Misunderstanding, Heh Heh, An Accident!

Harry flinched at Du Chen's command, stammering meekly, "Ver—Versailles Palace? Master, that's Lanning's Imperial Palace, and your Wyvern Carriage also carries a Sacred Artifact Cannon… Flying over Lanning's Imperial Palace with sacred artifacts of war, this, this…"

"Do you believe your master is unqualified to fly over the Palace of Versailles?" Du Chen narrowed his eyes, casting a sidelong glance at Harry!

"Harry, Harry will prepare immediately!" Harry's plump head almost disappeared into his collar as he turned to ready the carriage for landing.

Was Du Chen qualified to fly over the Palace of Versailles? The Papal Curia's Nine Godfathers are equivalent to princes, standing on equal footing with Bargnar! As the living representative of the New God, it is stipulated by the Holy Church's Code that kings of all nations must personally welcome Du Chen, the Divine, wherever he descends!

Was Du Chen unqualified?!

At the Lanning Imperial Palace, Bargnar's face was wreathed in fury, his brows tightly furrowed. Prime Minister Antoine, who had just returned from Saint Sigurd Cain Estate, stood solemnly with hands clasped, bowing his head in silence—he had just conveyed Arges's unyielding stance to His Majesty.

"Arges is too obstinate! To exchange a hereditary prince and three thousand *li* of territory for his eldest son, who has indeed committed a crime, and he still refuses such a good offer?!" Bargnar snorted heavily!

"Your Majesty, calm your anger!" Antoine spoke softly, "Steve's crimes are heinous, and he must be punished! However, Your Majesty, you also mentioned in the Secret Convocation last night that a war with McAllen is inevitable! Since war is imminent, then Marshal Arges, who defended against the Beastkin for twenty years, understands their campaigning strategies intimately, and even once defeated the Beastkin, becomes crucial. At this moment, it is truly unwise to completely fall out with Arges!"

"Not fall out?! Hmph, I am the ruler, he is the subject! Now this Grand Marshal, whom I personally groomed, is throwing a tantrum with me, actually blackmailing the cabinet—if Steve is not released, his Sigurd Legion will not mobilize! Damn him!" Bargnar smashed the wine glass on the desk with a *smash*, making no effort to conceal his rage before his trusted confidante, Antoine.

"Does he, Arges, think that I, Lanning, have only him as a renowned general, only him with a heavy-armored, battle-grade legion?!" Bargnar furiously tossed aside a yellow scroll. "Write an imperial decree for me, an ultimatum to Arges: either give up Steve and honestly prepare his troops for war, or await the decline of the Saint Sigurd Cain family! That's the gist of it, choose your words carefully! Also, tell the Department of Rites to send Steve to the execution pyre tomorrow—no, tonight!"

Antoine quietly picked up the yellow scroll, but then placed it back on Bargnar's desk. Taking the opportunity to lean closer to Bargnar, he whispered in the lowest voice, "Your Majesty, please reconsider… Steve absolutely cannot be killed, at least not now! The Holy Church had hinted to the cabinet that Steve's life should be temporarily spared!"

"The Holy Church? Hmph, this is the Palace of Versailles! The Holy Church can only hint; they dare not brazenly interfere in my internal affairs. Regardless of them…"

*Dong! Dong! Dong!*

The three chimes made Bargnar and Antoine's faces change simultaneously!

Antoine abruptly ripped off his Prime Minister's robes, revealing the Battle God armor underneath, and bellowed, "Versailles Guards, why have the alarm bells been rung?!"

Almost immediately after the alarm sounded, a dozen black-robed elders appeared beside Bargnar. And looking closely, his shadow actually split into three, each moving differently—Versailles Shadow Warriors!

"Your Majesty, a Wyvern Carriage is flying over the Palace of Versailles! It carries sacred artifacts of war beneath its hull!"

Antoine demanded, "Then what are you hesitating for? Shoot it down!"

"But Prime Minister, the insignia on the Wyvern Carriage is that of Du Chen, the New God, to whom the Holy Church offered tribute just last month! Until the other party shows clear hostility, the Versailles Guards cannot intercept, much less attack a divine effigy of the Holy Church!"

Du Chen?! Isn't that the God represented by Francis?! So that's it!

Antoine gave a bitter smile, thinking to himself, *This little fox is truly cunning. Knowing that Steve's crimes are unforgivable, and pleading would be useless, he… he actually takes a hard line with His Majesty! Using a powerful stance to compel His Majesty to temporarily refrain from killing Steve…*

"Your Majesty, it was a false alarm. The Wyvern Carriage flew over the Palace of Versailles and has landed at Saint John Cathedral…"

The drums of the Palace of Versailles boomed, announcing the all-clear, and the massive palace seemed to collectively exhale in relief. Only Bargnar's face was livid!

Antoine thought, *This is for the best! Francis is using the Holy Church's might to exert pressure, and Arges is also employing his 'clumsy method' of subtle resistance. Perhaps this will truly make His Majesty more wary, and not deal with the Saint Sigurd Cain family so rashly—my greatest ally in these murky waters of Lanning…*

Du Chen landed in the courtyard behind Saint John Cathedral. As he stepped out of the Wyvern Carriage, his scoundrel-like, menacing demeanor vanished, replaced by the gentle and refined, warm and benevolent smile of 'Glory of Saint John'.

Ferdinand, who had already seen the Wyvern Carriage arrive, was waiting there. He raised a purple eyebrow slightly, smiling, "Brother Francis, long time no see. You've become even more prominent than your old brother!"

*The old geezer is already calling me 'brother'!*

Du Chen replied with a smile, "What are you saying, old brother? It's all thanks to His Holiness the Pontiff's grace that Francis is where he is today!" The two walked arm in arm into the inner chambers. After exchanging pleasantries, Ferdinand suddenly lowered his voice, "Brother, the news of your promotion to Godfather hasn't spread yet. Bargnar only knows you as a Divine Envoy of Du Chen's Divine Cult, a White-Robed Archbishop! Also… it's best not to mention the Holy Church's 'support' for your territory development within Saint John City!"

Du Chen nodded slightly; he naturally understood the intricacies of such matters.

Ferdinand burst out laughing, "Little brother, did your Wyvern Carriage just fly over the Palace of Versailles? The Versailles alarm bells have rung! Heh heh, His Majesty Bargnar will surely send someone to inquire. Will you explain yourself, or shall your old brother explain for you?!"

Du Chen shrugged innocently, his face feigning alarm, "Oh, my! Old brother, you simply *must* explain for me! After all, my Wyvern Carriage is pulled by beasts. Just now, a few of those beasts suddenly went berserk, carrying the Sacred Artifact Cannon—powerful enough to raze Lanning's Grand Council Hall to the ground—over the Imperial Palace… I'm still trembling with fear! It was a misunderstanding, an accident, truly!"

Ferdinand feigned understanding, "Oh, so it was a misunderstanding, an accident!" He waved his hand, "All of you, remember this: if His Majesty Bargnar sends someone to inquire, don't bother me. Just find any Second-Tier Priest and tell Lanning's Imperial Envoy that… an accident occurred with the Wyverns of the Wyvern Carriage, causing His Eminence Francis to pass over the Palace of Versailles with a sacred artifact cannon of war, alarming His Majesty. Our Holy Church and His Eminence Francis express our profound sorrow and apologies, and we will severely punish the errant driver… Hmm, just say that. Go!"

The Second-Tier Priest, tasked with the duty, grinned, baring his teeth as he went to await Lanning's Imperial Envoy.

Du Chen and Ferdinand exchanged smiles, then, with aristocratic grace, took their seats in the main hall.

"Little brother, I've already sent the preliminary intelligence to you via flying beast. Do you… have any thoughts?" Ferdinand asked seriously, his expression solemn.

Du Chen gave Porter a faint smile and said, "My Chief of Staff has concluded that war is inevitable. My elder brother's true crime, the one that enraged Bargnar, was dragging Lanning into the quagmire of war prematurely, leaving Bargnar ill-prepared and potentially facing immense losses!"

Following Du Chen's gaze, Ferdinand glanced at Porter, who stood quietly behind him, his purple eyebrows twitching. "Little brother, you have a good Chief of Staff! With all due respect, your elder brother's actions this time are indeed unforgivable. Six northern provinces of Lanning facing Beastkin armies while unprepared, over a million commoners abandoning their homes and urgently evacuating—all of this… was caused by your elder brother! For this, Bargnar's rage soared to the heavens, and he wants to kill your brother to vent his anger, to provide an explanation to the commoners of those six provinces, to Lanning, and to the Three Continents. This is perfectly justifiable!"

Du Chen nodded calmly, his face calm as still water. "I know that no matter what, I am not in the right on this matter! But there's a prerequisite: that my elder brother truly is the murderer!"

Ferdinand's purple eyebrows twitched again. "The murder case is indeed very peculiar, but the crucial point is, Steve implicitly confessed to the crime! Based on that alone, it will be difficult for you to overturn the verdict!" Du Chen remained silent, and Ferdinand, knowing what he was waiting for, clapped his hands and ordered a dossier to be brought. "These are all the details of your elder brother's conflict with Salon that night…"

Seven days prior, during the Lanning Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, envoys from various nations and Lanning nobles gathered at the Palace of Versailles to celebrate! The Holy Church's intelligence was extremely detailed, even uncovering minor actions of important individuals present. Du Chen beckoned Porter to sit beside him, and they began to read line by line.

Suddenly, Porter pointed at a line of text, furrowing his brow, "Before your elder brother's conflict with Salon, Salon had proposed marriage to Princess Yuna! And recently, rumors have spread that Bargnar intended to name Yuna as the next queen, so Lanning's princes united to broker the marriage, which was tantamount to exiling Yuna from Lanning!"

Yuna?!

Porter continued, "Soon after the engagement was verbally agreed upon, the outspoken Salon verbally slandered Arges, who had once defeated the Beastkin armies. Your elder brother, indignant, immediately got into an argument with him… After the banquet, Salon returned to the Diplomatic Residence. The tragedy immediately occurred. When the guards rushed in, they found your elder brother at the scene, holding a blood-dripping longsword, looking dazed… Francis, pay attention to this detail we never knew before—Salon showed signs of physical weakness upon returning to the Diplomatic Residence. Later, the autopsy confirmed that he had been poisoned!"

In other words, this detail proved why Steve was capable of killing a Seven-Star Battle God!

After reading the last page, Du Chen handed the dossier to Porter to put away and sneered, "Not bad. Salon slandered Arges, and Steve, who valued family honor above all else, immediately turned hostile. He then secretly poisoned Salon, but Salon, being physically robust, wasn't killed, only greatly reduced in strength! So Steve infiltrated the Diplomatic Residence and personally killed Salon, but Salon's death throe strike also prevented Steve from escaping… Finally, Steve implicitly confessed to the crime and was imprisoned in the Death Row Cells, where visits were strictly forbidden to anyone!"

Du Chen sneered repeatedly. Logically, the murder case seemed flawless! But…

He suddenly stood up, "I want to see my elder brother, but Lanning's laws stipulate that no one can visit Steve, who has already confessed and been sentenced. Brother Ferdinand, do you have a way for me to have a few words with my elder brother, who is guarded by hundreds of guards, without causing conflict?"

"This… the Holy Church cannot openly violate Lanning's laws on the surface!" Ferdinand raised a purple eyebrow. "However, do you still remember someone!?"