Volume 2 Chapter 41: Judgment Hall

The banquet proceeded in an orderly manner. To Qin Lun’s surprise, Bonnie and Nova did not question Baron Albert at the banquet and instead drank and ate by themselves.

Qin Lun did not urge them. In his view, this was just the oppressive calm before the storm. As long as the epidemic in the Odia region did not disappear, these Demon Hunters would have to make a choice.

“Doctor Stan!” A pleasant female voice suddenly came from behind Qin Lun.

“Miss Laura, it’s a pleasure to see you!” Qin Lun turned around and found Laura Albert standing quietly behind him, holding Little Miller’s hand. “Young Master Miller, are you feeling better now?”

“So you are Doctor Stan. Thank you!” Little Miller looked at Qin Lun curiously and bowed slightly.

The little boy had blond hair and blue eyes. His sharply defined small face made his eyes appear extraordinarily large. Although he had taken the World Tree Dew mixed with a large amount of human milk, his constitution, weakened from lying in bed for years, had not fundamentally improved yet. He still looked very thin and bony.

“Hehe, it is a doctor’s duty. You don’t need to thank me!” Qin Lun smiled, crouched down, and touched Miller’s blond hair as he asked, “Young Master Miller, do you still remember how you caught the epidemic disease?”

“I…”

“Miller was asleep for over a year and lost many memories. He still cannot recall anything!” Laura’s pretty face suddenly changed expression. She tugged at the little boy. “Miller, go play with your sister. After you fell ill, Elizabeth has always been alone!”

“I don’t want to be alone with her!” Miller hesitated for a moment, then turned his head away.

“Miller… Then I will go with you.” Laura turned back and forced a smile at Qin Lun. “Doctor Stan, please excuse us for now!”

“Please, feel free!” Qin Lun smiled understandingly. After Laura turned around, a cold glint flashed in the doctor’s eyes.

As the banquet went on, the sky slowly darkened. Baron Albert glanced around the Banquet Hall and rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. While the Demon Hunters were fighting in the Maiar Forest, he had also not had an easy time at Albert Castle.

Nova, Meyer, Odo—each of these Demon Hunters was a pillar of the Odia region. Although they did not hold administrative positions in the ordinary human world, such as mayor, magistrate, or sheriff, the candidates for any important positions were all ordinary members of the Demon Hunter families and were relatives of the various Demon Hunters.

This was also a special aspect of the Odia region. As the front line against the Witch Maiar, the Demon Hunters sometimes needed vast human and material resources. This situation received the tacit approval of the rulers of the Maize Duchy.

After the Demon Hunter team entered the Maiar Forest, the full burden of managing the epidemic situation in the nearby towns fell on Baron Albert. He was responsible for coordinating manpower from various places and trying his best to control the spread of the epidemic.

“Father, we need to talk!” Just as Baron Albert was about to leave the Banquet Hall to rest in his room, he was stopped by Bonnie, Nova, and the others.

“Now?” Baron Albert frowned slightly and looked at Bonnie and the other Demon Hunters. “Alright then, let’s go to the Subsidiary Keep.”

“No, Thomas. Please open the Judgment Hall at the top of the Main Keep. We wish to discuss matters there.” Nova suddenly looked up and said with a firm tone.

“The Judgment Hall?!” Baron Albert’s expression changed. He said seriously, “Opening the Judgment Hall requires a joint proposal from three intermediate-level or higher Demon Hunters, and it must be seconded by more than half of the Demon Hunters in Odia. Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, Thomas! Meyer, Bonnie, and I are all intermediate-level Demon Hunters. In fact, this is the joint decision of all our companions here.” Lady Nova said solemnly.

“I understand. Please follow me.” Baron Albert muttered to himself, “It seems you really obtained some extraordinary information during this mission.”

“Sir Meyer, what is the Judgment Hall?” Qin Lun moved closer to Meyer and asked quietly.

“The Judgment Hall of Albert Castle was established by the first Baron Albert. It holds the blessings of the Longevity Seekers and can use the Magical Array beneath the castle to gather Immortal Power. Any Evil Creatures there will be suppressed, while the Immortal Power within Demon Hunters will recover faster.” Meyer looked at Qin Lun meaningfully.

“However, opening the Judgment Hall consumes the Immortal Power that the Magical Array has gathered over a long time. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, no one is willing to waste this trump card.” At this point, Meyer’s gaze turned gloomy. “Of course, besides that, the Judgment Hall has another function. To execute… traitors within the Demon Hunter ranks.”

Qin Lun raised an eyebrow. He heard the implication in Meyer’s words and couldn’t help but glance in surprise at this big man with a full beard.

“Sir Meyer, you all previously opposed me questioning the Albert Family. Why has your attitude changed so drastically after just one night?”

“Doctor Stan, you misunderstood! We still oppose questioning the Albert Family now, but Baron Albert does not represent the entire Albert Family. At least Bonnie is…” Meyer said somewhat awkwardly.

“Sir Meyer, please don’t avoid the main issue. If you still consider me a companion, you should tell me the truth!” Qin Lun said expressionlessly.

“This… alright!” Meyer scratched his nose somewhat embarrassedly. “Actually, Lady Nova received a pigeon message from Saint Healer Totti early this morning. The first case of the epidemic disease appeared in Hansen Town!”

“Hansen Town… I see.” Qin Lun narrowed his eyes slightly.

Having been in this world for so long, he was no longer as lacking in common knowledge as before. Hansen Town did not belong to the Odia region but to the Hanover region. Strictly speaking, Hansen Town was located at the border of the two regions.

The Odia region was mountainous terrain. Aside from a few small towns, the surroundings were mountains and forests, with a very low population density. The entire region only had tens of thousands of people. This was also why such a serious contagious epidemic disease had not yet been regarded as a matter of survival by the Demon Hunter Organization.

The Demon Hunter Organization was a Superpower organization, not a human government. Natural disasters were not their responsibility. If this epidemic hadn’t been related to the Witch Maiar, the Demon Hunter Organization would not have gotten involved.

But now it was different. The Hanover region was flat plains and had several large cities with populations of hundreds of thousands. It was already close to the central area of the Maize Duchy. If the epidemic disease was truly an Undead Plague that human medicine could not solve, then once it spread in the Hanover region, it might actually overthrow the Maize Duchy and subsequently affect the safety of the entire human world.

Although only one case of the epidemic disease appeared in Hansen Town, combined with the intelligence Nova and the others obtained in the Maiar Forest, the nature of the entire incident had completely changed. It finally aroused the high attention of the Demon Hunter Organization.

“The Demon Hunter Organization has notified the Maize royal family. The roads from Hansen Town to other parts of Hanover have all been blocked. We can only hope that it’s not too late to mend the fold after the sheep is lost. The organization’s higher-ups are mobilizing the Sacred Spirit Potion. The Demon Hunters in the Odia region have received a new mission. After matters here are concluded, they will immediately escort you to the Demon Hunter headquarters.”

Meyer shook his head and said, “No matter what, we cannot allow the Undead Plague to leave the Odia region. Even if we have deep ties with Baron Albert, we cannot show leniency this time. Didn’t you see Lady Nova’s stern face too? When she was young, she and Baron Albert were…”

“Hmph!” Nova, who was walking ahead, seemed to realize something. She turned around and glared sharply at Meyer.

“Oh, oh…” The bearded man quickly shut his mouth and sheepishly turned his head away. But Qin Lun had already understood. He couldn’t help but look at Nova, then at Thomas Albert, with a somewhat strange expression.

“Nova was very beautiful when she was young. It’s just that after undergoing the Guardian Power transformation, her attributes leaned towards strength and Constitution… As for Thomas, for some reason, even if the Albert Family possesses Guardian Power, they cannot increase their lifespan. They age as easily as ordinary humans.” Meyer lowered his head and explained in a suppressed voice.

Qin Lun looked at Meyer, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. This guy looked like a middle-aged man, but he seemed to be quite old, belonging to the same generation as Nova and Baron Albert. How did he have such a gossiping nature?

The upper central part of the Albert Main Keep had a tower structure, with the middle section being the parapet Qin Lun had visited before. The area above was the living quarters for the Albert Family members. After Little Miller fell ill, no servants had come up here.

Now that Little Miller had recovered, these floors had been cleaned. The originally gloomy atmosphere was swept away. However, passing through the residential area and going further up, the entire tower became quiet and gloomy again. Only the footsteps of the Demon Hunters echoed in the stairwell.

After reaching the top floor, Qin Lun found a heavy door before him. The two closed bronze doors depicted a huge Hexagram Array. Each door had a bronze lion head with a wide-open mouth at the center of the array.

“Are you all ready?” Baron Albert turned to look at the Demon Hunters. He took out a small hunting knife from his pocket, made a cut on his finger, and then flicked the bead of blood that emerged into the mouth of one of the bronze lion heads.

Nova, Meyer, and the other Demon Hunters, including Bonnie and Qin Lun, followed Baron Albert’s example and flicked their blood beads into the two bronze lion heads.

After swallowing the last person’s blood bead, the Hexagram Array on the bronze doors slowly lit up. The eyes of the two bronze lion heads suddenly shot out four beams of intense light, scanning over everyone.

When the strong light hit him, Qin Lun felt a great sense of danger surge in his heart. He forcibly suppressed the urge to dodge and stood rigidly in place. Fortunately, a soft white light soon rose from his body, neutralizing the intense light from the bronze lion heads’ eyes.

The doctor turned his head and saw that the other Demon Hunters also had similar soft white light around them, protecting them from the strong light. It seemed this was a form of identity verification for Demon Hunters.

“Rumble, rumble!” As the intense light from the bronze lion heads’ eyes slowly faded, the two bronze doors emitted a loud rumbling sound of mechanisms and slowly swung inward.

“Everyone, please enter! The eleventh Odia Judgment Conference is now officially convened!” Albert placed his hand on his chest and bowed deeply.

“We shall here inherit Odia’s past, decide Odia’s present, and protect Odia’s future!”