"Lord Envoy, did you know that my eldest son, the successor of Ninguis Family, had died after coming out of the Fleeting Emotions Ruin?" Although his face betrayed little expression, a hint of grief and distress manifested itself in the form of his voice.
"Oh— Corulem Ninguis, what is the purpose of bringing this up then?" The Mountain Envoy frowned as he could deduce why Corulem decided to bring it up here. With the mass as the witnesses, if he did not remain impartial, once the news of his wrongdoing got spread, only his demise would follow.
"My Glacies, my little Glacies, your father could not even see your son. Without you, who would I entrust the future of Ninguis Family to?" Ignoring the Mountain Envoy, Corulem turned his attention towards the audience and lowered his head, showing a grief-filled expression.
"Levota, you should be able to understand my pain. Although it is different, it's still our loved one that passed away." In his hoarse voice, Corulem stared at the Family Head of Coruscare Family with his bloodshot eyes, showing anxious expression while hiding the contempt.
The surrounding sorcerers had a mixed opinion, revealing various expressions while contemplating the plan which Corulem was unveiling. Although most of them were confused, a handful of them knew the backstory of the incident.
The Mountain Envoy's expression twisted into a scowl, revealing displeasure as soon as he heard Corulem's speech. As everyone knew, he had a special connection with Levota, being his brother-in-law, which meant that he would favour Levota over outsiders. If Levota got humiliated in the public, his reputation and influence would take a hit too.
"Corulem, don't drag this on with your pointless drama. What had happened had happened, and I'll never regret it, for everything I did was for the family." Before the Mountain Envoy could say anything, Levota took the initiative to cut short of Corulem's rumbling, not wishing to discuss the past he hated.
"There's no need to rush me, Levota. Although I have more things to say, I wish not to delay the main event." Corulem smiled as he gazed towards Levota before turning his attention back at the frowning Mountain Envoy, nodding to show fake respect.
As he did so, he signalled his servants, ordering them to move out from behind his seat and walked towards him, holding a small box warped in blue fabric.
The lady kept her head hang low as she approached Corulem. When she reached him, she extended her hands out and let him take away the box before retreating out of the view.
"Everyone, this is the Memory Orb, capable of recording events in their finest detail. With the secret treasures carried by our family's descendants, we're able to capture the last moment before their demise." As soon as he finished his explanation, Corulem tapped onto the crystal surface and channelled his sorcery energy into it.
The Orb glowed in blue light, expanding in volume ever so slowly. As its size grew, cracks began to form on its surface, threatening to rip apart the exterior of the Orb.
With a soft explosion, the Memory Orb burst open upwards, scattering fragments of itself into the air. Strangely, the said fragments remained lingered mid-air, hovering above Corulem and began to rotate around him.
Tiny sparks emerged from the fragments, forming a faint ring that covered its surface. The ring extended outwards, moving closer towards other rings. In only a moment, the scattered fragments had connected themselves with a thin layer of particles.
Together, the fragments and the connected strings formed a smooth surface, hovering above Corulem. A static noise echoed the meeting hall as the scene on the surface kept flickering.
"Before my fifth son died, he went into an obscure wildness where no protection was around." Corulem spoke as he flicked his finger, sending a ray of bluish light towards the floating screen. It seeped into the screen and merged into one, changing the displayed scene once again.
In the scene, the man-in-yellow stood in front of the man-in-black. The background of the view was full of nature, indicating that the place was far from the city and security.
"Where are you going, young man? This young master is interested in your treasure. Mind if I had a look?" There was a friendly expression on the fifth young master, revealing his kindness and glorious aura of a noble.
As soon as the young master finished speaking, the servant-in-grey, Avidas, moved towards the man-in-black, Forus, to retrieve a sealed box.
After done checking, Avidas handed the box to the young master, letting him had the privilege to enjoy opening the treasure chest.
However, as soon as the young master opened the box, a flash of bright light gushed out of it, engulfing the young master. Along with the blazing heat, vapour of the toxic liquid rushed towards him, burning and eroding his skin at a visible rate.
The final scene showed the raged face of Avidas who tried to retaliate by throwing daggers at Forus. As the fifth son of Corulem drew his last breath, the vision distorted into darkness, leaving nothing other than a faint static noise.
"Although the culprit concealed himself very well, we, Ninguis Family, had methods to reveal his identity." After grasping everyone's attention at himself, Corulem spoke as he turned his head towards the Mountain Envoy, waiting for him to speak.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Go on then, Corulem." Although the Mountain Envoy knew nothing about the situation, he could feel the curiosity of the crowds and could not suppress it.
"Thank you, Lord Envoy." With another flick of his finger, a similar blue light seeped out of his finger, moving towards the same floating screen. However, everyone could see that the intensity of the ray far surpassed the previous one.
The screen trembled as it fluctuated, revealing the bloody battle record between Glacies and Forus. Although everything seemed legitimate, everyone knew that Ninguis Family had already manipulated all of the forbidden scenes to their wills.
Instead of having Glacies setting up an ambush, it became Forus that tried to assassinate Glaciers to take revenge from the previous incident at the Steel Cauldron recruitment ground. In the end, not even a single hint of the treasures used by both sides appeared within the record.
As the vision fell and dropped onto the bloody ground, the floating screen shivered as static noises emerged from the distorted scene, filling the hall with a grim and ominous atmosphere.
At first, everyone recognised the identity of Ocelia and others. However, knowing the reputation and influence of Coruscare Family, only other top sorcerer families dared to look at Levota, waiting for him to explain. Most of the average families only shifted their gaze towards Ocelia, trying to guess the association between the two scenes.
"Now, everyone, please calm down. Although the culprit had hidden within Coruscare Family, we, Ninguis Family, knew that he had nothing to do with Coruscare Family." With a wicked smile on his face, Corulem raised his voice as he stared deep into Levota's eyes.
As the attention soon refocused at him, Corulem took out a piece of crystal, holding it in one hand. Its semi-spherical shape resembled a marble heart, full of veins and throbbing nerves.
As he exerted his strength, the crystal broke apart into multiple pieces, revealing a life-like black heart inside its core. On the surface, black goo-like substance kept emerging and vaporizing into nothingness, repeating the same cycle.
"Soul Linking Heart, capable of recording the unique fluctuation of one's heart." After explaining the unusual property of the treasure, many sorcerers gasped at its extraordinary ability.
In the entirety of the Mountain Union, anything regarding the subject of the soul would be the most sought-after treasures. In normal circumstances, only incidents involving powerhouses of the upper-echelon would wanton such treasures.
"Then, let's unveil the identity of the criminal. May Lord Envoy deliver Ninguis Family justice." Corulem once again smiled as he channelled his sorcery energy. Although it pained him to use the treasure, he knew that high rewards always came with high risk, and he would see through the end of his gamble.
The black heart rapidly withered as black light flashed from the inside of the heart, revealing a sinkhole absorbed the black light from the beating heart.
Forus grasped at his chest as his expression turned solemn. From his pores, the same black goo-like substance gradually seeped out of his body and weaved through the air, moving towards the sinkhole. The line of black liquid expanded into a noticeable web that extended outwards, highlighting its existence and attracting attention from others.
Although Forus had prepared his facade and tried every trick he could to mislead the mysterious power, he could never know that Ninguis Family had a soul-related treasure. Even if they had one, they would not use it against a dull character such as him.
The subject regarding soul was profound and delicate, requiring the sorcerers to master in many branches of knowledge that any ordinary sorcerers would never finish in their lifespan. Not to mention the deadly consequence of failing the experiments, which could lead to permanent damage to their soul, deterring most sorcerers from researching in the subject.
As if attracted by the Soul Linking Heart, Forus weakly stumbled towards the centre of the meeting hall, pushing everything and everyone in his way apart. Although he tried to resist the mystical power, his puny first-ranked sorcery could never contend against the vast second-ranked sorcery.
"Lord Envoy, now that you've seen it, please issue your judgement." With his ever so slightly smiling expression, Corulem locked his gaze at the Mountain Envoy, patiently waiting for his verdict.
Within the hall, excluding the outsiders, most of the sorcerers knew about the laws and regulations of the Mountain Union. Although the Mountain Emperor promised great benefits and distinguished status, the deciding factors were only strength and usefulness.
In the Sorcerer World, only the weak were accountable for their loss. Even within the righteous faction, justice was only for the higher benefits for the organisation.
If the strong could freely bully the weak, then the weak would never work for the strong. Because everyone knew this, they came up with rules to restain the strong while gave the weak opportunity to climb the latter of influence.
The crime of killing the successor of a sorcerer family was worthy of the death penalty. However, if the backing was sufficient, one could escape his offence unscathed or at least pretended to get punished.
On the surface, the accusation of murder was only a show ignited from vengeance from losing his main successor. However, looking at the background of two people on trial, many realized that it was a clash between two great sorcerer families.
Ocelia looked at Forus, trembling as her emotions started to overflow out. However, before she could raise her voice and shout, she suddenly clasped at her mouth and coughed violently, spitting out blood. Only Abicel was there to help her by keeping her balance and consoling her.
As she sat down, she could only glance at her father, hoping for him to help Forus. Although most did not know that Forus was Ocelia's love of her life, her father was one of the few that knew the detail and her genuine feeling.
"As the Envoy of the Mountain Emperor, I would never tarnish his majesty's reputation." Instead of announcing the sentence, the Mountain Envoy only announced his oath to the Mountain Emperor, showing his loyalty while dismissing the request and subtle accusation from Corulem.
"Now, Falsus, will you confess your sin?" Corulem locked his gaze at the man before him, pressuring him to admit his action. However, despite his unending force, Forus could remain silent and unwavering, standing still and let the witnesses waited for the next decision.
"Confess what, exactly?" Before long, a voice interrupted the oppressive atmosphere, clashing with Corulem's constraining aura. As everyone turned their attention to the origin of the voice, they saw Levota stood up and smiled at Corulem.
"Only through trials of blood and bones would we progressed further. As your son stepped his feet into the Fleeting Emotions Ruin, he naturally knew about the upcoming risk. If he died, it meant that he wasn't worthy. Only the weak have themselves to blame." With a grin on his face, Levota stared at Corulem with his condescending expression.
"Only the younger generation should solve their problems. If we step in, wouldn't that count as an act of abusing status and power?" In the hall, the Mountain Envoy faintly smiled as he spoke, fully intending to side with his brother-in-law.