When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 741 - 697: The Establishment of the Black Snake Bay Wizard Federation!
Three days after the assassination at the Celestial Maiden Palace, the originally scheduled Black Snake Bay Federation Wizard Conference was postponed by one day.
On this day, the Close Guard Cultivators slightly relaxed their control, and the parades of flower cars and the display of war captives diluted the bloody atmosphere of the past few days.
The residents spontaneously left their homes and houses, following the flower cars and the proclaiming wizards forward, with painted Fireball Techniques exploding into the sky every few minutes.
After proclaiming the declaration, the parade, military review, and offering of gifts took place, and the jubilant Black Snake Bay People gathered beside a temple outside the city.
This temple will later serve as the meeting place for the Black Snake Bay Federation Council and as a government office.
Standing on the high platform of the temple outside Celestial Maiden City, Ottatila, in her blue robe, emerged, flanked by the 171 representatives of Black Snake Bay and high-ranking officials such as Horn.
Facing the spectators filling the mountains and valleys, even the usually composed Ottatila couldn't help but feel excited.
The Witch Council had struggled for hundreds of years to barely unify the Central County, forming a loose alliance.
And now, the entire Black Snake Bay was united, forming a true nation, although it could only be considered a vassal state of the Holy Alliance, it was already the best possible path.
Taking a deep breath, Ottatila stepped forward, and with the amplification of numerous sound wave spells, she raised her right fist high: "I hereby declare, today, the Holy Axis Alliance Black Snake Bay Federation is officially established!"
Although virtually indifferent to the establishment of the Black Snake Bay Federation, the residents were nonetheless infected by the music and atmosphere, and started to cheer.
At the very least, they knew there would be cheaper food to eat in the future, which counted for something good, right?
Ignoring the slowly dispersing crowd, the first Black Snake Bay Federation Wizard Council had already commenced inside the temple.
Wearing the silver olive crown that Horn had placed on her head, Ottatila began the first important motion of the council as the chairperson.
"... The assassination at the Celestial Maiden Palace was shocking, unforgivable, an attack that violated the dignity of the Black Snake Bay Federation..."
"... Not only did it harm our great leader Horn, but it also resulted in as many as twenty casualties, all because there are still members of the Secret Faction colluding with the Church, and even some wizards, such as Veronica, are actually spies for the Church..."
"... The establishment of our Black Snake Bay Wizard Federation signifies the nationalization and normalization of Black Snake Bay, for our Secret Faction exists to oppose the Church, not to engage in crime..."
"... However, Black Snake Bay is in ruins and unable to organize a crackdown on internal spies and criminals, so I propose the establishment of an independent Constitutional Army with investigation and judicial supervision rights to focus on combating such criminal activities..."
The so-called independent case-handling power means that the Black Snake Bay Federation has no jurisdiction or appointment rights over the Constitutional Army's cases and may not interfere or obstruct their proceedings in any form.
Investigation power implies that the Constitutional Army can lead the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases and initiate prosecutions.
Judicial supervision means that the Constitutional Army can offer supervisory opinions on the judgments or executions of the Black Snake Bay Federation Court, even forcibly suspending trial proceedings or demanding a retrial.
Additionally, the Constitutional Army also has the sole right of criminal prosecution, which means they can choose to prosecute or not prosecute any criminal case.
Basically, they are equivalent to the roles of the police, prosecutor, and judge combined, and their sole check, or reliance for wielding such extensive power, was Horn himself.
This Constitutional Army is directly connected to Horn, who has almost unlimited power of appointment and financial allocation.
However, the wizards were clever and immediately realized that this meant the Constitutional Army could arbitrarily arrest and prosecute anyone without reason, then repeatedly use the supervision power to coerce judges into making the verdicts they desired.
"I disagree, this is too outrageous."
"The power of this Constitutional Army is too great, unless we join, I will not agree."
The temple was immediately filled with voices of opposition, especially from the urban gangs in the form of Secret Factions, who stood on tables shouting.
Yet in the final voting session, contrary to everyone's expectations, the bill was passed in the council with over three-quarters of the votes in favor.
According to Horn's analysis, the representatives of the five counties in Black Snake Bay could be roughly divided into three factions: plantation owners, merchants and workshop masters, and gangs.
Most plantations were operated by Wizard Clans focused on land-based agriculture, while merchants were mostly Astrologers, and workshop masters were mostly city-associated Alchemists. As for gangs, they were composed of numerous Combat Mages and criminals.
This method of division wasn't particularly accurate, as almost all wizard and Secret Faction organizations engaged in plantation, alchemy workshops, and illicit industries simultaneously. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
The only distinction was their primary source of income.
Due to the extraordinary ruling nature of Black Snake Bay, almost all ordinary industries run by ordinary people became reliant on these Secret Factions and wizards.
In other words, ordinary business owners in Black Snake Bay didn't even qualify to have a seat at the table.
The Witch Council and major city Secret Factions, like the Ruo'an Faction, helped Horn gather support from the workshop masters and small shopkeepers, while sugar and grain trade and tariffs controlled by the Holy Axis attracted plantation owners and merchants.
Merchants and workshop masters, who were fed up with gangs and tax racketeering, readily raised their hands and feet in agreement, and they truly did.
And although plantation owners were resentful, considering Horn's proposed "Abolition of Child Slavery Bill" and "Abolition of Hereditary Slavery Bill," they deemed the establishment of the Constitutional Army acceptable.
The gang-affiliated Secret Factions and wizards had many key figures restrained or arrested in the previous Saint's Grandson assassination case, adding pressure.
Most importantly, the establishment of the Constitutional Army was intended to capture assassins and internal Church spies, and any representative who dared oppose it would be immediately labeled as a Church spy.
In desperation, they had no choice but to consent to the birth of this fearsome entity within the Black Snake Bay Federation.
Of course, Horn promised it would only be a temporary Constitutional Army, lasting a maximum of six months, until the end of the year, when the council could vote again on whether the Constitutional Army should continue to exist.
After this decision was passed, it didn't even take a week for hundreds of Holy Gunmen from the Divine Punishment Army, dozens of Notaries transferred from the native Thousand River Valley, and hundreds of locally recruited strong youths to form the Constitutional Army.
As a gesture, Horn appointed a local witch from the Shadow Council, Solan, as head of the Constitutional Army for Black Snake Bay.
The Shadow Council was a Secret Faction organization half merchant half gang, which had successfully transitioned into merchants, soldiers, or Northern County public officials.
They were promoters of the establishment of the Northern County Council, naturally receiving the best positions.
The first task of the Constitutional Army was taking over the suspects of the Celestial Maiden Palace assassination case controlled by the Close Guard Cultivators.
It marked the doom of gang-related Secret Factions around Celestial Maiden City.
Wearing blue-gray uniforms and wielding Holy Guns, the Constitutional Army roamed the streets, kicking down doors to search.
The gang-type Secret Factions collecting taxes and rent through violence while feasting and singing at home were suddenly arrested by the Constitutional Army.
In a few days, the sound of guns echoed continuously through the streets and alleys.
Blood-stained spices, pearls, jewels, and precious metals were confiscated from the luxurious homes of these wizards, and chests filled with wealth flowed out of the Celestial Maiden Palace, Constitutional Army, and Divine Punishment Army's warehouses.
Merchants and workshop masters applauded the development, but former gang-involved wizards and ruffians sorely feared as they walked the streets of Celestial Maiden City.
With the Constitutional Army's interrogation and trials, numerous "persons involved in cases" and "Church spies" were incriminated, leading to over a thousand arrests, exiles, and executions around Celestial Maiden City.
The ground of the execution field outside the city was stained bright red with blood, and the Constitutional Army invited suspects or representatives to witness daily.
The suspects and high-tier wizards walked in with red faces, yet emerged pale.
As the uproar dragged on to the end of May, Ottatila, having seen enough, had no choice but to seek Horn to plead for a halt.
Upon hearing Ottatila's request, the Saint's Grandson smiled and brought up another topic: "I plan to return to Thousand River Valley by early June. I wonder when the Chairwoman can arrange my meeting with Lady Cynthia?"
