The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 204: Crimes & Judgement

"Try to understand, Beastman leader," Royce began.

"It's Chief Kazak.." the old fox mage interrupted.

"Try to understand, Chief Kazak. To render a judgment, we need to take him to a higher authority. I promise you we will do that at all costs, but right now our troubles are bigger than that. We need every fighter we can get." Royce tried to reason with him, but from their expressions, he had not achieved much success.

"See? As I said, they just want to play with words, make us do their dirty work, and pay the price so they can proudly look down on us from atop their rides and sneer," a buff gorilla beastman said from the side, sending a wave of murmurs among both beastmen and the captains and their aides.

"What the hell am I missing? Why won't Royce just interrogate the guy and judge him, right here and now?" Sam asked, frustrated.

"It's not that simple," Yovan replied. "Royce may be a noble, but his house is just second-generation, newly risen to power. The others could do it, but they're all afraid of the consequences. Any judgment they pass could be used as an excuse to frame their house later. They're more worried about what will happen once the war ends and things settle back home than the current trouble ahead."

"That is so stupid," Sam said, though he understood well enough why no one would want to do it.

"Lord Vincent, What do you have to say in your defense against this accusation?" Damian asked loudly, since no one else was offering anything useful.

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All eyes turned to the new lord. The man glared at Damian but, remembering his earlier stunt, straightened himself and said proudly, "We fought off a thousand of those Ashenvale bastards together when they charged at their precious valley. No one can save every soldier in a battle like that. How am I to blame for their loss? I lost men too, yet I'm not blaming anyone."

"LIES!" the Beastman leader roared.

"We fought together, but only we paid the price. He withheld important information about enemies charging from the rear—the place they were supposed to guard. Instead, he used the distraction that he himself caused to sneak into our valley and steal what is rightfully ours," the old fox mage explained, giving more detail instead of just arguing.

"Rightfully yours? Hah! Since when did serfs start owning dungeons?" the lord scoffed, sending another wave of murmurs and chatter through the room.

"A dungeon… here?"

"For real?"

"They hid it?"

"The regional lord never saw it?"

Okay, that explains some things. That's why the Beastmen tribe is so strong. The greedy lord wanted the dungeon's treasures for himself, using the war as an excuse. That bastard was crafty—now that he couldn't get his hands on it, he revealed its existence to everyone. The Beastmen should have been more cautious. Why would they let such valuable information fall into his hands?

They mentioned scheming with an innocent boy… But still, a boy shouldn't have such info unless… they were letting everyone use it.

Now that was a wise leader. Most would hoard such an advantage, but these people had shared their power. This was the first time Damian had seen a leader acting as a leader should. How ironic that the one belonging to the class called "simpletons" was the wisest of them all.

"Hiding information about a dungeon from the royalty is a crime punishable by death," Royce said, eyeing Kazak and the old fox.

"These are times of war. We did what we thought was necessary to survive, we were the ones who cleared the whole valley of monsters, sacrificing our brothers and sisters.. We found it.." the old fox replied, meeting the eyes of all the captains in defiance.

Nope, there was no regret in their eyes. But then again, why should there be? If one thinks about it, it was the regional lord's mistake for not properly surveying his own territory.

"Even hiding it from your lord? Some loyal subjects you are," the annoying lord jabbed again.

"Lord Avery isn't here, and his son is too young to decide such matters. Why are we even discussing this shit? The real issue here is that greedy bastard putting my entire valley to danger just to claim the dungeon for himself. Ours was a necessity; he's just pure evil," Kazak declared, slamming the table. His fist went through the top as if it was made of paper.

"Enough with this nonsense. The monsters are coming sooner or later. Are you going to fight with us or not?" Surprisingly, it was Sam who spoke up, dragging everyone's attention back to the issue at hand. The dungeon and other concerns could be settled later.

"Why are there even kids here?"

"They're noble brats or something?"

The Beastmen behind Kazak began murmuring, with those present yesterday filling in the others about things they had seen.

"As he said, no human will enter our valley until that bastard is punished for his crimes," Kazak stated, crossing his bulging arms and standing firm on their statement.

"We don't have time for this. Think about your people," Royce urged, trying to appeal to their emotions, but was met with silence.

"Yeah, focus on the present, you selfish lot. But then again, what would your people know about loyalty and love for one's country?" the annoying lord sneered again.

All the Beastmen froze, and not a single whisper followed. The topic was a very touchy subject for them. Damian could feel the nauseating pressure of their combined auras, an uncomfortable weight in the air. Other captains began flaring their own auras in defense. Kazak, the main leader, had his head down, his eyes trailing red mist. That was something Damian had never seen before—definitely bad news.

"So… In short, you'll pledge your unconditional support if we deal with your issue, Right?" Damian asked, standing slowly. His words, each heavier than the last, drew the entire room's attention. Some looked at him with shock, others with disbelief and mockery.