My health recovery is incredibly fast.

“Xia Zuo, you’ve come at the right time. I have something to ask you.” Beatrice looked up from the mountain of official documents and pointed to the chair across the table.

“Please tell me, teacher. I will do it,” Xia Zuo said, sitting down.

“After the monsters were released, a small problem arose in the central mountains.” Beatrice took out a hand-drawn map and handed it to Xia Zuo remotely. “A group of monsters held captive by the army escaped from Masano City into the central mountains. We have been keeping a close eye on every batch of monsters, but this group of monsters was able to evade our pursuit and successfully escape into the mountains. It’s hard not to suspect that the Church of the Otherworld is causing trouble.”

The hand-drawn map showed that the group of monsters passed through three visible military defenses and one hidden defense line set up by the academy's mages, starting from the western city of Masano and heading straight into the central mountains. The four defense lines along the way had little effect on the monsters; the two sides didn't even clash against each other.

It was as if these monsters had long ago known about the light and dark defense lines.

The issues here may be more complex than just the infiltration of the Church of the Otherworld.

The royal defense line, which was set up in the open, was practically useless, and it was understandable that the monsters could pass through it... Well... this is not to mock them, but rather to say that the royal army at this stage still lacks experience in dealing with monsters, and is unable to pose a fatal threat to them in terms of either tactical equipment or strategic arrangements.

But how could the hidden defenses set up by the academy's mages be penetrated by monsters?

This was arranged by Beatrice herself.

"You suspect there's a traitor within this academy's mage team, is that right?" Xia Zuo asked, looking up.

"It doesn't necessarily mean there's a traitor; it could just be that someone made a mistake."

Beatrice crossed her arms on the table. "In the past, if this had happened, I would have simply sent Dim to investigate. But this involves a plan to release monsters. This plan is a top secret that I have never mentioned to any of the garrison mages. Now, I must recall them and use mental mediums and enchantments to search their memories. Those mages from the academy who are innocent will be sent back to their original posts. Those who are guilty will be dealt with accordingly. In the Starry Night Kingdom, such acts as treason are punishable by death."

Xia Zuo pondered for a moment, "So, you still don't know who betrayed the academy, or rather, you can't be sure if a betrayal has occurred, is that right, teacher? Even so, you still intend to read all the memories?"

"Is it my act of directly accessing your memories that makes you uncomfortable?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes... teacher." Xia Zuo nodded.

At this moment, Xia Zuo had many thoughts on his mind.

If we categorize the act of accessing memories as a means of collecting evidence.

In the eyes of modern people, such methods would involve violations of privacy and human rights. However, it is clear that under the rule of the Temple, while the concepts of privacy and human rights existed, they were not important; only loyalty was paramount.

Loyalty that is not absolute is absolute disloyalty.

If a mage belonging to the temple refuses to have his memories read, then his loyalty to the temple becomes a question worth considering, which often leads to more investigation and interrogation.

In contrast, having one's respected head of the academy read one's memories becomes a better option for proving one's innocence and avoiding trouble.

Assuming Xia Zuo is a member of this mage team, after an incident pointing to treason, voluntarily accepting memory readings would likely be his first choice.

If Xia Zuo, a person who has received a modern education, is like this, let alone those academy mages who have grown up in the kingdom since childhood and have been instilled with the idea of ​​the supremacy of academies.

They might feel resentful about having their memories read, but it's better to accept it than to be suspected of being a traitor.

Beatrice had faced similar situations many times and knew very well how Xia Zuoxin felt. If it were her, she would also feel resistant to reading memories.

Beatrice sighed softly and said:

"Xia Zuo, from the moment you entered Xingye Academy to your studies in the Eastern Continent, and then back to Xingye Academy, you have never made a mistake, nor have you ever directly faced the Court of Judgment. So you have no idea how cruel and cold-blooded the Court of Judgment can be when investigating cases."

Chapter 16 The Thorns of Judgment

Xia Zuo's understanding of the Temple Tribunal was limited to "it is a very strict temple institution" and "it specializes in investigating cases and trying criminals," which was rather superficial and only at the level of knowing that such an organization existed.

Now that Beatrice brought it up, Xia Zuo seized the opportunity to ask, "Teacher, could you tell me more about it?"

Beatrice stopped writing with her silver-sand hand. "Then let me give you an example from the present situation."

She thought for a moment and said:

"First, we need to reach a consensus: the fact that these monsters passed through the four lines of defense unimpeded indicates a certain degree of information leakage. Whether the leak was intentional or unintentional, it has caused rather serious consequences. Do you agree with this statement?"

“Agreed.” Xia Zuo nodded.

“Alright then.” Beatrice paused. “Do you think this level of information leak will affect the overall plan for releasing the monsters?”

“I think it will happen, but the impact is manageable. And the possibility of the situation deteriorating further is very small. If things develop in the worst direction, for example, if other demons are mixed in with these monsters, then the operation to release the monsters will be forced to stop,” Xia Zuo responded.

“Yes, you’re right,” Beatrice said. “Imagine what would happen if this happened in the Silvermoon Federation. Let me tell you the answer. The Inquisition would intervene directly in the case, taking away the investigative powers and the authority to dispose of personnel from the Category 3 Disaster Response Department, and investigating the case in its own way.”

Beatrice rubbed her temples. "You have to understand, the way those guys in the Inquisition investigate cases is downright brutal and barbaric. To them, it's efficient, but from an outsider's perspective, it's full of force and overstepping boundaries. The Inquisition will investigate every single thing that every person involved in a case did from birth until the time of the crime, and incidentally convict them of things unrelated to the case. Any violation of the law will surface during the trial and be punished, even if those actions are deeply hidden and secretive."

"You mean to bring up old cases? The court will use memory readings to examine the lives of those involved and add charges to those minor violations of the law, right?" Xia Zuo said.

"That's right. But the court doesn't use such a mild and inefficient method as reading memories."

Beatrice pointed to the blank space on the table and used illusion magic to construct a strangely shaped thorny plant.

The plant was planted in a large flowerpot, as big as a fountain pool. The dark green brambles were covered with scarlet thorns, which sent chills down one's spine.

"This is the [Bitter Thorn], a magical plant that has been preserved since the beginning of the First Era."

Beatrice explained:

"The court has cultivated a thorny thicket of judgment, as large as a room, to judge the depth of the sins of the guilty."

“When the person being judged touches the thorns of judgment, their thoughts, memories, consciousness, and so on will quickly merge with the thorns of judgment. The thorns of judgment will react to the sins committed in this person’s life, binding the person being judged with these barbed thorns. The deeper the sins, the more thorns will bind the person. If a person has committed a sin that should be punished by death, he will be torn to pieces by the thorns of judgment on the spot.”

“Using plants to judge crimes…” Xia Zuo frowned. He had thought the court would use more sophisticated enchanting magic to make the accused confess their past misdeeds.

Beatrice waved her hand, scattering the illusion models on the table. "Of course, the Inquisition won't let the Blade of Sin interfere with such a 'glorious' matter as executing criminals. They will take the criminal out of the Blade of Sin when he is about to die, and then convict him according to the regular trial process."

“Teacher…you’re right…compared to this method of trial, reading memories is indeed much gentler.” Xia Zuo rubbed his forehead, then asked, “Did you just use ‘they’ to refer to the trial court?”

“Yes.” A hint of mockery flashed across Beatrice’s face. “A group of infertile women followed the right people to establish the Court of Judgment, eager to send people into the greenhouse of the Thorns of Judgment to become nutrients. Even the leaders they once followed became fertilizer under the soil of the Thorns of Judgment. How heartless is that?”

"You don't seem to get along with them very well?" Xia Zuo asked.

"Ha, it's not just me; most people in the temple dislike them. If it weren't for the fact that they've never proven a wrongful conviction and that the Outer Temple Council keeps them in check, many would want them to experience what it's like to be entangled in thorns."

Beatrice waved her hand. "Let's not talk about the court anymore. Let's get back to the main topic."

She pointed to the hand-drawn map in Xia Zuo's hand, "I need you to do something. Go and secretly investigate this group of academy mages. If possible, find out who the traitor is and try to persuade him to surrender. If there is no traitor, then investigate the source of the intelligence leak."

“No problem, teacher.” Xia Zuo rubbed his chin and nodded. He knew in his heart that Beatrice was testing whether the option of “discretionary reduction of sentence after surrender” was attractive to criminals.

“I’ll give you five days, is that enough?” Beatrice said. “Once the five days are up, I will formally send a letter requesting them to return to the academy and undergo memory reading.”

"That's enough, I'll set off now," Xia Zuo said, putting away the map.

“I’ll be waiting for your good news.” Beatrice smiled. “What brings you here today?”

"My tower is finished, and I'd like to apply for promotion to Grand Mage." Xia Zuo shook the map in his hand. "The promotion can wait. I'll go investigate the academy's mages first."

“Okay.” Beatrice picked up her pen and wrote a few lines in her notebook. “I will report your promotion ceremony to the outer palace. I expect to receive a reply by the time you return from the western part of the kingdom.”

Over the next 10 minutes, Xia Zuo and Beatrice discussed the background of the person they were investigating before leaving the room.

He sent a message to Anru using the secret communication ring, informing her that he had received a mission and needed to go out.

After receiving the reply, Xia Zuo made some preparations in his dormitory and then used his Windwalking Technique to fly out of the academy.

He followed the mountain path upwards, braving the raging mountain winds to cross the Storm Mountains, and arrived at the western part of the kingdom, west of the mountains.

The eastern part of the kingdom has many stone houses and bustling streets.

The western part of the kingdom presents a different picture. Here, wooden houses are the main feature, and most of them are low shacks. It looks much more backward than the eastern part of the kingdom, but there is construction everywhere, and dust is flying everywhere.

Following the monster invasion, the Kingdom Council mobilized troops and artisans to undertake large-scale infrastructure construction in the western part of the kingdom. Countless ordinary people followed suit and settled there, bringing wealth, resources, and manpower.

Road construction, house building, farmland reclamation, horse training, plantation development... The Kingdom Council has formulated a series of development plans in the western part of the kingdom, encouraging a large influx of funds into the region.

The once desolate western part of the kingdom was transformed overnight into a treasure trove of gold.

Chapter 17 Monster Cub

Xia Zuo had once taken on the task of investigating traitors.

Back then, he and Dim exposed the traitorous bio-alchemist Helmst in the city of Spree.

Two people deserve special credit for their contributions throughout the entire process.

One was Xia Zuo himself, who witnessed the entire process of Hemst's fall and saw through the conspiracy he was plotting with the Blood Demon, Qualouchi.

Another person was Emily, the leader of the research team at the time, who provided intelligence about Hemsworth's unusual behavior.

The captain is highly loyal and possesses more information, making it easier for Xia Zuo to quickly gather intelligence. For this reason, Xia Zuo plans to start his investigation of the traitor by focusing on the captain of the academy's mage team.

He drifted all the way to the westernmost part of the kingdom and stopped at Pisco Bastion on the border.

This is a highly militarized fortified structure, the main building being a sprawling bastion—a type of structure that could effectively counter ground military units in the Middle Ages. Viewed from above, the bastion appears as a relatively regular polygon, with each protruding corner protected by adjacent corners on either side.

Xia Zuo knew that this military building, which was so effective against ground units, would gradually reveal its drawbacks and shortcomings as the monsters were deployed, because the temple planned to deploy flying monsters on the border.

However, that's a story for another time. Let the kingdom's military worry about how to deal with flying monsters.

Xia Zuo came here only to secretly summon the leader of the resident mages, who was also the captain of this academy's mage team.

Using the amulet given to him by Beatrice, he safely passed through the protective array of the fortress tower without alerting anyone, and finally landed on the top of the tower.

After sending a secret message, Xia Zuo stood patiently in the shadow of the rooftop wall and waited.

Two minutes passed.

A small, unassuming bat, bathed in moonlight, flew up from below. As it approached the rooftop platform, it transformed into a cloud of black mist, which then coalesced into a beautiful human figure.

Xia Zuo looked at the other person's face and ponytail, thinking to himself that they were indeed someone he knew.

The captain of this academy's mage team is a female mage named Yani.

Back when Xia Zuo and Anru were still studying at the academy, Anru often went to class and went shopping with her senior, Yani. Later, Yani was assigned to the city of Sprill as the resident mage, where she handled Hemsster's corpse.

At this moment, Xia Zuo was wearing a hood with a concealment effect to cover his face, changed his voice, and used the illusion array that came with the high-level mage's robe to change his body shape. The possibility that Yani could recognize him was zero.

Xia Zuo stepped out of the shadows, and a letter flew out from his sleeve and landed in Yani's hand.

Yanni recognized the sender's identity from the stamp on the letter and the emblem on the wax seal.

Xia Zuo waved his hand to set up an anti-peeping barrier, then tilted his chin slightly, gesturing for Yani to open the letter and read it.

Beatrice herself had a high opinion of Anna, so she directly stated all the necessary instructions in the letter, clearly stating that the high-ranking mage in front of her was there to investigate the case and that she must fully cooperate.

After reading the letter, Yanni bowed respectfully and said, "Your Excellency, please ask your question."

“I need all your work records from the day you took up your posts in this fortress until now, the most complete and detailed kind, which must include meditation schedules, personnel handover records, spellcasting records, and records of entering and leaving the tower. Also, your personal memos.”

Xia Zuo continued: