Detective Agency of the Bizarre-Chapter 1372 - 212: Judgment

"Soul, you are accused of four charges."

"Disrupting the order of the Abyss City region!"

"Occupying and killing the territories and subjects of Abyss City!"

"Attacking the Devil’s Offspring!"

"Spreading chaos in Abyss City!"

"Guilty!"

An additional charge was added to Lu Li’s original accusations.

In the majestic voice, layers of oppressive shadows enveloped the figure at the bottom.

"Bringing me here can’t just be for direct sentencing." Lu Li calmly gazed at the layers of the stone platform, "Start your trial."

As the words fell, a grand voice from the third layer echoed down: "Flowing Demon accuses you of disrupting the order of the Abyss City region, occupying and killing the territories and subjects of Abyss City."

On the first tier witness stand, Flowing Demon left its seat, its outline becoming clearer from a silhouette.

"Please allow humble me to repent for becoming an accomplice..." The standing Flowing Demon humbly and fearfully apologized to those around, then with a screech, sharply pointed all blame at Lu Li: "I was coerced by this soul wrapped in a skin of chaos to become an accomplice, watching him brutally kill other convoys along the way, snatch the Purgatory Demon from Old Flame Demon, cunningly kill the Town Mayor of Citrus Tanuki Town and Rare Town, and chaotically auction off the towns! Let Terror Ball Town be left with no demon surviving, and in the end, even killed my Town Mayor’s beloved pet, occupying my town! Even when he finally let humble me go, he was still making me threaten Beauty Lake Town!"

"I didn’t threaten you." Lu Li responded to the last accusation, as he could only address the last one—the other accusations were true, "Back then, I asked you: ’Do you know Beauty Lake Town?’, you said you would convey my greetings."

"Isn’t that a threat?!"

Flowing Demon screeched, scared by the suddenly descending pressure, and shrank back into its seat, turning into a shadow again.

"Silence!"

"Second witness, Thick Heart Demon present!"

A shadow stood up, Lu Li recognized Burb, broad in width compared to its height.

This Town Mayor of Beauty Lake Town had the only testimony favorable to him.

"To the supreme Abyssal Demon, the Judgment Chief maintaining order, the fair and rigorous judges, my fellow witnesses..." Burb greeted in sequence, then looked at the unique figure at the bottom, his narrow eyes squeezed by fat as usual: "The defendant did not appear in Beauty Lake Town for the alleged accusations."

"What I want to say is, he diligently cleared the surrounding threats for Beauty Lake Town, kindly opened a path through Rift Valley for us, endangering himself by being cursed, resolutely dealt with the Fire Demon hordes occupying the Beautiful Lake, enabling Beauty Lake Town to return home, and thoughtfully helped the crippled Old Demons cross streets... If not for the fact that the soul doesn’t belong here, we might have even awarded him honorary citizenship."

Everything seemed to be improving, but in the end, Burb seemed to change stance again: "I want to add... He destroyed Rift Valley Town."

A rustling sound of discussion came from the second tier of the judges’ section.

"But Rift Valley Town didn’t need to exist at all!"

Burb ruthlessly shattered the stance again, looking at the shadows on the second and third tiers: "Rift Valley Town was filled with chaos and bloodshed, the mayor submitted to chaos, abandoned order, it was the defendant who saved those citizens of order not yet altered by chaos, bringing them out from the chaotic nest... No, he shouldn’t be called a defendant, he is a preserver of order, an enforcer of rules!"

The inspiring echoes in the courtroom faded with Burb’s restoration: "Abyssal Demon, Judgment Chief, judges, they were also brought here by me, right in Abyss City."

The circular hall briefly solidified, the silhouettes on the first tier’s audience seats suddenly erupted into chaos.

The old residents of Rift Valley Town were brought to the courtroom, then piece by piece they bickered to piece together the truth.

As Thick Heart Demon said, the defendant maintained order and saved Abyssal Demon’s subjects.

They were then escorted out of the courtroom, Burb used several of his chins to nod at Lu Li, sitting back down to return to being a shadow.

The trial and accusations continued.

"Third witness, Plunder Demon present!"

An unfamiliar, humanoid demon appeared from the witness stand.

"He killed me, auctioned off my Town Mayor, took away my beloved..." A gentle, calm, almost friendly whisper sounded yet dragged Lu Li toward the abyss.

But that rope suddenly stalled, pulling him out of the abyss: "But I didn’t die; I am still the Town Mayor of Citrus Tanuki Town, and the beloved was something I decided to give him..."

As Plunder Demon sat back in its position, whispers on the second layer grew louder.

Two witnesses changed their testimony after appearing...

"Fourth witness, Flame Demon present!"

On the first tier witness stand, the Old Flame Demon of molten lava and flames emerged. But compressed by the courtroom, it appeared as miniature as a juvenile Flame Demon, the only thing evidencing its authority was its aged voice:

"... The defendant did no wrongdoing in Inner Sea Town. He helped me deal with Core Earth Demon who’d long coveted the town, as thanks, I gifted him a Purgatory Demon." Old Flame Demon recounted deeply, looking at Flowing Demon’s shadow: "And not something he snatched."

Three consecutive witnesses released Lu Li from suspicion, the noise from the second layer intensified.

"Silence!"

The Judgment Chief quelled the chaos, summoning the next witness.

"Fifth witness, Fire Blade Demon present!"

The witness stand revealed an unfamiliar demon, seemingly flustered by the previous witnesses’ testimonies, its eyes darting toward the silhouettes of the audience as if receiving some signal, the following testimony revealed its identity: Town Mayor of Remnant Fire Town.

"The defendant slaughtered, slaughtered all the demons in nearby Terror Ball Town, it... it also came to Remnant Fire Town to threaten me, plundered the taxes I prepared for Abyss City!"

At this moment, a voice floated from nowhere in the audience seats calling him a fool.

"He’s lying!"

"Lies!"

"He desecrated the court!"

"He’s a fraud!"

Screams suddenly burst forth from the judges’ section, the fire patterns on the terrified face of the Town Mayor from Remnant Fire Town vanished, and the next moment, he was expelled from the courtroom for lying.

This Town Mayor of Remnant Fire Town might be imprisoned even before Lu Li.

Under some kind of coercion, Flowing Demon stood up once more with grim determination: "Judgment Chief, the defendant didn’t visit Remnant Fire Town, but it’s true the massacre of Terror Ball Town happened! My subordinates and I can testify!"

Its subordinates were thus summoned into the audience stand, Bewitching Demon, Sturdy Demon, and Gravel Demon successively corroborated, only the specter hesitated to remain neutral: "... But Terror Ball Town had always been plundering caravans..."

"Indeed, I killed all the demons of Terror Ball Town." Lu Li said calmly and placidly at this time: "Because upon arriving at Terror Ball Town, I discovered the local demons were conducting a sacrificial ritual to summon anomalies to descend into hell."

A noisily buzzing sound abruptly arose in the courtroom, even the Judgment Chief didn’t curtail it due to being momentarily lost.

Silently feeling the panic permeating the courtroom, Lu Li continued: "The traces of the ritual in Terror Ball Town’s square, I did not erase, it’s still there."

The Judgment Chief began to verify the claim, the noisy discussions persisted, and for a moment, Lu Li seemed to see a slight tremor from the Abyssal Demon on the topmost level.