Chapter 153: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 153: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (13)
A suffocating silence fell.
Stunned by the sight of someone abruptly dying and dissolving into light, everyone was struck speechless.
“Th-the guards are killing people!”
“They’ve gone mad!”
Once one person managed to cry out, others joined in, their voices rising in a chaotic uproar.
Yet, even in the face of this, the guards’ demeanor remained aloof.
Despite the torrent of condemnation and blame, not a flicker of anxiety or fear could be seen in their eyes.
There was only the conviction that they were absolutely, unequivocally right.
Adelaide felt a sense of wrongness at the sight.
The guards she had observed during her stay in Justitia hadn't been like this.
They had tried to curry favor with the Lord of Justitia, a man of special status, and had taunted dignitaries from other regions with the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven, as if to mock, “So, you won’t comply?” While not exactly righteous, their behavior had been all too human.
But now?
“Now, confess your sins. The scale shall pass judgment.”
“If you are truly innocent, no harm will come to you. Is that not a simple matter?”
The guards paid no mind to the onlookers. They hesitated at nothing.
They were endlessly bold and unabashed.
No, it was more than that—they seemed intoxicated by their own actions.
And this was just moments after they had lopped off a man’s head simply for refusing to stand trial.
That light.
Adelaide’s eyes narrowed as she watched the emerald energy enveloping the guards’ bodies.
She realized their attitudes had changed abruptly after being shrouded in that light.
It wasn’t mana.
If anything, it was closer to the holy power Sophia used, but whereas Sophia’s power felt endlessly benevolent and gentle, this light, though resplendent and beautiful, was cold.
Like the scales of Justitia, which produced a set conclusion based on given conditions.
While Adelaide hid in the shadows, contemplating her next move, the situation continued to unfold rapidly.
“Is there no one else who will submit to the trial?”
“Anyone who fails to prove their innocence within one hour will be considered guilty.”
Faced with the guards’ overwhelming confidence, the eyes of some citizens began to waver.
After exchanging glances, one of them cautiously stepped forward.
“Ahem. Well, all I have to do is prove my innocence, right? I’ll give it a try.”
“Welcome. Now, confess to this scale.”
The citizen cleared his throat and spoke to the scale.
“I have committed no crime in this city… Is this how I do it?”
A faint light emanated from the scale held by the guard, forming a small halo above the citizen’s head.
The citizen waved his hand over his head in alarm, but the ring of light had no substance and his hand passed right through it.
The soldier nodded.
“Confirmed. Please, step inside.”
The face of the first citizen to step forward lit up.
That was the beginning.
“Me too, I’ll do it too!”
“No, I’m next!”
People scrambled to confess their sins to the scale, and emerald halos appeared above their heads.
Those who received the halos beamed as if they had been awarded some great prize.
But not everyone could join them.
The moment a stern-faced young man declared his innocence to the scale, it began to tremble, and the guards’ gazes turned cold.
“You have spoken a falsehood.”
“Wh-what, no, w-wait a minute! I saw it too! Some masked bastards were going around beating people up! You’re doing this to catch them, right? I have nothing to do with it!”
“Do not presume the scale’s intentions. No sin is an exception.”
“Tch, fine, I get it! I can just pay, can’t I?!”
“First, you must confess your sin. The verdict will be delivered afterward.”
“Fuck, you want me to shout it out with all these people here? Can’t we go somewhere private—”
“I will say this one last time. Confess your sin.”
“This is fucking bullshit. I did some pickpocketing! Happy now?”
The scale stopped shaking, and one of its two pans lowered.
“Judging by the measure, it seems this was not a one-time offense. The sentence is eight years of imprisonment. Will you serve your sentence, or will you pay its value?”
“What a stupid question! You think eight years is a joke!?”
“Understood. O, scale, commute this man’s sin.”
The young man, though grumbling, took out his coin purse and held it out. The crowd expected the soldiers to take it.
But they didn’t.
Swish!
The swords of two soldiers flashed, and an emerald trajectory grazed the young man’s arms.
In the next instant, the young man’s arms below the elbows vanished.
A scream of agony tore from his lips.
“Money earned through sin is not of full value. We will take the difference in your arms. O, scale, commute the value.”
The sight of his severed arms dissolving into a haze of light was seared into the onlookers’ eyes.
With the young man foaming at the mouth on the ground at their feet, the soldiers spoke with truly pious expressions.
“Now, everyone. There is not much time left. Prove your innocence.”
*
Clang! Cla-clang!
“…What incredible durability. If this could be made into armor, it would change the tide of the war.”
Maris muttered, withdrawing the sword energy that had been flaring from her blade.
Contrary to her casual tone, her voice was laced with considerable impatience.
She had unleashed a barrage of attacks to create an escape route, but not a single scratch had appeared on the emerald-like wall.
Considering her slashes could cleave through steel as thick as a man’s waist, the wall’s resilience was so absolute it felt alien.
“Any other spots?”
“I’ve scouted the city outskirts, but I found no openings to slip through.”
“More than half of the support team managed to get outside the city, but the entire execution team is trapped.”
“This is about the second or third worst-case scenario.”
Maris had no choice but to admit her plan had been flawed.
The “show of force” she had anticipated from the Kingdom of Heaven was, at most, political pressure using the status of their priests or a physical siege with reinforcements.
She had never dreamed they would abruptly turn the entire city into a prison and subject every person inside to a trial.
It was a display of power beyond imagination, a move beyond comprehension.
The repercussions of this event, whether this was the will of the Lord of Justitia or someone higher up, under what conditions this mysterious ‘emerald wall’ could be used…
Countless questions flooded Maris’s mind, and she temporarily cut most of them off.
They would undoubtedly be important later, but they weren’t what she needed right now.
What she had to figure out now was how to break through this situation.
“Escape is impossible. Confessing my faults before the scale is… well, that’s out of the question.”
The problem wasn’t just that she would be dragging the name of the Lion Duke’s bloodline through the mud; the scale’s judgment was far more serious.
I don’t know the criteria.
If it ended with a simple fine, that would be one thing, but depending on the case, she might have to offer a part of her body—or even her life—as payment.
Who was to say they wouldn’t sentence her to death on some charge like, ‘the sin of causing this incident and bringing suffering to others’?
No matter how much the Lord of Justitia and his soldiers insisted on the scale’s impartiality, she couldn’t trust them.
So, what about fleeing without standing trial?
It was unknown what would happen if she failed to prove her innocence within the time limit, but given how things were going, it was clear the outcome wouldn't be pleasant. Besides, since she couldn’t leave the city, running and hiding forever had its limits.
In reality, only one option remained.
“—Gather everyone. We’re striking the Lord.”
*
Crack!
The Tin Knight’s Severing Flash left a long gash on the emerald wall.
But it was only for a moment.
As if fast-forwarding the formation of a stalactite, emerald spikes shot out, sealing the newly formed scar.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ complains that it can’t be broken through by physical means!]
It was possible to cut through the wall and create an entrance.
Even if the wall repaired itself, the Tin Knight had the power to attack with more force than it could regenerate.
The problem was the mana it would consume.
If he broke through the wall with brute force to enter the city, that act alone would evaporate most of his mana reserves.
Dorothea wasn’t here, and even if Sophia poured all her mana into him, it would barely fill half of the Tin Knight’s vessel.
In other words, he could break in, but he couldn’t get back out.
It might be possible if they combined their power with Adelaide’s inside, but there was no guarantee they would meet her immediately, nor that they wouldn’t need to use more mana once inside.
The Tin Knight carefully examined the wall before him.
It was roughly twice the height of a normal castle wall, its surface perfectly smooth except for the spot he had just struck.
In short, it was the worst possible condition for climbing.
If there were even a slight incline or some unevenness, it might be different, but the wall before him had neither.
He could try to create handholds and footholds by scarring the wall with sword energy, but that would consume just as much mana as a frontal assault.
As the Tin Knight pondered what to do, something came flying from the distant sky.
Caw.
It was a crow with strangely lifeless eyes.
A piece of paper was tied to its leg, which the crow extended toward the Tin Knight.
Unfurling the paper, he found a message scrawled in a strangely urgent hand.
The Tin Knight held the paper out to Sophia.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks for a translation!]
“It says, ‘I’m on my way, so don’t act rashly and wait just a little longer.’”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if the rendezvous point with Dorothea wasn’t quite far from here, to guard against potential pursuers!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders how Dorothea knew about the situation here!]
“I wonder. Perhaps it’s proof that our worrywart of a leader was keeping a close eye on this place all along.”
A brief silence followed.
Dorothea’s arrival would certainly improve the situation, but the question was how long it would take.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that separating from Adelaide seems to have been a mistake!]
“No, that decision itself wasn’t bad. If you were always by her side protecting her, Sir Tin, Lady Adel would never learn to stand on her own.”
“Therefore,” Sophia added.
“I will go in your stead. Could you send me inside?”
The Tin Knight froze for a moment.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ replies that while it might not work for Adelaide or Dorothea, it should be possible for Sophia!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ adds that it will just hurt. A lot!]
“It’s alright. I’m dull to pain, anyway.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if she didn’t just say it was dangerous inside!]
“That’s also alright. I’m immortal.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if it can really trust her!]
Sophia replied.
“Yes, please trust me.”