Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 522 The Sword Saint of Shili Slope

"An ordinary policeman killed our soldier?"

The main camp of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

As the head of the secretariat, Obat looked at the intelligence before him and couldn't help but curl his lip, his eyes revealing a hint of disdain.

"Andy is getting more and more cowardly."

"You actually need to report something like this?"

Thinking of this, Obart tapped the bell on the table.

A short while later, a secretary from the secretariat walked in.

"Greetings, sir!"

"Ah."

Obart was very satisfied with the respect shown to him.

"How's the investigation into the city order in Apsane going?"

"Sir, Apsane is a giant city with various forces deeply intertwined. Given that the higher-ups do not allow the army to enter the city or use violence, it will take at least a year, or even longer, to restore order within the city. So far, our progress has only been to investigate one of the eight districts, and it is only a rough investigation, that is, only targeting those forces that can influence the city."

"It's so slow!"

Obart banged on the table in dissatisfaction.

"I'm sorry, sir, we don't have enough manpower."

"I think it's because those people aren't cooperating enough, isn't it? A bunch of troublemakers. They won't cooperate with me unless some of them die. And now I have to stay here for another year."

Listening to his superior's remarks, the secretary in the secretariat fell silent and simply lowered his head. After all, there were some things that others could say, but he couldn't.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong, he'll be the one to take the blame.

"Take a look at this intelligence."

As he spoke, Obart tossed the intelligence report over, and the secretary in the secretariat took a look.

"Sir, what do you mean?"

"Killing a chicken to scare those monkeys, a mere cop dares to disregard the dignity of the empire. I want you to draft a plan to severely punish this cop and the police department behind him. I need to make the people of this city realize something."

That is, we can show him mercy, but that doesn't mean they can act with impunity!

"Yes, sir."

The secretary of the secretariat took a deep breath and then nodded helplessly.

That's how it is.

Lister returned to his office and recounted the incident to his colleagues.

"Come on, everyone, what do you all think we should do?"

"what to do."

The other secretaries in the secretariat exchanged glances. One of them silently closed the door and casually turned the dial on his wrist. In an instant, a light screen enveloped the group of people.

“We all know that Apsane City is not simple. In a sense, it is a neutral city. They follow whoever is powerful, regardless of loyalty. The various forces in the city are deeply intertwined, making it very difficult for outsiders to intervene.”

"In fact, it is still hard to say whether those so-called forces we are conducting now are the real controllers. Perhaps they are just pushed out. I believe the Empire should also know about this. Even some people within the Empire have their own forces in the city of Apsane."

"It is such a middle ground where too many forces intertwine. If we were to investigate it too thoroughly, the empire's upper echelons would not agree."

"Among those in control, we can only say that we can extract enough taxes, which is an enviable fortune and one of the reasons why the empire sends troops. However, if we disrupt the rhythm of this city and make the taxes insufficient, or even just affect the amount of taxes, who do you think will take the blame?"

"He gave the order, so it must be him."

"Foolish. His grandfather is a veteran of the legion. He has so many medals on his chest that he could make you a full suit of metal armor. Do you really think he will be punished?"

In the end, it's always us who have to take the blame.

"What can we do? He wants us to punish that policeman and the police station behind him as a warning to others. Should we not do it?"

"Yes, of course we'll do it."

Lister began to speak.

"Although that guy is incompetent, he grew up under the care of that legion elder. He was right about one thing: the Empire doesn't punish them because they can't beat them. The Empire's mercy is not a license for them to be arrogant. So, in essence, it's not a problem to teach that little policeman a lesson, and the police station behind him a lesson."

"So what's the problem?"

"public opinion."

Liszt uttered two words.

"You should be familiar with the concepts of the people and the vote, so I won't go into too much detail. But what I'm telling you is that it is this city that truly brings out the real value of these two concepts."

"The reason, as I just mentioned, is the intertwining of many forces. It may seem like only a single hair has been pulled out, but it can cause the whole body to tremble."

"It is precisely this strange balance that has led the city to a point where the people and votes can influence the city itself to a certain extent."

"Of course, this matter still requires the intervention of the forces behind it to cause a large enough impact. Ordinary people are just pawns in their hands. Without the push of these people, the common people at the bottom of society would not be able to stir up any so-called trend."

"Then, the core of this matter is that the soldier tried to take over the barmaid, which led to the police intervening."

"Essentially, there was no problem with him arresting that soldier."

"However, there is a problem with his execution of that soldier."

"There is no such provision in either the laws of Apsane City or the Magic Empire."

"Therefore, if we want to do this, we must occupy the moral high ground."

"Acknowledge the orc soldier's mistake, but make an issue of the police killing the soldier without trial, ideally by attracting public attention. This way, the matter will be kept under control."

"This plan is good."

The other secretariat staff thought about it and nodded in agreement.

"However, there is a problem."

Then, as the deputy director of the secretariat, Lister narrowed his eyes.

"Have you ever wondered why that young policeman dared to do that?"

"Because of justice?"

"But you must understand that the balance of Apsane is the balance of the great powers. The root and core of this place is no different from other cities. The lower classes are still being eaten away until not even bones are left."

"So, let's send someone to investigate this young policeman first."

After a moment's thought, one of the secretariat members spoke.

"unnecessary."

Lister shook his head.

"There are two possibilities regarding this matter. First, he is a righteous policeman; second, he is a superhuman hidden among the people."

"But no matter which one, he could never be a match for the Empire."

"Therefore, as long as we follow the rules, the problem won't lie with us if something goes wrong. So, the most important thing in this whole matter is that we need to obtain law enforcement authority in Apsane City!"
-
Apsane City Hall.

This is the center of power in Apsane.

A wide variety of complex departments stand here.

Of course, those in the know understand that this place is less a center of power and more a huge arena of compromise.

All the powerful forces that truly wield authority in Apsane City have their own people in the council chamber. These council members, intricately connected, maintain Apsane City's unique balance. And today, a small contingent of magic legions from the Magic Empire has arrived.

"Regarding the fact that the Legion members ran into the city, the problem lies with us. It violated military discipline and deserved to be punished, but it didn't warrant the death penalty. We need to investigate that policeman and the people behind him."

"And this investigation is based on the Empire's Third Amendment law, sphere of influence jurisdiction."

"Wherever the Magic Empire has troops stationed, the Magic Empire has jurisdiction over that area."

"But considering that our troops have not yet officially moved in."

"There is also a supplementary clause here."

“If a problem related to soldiers occurs in the city, we still retain jurisdiction.”

As he spoke, Lister produced a list of laws.

The list still smelled of ink, as it had just been printed this morning. In addition to this list, there was also the Third Amendment law, which was also urgently enacted this morning and passed unanimously. After all, no one would object to something that would increase the empire's authority.

"Okay, we'll cooperate."
The mayor of Apssaen City's lips twitched slightly after seeing the legal provisions.

How could he not know that this law did not exist before today?

But what about it?

This is the compromise between the two sides. The empire is exercising its rights with great restraint in order to avoid disrupting the balance within the city and affecting tax revenue. However, this does not mean that the empire's face has been damaged, as the other side has not reacted at all.

Therefore, he had no choice but to agree, which was also a compromise between the various forces behind him.

Of course, there's another point.
He knew the policeman with the unusual surname.

Although he didn't know the exact strength of the other party, he knew that the other party was definitely not simple.

So, his decision to just observe from the sidelines might be quite interesting.

"parking!"

Accompanied by the sound of steam-powered vehicles braking, Lister's squad arrived at the police station on Heim Street.

Obart did not come.

He may be foolish, but he's not stupid.

In this matter, he only needs to satisfy his anger; it doesn't mean he has to be on the front lines. What if the police officer goes berserk and injures him? That would be extremely inappropriate.
"you."

"Secretariat of the Southern Expeditionary Army".

Lister immediately pulled out his identification.

Then, without looking back, he led his men into the police station.

"This person's surname is Li, but we don't know his given name."

Lister raised the portrait in his hand.

"He's involved in a military murder case, and we're taking him to investigate. Where is he?"

"He's taking a nap in the back, he's sleeping."

After a moment's hesitation, a policeman said weakly.

"that."

Seeing that the group was about to walk away, the policeman continued.

"Li doesn't like to be disturbed when he's sleeping; he has a very bad temper when he wakes up."

"You need not worry about that."

Lister gave the young policeman a cold look, then led enough men toward the dormitory behind the police station.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

"Dong Dong Dong~"

"Who the hell is it?"

Li Zhongren rubbed his eyes, opened the door, and saw neatly arranged soldiers outside, as well as a young man with silver-white hair standing directly in front of him.

"who are you?"

"You are Li, sir?"

Lister asked.

According to the investigation, the person in front of me has the surname Li, which sounds similar to my own name, but it only has one syllable.

"It's me, what's wrong?"

"I am from the Secretariat of the Southern Expeditionary Army. This time, a special investigation team has been formed to investigate the death of a soldier in the Orc Legion of the Southern Expeditionary Army. I hope you will assist in the investigation. He sneaked into the city and abducted a woman. He deserved to be punished. However, you cut off his head and hung it up. This violates the laws of the Empire. Therefore, I hope you will cooperate with the investigation."

"I reject."

Li Zhongren blinked.

"Go back and tell your leader that if you don't want to die, don't mess with me."

At this point, Li Zhongren paused. He knew very well that a capable person's word was law, while an incapable person was just spouting nonsense.

So, after he finished speaking, he raised his hand again, made a fist, and then clenched and unclenched it.

The next moment, a gust of wind from a punch blew past Lister's ear.

Along with it came a sound that sounded like dust being blown away.

After a long while, Lister cautiously turned around and looked behind him.

It was a fist mark that covered most of the upper part of the police station building, making it completely disappear. Even the clouds in the distant sky seemed to have been affected.
It was only then that his magician instincts kicked in.

"Martial God"

He was reflecting on how he had used power in that attack.

Liszt's back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Although his plan was to play within the rules, the nature of the situation changed when his opponent was a martial god.
In the afternoon, Li Zhongren went on patrol alone again.

Those in the police station knew of his abilities, making him a special figure within the station, but outside of the station, few knew his background.

This time, he exposed himself, but without any profound intentions.

He's just a swordsman from Shilipo.

I'm already this awesome, if I still play the "pretending to be weak to fool others" trick, then all my awesomeness would be for nothing.

Of course, there is one more thing.

This police system made him powerful, but the price was that he had to stay here as a policeman forever.

Once he leaves this place, or gives up his identity as a police officer, he will lose all the power he has gained.

That's why he wanted to learn magic.

There is no need to overwhelm oneself with many arts.

If he leaves this place and has magic to protect him, he can see more mountains and rivers and witness more right and wrong.

Moreover, this can be considered a trial balloon.

He threw this punch to see how the Magic Empire would handle his problem.

(End of this chapter)