A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 225 The Real Trial

An unexpected turn of events at the venue sent the situation spiraling out of Granor's control. No, from the very beginning, Granor didn't believe the Count had any real power over him, given those sycophantic good-for-nothings.

Outside the venue, the entrance to the Magic Guild was suddenly bustling with activity. Ten carriages from the Tower of Stars occupied the driveway in front of the gate, and members of the Alchemy Department and mages in dark blue star robes emerged.

"What are you doing?" The staff of the magic guild were confused about what was going on and tried to stop them, but they immediately backed down when they saw who was coming.

The low-level mages and apprentices who were mailing letters in the hall were also unaware of what had happened; they only saw the guild building being sealed off.

A true lockdown not only involves controlling the entrances and exits, but also having mages cast spells from all four directions to create a barrier that envelops the entire building, ensuring that no one can teleport.

Snow entered the communication room, opened his pocket watch, and announced: "From now on, the Valuwana node of the communication system will be offline for one hour."

"I disagree! Do you know how much damage this will cause!" The system's manager rushed out.

"This is not a request for opinions; this is the Chief's order, a statement of the fact that the [Spatial Lock] has been activated." Snow coldly glanced at the other party: "Losses? You must have made a lot of money sending letters to those merchants, right? Should we ask Star Robe to check the accounts? Rest assured, as a substitute, the Starlight Torch Tower will launch a temporary node."

"Incomprehensible." The person in charge said twice, then slumped into his seat, at a loss.

Another car pulled up outside, and two tall members of the refining department "escorted" the mining company's general manager, Varang, into the venue.

This was Varon's first time in this place. He looked around curiously and first saw two fully armored warriors with two greatswords blocking anyone who wanted to come in or out.

"Do you mages also have knights?"

"No, no, no, these two are masterpieces from our alchemy department." Valen's "bodyguard" didn't say anything more and led the general manager inside: "Let's go, you are the key witness today."

Varen took a deep breath and stepped into his unknown territory. The young man thought to himself: If it ends like this, so be it.

Inside the venue, the mages who had been forcibly summoned calmed down a bit. Some of them secretly cast spells to try to escape the place of trouble, only to find that space-related spells were completely ineffective.

Granor remained relatively calm. He reassessed the situation behind him and saw that the people who had been brought from behind the scenes to the front of the stage had no intention of resisting. His heart sank, and a bitter taste rose in his mouth.

What kind of people are his supporters?!

But Granor, also a high mage, still had a chance to fight. He needed to stand up for his supporters; if he stepped down, then all was lost. The Count, still acting as judge, questioned, "Kano, what do you intend to do with the jury here?"

"As I've said before, the real interrogation has begun." Kano reiterated, then stepped closer to Granor: "Thank you for taking the initiative to gather everyone to witness how Archmage Granor betrayed the interests of the Magic Guild."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Kano spoke to everyone, his voice booming and echoing throughout the hall: "Everyone knows that our Stonemasons Brotherhood's president, Archmage Granor, became a count in the Kingdom of Valua after discovering the sub-plane."

"Yes, I'm glad you remember that I discovered this plane. You have no right to criticize how it is disposed of."

"Then I want to know, did the Magic Guild undertake the preliminary exploration and maintenance of the dimensional portals? My students and I have all entered the planes, so why did the planes suddenly become your and a few other mages' territories, while the Magic Guild and other mages received no compensation whatsoever?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze swept back and forth between Granor and a few "highly respected" mage lords, many of whom held high positions in the Arcane Senate.

"Compensation? I've already given your good apprentice plenty of benefits, but your student, that imperialist named Rorschach, doesn't know how to be grateful and ignores the olive branch I've extended!"

Rorschach was speechless. He defended himself, "Even if I ate a meal with you, you'll still nag me. Should I just spit it out and give it to the Earl now?"

A soft snicker rang out from the stage.

"How rude! How rude!" Elders from the Senate who had also received territory stood up to support Granor, but few responded, and he could only sit back down.

Before Cano could get to the point, he stepped onto the stage, now facing Granor directly: "My lord, please answer one more crucial question. In the accusations against my student, Pascal, it was mentioned that his actions could mislead the Magic Guild about its stance on the authorities."

"Then, what is the punishment for Lord Granor and the lords of the lower planes, representing the magic guild, endorsing a non-existent gold mine?"

Granor was taken aback when Cano brought this up, and he broke out in a cold sweat: "Slander, this is slander!"

"Of course I won't play those 'yes or no' games like before. Now let's get straight to the evidence. The first witness is my student, Rorschach. You were on the same team as the discoverer of the gold mine. Tell me, did you have any relevant clues during your exploration of the sub-plane?"

Rorschach shook his head: "There is absolutely no trace of a gold mine."

"My student is still under the influence of the [True Word] spell. If you still have doubts, our jury includes mages who participated in the exploration. Who can step forward to prove that a gold mine was discovered in the subplane?"

Silence fell over the seats initially, followed by a heated discussion. Granor was on the verge of collapse; he trembled as he pleaded with Kano using the [Telecommunications] spell:

"Leonard, this is the end of it. I've lost! I... I was wrong. You can't continue like this. You don't understand how many people are involved. I did it all for the Magic Guild, for all the mages. Believe me!"

Allowing only the Archmage to hear it is the last vestige of dignity for the Earl.

But Cano refused to accept the defendant's surrender: "I think everyone is still unaware of how Granor and his cronies betrayed the Magic Guild. Let's bring in a new witness, Varan, the general manager of the Saliana Mining Company!"

The alchemy department members, who had been waiting outside, "invited" Varon to enter. He trembled slightly, as it was the first time he had ever seen so many mages.

Upon seeing the familiar young man, Granor screamed and roared, "Varán, you have betrayed His Majesty the King, betrayed Lord Neker! They will execute you, execute you!"

Ignoring Kano beside him, he raised his hand and began to cast a spell.

Seeing Granor's desperate act, Rorschach quickly used [Magic Scream] to interrupt his spellcasting. Kano took out a crystal, which unfolded under the archmage's spell, enveloping Granor, who was still in shock from the spell, within its crystal walls.

"Because Granor refuses to cooperate with the trial, I, on behalf of the Senate of Arcane Law, hereby seal you away."

Everyone witnessed this process, but most didn't notice that it was Rorschach, a mid-level mage, who stopped the archmage; they simply assumed it was Kano's doing.

(End of this chapter)