.
Because there was the more serious matter of Karsus to deal with, and because Qin Chu pleaded for them, Loseweisse and Ekaterina’s actions of taking Qin Chu out of the Imperial City without permission and concealing Karsus’s massacre of the Holy Knights were only lightly criticized and then dismissed.
As for Natia, she was also warned that she must stop such things from happening again.
At noon, Augustus entertained everyone, but because they had seen too many bloody heads before, they basically had no appetite.
It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that Qin Chu left.
He hadn’t taken a few steps when he heard hurried footsteps behind him. It was Loseweisse, her hands holding up her skirt as she quickly chased after him.
“Hero…”
Her gentle and alluring call made Qin Chu stop.
Standing before Qin Chu, Loseweisse gently pressed her hand against her chest, which was heaving from running. The glimpse of her fair skin beneath the pure white Saintess attire was like a magnet, attracting Qin Chu’s gaze.
Qin Chu couldn’t help but feel that the neckline of Loseweisse’s Saintess attire seemed to be lower, he didn’t know if it was just his imagination.
Qin Chu’s gaze made Loseweisse feel smug. Although there were Angelica, Natia, and even that rough Violet by the Hero’s side, as long as she was willing to show a little bit of temptation, the Hero’s focus would immediately shift to her.
She, Saintess Loseweisse, was not on the same level as those other ordinary women.
With smug thoughts swirling in her mind, Loseweisse’s expression was as gentle as ever, “Hero, thank you for pleading for me in front of the Pope just now…”
Qin Chu tore his gaze away from her fair skin with great effort and shook his head gentlemanly, “Saintess, I didn’t plead for you. I just told the truth.”
Loseweisse smiled softly. She was very satisfied with Qin Chu’s answer:
“By the way, why did you shout just now?”
Her voice was sweet and coquettish, with a hint of blame, as if she was complaining about Qin Chu shouting just now. If he had kept his mouth shut, many things wouldn’t have happened.
Qin Chu’s expression seemed a little aggrieved. He just stared at Loseweisse silently, his gaze making her heart beat faster for some reason.
After a long time, Qin Chu finally withdrew his gaze with a hint of loneliness, “When I heard Augustus questioning Karsus, you subconsciously looked at me…”
“I’ve always kept my promise to you, but Saintess, you never trusted me.”
“I’m sad.”
He had definitely kept his promise to Loseweisse. After all, he didn’t tell Augustus that Karsus was the murderer. He just wrote a small note. Countless people wrote small notes every day in this world, it wasn’t against the law.
Telling Athena the truth was Jie Luo’s doing, what did it have to do with him, Qin Chu?
What a gentleman who kept his promises, how touching.
After saying those words, the heartbroken Qin Chu resolutely left without looking back!
Athena, after a brief hesitation, followed from afar. She wanted to visit Jie Luo again tonight, she wanted his guidance.
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