Chapter 466 You Haven’t Been Here Before
As soon as Aiwas entered the Temple of Silver and Tin, he vaguely smelled the smell of blood.
The aura of death and destruction permeated the once solemn and sacred silver-white palace. The walls, repeatedly reinforced by the preservationists, could not withstand the aftermath of the knights' battle and were now tattered, covered in cracks and rubble.
It was as if this was not the royal palace of Avalon, but the ruins of a palace from an old dynasty that had been destroyed.
When Aiwass passed by the door of the Round Table Hall, he could vaguely see that the glass steps were still intact.
However, the Round Table Hall was empty. Not a single knight sat back down at the Round Table.
The surviving knights were either covered in blood or had wounds.
The knights stood scattered in various corners of the Temple of Silver and Tin, casting different glances at Aiwass from all directions.
Some are pitying, some are fearful, some are nervous, some are sarcastic, and some are indifferent.
Obviously, although they now have the same stance, their moods and goals are different.
Perhaps because they were afraid of Diomedes who was beside Aiwass, no knight dared to approach Aiwass and talk to him.
And Aiwass just stared silently—at each of them in turn.
Aiwass's gaze was like a terrifying catalyst.
Every knight who met his gaze changed color. Some glared at him, some avoided his gaze, and some fled. No one could remain calm and composed after meeting Aiwass' gaze.
This silent confrontation ended only when Minister Droste came forward.
"Bishop Moriarty."
Minister Droste, with his belly so big that you couldn't see his feet when he looked down, came forward with a smile: "Oh, you're here..."
He patted his belly and looked around.
Before he could say anything, the knights dispersed, moving hastily as if afraid of being noticed by Droste.
Aiwass's mouth corners slightly raised: "Yes, I came as promised."
If you think about that attitude carefully...it's more like disgust than fear.
It turns out that even these traitors who killed their colleagues dislike Droste.
—That actually makes sense, Aiwass thought.
Again, it is impossible for the Star Antimony people to bribe all the knights.
They attacked Avalon because the Kingdom of Xingtian was in an unsolvable economic crisis. Xingtian must have coaxed and deceived these knights to his side.
Most of them probably didn't even know that Queen Sofia was going to be assassinated today. Some might even say that none of them knew.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for everyone to appear so relaxed and happy in CG.
Aiwass could tell at a glance that they were clearly in a state of relief. If they had known that Minister Droste would poison the Queen at this banquet, then some of them would have been nervous and uneasy.
Because such a dangerous plan has the possibility of failure. If it fails, they will all face the most tragic end.
Those who follow the authoritarian path rarely have the talent for the beauty path or the adaptability path. They don't have such a strong talent for acting or lying.
And from that CG, Aiwass had already vaguely sensed Queen Sofia's vigilance towards Minister Droste.
So from this perspective, they might have been brought by Droste to confuse Queen Sofia... Just because the people here are so relaxed and there are so many of them, the Queen believes that Droste will not take action.
As a result, she didn't expect that Droste would take forceful action.
Aiwass had helped Isabel handle government affairs for two months, and with his social skills, he had already recognized all the knights in the Round Table.
Among these traitors, a large number had close and trusted relationships with Queen Sophia, and some were even Knights of the Round Table from founding families.
Unless they were all bribed by the Star People for a huge sum of money, their previously stable position would become unstable if the Star People invaded. Therefore, from the perspective of interests, they had the least reason to rebel. However, they did choose to help Droste after his rebellion.
Then there is only one answer.
There aren't that many real traitors.
When Aiwas was dismissing the minister, he had a vague feeling about this. Now, after watching the CG in full and comparing it with his real-life experience, Aiwass has finally confirmed it.
That makes sense. These cowardly knights didn't even have the resolve to resist Aiwass. They simply didn't have the guts to rebel.
They were so happy at this banquet because they thought Avalon was discussing peace talks and marriage with Xingtian. They no longer had to fight against the powerful enemy Xingtian, but instead gained a powerful ally out of thin air... They were happy about this.
When Queen Sophia was poisoned and Droste unsurprisingly asked to seal off the scene, the knights knew that there was no turning back; when the second "Princess Isabel" appeared in public and Droste had no hostility towards her, the knights reacted and knew which side they should stand on.
The knights were initially bound to Droste's side by perhaps taking money they shouldn't have or committing mistakes they shouldn't have made, but before they knew it, they became the majority, and their actions began to be influenced by the group.
And when they band together, their strength attracts new allies... like a snowball, the group continues to grow, but the individual's free will is lost. Ultimately, there's no escape, and they can only join the others who have already taken action.
They were not conspiring to assassinate Queen Sophia, but were all so smart and good at reading people's cues that when Queen Sophia was dead and the Stars were secretly controlling the Avalon court, they all chose to pledge allegiance to the Stars and Minister Droste, who had close ties with the Stars.
This keen sense of smell and the ability to change one's stance at any time are also characteristic abilities of the authoritarian path.
Every knight who survived now had the blood of their former comrades on their hands. They had become allies of the Kingslayer Droste and traitors to their country, and there was no turning back.
——Even if he regretted it now, he would still die. Drost would just clean him out and accuse him of being a traitor.
It would be better to just go down this path till the end.
When Aiwas scanned each person before, he was trying to observe which of the surviving knights still felt ashamed, uneasy and sad, and had obvious disgust towards Droste.
These people might still be useful.
At least Aiwass can give them another chance.
——As for those knights who reacted indifferently and were friendly or even flattering to Droste, Aiwas had already made a special note of them in his mind and made a separate list for them.
Black list.
Of course, it's unfair and unethical to punish them for something that hasn't happened in the future, but it's fine to investigate them directly—just treat it as if they were reported by an anonymous person.
And Aiwass was certain that he would be able to find out something. After all, if they were coerced by Droste, there must be some trace left.
...If you consider it from this perspective, this promotion ceremony is an extremely rare opportunity.
Only when the day of destruction comes can we confirm who will be absolutely loyal to Avalon until death, who will value the safety and happiness of themselves and their families more than Avalon, who will hesitate and be coerced by villains but still have a conscience, who will betray their friends without mercy or shame, and who will be eager to smile when tragedy strikes.
——The "human heart", which is difficult to test and can never be accurately measured in the real world, is clearly displayed before our eyes in this ceremony.
And Aiwass didn't have to explain to Isabel where his information came from - because she had witnessed it all in person and was definitely more angry than Aiwass.
Aiwass thought thoughtfully.
Is this the reason? Therefore, the Lord of Scales and Feathers is fully responsible for this promotion ceremony... This is indeed a "prophet" style that adapts to the Tao.
To Aiwass and Isabel, it could certainly be considered a kind of "prophet," and they could both gain important intelligence from it.
But for the "Strangers", this is even more of a prophecy - especially the Strangers.
In this worldline, it was the Armed Gargoyles he designed that truly destroyed Avalon. Even though the Armed Gargoyles were unable to penetrate the Griffin Legion, the Great Guardian leading the Griffin Legion remained a threatening force.
When they casually attacked Xingti in the real world, Xingti was barely able to fight back. Without the armed gargoyles, the worst that could happen was a loss of territory. It was precisely because this counterattack from Avalon was perfectly intercepted that the final outcome of the battle became so one-sided.
In the real world, Stranger probably wouldn't have the chance to develop it. But now, he will see what "him in another world" has done in this illusory world.
If you think about it from this perspective...
So could doctors, cheese, olives, grapes... have anything to do with this?
Aiwass couldn't help but think a few more times.
Every ascension ceremony he had experienced so far seemed specially designed. This time, however, was the entirety of the ceremony overseen by a single Pillar God... So, could the people chosen by the Lord of Scales and Feathers also hold some significance?
After all, he is a pillar god who adapts to the path of Tao and a thousand-change beast who possesses the power of foresight.
——If you can’t figure it out, then just look at it from the perspective of “there must be a deep meaning behind all of this”!
Even if you think too much, it is better than thinking too little.
Thinking of this, Aiwass became more cautious.
He looked at Minister Droste's face and put on a natural and friendly smile.
In this unpredictable ritual full of riddles, information and hints, you are the only one who remains as stupid as ever, and still so murderous.
This stability can be said to be the logical basis.
It's really touching.
...Then I must seize the opportunity of Droste's "resurrection" this time and dig out the information that I have no chance to obtain through torture in reality.
Aiwass thought.
Minister Droste immediately understood Aiwas's eyes, raised his eyebrows in some confusion, and remained silent for a moment.
As a Level 4 authoritarian, Droste wasn't as easily able to see through lies as Level 5 individuals, but he could still sense the true attitudes of others.
This is also part of the "leadership" of the authoritarian path.
He could see through people's hearts, their lies, and their subtext and intentions. Droste could easily see that there was no fear, anger, or anxiety in Aiwass's eyes when he looked at him.
Instead, it seems friendly and... compassionate?
Trade Minister Droste was a little confused.
If he had not intercepted the letter of denunciation from Aiwass and guessed indirectly that Sherlock had an accomplice when interrogating him, he would have really thought that Aiwass had been arrested by mistake.
...Doesn't he understand why I called him here?
Just as this thought came to Droste's mind, Diomedes' words completely misled him.
"Mr. Droste."
Diomedes bowed slightly and said calmly and coldly, "When I went to invite Mr. Aiwass, Professor Moriarty stopped me forcefully.
"—Mr. Aiwass came out on his own initiative and said he wanted to see you."
"oh?"
Hearing this, Minister Droste became interested.
Although Diomedes addressed him in a distant way and although there were subtle differences between the two on some minor matters, Droste had absolute trust in the old butler who had taken care of him since he was a child.
Since Diomedes said so, it means that Aiwass came to him on his own initiative after the kidnapping attempt failed.
That's really fresh.
The mouse runs to the cat for food, right?
It's certainly worthwhile to listen first to what Aiwass wants. At least his attitude is different from that kid from the Hermes family.
So Minister Droste patted his belly and laughed heartily: "Okay, then let's find a place, sit down and talk slowly.
"—How about we go to the Queen's chambers? Bishop Moriarty, you probably haven't had the chance to come here before."
……you guess?
Aiwass thought.
(End of this chapter)
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