“Among the 108 contestants who were captured, 72 died on the spot while the remaining 36 also passed away one by one while on the way back.” In a low, grave tone, President Fred said, “They’re dead! All dead! All 108 contestants are dead! Among which include Prince Barbarossa and the 13th Princess whom His Majesty dotes on the most! They’re actually all dead!”
Meng Lei fell silent.
“Meng Lei, answer me honestly.” President Fred asked gravely, “Do their deaths have anything to do with you? Is it really like what the surviving contestants claimed? That you’re the one that caused their deaths?”
“I caused their deaths?” Meng Lei couldn’t help but laugh. “If I tell you that this matter has nothing to do with me, would you believe me?”
President Fred stayed quiet for a moment before he replied, “If you dare give me your word, then I’ll believe you.”
“Alright! Since President trusts me that much, then I’ll tell you.”
Meng Lei let out a laugh and replied, “The 108 deaths indeed have a little to do with me, but the main cause of their deaths is still their greed!”
“Their greed?”
President Fred frowned slightly.
“This is what happened...”
Meng Lei hid nothing from him and truthfully recounted everything that had happened.
President Fred fell into silence at the end of the recount.
After a long while, he finally said, “Based on what you’ve said, you are indeed not to be blamed for this matter. Had they not coveted the divine tree’s fruits, they wouldn’t have brought down such calamity on themselves... But!”
President Fred changed the course of the conversation and said, “That’s not what His Majesty and all the officials think. All of them have pushed the blame onto you. They believe that this wouldn’t have happened had you not stolen that native half-deity’s possessions. Thus, all blame lies on you!”
“So, they intend to make me the scapegoat no matter what I say?” Meng Lei chuckled contemptuously and scoffed. “What a joke, this tragedy was obviously brought about by the emperor’s lapse in judgment and the contestants’ greed, yet they want to make me the scapegoat?”
“Meng Lei, His Majesty is the emperor. We can make mistakes, but His Majesty must never make any!”
President Fred chastised him furiously, “Moreover, not only are Sachhen the Golden Dragon-Lion, Miriam the Immortal Fairy, and so on, part of the fatalities, but it includes even Prince Barbarossa and the 13th Princess!
“One’s the empire’s future emperor, while the other’s the most favored princess—His Majesty cannot afford to make such a mistake! Therefore, the only thing that all the officials and nobles can do is to vent their anger on you!”
“So, what do they intend to do?” asked Meng Lei with a scornful laugh.
“His Majesty has already deployed the Royal Holy Knight Order to the Lost Continent to capture you.” President Fred shook his head and added, “If nothing goes wrong, you’ll be held responsible for the whole matter.”
“I’m to be held responsible for it?”
A sharp glint flashed across Meng Lei’s eyes as he said, “Just as well! I’ve been in a terrible mood recently and sorely missing a venting outlet!”
“What do you intend to do, Meng Lei?”
“Return to the Imperial City!”
At Dragon God Empire, conference hall...
Emperor Frederick the 32nd sat high above the others on the throne, his countenance frighteningly dark and sinister.
Academy presidents and teachers-in-charge from the various major academies, a great number of Saint Domains, and all the court officials stood at both sides of the grand hall.
In the center of the grand hall quietly laid more than a hundred corpses. All of them had been wrapped in yellow fabric, their faces hidden from view. However, the occasional glimpse of skin exposed outside the fabric showed signs of extreme dryness and shrinkage.
Evidently, those 100-odd corpses belonged to the 108 contestants who had just lost their lives.
Not a sound could be heard in the grand hall at the moment. Filled with dead silence, the atmosphere in there was frighteningly repressive.
Everyone stayed still and silent, none of them daring to open their mouths.
As time passed, at last, Emperor Frederick the 32nd couldn’t stand it anymore. He asked, “Is there still no news from the Royal Holy Knight Order?”
“No, there isn’t, Your Majesty.”
“It’s already been a day and a night since they’ve set off for the Lost Continent, yet there’s still no news from them. Has Meng Lei soared into the heavens or burrowed into the ground or what?”
Frederick the 32nd was enraged. “Send men there! Dispatch more hands at once! Meng Lei must be brought back! I have to get the truth from him face-to-face!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” At once, an official left upon the order.
“Reporting!”
A golden-armored guard ran briskly into the hall all of a sudden. He knelt down and said, “Y-Your Majesty!”
“Are there news from the Holy Knight Order?”
Frederick the 32nd was elated.
“No, that’s not it! Meng Lei has come!”
“What?”
“Meng Lei has come?!”
The hall was in an uproar at once.
President Fred, who was among the crowd, was even more astonished. “Isn’t Meng Lei at the Magical Beast Village? Why is he here so quickly?”
“Let him in!” ordered Frederick the 32nd hastily.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Before long, led by the golden-armored guard, Meng Lei stepped into the grand hall.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Everyone’s gazes simultaneously landed on him. Within their eyes was fury, murderous intent, hatred, confusion...
Frederick the 32nd eyed Meng Lei up and down, an unusual glint flashing across his eyes. Then, he shouted fiercely, “Meng Lei, do you own up to your sins?!”
“Own up to my sins? How have I sinned?” Meng Lei feigned astonishment. “Why the question, Your Majesty?”
“How dare you make fallacious arguments even at death’s door!”
Frederick the 32nd was furious. He pointed at the 108 corpses on the floor as he shouted, “Do you know who they are?! Do you know how they died?!”
“These people...”
Meng Lei squatted down, casually flipped over a piece of yellow fabric, and took a look. Then, with a shake of his head, he remarked, “So it’s them!”
“You recognize them now, don’t you? Since you have, then tell me!”
Frederick the 32nd roared furiously, his voice like dull, rolling thunder, “Why did you kill them? 108 people! That’s a whole 108 people!
“Every one of them was an elite of the empire, the painstaking effort of every major academy for the last dozens of years, and even more so the future pillars and Saint Domains of the empire!
“Tell me! Why did you kill them?!”
“I caused their deaths? Aren’t you shouting for others to catch the thief when you’re the thief yourself and deliberately framing me, Your Majesty?”
Meng Lei burst into loud laughter as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. His raucous laughter resounded brazenly in the hall, echoing continuously for a long time!
“How impudent!”
“How dare you!”
“How brazen!”
Everyone glared furiously at him right away. The way they were glowering at him was as if they wanted to eat him up.
“This is the empire’s grand conference hall, Meng Lei. With the emperor in front of you, a great many Saint Domains beside you, and all the court officials here, your impudence and arrogance will not be tolerated!”
Duke Eustace stepped forward and ordered, “You need only to answer His Majesty’s questions honestly. Do not be unruly and ignorant, or act in a bold and presumptuous manner!”
“Be civil, Meng Lei!”
President Fred, who was so shocked that his heart was pounding, hastily stepped forward and chastised him softly as well.
“Fine!”
Meng Lei nodded slightly. He couldn’t just disregard President Fred, after all.
He said dispassionately, “I sympathize with how the 108 contestants have died from unnatural causes, but there are only two real culprits behind their deaths. The first one—themselves!”
“They caused their own deaths? Ridiculous!”
Everyone couldn’t help but sneer at his words.
“Had they not coveted the divine tree’s fruits, would they have landed themselves in such a state? Therefore, it’s their greed that led to the current situation!”
Meng Lei’s voice was calm and aloof. He looked straight at Frederick the 32nd and went on. “The second reason is you yourself, Your Majesty!”
“Don’t be impudent, Meng Lei!”
President Fred was so shocked that he couldn’t help but shudder. He hastily lowered his voice and chided him, “Are you out of your mind? How dare you speak to His Majesty like that!”
“Hear me out, President!”
Meng Lei gazed at Frederick the 32nd, who was seated high above on the throne and said, “It’s because you sent us there for the competition when you haven’t even gotten a clear idea of the Lost Continent’s background and situation. That’s what ultimately led to this tragedy!
“Therefore, it’s you that caused their deaths, Your Majesty! It’s your lack of thorough investigation that caused their deaths! It’s your carelessness and lack of vigilance that caused their deaths! What... has it got to do with me?”
“Y-you... You...”
Frederick the 32nd’s face had turned a dull purple from his words. He glowered at Meng Lei, his visage pale one moment and green another, his eyes looking as if he wanted to eat Meng Lei up!
“Meng Lei!”
Duke Eustace shouted fiercely, “It’s clearly you that had stolen the native half-deity’s belongings and ultimately caused the deaths of 108 contestants. How dare you be so bold and audacious as to push the blame onto His Majesty! This is truly perverse behavior and an attempt to confuse the public!
“Your Majesty!”
Eustace looked at Frederick the 32nd and said, “I request that the survivors be summoned into the hall so that they can confront Meng Lei face-to-face!”
“Summon them!”
Soon, a group of surviving contestants walked into the hall. The moment they saw Meng Lei, they acted as if they’d just seen the murderer who killed their fathers and collectively lashed out at him.
“Meng Lei! You bastard! It’s you! It’s you that killed those 108 contestants!”
“If you hadn’t stolen the Tree of Life’s belongings, would it have killed them so mercilessly? You have to take full responsibility for the deaths of those 108 contestants!”
“Meng Lei...”
Frederick the 32nd took a deep breath and asked, “What do you have to say now, Meng Lei?”
“What do I have to say? There’s nothing much I have to say!”
Meng Lei shook his head and went on. “I’ve already clearly stated whatever that should be said. Whether all of you are willing to listen or not has nothing to do with me.”
“How impudent! Meng Lei, you have caused the deaths of 108 contestants and caused the exchange competition to be halted midway. On top of that, you even raised your voice in the grand hall and acted brazenly without restraint, disrespecting me and taking the court lightly!”
Frederick the 32nd pointed at Meng Lei and declared, “There is no limit to your perverseness! Your intentions are punishable by death!
“Men, capture him! He is to be sent to the Dragon Flesh-Scraping Platform three days later and publicly beheaded as a warning to descendants of the royalty!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
A group of golden-armored guards charged into the hall.
“Please be lenient, Your Majesty!”
At the sight of this, President Fred immediately wanted to beg for mercy but was stopped by Frederick the 32nd.
“Even if he’s royalty, a rebel like Meng Lei is, in truth, no different from devil spies like Adolf! Whoever begs for mercy on his behalf shall be seen as having committed the same crime as him!”
“Your Majesty...”
“This is the ring you lent me, President,” said Meng Lei as he stopped President Fred, who was intending to continue begging for mercy.
After he returned the ring, Meng Lei said with a laugh, “In Heaven’s Vault Continent, it’s the strong that are the most revered. If you aren’t strong enough, no matter how much you say, it is nothing more than just the tragic lamenting of the weak.”
He turned to Frederick the 32nd and, with a smile, said, “The Dragon Flesh-Scraping Platform is probably somewhere meant exclusively for killing members of the royalty, right? So sorry, but I’m not royalty, so you can come at me right away.
“If all of you are that capable, I’m very happy to become Timon Barton the 2nd and perish ‘unexpectedly’! If not, and if you can’t kill me, then don’t hold it against me if I annihilate all of you!
“To sum it up—either you kill me, or I’ll kill you!”