Chapter 402 Judgment (Part 2)

"My opinion?" Alsace looked at his mentor in a daze. According to the rules, they, the new paladins, were not qualified to comment on the veteran paladins, especially paladins like Fording who had made outstanding contributions. Alsace could not get help from his teacher's face, not to mention that the two seniors in front of him were still looking at him "kindly".

"Ahem." Proudmore looked at Alsace, "Your Highness, what do you think?"

"That..." Under multiple pressures, Alsace finally expressed his thoughts, "I think that Paladin Fording is guilty."

"Hahaha!" Proudmore laughed happily, and Richard squinted his eyes and smiled very friendly.

Arthas said quickly: "But, Paladin Fording has made outstanding contributions to our world, and he should not be punished too severely."

"Well, I think Arthas's opinion is very good, what do you think?" Uther directly affirmed Arthas's opinion, looking at the other three with sharp eyes.

Richard calculated the time and it was almost time, so he nodded: "I have no opinion."

Proudmore glanced at Richard and nodded: "I have no opinion either."

Uther glanced at Antonidas who was silent, then turned around and said loudly: "Everyone stand up, and now the verdict will be announced! Paladin Fording, unanimously recognized by this court..."

"Wait!" A female voice suddenly sounded at the door of the court.

Uther looked at the door. Who dared to interrupt the judgment? Why didn't the guards stop her?

The sound of heels clacking against marble was heard. A woman in white walked onto the stage. Uther frowned and saluted after a moment's hesitation: "Archbishop Selena, what brings you here?"

"I'm here for him." Selena pointed at Fording.

Uther's heart sank, and he immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. In the later period of the power struggle between Uther and Selena, the two agreed that the Paladins would respect the orders of the Church, but the Church could not interfere with the Paladins. Her sudden appearance now was definitely not a good thing.

Selena smiled and said, "I heard that you are going to judge this holy knight with outstanding military achievements. How are you going to deal with him?"

"I want to hear the opinion of the archbishop first."

Selena smiled and said, "I think Fording is innocent."

There were gasps from the audience.

"Oh?" Uther smiled on the surface, but he was already complaining in his heart, "Why did the archbishop say that?"

"I don't think there is any need to elaborate on Fording's personality. We all know it very well. Do you believe that he betrayed the Alliance?"

Uther did not comment on this, but he did not believe it from the bottom of his heart. Fording was a good warrior, a good husband, and a good father. He dedicated his whole life to the Alliance. If it were not for this orc, his life would not be tainted.

Selena continued, "I looked through the files, and it was determined that Fording's crime was because he was harboring an orc. I investigated for a few days and learned more about the situation. Fording was saved by the orc, and later learned that the orc had never invaded any of our villages, and that the orcs' perception of honor was similar to that of the paladins. So Fording made a gentleman's agreement with the orcs, and the orcs fulfilled the agreement until you captured him. From beginning to end, the treason charge you brought was not established. At most, you made an incorrect mistake in not handling the orcs in a timely manner. This mistake should be an administrative penalty instead of being tried here."

Ridiculous! What are you doing? Are you trying to change the subject?

"In fact, even as a paladin, he didn't make any mistakes. Everything he did was in accordance with the paladin's creed. You seem to be a little unconvinced. Is it because of the sense of honor between him and the orcs? Do you think honor belongs only to humans? Honor belongs to any race. Be honest, when we were fighting the orcs, didn't the orcs have a sense of honor?"

Selena felt very good when she saw that Uther didn't have any way to refute her.

"Paladin emphasizes various doctrines, such as honor, honesty, bravery, gratitude, and they abide by everything they do to help the weak Fording, including signing a gentleman's agreement with the orcs. The Holy Light is merciful, and it bathes all races in this world. Orcs are not completely unconvertible. We have many successful cases, don't we?"

Uther retorted, "Orcs in the wild are not like those in concentration camps. They may be in danger at any time."

"Then has this old orc named Eitrigg brought danger to others? From the first battle between humans and orcs, we already knew that not all orcs are keen on fighting. The clan that lived in the Alterac Mountains had been living in peace with humans for more than ten years."

"Just because there is nothing wrong now doesn't mean there won't be any trouble in the future!"

"Oh, you have the energy to take care of an old orc who poses no threat, but you don't have the energy to take care of the rebellious orc army? How many concentration camps have the orc army conquered! Now they have become a serious threat to us, and they can directly attack important towns! Do you still want Lordaeron to be the same as last time?"

The last time was naturally the time when the capital was almost captured.

"Nonsense! I will protect this country with my life!" Uther shouted loudly. He had to get back to the topic now. If he let her go on like this, she would definitely run further and further away, and he didn't know what would happen to Fording in the end!

"Archbishop Selena, please don't talk about the five levels of trial. We have our own strategy for the orcs. You haven't forgotten our original agreement, have you?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten, but this is a big deal. Paladin Fording is the first batch of paladins. At the same time, like you and me, his mentor is the former Archbishop Faol. To judge such a paladin, we must discuss together."

"Then what is your identity today?"

Selena smiled: "What do you think my identity is now?"

Uther stared at Selena and said: "If you come here as an archbishop today, I can discuss this judgment with you. If you come here as a junior sister today, then please don't interfere with our normal progress."

"Whatever identity you think I am, that's what I am now."

"Then please don't interfere with this trial anymore."

Selena spread her hands and said, "Okay, my Lord Knight, but I still stick to my point of view. Paladin Fording is not guilty. He has always adhered to his knight's creed."