Chapter 188

Shi Lang and the team were all given a separate room. Cara was also given a separate room, only Zysha was allowed to be with her. Cara thought, “What can they possibly ask me?”

Zysha said, “Ace wants to talk to you.”

Cara was shocked and was about to react when Zysha said, “Control your emotions, we are being observed. It is better that you pretend to be sleeping. We can communicate with our minds.”

Cara was a feline race, she was very curious, but she also understood what was the priority here. She lay down on the bed and turned her face to the wall as if sleeping. She asked, “How will Ace talk to me?”

Zysha said, “Let us not waste time with the technicality of this. He has a few pointers for you.”

Cara hummed in response and Zysha said, “If you are asked about why you hated the Arcadian Empire, directly say it all. Do not hesitate or anything, okay?”

Cara replied, “Yes, this did not need to be said, it is obvious.”

Zysha continued, “You will also tell the people that you offered us to avenge ourselves and at the same time to dethrone the Arcadian royalty.”

Cara nodded and said, “You all do not have to worry, I will not let you all suffer. My goal has been achieved and I do not have any other dreams, so if they tried to convict anyone, you can put the blame on me and I will take it all.”

Zysha replied, “No, we do not need to you to sacrifice, just make sure you clear up these two points. The rest will be left with Ace to deal with.”

Cara nodded and said, “Okay, when will the trial begin though?”

Zysha said, “Tomorrow they said, which has twenty hours.”

The people continued to chat for a bit before they fell asleep. The Terran team was tired and Shi Lang was particularly starving for spirit energy. One could even compare him to the addict who was suffering from withdrawal symptoms. The man was feeding himself on the spiritual energy for the past two days and he was having a blast.

Shi Lang was drunk on spiritual energy, his speed and everything else had increased significantly, however, in the absence of spiritual energy, the stats had come down by a bit. His Terran cultivation was now at the seven-star level.

Time passed very quickly, after resting for eighteen hours, the team took shower and they were served compressed food. They all ate and wore their military uniforms. Shi Lang also wore his standard black military uniform with all the stars and stuff.

After twenty hours the people supervising them came to call the Team. The trial will now begin. Shi Lang had his mask covering his face. The guards wanted him to take down the mask, but when they saw his cold eyes, they stopped. Yesterday when Shi Lang shoved the handgun in the mouth of their captain, they did not even see him act. So, they were deterred.

The people were led to a room, which has been re-fitted in a course of a few hours to look like the courtroom. There were a few benches placed inside the room, this area was the hearing area. Then adjacent to the wall on the side there was a bench, this was the witness area. The guards led Shi Lang and his team inside, and at the same time, Cara was bought over with Zysha.

The next few people to arrive were Instructor Rosa, Ameris, who was serving as the representative of Nexalia Neytiri, and finally Fleet Admiral Stevenson. Shi Lang nodded to the old man, and the old man nodded back to him.

The last person to arrive was Barrister Kai-Hushi. He smiled and greeted everyone, before he said, “I hope that you have read the rule book and are aware of how the trial will proceed. But for those who do not know, the trial will be judged by five randomly selected members of the Galactic Council. Once you are convicted or found guilty, then varying on your level of crime, the punishment can be varying from outcasting or annihilation. So allow me to welcome the judges of this trial and their identities are kept a secret.”

The people nodded and a screen at the back of the room started up, what appeared on the screen was a two-dimensional black outline of faces. The features were covered by the system so they could not be seen. Barrister Kai said, “Greetings dear judges.”

A discordant voice said, “Keep aside your greetings, get started we have many things to deal with.”

Kai scratched the back of his head and said, “Yes, sir.”

He took a deep breath and said, “The trial is being held because a team of Terrans and a Noemonian princess killed the royal family of Arcadia.”

The judges nodded and the man from earlier said, “Begin.”

Kai said, “I would like to call, Miss Cara to the stand, please.”

Cara stood up from the witness area and walked to where Kai pointed and then she sat down on a chair. Kai asked, “Can you confirm your identity to the judges.”

Cara nodded and said, “My name is Cara, I am eight years old, and I am the illegitimate daughter of the late Emperor of Arcadia.”

She did not hide the fact that she was the illegitimate daughter of the said royal family. Kai nodded and asked, “Then, Miss Cara, what is the proof that you are the descendant of the Emperor of Arcadia.”

Cara looked at the man and said, “You can check my blood. I have read in the Galactic Council rule book, that you have collected the sample of blood from leaders of every race.”

Kai was dumbfounded at this comeback, he did not expect this girl to take note of such things in the rule book. He nodded and then gestured to a guard. The guard came forward with an already prepared syringe-type instrument. Cara put her hand forward and the man extracted a small quantity of her blood from the equipment.

This equipment was not a mundane tech, this syringe had the data stored in it, the data was from the blood test of the Arcadian Empire. At this moment, it was tested Cara’s sample to compare the data.

After a few minutes, the device beeped and a green light lit up indicating that the blood was a match and this established the fact that Cara was the true descendant of the emperor. Kai asked, “Your Highness Cara, may I ask why you decided to break away from your family.”

Cara narrowed her eyes at the way this person addressed her. She said, “My identity is proved and now I will submit the royal family records to the judges. If it is permitted.”

A judge asked, “What is the purpose of this submission?”

Cara replied calmly, “These records have a complete entry of the Arcadian royal family, and their descendants. The birthdates can be traced back to the time the empire was just a small kingdom and had just been founded. These records have a special section which might tell you the reason I decided to break away from those hypocrites.”

Not only did the girl actively submit evidence but also took the chance to smash the dead. Kai said, “Your highness Cara, please be mindful of your words.”

Cara gazed at the man and said, “I expect the same from you, Sir Barrister. I am Cara, not Your highness or lady, just Cara.”

Kai was left tongue-tied, however, he could not retort, because the points were all valid. The evidence was submitted and the people were not so shocked to find that there was a page called, sins. There were names and photos recorded on those pages. Along with every time someone was given the merit of being cursed by the royal family.

Rosa whispered, “What a twisted practice.”

Ameris nodded beside her and the questioning continued. Kai asked Cara how she extracted the data, and the girl explained everything in paramount detail. She remembered everything and she told everything. After an hour when Cara was finished, Kai said, “Cara, you can now go back to the witness area.”

Cara stood up and with slacked shoulders, she walked back to the benches. Kai said, “The next person to record the testimony is Captain Jenkins Edwards of the Terran race, he was the member of the team that struck the Arcadian Empire.”

Jenkins sat down on the chair and he was asked by Kai to confirm his identity, the boy told the court everything, and the questioning began. Whenever Kai had anything to ask about the mission, Jenkins would say that he was acting on orders of his superior, and if he was pushed forward, he would say, “Sir, that is classified information, until you can find me the permission of the president, I cannot reveal them to you.”

What followed what an exhausting round of repetitive answers, and finally the barrister said, “I would like to call over the final witness, Capatian Ace.”