Chapter 2185: Commenced Trial

Rui spent all the time at his disposal chalking up a strategy to deal with Sage Kole. Thankfully, he knew everything he needed to know. He had memorized the details of her profile while still in the Kandrian Empire. Thus, he had pretty solid intelligence on what kind of person she was, or at least had been.

On top of that, he had been presented with the evidence that was part of his case.

The damage he had done was even greater than he expected.

He had inadvertently hurt a lot of people and killed several as a result of his attack going out of control.

He heaved a sigh, shaking his head with depressed eyes.

Had he had any inkling that his attack would go that much out of control, he wouldn't have gone for it. He truly had absolutely no prior idea that such a thing could even be possible.

However, it didn't matter if his intentions weren't malicious. At least, not against anybody other than Master Uma, who was the only person who got what they deserved. What mattered was whether he could convince Sage Kole of it. It didn't matter if it was the truth or if it was pretty hard to believe.

"I... should plead guilty."

Martial Judiciary processes retained the pleading of the defendant before the judge. If he admitted he was guilty, he would get off with a lighter sentence than if he pleaded innocent but was found guilty.

In addition, he needed to make sure that Sage Kole had reason to trust him when he pulled out his trump card. If he acted like a despicable ingrate who was clearly willing to say whatever to get out of jail, then she would immediately dismiss his bribe as a lie fabricated on the spot to get her to acquit him.

As long as he could get her to believe that he was telling the truth, he could get her to acquit him with her desire to regain her Martial power.

He spent the rest of the day planning and modeling different likely scenarios that the trial hearing could go before planning the best response for all of them.

Eventually, the next day arrived, and with it the scheduled hearing.

Like clockwork, the Martial Master guards arrived at his housing quarters to pick him up an hour prior to the trial.

Rui was garbed in his usual Martial attire, presenting himself as a Martial Artist more than anything else.

He presented complete composure.

Yet, inside, he would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little nervous.

It didn't matter how much he calculated the most likely questions and the most optimal strategy—nothing was perfect. Even if he was completely right, it was possible that even this highly optimized approach was nothing more than an inevitable failure.

He felt his nerves tingle as he arrived at the Martial Court.

He would much rather face a hurdle that involved Martial Art.

After all, he spent most of his time honing it. Rather than dealing with something that his Martial power couldn't affect, he would rather fight a hoard of Martial Masters with low odds of victory.

At least, he would be in his home court.

STEP

Soon enough, he arrived before the doors of the high Martial Court reserved for the sole use of High Judge Sage Kole.

His eyes grew more grave while his expression grew more severe.

He could feel it.

Even from the outside, he could feel it.

He could feel the nigh-boundless power hidden deep within the depths of her being. Sealed it might be, but the pressure that she exerted on him inadvertently showed that her power was still very much alive and well.

CLACK

The doors opened, giving Rui his first glimpse of what was inside.

Yet, despite the magnificence of the trial hall inside, it couldn't hold his attention for so much as a second.

No.

Instead, his attention remained fixed on a single person.

A single being.

There she sat upon her elevated seat, peering down at Rui with her unfathomable eyes. Her body quivered uncontrollably while her hands quaked, rendering them uncontrollable. Her legs could no longer function properly due to the excessive tremoring.

It was a miserable condition.

She looked a lot worse than he had expected.

And, as sorry as he felt for her, he couldn't help but be relieved by the state of her condition. It only increased the probability that she would be inclined to accept her offer.

"Master Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria."

Her voice drew his attention forcefully.

"Do not waste my time." Her powerful eyes pierced down at him. "Take your seat."

"Yes, Your Sagehood," he addressed her politely as he adhered to her words.

He felt a tremendous amount of pressure mounting on him. This was not something he could afford to mess up.

Her body language and demeanor indicated that this hearing was just another day at work. However, to Rui, it was everything. He knew it.

The realization put an immense amount of pressure on him. "Without further ado, let us begin." Her tone was firm and unyielding. "Tell me. Case AD51 is underway. Defendant Master Rui is charged with many crimes by the Panamic Martial Federation, including murder, mass murder, damage to property of the Federation, and unauthorized use of a forbidden technique. I shall begin by inquiring into each charge before formulating my judgment. By the end, I shall pass my judgment after confirming whether the defendant pleads guilty."

Rui narrowed his eyes as the session officiously began.

He was itching to communicate his offer to her non-verbally. However, timing mattered. In addition, he couldn't be too blatant with it. He needed to make sure that he had everything in place in order to make sure the impact of the offer would hit her as hard as possible. The worst possible outcome would be the complete dismissal of his offer as nonsense that wasn't even worth considering.