I, the heir of the great Eastern nation

With a flash of light, Will's head fell to the ground.

Everyone present was stunned by what they saw.

No way, it's really killing people?

Especially those local nobles who originally just wanted to come and see the excitement, almost popped their eyes out when they saw Will's head rolling on the ground.

"Hiss~ By the God of Light, he actually killed Will!"

"I thought he was just putting on an act, but it turns out he was serious!"

"Damn it, Blackstone Territory is really going to turn upside down."

"..."

Amidst gasps of astonishment, Liu Zhao, his face expressionless, forcefully plunged the knife into the soil beside Will and looked around.

"I hereby declare that the prisoner Will is dead. The trial will now be adjourned for a short period of time."

"Who are the people present, from Baishui Village, Qingye Village, and Heishi Village?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what Liu Zhao meant.

And the young man named Russell who had been in the corner was the first to step forward.

"My lord, I am from Whitewater Village."

Liu Zhao looked at him and nodded.

"Very good. Go to Baishui Village now and tell the other villagers what happened here. Also, tell them that I will continue the public trial of the tax official and the guard captain, but the current evidence is not enough to sentence them to death. I hope they can come and testify in court to help. Do you understand?"

Russell nodded excitedly.

"Yes, sir, I'll take care of it right away!"

Liu Zhao nodded.

"Go ahead and do a good job. I'll definitely reward you if you do this well."

Russell ran off, filled with excitement.

At this moment, some people at the scene also began to realize what was happening.

The new lord is determined to completely eliminate any dissidents!

With such power and ruthless methods, isn't now the best time to show your loyalty if you want a good life in the future?

In a short while, several more daring people raised their hands in response.

"Sir, my home is in Blackstone Village. I'll go deliver the message for you right away!"

"Sir, my home is in Qingye Village, and I'll go right now!"

"..."

In the blink of an eye, several more people stepped forward and bowed to Liu Zhao.

Upon seeing Liu Zhao nod, they immediately took off running, afraid of being slower than the others.

After seeing these people leave, Liu Zhao also spoke up loudly.

"I hereby declare the trial adjourned. The guards shall continue to maintain order until the people from the other three villages arrive before the trial resumes."

After saying this, Liu Zhao walked straight into the gate of his manor under everyone's watchful eyes.

Christine glanced at him and followed him inside.

Then she quickly saw that as soon as Liu Zhao entered the room and was out of sight of others, he immediately leaned against the wall and vomited.

Ugh~

After vomiting for more than a minute, he finally calmed down a bit and managed to stand up while holding onto the wall.

Then, looking at Christine who had followed him, Liu Zhao asked in a hoarse voice.

"No one saw this except you, right?"

Christine shook her head, then looked at him in astonishment.

"What's wrong with you?"

Liu Zhao took a deep breath and shook his head.

"There's nothing I can do. I usually use magic as a mage, and this is the first time I've ever killed someone with a knife. I have no experience, so it's normal to feel nauseous and want to vomit. I feel much better now that I've finished vomiting."

Christine was taken aback at first, then laughed.

"So it turns out there are things you're not good at too. I thought you were some kind of super genius who could do everything."

Liu Zhao glanced at her and said irritably.

"Alright, stop gloating. Go get me a glass of water, ugh~ my stomach is killing me right now."

"Okay, wait."

Christine chuckled softly, then quickly walked back into the house, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Liu Zhao.

After rinsing his mouth and drinking water, Liu Zhao immediately felt much better.

After leaning against the wall for a while to recover, Liu Zhao composed himself and went outside with Christine.

Beside the open space that had been used as a makeshift courtroom, the tax collector and the captain of the guard, who had witnessed Will's death, were so terrified that they wet themselves on the spot.

When Liu Zhao entered, they frantically tried to coerce and bribe the guards watching over them, begging to be released.

However, having just witnessed Liu Zhao's formidable strength and ruthless methods, these guards no longer dared to act recklessly in front of so many people.

What's more, the villagers of Hongguo Village and Simon were watching from the sidelines.

Therefore, no matter how much they cried and cursed, the guards pretended not to hear them.

Seeing Liu Zhao reappear, the tax collector and the captain of the guard felt as if they had seen their last glimmer of hope, and immediately begged for mercy in Liu Zhao's direction.

"My lord! My lord! I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, please spare my life!"

"Your Highness, I'm willing to give you my entire fortune. Please, give me another chance! I promise I'll truly mend my ways! I beg you, my lord!"

"..."

However, no matter how much they cried and wailed, Liu Zhao ignored them all, sitting quietly in his chair with his gaze always fixed on the direction of Baishui Village.

Finally, just as the tax collector and the captain of the guard were about to lose their voices from shouting, a group of rapidly moving lights appeared in the dark distance.

As Liu Zhao approached, he also saw Russell's figure at the very front.

"My lord, I'm back! I've brought all the villagers from Baishui Village with me!"

Russell's excited shout drew everyone's attention.

Liu Zhao finally smiled.

The villagers from Baishui Mountain, upon arriving at the scene, all immediately looked at the headless corpse in the center of the open space.

"It's Sheriff Will, it really is him!"

"He's really dead!"

"Russell is telling the truth! That lord really did kill Will!"

The villagers who were present exclaimed in surprise.

Russell helped a middle-aged man in his early forties up and pointed to Will's head, which had fallen to the ground.

"Uncle Link, look, Sheriff Will is really dead! Just now, the lord publicly tried him for his crimes in front of everyone, and then chopped off his head with one stroke!"

"That beast who tortured little Sally to death, he's finally dead!"

"Uncle Link, Sally's revenge has finally been achieved!"

Russell wiped away his tears forcefully, his voice trembling with sobs.

The middle-aged man next to him also had red eyes and was trembling uncontrollably.

Then, the old man named Link immediately bent his knees and knelt down heavily before Liu Zhao on the stage without hesitation, kowtowing forcefully.

"Thank you so much, Lord! You have avenged my daughter. I kowtow to you!"

As soon as he took the lead, the other villagers behind him also knelt down and shouted loudly, "Your Lordship is wise!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Zhao waved his hand dismissively.

"Stop kneeling, get up! There are more important things for you to do next!"

The villagers of Baishui Village then stood up one after another.

Then, people from the other two villages arrived one after another.

Upon seeing Will's body, she too was deeply moved and wept bitterly.

*Snap*

Liu Zhao slammed his gavel down heavily, the loud sound drowning out all the noise and instantly silencing the entire room.

"Now, the second court hearing will officially begin."

"Russell, go and bring the tax collector to me."

Upon hearing Liu Zhao call his name, Russell immediately perked up and stood up straight.

"Yes, sir!"

Ignoring the wailing of tax collector Webber, the young man from Whitewater forced him to the center of the open space and knelt beside Will's body.

*Snap*

Liu Zhao looked at Webber in the audience and his voice turned serious.

"Webb Sean, as the tax collector of Blackrock Territory, you not only failed to perform your duties, but also colluded with Sheriff Will to disregard the law, wantonly lend money and harm civilians, and keep young girls for your own pleasure on your own estate. Do you admit to these crimes or not?"

Having learned from Will's example, Webber dared not confess and immediately began to wail and cry out that he was innocent.

"My lord, I'm innocent! I haven't broken the law! All the female slaves in the manor were bought with my own money, it's all legal and perfectly legitimate, and I have written contracts to prove it. I'm innocent, my lord! You can't make a wrong judgment!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding villagers all showed anger on their faces and gritted their teeth.

But when his gaze fell upon Weber's familiar face, he couldn't help but show a look of fear and lingering apprehension. He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to speak.

Seeing this, Liu Zhao couldn't help but frown slightly.

Then, he continued to speak.

"Oh? Is that so? Did I really misunderstand you?"

Liu Zhao turned to look at the location of the group of villagers.

"And what about you? Do you have anything else to say? Can anyone prove whether Tax Commissioner Weber's statement is true or false?"

Silence. No one spoke.

Liu Zhao continued speaking.

"No one's speaking? Since no one's speaking, then I'll assume he's innocent. After all, the evidence is insufficient, and as the lord, I can't arbitrarily convict and indiscriminately kill innocent nobles."

"Alright, I'll give you ten more seconds. If no one is willing to step forward and testify that Tax Commissioner Weber is guilty, then I will release him without charge."

Upon hearing this, the villagers present all looked bewildered.

Webber, kneeling below, was beaming with ecstasy.

"Your Excellency is wise! I've already said I'm innocent, Your Excellency is truly wise!"

At this moment, a male villager suddenly spoke up.

"My lord, I..."

He had barely uttered a word when Weber's eyes suddenly fixed on him. That fierce gaze swept over him, making him turn pale instantly, and he immediately shut his mouth.

The same change in expression occurred on the faces of most of the villagers.

Seeing this, Christine frowned and was about to speak when Liu Zhao raised his hand to stop her.

After exchanging a glance, and seeing Liu Zhao's look signaling her not to get involved, Christine snorted softly and shut her mouth.

"Alright, I'll start the countdown now. You have ten seconds to consider whether you're willing to step forward and accuse him of being guilty. If no one objects after ten seconds, Tax Officer Webber will declare him innocent and release him."

The next second, Liu Zhao began to count down.

"ten."

"Nine."

"eight."

As Liu Zhao counted down, the joy on Weber's face grew stronger.

He even stopped looking at the villagers with disdain, as if he had already escaped completely and was certain of victory.

Russell was about to step forward when Simon pulled him back and gently shook his head at him.

"five"

"Four"

As the countdown continued, Liu Zhao's voice grew slower and slower.

"I'll emphasize this again: this is your only chance to identify Weber, and possibly your last chance in your lives. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never have another chance."

Upon hearing this...

The villagers' expressions grew increasingly agitated and strained.

But still no one stepped forward.

Liu Zhao ignored it.

"three"

"two"

Old John, the village elder of Red Fruit Village, could no longer sit still and wanted to stand up, but Simon stopped him and gently shook his head at him.

Old John slammed his fist down, then could only let out a long sigh.

As the countdown was about to end, Weber opened his eyes wide, his joy evident on his face.

At this moment, Liu Zhao finally shouted out his final countdown.

"one……"

"My lord! I have something to say!"

A thin hand was raised high, and a young voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone looked sideways.

He was a somewhat thin-looking boy with a buzz cut.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, his thin hands trembled noticeably, but he still gritted his teeth and continued to speak.

"Sir, I have something to say. I'm willing to testify that Sheriff Webber is guilty!"

This sudden turn of events caused Weber to open his eyes wide and shout angrily.

"You damned lowly commoner, how dare you..."

"Shut up! Weber! Let him speak!"

Liu Zhao's rebuke silenced Webber on the spot, but his eyes remained fixed on the crew-cut boy with a fierce look.

This made his heart race and his breathing become extremely rapid.

Liu Zhao looked at him.

"What's your name? What crime do you want to accuse Weber of?"

The boy gritted his teeth and continued speaking in a trembling voice.

"Sir, my name is Claude, and I am a villager from Aoba Village."

Last August, I witnessed Tax Collector Webber, accompanied by his private army, trying to buy Uncle Jack's daughter Shana from Qingye Village for a copper coin. When Uncle Jack refused, his soldiers broke both his legs and forced him to put his fingerprint on the contract.

Less than a month after that, Uncle Jack died, and Shana also died at his manor this March.

The boy named Claude stumbled and stammered, but eventually finished telling the whole story with a sob in his voice, his chest heaving violently, and pointed to Waver in front of him.

"It was him! He killed Uncle Jack and Shana! He's the murderer!"

These words completely changed Weber's expression.

"My lord! He's lying! This lowly commoner is lying! My lord, you mustn't believe him!"

However, Liu Zhao ignored him and continued to look at the villagers of Aoba Village standing next to Claude.

"I ask you, is what Claude said true? Besides him, is there anyone else who can stand up and testify that Weber is guilty? If there are any other witnesses who can testify, I can immediately declare Weber guilty and sentence him to death!"

"I'll ask one more time, is there anyone else willing to step forward?"

This time, Liu Zhao used magic to amplify his voice, making it incredibly loud and clear throughout the entire venue.

Looking at the trembling Claude, the villagers finally gritted their teeth and slowly raised their hands.

"Sir, I saw it too."

"I was there that day too, and I can vouch for what Claude said."

"We all saw it..."

As hands were raised one by one, a smile finally appeared on Liu Zhao's face.

Ignoring Weber's cries, Liu Zhao then slammed his gavel down.

"I hereby declare that the prisoner, Webber Sean, is found guilty with conclusive evidence!"

"The sentence is now: death penalty!"

Liu Zhao looked at Russell, who was beaming with excitement on the field.

"Russell, is that right? Here's the knife. Are you willing to be the executioner?"

Upon hearing this, Russell trembled, and then a flush of intense excitement appeared on his face.

"My lord, I do!"

"Very well, then execute the order, execute it immediately!"

As Liu Zhao's voice fell, a commoner boy named Russell, his hands trembling, gripped the blood-stained knife and walked up to Weber.

Ignoring Weber's curses and cries, he clenched his fists and brought the knife down.

Weber's voice stopped abruptly, and his body went limp to the ground.

Weber died.

The surrounding crowd fell silent again. Then, a group of villagers couldn't help but burst into tears, and for the first time, they dared to utter heartfelt curses at the dead Webber, venting their pain and grievances.

As more and more people spoke up, the atmosphere at the scene was suddenly filled with an incredibly fervent and special emotion.

Sitting on the stage, Liu Zhao felt a very special sensation at this moment.

He raised his head and looked at his title of Blessed.

After the appearance of the "Han Imperial Clan" talent, a line of small text suddenly appeared in the previously empty talent ability section.

[Ability 1: Protection of the Common People: As a member of the Han imperial family, you possess the power to bestow the title of 'Common People' as a form of protection.]