Chapter 551 - 302: Courtroom Judgement

"Baron Constantin, your crimes are as follows: the murder of Bill; the bombing of King’s Cross Station; and the reckless assassination of Elder Pence over a personal grudge, disregarding the safety of the Inner Side. Your actions have caused the Mad Dragon Seal to verge on breaking, endangering the entire Inner Side... In accordance with Prole Law, I recommend the Judge sentence him to life imprisonment in the Rebel Prison!"

In the Prole Court, the lawyer for the plaintiff, the Patriarch of the Hestia Family, finished his statement and sat down.

Behind the plaintiff’s bench, the Elders of the various Old Blood Clans and the high-ranking members of the Law Enforcement Organization all turned their gaze to the black-clad young man in the defendant’s box.

Baron Constantin.

If you were to name the most sensational figure in the Inner Side in recent years, if he were second, no one would dare claim first.

From a penniless Bloodless to the now-prestigious Dragon Knight, he drew the Golden Dragon Spear from the Dracul Mountain Range and forcefully executed Elder Pence on Traitor’s Cliff. His story was so legendary that news of this man now flooded every street and alley of the Inner Side.

The Bloodless and the Old Race of the lower class saw him as a Robin Hood-like figure, hoping that one day they too could be as bold and unrestrained as the Dragon Knight.

The Elders of the Old Blood Clans and the high-ranking Law Enforcers, however, seethed with hatred for him.

This was partly because the Dragon Knight was uncontrollable, and uncontrollable people are the most unnerving. But there was also the matter of the auction that day. The Taboo Items won by the various Old Blood Clans and the Law Enforcement Organization had all mysteriously disappeared—and they suspected the Dragon Knight was involved.

Such was the reputation of a Westminster Commissioner.

Another reason was their fear that the Dragon Knight, growing in power so quickly, would hold a grudge against those who had participated in the siege on Traitor’s Cliff.

To the Elders of the Old Blood Clans, if Baron Constantin could withstand the pressure and kill Elder Pence back then, he could kill them now.

An unstable element—this was another one of the charges the Old Blood Clans brought against Baron Constantin.

In fact, this trial against Baron Constantin was not as simple as Westminster Bank had initially envisioned.

Because Constantin’s impact on public order in the Inner Side was too immense, according to Professor Frankenstein of the University of Edinburgh’s relevant assessment, it had already begun to affect the stability of the entire Inner Side.

This alone was enough to pin the major crime of "Disregard for the Law" on him.

As for Constantin publicly executing Elder Pence, there was even more to unpack.

For example, charges like "Premeditated Murder," "Assaulting a Public Official," and even "Endangering the Safety of the Inner Side."

For security reasons, the fact that Elder Pence was a Cultist of the Dragon Eater Association was not revealed in the newspapers. According to Governor Howard, disclosing this to the public would threaten the credibility of the Old Blood Clans and the Law Enforcement Organization within the Inner Side.

Consequently, the news that the Mad Dragon was about to break its seal was naturally kept under wraps.

Although the Wizards of the London Tower had already acted to stabilize the seal on Traitor’s Cliff, they lacked their absolute centerpiece, Golden Wizard Newton. They could only watch helplessly as the Mad Dragon in the Abyss broke free bit by bit.

As for Golden Wizard Newton... it was said that the one found discussing the Dao with Daoist Zhou of the East at the World Tree was merely a double. The whereabouts of his true Self remain unknown.

With the Golden Wizard absent, there was no one to keep the Mad Dragon’s seal in check.

Therefore, the Law Enforcers panicked.

Once again, they aimed their spears at Baron Constantin and Westminster.

According to his secretary, Stella, Vice Governor Howard should have been sitting on the other side of the Prole Court right now, facing a trial assembly presided over by the Vice Tower Master of the London Tower.

Of course, it was also a trial assembly for the Hestia Family—which was why Elder Hestia, who was currently accusing Baron Constantin, looked so uneasy.

Besides the members of the Hestia Family, high-ranking members from other Old Blood Clans and the Law Enforcement Organization successively took the plaintiff’s stand to declare Baron Constantin’s crimes.

Some of the more cunning ones turned their statements into outright condemnations of Baron Constantin.

And yet, in the face of the Elders’ condemnations, the man in the defendant’s box hadn’t said a single word from start to finish, accepting the criticism—or rather, the judgment—like a mute.

Beside him, the best lawyer Stella could find for him in Inner London fought a war of words, arguing fiercely on his behalf. He, however, just kept his head down with a wooden expression, silently counting down the time Governor Hoover had told him about amidst the pandemonium of the court.

The Judge was the same old man who had previously sentenced the Baron to death. Rumor had it he was an Elder of the Antara Family, on good terms with the Lancelot Family.

The Judge slammed his gavel, calling for silence, then looked at the Baron. "Defendant Baron Constantin, do you have anything to say in response to these accusations?"

His lawyer shot him a look, signaling him to speak. But the Baron remained silent. Instead, as the countdown in his mind reached its end, he looked toward the other side of the courtroom.

The crowd, puzzled by his action, followed his gaze.

The ancient doors of the Prole Court suddenly swung open. A white-robed, long-bearded old man strolled in, his eyes scanning the room. When his gaze fell upon the Dragon Knight, he smiled faintly, then addressed the Judge who had risen to his feet:

"I regret interrupting your trial of the Dragon Knight, but I do indeed need Mr. Constantine to help me with a small matter."

The Judge seemed somewhat constrained in the presence of this white-robed elder, but he still said, "During a trial, regardless of official business..."

But the white-robed elder simply smiled. "And what if this official business concerns the very survival of the entire Inner Side?"

The Judge froze. "You mean..."