Chapter 87 Lodiv: Steady! (First order requested!)
The city lord’s residence, in the outer courtyard.
When Anthony led Luo Xiu and other members of the "Holy Judge" into the courtyard, they were greeted only by the biting cold wind.
Not even a shadow of the servants and guards of the mansion could be seen.
But the courtyard was kept very clean, and there were no accumulations of fallen leaves, shrubs, and lawns, which were also trimmed fairly evenly.
…
After crossing the courtyard, Anthony walked straight to the door on the first floor of the mansion and knocked hard.
No one responded.
"—Rodiff Walden."
Anthony then raised his voice and shouted loudly into the mansion: "——Open the door immediately! Otherwise, I will implement the compulsory holy power granted to me by the 'Holy Court'."
When Anthony shouted this for the third time, the sound of heavy footsteps "—kick, kick, kick" came from the mansion.
The door opened, revealing the fat face of the "Lordif City Lord".
"...Even the Holy Judge of the 'Holy Court' has no right to break into private houses." Lord Lodiv said dissatisfiedly.
"...Come in." Rodif leaned to one side to make way for the "Holy Judges".
…
Inside the mansion, in the main guest room.
Two kerosene lamps on the wall emitted dim light, allowing everyone in the room to see each other clearly.
"Shouldn't you be performing the task of 'adjudicating heretics'?"
The Lord of Lodiv City was the first to question: "Did you not deal with the group of heretics from the 'Ancient Hermitage'?"
"...It's my turn to ask you this, Rodive."
Anthony's eyes darkened slightly. He looked at Rodive and said word by word: "Lodiv Walden, answer me."
"——Do you clearly know that the information you provided about the 'stronghold' is a trap prepared by the enemy in advance?"
When Anthony asked questions, with him as the starting point, the invisible spiritual wall spread rapidly to the surroundings.
Everyone present felt the heavy pressure at the same time, as if a huge stone had fallen on their shoulders.
Rodive remained silent. He put his right hand into his arms and took out a dark red spar pendant.
——Crack.
Rodif exerted force with his fingertips and crushed the red crystal stone on the pendant.
Invisible spiritual vibrations instantly erupted from the crystal fragments.
Anthony only felt that his perception seemed to be slightly disordered at a certain moment.
Just like a distorted picture seen through the flames, "Lodiv"'s spirituality suddenly became elusive.
"——I don't know." Lodiv replied calmly.
"...Don't play tricks, Rodive." Anthony said in a cold tone, "Even if you have the support of the [Supreme] person behind you, it does not mean that you can provoke our bottom line arbitrarily."
"……puff."
Rodive suddenly laughed out loud, "I did not offend you, the Holy Judge of the Holy Court."
Lodiv suddenly changed his tone and expressed strong aggression: "It is obviously you who are offending me! It is you who are offending the loyal officials under the [Supreme] rule!"
"It's you! You wantonly destroyed my courtyard and broke into my mansion wantonly! It's you who need to give me a reasonable explanation!"
The tone of the second half of Rodive's words was obviously sullen.
…
Luo Xiu has been observing the changes in the attitudes of both parties as a bystander.
Yesterday's reconnaissance through "Foggy Night" sneaking in in advance allowed Luo Xiu to see a little bit of Rodive's true purpose.
Now Lodiv, he is just stalling for time.
Delaying it until the "Spiritual Beloved" recovers, and then teaming up with the "Ancient Hermitage" to encircle and kill their Holy Judge will allow Rodive's original plan to get back on track.
Therefore, at this time, Rodive played the role of a "rogue" on the spot.
Including crushing the red spiritual crystal and forcibly disrupting the surrounding spiritual aura, all just to make Anthony unable to convict him for a while.
Without a conviction, it is impossible to truly conduct a "Holy Judgment" trial on the "Lordive City Lord".
Even under Rodive's current "innocent" status, he can still reveal his identity as a loyal servant of the [Supreme] and beat Anthony down.
From Rodive's point of view, it was indeed Anthony who started the trouble.
Although Anthony questioned Lodiv's "collaboration" behavior, he did not have the corresponding evidence. And because of the interference of the red crystal, Anthony could no longer identify the spiritual surge in "Lodiv" at this time.
This also makes it impossible for Anthony to judge whether what Rodive said is the "truth" or a "lie".
…
Anthony will definitely not be able to play political correctness with this old guy.
Luo Xiu has come to the conclusion that Anthony will lose.
Now Anthony can't really take action against "Lodiv", an ordinary person. At this time, the situation has fallen into a subtle confrontation.
Luo Xiu glanced at Anthony from the corner of his eye. He seemed to be choked by Rodive's retort.
"I didn't mean to offend you." Anthony explained, "I just..."
"—your actions, your attitude, your words."
Rodiff interrupted Anthony, and he began to increase his output: "Your various performances can only make your explanation look pale and weak!"
Anthony: "..."
He suddenly and inexplicably fell into a state where he didn't know how to argue.
Luo Xiu silently looked at the deflated Anthony in front of him, and complained inexplicably in his heart.
——I still get scolded less, big brother...
Anthony, for such an occasion, seemed too forthright.
Luo Xiu inexplicably began to miss Zu An in his previous life.
…
"Lordiv City Lord, I think it makes no sense for us to get into such a low-level dispute."
Luo Xiu then replaced Anthony and said to the Lord of Lodiv:
"If you hadn't crushed that spiritual crystal, you might have already proven your innocence."
"... But as of now, we can only exercise the power granted by the 'Holy Court'."
"We will conduct a thorough search of your residence and hope you will cooperate."
"Search power" is the power that high-ranking members of the [Supreme] Law Office, [Glory] Holy Court, and [Intellect] Tower of Sages have over their respective lower-level members.
Rodive struggled for a while, then nodded and said:
"……Can."
"According to the rules jointly set by your 'Holy Court' and 'Department of Justice', you only have half an hour."
"Please, all I ask is that you don't damage my furniture and collection."
…
Lodiv agreed to be searched.
Luo Xiu then stood up quietly and walked upstairs to the mansion under the watch of Anthony and others.
Although Anthony didn't understand why Luo Xiu suddenly mentioned "search", he was a little dazed by Rodive's counterattack, so he stood up and followed Luo Xiu upstairs.
Connor and Pamier also stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Rodif alone curled up on the leather sofa.
Seeing that the "Holy Judges" had all left, Rodive slowly picked up the teacup on the coffee table and took a sip.
"...Heh." Rodive smiled contemptuously.
"Except for yesterday's letter, there is no evidence here..."
"I burned that letter last night and they couldn't find anything."
Rodive felt that he was a stable group.
…
Luo Xiu went straight to the top floor and walked straight to the room that "Fog Night" had spied on before.
He opened the door and walked in. The thick and simple book was still placed on Jin Nan's table.
Luo Xiu walked over and opened the middle layer of the book.
The "secret letter" with carbonized edges is sandwiched in the middle of the book pages, and the writing on it is still clearly visible.
The corners of Luo Xiu's mouth raised slightly, suppressing a smile.
"How dare this old eunuch let me search..."
(End of chapter)