Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 499 - 498: Public Trial

Lu’an City, the square before the church district, was teeming with people.

The unprecedented battle had been over for two days, yet the city remained enveloped in an unusual atmosphere of fervor. For the citizens of Lu’an City, this marked the first time they had fought with their own hands for the right to see another day. For those who came from various parts of the southern borders, commoners and volunteers alike, this was their first time coming together, regardless of background, status, or the threats of a leader’s whip and sword, to act for a grand objective—and today was the day when their actions would bear fruit.

The people gathered in the square, every face filled with enthusiasm and eagerness, their gaze fixed on the front of the platform, where a high stage had been erected, and on that stage were the priests, once so lofty and unapproachable, now tied up.

The judges had become the judged—setting aside all principles and ethics, this fact alone was enough to excite many people.

This was a trial but unlike the numerous heterodoxy trials Lu’an City had held before. Its process and form might seem novel and incomprehensible to the locals—the one deciding the verdict wasn’t a high-ranking priest, but a three-person tribunal made up of a White Knight, a judge from the Cecil Clan, and an arbitration advisor. Besides this tribunal, there were many sitting beside the high stage, serving as jurors:

Some of these people wore priestly robes, recognized as priests from small chapels around Lu’an City, who had once been punished alongside commoners during heterodoxy trials and had acted as allies during the assault on the grand cathedral, thus garnering some friendly glances despite their status as priests. Others were ordinary citizens dressed in clean, tidy clothes, revered figures selected from within Lu’an City, many of whose faces were familiar to the crowd; the final group consisted of clerks from the Cecil territory.

These individuals were termed the "jury," serving as witnesses and overseers of the trial, representing all strata involved in the incident.

This peculiar and complex trial form was something new to the people of Lu’an, but it undeniably exuded an aura of fairness and reliability—the judge could not single-handedly make decisions, all decrees were interpreted publicly, and representatives from all walks of life were present to oversee the entire trial process. To the people of Lu’an, who had known only "heterodoxy trials" all their lives, this new "procedure" from the Cecil Clan even evoked a sense of astonishment.

However, for those priests who were bound on the high stage, awaiting trial, the feeling might not have been so pleasant.

These priests, lucky enough to have survived till now, looked nearly in terror at the square below, in terror at those commoners who once had to crawl in the dirt. They felt as if the crowd’s eyes bore tangible heat, ready to burn them alive on the stage.

Two days ago, they had not been stoned to death by the enraged crowd, nor were they immediately slain by the White Knight and Volunteer Mercenaries. Now, they finally realized—they did not survive out of luck but because they "had other uses."

The Cecil Clan had let them live until today, only so they could die today.

"Silence—the public trial begins now."

The "judge" beside the high stage spoke, a middle-aged administrative officer from the Cecil territory. He was once a somewhat well-known scholar in the Kant Region, and now he was to judge the representatives of the Holy Light in the southern borders in the name of Duke Gawain Cecil and the people of the southern borders, a fact that made his face taut, striving to conceal all tension and emotional fluctuation behind a solemn and dignified demeanor.

After introducing both sides of the trial, the tribunal members, and the jurors according to the laws of the Cecil Clan, the judge turned to the leader of the White Knights sitting beside him. Because this was a trial involving the church, Lait had personally come to the tribunal as a representative of the New Holy Light Faith. Noticing the judge’s indication, the towering "Grand Shepherd," clad in White Knight Armor, rose slowly to his feet.

A slight commotion arose instantly in the square—not a few people had seen this White Knight during the "Battle of Dawn" two days earlier. Standing nearly two meters tall, his imposing White Knight Armor and the Holy Light radiating from him made a deep impression on the citizens of Lu’an City.

Lait waved to the square, then looked at the priests in the center of the stage. He noticed the fear and tension in their eyes, but his expression remained unchanged.

He placed a hand on his chest, solemnly swearing, "I am the Grand Shepherd Lait of the New Holy Light Faith. I swear by the name of the Holy Light that I will ensure the trial’s fairness and truthfulness, that it will conform to the sacred laws of the Cecil Clan. The people will oversee my every word and deed here."

This "public trial," destined to be recorded in the annals of history, had begun.

Many initially assumed this trial would be a "spectacle of compensation," an "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" scenario, expecting that those Lu’an priests would soon be tied to the stake and burned clean just as they had done to many innocents, but in fact, this trial strictly adhered to the laws of the Cecil Clan.

Cecil’s judge and other tribunal members clearly and explicitly pointed out each offense committed by those Lu’an priests—the appropriation of the people’s property, the harm of innocent lives, the deception of the people, the desecration of the Holy Light... Subsequently, one familiar or unfamiliar civilian after another was brought onto the platform by Cecil soldiers, where they confronted the priests directly, confirming the charges. The tribunal also presented accounts, records, and the clergy’s correspondence found within the grand church, especially the "heterodoxies Purge Order" from the Northern Church, to confirm the validity of all crimes...

People watched the trial with a strange emotion. Initially, they couldn’t wait to see those Lu’an priests burned immediately—a straightforward and honest sense of revenge, but as the trial entered the "public testimony" phase, they felt a more vivid and powerful emotion than simple revenge.

They wanted to see those Lu’an priests found guilty, eternal stigmas affixed after all crimes were confirmed.

They wanted to hear the judge declare that those who were burned casually were innocent, to hear that those who were whipped, mutilated, branded with stigmas, were innocent relatives and friends.

They wanted not just to vent, not simply to avenge—they sought justice.

This was the most difficult thing for civilians to obtain in this world.

A lame woman was assisted onto the high stage by soldiers; it was the church knights who broke her leg. She allowed people to see her deformed leg, accusing those ruthless Church Knights who committed such an atrocity simply because she accidentally stepped on a priest’s robe.

An old woman brought her son onto the stage; her son couldn’t speak—because a priest had ordered his tongue cut out simply for "presumptuously discussing the divine texts in the Holy Light Canon"...

This trial was destined to last a whole day.

At the edge of the square, atop the high city walls in the church district, Gawain and Amber watched the trial unfold together.

"What punishment will those priests ultimately receive?" Amber curiously watched below, "The charges and evidence seem especially complex..."

Gawain casually answered, "They will all be hanged, with no pardons."

"...All hanged?" Amber looked at Gawain in surprise, "So it was decided from the start?"

"According to Cecil law, even those with the lightest offenses among them should be hanged twice, and to promote the New Church and completely eradicate the Old Church’s influence, these diehard elements cannot remain."

Amber showed a thoughtful expression: "...You kept them alive till today just for this trial?"

"Indeed, it was for this trial," Gawain nodded slightly, "Moreover, not only must there be this trial, but its process must also be strict and fair—even if every crime those priests committed was enough for them to die once, they must only die after the trial is over."

Amber quickly understood Gawain’s intention: "It’s to establish ’order,’ right?"

"Exactly so," Gawain exhaled slightly, "Letting those priests be killed by the crowd and the White Knights directly, or simply setting them aflame during the trial may have been the simplest, most satisfying way to deal with it, but if done so, then it’s no different from a ’heterodoxies trial’, and this great battle would turn into a bewildered atrocity. In any case, during Lu’an City’s order restoration, we must convey some of Cecil’s ideals to everyone, let them know that we and the Holy Light are different—the heterodoxies trial methods must be completely abandoned."

A voice came from behind Gawain and Amber: "So even the priests and clergy must die, it must be after a fair trial—that is the rule you set, isn’t it?"

Amber turned her head to look at the newcomer, raising her hand in greeting: "Hello, priest."

Gawain looked at the tall and thin middle-aged clergyman in a white robe and nodded slightly: "Sevin Terry Priest, right——thank you very much for the support you provided in this operation."

Appearing before Gawain and Amber was none other than the leader of the small chapel district, Sevin Terry.

He did not appear at the high platform of the public trial, but came here seemingly just to meet Gawain.

"The Holy Light guides us," this tall and thin priest drew the symbol of the Holy Seal on his chest, looking at Gawain with a somewhat curious gaze, "You are not quite like what I imagined..."

Gawain smiled at this clergyman praised by Wright: "How are we different?"

Sevin Terry answered candidly: "After hearing Miss Amber’s descriptions, I thought you would be a more gloomy, ruthless, and authoritarian ruler who would care nothing for ’righteousness’ in pursuit of the greatest profit, but now it seems... Though your methods are firm, you still have your moral principles."

Gawain thought for a moment, then turned to Amber: "...What exactly did you tell him?"

Amber had already been looking for an opportunity to slip away when Sevin Terry was halfway through his words, but considering she might be yanked by the collar and thrown off the city wall by Gawain the second she tried, she stayed put. At this time, she immediately shouted: "I didn’t talk nonsense—it’s all what you usually teach me! I think it’s this priest’s problem of understanding and imagination..."

"You should learn from Rebecca, her intelligence hasn’t improved much, but her head gets harder every day," Gawain commented unceremoniously, then turned to Sevin Terry, "No matter what you’ve understood from Amber’s words, I hope you understand this: I’m working hard to give this land and its people a better tomorrow, and on that basis, I hold no malice towards the Holy Light."

"Wright said that to me as well, and I trust his judgment, just as I trust my own eyesight," Sevin Terry lowered his head in front of Gawain, "Thank you for arranging this trial—you let me see your ’justice,’ which is not at odds with the Holy Light."

Gawain calmly accepted the clergyman’s evaluation, then turned around, looking at the many spire towers in the chapel district: "We will be leaving soon, and this city... will remain a city of the Holy Light. Wright and I have discussed it, and we plan to use this city as a training and research facility for the New Holy Light Faith because it has the most classic Holy Light texts and the best magic-pervasive environment—it is an existing holy city. Since Wright will spend most of his time at Cecil Castle, he hopes you can manage the church here for him. Of course, the management of this city will undergo significant changes, and the church will no longer be the highest authority. I will establish an Administrative Office here to oversee the operation and construction of the city, and your responsibility will be limited to church affairs and related facilities."

Sevin Terry nodded: "As long as I can continue to spread the Holy Light, I have no objections."

"Very well," Gawain sighed in relief, "I will gradually transfer the White Knight training facilities here, and I hope you and your colleagues will actively cooperate. As for that cathedral..."

Gawain paused, looking at the cathedral’s glittering spire in the sunlight, and after a moment, slowly said: "Give it a new name... call it the Holy Light Academy, to disseminate the new doctrine to all the people and promote the knowledge regarding the Holy Light. In the future, all institutions studying and teaching Holy Light knowledge should be called Holy Light Academies, to be distinguished from chapel districts that spread doctrine and provide community and neighborhood services."

Sevin Terry’s expression slightly changed as he subconsciously repeated the word used by Gawain: "...Academy..."

Gawain smiled, quietly watching the priest before him: "Indeed, since it’s a place to spread knowledge, it should naturally be called an academy."

Sevin Terry met Gawain’s gaze, and in that look, he seemed to see the deeper meaning behind all this—

Deconsecration.

The Holy Light is a form of knowledge, and the faith in the Holy Light is a culture, the chapels will turn into purely service-oriented facilities, and as for the belief in the God of Holy Light...

Will it become a history lesson in the academy?

After several seconds, Sevin Terry’s expression turned calm, seemingly having put down some burden, and as if making a significant decision in life, he lowered his head again: "As per your arrangement."

The tall and thin clergyman left, leaving only Gawain and Amber on the city wall. Meanwhile, below the wall, the public trial of the Lu’an Priests was still ongoing.

Gawain did not pursue the issue of Amber "slandering" him behind his back, but the half-elf lady herself seemed a bit burdened. After hesitating several times, Amber finally couldn’t help but speak: "By the way... that priest said you have your moral principles!"

Hearing this obvious conversation-finding remark from the half-elf lady, Gawain couldn’t help but lift the corner of his mouth. He glanced at her: "That’s nonsense—who doesn’t have moral principles?"

Amber scratched her head—unfortunately, she wasn’t Rebecca; no amount of head-scratching could spark a spark of wisdom, so she could only frankly express her thoughts: "You once told me that the so-called ’noble spirit’ is all outdated hypocrisy, and the Knight’s code has been left behind by time, and the ’doctrinal virtues’ advocated by each church are soaked in the smell of money and power... you discarded all these, so the justice in your mind... what does it look like?"

Gawain looked at Amber, noting those amber-colored eyes glinting mysteriously in the sunlight. He found this relentless, noisy yet timid person had indeed changed a bit after this trip to Lu’an, though he couldn’t exactly pinpoint the change. It seemed like this wild and untamable half-elf had finally begun to take her work seriously, and also to earnestly contemplate his endeavors.

This was a good thing.

"Look over there, see those people on the plaza?"

Amber nodded: "I see them."

"When everyone is well-fed and clothed, that is the greatest justice."

...

This was an infinitely vast city, standing in a distant, unreachable place, existing now, in the past, and will exist forever into the future.

The magnificent Holy Light was the bricks and foundations of this city, the sky above it and the ground it was rooted in. Every brick, every wall, every tower and door, was filled with brilliance, suffused with endless sanctity.

As Saint Dumont said:

I saw a giant city, infinitely vast, with light seeping through the stones, the entire city seemed cast in light.

And at the center of this city cast in light, in an immeasurably grand plaza, countless streams of light surged from the distant sky, converging above a gigantic crystal endlessly changing its form.

This resplendent and holy crystal silently operated, governing this city cast in light year after year, disseminating the truths it contained—serenity, brightness, peace, and protection—and those converging light streams were both its sources of power and the channels for its influence.

However, today, a slight change occurred in the eternal order of this city cast in light, as part of the light streams gathered from all directions quietly changed color and direction, becoming clearer and flowing freely beyond the central plaza’s crystal, streaming towards the distant skies...

The crystal continued its timeless operation, surrounded by a chime like wind bells, ethereal and sacred yet chaotic noise with no tune or rhythm. In this chaotic yet sacred ringing, the crystal merely changed its form once more, seemingly indifferent to those light streams that changed direction, unconcerned with these minor ’losses’...