With disbelief, Lieutenant Colonel Crown grabbed Major Russell and drove to the Truth Seeking Order on Frederick Street, preparing to start with the inquisitors to prevent someone who might have dug up the "dark side" of the War Department.

the traitor.

To be honest, Crown, who had fallen into a completely pessimistic state at this time, did not think that the inquisitors would be willing to help him, even if they agreed in front of him.

But even so, there is still a need to give it a try. For the adults in the War Department, there is only one failing between incompetence and disloyalty.

Lieutenant Colonel Crown, who had already proven his incompetence, had to prove his loyalty even though he clearly knew that his efforts were in vain.

So he was robbed and pulled up, and Major Russell, who didn't know what was going on, saw that his usually shrewd and capable colleague kept his head lowered along the way, muttering "One hundred thousand, one hundred thousand, one hundred thousand" as if he was cursed.

Ten thousand……"

If he hadn't finally returned to normal before getting off the car and started warning himself over and over again not to be impulsive as he had in the past, Major Russell would have even had the urge to jump out of the car and run away.

As for the process of negotiating with the Truth-Seeking Cult...it was still exactly what Crown had guessed - Cole Dorian, as the chief inquisitor, didn't even bother to see them, and sent the female inquisitor who was said to be a black mage to be in charge.

and their handover work.

Faced with the doubts and warnings from the Ministry of War, the other party not only denied them completely, but also had no idea about questions like "Where is Anson?" and directly stated that the Truth Seeking Order had no need to cooperate with their work, and at most they could only answer religious questions.

.

He went to the trial court to ask religious questions...Crown felt that even if he was crazy, he would never be able to commit such a behavior that was comparable to suicide. If after asking the questions, he found out that he was a false believer, he would definitely not be judged.

The officials provided kind and selfless guidance and advice.

Of course, this level of "non-cooperation" was still expected by Crown, but what happened next was slightly beyond his expectations.

"...You say it again? Regulation, what kind of regulation?"

"To put it simply, the church is worried that the Kingdom of Clovis may be infiltrated by the forces of the Old Gods." Sera Vergil said expressionlessly:

"Judging from the intelligence we have received, the only possibility for the currently wanted 'Whispers' to be able to flee from the inner city while brutally killing the informants in the trial is to have them on Whitehall Street with the War Department.

Eyeliner."

"Of course, you two will definitely not agree with what I say, so I must ask you to explain why the last blockade of fugitives ended in failure."

"We warned you a full week in advance that there would be a major operation and asked for your cooperation. We gave the general scope three days in advance, and the precise location and final core information one day in advance. As a result... the other party just happened to avoid everything.

cordoned off area.”

The female judge paused deliberately. Her shifting eyes and ups and downs of tone fully explained what yin and yang is: "It is conceivable that if someone is not collaborating with the enemy, then it can only be... dereliction of duty."

"malfeasance?!"

Major Russell, who looked furious, stood up suddenly: "Can I think that this is your accusation against my Ministry of War?!"

"Of course not. The accusation is a clear act of interference. The Inquisition is affiliated with the church and has no right to interfere in secular affairs. That is within your scope of power."

The female judge once again had a cold face, completely unmoved: "I am just stating the facts. This is not affected by the second public order meeting in the 47th year of the Saints."

"you……?!"

What was about to happen was that before Major Russell could make any move, Crown held his shoulder tightly.

The next second, a biting cold suddenly came from his chest, as if there were hordes of hungry wolves staring at him, ready to pounce on him at any time and cut his body into pieces.

No, no, no, no... not a hungry wolf, but...

Feeling the looming and vague gazes of the judges around him, Major Russell finally remembered that he had arrived at the headquarters of the inquisition. His anger immediately dissipated, and he did not even dare to meet Sera Vigil's gaze again.

"What do you want to say?" The female judge suddenly showed a flashing smile:

"If it's coffee, I can make a pot for you two now."

"No...it's not coffee, it's..." Crown, who was holding on to Russell's shoulders and sweating profusely, still had to stay calm, thinking quickly in his mind of how to deal with it without breaking up:

"Ah! We are about to leave. Judge Serra, your reminder just now is very important. There may be gang spies within the Army Department. Among the soldiers working below... maybe someone has been bribed by the evil old gods!

"

"This is very critical information! We should set off immediately, report the situation to the superiors, and investigate this possibility as soon as possible. We cannot stay long."

"real?"

Sierra blinked: "I won't stay a little longer. I have entrusted my colleagues to go to the Chief Inquisitor and ask him to allow you to meet with the suspect Anson."

"No, no need! It's really no need. We absolutely believe in your... all your decisions!" Crown had already begun to speak eloquently: "Really, we can't stay any longer... I'm sorry!

"

After saying that, he dragged the weak Russell out of the Truth-seeking Club as quickly as possible. While cursing how he came up with the bad idea of ​​visiting the trial court, he drove and disappeared from Friedrich Street.

The female judge still sat where she was, looking out the window expressionlessly, until she confirmed that the other party had really left, she silently picked up the coffee and took a sip.

The judges who saw her actions also breathed a sigh of relief. Some continued chatting, while others stood up and left... doing whatever they had to do.

When the coffee cup was placed on the table again, the dark-faced Cole Dorian "coincidentally" sat opposite her - where the two clerks were just now.

"Do you think they'll come back?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." Sierra replied expressionlessly: "But next time, they will definitely not come so unprepared, and it will be much more difficult to deal with."

"Yeah..." Cole said with a sullen face, "I didn't expect that 'Whisper' actually had contact with the Army Department. This is too arrogant. Are they really not afraid of something happening?!"

"Afraid?" Sierra narrowed her eyes slightly:

"If you are talking about the authority of the church, please forgive me for reminding you. This is Clovis, the place that most disobeys the authority of the church. Even the so-called...obedience in the past was just the result of compromises concealed by both parties."

"To put it more bluntly, we have known about the existence of the Luen family for a long time. We know even better that there must be spellcasters close to the Osteria royal family. We all know it...but we will not expose it, and neither will they.

."

"We maintain the secular order, but this real world... has another set of real rules, and we are just a part of it."

"Damn, of course I know this kind of thing - otherwise why would I cooperate with that... damn guy Anson?!"

Cole was very depressed: "So I shouldn't have intervened in this matter from the beginning, right?!"

"Of course not. We are judges and the last wall of order. If they want to break the rules, they must be stopped." The female judge denied again:

"We live in the post-dark age. Customs, traditions, culture, morals... everything is based on the denial of the Old God Sect. If spellcasters become popular again, it... will be turned upside down."

"And now, some people within the Army Department already know that their petty thoughts have been discovered by the trial. Unless they are fools, it is in their best interests to minimize the big issues."

"So, 'Whisper's' source of income will be temporarily cut off, and he will lose the capital to continue to bribe the poor. The poor who cannot live a sustainable life will riot, which is sufficient reason for Clovis City to send troops to suppress the outer city... That's it.

Just like Anson planned."

Serra pushed the coffee cup to Cole: "The police on Whitehall Street will try to stop it, but with the arrangements of Archbishop Luther, it should not be difficult to let the Storm Legion enter the city, but the consequence is that the War Department will definitely protest, leading to more troops

Entering the outer city."

"Ten thousand or even tens of thousands of soldiers enter the city. These people should not know the thoughts of some people in the Army Department. No matter how they cope with the work, they will greatly squeeze the living space of 'whispers'. In addition, there is no

Without income, his gang...will soon implode on itself and disintegrate."

"Then it will be the church, and it will be our time to step forward."

"It sounds like that." Cole had no interest in coffee and rolled his eyes gloomily: "But why can't I get excited at all?"

"Probably because... this perfect plan was proposed by Anson?" the female judge asked knowingly:

"Someone has worked hard for two or three months, but the results are not as good as the other person's work in a week. I remember that there is a special vocabulary to express this kind of emotion. It seems to be called, it is called self-ashamed... Xing... Xing...

"

"Even if it's sarcasm, could you please be a little more roundabout?"

"Of course, but what level is more appropriate?"

"...I don't understand it." Cole rolled his eyes:

"Anyway, all we have to do now is wait patiently, right?"

"It can only be half." Sierra gently closed the curtains:

"We must judge the movements of the 'Whisper' gang through some tiny details without making too big a move to avoid missing the opportunity to hunt them."

"And this... requires an excellent analytical expert to give the answer, His Excellency William Gottfried."

Sitting in the shadow of the curtain, the female judge looked at the person making coffee in the corner of the bar:

"Remember...we pretended not to see your existence, allowed you to continue your research on ancient runes, and even helped you get the written materials from St. Isaac's College for your reference. It was not without cost."

Facing the judge's warning, the young man with purple-black eye circles showed a faint, somewhat disdainful smile.

"Yes, yes, I know that in your opinion, this result is a gift to me. I really understand, so you can rest assured that I will not take the initiative to destroy this situation that is beneficial to me...at least for now.

so."

"I can analyze intelligence for you, but the premise is that the steam difference engine under Clovis Cathedral must be given to me for use. The amount of information you require is too much, and it is not an order of magnitude that can be completed by human power."

"Yes." Without waiting for Cole to speak, the female inquisitor agreed directly: "But all your research materials must be handed over to us for verification and inspection. At the same time, you must provide no less than three pieces of information every day, and you need to provide countermeasures.

suggestions and references.”

"This kind of workload may be heavy for ordinary people, but for a genius like you, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No problem!" William agreed very simply:

"But the person who gave the information is not your judge. It must be Mr. Anson's secretary, Alan Dawn, who is in charge. No one else has the right to get any information from me."
To be continued...