Baron Cullen

Jocelyn raised his head with difficulty, his voice hoarse but with a hint of defiance: "Lord of the City, Bishop! I, Jocelyn, am utterly loyal to the Empire and the Papacy, and have no other intentions!"

During the escort mission, we were attacked, and I fought back fiercely! The sacred artifact was destroyed, and I bear the responsibility!

"But the Waller family will never admit to the crime of colluding with heretics and deliberately damaging the sacred artifact!"

However, everyone scoffed at his explanation.

"With such conclusive evidence, you still dare to argue!"

At that moment, a malicious voice rang out from the audience.

Karen looked in the direction of the sound and saw a fat man dressed in gorgeous aristocratic clothes stand up.

He searched through the original owner's memories and quickly found the person's information.

That was another viscount from the City of No Breath, Leo Baal, the head of the Baal family.

The Barr and Waller families have a long history of business friction and are well-known rivals.

It was reasonable for the family head, Leo, to speak up at this moment.

Leo pointed at Jocelyn and said in a stern voice, "The fragments of the holy artifact are now on the evidence table! Your escort team was almost completely wiped out, but your Waller family guards were almost unharmed. What kind of coincidence is that?"

It was clearly a conspiracy between you and the attackers to deliberately destroy the sacred artifact!

His words were highly inflammatory and immediately drew the support of many nobles and common people.

Karen knelt on the cold ground, her mind racing.

His gaze involuntarily fell on a makeshift table next to the judge's bench.

There were some metal fragments on it, which, judging from the scene, were the remains of the destroyed sacred artifact.

The next moment, he focused his mind and instinctively activated the mysterious runes deep within his right eye.

hum!

From that peculiar perspective, he could see the interior of those fragments: loosely structured and full of impurities, with nothing else inside.

Karen couldn't help but feel a little confused.

Is the forging technology in this world really that bad?

This sacred artifact is comparable to the crudely made iron artifacts he saw in his previous life.

He subconsciously searched through the original owner's memories and was surprised to find that many years ago the original owner had actually had the good fortune to witness the true appearance of a sacred artifact!

A distant image gradually surfaced in my mind.

It was in a bustling square, surrounded by numerous monks and nuns, where a golden headband was placed on a soft cloth and admired by thousands.

But when Karen concentrated on examining the holy artifact from her memory, her pupils suddenly contracted!

From his unique perspective, the sacred artifact was dissected layer by layer, yet its internal structure was incredibly tight and without a single impurity!

Most importantly, the inside of that sacred artifact was filled with countless points of light that resembled stars!

"It's an extraordinary element!"

He quickly regained his composure and finally understood what was causing his confusion!

There is absolutely no extraordinary element in the fragments on the evidence table right now!

A bold guess popped into his mind.

Those fragments of the sacred artifact are fake!

The real artifacts may not have been destroyed at all, and the so-called attack may have been a carefully planned hoax to frame someone!

This discovery made his mind even more active.

No matter what, he had to seize this opportunity!

At this moment, Lord Draenor, sitting on the judge's bench, spoke again: "Jocelyn Waller, you have disappointed me greatly!"

"In that case, I will, according to Article 3 of the Imperial Law, sentence you and the Waller family..."

Before he could finish speaking, Karen suddenly stood up and shouted with all his might, "Lord of the City, His Excellency the Bishop, and all the esteemed gentlemen!"

I am Karen Waller, and I hope you will give me a chance to explain myself!

His voice was somewhat hoarse due to weakness, but it was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent square.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes were immediately focused on the young prisoner.

Most people were puzzled, not understanding what this dying man wanted to do.

Even their father, Jocelyn, and sister, Cecilia, were the same.

After all, in their minds, Karen wouldn't dare to make a statement in such a setting, under the watchful eyes of countless people.

But this absurd fact appeared right before their eyes.

In a daze, Karen seemed different in their eyes, completely out of place from the image of the spoiled young master they knew before.

"Karen Waller, son of Viscount Joslin..." Delano glanced at Karen, frowned slightly, but still nodded and said, "As a citizen of the Empire, this is your right."

Seeing this, Karen took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

He knew that his next words would determine the fate of himself, his father, and his sister.

Thinking of this, he raised his hands, which were shackled with heavy chains, pointed to the fragments of the holy artifact on the evidence table, and shouted: "Lord of the city, Bishop! I have evidence to prove that my father is innocent, and that the Waller family is innocent!"

The claim that the sacred artifact was destroyed due to my father's negligence is a complete and utter lie!

Those fragments weren't the real sacred artifacts at all; they were fakes intended to deceive everyone!

These words caused an uproar in the room!

"That's utter nonsense!"

"How dare they say the sacred artifact is fake! This is blasphemy! The Waller family deserves to die!"

"Where's the evidence? You need to provide evidence for what you're saying!"

The nobles in the audience also expressed their opinions.

Leo, in particular, jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing at Karen and roaring, "You little liar! Have you gone mad?"

"How dare you utter such absurd words in front of the city lord and the bishop? Do you think we're all fools?!"

On the judge's bench, Lord Drano and Bishop Albert exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

To be fair, they hadn't examined the fragments before.

After all, the destruction of the sacred artifact was shocking enough, and their habitual thinking made them overlook other possibilities.

But after Karen's reminder, when the two looked at the fragments again, they did sense something was wrong, thanks to their perception as fifth-tier superhumans.

There seemed to be no extraordinary fluctuations on those fragments.

Logically speaking, even if a sacred artifact is destroyed, some extraordinary elements should still remain on its fragments.

Although these extraordinary elements will gradually dissipate over time, they could never completely disappear in just a few days.

Thinking of this, Bishop Albert raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

He looked at Karen, his gaze calm yet scrutinizing: "Karen Waller, do you have any evidence to support your claim that these fragments are fakes?"

It should be understood that blasphemy and false accusation against sacred objects are both grave sins.

Karen knew that the most crucial moment had arrived.

He couldn't possibly reveal the mysterious runes deep within his right eye, so he had to find a reason that could persuade these two powerful figures.

After a moment's consideration, he looked at the judge's bench again, his face showing no fear: "My basis is the sacred artifact itself!"

A sacred artifact imbued with supreme divine grace must be made of extraordinary materials, and contain boundless extraordinary elements!

Even if destroyed by a powerful force, its fragments would be far from ordinary iron, and should retain a certain amount of extraordinary energy!

At this point, he changed the subject, pointing to the fragments on the evidence table, and said, "But I implore you two gentlemen to examine those fragments carefully!"

"Among those fragments, is there even the slightest trace of the aura that a sacred artifact should possess?"

Bishop Albert's gaze sharpened slightly, and he was quite surprised.

After a brief observation, he did indeed find that something was wrong with the fragments.

But he never expected that Karen, the son of a nobleman and an ordinary man, would be able to see through the clues.

Could it be that the fragments are indeed fake?

Just as Albert was about to examine it himself, Leo in the audience hurriedly retorted sharply: "Absurd! Utterly absurd! What's so strange about a sacred artifact being destroyed by a powerful force and its divine power dissipating and its aura weakening?"

"Do you really think you can determine the authenticity of a sacred artifact based on mere words?"

However, what Leo didn't expect was that Karen was waiting for someone to stand up and refute him!

He immediately bowed to Bishop Albert and said in a firm voice, "Please, Your Excellency, understand!"

It is naturally difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake sacred artifacts using ordinary methods, but I have heard that genuine sacred artifacts resonate with divine power!

"Only the divine servant, a member of the extraordinary professions, can wield divine power. Your Excellency, as a fifth-tier divine servant, you are deeply blessed by the gods and will surely be able to discern the authenticity of those fragments!"

Having said that, he didn't give anyone a chance to refute him, and his voice suddenly rose: "I, Karen Waller, hereby swear an oath!"

If the fragment is real, I am willing to endure all the empire's cruel punishments and be cast into the eighteenth level of hell to suffer eternal torment of being burned alive!

However, if the fragment is fake, it proves that my Waller family has been framed. I beg the City Lord and the Bishop to clear my Waller family's name and severely punish the real culprit!