Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 79: -68- Take them down!

Chapter 79: -68- Take them down!

The apprehension of the Rose Association members was a long and complex process.

Of course, "long and complex" was but only relative to the swift and decisive Judgement Court; in fact, the Judgement Court, known for quelling evil with lightning speed, had never taken more than 24 hours for a Holy Judgment.

Especially here in Bold, the heart of the Church’s power in the southwest of the New Moon Kingdom, the Rose Association, an underground syndicate, had become trapped like a turtle in a jar the moment the city gates closed.

It was now past midnight, the thunderstorm had ended, and the rain was gradually calming.

In the sky above, thick clouds still tumbled, presenting a dull, dark gray in the night.

In the Rose Manor, however, it was brightly lit, and the number of Rose Association members brought here was increasing, already no fewer than five hundred.

They were uniformly bound at the hands, strung together and constrained by the Holy Lock, kneeling on the ground.

Behind them, piles of oily wood were constructed; despite the recent heavy rain, these piles remained dry under the effect of Divine Arts.

A few Judgement Knights held torches at the ready, primed to ignite the stacks. The flame of the torches was a pale gold, the Judgement Fire able to burn the very soul.

This was the flame for judging enemies, sinners, heretics, and evildoers by the Holy Royal Court, infamous throughout the Mireya Continent. Underneath this flame, any being would have their Divine Soul utterly annihilated, including the believers of the Holy Royal Court itself.

Looking at the pale gold flame, some members of the Rose Association turned deathly pale, some wore blank expressions, but more... more of them glared at the Judgement Knights with fury.

All Transcendents knew what it meant to light the fire of Judgement—it signified the commencement of Holy Judgment, leaving them with only two options—

Either perish in the flames of judgment,

Or sign the most stringent of contracts with the Judge, becoming a Judge themselves, fighting for the Judgement Court until the very last second of their lives...

Even in death, it was not the end, for their spiritual power would be collected by the Divine Artifact, the Spear of Judgment, and become part of the foundation of the Holy Royal Court.

As for non-Transcendents, their fate was but one—to be consumed entirely by the fire of judgment.

"Lord Rajiv, apart from those who were killed resisting to the end, and a small number who escaped into the Inner City or outside before the gates closed, most of the remaining members of the Rose Association are all here."

Before Second Tier Judgement Knight Rajiv, an Apprentice Knight respectfully reported.

"Most of them...? And why are there so few peripheral members of the Rose Association?"

Rajiv quickly caught the loophole in his subordinate’s words.

The Apprentice Knight hesitated, then whispered into Rajiv’s ear.

Moments later, Rajiv’s gaze sharpened, and he frowned slightly:

"What? The Demon Hunting Knights are interfering? They even laid hands on the Judgement Troop?"

"These fallen dogs... Do they even grasp what they’re doing?! Is it a command issued by the Church?"

"No... no, according to the Judge, it seems they were hired."

The Apprentice Knight carefully replied.

"Hired?"

Rajiv was stunned, then burst into rage:

"Who hired them? They’ve got some nerve! They dare to accept such a hire?"

"It appears... it appears to be the Castel family."

"Castel?"

Second Tier Knight Rajiv was briefly taken aback.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the parchment in his hand:

"If I’m not mistaken, it seems quite a number of peripheral members of the Rose Association are closely related to the Castel family, and the chairman of the Rose Association... has dealings with that heir of Castel."

"Hmph! These fallen, corrupt noble families, colluding with the underworld, oppressing the commoners—I haven’t even gone looking for trouble with them yet, and they’ve come to me first..."

Beside him, other Second Tier Judgement Knights nodded in agreement:

"Castel... if I remember correctly, Great Knight instructed us to pay close attention to them among a few select families, didn’t he?"

"They... seem to be implicated in the Evil God Church as well. Great Knight has always suspected something was amiss with the Blood Demon case, and it seems the Great Priest is hiding something too."

"Hmph, for their own career and benefits, they’ve even allied with such filthy families. The Great Priest truly has grown old."

"Just a hire, the Demon Hunting Knights wouldn’t dare involve themselves in the Holy Judgment. Since it’s Castel stirring things up behind the scenes, I’m afraid this might also be the shadow of the Great Priest..."

"Once this trial is over, we must report to Great Knight. The Great Priest is completely ignoring the sanctity of faith and our Judgement Court!"

The Judgement Knights were quite angry.

As overseers of the Church, monitoring whether the Clergy was qualified was also one of their duties.

"Alright, we’ll discuss this matter after Great Knight brings back Sebastian Flameheart. Let’s begin the judgment now."

The lead, Rajiv, halted his colleagues’ ongoing discussion.

As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward the members of the Rose Association gathered in the manor, his voice solemnly declared,

"According to reports, the Rose Association has sheltered heresy sub-humans wanted by the authorities, smuggled hand crossbows, controlled knives, Source Power Seeds, and other prohibited items. They have colluded with the Blood Demon Sect in secret and are involved in several Blood Demon cases in Bold. The chairman of the Rose Association, Sebastian, has had dealings with the Adam Church active in Coria, and has an ambiguous relationship with the Pure White Witch, a major fugitive wanted by the Holy Royal Court. The evidence is conclusive..."

"According to the fourth volume, thirteenth Chapter, sixty-sixth article of the Royal Court Holy Scripture... The Rose Association is confirmed as a secret evil organization, with a danger assessment of extreme risk, and purification level set to immediate execution!"

Having said that, he turned to the people of the Rose Association:

"Of course... the Lord is always merciful. The wicked shall receive their due punishment, but those who repent can also be granted a chance to live."

"Sinners who have fallen into the abyss of evil, make your choice. Will you be purified by the Lord’s Judgement Fire, or will you repent and atone with the rest of your life?"

"Pah! Lackeys of the Holy Royal Court! Bastards bred by whores!"

A furious curse erupted from the crowd, immediately met with the angry glares of the Judgement Knights.

"Kneel!"

A Judgement Knight kicked the curser to the ground.

Rajiv followed the sound and saw that the curser was a male sub-human, large and strong with an ugly exterior, his two black wolf ears atop his head particularly eye-catching.

"He is Wild Wolf Luf, the Rose Association’s second-in-command. He has great prestige in the Association and is the clan leader of the sub-human remnants taken in by the chairman Sebastian."

A Judgement Knight quickly informed Rajiv.

"A werewolf? Hah... worshipping the fallen Bloodline as a totem of royalty, remnants of the Blood Cult, indeed... It seems the Rose Association is indeed related to the Blood Demons!"

Rajiv sneered.

After finishing, he withdrew his gaze and looked at the other members of the Rose Association present:

"Those who persist in their delusions, stay where you are. Those who wish to repent, step forward!"

Hearing the words of the Judgement Knight, the apprehended members of the Rose Association became restless.

After a bout of cursing, rebukes, sighs, and weeping, about half of the members took a step forward.

However, no one, including all the sub-humans and those who had entered the tier of Transcendents, chose to move.

Second-tier Judgement Knight Rajiv was not surprised by this. Faced with the choice between life and death, the majority of people still wished to live, even if the Judgement Court offered only a path to a slow death.

This was also the reason why the Local Judge Forces could continuously replenish their ranks.

In fact, for a newly formed underground gang to have half its members choose death was quite surprising to Rajiv. In his years dealing with Cult Groups, there were not many that could have such a proportion of their members face death.

This made him have some respect for the Rose Association and even Sebastian, who was being pursued by the Great Knight.

The Rose Association was not a genuine Cult Group, nor did it have the twisted faith of cultists to bolster unity.

And yet, so many Transcendents chose death, which was enough to show that Sebastian, the chairman of the Rose Association, had indeed some charismatic virtues.

And the unyielding at any time deserved recognition.

Of course, respect is respect.

As evildoers, they must be punished!

"For those who repent, put on the Holy Lock. For the remaining sinners, carry out the judgment!"

Rajiv commanded.

However, as soon as he finished, a crisp voice broke the silence:

"Hold!"

The Judgement Knights turned around to see a grand procession coming from outside the manor, led by a carriage emblazoned with a Black Hawk badge.

Atop it sat a beautiful young girl in a white dress.

Around her followed hundreds of Demon Hunting Knights!

Seeing that Black Hawk badge, Rajiv’s face turned sour in an instant.

His sight fell on the Demon Hunting Knights, whose strength topped at First Tier, and with a colder expression, he waved his hand commanding,

"What are you waiting for?"

"Take down Charlotte de Castel, the heir associated with the Rose Association!"

"Arrest all the Demon Hunting Knights who interfere with the Holy Judgment!"

"If anything goes wrong, I’ll shoulder it!"

Rajiv stood tall, his Second-tier Silver Moon strength exerting a formidable pressure on the scene.