Chapter 339: The Judge & The Jury
SILENCE
Dead silence filled all the cities, towns and villages as soon as the intermediate grandmaster rank wolfkin revealed the results of the scam caused by the bearkin semi-saint.
With a heavy heart, the lieutenant donned in black and blue armor spoke again..
"In our region alone… more than 4 million soldiers died while fighting against the monster tide and nearly 9 million people who lived in cities close to our border died as victims because the army failed to defend against the tide at the border that year.
That time… lieutenant Blavr, who saved my life on the battlefield, decided to become a whistle-blower and expose this whole matter after the tide was finally controlled.
But after he filed a complaint against the commander to the military authorities…" he made another revelation but the next moment, his head dropped down with sorrowful eyes.
"He was found dead two days later.
Saying that some people tried to rob him and he died in a skirmish." revealed the wolfkin in one go.
"But for some reason… They weren"t even trying to investigate the matter and closed off the case quickly." he said and kept looking towards the artifacts and his saddened eyes were crystal clear to the entire fiefdom.
"Lieutenant Blavr was a peak grandmaster spearman. One of the best in our army. How can he be killed by mere robbers?" spoke the lieutenant as his resentful eyes landed on the bearkin strapped on the metal chair.
"Yet when we tried to report it and ask for reinvestigation, we were told to let the matter go.
On the day I was going to give my statement about this matter to the court of justice… he.. He had my daughter kidnapped." spoke the wolfkin and pointed his forefinger towards the semi-saint who for some reason had no response left to deny these claims.
"Why didn"t he decide to kill you back then?" asked Kahn out of curiosity.
Because he too wondered why the commander kept a witness alive.
"Because I wasn"t the only one who wanted to avenge the lieutenant. We had gathered some evidence related about the commander and that company"s deal under the disguise of ordering arms for the military.
However, all of us had hidden our real ident.i.ties to ensure our safety.
But once all of us were in a pinch because no one from the authorities was helping us to reveal the truth… we had no choice but to make a blood-bind contract between ourselves that in case either of us is goes missing or killed… the other 4 people will bring forth all the evidence to light regardless of the cost.
But somehow.. Commander Aswala found out about it as well. And hence, he couldn"t risk killing me either." revealed the warrior and continued in a grim tone.
"He threatened me from time to time that if I spoke a word of it to anyone else.. He"d kill my family just like he killed lieutenant Blavr." revealed the wolfkin.
Millions of people were rooted on the spot after the lieutenant revealed that it was indeed the bearkin who killed the lieutenant Blavr.
"All the people around me were actually his minions who also played a part in these scams. I couldn"t trust anyone around me.
For years… I have been holding this guilt and anger inside me." spoke the wolfkin as tears of regret appeared in his eyes.
"Then why have you chosen to speak today?" asked Kahn in a curious tone.
"It"s.. It"s because of you, my lord. Unlike them… you"re one of us. That day when you gave that speech after arriving in Aesir.. I finally received a glimmer of hope again." he said and continued..
Thud!
"Because of their greed for wealth.. These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds condemned millions of innocent people to their deaths while acting like they did their best to protect the people." spoke the wolfkin and dropped on the ground.
"If the sanct.i.ty of the military wasn"t compromised… all those people would be still alive.
I could not avenge the man who saved my life but instead… all I could do was watch these sc.u.ms thrive instead." spoke the wolfkin with a remorseful voice and the next moment, he took out a brown book from his s.p.a.ce ring.
"This is the evidence I gathered back then. It has records, signatures, dates, seals and everything you need to prove that it was the commander who orchestrated this deal.
I don"t care what happens to me now. But I can"t hold it in any longer.
And that"s why I came to you when you decided to besiege our headquarters and arrested the commander that night." spoke the lieutenant.
It was exactly the night when Kahn and his people fought… more likely overwhelmed the headquarters of this semi-saint when the wolfkin came to meet Kahn and offered to become a witness after hearing how Kahn was going to put this commander on a trial.
Soon, under the public eyes.. The intermediate rank grandmaster started weeping as the guilt of being unable to exact justice for his senior officer who saved his life that was welled up in his heart had been finally let out after seven years.
Kahn then walked with steady steps towards the wolfkin and placed his hand on the shoulder of the weeping lieutenant who had been hiding this truth through all these years.
His gaze then shifted towards the projection artifacts and his face of a person with a cold demeanor appeared in front of the common folks.
"So you can see, I did not come here without the evidence." he said and took a deep breath.
"Tell me, citizens of Verla.s.sen… what do you want to do?" he asked in a domineering voice.
"To fill their own houses with gold… they filled the other"s with blood.
I"m sure the families of the victims.. The children who lost their parents, the parents who lost their children… everyone who still lives and suffers every day after losing their loved ones deserve justice."
"So today… you must make a decision. Whether this person is guilty or not.
And remember…" spoke Kahn with a resolute expression.
"You"re the Judge… you"re the Jury." he said.
The next second, however.. Kahn"s black and red aura filled the surroundings and also appeared on the live broadcast as his deathly and tyrannical voice resounded in the entire fiefdom.
"And I"m the Executioner!"