Their commission was suspicious.

[Ninth place: Champo, the Serial Killer Joker, crimes: murder, rape, torture...]

Champ, one of the companions Sheila gained during her travels, is also the unlucky guy who just arrived in the Empire.

Born into a wealthy family, he experienced various forms of abuse during his childhood.

When he discovered that innocent children could heal him, he began to dress up as a clown and play with them. Eventually, he became desperate about the corrupt adults and, in order to prevent the children from growing into adults, he began to kill them.

He enjoyed killing in various regions, primarily the empire, and continued to roam.

It is worth mentioning that he once tortured and killed Lan's students.

And that Ran is the Teigu user who possesses the Teigu "Flying Thousand Miles - Mostima", a very talented person.

In the end, he joined the newly formed empire, becoming an administrator and contributing to the people.

Compared to others, Champus's inclusion on this list is purely due to bad luck.

If he had arrived even 10 minutes later, he wouldn't have been involved in this trial.

It is indeed strange, even though they did not enter the empire, they could tell from afar that some earth-shattering changes had taken place in the empire, such as the East Sea Dragon in the sky, the blood-red clouds, and the rain of black feathers. How could these people dare to enter the capital so recklessly?

Could it be that these unlucky guys were teleported from a very far place to the gates of the Empire using a spatial Imperial Arm?

Then, he just happened to miss the disasters such as the coming of night, the appearance of the blood moon, and the rampage of the East Sea Dragon, and therefore knew nothing about the Empire?

That was really bad luck.

"Hahahaha. Ah!!! Ahahaha!"

Even when being subjected to extreme torture and inflicted unspeakable pain on his heart by Black Feather, Shangpu could still laugh. But every time he laughed, his pain intensified dramatically.

After he endured the pain and taunted the angel, the ghost before him, who was about to torture him, moved even faster.

Raise your head three feet and there is a god.

There are some things you may not believe, but it's best to have reverence for them.

Unlike the previous unfortunate victims who were subjected to continuous torture, Champus was utterly worthless.

The value here refers to the value that is exploited. For example, a minister can reveal his treasure trove, a list of criminal officials, or provide some intelligence. But Champus is different. Champus's only value is death.

After his execution, he will be subjected to eternal torment in the soul fire.

Meanwhile, as Champus was being tried, in a place quite far from the empire, a gentle, blond, handsome man suddenly looked up towards the capital.

Pure white wings slowly unfolded behind him.

[10th place, Zank, convicted of murder]

Compared to those other glamorous and shameless women who had other side jobs besides murder, Zank's reason for being on the list was very simple: simply because he murdered, and he murdered a lot of people.

Zank the Executioner was originally an executioner in the Empire's largest prison. He went mad after doing the same job for more than ten years. He eventually killed the warden, stole his Imperial Arms, and escaped. He became known as Zank the Executioner because he was killing people all over the Empire.

Unlucky Zank had just arrived in the Empire, ready to resume his nightly killing spree, but he encountered this predicament after only one day.

Chen Luo only learned that Zank had come to the capital from the reports of several souls that had suddenly appeared in the Doll World.

Imperial Arms: The Observer – This Imperial Arms possesses five abilities: penetrating vision, farsightedness, X-ray vision, future vision, and illusion vision. These abilities allow the user to see into people's hearts, observe distant places, penetrate visual barriers, see the future, and cast illusions.

Yes, it can see through clothes.

Ten sinners stand here, to be disposed of at will after their punishment is complete.

Mercury lamps floated above ten crosses, and on those ten crosses, ten of the most heinous criminals in the capital were nailed to the crosses.

Despite bleeding profusely from the long nails driven into their flesh and their flesh being constantly cut away, they were still able to howl with great vitality thanks to the cross behind them, which possessed the power of breaking free from the cocoon and becoming a butterfly. They could also keenly perceive how their flesh was being cut away.

Of the ten tortured men, only Ernest had 10 feathers on his chest; the other nine each had nine.

The more feathers a person has, the more pain they endure every moment, and this pain increases exponentially.

The pain one feels when having 9 tendons is worlds apart from that when having 10.

The sinners with nine roots are not limited to those on the cross; in fact, God's situation was beyond Chen Luo's expectations.

Chen Luo originally thought that the black feathers in this capital city had a normal distribution, with the most having one feather and the fewest having nine feathers.

However, Chen Luo later discovered that he was young, which is why Mercury Lamp had her black feathers plucked for another day in the Doll World.

Aside from Ernest's privilege of having 10 feathers, having even one black feather is the rarest!

Yes, you read that right!

The number of black feathers is not in a sloping shape, but rather in a shape close to a pyramid.

Excluding those with 9 or 10 feathers, it forms a perfect pyramid shape; criminals with 4 or 5 feathers are the most numerous. Those with 1 or 8 feathers are the fewest.

The reason why nine feathers are also excluded is that there are even more cases with nine feathers than with four or five feathers.

This capital city is hopeless!

Sure enough, they either don't commit crimes, or they commit serious crimes.

There are many sinners with nine black feathers, far more than the ten mentioned above. The friends Sheila brought this time all have nine feathers, but they were a little luckier. Their crimes were slightly less serious than those of the person above them, so they didn't make the list.

God's mercy is not cheap. The black feathers on your bodies are a manifestation of your sins; they will constantly pierce your hearts, inflicting unspeakable pain. Only when you do good deeds will the pain be alleviated. When you do evil, the pain will instantly multiply many times over. The more black feathers you have, the greater the pain you endure.

[If the good deeds performed are of a high enough level, they can even cause black feathers to fade. Once a black feather has completely turned white, it will automatically fall off and disappear.]

Those clad in black feathers are sinners; those who judge sinners wearing three or more feathers will not be punished. Please be aware.

If a sinner clad in black feathers commits suicide, his soul will be tormented by warriors in flames.

That's all I have to say. Take care of yourself.

After briefly explaining some basic facts about Kuroba, Suigintou glanced coldly at everyone in the capital, then flapped her wings, rose up, and disappeared into the clouds.

The screams of sinners, their names etched on the crosses, echoed for a full three minutes before this scene, visible from any angle, finally disappeared from everyone's sight.

At this moment, the curious onlookers who had been unable to get close to the execution ground but were instead restricted by the barrier being dispersed by bystanders, discovered that they could now go to the execution platform to watch it for themselves.

Chen Luo and Esdeath were the first group.

The barrier was dispelled by the bystanders, and the temporary defensive barrier also disappeared. Chen Luo and Esdeath approached the execution platform.

Now they can hear the ministers' wails at extremely close range.

When Esdeath shot an ice spike at the minister, it was suddenly deflected by a barrier.

"You plan to save the minister?" Chen Luo asked curiously.

“No, I was just checking to see if the angels would leave such a big loophole.” Esdeath shook her head.

Even without ministers, Esdeath is still a general of the empire.

Her achievements in quelling the rebellion in the north cannot be erased.

"Father, I always feel that he has ill intentions." Suigintou, who had reappeared on Chen Luo's shoulder, hugged Chen Luo and rubbed his face against him while making no attempt to hide her displeasure with Esdeath.

The aloof and noble black-feathered angel Suigintou is now behaving like a little girl. If Seryu, who has just begun to believe in angels, were to see this, her faith might collapse again.

However, Chen Luo quite enjoyed this contrast.

Because the feeling was really amazing!

Is this why men are attracted to empresses and goddesses?

Chen Luo understood.

“Alright, although Esdeath is indeed not a good woman—violent, strong-willed, fond of researching torture devices, a sadist, and loves war, so naturally she'll kill… but she's beautiful,” Chen Luo said.

Then, just as Chen Luo expected, the Herald of Knowledge kicked Chen Luo in the butt from behind.

"Hey!"

"Hey, what are you talking about!" The Herald of Knowledge rolled his eyes at Chen Luo.

"Father, aren't I enough for you?" Suigintou said, hugging Chen Luo's neck.

"Just kidding. But what to do with Esdeath is indeed a problem." Chen Luo looked at Esdeath in front of him and fell into deep thought.

Killing her is not an option. Regardless of the unjustly assigned status she has in this world, it wouldn't be appropriate to kill Esdeath for her own contributions in resisting the foreign invaders.

Moreover, with such a large number of people with black feathers purged, the Empire is already facing a severe shortage of talent, which inevitably makes it easier for other forces and countries to have ulterior motives. Therefore, Esdeath, this warmonger, is even more important.

In some ways, Chen Lugan went even further than the revolutionary army.

The revolutionary army only executed the ringleaders, while nobles who had committed numerous atrocities might continue to be nobles, and corrupt officials might remain officials, though they would be more restrained in their actions.

Chen Luo's actions nearly wiped out all the nobles and high-ranking officials, leaving only a few relatively clean nobles and some conscientious officials.

Fortunately, they are only wearing black feathers and are not dead yet. If a war breaks out, they can be dragged to the front lines to die.

Therefore, the empire did not suffer significant military losses, but it would certainly experience a period of domestic turmoil, and other forces could very well take advantage of the situation.

A serious illness requires drastic measures. The empire is so corrupt that if this festering sore isn't eradicated at its root, the capital will rot away sooner or later.

But leaving Esdeath in the Empire like this is not an option either.

The empire will eventually find peace, and after a period of turmoil, it may enter a state of peace. What Esdeath might do then is unimaginable.

"What are you thinking about?" Just as Chen Luo was lost in thought, Esdeath's cold hand touched Chen Luo's forehead, startling him.

As Chen Luo fell into deep thought, more and more people gathered below the execution platform to watch the ministers' disgraceful behavior, and they were all genuinely happy for this change in the capital.

Everyone also noticed Esdeath standing at the very front and offered their blessings to the general who brought victory to the nation's borders.

Esdeath is very popular in the Imperial Capital.

Everyone who saw Chen Luo being treated so intimately by Esdeath couldn't help but cast envious and jealous glances at him.

In the eyes of the public, Esdeath is a perfect partner because she has a good figure, good looks, high strength, high position and power, and is also kind to people.

But only those who truly understand Esdeath know that being stung by her is not a pleasant experience.

"Nothing, just wondering what the minister's final fate will be. What will happen in ten days?" Chen Luo looked up at the minister hanging on the cross at the front.

At this moment, the minister seemed to notice Esdeath standing below.

"Esdeath, save me! Put me down! I'll give you anything! Money, power, and the war you love most!" Tortured and in unbearable pain, Ernest managed to squeeze out a complete sentence through gritted teeth.

Ernest was unwilling to accept it, unwilling to accept it!

Just moments ago, he was a minister second only to the emperor, but now he has become a victim of public execution, hanging on a cross, and being subjected to slow slicing by a ghost-like being.

If he could be given a quick death, the minister would not say anything, but the pain he suffered far exceeded his expectations.

At this moment, there was a being he knew standing at the pinnacle of martial power in this world, standing below his execution platform. How could the minister not grasp at this last straw?

“Ask me for help? That’s a wise choice.” Esdeath nodded.

Just then, even if it weren't for saving the minister, Esdeath was very curious about the strength of this barrier. Which was stronger, the barrier set up by the angel or her own ice?

However, just as the ice was gathering in Esdeath's hand, Chen Luo tugged at Esdeath's sleeve.

After seeing Chen Luo shake his head at her, Esdeath could only helplessly say to the minister, "Although I don't mind trying to save you, my brother doesn't seem to like you very much. I'm sorry."

"Esdeath, you damned hag! Without me, you... Ah!!!" The minister's words were cut short when a ball of flame shot from outside the barrier, striking him precisely and instantly engulfing his entire body.

With both the Soulfire and the Black Feather engulfing him, the minister was instantly rendered speechless.

Although he had made a move, Chen Luo was not worried about revealing anything, because the person next to him who was throwing eggs at the minister also hit the minister with an egg.

This is a barrier that detects malice!

"You're getting cuter and cuter the more I look at you." Seeing Chen Luo's behavior, Esdeath couldn't help but pinch and tug at Chen Luo's cheeks with both hands.

Esdeath was pleased that her cousin had stood up for her.

But only Chen Luo knew that he was afraid Esdeath would break the barrier in a fit of anger, thus depleting its power.

“Let’s share a room tonight and have a good talk about your experiences over the past few years,” Esdeath said cheerfully.

"Smack!" Chen Luo's buttocks were kicked again by the Herald of Knowledge.

After rubbing his face and then his buttocks, Chen Luo glanced at Esdeath and the Herrscher of Knowledge with difficulty before deciding to make a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes.

"Hey, Yukari Yakumo, are you guys in Gensokyo short of people? I have a battle maniac here..." Chen Luo sent a message to Yukari Yakumo using the group network.

Chapter 972 Little Emperor: A Marriage Bestowed Upon You? Your Marriage with Luo Luo?

Inside the royal palace...

Silence, silence is the palace today.

Not only for those in the palace, but for the entire capital, today was an incredibly surreal day, and the young emperor was no exception.