ATAPOW Chapter 78
Previous Chapter|Index|Next Chapter
Chapter 78: Charm
The Sacred Martial Association, otherwise known as the Holy Palace of Tribunal.
It was created by the five legendary Chivalric Order members who had achieved the most merits at the battle of ‘Counterattack Desperado’. This organization was created to prevent power from being monopolized within the upper echelons of the Chivalric Orders and to prevent its leaders from deciding anything alone and running amok. It was usually convened to solve some decisions that the upper echelons of the Chivalric Orders were unable to make or cases that would bring about severe public discourse.
The scope the Sacred Martial Association had jurisdiction over was scarce, and it didn’t have the authority to assume control over the Chivalric Orders. To the numerous Chivalric Orders out there, it was a completely neutral existence, yet none of them would dare ignore its directives.
The reason was very simple. The Sacred Martial Association enshrined and worshipped generations of ‘Pioneer Heroes’ of mankind. Its high prestige and fairness had accumulated step by step over time and was incomparable to any Chivalric Order out there. They were deeply trusted by the public. Because of that, they could change the momentum and directions of public opinion on a whim. What’s more, as the large war had ended not too long ago, a lot of Chivalric Orders were threatened by a lack of livelihood and had to rely on the help of the Sacred Martial Association to open some side businesses. Thus to a certain extent, the Sacred Martial Association was directly in control of the economic lifeline of the various Chivalric Orders and, how the public perceived them.
To put it frankly.
As a Chivalric Head, if you chose to escape and ignore a trial, you would need to resolve yourself to become the enemy of all humanity and be isolated and discriminated against.
Even more important was the fact that the current president of the Sacred Martial Association, ‘The Immortal Knight’ Cyrandi, was one of the pioneer heroes deeply trusted by the masses. With his words carrying this much weight, which Chivalric Order leader would dare dismiss the existence of a pioneer knight like him?
Even if one was the leader of a Chivalric Order, believe it or not, the Sacred Martial Association would still drag them up to the guillotine if they were to piss them off.
In order to facilitate supervision and administrative matters, the Sacred Martial Association had set up a branch in every major city. When an emergency occurred, it was up to the branches to inform headquarters, whereupon a tribunal would be held.1
As for the ones in charge of overseeing the Tribunal Court, they were generally made up of people dispatched by headquarters, together with an additional local Sacred Martial Association member.
…………
At the Sacred Martial Association branch in Border Town.
“Can you show me your credentials and explain the purpose of your visit here, Mister?”
“Hmm? What credentials? Don’t tell me I’m not allowed in without those pesky things?” Ji Bai tilted his head.
“What else do you think??” This place is an important government facility. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to let people like you go in and out as they please, like at a food market? This person couldn’t be here to stir up trouble, right?
Looking at the suspicious figure before him that was wearing a crucifix helmet over his head, the knight guarding the door tightened his grip on the longsword in his hands.
“Oh. I see. I’m very certain that one didn’t require any credentials to go in before.” Ji Bai scratched the back of his head through his helmet.
“Alright, I got it. What do you need exactly? An identification card, a driver license, a marriage certificate, or a vehicle permit?”
“Are you making fun of me now, citizen??? People who can enter this place need to possess at least some status! Stop messing around and quickly leave!”
“Eh? Don’t chase me away. It’s not like I don’t have any identity anyway… Hey! Do you see this? I’m actually a member of Amazon Pr*me2 and it’s an annual subscription! You can let me enter now, right?” Ji Bai took out his phone and dangled it in front of the knight guarding the door.
“…May I ask sire to refrain from challenging my patience and return the way you came from immediately? If you choose to continue this charade, this humble self wouldn’t mind letting you experience a three day vacation in a prison cell!”
“Eh? Do you really have to be this merciless? You don’t have to, right? Let me talk some sense into you: Our society is currently one that’s built on a favor. One more friend represents the opening of an unorthodox possibility in life. Only by being understanding and charitable towards others can we bring forth an eternally harmonious society. Can’t you just accommodate me or something…?”
‘Shrrrnng!’
Alright, this guy has drawn his sword out already. Seems like talking logic with him isn’t going to work.
“I see…” Ji Bai sized up his surroundings. The entrance to the government building was a scene of desolateness. There was not one passerby around.
In that case, don’t blame me for doing things the unorthodox way, little buddy. I don’t really have a choice.
Red light greatly expanded in an instant as a crowd of countless small dark-red bats flew out in a buzzing manner.
“T-This, this is…!?” Before the knight guarding the gate could even say something, he felt his breathing stopping as if someone had a death grip on his neck. He was incapable of making any movement, free to be manipulated – like meat on a chopping board. As long as the other party wills it, just a slight twitch of his finger could take his life.
“Ehe~ Big brother, this way. Look this way please.”
While the knight guarding the gate was in a trance, a pair of hands that were as soft as cotton made their way up onto his cheeks and turned his head.
In his field of vision a pair of scarlet eyes, resembling flawless bloodstones, appeared. The knight felt like he was being sucked into a whirlpool and was unable to move his eyes away no matter what.
【Scarlet Magic Eyes of Allurement】, the innate skill of the vampire race. It would temporarily seize control of someone’s consciousness and was effective on people who possessed zero sacred abilities or weak willpower. Once that was done, it would ingrain into their mind the concept of a master and their needs above all else. The probability of success and the duration of its control was related to how pure their bloodline was.
The consciousness of the knight gradually became more and more blurry.
“Listen to my orders, and obey my commands.”
“…I will solemnly obey your Highness’ commands. I am your most loyal servant.”
“Mhm~ In that case, I want you to listen to my following commands. After that, I want you to forget everything that has happened today, is that clear?” Bai Ji whispered in the knight’s ears as her finger rested on her cherry-like lips lightly.
“Understood…”
…………
With his hand on the hilt of his sword, the knight guarding the gate was currently walking inside the holy palace while an unknown person wearing a crucifix helmet followed behind him.
Although the sentries within the temple were suspicious of the visitor’s outfit, they didn’t probe deeply into it.
People who could get past the guardian naturally had some status to them.
“May I know the purpose of your visit, Mister?” The leader of the sentries deferentially saluted. He had barred their way as he struck a conversation with them.
“Leader, the people that I bring to the Holy Palace are naturally our most esteemed guests. This person here is no exception.”
“Oh? Then may I know how to address your distinguished self?”
“He is Mas…”
“Cough, cough. The surname is CHU, C-H-U and my name is Teddy. T-E-D-D-Y3.” Ji Bai lightly coughed twice, interrupting the words of his guide.
“Oh, Teddy Chu. Mr Chu, right? May I ask you about the purpose of your visit?”
“Mhm, I am a member from the Sacred Martial Association headquarters which has been dispatched here. I am here to discuss some arrangements with your branch leader.”
“…Is that so? But this humble self recalls that my colleagues over at the Sacred Martial Association are only expected to arrive tomorrow. May I know what’s going on?”
Shit, do the higher-ups nowadays notify in advance for every inspection work they’re going to carry out?
Previous Chapter|Index|Next Chapter
- Added that part because it just doesn’t flow well without it.
- The original text is referring to a QQ special member. Where the members are given benefits for game services, special promotions for products, and different avatars for their chatroom. The only closest thing I can think of is Amazon Prime, so I decided to use that instead.
- This paragraph is basically Ji Bai trying to say that his name is ‘Yo Daddy’. I have changed it accordingly so that you guys can understand it.