Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 585 - 583: The Public Trial Meeting

"Boom!"

The destructive explosion resounded in a corner of the Dark Forest Gathering Place, its light utterly eclipsing the dawning sun rising in the east.

The shockwave howled across the entire area, and if not for many wooden buildings that had been fortified by wizards with magic, they would have almost certainly collapsed. Even so, several wooden buildings close to the blast shook violently, their surfaces riddled with large cracks.

When everything settled, the three-story wooden building where Guluo had lived was completely gone, leaving a massive crater nearly one hundred meters in diameter and dozens of meters deep in its place.

Such a commotion naturally drew the attention of everyone in the Gathering Place, and after a brief silence, numerous wizards flew towards the center of the explosion.

The first to arrive was a middle-aged male wizard named Van Helsing. He had a square face with thick brows and big eyes, and his face was covered with stubble. He was dressed in a greasy, brown robe and landed on the ground with a "thump," almost as if smashing into it.

Slowly standing up and dusting himself off, Van Helsing looked around, first noticing the gaping crater, then spotting Richard lying unconscious not far from the edge.

Richard was lying face up on the ground, with some scorch marks on the back of his clothes, looking as though he had been slammed to the ground by the blast’s impact and knocked out.

Van Helsing narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly extended his hand. The air around his hand stirred, moisture gathered, forming an Ice Cone that glinted with a cold light.

With a raise of his hand, Van Helsing tossed the Ice Cone towards Richard’s neck.

At that moment, with a "whoosh," a Wind Blade flashed by, hitting Van Helsing’s Ice Cone with precision and shattering it into powder.

Van Helsing glared and turned to the side.

A lean wizard on one side looked over with a blunt question: "Van Helsing, what do you think you’re doing!"

This wizard, dressed more normally with an old but neat robe, had an unkept yet not slovenly appearance. He was called Tifeng, and his face was quite stern.

Van Helsing glanced at Tifeng and showed no intention of hiding anything, his voice cold, "What do I think I’m doing? Of course, I intend to kill this kid and eliminate future troubles! You must have heard from Wan An that this boy is a spy. If we’ve encountered him, why be polite?"

"You better cool off," Tifeng said with a hint of well-meaning advice, "Indeed, I did hear from Wan An that this boy is a spy, but how do you explain the explosion just now and this crater? Where have Master Guluo, Wan An, Phil, and your good friend Oer gone? The situation is utterly unclear right now; acting rashly will look no different from a guilty attempt to silence someone."

"Guilty?" Van Helsing’s eyes widened slightly, "What have I to feel guilty about! I’ve never felt guilty about my actions. Let me tell you, Tifeng, although I don’t have evidence, I am certain, as Wan An said, this kid is a spy. He’s out now, and killing him is the simplest way to settle this once and for all. Otherwise, if he wakes up and starts to make excuses for himself, it will be harder to deal with."

"That’s still no reason for you to act," Tifeng said firmly, "Even if we indeed need to take action, it shouldn’t be you who does it."

"Nonsense!" Van Helsing was visibly impatient and fixed his gaze on Tifeng, "Just tell me, are you determined to oppose me?"

"I don’t want to be against you, but if you insist on taking a life, then I am sorry," Tifeng said seriously.

"Just talking rubbish!" Van Helsing, irate, mouth open, breathing heavily, stared at Tifeng, who fearlessly met his gaze.

The atmosphere between the two grew rapidly tense, mana fluctuations within their bodies already surfacing, ready to break out into a fight at any moment.

Just then, an authoritative female voice rang out.

"Stop!"

"Whoosh!"

As the voice sounded, a figure appeared in the center, followed by many other wizards rushing to the scene.

Van Helsing and Tifeng looked towards the approaching figure, their eyes flashing, and said, "Master Eva!"

The person was Eva Windsor, the nominal leader of the entire Dark Forest Gathering Place, a Second-level Wizard at the Peak, the one who had called out to Richard and Wan An during the previous exchange meet.

At that moment, Eva looked at both Van Helsing and Tifeng, frowning, "What’s going on! Until now, the circumstances remain unclear, and you’re ready to fight each other? Do you think this place isn’t in enough chaos?"

"Master Eva, let me explain this matter; Richard must be killed..."

"Master Eva, allow me to speak, I think we can’t just kill people at will, otherwise..."

Van Helsing and Tifeng were both rushing to explain.

However, Eva simply waved her hand and said, "You don’t have to say anything, bring him back. I will investigate this matter thoroughly; it must not be dealt with rashly!"

"But..." Van Helsing was somewhat dissatisfied.

Eva made the final decision with a bang, "That’s settled then, there are no buts!"

Van Helsing: "..." He was very reluctant in his heart but couldn’t say anything more; he could only clench his fists and swear inwardly.

...

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

At the center of the Gathering Place, where the exchange meeting had once been held, there were numerous seats arranged in a circle, each occupied by a wizard, seemingly more than those who attended the exchange meeting.

At this moment, all the seated wizards were looking towards the center of the venue, at the person surrounded and sitting on a wooden chair—Richard, their eyes filled with scrutinizing gazes.

This was a public trial.

Sitting directly opposite Richard, Wizard Eva slowly stood up, looked at him, and spoke, "Richard Austin, right? You are a student of Master Guluo, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Then, can you tell us everything you experienced during the explosion a few days ago?" Eva asked, staring straight at Richard, a strange light flashing in the depths of her eyes, "I hope you won’t hold anything back."

"Yes." Richard complied, appearing very cooperative. Sensing the unusual fluctuations emanating from Eva, he couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly: Spirit Magic? Trying to influence his consciousness to make him reveal the whole truth? The idea was good, but she was really using it on the wrong person. With his current spiritual strength plus the Judgement Feather, it would take at least a Third-level Wizard’s Spirit Magic to have any real effect on him; a Second-level Wizard was still lacking.

"Begin!" Eva said at that time.

"Alright." Richard nodded, and the next moment, without hesitation, he began to tell his story—no, his actual recollections.

"That day..."

"Then..."

"Afterwards...

"In the end, my teacher told me to run out quickly to inform the people at the Gathering Place, but just as I left, the explosion occurred. Then I passed out and knew nothing more."

After a while, Richard finished recounting the entire story... the actual facts with a rhythm of introduction, continuation, turn, and conclusion.

"So to summarize, that day it was Wan An, Phil, and Oer who attempted to attack Master Guluo, and that’s when the fight broke out; those three were the real spies with malicious intentions?" Eva asked after listening.

"Yes." Richard nodded.

"So, it was Master Guluo who helped you to leave the underground and instructed you to seek help. But due to some accidents, your call for help wasn’t received, and in the last moment, Master Guluo unleashed a powerful force and perished together with the Wan An trio?"

"Yes." Richard nodded again.

Eva fell silent, and the many wizards in the venue also fell silent, all seriously contemplating the truthfulness of these claims, creating a very quiet atmosphere.

But soon, this tranquility was broken by an extremely discordant voice as Wizard Van Helsing stood up, his eyes wide open.

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