Summoning the Holy Sword Chapter 498 - Clash (V)

Chapter 498: Clash (V)

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Rhode revealed a gentle smile as he stood in the middle of the hall. The nobles gathered all their attention on the black-haired young man without speaking a word. The remarks of this diplomatic envoy were indeed startling as the nobles were aware of the incident in Soraka Mountain. However, even if they didn’t know the truth, their gazes towards Rhode were filled with astonishnt. To be honest, they refused to believe what MP Danny had said. Firstly, the Country of Light;s Parliant didn’t have a favorable relationship with the Munn Kingdom and they had defad the Munn Kingdom more than once. Secondly, Rhode had just been awarded an honor by Lydia and even though it was only a feudal rank of Baron, the nobles knew that this was a political statent and Lydia was declaring that she wouldn’t give up on Rhode. If Rhode was the main culprit of the entire incident, would Lydia even do this?

“Please continue your statent, Mr. Envoy.” Lydia spoke from her throne without the slightest change in her expression.

Danny lifted his triple-chin proudly and swept a glance of disdain at Rhode before retrieving a stack of thick papers from his pocket. “Your Highness, the next account that I’m about to present has been reviewed and investigated by the Country of Light’s Parliant. We have the most appropriate evidence and witness...” Danny swung his arm forcefully and continued. “Please allow to summon my witness.”

“No problem,” Lydia nodded in agreent while Danny gestured to his subordinates. Shortly after, the two guards escorted a man into the hall. He seed no more than 28 years old and was dressed in a luxurious robe. Although he appeared rather handso, his every movent seed extrely haggard, as though a gravely ill patient who didn’t have enough rest. The man stood beside the diplomatic envoy and bowed respectfully to everyone present. “Your Highness, my na is Zieg Alanic and I am the representative of the Alanic Foundation stationed in Soraka Mountain. I swear by the honor of my family that I’ve witnessed everything that happened on that day...”

Alanic?

Rhode scanned the man from head to toe. Co to think of it, he did see this man in the hall before the start of the eting in Soraka Mountain. However, he couldn’t rember him after the start of the chaos. It seed that this man was extrely lucky to have survived the disaster. But, Rhode didn’t think that he was just simply lucky.

There were no shortage of troubles that this family had given Rhode.

Rhode gritted his teeth at this thought. Initially, he had pestered Marlene in the Fortress and now, it was regarding Soraka Mountain. This Alanic Foundation seed really afraid of losing their presence and had continuously found troubles for Rhode. If there was a vote for the best model workers, these guys would definitely be a popular choice. Rhode shifted his attention to the minister beside Lydia. The senior wore a white robe and held onto this golden staff while gazing at the man before him with so disgust. Rhode knew where his sense of disgust ca from because this senior was the Patriarch of the Senia Family and Marlene’s biological father. Marlene was his only daughter and furthermore, she was a rare magical talent and she had almost turned into the slave of the Alanic Foundation... Rhode was aware that if it wasn’t for him taking into consideration the prestige of the Munn Kingdom, he would’ve gone into an all-out battle with the Alanic Foundation. Even though the Alanic Foundation was second to none in the Country of Light, the mighty generations of the Senia Family weren’t for naught too. If both sides did end up in a battle, the battle would be no less than a battle between the nations.

Just that the scale of the war would be smaller, that was.

As though sensing Rhode’s gaze, the senior turned towards him. anwhile, Rhode nodded in response as he knew he was being sowhat discourteous. However, Rhode didn’t expect that the senior would place his idling left hand on his chest and bow solemnly. Then, the senior revealed a kind smile before shifting his attention back to the nobleman who was giving his narration.

Rhode was astonished by his actions because no matter their identity or rank, he couldn’t be compared to the Patriarch of the family that held the most influence and presence in the Munn Kingdom. Even though he might have a good impression of Rhode due to his previous contributions, it was unlikely for him to go so far as to bow in public. This was obviously more than just simply favoring Rhode.

Rhode realized that there were a few sharp eyes gazing towards him from amongst the crowd. It was apparent that the interaction between Rhode and the Senia Patriarch had gathered so attention. But Rhode disregarded them and focused his attention on the narrations of the nobleman.

As the saying went, one couldn’t convince others with all truths while all lies couldn’t cut it to and the best way was to mix both truths and lies together. Such lies were the toughest to expose and this Zieg Alanic nobleman was apparently well-versed on this subject. His narrations were clear and orderly, yet weren’t all truthful. From the ergence of the Chairman to the eruption of the earthquake and the appearance of the Chaos Flas, all of them matched Rhode’s mories. However, this was where the deviations began. He seed to have ‘neglected’ Rhode’s presence and claid that when the Chaos Flas erupted, he left the Mithril Hall hurriedly. Then, he spotted a suspicious man in a black robe, which peaked his curiosity. With the powers of his magical equipnt, he followed the suspicious character and witnessed him entering the Rock Shrine. Shortly after, the mysterious man t up with the Supervisor and both of them unlocked the seal, which led to the awakening of the Duke Fiend. At that mont, Zieg had intended to leave, but he discovered that the mysterious man had a dispute with the Supervisor...

Got to say, Zieg was really great in making up stories because according to his narrations, it was rather similar to what Rhode had experienced. Zieg ingeniously tampered with so crucial portions and it ant that his guy wasn’t purely imagining things. There must be soone who provided him the information—and that person should be one of the ones who escaped alongside Rhode.

But who exactly was that person?

Rhode hadn’t gotten an answer to his question and he continued to listen silently.

“... Lastly, I witnessed the terrifying Devil heading towards the Light Dragon Soul. In order to warn my country to prepare for its invasion, I didn’t pursue further. Instead, I left with my teleportation item into the Country of Light and I have no clue what happened next.” Zieg ended his narration.

“I understood everything that you’ve said.” Lydia nodded in acknowledgnt before gazing at Rhode aningfully. “So, what has this got to do with Baron Rhode?”

“Please pardon my rudeness, Your Highness. I have unintentionally spotted the face of the man in the black robe... And that was the face of this man here,” Zieg added on.

“... Are you sure you haven’t mistaken him for soone else?”

“Absolutely not. I swear by the reputation of the family. Besides...” Zieg looked at Rhode slyly. “I can’t forget his face even if I want to, since he has such distinctive features.”

Soft laughter filled the crowd. Even though they hadn’t concluded the integrity of Zieg’s words, they agreed that he was right that Rhode’s striking appearance that would definitely leave a deep impression. Just like the pair of young noble heirs in Eagle City. They only t Rhode once during the Midsumr Festival and they could imdiately recognize him when they were escaping.

Sotis, sharp features weren’t a good thing.

“I’ve heard your assertion,” Lydia turned a deaf ear to the laughter and she gazed at the man calmly. “But this is only from your account, Mr. Alanic. You have to admit that you don’t have any evidence to support your statent.”

“Your Highness, his account was reviewed and verified by the Country of Light’s Parliant and is the truth!” MP Danny knitted his brows and replied coldly. The fake smile on his face vanished gradually and it was obvious that he was extrely dissatisfied with Lydia’s behavior of finding excuses. “After Mr. Zieg returned to the Country of Light, the Country of Light’s Parliant has dispatched Mages to trace his spirit mories for the scenes that he had witnessed. It was according to the scenes that we have confird that he wasn’t lying. In order to search for the main culprit that led to this disaster, Mr. Zieg had even dragged himself out of his sick bed to go through Spirit Tracing.”

MP Danny pointed at the man emotionally to signal for everyone to observe how haggard he was. “For the sake of justice, he was willing to damage his spirit to find the culprit. Isn’t this enough to prove the authenticity of his recount?”

Even though the fat parliant mber seed to feel indignant at the injustice, it wasn’t that easy for the crowd to take the bait. Shortly after, Lydia raised a new doubt. “So then, as evidence, I would like to see the magical image traced from his spirit. Surely this won’t be a difficult request, right?”

“Of course not.” The fat parliant mber seed to have a card up his sleeve, which peaked Rhode’s curiosity. Even though great Mages were indeed able to trace the entirety of one’s personal experience with a spell, this spell, after all, would establish only around the truth. No matter how rich this Mr Alanic’s imagination was, he couldn’t possibly store mories that he hadn’t experienced in his spirit. But, this fat pig seed so calm... What exactly was he up to?

Soon, Rhode received his answer.

“But, before that, I hope that Your Highness Lydia can explain why the seal of the Duke Fiend that the Munn Kingdom was responsible for guarding was unlocked? Furthermore, what was the purpose of that man heading into Soraka Mountain?! Why would he unlock the seal of the Duke Fiend with the Supervisor?!”

So that was why!

Rhode finally understood why the Parliant was this fearless.

Even though their recount was fabricated, there would always be a hole that Lydia couldn’t avoid falling into, and that was the necessity to explain to the parliant the reason why the Duke Fiend’s seal was removed. It was apparent that the Parliant must’ve heard about the situation and revised the truth. This way, as long as soone criticized that this incident was caused by a human, Lydia couldn’t bla an accident to lessen her responsibility. The Parliant didn’t wish to give Lydia any room to retreat.

But it was a pity that Rhode wasn’t a pushover.

“Please hold on,” Rhode said with a smile. “Sorry for interrupting. But... I have an entirely different opinion about Mr. Alanic’s recount.”

“What...!” MP Danny glared at Rhode and shouted furiously. “You are openly doubting the judgnt of the parliant and tarnishing the reputation of the Parliant!!”

“I’m sorry, I have no interest in the thoughts of so old man who always sits around a wooden table while clinging on to his own viewpoint,” Rhode swept him a glance and responded instantly. The entire hall fell into absolute silence as though an ice-cold breeze had frozen everyone to the spot.

The nobles widened their eyes in disbelief as they had never seen anyone behave so disrespectfully towards the Parliant on a formal occasion. Even though the relationship between the Munn Kingdom and the Country of Light’s Parliant had reached a point where their conflicts couldn’t be defused, the nobles of the Munn Kingdom would only grumble privately no matter how unhappy they were. However, this young man who had just been conferred a feudal rank actually dared to give them a hard ti in front of everyone!

MP Danny’s exasperated voice broke the silence in the entire hall. “Y-You are provoking and humiliating us! I want to raise a protest! Protest!”

“Please be quiet, Mr. Envoy,” Lydia’s words showed that she had no intentions of correcting Rhode’s behavior. “This is a sacred and fair venue. We have the rights to listen attentively to the statents of everyone. Since you’ve spoken your part about the truth that the Country of Light’s Parliant had presented here, isn’t it only right for us to hear the words of the accused?”

“T-This...” MP Danny hesitated. Lydia didn’t deny that this matter had nothing to do with Rhode. Instead, since the Parliant had said that Rhode was related to this matter, they would naturally hear Rhode’s narration on the matter.

MP Danny was also aware of this, which was why he cald down quickly. “No problem, Your Highness Lydia. But I don’t think that a criminal is capable of speaking anything that is worth our ti.”

“We shall know after we hear it from him,” Lydia nodded at Rhode while Rhode stepped forward swiftly and bowed respectfully.

“Like Mr. Alanic, I am also willing to swear by the honor of my family and that everything I say will be the truth. But before that... I hope to receive Your Highness Lydia’s approval because my statent may implicate so classified matters.”

“No problem, Baron Rhode. Please go ahead,” Lydia granted her permission.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” The nobles sat straight and prepared to listen attentively. After all, Rhode declared that there might be so classified matters that he would reveal. Humans tend to long for gossip and Rhode’s solemn behavior had earned him a few points of trust from the nobles.

“... A few days ago, my guild received a special order from Royal Highness Lydia.” Rhode spoke after he had captured everyone’s attention. “At that mont, there was so trouble in Soraka Mountain and the Chairman of Soraka Mountain’s Parliant had been attacked by so unknown forces for certain reasons. Royal Highness Lydia was aware of the situation, but due to the unusual nature of Soraka Mountain, she wasn’t able to dispatch a proper army for assistance. Therefore, she entrusted Starlight to enter Soraka Mountain and rescue the Chairman.”

Many of the nobles nodded. After all, they were clear about the rules and position of the Munn Kingdom. Moreover, it was logical for Lydia to rely on a rcenary guild since she couldn’t dispatch an army due to the unusual nature of Soraka Mountain.

“... I shall not recount the minor details of the process. In the end, we rescued the Chairman and successfully escorted him into the Mithril Hall just before the start of the eting... This point was also iterated by Mr. Alanic,” Rhode paused before smiling at Zieg whose face was slightly ashen. “Am I right, Mr. Alanic? The Chairman was around when you joined the eting in Soraka Mountain, right?”

“T-That’s...” Zieg was sowhat bewildered as he had never expected that Rhode would ask him a question. However, he could only nod in agreent since he couldn’t swallow his words back into his throat. “Right, the Chairman had indeed participated in the eting. But we weren’t aware that he was...”

“I only asked for your confirmation on this.” Before Zieg finished his sentence, Rhode interrupted rcilessly before turning around and continuing his speech. “But we are also clear that the attack targeting the Chairman was likely to happen again. For safety, we sought the help of the Supervisor and for the peace of Soraka Mountain, Madam Supervisor had agreed to join us in searching for the culprit who attacked the Chairman. But at that mont, the forces that witnessed their failure in keeping the Chairman away from the eting actually turned to attack the sacred grounds instead while the Supervisor was occupied during the eting. However, we weren’t aware of the thods that they used to unlock the seal in the sacred grounds to awaken the Duke Fiend by force.”

Rhode’s expression sulked slightly. “Although Madam Supervisor and I managed to return to the sacred grounds on ti and annihilated the culprits, the unlocked seal was irreversible. In order to stop the Duke Fiend from damaging the continent even further, Madam Supervisor had to sacrifice her life to defeat the sinister Devil while I escaped Soraka Mountain with the remainder of the seal. In the end, we managed to lure the Duke Fiend away and eliminate it successfully...”

“A load of crap!” MP Danny interrupted angrily before Rhode finished his sentence. He glared at Rhode with widened eyes. “You cunning criminal! No matter how you talk your way through, it will never remove your cris! You are uttering nonsense! This isn’t the truth at all! Besides, you ntioned that there was a force that attacked the sacred grounds and removed the seal. Why don’t you tell who exactly that force was?”

“As for this question... Are you sure you want to hear the answer, MP Danny?” Rhode questioned with a curious tone.

“Of course, do you dare to tell us? In front of so many people? I do want to know which force dares to do sothing this presumptuous in Soraka Mountain,” Danny revealed a proud smile while gazing at Rhode slyly. It was apparent that he thought that Rhode didn’t have any information about them. However, Rhode didn’t need it in the first place. “Can you tell us?”

“Of course.” Rhode patted and tidied his clothes before reaching into the fold of his clothes and retrieved a brass badge. “I got this from the attacker... A four-leaf clover outlined with gold and carved with two dragon wings...” Rhode turned around and faced the ashen diplomatic envoy. “If I rember correctly, this belongs to the Country of Light’s Parliant. Doesn’t it, MP Danny?”