Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Those three sons of bitches! They sold him out without a moment's hesitation!

Damn it, but it's just as well they sold him out. With him taking the heat, those few blockheads won't have a chance to spill the beans.

Xiao Shuai fell into deep thought, his mind a mess.

He just didn't know what to say, it all seemed so random!

What does this rebellious prince of Da Jing want from the Brotherhood? He really couldn't understand the connection.

If he can command the troops in the Dedro diocese, it means he's already cooperating with the Church. Since he suspects them of being Brotherhood members, he should either try them locally or just get rid of them. There's absolutely no need to bring him all the way back to Sangjak for questioning.

Just as he was pondering, King Wu spoke first: "I know you're completely confused right now. You don't have to rush to answer whether you're a member of the Brotherhood or not. I believe one of your three brothers will be willing to tell the truth. For now, let's just wait a little longer."

It's over!

I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die...

A deep sense of despair rose in his heart, and Xiao Shuai's face turned ashen.

He'd been in the Jianghu for so long, and everything had gone so smoothly, but was he going to die here today without even knowing why?

King Wu glanced at him casually and walked back to the table, getting busy.

About half an hour later, a squad of soldiers entered the hall to pay their respects, kneeling on the ground and saying, "Your Majesty, all three suspects have confessed and admitted to being members of the Brotherhood."

"As for why they appeared in the Dedro diocese, the three of them know nothing, and all say it was this man's orders." The soldier pointed at Xiao Shuai and continued, "Your Majesty, should we use severe torture to interrogate him?"

Xiao Shuai's face was ashen.

Damn it! Those three bastards sold him out again, and they're so coordinated?

Those three dogs are cunning enough, not saying a word more than necessary, just focusing on pinning the blame on him.

King Wu stood up and waved his hand: "No need to continue the interrogation. Take those three down to be treated for their injuries."

Treat their injuries?

Xiao Shuai was slightly stunned, then raised his head in surprise.

King Wu had already walked up to him, smiling: "Do you have anything else to say?"

After a moment's thought, Xiao Shuai immediately said: "I am a member of the Brotherhood. Now that I've fallen into Your Majesty's hands, I have nothing to say."

King Wu clapped his hands and laughed: "Good! Someone, grant him a seat!"

First treat their injuries, then grant him a seat... does he want to win over the Brotherhood!?

As soon as this thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds, impossible to suppress.

Xiao Shuai's heart gradually stabilized.

As long as they're not shouting for his head, and there's room for negotiation, then things will be easier.

As soon as he sat down, he heard King Wu say: "I've long heard of the Brotherhood's great name. They've left traces of their actions in many countries, and they even dared to assassinate clerics when the Church was at its height. I truly admire that."

"I am not a member of the Church. In my eyes, the Taifu Church is no different from evil demons. They oppress the good, collect the people's wealth, and even extend their reach into various countries to interfere with politics! I will never tolerate any of this!"

"When I first ascended the throne, a cardinal came to Sangjak to discuss offerings and the establishment of churches. At first, I was willing to cooperate with them, but who knew the Church would become increasingly greedy and even dare to instruct me on state affairs in my own court."

"The more you give, the more they encroach. Eventually, I could no longer tolerate it and executed two archbishops within Sangjak's borders. Neighboring countries sent troops to attack, and I could only fight back. Later, I learned that the Pope himself had come before the conflict ceased."

"I wonder if you've heard of this matter?"

He had heard too much about it!

Xiao Shuai was shocked. He stood up and pretended to be excited: "Everyone in the Brotherhood knows about this! So it was Your Majesty who did it! But how did you negotiate peace after offending the Church like that?"

King Wu smiled: "It's nothing much. My country has a weapon called Divine Retribution, and its power is astonishing. Although my country cannot defeat the Church's army, they cannot do anything to me either. After a long stalemate, I used the Divine Retribution weapon as a bargaining chip to seek peace."

"Although I hate the Church's ways, the war threatened the survival of the people, and I had to make some compromises."

"I see," Xiao Shuai said. "Your Majesty is wholeheartedly for the people, which is truly admirable. But I still have a question in my heart. How can Your Majesty command the troops of the Dedro diocese? Shouldn't those be the Church's troops?"

King Wu said: "That's not difficult to explain, because the Pope is a guest here in my court."

With that, he clapped his hands: "Bring the Pope here."

Xiao Shuai clicked his tongue inwardly.

The Pope is still alive, and he's secretly directing the dioceses. He knew that, but his whereabouts have always been a mystery.

He never expected him to be here!

Before long, the Pope hurried into the hall.

He was still wearing the same clothes he wore in the Holy Temple. It seems King Wu even had someone make him new clothes.

It's just that he seemed to have lost a lot of energy.

When he walked up to King Wu, he knelt down familiarly: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Shuai's eyes began to twitch violently.

The Pope... what happened to him?

King Wu nodded: "Get up and stand aside."

The Pope was expressionless and stood obediently to the side.

"As you can see, he now serves me as his master and works under me, so you don't have to worry about the Church targeting the Brotherhood again. The reason I'm being so open is that I want to cooperate with the Brotherhood. Now it's my turn to ask you, what's the internal situation of the Brotherhood like, and why were you in the Dedro diocese?"

Xiao Shuai's mind raced, shaking off those distracting thoughts and trying not to look at the Pope standing to the side.

The current situation is very delicate.

The King of Sangjak is a traitor wanted by Da Jing, the Pope has been kidnapped here, and the Church is also controlled by Sangjak through him.

The six major dioceses are constantly recruiting soldiers and adding defensive weapons to the city walls.

Then there's only one answer that comes to mind...

This guy wants to join forces with the Brotherhood to resist Da Jing!

After thinking for a long time, Xiao Shuai had an answer in his heart. He took a deep breath and said: "Since Your Majesty has told me the truth, then I cannot hide anything either."

"In recent years, the Brotherhood has developed very quickly. At its peak, it had more than five thousand members. We have established a Brotherhood base in the Holy City and made it our headquarters. Originally, we wanted to build up our strength before counterattacking the Church, but unexpectedly, a force suddenly came and led troops to attack the Holy City on a large scale."

"Not only did they capture the Holy City, but they also supported a puppet Pope and blamed the unrest in the city on the Brotherhood. Countless soldiers are searching the city for traces of the Brotherhood."

"Originally, we wanted to organize people to resist, but unexpectedly, they were extremely cunning and even opened the treasury of the Holy Temple, bribing many of our brothers."

"At that time, I and some loyal brothers were in the city. With nowhere to go, we could only follow some of the panicked refugees in the Holy City to the Dedro diocese."

"Later, we felt that the storm had passed, and we wanted to leave and return to the Holy City to check the situation and make plans, but unexpectedly, the diocese was already under martial law and we couldn't leave the city. That's the situation."

King Wu nodded to himself.

Some of it matched the information he had learned, and the rest seemed reasonable.

"Do you know who the force that attacked the Holy City is?"