Chapter 26.3 - Crazy
Since he knew the one that was coming was Madeline, Old Fabregas decided to no longer put on any airs and dropped his idea of changing slowly. He quickly changed clothes, and he immediately gave an order while still changing that no one should act blindly without thinking.
In the plaza in front of the castle, there were already almost a hundred Fabregas family members and armed guards. Most of them had never met Madeline before, but they had all heard about her. Rumor had it that this was the demon empress that turned the town of trial that was enshrouded in eternal night into the underworld. Some people might not be able to recognize the distinctive characteristics of her symbol, but the tank’s dark black scales were a symbol that everyone recognized within the Blood Parliament’s range of power.
Even though there were some that didn’t recognize either of these, the death god like Madeline who enveloped this entire place with thick killing intent was still enough to remind them who the true dictator here was.
The fighters were at a loss for what to do. They didn’t dare point their guns at Madeline, but since they had their duty to fulfill as well, they couldn’t simply back off. They could only point the weapons in their hands uselessly at the tanks. The youngsters here were fearful, but they also sneaked looks at Madeline with excitement. For them, Madeline’s appearance was just as famous as her terrifying reputation. Unfortunately, as they looked at her from below, half of her face was covered by the heavy armor with spikes piercing out from it. As such, they couldn’t verify the rumors for themselves. However, the long gray hair that danced about in the wind and scattered down silvery light was exactly the same as the rumors.
Madeline stood there unmoving, waiting for Old Fabregas’ appearance. When giving the enemy time to show themselves, she was always extremely patient. For example, this time, she gave Old Fabregas an entire minute to prepare himself.
When her time limit had reached the very end, Old Fabregas finally appeared at the castle’s main entrance. He didn’t walk forward and instead stood at the edge of a flight of stairs. From this height, he seemed to be just as high as Madeline who stood on top of the tanks. Even though many of his family’s important figures were standing behind him, there were almost four hundred people in the plaza in front of the castle, including over two hundred fully armed fighters. The gatling guns and guided missiles hidden within the castle were already aimed at the two tanks and the four armed off-road vehicles behind them. Meanwhile, on Madeline’s side, even though the armed tanks served as mounts, they were stuffed full of people, so their numbers weren’t less than twenty.
Despite it being on a scale of ten to one, Old Fabregas still didn’t feel the slightest sense of security.
In front of his many clansmen, Old Fabregas’ body was perfectly straight. In a heavy voice, he shouted, “Your distinguished self Madeline, what is the reason for such a crude entry into Larven Forest Manor? Your methods for dealing with rebels or heresy is not applicable to the Fabregas family. Any accusations against us must first pass through the parliament. Even if we were in the Trial Division right now, you are just one of the three giants, so your voice does not equate the majority opinion. I hope that your esteemed self can clearly understand this point! If you cannot give me a suitable explanation right now, then I will have to apologize in advance!”
Old Fabregas’ voice was resounding and powerful, slightly easing the minds of everyone who were losing their heads out of fear. Many people became clear-headed again. It turns out that Madeline only brought a dozen or so people here.
Madeline didn’t seem to pay these words that questioned her authority during trials any attention. Her azure eyes flickered with dangerous flames within the darkness. Her eyes fixated onto Old Fabregas, and one word after another, she said, “I came to tell you that in the future, you are not allowed to touch Su.”
“Su?”
Old Fabregas was quite shocked. He never expected that a second lieutenant who wasn’t some important figure at all would have some relationship with Madeline. Could it be that Persephone went to her for help? This was quite a possibility. Everyone knew that Persephone and Madeline were just as close as sisters in the past. However, back then, Madeline was a bright and shining little girl. After her two years in the Trial Division, she had become a demon king in and out. It was even a bit hard for Old Fabregas to believe that the one standing in front of him was a girl that had not even reached sixteen years of age. During these two years, under Madeline’s control, the Trial Division became more and more a shadow that covered the hearts of everyone. It was unknown whether it was the Trial Division’ dark inheritance that darkened Madeline, or whether she pushed this dark inheritance even a step further.
However, this didn’t affect Old Fabregas’ decision. The Trial Division was still under the Blood Parliament, while the seats the Fabregas family occupied in the parliament weren’t few. As such, not even a general of the Black Dragonriders or one of the three giants of the Trial Division could act excessively against them.”
Old Fabregas resolutely refused. “That’s impossible! You have to understand, Su killed…”
“So it’s impossible?” Madeline said with a low voice.
Her eyes widened slightly, and her eyebrows that were like the point of a sword gradually rose. Her gray long hair frantically flew about, and the engravings on ‘Death Prison’ lit up one after another. The blood radiance that drizzled out made the hearts of others palpitate. Then, sparks were released from the countless sharp spikes covering her armor!
A layer of cold sweat suddenly covered Old Fabregas’ back. He immediately knew that he made a huge mistake! His original way of thinking wasn’t wrong, but what was in front of him wasn’t a Black Dragonrider general, or one of the three giants from the Trial Division. Standing on top of the tanks was Madeline!
Madeline never wavered in her decision, and she definitely wouldn’t try to reason. Seeing the pair of eyes that shone like deep blue flames stare into him, Old Fabregas was convinced that even if all two hundred armed members of the family were able to hit Madeline, that would still definitely be after that Death Prison with the frightening reputation sliced through his own waist!
Under the banner of the Blood Parliament, there was no lack of people who possessed more strength than Madeline, but as for those that acted as crazy as she did, there was none!
Old Fabregas’ forehead immediately dripped with sweat. His brain was frantically operating, thinking of way to neutralize the danger. However, every single method required too many words, to the point where the idea alone was immediately rejectected. The only way was to immediately agree to Madeline’s request. However, if this was a process where not a single bit of haggling was allowed, how could this be considered politics? Moreover, he had just rejected Madeline’s request, so how could he immediately compromise after one side made a move? How was this any different from kneeling and begging for forgiveness?
Just as Old Fabregas was stuck in an impasse and was on the verge of settling the resolve to engage in a fight to the death, Madeline seemed to suddenly remember something. A flash of hesitation appeared within her eyes.
Then, the Death Prison in her hands became like a fiend that had sniffed the smell of blood. It screamed with buzzing sounds and began to rise on its own!
“Wait a moment!” From the distance, a bright and clear voice that couldn’t be covered by even the roaring of the engines sounded.
Peperus’ bike rushed out from the darkness with the fastest speed it could reach. Borrowing force from a slope that wasn’t too steep, the entire bike flew high into the air, crossing the flower garden that had been crushed to ruins and arrived in front of the castle. The bike suddenly leaned to the side, and the wheels screamed out sharply. The friction with the ground created strands of green smoke, and after making more than ten circles, it finally stopped.
Before the bike completely stopped moving, Peperus tossed it onto the ground. She herself softly leapt up and landed on the back of one of the tanks Madeline stood on.
“You cannot take action!” Peperus suppressed her voice and hurriedly said. Madeline’s eyebrows furrowed. She was already gripping the enormous sword tightly, and ‘Death Prison’ she previously held backwards was already pointed towards the sky!
“If you kill all of these people, what will you do after? Will you wait for the parliament’s ruling after leaving this place? Su still needs ten days of H2101 injection!” Peperus’ words were just like a bowl of water that gradually restrained the flames within Madeline’s eyes.
Peperus immediately grabbed this moment of hesitation to walk in front of the tank. In a clear voice, she said, “Respectable Mister Fabregas, I believe her majesty Madeline had already clearly declared her intent. From what I understand, your esteemed self has already carried out two operations against Second Lieutenant Su, and there was no fairness to speak of in the second operation. Even if this was for the sake of the hatred with Laiknar’s incident, this type of revenge should have already far exceeded the proper limit. We should stop at this point. If there is another similar incident from today forth, we will have no choice but to consider you an enemy of the Trial Division. At that time, everything that happens will be the Fabregas family’s responsibility!”
Peperus’ words weren’t enough to make Old Fabregas become overjoyed, but it was still acceptable. This was the political domain that he was familiar with and good at. Moreover, the price for the two operations aimed at Su was already a bit difficult to support. If there wasn’t the sweet fruit of Persephone to pluck after, Su’s persistence that was starting to become a bit frightening already made Old Fabregas have thoughts of abandoning all plans to deal with Su.
“Even though your words do not conform with etiquette, it is still in accordance with the regulations. I will allow the parliament to decide this matter, and before the parliament makes a decision, I can promise that I will temporarily stop all plans in dealing with Su.” Old Fabregas spoke with a powerful tone, and as such, even words that represented complete powerlessness sounded a bit less uncomfortable.
“Your distinguished self, what is your opinion…” Peperus’ asked Madeline in a soft voice.
Madeline seemed rather unwilling, but she still slowly nodded, indicating her approval for Peperus’ suggestion. However, the blood red engravings on her sword didn’t dim in the slightest. Peperus’ chest couldn’t help but clench. She had already followed Madeline for over two years, so she naturally knew what this meant. Madeline’s killing intent hadn’t disappeared. She was purposely showing weakness to allow a murder opportunity to present itself.
No one from the Fabregas family expected that the vicious and unreasoning Madeline would so easily accept the conditions without unleashing a slaughter. In their eyes, Madeline’s domineering action before was all a bluff.
When everyone’s hearts that had seemed to clog their throats finally dropped again, everyone felt rather exhausted. A crack for their originally shrewd way of thinking was opened. At this time, many people’s minds became once again filled with their traditional mindset as well as anger. They forgot Madeline’s position as one of the three giants of the Trial Division, and instead recalled that she was just an extremely young and beautiful girl. They began to feel more and more shameful towards their previous confusion and timidness. They were the children of the glorious four great families, so how could they fear a woman?