Chapter 42

"Was it Wolfe who killed my father?" As soon as Zhao Zheng said this, the two armies, which had been silent due to He Ping shattering the Eternal Night's brilliance, immediately began to buzz with discussion. Trevor, as well as Wolfe and Brian who were still in the prisoner's cart, all trembled. Even He Ping was very surprised. He Ping had heard Zhao Zheng talk about his father before, who was invited to negotiate with Charlemagne but was ambushed and killed.

"Why do you insist on this? Let bygones be bygones. Why be so fixated? Didn't you also kill my father? Although I hate you, I haven't been obsessed with revenge over the years," Trevor sighed, looking at Wolfe in the prisoner's cart and asked, "Didn't you ask them two? Did they tell you something?"

"Hmph! I don't dare to trust these two," Zhao Zheng coldly snorted, saying with disdain, "These two wolves, not a word they say is true. Asking them? I'm not that naive. Even if they told me the so-called truth, I wouldn't believe it. I want you to tell me yourself, how did my father die back then?"

Looking at Wolfe, who avoided his gaze, Trevor said helplessly, "At this point, I indeed don't need to hide it anymore. The Lance family is almost finished. There's no point in me hiding it any longer. Since you want to know what happened, I'll tell you. Uncle Wolfe, is that okay?"

Wolfe said nothing, just nodded dejectedly. Seeing Wolfe nod, Trevor began, "You guessed right. It wasn't my father Charlemagne who killed your father, but Uncle Wolfe. Back then, my father invited Uncle Zhao Long for negotiations with the intention of peaceful coexistence. He wanted to negotiate to make the war between our two families a mere formality, then continue the border trade."

"But Uncle Wolfe had long coveted a piece of land in the northern border. As you know, that area not only has mines but also fertile land and is a strategic location, which caught Uncle Wolfe's attention. If the negotiations between the two families succeeded, he would have no reason to launch an attack. I knew that at that time, Uncle Wolfe had already decided to part ways with the Lance family. That land was a base he was looking for himself. Therefore, he resorted to any means to obtain it."

"To incite war between the two families, Uncle Wolfe gathered a group of loyalists in advance and ambushed them near the negotiation site. When Uncle Zhao Long was preparing to return to Qingyang, they killed all his guards and murdered Uncle Zhao Long."

"Uncle Wolfe did this very secretly. He planned to leave no evidence. Even if he was suspected, no one could do anything to him. But one of those loyalists had been favored by my father. He survived the suicidal ambush by chance and told my father about it."

"After that, my father and Uncle Wolfe reached an agreement. Perhaps he felt his time was short, so he used this incident to force Uncle Wolfe to help me become the head of the family and to support me for a certain period. During this time, he was not allowed to harm me or leave the family to establish his own domain. The rest you know. My father took the blame for the ambush on Uncle Zhao Long and was executed by you not long after."

"Alas, we calculated everything, but we underestimated your growth. No one expected that the once frivolous Young Master Zhao Zheng would become one of the most renowned generals in this region in such a short time. Although Uncle Wolfe took that piece of land, the Lance Province lost even more land to Qingyang, including areas even better than that land. Plus, Uncle Wolfe couldn't leave the family, so his plans came to nothing."

"Hmph! You are all accomplices, don't think I will let you off now!" Zhao Zheng finished, turning to stare fiercely at Wolfe. "Old villain Wolfe, what do you have to say? You, a heartless, insatiable old scoundrel, turned two families from lifelong friends into lifelong enemies, turning a war that could have been avoided into the most intense conflict between the two countries. How many people have been harmed by your petty greed!"

"Don't pretend to be righteous here!" Wolfe was also angry. He was a noble, a noble of the Okland Empire, inviolable. To suffer such humiliation was unbearable. With no way out, he let loose and shouted at Zhao Zheng, "Young Zhao Zheng! Do as you please, kill or torture me, but don't talk about useless things. You talk grandly, but haven't you killed people yourself? I am a noble of Okland. I take what I want, and if it's not given, I take it by force. That's my principle. Whatever you say now doesn't matter!"

"You...!" Hearing Wolfe's shameless declaration, Zhao Zheng laughed in anger. He said coldly, "Very well! What a fine Okland noble, what a noble declaration, what a noble principle, what a fine Okland style. If Okland nobles are all like this, don't blame me for being ruthless. In my lifetime, I will kill every Okland noble I see! Today, I'll start with you two wolves!"

After saying this, Zhao Zheng waved his hand, and a tall, muscular man walked out from behind. Just looking at his thick neck and broad shoulders, one could tell he had a loud voice. It was clear that Zhao Zheng had prepared thoroughly for today's public trial, even finding someone with a loud voice to ensure the Lance Province army could hear. Only then would it be a public trial.

"Defendant, Wolfe, male, sixty years old, from the Lance Province of the Okland Empire, former commander of the Lance Province defense forces."

"Guilty of murder, 312 cases, totaling 5,730 people, death penalty!"

"Guilty of plunder, 221 cases, totaling 23,408,760 Tianhua copper coins, death penalty!"

"Guilty of war crimes, inciting war, resulting in an uncountable number of casualties, death penalty!"

"Guilty of... death penalty!"

"Guilty of... death penalty!"

"..."

"Defendant, Wolfe, evidence is conclusive, all charges are true, final verdict: death penalty, to be executed immediately!"

"Defendant, Brian, male, thirty-seven years old, from the Lance Province of the Okland Empire, former commander of the northern army of the Lance Province defense forces."

"Guilty of murder... death penalty!"

"Guilty of plunder... death penalty!"

"Guilty of war crimes... death penalty!"

"Guilty of... death penalty!"

"Guilty of... death penalty!"

"..."

"Defendant, Brian, evidence is conclusive, all charges are true, final verdict: death penalty, to be executed immediately!"

[PS: Third update of the day! Also, a heads-up: I'll continue with three updates per day next week, from this Sunday to next Saturday! The update times will be the same as this week!]