CHAPTER 1022: CHAPTER 1022: VERDICT

Those who knew it paled. Meanwhile, those who didn’t glanced around in confusion.

"For those of you who do not know, it is magic that desecrates the dead.

It is using dark magic to manipulate the bodies of the dead and use them for their desired purpose.

And in what happened here in Crux, it was as undead soldiers.

They did not even differentiate between ally and foe.

The spells were cast such that everyone who was dead in the area was turned to undead," Pope Elsevier explained.

Those who did not know about it gasped in shock, and murmurs bloomed in the crowd.

There had been a lot of witnesses, and a lot of rumors had been going around about it.

There were those who believed it since so many people testified to having witnessed it. But there were also those who refused to believe it since they did not see it with their own eyes and refused to believe it was possible.

Now, Pope Elsevier himself had confirmed it.

"We learned from our investigations that the Queen of Crux, the Ruella Household, and their allied houses were the ones who hired necromancers.

Our findings are the same as Valeria’s.

Using undead soldiers is an atrocious act not only against humanity, but also against our Creator.

Perhaps people had forgotten over the passage of time, since no necromancers had popped up for some time.

But now that it happened again, I want everyone to know our stance on this matter.

Ever since the founding of the Great Temple, we had condemned necromancy.

The bodies of the dead must either be burned or buried for their souls to be able to pass on to the afterlife.

Thus, our Creator had forbidden necromancy.

As the Great Temple, we had always respected our Creator, and we had always been on the side of humanity.

And desecrating the dead is among the highest crimes we condemn.

I hereby declare that anyone who uses necromancy shall be caught and punished accordingly.

And creating undead soldiers is punishable by execution regardless of title and standing.

Thus, everyone who actively plotted with the use of necromancy to create undead soldiers for the war shall be executed.

With this, I hope no one uses necromancy for whatever purpose ever again," Pope Elsevier announced their verdict.

This was a strong stance that he and the Great Temple had always taken when it came to necromancy.

The crowd murmured at the Pope’s announcement. After all, he had also mentioned the Queen and the Ruella Household, which were the most powerful in this kingdom.

Nobles who allied with the Queen and the Ruella Household became ghastly pale as they realized the fate of their Household Heads, who likely knew about the use of necromancy as well, which was why they were confident they had a chance of winning against Valeria.

They wanted to try to appeal to the Pope and ask for mercy.

However, they did not, since the Pope said the spells did not differentiate between ally and foe; it meant everyone could turn against them if there were people here who had family members who had been turned into undead.

The Pope stepped back after stating their stance.

This time it was Ferdinand’s turn to speak.

{Will you be alright?} Ferdinand asked Arabella, his arm still around her waist.

He was worried that if he let go, she might collapse or something.

{I’m fine. You can go ahead and speak.} Arabella assured him.

Ferdinand was not convinced that she was alright because she still did not look well.

The swirl of negative thoughts flooding her was giving her a terrible headache and making her dizzy and nauseous.

If she were to be honest, it felt like her head might explode. But Arabella was doing her best to keep her act together until all this was over.

Ferdinand glanced at Alwin and Rendell, gesturing at them to keep watch of her. The two nodded, so Ferdinand went to the podium to speak as well.

"As you have heard from my Prime Minister and the Pope himself, Crux had committed far too heavy crimes.

I’m sure a lot of you blame us for what Crux has become now.

But this war was something you brought upon yourselves.

I visited last time, asking for our people to be returned.

But instead of peaceful negotiations, your rulers chose war.

If you think we attacked because there was something to gain from Crux, heh, we didn’t.

What will our Empire gain from a kingdom this chaotic?

We have more than enough territories in our hands, and we don’t need one that will cost us instead of benefit us.

We only wanted our people back, so stop glaring like you were the victims.

Blame your rulers for this mess.

Ah, but then again, all of them will be executed soon.

Slavery and necromancy are heavily prohibited in Valeria.

Yet, aside from taking our people as slaves, your rulers had decided to use necromancy against us.

If we didn’t have prior experience and resources against the undead, it could have led to deaths on our side.

They even tried to besmirch the honor of our knights and soldiers.

For all the crimes they had committed against our people, those who actively plotted against Valeria shall also be executed," Ferdinand announced, glaring back at those who glared at them.

Those people were the same ones who were also declared by the Pope to be executed, so it did not conflict.

The weight of their crimes was too heavy to be simply imprisoned.

Further, if they remained alive, their allies would keep plotting, hoping to free them from prison and make a comeback. Thus, this time, execution was the punishment.

They had to be uprooted if Crux was to change.

"And from today onwards, Crux will be a vassal state under Valeria.

You shall pay tribute to us each year from a percentage of the taxes collected.

For now, I am appointing Prince Sebastian, who had no part in the schemes against us, as the new ruler of Crux.

Princess Seraphina, who also had no part in the schemes against us, will be one of his advisers.

Other advisers shall come from Valeria.

Lastly, as my Empress advocated for the abolishment of slavery in all of Eliora, from today onwards, slavery is permanently and irrevocably abolished in Crux."

People gasped in shock at Ferdinand’s announcement.