Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 952 - 206: The Path to Redemption Lies Within

Very well spoken, and quite compelling.

However...

To the sect leaders, this is hardly news.

They can even explain the miners' plight from a perspective unknown to them.

This is because Carlo has long turned the border city facing the empire in the Far West into a military stronghold; these miners are merely cogs in the machinery of those military factories, and naturally, no one cares about the survival of a single cog.

Next is Solari.

This Ascetic, who should have died in the border city but was widely reported, explained the situation at the time.

He confirmed the miners' testimony, elaborating on the events from another angle. He was confronting the officials of the Border Administration Bureau when assassins sent by Carlo pierced his heart. Were it not for the gaze of the Goddess of Life, he would have died there.

Moreover, the Spirit Mother of the Spirit Communication Sect, Yayouma, was freed from the magic Carlo imposed in her mind by Mary, allowing her to escape her puppet status and reveal the actions that occurred in the secret chamber of the Crown of Dawn Cathedral that day to everyone present.

The two heads brought by Veronica were the best evidence.

Proving that Carlo not only wantonly incited war but also attacked his allies, clearing away all opponents with extreme violence.

The appearance of all the witnesses and the presentation of all the evidence made Carlo's crimes irrefutable.

The jury remained silent, for they knew Carlo's crimes were far more than that. Just what they had witnessed included their colleagues cruelly murdered by Carlo and transformed into three-headed spider monsters at the Praise Sanctuary.

Yet, Carlo, trapped in the "birdcage", remained indifferent throughout, never refuting a single word, merely scrutinizing all present with a cold smile amidst their accusations.

"Carlo, do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Mary noticed Carlo's cold smile and asked.

"Foolish, truly foolish."

Carlo smirked, a pitying gaze sweeping over everyone present, including the persecuted miners, maintaining his lofty arrogance without diminishing, "Your short-sightedness well deserves the suffering you endure! The apocalypse is upon us, yet you unwittingly become accomplices of the Evil God. Do you still not understand? Everything you face now is orchestrated by the Evil God!"

Unlike these ignorant people, Carlo gradually understood everything. He looked again at Mary, the unexpected figure once hailed as the reincarnation of the "Goddess of Life."

"And you, Mary, you are no different, failing to see this is the Evil God's plot."

He completely ignored the witnesses' accusations, questioning Mary instead, "How do you think the Evil God plans to destroy this world? By dropping a meteor from the sky to obliterate cities? Or unleashing a plague that infects everyone? No, there's no need for such trouble. They simply allow these short-sighted, ignorant people to seize power, and for the truly noble — just like how they once dealt with Julius! Clearly, they've already succeeded, yet you remain ignorant, merrily indulging in this revelry alongside the Evil God's followers!"

"So that's why you're so eager to start a war."

The unexpected response left Carlo startled, as he turned to look at a young man dressed in formal attire.

The young man, unbeknownst to him, had stepped onto the witness stand. His demeanor was calm, starkly contrasting the angry and hateful accusations, as if narrating events completely irrelevant to him.

"Ave told me you're not someone who's swayed by emotions, a fool who'd throw an egg against a rock. Thus, she believed your decision to start a war now must mean you possess some unknown trump cards."

Ethan said, "So I've been pondering, Carlo, what exactly is your trump card? Until I came to the Crown of Dawn Cathedral and witnessed all you've done, did I realize Ave was mistaken."

Carlo paused upon hearing this.

In his view, just now, those accusing him were merely a bunch of short-sighted ignorant people. Yet, before this young man, he sensed his true intentions being seen through.

"You never intended to win this war; the outcome of this war doesn't concern you."

"Ethan... Witness, please don't keep us in suspense!"

Mary hammered the table with a gavel, reminding Ethan.

"Yes, Your Honor, once the empire and the Far West go to full-scale war, regardless of the course and outcome, hundreds of thousands will die. Where there's war and death, hatred festers — the soil from which the Evil God once thrived. The empire is such, fueled by hatred for Julius' tyranny, in recent years, Bazatous' followers within the empire have multiplied by tens of times."

"You mean, he's trying to increase the number of the Evil God's followers?"

"He aims to do something even Julius never considered — for this, he needs vast amounts of hatred, as well as those hundreds of thousands of bodies and souls."

Every word Ethan spoke struck at Carlo's heart, leaving him no longer lofty, his expression increasingly grim.

Someone actually stood at the same height as him, seeing through to his true intent.

"To let the disaster of the Crimson Epoch unfold once more, using it as the gateway to the Seventh Epoch."

Mary's expression grew somber.

She asked, "What does he want all those bodies and souls for?"

Suddenly, she was a bit confused. Ethan's series of statements turned Carlo from an ambitious tyrant into a madman with antisocial personality.

Could it be that this person merely delights in bringing suffering to the world?

"In doing so, he can become the new God."

Ethan said, "Absorb the nutrients of the Goddess of Life, become her, replace her. This is the 'Return' you've promised everyone. Am I right, Carlo?"