Your Excellency, I Am Being Framed!

Gode glanced at Deboning, who stood guard by Du Chen, and thought to himself, *No, Francis’s strength is commendable, showing significant progress since our last encounter. Yet, I can still easily discern his limits. While his sacred artifact is exceedingly peculiar and potent, he's likely still no match for me. Hmm, this tall, slender Titled Battle God is truly the ultimate powerhouse!* But he addresses Francis as 'Young Master.' Therefore, if I wish to learn a few tricks from him, it all comes back to Francis in the end! Gode stared at Deboning, his mental abacus clattering wildly with calculations.

On the side, Du Chen finished healing Leihaite and waved a hand at Deboning. "You may release Lord Hawkins now. I wish to know the full story of this incident. Both ethically and logically, you owe me an explanation, Lord Hawkins!"

Hawkins slumped weakly to the ground, letting out a cold snort. He glanced at Gode, who was still fixated on Deboning. "I've lost. You are stronger than me now. So be it, let's proceed according to your rules!"

Du Chen smiled. "Rules are irrelevant when fairness resides in the hearts of men! I have long held the Supreme Father God Orbach and the Undying Death God Lynch Baton in the highest reverence! Had your actions not been utterly outrageous, I would not have allowed Mr. Brook to intervene!"

Ordinarily, Hawkins might not have believed such words from Du Chen. However, just moments ago, when he and his nephew had pushed Du Chen to the brink, Du Chen had still repeatedly and respectfully addressed Orbach as the Sacred Emperor and Father God! Thus, his words now carried an intangible, much higher ring of truth.

Hawkins's expression softened considerably, no longer bearing the tragic grandeur of one determined to die.

"Lord Hawkins, could you please tell me first why you were so certain I stole the Beast Emperor’s Seal? That's an enormous charge, after all!" Du Chen spoke in the amicable, conversational tone of a friend.

Hawkins snorted. "I captured Susanna. She's a royal member of the beastmen, and the mastermind behind this incident! I even had several Spiritual Power-adept elders from my clan compel her to reveal the truth! Among the grave robbers at the time, one claimed to be the Thirteenth Master of York Town! That's you, Francis! Do you deny being the Thirteenth Master of York Town?" Glaring at Du Chen, he added, "Furthermore, someone on Battle God Isle saw your daughter playing with the Beast Emperor’s Seal as a toy!"

"Is that so?! We're not strangers here; it's true that by a stroke of serendipity, I became the Thirteenth Master of York Town! That part is indeed factual! But..."

"Hmph, your admission is enough!"

Du Chen offered a wry smile, waved a hand dismissively, and sighed forlornly. In a deep voice, he continued, "But, even if I am the Thirteenth Master of York Town, that doesn't prove I ever disrespected the Supreme Father God, does it?!" He paused, then slowly added, "And also, Lord Hawkins, you just mentioned my daughter playing with the Beast Emperor’s Seal as a toy? H-how could that be?! You must be mistaken!"

"Denial is useless! Several people truly saw it, including myself; your daughter was indeed playing with the Beast Emperor’s Seal as a toy! Are you implying I saw wrong too?!" Hawkins said indignantly!

"How could this be?! Are you absolutely certain you're not mistaken?" Du Chen seemed even more helpless. "By the way, could you describe the Beast Emperor’s Seal to me? I've never seen this Holy Relic of the Supreme Father God!"

After Hawkins coldly described it, Du Chen seemed utterly stunned. He reached into his sleeve, pulled out a "Beast Emperor’s Seal," and placed it before Hawkins. "Is this what you're referring to?"

Hawkins's gaze snapped to the "Beast Emperor’s Seal." "You truly are the thief!" He made to rise and strike Du Chen down, but with his combat power sealed, his robust physique couldn't exert much strength.

"Lord, please wait a moment. Are you certain this is *the* Beast Emperor’s Seal?" Du Chen asked.

Astonishment flooded Hawkins's mind. Could this Beast Emperor’s Seal be fake? He examined it carefully. *No, it seems authentic. The appearance is identical in every detail!*

"To prove my innocence, with the Supreme Father God as my witness, please forgive my presumption!" Du Chen abruptly tossed the "Beast Emperor’s Seal" to the ground! And then, the "Beast Emperor’s Seal" shattered!

Hawkins collapsed in that instant, driven to a frenzy. He rose again, poised to kill Du Chen. "You damnable thief, you actually destroyed our supreme Holy Relic! I will surely kill you..."

Du Chen loudly interjected, "Lord Hawkins, please calm yourself. Although I don't know the true Beast Emperor’s Seal, if it is indeed a relic of the beastmen's two true gods, then it must be incredibly hard, absolutely not something an ordinary person could destroy! Do you still not understand?"

"Indeed, the Beast Emperor’s Seal's raw material is..." Hawkins paused, then corrected himself, "Even if I were to use my clan's secret forbidden techniques, I couldn't destroy the Beast Emperor’s Seal!"

"Does everything before your eyes still not make it clear?!" Du Chen pointed to the shattered fragments of the Beast Emperor’s Seal on the ground. "Lord, this so-called Beast Emperor’s Seal, shattered into pieces with a mere drop from my hand. Could *this* possibly be a Holy Relic of the Supreme Father God?!"

Hawkins stared at Du Chen, dumbfounded, as if everything suddenly became clear. Du Chen shrugged. "This is just one of the toys my daughter plays with. Not long ago, my butler took my daughter for a stroll in the market and encountered an itinerant merchant selling gold and silver jewelry. At the time, that merchant sold my butler several pieces of jewelry at below market price, among which was this so-called 'Beast Emperor’s Seal'! And there wasn't just one; there were three of them in total. One was accidentally broken by little Beibei, my daughter, one remains on Battle God Isle, and the last one is the one I just shattered, which I used as a paperweight! Alas, though I knew the name 'Beast Emperor’s Seal,' I had never truly seen it and didn't know its true appearance. I simply thought it was an ordinary treasure, and to think I let my daughter play with it! This is my sin! May the Supreme Father God forgive me!"

Du Chen shook his head and sighed, then, after considering any potential flaws in his story, added, "Actually, after my butler purchased these items, I also examined them myself—I have a slight understanding of jewelry appraisal. I noticed that while these objects were quite valuable, their texture was soft; they were merely ordinary treasures. Thus, I never considered any other implications! Now, thinking back, it's highly probable that someone impersonated an itinerant merchant to deliberately frame me, to mislead the descendants of the Supreme Father God and the Undying Death God!"

"Damn it, could someone have fabricated many counterfeits!? To deliberately interfere with our investigation!?" Hawkins mused for a moment, then asked, "But wait, how do you explain Susanna's confession?! You are clearly the Thirteenth Master of York Town!"

"Susanna? I don't know any Susanna!" Du Chen waved his hand indignantly, as if suffering immense injustice. "Lord Hawkins, I am indeed the Thirteenth of York Town, but I have certainly never committed any act of blasphemy against the Supreme Father God!" Shaking his head, Du Chen 'calmed' himself and continued, "Please tell me, how did Susanna describe her accomplice?! Why are you so certain it was me, and not someone impersonating the Thirteenth Master?! Lord Hawkins, you are also a Divine Scion; do you truly believe the identity of 'Thirteenth Master of York Town' is one I would flaunt everywhere?!"

During his journey through the Great Plains, Du Chen had constantly worn the mask provided by Flaying after approaching Auerbach Canyon. At the time, he hadn't foreseen this day, merely wishing to conceal his identity. Yet, who would have thought that a small act of wearing a mask would bring such immense convenience today!

Hawkins snorted. "Golden hair and blue eyes, carrying a young girl, and accompanied by a Level Nine Master! Aren't these all your distinguishing features!?"

"Golden hair and blue eyes, carrying a young girl, accompanied by a Level Nine Master… such a person certainly sounds very much like me! But… Lord Hawkins, don't you find that your clues bear an uncanny resemblance to me?" Du Chen said, "Even the Beast Emperor’s Seal has been brazenly counterfeited, and with such striking similarity! Don't you find this entire affair rather peculiar? Or perhaps, consider this: Is it possible that someone else impersonated 'the Thirteenth Master of York Town'?! Very well, to investigate the whereabouts of the Supreme Father God's Holy Relic, I can make an exception this one time and confront Susanna. I'd like to see if, without little Beibei and Mr. Brook by my side, that Susanna will still claim I'm her accomplice!"

Since he had worn a mask at the time, Du Chen had no fear of a confrontation!

Hawkins was stunned for a long moment. Just then, his nephew, Leihaite, slowly awoke. Seeing himself, he was jolted. "Why am I not dead yet!? My strength has recovered by thirty to forty percent, Uncle, what's going on!?" He leaped up, eager to continue battling Du Chen!

"Leihaite, stop! Something is seriously amiss; we might truly have wronged Lord Francis!" Hawkins rebuked his nephew. Although he didn't fully believe it, he did put some faith in Du Chen's fabricated lies, after all, Du Chen's extraordinary reputation as a 'master thief who doesn't resort to crude methods' transcended common understanding!

Du Chen knew in his heart that a few mere words wouldn't fully convince Hawkins. However… the esteemed Divine Grant Earl Brockman had already taken the real Beast Emperor’s Seal; he would ensure Hawkins's complete belief!

And coincidentally, Brockman also had golden hair and blue eyes, and was a master of thievery… Du Chen suddenly realized that Brockman had many similarities to himself!

"Lord Hawkins, whether you believe it or not, someone is currently impersonating me to steal the Beast Emperor’s Seal, and afterward, even pretended to be an itinerant merchant to sell counterfeit Beast Emperor’s Seals to my butler. This matter now has an inseparable connection to me, and it is absolutely intolerable! I will certainly do my utmost to investigate this affair!" Du Chen declared righteously.

"Hmph, I will also investigate this matter. However, our Saint Baton Clan distinguishes clearly between grudges and favors. When we came to kill you, we accepted any casualties without complaint! But you saved my nephew's life; I've noted this favor—on the premise that you genuinely did not steal the Beast Emperor’s Seal!" Hawkins stated loudly!

"Good. Brook, please unseal Lord Hawkins!"

But Gode sidled closer. "Hehe, so Your Excellency's name is Brook! See, I even know your name now! So, could you tell me your Titled Battle God designation? I'm willing to pay three thousand pearls!"

Deboning flew into a rage, roaring, "I'll say it one last time: I have no designation!"

"You have no designation?"

"How is that possible!?"

Hawkins was as astonished as Gode. Hawkins said, "The strength with which you just defeated me, only a Titled Battle God could achieve that!"

"See? Even someone from the Saint Baton Clan has affirmed it. Still unwilling to tell?" Gode asked, grinning. Just then, General Tiger Shark, who had been guarding the perimeter, swam in, urgently exclaiming, "Your Highness, there's an emergency!"

"What emergency? It can wait! Can't you see I'm busy?" Gode waved an impatient hand, then, grinning, gazed at Deboning with a face full of adoration.

General Tiger Shark hesitated, then, seeing too many outsiders in the sea cave, stopped short of speaking his full mind. He could only vaguely say, "Your Highness, didn't you lead the Internal Guard Legion here for an important mission? Now, there have been some unexpected developments with your mission…"

"Oh, is it not about Mount Tianshan?" The young prince casually blurted out the Sea Clan's secret mission, then impatiently added, "These are all my friends! The Saint Baton Clan has been allied with our Sea Clan for a millennium, and these two are my good friends and… my future teachers! Speak your mind directly!"

General Tiger Shark secretly sighed, his gaze fixed on Du Chen. "Then I shall obey. Mr. Francis, this matter concerns you… because we've discovered the corpse of your teacher, Dean Zigurd's Divine Pet, the Tyran Beast Roxane, in the nearby sea!"

Roxane is dead? Du Chen clearly remembered hearing Roxane's groans before childbirth in the Hot Spring Mountain building just a few days ago, while he was carrying Cassian. How could she be dead after only a few days!?

"General, are you certain it's the Tyran Beast Roxane?" Du Chen still harbored some disbelief. After all, Roxane, who had been deep within the forbidden zone beneath Hot Spring Mountain just days ago, how could she have died in the vast ocean a day's journey from Battle God Isle!?

General Tiger Shark replied, "There can be no mistake. There are only two known Tyran Beasts in the world…" He saw Leihaite, whom Du Chen had pulled back from the brink of death, and suddenly paused, correcting himself, "Roxane still has one last breath, but the Military Priests say she has no chance of survival…"