Keeping Calm in a Crisis: Change the Subject First

With his martial spirit possessing him, Zhou Qing's heart pounded like thunder, his blood surged like a raging river, his qi and blood resonated with his soul power, and every hair on his body stood on end in a fit of rage!

An invisible aura surged forth, stunning the entire audience.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Zhou Qing put away his Martial Soul and, with the demeanor of a martial arts champion, said loudly, "Now, let's not talk about the relationship between the Spirit Hall and the Two Great Empires. We are all small people. If we were to discuss the affairs between big people, they would probably laugh their heads off if they heard it."

"Now, let's consider one question—"

"Dales! Lord of Falling Star City! Is he truly colluding with the Fallen Ones?"

Suddenly, the atmosphere at the scene reversed again.

"Right!"

Norman quickly chimed in, "Dales, stop talking nonsense. Let's get one thing straight: did you collude with the Fallen Ones?!"

"Absolutely not!"

Fake Dales was intimidated by Zhou Qing's fierce aura, his body trembled slightly, and for a moment he forgot to change the subject, trying his best to prove himself.

"Then what is this?"

Norman held up the letter, the handwriting on it was indeed Dales's!

"Someone must be framing me!"

The Fake Dales glared fiercely at the servants, his intelligence returning, and he cursed, "These people aren't content with colluding with the Fallen Ones, they also have to frame me! They're utterly wicked! Guards, arrest them and execute them on the spot!"

"Wait! Dales, why are you in such a hurry to kill people?" Norman was not going to let these witnesses die, and ordered the Soul Master of the Spirit Hall to block them in front.

"Norman! Why are you protecting these guys who are connected to the Fallen Ones? Could it be that your Spirit Hall is also connected to the Fallen Ones, so you're crying 'stop thief' because you're the thief?"

In an instant, the Fake Dales found another opportunity to pin a label on Norman and steer the conversation back to the Spirit Hall.

"You!"

Norman was furious.

"Cough cough!"

Zhou Qing sighed, realizing that Norman was a man of strong character who would not tolerate anyone slandering the Spirit Hall in the slightest. He knew that no matter how much he reminded him, as long as this fake Dales brought up the topic of the Spirit Hall, he would lose his temper. So he prepared to be more direct:

"Lord Dales, please don't change the subject. Right now, what we need is for you to prove your innocence and convince everyone present, not to bring up the topic of whether the Spirit Hall is related to the Fallen Ones. Even if it is, that's a matter for Xue Ye and Star Luo Great Emperor to consider, not something a mere city lord of Falling Star City like you can concern yourself with."

"Moreover, I think the issue that everyone is most concerned about right now is whether you have colluded with the Fallen Ones, rather than other messy topics."

After hearing this, Norman was stunned, finally understanding why Dales always slandered the Spirit Hall.

To change the subject!

The Fake Dales looked at Zhou Qing with a hint of fear in his eyes.

this···

Is he really a six-year-old child?

The others present also more or less realized the extent of Zhou Qing's power, and thus echoed his sentiments:

"That's right! We need to know the truth now!"

"Lord of the city, I believe you are innocent! But you must prove yourself!"

"······"

The Fake Dales' face darkened, and he snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to rebel? And Norman! What can you do if I can't prove it? What dare you do?"

Since I can't win an argument, I'll have to resort to shamelessness.

Regardless, Dales is the lord of the city!

Since he cannot prove his innocence, it is not up to the Spirit Hall to judge him!

"There's really nothing we can do, but I can invite you to sit at my Spirit Hall Branch. Once the higher-ups of the Star Luo Empire and the higher-level Spirit Hall send relevant personnel over, we can conduct a more detailed investigation," Norman said in a calm voice.

"Heh, are you trying to put me under house arrest? What if I don't come as a guest?" The Fake Dales waved his hand, and the soldiers who originally belonged to Falling Star City, no matter how hesitant they were, could only obey his orders.

For the soldiers, military orders are absolute. Even if Dales really colluded with the Fallen Ones, as long as he was still the city lord, they had to obey him.

The remaining Soul Master from the Spirit Hall Branch surrounded Norman, confronting him directly.

The last twenty or thirty adventurers, though verbally siding with Norman, took no real action and stood on the other side with Luo Xing.

With both sides possessing comparable military strength, neither dared to make a rash move.

"This concerns the Fallen Ones. Even though my Spirit Hall cannot interfere in the management of Falling Star City, we have no choice but to break the rules for the safety of the residents of Falling Star City." Norman did not back down. The Spirit Hall Soul Master around him either Martial Soul Possession or released their Martial Soul. White and yellow Soul Ring floated around them, as if Dales did not agree.

The Fake Dales' expression changed.

This is the last thing he wanted to see.

Although his side had a larger number of people, nearly half of them were not yet level 10 Soul Power Soul Scholar, just ordinary soldiers. If a real battle broke out, it would definitely be a one-sided situation.

His own fighting ability is also inferior to that of the real Dales.

Moreover, there was also a fence-sitter on the scene: Luo Xing. This guy was best at changing sides depending on the wind. Once he realized that his side was unreliable, he would definitely lead the adventurers to join the other side.

"Mr. Norman, why don't you listen to me?"

Zhou Qing stepped forward and said, "Since the city lord can't prove his innocence, and we're worried that he might pull some other tricks if this goes on, how about we, the adventurers from Nuoding City, keep an eye on him?"

"How do you look at it?"

Norman and the Fake Dales were both curious.

"Until the higher-ups of the Star Luo Empire and the higher-ranking Spirit Hall personnel arrive, we will temporarily stay with Dales and be responsible for monitoring him. After all, judging from the information in this letter you have, the people who attacked the Xiao Manor in Nuoding City seem to be connected to Dales as well..."

"It has absolutely nothing to do with me!"

The Fake Dales interrupted Zhou Qing directly.

"But the existing evidence all points to you, the greatest hero city lord in the history of Falling Star City."

Zhou Qing crossed his arms and Bowing Body slightly, his words filled with suspicion. "You and Mr. Norman don't seem to get along, and Mr. Luo Xing is a local of Falling Star City, so he's bound to be biased towards you. Therefore, it's up to us, the non- Falling Star City residents, to monitor you."

"After all, we also accepted the adventure mission from the Nuoding Guild, and we are determined to give justice to Xiao Lang, the greatest city lord in Nuoding City's history."

"Moreover, since we are outsiders, we are bound to be more objective than all the natives of Falling Star City present, and will not be biased by any personal emotions!"

Fake Dales's mouth twitched.

objective?

Yeah, right!

Otherwise, you wouldn't have beaten the real city lord to a pulp before you even set off!

But it seems he doesn't have a better option right now...