Vimona ascended all the way, flying through the azure sky. Fang Zheng sat on the chair, silently watching the scenery ahead, while Ram and Rem stood quietly on either side of Fang Zheng. Although they tried hard to appear calm, they couldn’t quite keep their composure. After all, they were headed to the capital of a kingdom, and were going to meet with its actual rulers. For two girls who had only lived ordinary lives in a village before this, it was somewhat overwhelming.

"Don’t worry."

Seeing their slightly tense expressions, Fang Zheng smiled slightly.

"Nothing will go wrong."

"But, Lord Fang Zheng, things aren’t that simple..."

Ram looked at Fang Zheng with some unease. She wasn’t a fool, and after learning the identity of the person Fang Zheng had killed, Ram was also very worried.

"This isn’t something you need to concern yourselves with; rather, it’s them who should be worried."

At this point, Fang Zheng snorted slightly.

"I want to see how these people explain how their nobility got mixed up with the cultists!"

"..........."

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Ram and Rem exchanged a surprised glance. Clearly, they were there to be interrogated, so why did it seem like Fang Zheng was the one interrogating the offenders?

The speed of Vimona was naturally not slow. It didn’t take long for the three to arrive at the King’s City of Lugnica. Fang Zheng tapped lightly on the armrest a few times, and soon the golden flying boat hovered in the air, then landed directly at the gate of the Lugnica Royal Palace. At this moment, the guards, who noticed the golden flying boat, hurriedly approached, raising their weapons to surround it.

"Who are you? Why are you intruding into the Royal Palace?"

The leading Guard Captain gripped the longsword at his waist, looking at the golden flying boat in front of him with uncertainty — it was the first time he had seen something that could fly freely in the sky, and he had no idea how to deal with it.

"We’re here by invitation from the Sage Association. You should go report it."

Fang Zheng casually threw the letter over, and the Guard Captain quickly opened it, glanced at it, and then managed his expression swiftly.

"Please wait a moment."

Saying this, the Guard Captain quickly ran into the palace, leaving behind the soldiers who still surrounded Vimona, though they seemed to be merely posturing — after all, this was a flying boat, and if Fang Zheng decided to fly a bit higher, the soldiers would be left staring helplessly.

"Phew... How boring."

Fang Zheng leaned back in his seat, lazily yawned, and then snapped his fingers.

"Ram, how about some tea?"

"Yes, Lord Fang Zheng."

Saying this, Ram picked up a tea tray that appeared out of thin air before her, and skillfully began to make tea. The three of them each took a cup, sipping tea while surrounded by the heavy guard.

Seeing this, the soldiers were even more bewildered, unsure of what to do; they had never encountered such people — they completely disregarded the presence of the guards!

After a short while, the Guard Captain returned.

"Thank you for waiting, please follow me."

"Okay."

Hearing the Guard Captain’s words, Fang Zheng nodded before leading Ram and Rem off the flying boat into the palace.

The heavy gates slowly opened, followed by the voice of the Guard Captain.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord Fang Zheng and company have arrived."

As the gates opened, Fang Zheng walked slowly into the grand hall, and at this moment, almost everyone involuntarily turned to look at him.

At the same time, Fang Zheng also examined the people before him.

On both sides of the grand hall were two groups dressed differently. From their appearance, the ones in white on the left appeared to be military officers, while those in purple on the right seemed to be civil officers. The throne in the center was empty, while on both sides of it were rows of tables, with six elderly men, all with white hair and beards, seated.

If Fang Zheng guessed correctly, these were the members of the Sage Association.

"Are you Fang Zheng?"

An elderly man at a table near the middle on the left side spoke up, and Fang Zheng nodded.

"Yes, that’s me."

"Then, you should know why we’ve summoned you."

"Is it about me killing Roswaal?"

"---------!?"

As soon as Fang Zheng spoke, everyone present, except the Sage Association, showed shocked expressions. Clearly, this matter was also a secret within the Kingdom of Lugnica, known only to a select few.

"Yes, Roswaal was the Marquis of the border of Lugnica and the court archmage. Although we’ve received information from the ambassador of the Re-Estize Kingdom, we still wish to hear your explanation personally."

"Lord McLottoff! What on earth is this?!"

At this time, a particularly unattractive man immediately screamed out from the civil officers’ team.

"Lord Roswaal was killed? Was it the work of the Re-Estize Kingdom? Do they want to start a war with Lugnica?"

"Calm down."

The elder named McLottoff coughed and turned his gaze back to Fang Zheng.

"Then, please provide your explanation."

"Seeing is believing."

However, unexpectedly, Fang Zheng didn’t explain immediately as everyone anticipated. Instead, he chuckled and took a step forward.

"Listening would lead to wild imagination, and I’m too lazy to explain in detail, so I’ll just let you see for yourselves."

While speaking, Fang Zheng opened his personal terminal, and soon, a holographic image was projected into the air, appearing before everyone. Watching the image, people widened their eyes in surprise, some even gasping, but they were quickly drawn in by the content of the display.

The images depicted a village previously attacked by the Witch Cult, and among them were the cultists running loose. At this moment, Fang Zheng also began to speak.

"I received an invitation from Blue Rose, saying that a cultist group called the Witch Cult had appeared in the border area of the Kingdom. To investigate, I went to the border with the Blue Rose members. However, I discovered this village that had been attacked by the Witch Cult. By the time I arrived, the cultists had pretty much won a decisive victory."

Looking at the corpses of the villagers being massacred on the screen, and the cultists darting among them, many of the military officers frowned and showed angry expressions. The civil officers, however, were much calmer. As for Rem and Rem, seeing the scene before them, they couldn’t help but recall the ordeal in their village, and they lowered their heads, clenching their fists tightly.

The video footage was shot from Fang Zheng’s perspective, as it was recorded on Fang Zheng’s personal terminal, resembling the angle of a law enforcement camera. However, compared to those shaky cameras, the personal terminal was much more stable, and the image did not shake.

Then everyone watched as Fang Zheng arrived, defeated the cultists, and rescued a pair of sisters. Shortly afterward, Roswaal appeared and launched an attack on Fang Zheng, only to be instantly killed in return.

When Roswaal’s figure bloomed into fireworks in the night sky, the video ended there.

"Alright, that’s roughly what happened."

Fang Zheng closed his personal terminal and shrugged his shoulders.

"To me, at that time, I just thought he was some high-ranking figure in the Witch Cult. Later, I found out he was apparently your Court Archmage... and that’s about it."

"What nonsense!"

At this time, the civil officer who spoke earlier reacted and loudly rebuked.

"You did it on purpose! Can’t you tell from Roswaal’s attire that he’s nobility?"

"I honestly couldn’t tell. If he acted remotely like a normal person, I probably wouldn’t have acted so quickly."

"Ugh... ..."

Faced with Fang Zheng’s indifferent retort, everyone was at a loss for words—after all, Roswaal’s attire and actions were indeed far from what anyone would consider normal. Fang Zheng saying he mistook him for a cultist wasn’t entirely implausible.

"This, this is all lies! This footage must have been fabricated by you!"

However, the civil officer’s face turned pale, but he quickly spoke again, glaring at Fang Zheng with anger.

"Oh, and what’s your reasoning?"

"Lord Roswaal is the Court Archmage, his power is unquestionable! Yet in that footage, you just swung your sword once to kill him instantly, which is absolutely impossible!"

Although the civil officer’s words were somewhat unreasonable, many nodded in agreement. As he said, while Roswaal’s personality was widely known to be problematic, his power was also well-known. Otherwise, the Kingdom would not have appointed him as a border lord.

This young man looked to be just in his early twenties, and his name hadn’t been heard on this continent before. To claim that such an unknown young man could kill the Chief Mage Roswaal with a single sword stroke was indeed hard to believe.

"So? Do you have anything else to say?"

"I have nothing to say."

Fang Zheng shrugged, looking calm and composed.

"Perhaps to you, that Roswaal is very strong, but unfortunately, under my hand, he couldn’t even withstand a single sword stroke. He was just a useless piece of trash."

"What.........."

"And now it’s your turn to answer my question."

At this point, Fang Zheng’s expression suddenly changed, and at the same time, everyone felt the air become significantly more oppressive.

"Why did you call me here this time? Was it purely to understand the situation in the name of the Kingdom of Lugnica? Or... to avenge your companion?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just as the words imply."

Fang Zheng squinted his eyes, scanning the people around him, then reached out and placed his hands on the shoulders of the two girls beside him.

"As you all saw, these two children are the survivors of this tragedy. I have adopted them. However, I won’t tolerate that cultist menace, the Witch Cult, rampaging unchecked. They destroyed these children’s hometown, so I’ve decided to destroy the Witch Cult. So if anyone here is an accomplice of Roswaal, step forward for a swift end, so as not to waste my time."

"You’re saying Lord Roswaal is a cultist? This is absurd!"

"Can you guarantee that? Can you guarantee that Roswaal has no connections to the Witch Cult? Then why was he at the site of the Witch Cult attack? That was the territory of Re-Estize Kingdom. What’s a border lord from Lugnica doing in a secluded forest of another country? Sightseeing?"

"I..........."

Faced with Fang Zheng’s questioning, the civil officer immediately fell silent.

How could he guarantee that!

He couldn’t make such a guarantee, even for a normal person, let alone someone as famously eccentric as Roswaal! In fact, if Roswaal truly had connections with the Witch Cult, it wouldn’t be surprising at all!

"That’s enough."

At this time, an elder from the Sage Association finally spoke up.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, let’s set aside why Roswaal went there and whether or not he has connections with the Witch Cult, for now, there is no concrete evidence for these claims, just your word."

"Oh? So what?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"No matter what, Roswaal was our border lord of Lugnica, the Court Archmage, and you killed him. Shouldn’t you provide us with an explanation?"

"Of course, I should provide you with an explanation."

Faced with the elder’s inquiry, Fang Zheng nodded.

"That’s why I’m here. Alright, I’ve said my piece. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now—I can still make it in time for lunch."

".........."

Everyone was stunned by Fang Zheng’s unexpected response. After a while, the elder finally furrowed his brows and spoke up.

"This is your... explanation?"

"That’s right. I stepped on an ant and was kind enough to tell you why I did it. I think that’s enough."

Fang Zheng spread his hands, looking quite innocent as he gazed at the people in front of him.

"What more do you want?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.