The Guillotine

The noisy arguments and whispers continued, but due to the Bosk Family's millennia-old accumulated power, not a single person dared to stand up.

Mezhuolash scanned the crowd below, some trembling with fear, others with panic, his pure black eyes narrowing slightly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public trial of the kingdom. You may exercise your powers freely without any fear."

Hehehe

Suddenly, laughter came from the high platform.

Holleren, who had been silent all along, raised his head with a trembling gait, a wanton smile spreading across his blood-stained face.

"Evil Dragon Kin, your schemes will never succeed."

"Strasbourg will forever be the territory of the Bosk Family. The blood of the lion will never submit!"

"I am Holleren Bosque, the eldest son of Grand Duke Leo. No one but my father has the right to judge me!"

Holleren spat out blood-stained saliva and cursed Mezhuolash as if he were risking his life.

"You're courting death, aren't you?"

Mezhuolash wiped the blood from his face, his expression showing no anger whatsoever, but instead calmly asked in return.

"You want to be like those epic stories, killed while fighting against the enemy, and ultimately become a hero remembered by all."

Unfortunately, I will not grant your wish.

Mezhuolash shook his head slightly and slowly walked to Holleren's side.

"Let me tell you—you will become a sinner judged by the people, nailed to the pillar of historical shame, a laughing stock in your family history, and the beginning of the complete demise of the Northern Nobles."

Tiefling's words were low and deep, like the whispers of the devil, echoing in his ears.

Holleren struggled to lift his head, glaring at Tiefling through gritted teeth.

"You're delusional!"

"The resilient Scania People will not believe your nonsense!"

Immediately, a mocking sneer appeared on Mezhuolash's face.

Is it really as you say?

Tiefling turned around, drew the longsword from his waist, and held it high in the sunlight.

"In the name of the Duke of the Embers of the Burned Kingdom, I promise you all that anyone who participates in the public trial and whose accusations are true will not bear any responsibility afterward!"

"And"

His tone was impassioned, and he suddenly paused.

"You still have a chance to receive a share of the Marquis Holleren Bosque's property, in accordance with the laws of the kingdom."

Immediately, the crowd erupted in commotion once again.

That's the property of the Marquis of the the North, the eldest son of Grand Duke Leo!

Holleren owned countless estates and mines, and the amount of Gold Coin stored in the Marquis's mansion alone would be unimaginable to ordinary people.

Faced with enormous profits, even the power of nobles becomes insignificant.

Among the crowded throng, many were already eager to try their luck and were ready to take the plunge.

"Mean!"

"You, you are instigating a riot!"

Holleren, bound to the wooden frame, let out a desperate roar, but Mezhuolash didn't even glance at him.

"S-lord!"

"I... I have committed a crime and I want to file a complaint!"

A trembling male voice suddenly rang out.

People turned their attention to the speaker, a simply dressed middle-aged man.

His rough hands were tangled together, his face was covered in sweat from extreme tension, and even his lips were a little pale, but it couldn't hide the deep hatred in his eyes.

"May I have your name?"

"Lululen, Lulun. Pierce, a merchant from the east of the city."

"Speaking."

Mezhuolash's face lit up with joy, and he gestured for the man to speak.

"Holleren, no, Holleren Bosque, he led his soldiers and looted all the money and food from my shop under the name of ' Great Conscription '."

"His knights also kidnapped my wife and daughter on charges of disrespecting nobles!"

At first, Luren's words were somewhat hesitant, but as he continued speaking, his tone became increasingly loud and angry.

"I thought they were in prison, so I chased after them desperately and tried to raise money to ransom them."

"Finally, I found their bodies at the army camp outside the city; they had been tortured to death."

By the end, his voice was hoarse.

Luren's eyes were filled with tears.

Finally, as if to release his pent-up emotions, he grabbed a handful of dirty snow and mud from the ground and hurled it at Holleren on the high platform.

"Smack!"

Holleren, standing on the high platform, was covered in dirty snow and mud, looking disheveled and lacking any of the demeanor of Northern Nobles.

"Nonsense!"

"This is blatant slander!"

"That bastard accepted the dragon's Gold Coin!"

Holleren, disheveled, cursed at Luren below the stage, wishing he could kill him on the spot.

He was a marquis, and had never been so insulted!

And in front of tens of thousands of people! Holleren didn't realize: the nightmare had only just begun.

The Bosque Duchy has always been more orderly than other the North states, but even so, many horrific things still happened during this infamous "Great Conscription".

After all, soldiers of this era never reason.

After hearing Luren's words, everyone present sighed with emotion, some even shedding tears, while many more were ignited with anger.

More importantly, with Luren taking the lead and setting an example, they no longer have any worries and can speak freely.

It can be said that one stone stirs up a thousand waves.

"I also have crimes to be accused of!"

"Me too!"

"His knights smashed my house!"

"They killed my mother!"

"They stole our winter food and my son starved to death!"

At this moment, justice and evil, dragons and nobles, no longer matter.

People need to vent.

They were filled with righteous indignation, and in this public trial, they rushed to accuse the Northern Nobles of their crimes and recount the past events that they had kept silent about.

Trischka and Holleren were the two main leaders of the "Great Conscription".

In order to impress the Duke, they often took the lead and personally led soldiers to collect grain and military expenses.

Now that Earl Trischka is dead, Marquis Holleren Bosque has become the only outlet for people's hatred.

The crowd erupted into a frenzied, furious atmosphere. Mud, branches, and even stones were constantly being thrown onto the stands, aimed at the Marquis Holleren.

"No"

"You lowly scoundrels, you traitors!"

"How could you have survived until now without the Bosk Family?"

However, the cheers of the crowd drowned out his feeble rebuttals, and no one cared what he said anymore.

Holleren Bosque was in a sorry state. He was tied to a wooden frame, covered in wounds and filth, and his blood-stained face showed a ferocious expression, showing no trace of his so-called lion bloodline.

In people's eyes, he seemed no different from those criminals.

Finally, Mezhuolash raised his voice and declared, "By the public trial of the people of Strasbourg, Holleren Bosque has been found guilty of a series of crimes, including murder, embezzlement, bribery, and robbery."

"Holleren Bosque, as a spokesperson for the evil the North regime, committed extremely serious crimes and displayed an extremely vile attitude. He was convicted of multiple offenses and ultimately sentenced."

Mezhuolash paused deliberately, wanting to make everyone present feel more involved.

"Death penalty! Death penalty!"

The angry crowd below the stage shouted.

Only when the sound coalesced into a tidal wave did he utter the last two words:

"Death penalty."

The Tiefling Guard stepped forward, lifted the cloth covering the guillotine, and then escorted Holleren over.

Holleren struggled incessantly, roaring furiously with a ferocious expression.

No, no

"You bastards, you have no right to judge me!"

"Traitors! You are all traitors!"

But all the struggles and resistance were in vain. Under the forceful actions of the Tiefling, the marquess was still taken to the guillotine.

Even at the very last moment, Holleren still managed to lift his head.

"I am the chieftain of Grand Duke Leo— "

"Snap!"

Before the words were finished, a crisp sound rang out.

Immediately following was the sight of a gleaming, blood-stained blade, splattering blood, and a wave of cheers erupting from the audience.

Under the kingdom's deliberate guidance, the people of Strasbourg broke the aloofness of the Northern Nobles.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

The slanted trapezoidal blade on the guillotine was hoisted up again, and drops of crimson blood dripped from its edge. The sharp blade gleamed in the sunlight, appearing somewhat dazzling.