Chapter 9 Viglic I (Part 2)

"quiet!"

Gozoron shouted. The whole hall suddenly became quiet again.

"Then, His Royal Highness and I planned to inform the priests in the temple about the graffiti," the guard continued, "but when we found the priests, they had already been unfortunately killed, and the perpetrators had already left.

There were three priests killed, all stabbed to death with knives or dagger-like weapons, and their eyes were gouged out, leaving no trace."

After hearing the tragic situation described by the guards, the audience hall erupted with unbelievable screams and lamentations.

"Eye?"

Viglic looked at Zhuo Ke who was standing in the front row. Beside him were Allen and Dia. His intuition told him that the recurrence of this cruel method of killing was not a coincidence.

The two looked at each other, and Zhuo Ke seemed to be aware of the subtleties between the murder of the priest and the previous case of the carpenter killing his wife, with a worried frown on his face.

"This is simply ridiculous!" Bechar Apollyon walked out from the crowd of ministers, his voice trembling. He was wearing a gray robe that represented his clerical status and was embroidered with stars.

Bechar is thin and mediocre in appearance, his face is wrinkled like faded parchment, and the hair on his head has fallen out.

Judging from his appearance alone, it is hard to believe that Bechar is two years younger than Viglic.

"Cousin," said Viglic.

"It's the high priest, Your Majesty." Bechar corrected.

"Words cannot describe the sadness in my heart because what happened last night was cruel and unforgivable.

Three faithful servants of the gods were murdered in cold blood in the most sacred of places, and their perpetrators remain at large, with no trace to be found.

They should pay for this cowardly crime with their lives!"

"Please forgive me, High Priest, they will pay the price for this," Viglic said. "I promise you, we will investigate this matter to the bottom of the matter and hand over the murderer to you."

"We can't find them," Bechar said, shaking his head, "because they are in the dark and we are in the open. We are like a group of lambs waiting for them to take action."

"Huh, isn't it obvious?" Gosfried said, "These apostates are everywhere, and they are eating away at our country like parasites. Now they are getting worse and dare to challenge our authority!"

"That's a bold accusation based on no evidence," Allowan said sharply. "You're talking about tens of thousands of innocent people."

"The innocent ones were the murdered priests," Bechar argued.

"Lord Alowin, we all know that you have a good relationship with the Holy Palaxis Empire," Gosfried said with a faint smile, "After all, you have made a lot of profits through trade with them."

"What are you implying?" asked Allowyn angrily.

"Nothing," Gosfried replied, "I just think we shouldn't get personal reasons involved in expressing our stance on this matter."

"My loyalty has always belonged to the empire," Alowin said sternly. "Everything I do is for the empire and the interests of the emperor."

Although Allowyn Sfranchi regarded wealth as his life, and was even suspected of enriching his own pockets, Wiggerich had always been satisfied with his ability and judgment as chancellor of the treasury.

"Now is the time to unite to the outside world," said the Minister of Seal Bavo Gray Harbor. "My lords, we need to unite as one."

"Lord Bavor." Gosfried raised his eyebrows and said, "Where is your brother? On such an occasion that requires unity, I thought everyone who cares about the empire would be present."

"Stop raising these silly accusations in front of His Majesty the Emperor, Lord Gosfried. It will only make you look stupid." Bavo shook his head.

The short stature of Bawo is not noticeable in the crowd. He has shaggy black hair, rare blue eyes like his brother Odom, a flat nose and a goatee.

"Aldoma is rushing to the Gray Harbor at the moment to personally organize and build new ships for His Majesty the Emperor."

"Very good," Gosfried curled his lips, "We will need them."

Everyone is fighting for their own interests, which is something Viglic has long understood.

To the ministers in front of him, it didn't matter what the truth was, because they had already decided to believe the story that was beneficial to them.

Gosfried wanted war, and that would be his best place to gain influence;

High Priest Bechar wanted to suppress the development of the Supreme Religion. After all, many old temples in Madkarin were bought by believers of the Sun God and donated to the church.

Wiggerich did not believe that it was the Supreme Cult and the Holy Palaxis Empire that were causing trouble, as Gosfried and Bechar thought.

Because in the murder case of the carpenter's wife that Zhuo Ke met before, the perpetrator's method was consistent with the method of killing the priest, indicating that these people were not just targeting Hastezah's clergy.

This coincidence is not a good thing, because there is an invisible force in the empire conspiring in the darkness, and Vigrich knows nothing about their identity or purpose.

"Stop this pointless quarrel immediately." Viglic ordered, he had heard enough.

Everyone in the audience hall, except Bechar, lowered their heads to show submission.

"Gozoron," Viglic looked at the captain of the guard beside him, "I need you and your people to use all means to find possible witnesses in Madkarin City."

Gozoron nodded respectfully, indicating that he accepted the order.

"Father, I am the chief law enforcer. Please let me join the investigation." Zhuo Ke said, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

"I have other plans for you," Viglic said. "I need you to join me and go to the Hall of Ashes in person to attend the coronation of Vivalia's new queen, Rozalia."

"With all due respect, it is enough to send some envoys and officials over for this kind of ceremony," Bechar said. "There is no need to make an exception for a woman. Besides, we have more important things in front of us."

"She is my sister, the high priest." Dia emphasized with an angry look on her face.

"I don't mean to offend, my queen." Bechar said lightly with a slight smile.

"It is extremely important to maintain an alliance with the Kingdom of Vivalia, and I want to ensure that it is foolproof." Viglic replied.

At the same time, he also wanted to propose a marriage with Zhuo Ke to the Queen of Vivalia. It was time to reconquer the Great Plains.

"If this is the case," said Bechar, "please let me astrologically predict your journey and predict the suitable days.

When you go out, I will first pray to the star gods in the capital for the rest of the souls of the murdered priests and your safe return."

"Thank you, High Priest Bechar." Viglic said.

"In my absence, the remaining six members of your cabinet will strictly abide by the laws of the Hastezah Empire and exercise power as my agents."

According to the tradition of the empire, when the emperor is incapable of governing the empire due to reasons such as his youth, or is absent from the capital for reasons such as going out, his agency will be granted to the emperor's cabinet, composed of its members' chief law enforcers, high priests, and military commanders.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Seal, Master of Spies, and Lord of the Admiralty run the Empire through voting.

The six cabinet members in the hall, except Zhuo Ke, all put their right hands on their left breasts and bowed to express their obedience.

After everyone dispersed, only Viglic and the spy master Hagen El-Azer were left in the hall.

"Hagen, I need you to do something." Viglic said.

"Please speak, Your Majesty."

Hagen El-Azer knelt on one knee, looked up at Viglic and said.

His whole body was covered by a black robe, and a pair of hazel eyes and a few strands of black hair were exposed under the hood on his head. His mouth and nose were also hidden by a black mask.

"The temple incident and the day I asked you to investigate the carpenter case in Zhuo Ke's hands, the two incidents have the same killing method and the same eye-gouging method. I don't think this is a coincidence." Viglic said.

"We are facing unknown enemies. They are hiding in the dark. I need you to find them."

"That carpenter has gone crazy," a calm voice came from under Hagen's mask. "I couldn't get any useful information out of him, but he shouldn't be the murderer. We didn't find the eyeball."

"I understand," Viglic stood up. "Until the clues are found, anyone can be an enemy. No one can be trusted, no one."

"Understood," Hagen said.
Chapter completed!