CHAPTER 415: CHAPTER 30 SCAPEGOAT

The knights stood guard outside while the members of The Azure Longsword gathered in the Thieves’ Guild dark room to share updates on the current situation, unanimously feeling the matter to be exceptionally thorny.

The primary issue, of course, was the Venice City Council, especially the Conservative Party members who did not wish to be involved in the battle between the Emperor and the Church Court. At the same time, the previous Governor’s hanging had created a power vacuum in the City Council, making collective decision-making impossible.

If they couldn’t persuade the Conservative Party, then even with the New Party supporting the war, the Conservatives could simply adopt obstruction tactics—such as refusing to vote during council decisions or deliberately using lengthy speeches to prevent the New Party’s proposals—and thereby render the Venice City Council unable to pass any resolutions.

Next, regarding the Governor’s murder, the culprit could now be confirmed as Agrippina, who had already admitted to it.

However, as Peggy’s master, they naturally couldn’t bring themselves to turn her over for legal prosecution in exchange for concessions from the Venice elite. Not to mention whether the Conservatives would make concessions, the choice between "a demigod close to our team" and "a Level III Magic Potion promised by the Emperor" was obvious even to a fool.

Magic Potions are common, demigods are rare, and they were not vassals of the Emperor. Why should they sacrifice their interests for his grand accomplishments?

Moreover, the constraints of the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field made it so that abilities like mind reading and brainwashing could not take effect. Therefore, it was not just about trying to "persuade" the Conservatives; even helping Agrippina avoid militia searches and escape the city was up in the air.

"Hey, I suddenly have an idea." Medea had a sudden inspiration. "Aske, those two demigods who left, they seemed to turn into a swarm of rats rather than bats, didn’t they?"

"Yes." The answer came from Agrippina. "In the complicated urban environment, because of concerns about gunmen or snipers, the Lord of Filth usually prefers to scatter and flee as a swarm of rats, which is more convenient for hiding."

"That means, when the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field is activated, the two demigods should still be in this city," Medea said thoughtfully. "What would happen if they ran into the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field while in the form of a rat swarm?"

"They would revert from being a rat swarm, returning to their human forms," replied Agrippina. "If the environment doesn’t allow it, they’d have to risk the consumption of their spirituality, rushing to a place where the environment allows them to revert."

"Medea, what you mean is..." Thira suddenly seemed to catch on, too.

"What’s the reason Venice City activated the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field?" Medea asked everyone.

"Hmm, because the citizens witnessed a battle involving demigods in the city, so they activated the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field to prevent the fighting from escalating and causing damage?" Eleanor tried to respond.

"If there really were citizen witnesses, then the Venice elite could certainly recognize from the corresponding effects that these demigods possess the unique abilities of the Lord of Filth," Thira corrected her statement, "Activating the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field is not only to stop the battle but also to capture these demigods, thereby tracing back and finding the murderer of the former Governor."

"This means," Medea said with a smile, "if the elites catch a demigod, as long as they are from the Pure Blood Monastery, there’s a high chance Venice will identify him as the murderer of the former Governor and then hand them over to the Church Court—regardless of who that demigod actually is."

"You’re saying, make the two male demigods who attacked us today out to be the culprits who assassinated the Venice Governor and report them to the Venice elite?" Peggy asked with some confusion, "But they know the killer is a woman!"

"Peggy, the higher-ups in Venice don’t care at all about who the real murderer is," Medea tutored her. "Because the former Governor died mysteriously at the hands of the Pure Blood Monastery, the Church Court might develop some unfavorable suspicions toward the Venice City State. Therefore, they urgently need to disassociate themselves from this incident. After all, the longer it drags on, the more unpredictable the Church’s attitude toward Venice becomes."

"Let’s take an even more extreme example," she continued, "If the Venice elite only caught a male Demigod and the female murderer hadn’t appeared for many years, would the elite rather wait so many years to find the real culprit than give the Church Court a ’plausible explanation’ quickly? Don’t forget, they are politicians, not detectives."

"Moreover," Medea added, "the Lord of Filth’s Flesh Power allows for the free alteration of facial muscles and the adjustment of appearance and physique, so who can definitively assert the true identity of the murderer as male or female?"

This last statement struck home, enlightening everyone present. That’s right! The Lord of Filth can freely change their appearance and physique. Didn’t Agrippina once disguise herself as the White Wolf Knight and lay an ambush for everyone on the battlefield?

That is to say, even if the citizens witnessed a female hanging the Governor of Venice, the elite could easily claim the murderer was "deliberately disguised as a woman to confuse the line of sight."

As long as the members of The Azure Longsword capture the male Demigod of the Pure Blood Monastery and hand him over to the Venice elite, they could then exchange his silence for a covert cooperation with the Empire.

It seemed feasible.

Upon further reflection, this reverse thinking not only took into account the ability features of the Lord of Filth but also cleverly used the current anxieties and fears of the Venice elite. And in turn, it trapped the Demigod who attacked Agrippina.

The person who could come up with such a venomous plan was probably no easy opponent! Of course, we’re not targeting any companion here, just speaking objectively...

"Yes, it’s possible," Aske finally decided, "Now the question is: how to capture these two Demigods? And, will they leave Venice City ahead of time?"

"With the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field in place, the Demigods will be greatly suppressed. As long as we can pinpoint their location, we can devise a corresponding capture plan," Thira said. "Your Excellency, Poison of Belladonna, the special toxin you used last time to capture Hidden Strings, which was specifically designed for Demigods, do you have any surplus?"

"It’s impossible to create more now," Agrippina replied seriously, "But I prepared a small bottle in advance and carried it with me in case of emergency."

"I remind you all, my Law Level toxin is not insoluble for those who possess the ’Toxin’ ability of the Lord of Filth. If they are willing to expend Spirituality to activate their ’Toxin’ ability, it is highly likely that my poison will be suppressed by their power before it takes effect."

That didn’t matter because my Star Nine Forms’ Soul Shattering could sever their Toxin ability, Aske thought to himself. All it would take was a brief moment to let the poison fully take effect, and their Spirituality would be depleted.

"The second question, will they leave Venice City ahead of time, without having captured you?" Medea asked Agrippina.

"It’s hard to say," Agrippina responded, "From what I know of them, they’re not the kind of people who give up easily without achieving their goal. But it also depends on the defensive situation in Venice."

"If Venice is on high alert within the city, with stringent guard posts, only a fool would continue the manhunt in the city. They’ll most likely leave the range of the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field first; conversely, if the defense is weak, they might be more willing to stay in the city and control the docks and harbors in search of my whereabouts."

"After all, according to normal judgment, I should be looking to escape from here as quickly as possible—if you hadn’t come up with this counter-hunting plan."