Hero? Are You Worthy?
Chapter 329 - 206: Where is the Justice of Heaven? Where is the Law of the King? (3)

Chapter 329: Chapter 206: Where is the Justice of Heaven? Where is the Law of the King? (3)

Nobles and ministers, can they truly be of a different breed?

Banar pondered over this sentence repeatedly.

He wasn’t very cultured, but that didn’t mean he was a fool; he might not understand what the ministers did, but he knew quite well what kings and nobles were.

Waves of emotion surged in his heart like a tsunami.

The hatred in his chest, fueled by Qin Chu’s casual guidance, had created a peculiar reaction within Banar.

Why was he just a commoner, while a bunch of useless bastards were born nobles? Why was fate so unfair? Everyone was human, so why the colossal difference?

Marta Blaze, the Army Commander and eldest son of the Duke’s family, led all the nobles back to the Imperial City to enjoy themselves when the demons attacked, leaving these commoners behind to resist the invasion.

Marquis Buniyan embezzled the soldiers’ pay that should have been distributed, swallowing up the money for weapons, equipment, and provisions, lining his own pockets. If it weren’t for this bastard’s actions, his comrades wouldn’t have suffered such terrible casualties.

Their pockets were bulging with money, yet his ninety-three thousand brothers lay dead on the battlefield!

Why, why, why?

Perhaps Banar wasn’t quite ready to rebel, but the anger was accumulating in his heart, and the seeds of hatred and resistance had been planted.

They might wither... or they might take root and sprout one day.

Carol was also indignant, her chest heaving rapidly with anger.

She could see the expressions of the soldiers around her and knew that resentment was building up in their hearts.

The Empire had already decayed because of these damnable parasites.

If this matter wasn’t dealt with swiftly and efficiently, giving the soldiers a resolution, their dissatisfaction would continue to accumulate. It could explode at any moment, which was something Carol absolutely didn’t want to see happen.

Taking a deep breath, Carol suppressed the anger in her heart and turned to Qin Chu and Banar, "I will contact my father. The issue with Marquis Buniyan will be solved immediately, and he will pay a severe price for his actions."

Carol activated Message Magic and informed Wozworth of the situation here.

Meanwhile, within the Imperial City.

Wozworth, who had just received his daughter’s message, hadn’t even had time to rejoice over the Hero Team’s first mission being a complete success before the subsequent news darkened his face more and more.

Of the one hundred thousand soldiers, less than seven thousand survived, including the severely wounded.

Marta Blaze, the noble son of the Duke’s family, had abandoned his post before the demons’ attack, leading all the nobles back to the Imperial City, along with bringing a huge amount of resources, severely affecting the morale of the troops.

Marquis Buniyan trafficked military supplies, resulting in the frontline soldiers lacking food and clothing, without weapons, without armor...

Good... good... good!

In that moment, Wozworth’s face contorted as if he were a maddened lion.

It had been a long time since he was this angry.

He was well aware of the nobility’s degeneracy and corruption.

Usually, as long as they weren’t too excessive, Wozworth would pretend not to see.

After all, while there were certain conflicts and competition between the nobility and the royal power, they also depended on each other. But now Wozworth was furious.

His face seemed somewhat twisted.

It seems that these foolish nobles have truly forgotten the name they once called me by.

He was known as the "Lion."

"Someone..."

Commander of the Imperial Guard instantly appeared before Wozworth.

"Search the entire city for Marquis Buniyan and Marta Blaze."

"Also, arrest all the nobles from the Empire’s 107th Legion."

"Anyone who dares to interfere shall be killed!"

Today, he would unleash a massacre.

At his command, the Royal Guard, directly under the royal family, immediately mobilized, searching for all the related nobles.

With the Imperial Guard deploying en masse, which was an extremely rare sight, anyone could feel that something significant was happening within the Imperial City.

One after another, the involved nobles were apprehended amid panic and loud screams; according to the Emperor’s orders, there was no need for a trial, and they were taken straight to the execution grounds.

At that very moment, Marquis Buniyan and Marta, the eldest son of Duke Blaze, were enjoying the company of beauties in the Fairy House.

They were surrounded by a flock of charming ladies.

The sultry voices of the women and their soft bodies were all part of their pleasure, and they closed their eyes in comfort.

They were waiting for the news of the annihilation of the front-line soldiers; with those they had embezzled, they could die without evidence.

The supplies for one hundred thousand soldiers were a vast fortune, enough to tempt even nobles of their caliber.

But just then, the door was kicked open, and a group of soldiers stormed into the private room.

The women, known as warblers and swallows, screamed in shock, confused about what was happening.

"Who are you, and who let you in here? Don’t you know who we are?" Marquis Buniyan’s face went pale as he scolded harshly, "Get out now!"

"You’ll pay the consequences for disturbing us."

Unfortunately for them, the Royal Guard wouldn’t obey their commands. The leading officer just sneered and with a wave of his hand, a group of guards rushed forward, seizing the two noble dignitaries and escorting them to the execution ground.

Such a commotion also caught the attention of many nobles.

When Duke Blaze, over seventy years old, learned that his son was being taken to the execution ground, he mobilized relatives and nobles close to him, along with pressuring Wozworth.

"Your Majesty, what crime has my son committed?"

"He guarded the Empire’s borders, fought against demons, endured the sandstorms, and suffered so much hardship. Just because he fell gravely ill, coughed, you would execute him?"

"To return to the Imperial City for recovery, you would have him killed? Where is natural justice? Where is royal justice?"

"I, Duke Blaze, have fought for the Empire for many years. I’ve shed blood for the Empire, I’ve borne injuries for the Empire, you cannot kill my son like this."

The execution ground.

The white-haired Duke Blaze, full of vigor, accused Wozworth, with a throng of vassals echoing in agreement.

He’s a duke, a rank only below that of a grand duke within the noble class, with considerable influence in the Empire, defiant even in the face of the Emperor.

Especially now that the Emperor intended to execute his only son.

Watching the duke fervently reproaching him, Wozworth’s expression darkened.

"Where is natural justice? Where is royal justice?"

"Blaze, I tell you, in the Oville Empire, I am the natural justice, I am the royal justice," Wozworth declared sternly.

"Do you think your son is being executed just because he fled from battle?"

"If it were just that, perhaps I might have spared your family’s sole survivor."

"But your son, colluding with Marquis Buniyan, sold off military supplies meant for the front lines. The weapons, armor, and provisions for a hundred thousand troops—all lined their own pockets."

"As a result, the soldiers on the front lines battled demons without adequate weapons, armor, or food, and after resisting for months, ninety-three thousand out of a hundred thousand perished or were injured. That is what your son has done."

"Tell me, does he not deserve to die, should he not be killed?"

With an icy gaze like a raptor, sweeping over the seventy-six nobles of various ranks on the scaffold, Wozworth’s voice was cold as iron: "If I do not kill them..."

"Then there truly would be no natural justice, no royal justice!"

These words left Duke Blaze speechless for a moment.

He knew what his son had done, but he hadn’t expected Wozworth to seize upon this misdeed and make such a big deal out of it.

"Cough, Your Majesty..." another noble, Duke Wyatt, stepped forward: "What these nobles have done is indeed improper..."

"But, it was just the death of a few commoners. It’s too much to demand the life of a marquis, a duke’s son, in retribution. It’s simply excessive."

"We could impose strict punishment without resorting to execution."

"Perhaps a fine of three months’ salary would be sufficient, serving as an explanation to those commoners."

Duke Wyatt’s suggestion garnered support from many nobles.

Indeed, it was only the death of a few commoners. What was there to fuss about? It wasn’t as if they’d never died before.

This kind of execution was too extreme, and they couldn’t accept it.

Most importantly, they weren’t clean themselves and feared the same punishment might fall upon their own heads. At this moment, they were desperately pleading for the accused.

Seeing the chorus of agreement surrounding him, Wozworth’s face twisted with even greater fury: "The soldiers on the front lines are fighting demons."

"Without those soldiers, do you think you could peacefully enjoy your lives in the city?"

"Do you know how many kilometers the demons would advance if that defensive line were breached? How many soldiers the Empire still has, how much longer they could hold out—do you know?"

"You know nothing, a bunch of pigs!"

"Starting today, every noble family must send at least one person to the battlefield to fight against the demons. If there are no descendants, then they must surrender half of their wealth in support of the front lines. Perhaps it’s time for you to understand how cruel the warfare on the front lines is."

The nobles fell silent as if they were frozen.

This was the first time they had seen His Majesty so angry, and now Wozworth was serious.

The nobles awaiting execution seemed to realize their fate, struggling desperately, howling, and begging for mercy.

But the Imperial Guard did not care about their reactions and proceeded to escort them onto the "Louis XVI Happiness Platform."

This name was given by the First Generation Brave, and few knew what it meant.

After all, what joy could there be when one is about to be beheaded?

"Kill..."

With a roar from Wozworth, the guillotine blade plummeted down.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

Heads tumbled.

All seventy-six nobles were executed, leaving only headless corpses convulsing neurotically.

No matter how much wealth they had, they had no more chances to enjoy it.

...

Meanwhile, at the front-line camp.

The surviving soldiers spent three days to clear an area, where mountains of corpses were stacked. Just the search for these bodies took an excruciatingly long time, and many were already mutilated.

With flames, they cremated the bodies of their comrades.

There were too many corpses; they couldn’t send their fallen brothers back to their homeland for a proper burial.

Though many had died and many were injured, the survivors held a bonfire party, adhering to the tradition after every victory.

Alcohol could numb their souls, dulling the pain of their wounds.