When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#701 - Ortatila's Compromise

Moonlight enveloped the Celestial Maiden Palace. The once-quiet palace was now brightly lit, with the city's garrison rapidly entering the city and taking control of various street corners and key roads.

Guard修士 in black and grey uniforms were temporarily acting as military police, enforcing a curfew while going door-to-door investigating suspicious individuals and registering them.

Not to mention, all the small ports inside and outside the city were completely sealed off, and even fishing boats were not allowed to leave the harbor.

Hiding behind windows and door seams, the residents and witches of Celestial Maiden City whispered anxiously in the dark night.

Those high-level witches from various parties, secret society leaders, and Thousand River Valley merchants who came to participate in the conference were almost scared to pee their pants after learning about Horn's assassination attempt.

Hundreds of snowflake-like letters of greetings flew into the Celestial Maiden Palace from all directions in the city. To clarify the rumors, Horn had to reply to them one by one.

After a commotion and coming forward to calm people's hearts, Horn was able to free up time to meet with these related witches.

The main ones were Ottati and Athena.

In a waiting room of the Celestial Maiden Palace, Horn sat in the main seat, dozing off. Jeanne and Melia sat on either side, each reading a report from the garrison修士.

But the groan of the old door awakened Horn. He looked up and saw Lurles leading Ottati in.

"From the assassination attempt this evening until now, the general outline of the matter has emerged," Ottati said, her voice tinged with caution and apology. "In addition to Celestial Maiden City, the garrison barracks outside the city and the councilors' mansions inside the city have been damaged to varying degrees.

Currently, the garrison has taken over the entire city. A total of 34 Demon Hunters and 9 rebellious witches have been arrested. 398 people involved in the case have all been taken into custody and imprisoned, jointly guarded by the garrison and the Witch Council. The main culprit, Veronica, is still at large."

For Black Serpent Bay and even the entire empire, assassination attempts by Demon Hunters were commonplace.

King Genigis of Leia had been assassinated, King Charles VIII of France had been assassinated, and even the previous Pope Johnny VIII had been assassinated more than fifty times in his life, eventually dying from a fall during Mass.

But after this happened, even Ottati, who was known for her calm and composure, was frightened and almost lost her composure.

If this supreme hero of Thousand River Valley died on Black Serpent Bay's territory, not to mention anything else, the Salvation Army would immediately begin to descend along the river.

If the Salvation Army entered Black Serpent Bay under the banner of avenging Horn, the situation would completely spiral out of control.

"398 people involved, that feels a bit few. And the main culprit hasn't been caught," Horn said, taking a sip of blue pulp coffee to refresh himself. "To be able to infiltrate such a high-end banquet without fear of the Salvation Army's guns and cannons, this isn't just an ordinary assassin."

"I know, we will definitely give a reasonable explanation. I guarantee that the people involved will suffer the punishment they deserve... and more," Ottati said sincerely. "But I also hope you can understand that this won't be a widening political storm. We want to remove the rot, not amputate."

"Perhaps it's already terminally ill, and it's time for amputation, but you just can't see it." Stroking Horn's shoulder, Jeanne's eyes stared unkindly at Ottati.

She was just picking out a dress for the banquet queen, and just because she wasn't around for a moment, Horn was almost assassinated.

With such blatant security, Jeanne couldn't help but overthink. Even if Jeanne didn't overthink, the officers below and even Thousand River Valley might overthink.

So Ottati had to make a statement, but not too much.

Horn wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate a group of secret societies and pass some bills he wanted to push through, but that didn't mean he wanted to widen the scope.

Mainly because if it was widened, some people below might take the opportunity to overzealously execute and profit under his banner.

If the Church took advantage of the situation, it would be even worse.

Black Serpent Bay was not Thousand River Valley, and Horn was not a true god. Current technology and systems did not support him in supervising everyone everywhere.

He came to Black Serpent Bay to obtain strategic buffers and raw material production areas. Before solving the big problem of the Leia Kingdom, he didn't want to get stuck in another quagmire of war.

"Regarding the assassination attempt before this Witch Conference, I can let your newly established Black Serpent Bay Federation handle it, and you can judge and dispose of all the people involved," Horn raised three fingers to Ottati. "But I have three requests."

"Please speak."

"First, I request to use tariffs to form a temporary constabulary with independent investigation rights, reconnaissance rights, and judicial oversight," Horn looked Ottati in the eye. "I need to know if you're just putting on a show or if you're really investigating."

Ottati pursed her lips for a moment: "Okay, I agree."

"Second, at the Black Serpent Bay Federation Conference the day after tomorrow, I want to propose the implementation of the 'Temporary Public Security Management Law'. It must be passed, and the local public security must be taken over by the constabulary."

"Yes, that's what should be done."

"Third, I want to pass the 'Child Labor Prohibition Act' and the 'Slave Hereditary Prohibition Act'."

Ottati suddenly fell silent, standing there with her lips pursed. After a long while, she slowly opened her mouth: "I also want to promote these two bills, but to be frank, even with this assassination attempt at Celestial Maiden Palace, it will be difficult to get the witches to budge.

You know, if we want to launch a purge against the opposition this time, we will definitely use the excuse that the secret societies colluded with the Church, and then target the conservative, criminal, and suspected but unproven secret societies.

However, these two bills are too rushed. The witches who originally stood on our side and ran plantations will oppose them. The first two requests are justified, but the last request is really difficult to link to the assassination attempt."

"Then what can you offer in exchange?" Horn had long known that Ottati would not allow these two bills to pass, and he himself knew that now was not the time.

Bringing it up at this time was partly to prepare for a formal proposal in the future, and partly because this kind of thing was inherently about making exorbitant demands and bargaining on the spot. Now it was Ottati's turn to make an offer.

Looking at the injury on Horn's shoulder, Ottati pondered for a moment before slowly saying: "You seem to have been searching for the whereabouts of Lord Sephay, haven't you?"

Horn was stunned: "How do you know?"

"You were looking for the traces of the Scales Hermitage, and after you came back, you were inquiring about Grandma Cynthia's affairs everywhere. Grandma Cynthia and Lord Sephay are friends, so of course I know."

"What? You have a clue?"

"To be precise, I told Grandma Cynthia about this earlier. As long as you swear to keep it a secret, then I can take you to see Grandma Cynthia," Ottati continued. "In addition, I can tell you the manufacturing method of Red Dragon's Breath. Can that earn your forgiveness?"