Public Trial (Part 2)

This was also one of the reasons Huron was so furious yet powerless.

Even though, in his eyes, the nobles of Palatus could only be described as "beasts," as the sector capital of the Maelstrom Zone's only sector, their caliber was already above the average for nobles across the Imperium.

At the very least, with the Astral Claws' monastery floating overhead, they were still trying to maintain some semblance of decency, lest they offend the God-Emperor's angels.

Aside from that earlier noble rebellion involving the smuggling of psychic drugs in collusion with Xenos, Badab as a whole could be called "prosperous and peaceful," "a land of harmony."

This was not their own boast, but an objective evaluation by Imperial standards.

After all, around a Warp Rift like the Maelstrom, they had maintained peace across the entire planet for centuries, with only a single rebellion ever occurring.

By Imperial standards, this was already an indisputably exemplary world.

Because of this, Huron did not even dare imagine what kind of living hell the other Imperial Worlds must be.

On the tribunal platform, Odinson continued reading the sentence. "First charge: the Salome Family maintained a long-standing habit of cannibalism. Existing records show that each member of the Salome Family committed cannibalism an average of thirteen times per year. The recorded number of people murdered and consumed reached as high as 130,000."

The entire Hive City erupted. Even in the Underhive, only extremely dangerous Mutants ate people. Given a choice, most people would never eat human flesh.

Yet these nobles, who wanted for neither food nor clothing, had maintained a long-term habit of cannibalism?!

"Second charge: premeditated murder. Aside from the 130,000 victims who were eaten, we uncovered extensive records of the Salome Family hiring killers or carrying out murders personally. The total is too great to count, but at least over one million people died as a result. Most of these murders were committed for the sake of 'outdoor recreation.'"

"Third charge: negligent homicide. For years, the Salome Family sold counterfeit vitamin pills under the label of 'medical-grade vitamin pills.' Their price was enough to bankrupt Underhive residents, yet these fake medicines contained no active ingredients whatsoever. The number of deaths caused by them is impossible to determine, but sales records show that over several centuries, at least ten billion people purchased these fake drugs. Even optimistically estimated, several billion died because of them."

Though he called it optimistic, Odinson's expression was severe, cold as ice.

With Huron as such a shining example before him, Odinson often felt ashamed of his own actions during his time as Planetary Governor.

Although Huron repeatedly emphasized that he had the Emperor's blessing and could not be treated as an ordinary example, and that Odinson had already done very well, Odinson still believed that his tenure as Planetary Governor had been a failure.

But after seeing Palatus... no, after seeing Marcus Salome's criminal record alone, he suddenly realized that perhaps he was not as bad as he had imagined.

Though comparing himself to such beasts was itself an insult, Odinson suddenly felt relieved. Perhaps Chapter Master Huron was right. Maybe he had actually done fairly well.

By then, the audience below had fallen silent. Even the uproar caused by learning that the nobles had long eaten human flesh had faded away.

One unbelievable figure after another came from Odinson's mouth, shattering the audience's imagination.

Old John was among them. As a typical representative who had risen from the Underhive, he had naturally been invited to attend as a spectator.

Old John had thought himself well-traveled and experienced, but he had truly never encountered numbers like these.

The entire Auxilia now numbered only a few tens of millions. Even if all of them were used to fill in the Salome Family's crimes, they would not amount to even a fraction.

And these were only the Salome Family's crimes. There was no way the other great noble families had committed any less.

The thought made him shudder.

On the platform, Odinson gave the audience no time to process it and continued reading out the Salome Family's crimes: living sacrifices, torture killings, incitement to murder...

Every charge was followed by specific figures, but the audience was already somewhat numb. Their minds had overloaded, refusing to accept any more information.

At last, after more than an hour, the major crimes had been read out.

Odinson looked at Marcus, who was kneeling on the ground. "Stand up, criminal. Do you have anything else to say?"

Marcus had knelt for over an hour, and his legs were weak when he rose, but he still struggled to straighten his back. "My family was directly ennobled by Terra's Council of High Lords! All our authority was granted by the Imperium of Man! I am innocent! My family is innocent!"

Odinson remained expressionless. "Are you finished?"

Marcus suddenly became hysterical. "You are the heretics! The Astartes are forbidden from interfering in Mortel politics—this is the God-Emperor's decree! Heretics like you, who defy the God-Emperor, will sooner or later be judged by the Inquisition! You—"

"Enough." There was not the slightest expression on Odinson's face, yet Marcus's shouting came to an abrupt halt.

"Criminal Marcus refuses to repent. I hereby declare, in accordance with the Imperial Regulations and Imperial Law, that Marcus and his family are all heretics. All are sentenced to death. Execution shall commence immediately."

As Odinson delivered his judgment, the remaining members of the Salome Family were also escorted onto the tribunal platform. Several hundred people formed a dense black formation.

Most had been injected with muscle relaxants. Many wore Psychic Suppression Collars and were forced to kneel on the platform by Auxilia soldiers in exoskeletons.

"Ready." The Auxilia soldiers raised their Lasguns and aimed at their heads. "Fire!"

"Pew, pew, pew."

At Odinson's command, the Lasguns fired, directly roasting the Salome Family members' heads.

These people had undergone various forms of genetic enhancement. Ordinary-power Lasguns could at most boil their internal organs and could not produce an explosive effect.

But that was perfect for an execution, sparing everyone an excessively bloody spectacle.

After all, this ultra-high-definition recording would later become part of Badab's compulsory education. If it were too grotesque and bloody, the harmful effects on teenagers would be immeasurable.

Though several hundred people had suddenly died on the platform, the audience below did not stir.

Everyone was used to it by now. Even the few representatives from the Mid-hive and Upper Hive had witnessed collective executions more than once.

Once the sole great noble whose patriarch had been arrested had been judged, Odinson handed the scene over to another Astartes from his team.

The Astral Claws handled the trials of these great nobles because they were too distant from most people, and too few knew of their crimes. Only the Astral Claws could judge them in the name of the Emperor and the Imperium.

As for the minor nobles, along with the various merchants, factory owners, and others who had grown dependent on the nobility, they would be sentenced by the other ordinary courts.

When these lower courts held Public Trials, they would invite surviving victims to testify and accuse the defendants whenever possible, so as to inspire sympathy in others.

Rather than, as they had done here, simply overwhelming most people into numbness.