Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1477: Chapter 839: You Will Be Judged Fairly

“You all…?”

Wang Keren was stunned. Even when the Demon Hunter approached and controlled him, and violently dismantled the mechanical body under his noble robe, he did not resist.

Upon hearing the verdict of treason, he knew he was done for. Although he did not think the loss of Bright Eyes Star was entirely his responsibility, if the Alliance chose to believe that, there was nothing he could do.

Now, if he were arrested, that would be the end. Falling into the hands of the Alliance would be his true downfall. How the Alliance decided to deal with him would depend entirely on their mood, and he had no ability to control his destiny.

But if he resisted successfully, there was still room for negotiation.

He did not know how these Demon Hunters, or the Pirias whom he despised, managed to get onto his Mechanical Ark. But he could guess: Pirias, at least, was a Sage with his own connections; the Alliance had spent the past few months engaging in clandestine activities within the Steel Flame Furnace, recruiting some people. Coupled with the betrayal of those dozen Interstellar Warriors, it was not entirely unbelievable for them to emerge in front of him.

But he should not have been arrested so easily.

He was a Great Sage, equipped with the most advanced technology from the Steel Flame Furnace, further modified by his own expertise, making his configuration exceptionally powerful. This mechanical setup was extremely costly, and when deployed, its combat capabilities were extraordinary. Even if he had no combat experience, it at least put him above the average Company Champion among Interstellar Warriors.

In fact, with sufficient training and combat experience, this equipment could single-handedly take down Insect Nest Tyrants and Orc Warlords. The advantage of this setup was simply overwhelming.

Not only him, but the other Sages present, even if slightly weaker, were not too far behind.

The Dominant Bishops were less capable, but still stronger than average Interstellar Warriors.

A room full of roughly twenty high-ranking members of the Sect of Mechanics was his main support.

The dozen Interstellar Warriors and the Alliance Judge—so-called Demon Hunters, which he saw as indistinguishable from Judges—their strength simply could not compare to the high-ranking members of the Steel Flame Furnace.

Not even Pirias could match them.

As long as they took action, they could quickly eliminate these Alliance lackeys.

If he was not arrested on the spot, there would be room for maneuvering later on.

He was the leader of the Steel Flame Furnace; he had the Mechanical Ark; he had the elite warriors of the Founding World; he had the legitimate claim to the Founding World… All these things had alliance value.

He could pay for his past misdeeds, be forced to yield more benefits to the Alliance. But as long as these core alliance values remained, there was still room for negotiation.

He certainly knew that against the power of the Alliance, revolt would inevitably lead to being crushed. However, how much money and effort would it take them to kill him? That was his bargaining chip and confidence in the negotiations.

Yet, he never expected that the critical link where things shouldn’t have gone wrong, went wrong.

While contemplating how to negotiate with the Alliance, Wang Keren saw that none of the high-ranking members of the Steel Flame Furnace took action.

Upon hearing accusations of ’treason,’ they all seemed to accept it.

How could he resist under such circumstances?

Even if Wang Keren was fully equipped for battle, what meaning did it have? It was unlikely for him to single-handedly slaughter Pirias, the Alliance Judge, and over ten Interstellar Warriors, all Sages like himself.

Moreover, once the fight began, who knew if his loyal high-ranking Church members would stand by his side or turn against him?

Ultimately, he could only choose to do nothing and surrender.

…

“I object! Why should I be convicted of treason like this? What nation did I betray?” Wang Keren shouted when he saw Tai Shichen fully armored. “Why blame me for the loss of Bright Eyes Star? Despite the Steel Flame Furnace failing to deliver 43% of her equipment, does that decisively impact front-line operations?”

“Even with this 43%, the end result wouldn’t change; Captain Ricardo wouldn’t be able to hold until you returned!”

“Even so, the Komeir National Church withdrew half of the Battle Nun Association, and the promised food supply wasn’t fully delivered… So I’m guilty of treason, but what about the Komeir people?”

“Tristan didn’t get the funds she wanted, so she went on strike and took away her mercenary force. What’s the account for that?”

“And there’s Delin, Prince…” He listed many names, all notable figures in the Wangyue Star Domain, “These people all have issues, so why accuse only me of treason?!”

Tai Shichen listened silently to Wang Keren’s defense.

This Great Sage, now stripped of nearly all his martial mechanical limbs, could only lie on the prison bed, unable to move. His anger and unwillingness were evident only through his words and expressions.

Tai Shichen sneered: “I’ve heard such statements too many times today…”

With a wave of his hand, multiple concealed walls of the prison were opened in front of Wang Keren.

Wang Keren saw that inside several cells before him sat the people he had just cursed.

The most prominent figures of the Wangyue Star Domain were thus gathered in the Spear of the Dragon King’s prison.

Tai Shichen remarked: “Each of you claims your actions don’t warrant this. You missed 43% of the standard equipment requirement; 39% of the orbital cannon facilities and fortifications for fort defense weren’t completed on schedule… Even if these were made up, Ricardo truly wouldn’t be able to hold until I arrived. The Komeir people say the same thing, that with the Battle Nuns present, they couldn’t stop the Green Skins; nor could planets that should have contributed more Planetary Defense Forces soldiers to Bright Eyes Star’s defense stop the Green Skins; the same if Tristan’s mercenary group had arrived.”

“Each of you believes that even if you did what was required, it wouldn’t impact the outcome.”

“Therefore, you calmly devoured we’re supposed to accomplish, watching the entire house collapse!”

“If you all had done what you were supposed to, Bright Eyes Star’s defenses would be twice or thrice as strong as their current state! Would the result still be like this?!”

“You parasites, traitors… heh, the Special Military Tribunal of the Dark Side Expeditionary Command will give you a fair verdict.”

“The judgment will certainly be fair and worthy of the heroes who fought bravely on Bright Eyes Star, I assure you.”