"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?" Gilbert was struck dumb by the king's sudden orders. They
had just entered the hall, and this was what welcomed them.
"Didn't you know? Odin deliberately hid the fact that he had the Purgatorial Tripod, and he had no
intention of handing it over to the royal family. That is enough proof of his attempt to incite a rebellion.
Do you not agree, Leader Gilbert?" The king was fuming in anger and continued, "The Purgatorial
Tripod that is sealing Phillip's soul is guarded by the royal family for generations now. Taking it without
permission is strictly prohibited. Who knows what he will do with it?"
Hearing the king's argument, Gilbert was at a loss for words. This was what he was afraid of the
moment Rocky told him about the tripod. Thus, he could just turn to Rocky and hint at the young man
to explain it himself.
"Your Majesty, it is true that I have the Purgatorial Tripod with me, but I did not mean to hide the truth
without any good reason. I was just afraid that things might get even worse if it was handed over to the
royal family. I don't think it is a good thing if too many people know that the tripod has been taken out of
the Demon Sealing Palace!" Rocky argued with reason.
"Now, you are saying that you want to protect me? Then, why didn't you tell me that you have it when
you and Layla met with me? If Enoch did not tell me that you have the tripod, when are you planning to
reveal it?" Of course, the king deemed Rocky's explanation as questionable. The moment he hid the
truth from the king, it had already somehow tarnished his integrity.
"Your Majesty, I don't see any need to hear more of Odin's nonsense! The fact remains that he and
Princess Layla concealed the secret about the Purgatorial Tripod, and the only logical reason behind it
is because they want to plot against the royal family. Moreover, not only did they take the tripod from
Zain, but they also cruelly injured him in the process. Now, they are trying to frame me up, saying that I
colluded with the demonic race. What a ridiculous thing to say! Didn't these idiots know that it is
impossible for a member of the demonic race to enter the Ghostly Demon Land? How outrageous!
Fortunately, I was able to save Prince Zain and find the remaining teleportation point in time to get back
and expose their conspiracy. I cannot start to imagine what kind of disgraceful things they could have
done if I was not able to return!" Enoch immediately seized the opportunity to pin the blame on Rocky
and Layla. It seemed that he had already planned exactly what to say when this moment came.
"Your Majesty, Enoch is twisting the truth. It was him who colluded with the demonic race, and their
goal is to free Phillip's soul. That is the only reason why Odin was forced to take the Purgatorial Tripod.
He needed to protect it at all costs and prevent it from falling into the hands of those who want to
destroy the Shura Race!" Princess Layla could not suppress her emotions anymore and also spoke up.
At the back of her mind, if only Zain had not been seriously injured and beaten unconscious, they
would not have to be falsely accused like this.
"Suppose you are telling the truth, I don't think that is enough reason why you did not tell me about the
Purgatorial Tripod," the king firmly declared.
"That is my own idea, and it has nothing to do with Princess Layla. I have called the shots since it is my
duty to protect the Purgatorial Tripod. I am just simply following orders." Rocky bravely took the
responsibility and thought of a very good reason to defend himself.
"What did you say? Whose orders are you following? Is there anyone who's superior to the royal
family?!" The king was instantly infuriated by Rocky's statement, thinking that he was being very
disrespectful to his authority.
"This is the order from the gods!" Rocky snapped back.
When these words left Rocky's mouth, the entire hall burst into an uproar. After all, if that was the case,
then Rocky really had more than enough reason to take the Purgatorial Tripod. A Godly Genius had
direct communication with the gods and they could indeed bypass the authority of the royal family.
Hearing this shocking revelation, the king could not help but frown. This was the perfect defense, and
in this situation, Rocky's explanation did make sense.
"Your Majesty, this is a very convenient statement. How can we even validate it? Furthermore, the
Shura Race is full of talents and powerful masters. Why would the gods specifically ask him to protect
the tripod? Why not entrust that task to the royal family? Do we not have more capable men to protect
it?" Of course, Enoch would not just stand idly. He continued to do his best to mislead and cast doubts
on everyone's mind.
Soon enough, everyone discussed among themselves again. They thought that what Enoch said also
made sense. After all, Rocky was not the only Godly Genius. In fact, from what they knew, he was not
even the most powerful one among them all. Thus, they could not help but also ask why this important
task was assigned to him.
"Your Majesty, the gods' decisions are none of our concern. The point here is that Odin has already
explained everything about the Purgatorial Tripod and his name should be cleared. We should move on
and focus on the fact that Enoch colluded with the demonic race. Both Zain and I, as well as every
member of my team, are witnesses. If anything, he should be the one who needs to be restrained."
Layla immediately stood up for Odin. Then, with a firm look on her face, she tried to shift the focus on
Enoch.
"Ha! Please don't believe a word she just said. She wants to pass the blame on me while Zain is still
unconscious. This is all just a distraction so that you will not have to force Odin to hand the tripod over!
Moreover, did not I tell earlier that they were the ones who injured Zain?" Enoch was surely a good
actor. He appeared so indignant, easily making it look like he had nothing to do with what happened to
Zain and his men.
"Stop slinging mud at us, you big liar! How can you stand there and spout all this nonsense? Can you
tell everyone when did Odin hurt Prince Zain?" Princess Layla was so fed up with Enoch's lies that she
could not help but shout and glare at him.
"Then, can you also explain how you were able to enter the Demon Sealing Palace in the first place? It
is known that only members from the direct line of the royal family have the knowledge to bypass the
enchanted barrier that surrounds the Demon Sealing Palace. Hence, neither you nor I should know
about it. Among the three of us, only Zain knows how to open the barrier. If you did not threaten him,
then how did you know the method to enter the palace?" Indeed, Enoch was a cunning man. He was
able to make a counter at the critical moment.
Hearing this, Layla instantly turned to Rocky. The truth was that the enchanted barrier was destroyed
because of the collision of powers of the holy treasures of the divine race and the demonic race. Since
Rocky possessed the God-killing Sword, he should be able to explain himself out of this.
However, Rocky furrowed his brows as he was put on the spot. The God-killing Sword was a legacy
from King Corey, and it was a lost divine treasure of the Shura Race's royal family. Obviously, he would
be in even greater trouble if he showed it. After all, they would all wonder how he got ahold of such a
treasure. However, if he did not reveal it, he would not have enough evidence to prove his ability to
enter the Demon Sealing Palace on his own.
Moreover, Gilbert had already seen the God-killing Sword before. If Rocky showed it in front of him, he
would definitely recognize the weapon, and he might suspect his true identity.
Fortunately, Rocky was sly himself. He quickly thought of a perfect response and said, "Are you not
listening? I just said that I was ordered by the gods to protect the Purgatorial Tripod. Of course, they
also told me the way to enter the Demon Sealing Palace. You may be a good liar, and you have to do
better than that. You said that I harmed Prince Zain. So, are you saying that you saw it with your own
eyes? Then why didn't you stop me? All you did since earlier was falsely accuse us. If you have any
evidence to prove me guilty, then show it to everyone and don't just run your mouth!" Rocky did not
hold back anymore and retorted coldly.
Enoch was rendered speechless, not expecting to hear this from Rocky. Obviously, he was in a pickle
since he didn't have any evidence to prove that Rocky had indeed injured Zain. At this point, they were
in a stalemate. However, his main goal was just to force Rocky into handing the tripod over so that he
could have a chance to steal it.
"Prince Enoch, logically speaking, Prince Zain's strength and your strength should be above Odin's.
Let's say that Prince Zain was caught off guard. Then, why did you let your nephew be hurt to such an
extent? Furthermore, you also let the culprit take away the Purgatorial Tripod? I thought you said that
you were also at the Demon Sealing Palace at that time? So, did you just watch all of this happen
before your eyes?" Gilbert asked with inquisitive eyes.
Enoch gritted his teeth, knowing how shrewd Gilbert was. But of course, he would lie through his teeth
just to get out of this predicament. "That's because he played a trick and then summoned a mysterious
helper! Don't dare accuse me that I did nothing while your Godly Genius was stealing the tripod!" Then,
he tried changing the subject and said, "Odin, if you really are tasked to protect the tripod, then fine,
you did your job. But now that you are back, you should hand it over to the royal family. If you are still
unwilling to give it back, then it just proves that you have an ulterior motive for getting it!"
"I've had enough! Stop arguing, all of you!" The king eventually got annoyed by all the arguments that
he heard. Enoch and Rocky had their own version of the story, and the only one who could prove which
one was lying was Zain. However, in his current condition, they could not do anything. Hence, the king
eventually decided that they would have to wait until Zain woke up before he made his
judgment.
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