Star Rank Hunter

Chapter 426: A Massive Trial Lineup

When Pianhuo entered, Cillin was wondering who exactly had been in the two aircraft that arrived one after the other.

Seeing Pianhuo, Cillin looked momentarily surprised before smiling. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

First, Cillin truly hadn’t expected Pianhuo to come. Second, he hadn’t expected her to show up in her true form.

Cillin had known for a long time that Pianhuo closely resembled Sifang. Appearing in her true form would definitely cause a minor stir, especially among high-ranking military officials and those familiar with Sifang back in the day.

“You’re certainly taking it easy!” Pianhuo said after glancing around the room. She had expected Cillin to be depressed, but that clearly wasn’t the case. No wonder Sihuang had told her not to worry about him.

“Worrying won’t help anyway.”

“I heard the Final Trial is in three days.” Pianhuo felt deeply conflicted over Cillin’s attitude. How could he remain so calm? This was the Final Trial, an event that would decide his life or death. Even if he didn’t die, he would likely spend the rest of his life in prison—just like her mother, trapped in a narrow space, forever severed from freedom, all while fending off dark machinations from various factions.

“Yeah, I know.”

“You aren’t worried?”

“Like I said, worrying won’t help.”

“You really are...” Pianhuo wanted nothing more than to pry Cillin’s brain open to see what on earth was inside it!

Pianhuo paused, then suddenly asked, “Where’s the cat?”

“He left.”

Wheeze had been very dissatisfied with Cillin’s arrangements at the time, but he eventually obeyed and left with Moon and the others.

Pianhuo lowered her eyes and stayed silent for a moment. Then she leaned in and asked secretively, “Do you really have a way to win this trial?”

Cillin didn’t answer.

“Forget it.” Pianhuo waved her hand when she saw his reluctance. “I just came to see how you were doing. I’m not qualified to attend the trial in three days, but someone who is will support you.”

“Sihuang?”

“Yeah. He’s right outside. Jiada is also attending, and he should support you too.”

Pianhuo talked a lot. She told him about what had happened outside since he was locked up, as well as the situation with the Godfather and the rest. However, her sheer talkativeness revealed her underlying anxiety; bringing up those topics was just a way to mask her fretful mood.

Cillin listened quietly. He knew Sihuang was only supporting him because of Pianhuo, and Sihuang and Jiada weren’t the primary factors here anyway. After all, the two of them only held two votes, and their influence in military and political circles couldn’t match Pianhuo’s. By appearing in her true form, Pianhuo was helping him through another avenue. Her appearance and stance would inevitably influence those who had been on good terms with Sifang in the past.

Yin Wushe had once said that if Sifang hadn’t been dealt with back then, the current state of the military might be completely different. This proved just how great Sifang’s influence used to be. Twenty years had passed, and among those who had been close to Sifang, quite a few had climbed to high positions and earned the right to attend the trial. Pianhuo’s appearance would make these people think twice when casting their votes, bringing in another batch of supporters for Cillin. These people were Pianhuo’s true target.

“Thank you,” Cillin said earnestly, looking at her.

Pianhuo, who had just picked up a cup of water after talking so much, hastily averted her gaze. “Save it. If you really want to thank me, let me join your squad after this is all over.”

Cillin chuckled and nodded. “Alright.”

When Pianhuo emerged from the corridor, Sihuang and Wei Ting were standing on either side of the entrance.

Pianhuo caught sight of Wei Ting out of the corner of her eye but ignored him, walking straight toward Sihuang.

Sihuang casually tossed away his half-smoked cigarette. The person in charge standing nearby twitched at the corner of his eye and kicked a dormant cleaning robot next to him, sending it to clean up the trash.

“Are you relieved now? I told you not to worry about that kid. He’s a crafty one. How could he just obediently let himself get locked up here?” Sihuang raised his hand and completely ruffled Pianhuo’s hair, undoing the neat style she had arranged before entering the corridor.

Standing to the side, Wei Ting narrowed his eyes as he watched Sihuang’s hand ruffling Pianhuo’s hair.

The person in charge waiting a short distance behind Wei Ting shivered, suddenly feeling as though the surrounding temperature had plummeted.

Sihuang ruffled her hair even more enthusiastically. Even when Pianhuo pummeled him with loud thumps of her fists, he didn’t get angry; instead, his grin grew wider and wider. His sheer smugness made Wei Ting want to smack him across the face.

Sihuang was showing off on purpose just to infuriate Wei Ting. ‘Look, your daughter is closer to me. As for her biological father, he’s practically nothing.’

Before Pianhuo could explode in anger, Sihuang wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s go. We need to head back and keep teaching that guy in the wheelchair a lesson.”

The “guy in the wheelchair” Sihuang mentioned was the Godfather. In fact, the Godfather had come with them, along with several other members of the Grim Reaper. Even though they didn’t have the qualifications to attend the trial, they still wanted to witness it. At this very moment, the Godfather was nursing a black eye while reading the documents in his hands.

That black eye on the normal half of the Godfather’s face was Pianhuo’s handiwork. When she beat him up, the other Grim Reaper members, Sihuang included, had simply stood by and watched the show.

After Sihuang and Pianhuo walked away, Wei Ting stood there quietly. The person in charge didn’t dare approach to strike up a conversation. The aura surrounding Wei Ting was simply too oppressive; even an idiot could tell that he was in a remarkably foul mood right now.

The cleaning robot that trundled over to sweep up Sihuang’s half-smoked cigarette directly exploded before it could even finish the job. It had been used as a punching bag to vent his anger.

The sound of the explosion made the person in charge and the nearby guards jump, but they all acted as if they had seen and heard nothing. They stared straight ahead, maintaining a textbook-perfect military posture.

Wei Ting didn’t even glance at the blown-up robot, nor did he enter the corridor to talk to Cillin. He had completely lost interest in his original reason for coming here. After watching Sihuang’s aircraft depart, Wei Ting left as well.

During the three days leading up to the trial, observant individuals would have noticed slight fluctuations in the magnetic field around the Central Trial Planet. Occasional anomalies popped up here and there, yet the technicians were completely unable to trace the cause.

Many other things also happened during those three days. Since the trial lineup had already been locked in, this wasn’t about them, but rather a major event that shocked the entire GAL—the four great Hunter regiments were finally going to become three.

Blumar, the commander-in-chief of Heaven of Ascendant Life, had been eliminated by the combined forces of Ji Feng and Blue Butterfly. The other higher-ups of Heaven of Ascendant Life subsequently met with various mishaps—some died, while others retreated. In short, the transition from the big four to the big three was only a matter of time.

Following shortly after the Dream Tapir incident, the reduction of the Hunter world’s top four to the top three became the hottest topic in the GAL. In comparison, Cillin’s situation was far more low-profile. The public wasn’t familiar with the Final Trial, nor did they understand its hidden secrets. They only knew what the media told them, and since the media kept quiet, the vast majority of people in the GAL remained entirely oblivious to Cillin’s plight.

Three days later, Cillin walked out of that small room and boarded a heavily guarded aircraft, heading for the central planet to face the Final Trial.

Unlike the attendees who used the main entrance, Cillin was brought in through the basement. It was rather dim inside. This darkness, combined with the solemn atmosphere and the emblems of the Supreme Tribunal plastered everywhere, naturally exerted an oppressive pressure on anyone brought in to be judged.

However, compared to others who had faced trial here before, Cillin was much calmer. Even his escorts couldn’t help but wonder: was this kid just incredibly slow to react, or did he genuinely not care?

There was a circular platform ahead with a chair on it. After Cillin took a seat, a transparent isolation barrier appeared around the platform, sealing him off from the outside to prevent any escape attempts. Since he hadn’t been convicted yet, Cillin wasn’t bound by handcuffs or anything similar.

The platform slowly ascended. Sitting in the chair, Cillin sensed the changes around him. He could detect an increasingly unstable magnetic field, as well as the numerous powerful auras—both familiar and unfamiliar—circling him from not too far away.

Golden light spilled in, piercing through the gloom of the basement. This wasn’t sunlight, but rather the illumination generated by the golden circular structure itself.

Rumor had it that this light represented holiness and justice, meant to purge all filth and guide the fallen down a path of redemption.

Perhaps the original builders and arbiters here truly held such ideals, but over time, they had inevitably become saturated with hypocrisy.

How did previous defendants feel when they saw this light? Did they feel that this glow was actually colder and more despair-inducing than the darkness of the basement?

Cillin opened his eyes as the platform gradually breached the surface. It was a vast arena, and Cillin was positioned right in the center of the circular venue. Arrayed around the perimeter were small, scale-like partitions. Inside each partition sat three to five people. Only one person in each group was an official attendee with voting rights, while the rest were simply their companions.

Cillin swept his gaze across the surroundings. Seated in the highest tier were three figures in military uniform. They wore special chest badges—the exclusive insignias of Heaven’s Edict. Sitting a short distance away from them, still in the highest tier, were several senior senators.

On the second tier sat Ji Feng, Blue Butterfly, the Navigators’ Tamaier and Xin. Prisa, and Jiada—the newly minted Star-Rank Hunter recognized after Oskulos’s death. Also present were Yin Wushe, Niebeila, and Sihuang.

Originally, the three members of Heaven’s Edict hadn’t planned on showing up. More often than not, they preferred to observe from behind the scenes. However, with all five Star-Rank Hunters of the Hunter world and those three troublemakers present, their absence would have made it impossible to keep the situation under control.

Niebeila hadn’t originally planned on coming either, as he never got involved in this sort of mess. But this time, Yin Wushe and Sihuang were both here, along with all the current Star-Rank Hunters and the military’s three Heaven’s Edict members. If he didn’t show up, he would definitely feel like he was losing face. Moreover, Niebeila was happy to watch Cillin stand trial here. After all, he had lost quite a few subordinates because of Cillin.

Afterward, Cillin spotted many acquaintances. Yu Linglong and her two cousins occupied three adjacent “scales” belonging to the Yu Family. Cillin didn’t recognize the trial attendees representing the Ci Family, the Ji Family, and the Feigler Family, but Ci Jincheng, Knight, and Pride were all seated there. Their eyes were filled with worry, and their mental states seemed far worse than Cillin’s, looking as if they hadn’t slept properly in ages.

Shi Huajing was representing his family at the trial. The people behind him were currently arguing, but Shi Huajing ignored them, simply sitting there lost in his own thoughts.

The attendee for the Andrea Family was Lung. The young master wore a solemn expression, muttering something under his breath. However, judging by the reaction of the little old man Beljett behind him, it probably wasn’t anything good.

Cillin also saw Angenia. Standing behind her were Yuan Sheng, Gen Xingfu, and Yuan Xingji. There was also Aikenseth, who was currently in the limelight of his Star Sector. Qing hadn’t tagged along; the one accompanying Aikenseth was Reysen. Some highly influential figures from electronic media publications had arrived as well. They never missed out on events like this. Allen and his crew were among them, along with personnel from Limit and Luxury...

Besides them, there were many others Cillin didn’t recognize, but he saw goodwill in their eyes. Whether they were entrusted by someone else or had made the decision themselves, Cillin committed these people to memory, remembering that they had withstood the pressure to stand on his side at a time like this.

The lineup for this trial was far more massive than the one during Sifang’s trial back in the day—all five Star-Rank Hunters, all three members of Heaven’s Edict, along with senior senators, legion commanders, highly influential great families within the GAL, media representatives, and regional faction leaders. No one could have ever imagined that a mere squad captain of a Hunter regiment would draw out such a colossal trial lineup.

Inside the tribunal, the golden illumination was so dazzling that it left people slightly dazed. Yet, the defendant simply sat there with a calm expression, observing it all.