Free Web NovelChapter 431: Chapter 44: Eilvette Is the First to Be Captured (Part 2)
Prohibiting Tuning... This was not unheard of in the Royal Court’s history. Such measures were usually deployed during extremely solemn ceremonies to ensure absolute safety and stability and prevent any muddle-headed Tuners from causing trouble. The destructive potential of their profession in the Land of Rhythm was simply too great.
"The Tuners under my command would never act irrationally! But fine, if Your Majesty is so concerned..."
Eilvette felt that something was not quite right, but he shook his head and didn’t pay it much mind.
As a rule, one should never casually walk into a barrier that can seal one’s own power.
’But this is the Wind Law Palace! The very core of the Thousand Laws Royal Court. If even the Wind Law Palace isn’t safe, then nowhere in the world is. Besides, I’ve entered countless times before.’
Despite a prickling sense of danger at his back, Eilvette’s arrogance ultimately won out, and he strode into the Wind Law Palace.
After walking for a short while, he realized something was terribly wrong. He hadn’t seen a single maid along the way. The empty palace was eerily silent, which was clearly abnormal.
His unease grew, and Eilvette quickened his pace.
As he neared the conference room, the Yonglan Knights, deployed specifically for him, suddenly appeared from all directions.
Led by Mephit, these Yonglan Knights were armed to the teeth. Their objective was crystal clear, and they swarmed him while Eilvette was still reeling in confusion.
They unleashed a barrage of restraining and binding Dharma Seals, Runes, and other devices.
With his Tuning abilities sealed and not a single Extraordinary item on his person, the Grand Law Officer could only stare in stunned confusion. In that moment of hesitation, Mephit and the other Knights captured him.
As the Knights seized Eilvette, he panicked, shouting while kicking and punching, resisting with all his might.
"I’m here for a meeting! What are you doing?"
Mephit used the brute force of a Legendary Knight to overpower Eilvette and said coldly, "Shut up! You’re coming with us."
The Knights were exceptionally skilled, and they quickly subdued Eilvette. With his arms twisted behind him, he was hauled into a room in the Wind Law Palace, where he saw Ailorus and Westheid.
It wasn’t just the two of them. Beside Duke Qinghui stood Reiya and Mivana, two powerhouses whose strength was in no way inferior to Westheid’s.
In the conference room, all of these powerhouses stared at him with cold indifference, and the Grand Law Officer’s heart sank.
Eilvette shouted, "Your Majesty! What is the meaning of this?!"
"Faticia, you may begin."
Ailorus didn’t answer him at all, instead looking impassively at the confidante beside her.
Facing her former superior, the melancholy, purple-haired Elf timidly read the arrest warrant aloud:
"Grand Law Officer of the Thousand Laws Royal Court, Ei... Eilvette, you are accused of high treason, forming a private faction for personal gain, deceiving the monarch, monopolizing the nodes, and conspiring to subvert the Royal Court in an act against the Divine Ancestor. In the name of the King of Wind Law, you... you are under arrest. You will face a formal trial."
"Bullshit! Faticia! You think you’re worthy of reading an arrest warrant to me?"
"Who is it?! Who slandered me! Duke Qinghui! Was it you?!"
Before Faticia could finish reading, Eilvette suddenly roared, broke free from the Knights’ grasp, and lunged at Westheid, who was five or six steps away.
Eilvette was the Grand Law Officer. Even with his resonance prohibited, as a powerhouse approaching Demigod Level who had trained in pugilism for several years, his martial arts skills were still superb. If he reached and harmed Duke Qinghui, the consequences would be dire.
However, Westheid was a seasoned veteran of the battlefield. He watched Eilvette’s mad charge with cold, unhurried eyes. In the nick of time, Mivana, who was standing nearby, reacted instantly, rushing forward to deliver a flurry of punches and kicks to Eilvette.
In terms of raw stats and martial skill, the Wolf-eared Maiden was someone even Westheid wouldn’t dare to cross. A combination of elbow strikes, knee jabs, and a double-palmed strike to the ears—a fluid, seamless assault—left Eilvette completely dazed.
Bleeding from his nose and mouth, the Grand Law Officer was lifted into the air by Mivana’s hand, which was clamped around his throat, completely subdued.
Westheid walked over, glanced at the Grand Law Officer’s hate-filled glare, and said coolly:
"Eilvette, you and your Tuner Group have become the greatest obstacle to the development of the Thousand Laws Royal Court!"
The purge of the old Tuner had begun.
"The intricately connected Tuner Group, bound by academic cliques and blood ties, has become an entrenched interest group that the Royal Court can no longer control. A profession that was meant to be a pillar on the Path of Resonance has, through mortal selfishness, been twisted into a faction that opposes the Divine Ancestor! Their crimes are too numerous to count!"
Westheid slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Therefore, we must set things right! Only by completely purging the current Tuner Group can we restore order and justice to the Thousand Laws Royal Court!"
Eilvette gritted his teeth. "Slander! I have never done anything to break with tradition! You claim I oppose the Divine Ancestor? Show me the proof!"
"Whether it is slander or not, wouldn’t Her Majesty the Queen, who has suffered your persecution, know best?"
As Westheid watched, Ailorus stood up. The Little Queen’s posture was elegant and dignified, but her gaze was firm and cold as she delivered the official verdict to Eilvette:
"I gave you a chance. More than one... But Lord Eilvette, you never responded with loyalty. Again and again, you have ignored my will."
Eilvette hastily tried to defend himself. "I have always been loyal to the Royal Court! Loyal to the Divine Ancestor! I have never overstepped my authority as Grand Law Officer! Your Majesty... according to the duties of the Grand Law Officer, it is reasonable to act as regent for a young King of Wind Law when deemed necessary!"
"When deemed necessary?"
Ailorus smiled and tilted her head. "So that means you can do whatever you want? Including meddling in my marriage and love life? Enough. West is right. The role of the Tuners needs to change."
"Enough! What else is there to say to this traitor?! The urgent task now is to quell this turmoil."
Westheid swept his hand in a grand gesture and said to his lovers:
"Next is the arrest and purge of the traitors within the Royal Court. Fortunately, not many core members of the Tuner Group remain here. Mivana, Reiya, I’m counting on you to act with the Yonglan Knights. The key is speed. Don’t let any word of this leak out. It’s best to subdue them before they can even cast a Resonance Technique."
"Leave it to us."
The Wolf-eared Maiden said energetically, patting her ample chest.
Almost at the exact moment Eilvette was captured, the long-prepared airdro—ahem, the elite capture squads sprang into action. With multiple powerhouses at the Legend rank and even higher leading the joint arrests, the Tuner Group members within the Royal Court had no chance to fight back.
They were all powerhouses of the Thousand Laws Royal Court. If they had been prepared for a proper fight in the Land of Rhythm, each one was capable of stirring up storms and giving even Westheid a headache. But in the surprise attack, most were caught completely off guard and swiftly eliminated by the Yonglan Knights who broke down their doors.
Even if some realized something was wrong, without Eilvette as their leader, the other Tuners lacked a clear chain of command and were unable to organize any resistance.
After pacifying Eilvette’s confidants within the Central Royal Court, Ailorus issued a formal proclamation from the Wind Law Palace. She announced the "high treason" of Grand Law Officer Eilvette and appeased the remaining Tuners, stating that not everyone would be held responsible, but they were required to report to the Wind Law Palace in succession to re-swear their loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen.
This sent the Royal Court into an uproar.
Although the Thousand Laws Royal Court had always been rife with court conspiracies, a situation of this magnitude was still shocking. Escalating to the level of "armed conflict" and "military coup" was something that had happened only a handful of times in the Royal Court’s several-thousand-year history.
Eilvette was the first member of the traitorous Tuner faction to be arrested, and after his capture, he was subjected to the most severe interrogation.
