Chapter 651 Rising Flames of Conflict (2)
Imperial Capital, Duke Zohar's Manor
In a meeting room filled with high-ranking members of Duke Zohar's faction, Duke Zohar sat in the main seat with a gloomy look, and his oppressive aura weighed down on everyone present.
It was clear to everyone that the duke was not in a good mood.
In particular, Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild felt the most pressure; they couldn't help but tremble in fear every time their lord gazed at them.
"Have we found out who killed the first-seated heirs of the Ravesk Clan and Brightglory Clan?" Duke Zohar inquired gloomily, glancing at Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild.
"N-Not yet, Your Grace…!" Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild simultaneously replied with hesitation while sweating profusely with pale expressions under the gargantuan pressure of Duke Zohar's gaze.
Even if they knew they were innocent, they couldn't be completely free from the blame. After all, one heir died to the Invisible Palm Force, and the Sleeping Firelotus Finger killed the other.
Both were unique martial skills created by Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild based on their comprehension of the forces in nature.
The Invisible Palm Force utilized the Concept of Vibration to bypass one's opponent's defense and attack their internal organs. As evidence of Lord Nuvemze's Invisible Palm Force, Lord Ravesk's son had a palm imprint on his chest but died of a ruptured heart.
On the other hand, the Sleeping Firelotus Finger was even more distinguishable. Its victims would suffer burns in the shape of the lotus once the dormant fire force planted inside them erupted.
This was the effect of the Concept of Explosion from the Law of Fire.
Martial skills that incorporated the forces of nature weren't martial skills any warrior could simply learn, let alone use. Only warriors with incredibly tempered wills from training could chance upon the forces of nature and borrow their powers.
Furthermore, such warriors were usually all Half-step Transcendents or Transcendent-level Body Refiners.
As such, even if Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild had their personal martial skills stolen, only a few people in the empire were capable of learning them. After all, they had to satisfy two requirements: possessing incredibly tempered wills and being enlightened on the specific concepts of laws.
Most of the other members present believed Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild were guilty but too cowardly to admit their wrongdoings in front of their lord.
"Hm…"
Duke Zohar tapped the table repeatedly in thought before glaring at Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild again.
"Lord Nuvemze, Lord Mujild, I do not doubt any of you, but you, yourselves, should understand just how difficult it is for others to replicate your martial skills. That's why I will only ask you once – did you or did you not kill the heirs of the Ravesk and Brightglory Clans?"
"Think carefully before you answer," Duke Zohar added veiled pressure to force their honest confessions.
However, Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild did not hesitate to give their replies.
"It truly wasn't done by me, my Lord! You have to believe me!"
"That's right, my Lord! Someone is trying to frame us! Moreover, they are extremely capable!"
"Alright, that's enough," Duke Zohar sighed and lifted his oppressive pressure.
He never doubted his men, but he had to quickly clear the suspicions the other faction members had regarding the two. Otherwise, the distrust would eat away at the faction and cause its dissolution.
"You've all heard it. Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild are innocent in this matter. I don't want to hear or see anyone pointing fingers at them," Duke Zohar strictly declared before stating, "We have a more pressing issue."
"Even if we know Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild are not behind the deaths of the two heirs, the people from Duke Gamliel's side will not believe us. Even so, we have to give them an explanation. Otherwise, we will never be free from this blame."
"Since they won't believe us no matter what we say, aren't we just inviting humiliations upon ourselves by going out of our way to explain to them? Given the sensitive situation, they might even kill our messengers out of fury, Your Grace," mentioned Zajec, head of the Darkblight Clan.
"Going out of our way to explain to them is naturally unacceptable, but not making any effort to explain at all is even more unacceptable, Lord Darkblight!" Varkor of the Stagmaw Clan voiced.
"If we don't explain at all, what's the difference between that and basically admitting Lord Nuvemze and Lord Mujild killed those two heirs?"
"In my opinion, sending a letter is sufficient. Our two factions are not close; there's no need to give them so much respect by sending a messenger," Varkor added.
"You've made a good point. A letter, it is," Duke Zohar nodded with approval.
…
Duke Gamliel's Estate
"My Lord, a letter from Duke Zohar has arrived!" a servant presented the sealed letter to Duke Gamliel with both hands after abruptly interrupting the high-ranking meeting.
At the mention of Duke Zohar, Lord Ravesk and Lord Brightglory's eyes were quickly filled with rage. Even so, they kept their silence as Duke Gamliel read the content of the letter.
"Hahaha…" Duke Gamliel suddenly laughed coldly, causing the room's temperature to drop.
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat as they watched Duke Gamliel's hands tremble with fury.
At the same time, the letter did not last three breaths after delivering Duke Zohar's explanation before it was torn to pieces by Duke Gamliel.
"What a good misunderstanding! Misunderstanding this, misunderstanding that! Are you trying to insult my intelligence, Zohar?! If you're going to give me an explanation, at least put some more effort into it!" Duke Gamliel coldly thundered.
With such a half-hearted explanation, it was clear to him that Duke Zohar no longer bothered maintaining the surface peace between them. In that case, it also implied Duke Zohar was prepared to wage a war against him.
In fact, the war between them had already started with the death of the two first-seated heirs.
'This letter was a declaration of war and a distraction!' Duke Gamliel sprung to his feet in alarm.
How insidious!
To incite his rage and cloud his judgment!
"Are there any major movements from Duke Zohar's faction in the last few hours? Bring me the battle map! I want to see the distribution of Duke Zohar's forces in the imperial capital!" Duke Gamliel demanded.
"Right away, my Lord!" the head servant complied.
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