Chapter 510: Chapter 510: The Tree
 

Han Dong’s laughter was not because of confidence in victory.

It was purely a response to the president’s taunting laugh.

So far, Han Dong has not seen any chance of turning the tables in this game.

The president of the association has a higher ‘status’ in the Holy City than Mr. Black White, and has long exploited various loopholes in the Holy City to infiltrate the upper echelons.

Even with the intervention of the Great Plague Chief, all that could be achieved was buying some time.

Han Dong’s expulsion, being ordered by the Supreme Council, was basically a foregone conclusion.

But at this moment.

A surprisingly new power arrived.

Less than a hundred in number, they forced the retreat of the Black Rose Knight Squad and the Plague Knights.

The arrival of this force caused the councillors and the president himself to frown.

Marcus, the person in charge of the arrest operation, was clearly troubled, as the seemingly straightforward arrest had become unusually complicated.

“The Curator is here!”

Thirty people in total, each dressed in pure white high collar robes and pointed hats, had the ‘Three-Primitive-Book Mark’ printed on the back of their robes.

The leader of the group was Reynoza Rodney, Curator of the National Royal Academy of Knights’ Library and Chief Editor of Holy City Imperial Library, and also the honorary president of the Magic Association.

His image was that of an old man with a white beard, a typical wizard figure often seen in magical movies.

Vice-President Hera was also at his side.

Clearly, the Library’s intervention was due to [Dumps Martin].

The slight delay was due to Vice President Hera personally writing a letter to request the Curator’s intervention… After all, as a Vice Curator alone, she would not be of much help.

In the letter, Dumps was portrayed as a rare magical genius of a century and characterized by his manipulation of more than five different elemental magics, which moved the curator and eventually decided to intervene in the matter.

“Councillor, I am in agreement with the Great Plague Chief’s views.

This matter involves an important staff member of my library-Dumps Martin.

As far as I know, Dumps was personally selected by Hera to serve as a general administrator in the library due to his outstanding memory and sense of responsibility when he entered the school.

For the past three years, he has always been diligent and has never brought any negative impact to my library.

If such an excellent staff member is to be convicted, it’s too unreasonable to not inform my library in advance… If possible, I suggest a reconsideration.”

I, the Great Plague Chief, and anyone else involved in this matter should participate.

Also, I question the identity of President Stephen Maknovsky.”

The Councillor’s stance was incredibly firm, “The ruling is a document handed down by the Supreme Council with absolute execution power and there is no need or possibility for revision.

Curator and the Great Plague Chief, please attend the ‘traitor’s’ trial conference promptly at ten o’clock tomorrow morning.

As for Chairman Stephen’s matter, it does not fall within the scope of the current incident.

If there really are problems, evidence gathering, council discussion and judgement will have to be carried out after the traitor incident has been resolved.”

“Councillor, isn’t it time to change some regulations of the council?”

When the Curator uttered this sentence,

Even the Great Plague Chief was stunned, as such words were somewhat challenging to voice, equating to questioning the highest authority in the Holy City.

Just as the atmosphere became increasingly tense,

President Stephen suddenly proposed:

“There’s no need to complicate things.

Indeed, the failure to notify the curator and the Great Plague Chief in a timely manner regarding the investigation and conviction of the traitor was my fault… it was at my request that the council expedited the proceedings for this matter, as such a heretic in the Holy City is far too dangerous.

If word got out and the traitors learned of their revealed identities, there would be a very high chance they could escape.

Since you both don’t believe there’s an issue with your student or staff member, and don’t trust the evidence I provided,

then I’ll conduct the ‘physical examination’ myself.

My ‘Dream Art’ is capable of revealing any part of the traitors’ body that belongs to the outside of the city.

If the verification fails, I will personally propose a re-judgement to the council and take full responsibility for providing insufficient evidence… even if you want me to relinquish the title of president of the association, I could do so.

Seeing is believing!”

“Director Reynoza, Great Plague Chief Moggleny, what do you think of this suggestion?”

“Fine.”

The librarian simply did not believe there was any problem with his librarian, purely based on the evidence Hera had given him.

At the same time, the curator was not too satisfied with this president of the association, which was why he had come to intervene in this matter.

He did not object to this proposal.

However, the Great Plague Chief looked troubled because he knew that Han Dong indeed ‘had some problems’.

Just then, the crow whispered, relieving the plague chief of his worries.

“Alright, let’s handle it Chairman Stephen’s way.”

While the Great Plague Chief remained outwardly calm, inwardly he was extremely anxious… If Han Dong’s identity were exposed, the greatest harboring crime would correspond to Mr. Black White.

“Black White, you told me… this president corresponds to the high-ranking existence outside the city. Now that he is being examined directly like this, this student of yours can’t possibly withstand it, can he?”

“Don’t worry, this chess game has already spawned an additional hidden chessboard.

When Nicholas obtained ‘evidence,’ he became disoriented, focusing all his attention on Nicholas and Dumps, who were hurrying back to the city.

He didn’t pay attention to the additional change on the chessboard at all.

Even though he completely dominates the main chessboard, in terms of the overall situation, he is actually digging his own grave.

Also, with the help of the clockmaker, a special person has returned in advance to catch this crucial moment… All we have to do now is watch the show.”

…

After obtaining the approval of the councillors.

A victorious smile spread across Chairman Stephen’s face, his deep eyes conveying a sense of disdain towards inferior species towards Han Dong.

A strong aura spread from within Chairman Stephen.

As the chairman approached, Han Dong trembled and slowly retreated, his expression hardened…

“What… happened to the smile you had just now? Do you think that with the support of a captain, you can continue to hide your identity? What a naive little fellow.”

A surge of strong psychic power flooded out of the chairman’s head, instantly suppressing Han Dong and eliminating any possibility of escape or resistance.

“Let’s show everyone the ugly true face hidden under your mask.”

He touched his forehead with a finger.

Han Dong’s expression froze instantly, and the deepest secret in his mind was unearthed.

An intense sense of death seeped from beneath Han Dong’s feet.

At the same time, in the basement of the “Terminal Knight Regiment” in the high-rise area of the Holy City, Captain Alex suddenly opened his eyes and uttered four words from his mouth:

“Absolute death…”

At the city gate.

What gradually surfaced from within Han Dong was not speckled tentacles, not an indescribable deformity, nor an unusual limb that could not be described in ordinary words.

It was a black tree.

“Pfft… Haha! Sorry, I just couldn’t keep up the act any longer. Let me laugh for a moment.”

Han Dong’s feigned astonished expression was shattered, and he was now clutching his belly, laughing wildly.

With the use of [Laughing Madness] attribute and the help of the Faceless Skull, he managed to resist the chairman’s mental invasion.

“What… What kind of tree is this!?”

The Black Rose Knights, Plague Knights and even the widely read Library Collective present had never seen such a strange Talent Tree. To be precise, it had gone beyond the concept of a conventional Talent Tree.

When this black tree appeared, the entire surrounding scene changed accordingly.

The ground where the Knights stood was replaced by a black sand illusion.

In the black desert permeated with a sense of death, a black tree that had been well nourished by a blood brew grew. The lush branches were filled with red fruits.

From a distance.

The dense red fruits when put together looked like a red face, and the black branches resembled the pattern on the lips.

Talent Tree – ‘Laughing Face’