I Level Up Dragons with My Evolution System-Chapter 95: Bitter Truths

Lawyer suddenly stood up and pointed his finger at him. "Bastard, how dare you insult us?"

"You’ve got some nerve, damn Lux!" Kael roared immediately.

Edward turned to look at them. "Is what I said a lie?"

"I know how missions work, General Lawyer. You were the first to receive it, but facing a Lich and 20 Death Knights for a few miners? The danger was senseless, you could only delegate it to students in need of resources, anyway, it’s no big deal."

"The mission gathered dust in Silver City and was transferred to us. When we decided to complete it, since the ’great heroes’ of our lands aren’t so great, you stayed behind your desks, signing stupid documents."

"You were afraid. But we weren’t. We stood in front of that mine and decided to go in because the miners you had discarded were still waiting for someone to rescue them."

"We returned, not as complete as when we entered, but we managed to complete the mission. A mission in which, unfortunately, a good friend died, but now you stand here and shout at me, just because you are strong. Where was your strength when the mission needed to be completed? When the 100 miners were crying in agony in that cave, asking to see their families one last time..."

"That’s right. You were behind a desk, because your families were fine."

Edward shook himself. Disappointed, he sneered. "They call those of us with weak awakenings trash, but in my opinion, you are the ones who are trash." He finally looked the principal straight in the eye and ignored the roars of his accusers.

The principal frowned and looked at Lawyer and Kael. That disgusting performance almost doomed them.

Even so, he kept a cold stare and looked at Edward.

"You have no proof?" he asked coldly.

Edward returned his gaze. He didn’t want to draw his sword. If things went too badly when he drew it, he would be in a worse situation.

But he was being pushed to draw it.

"I do have some," Owen said suddenly, speaking lazily from the side. "Is an Elder allowed to give evidence in favor of the accused?" A slight smile rose on his face.

The principal turned in shock. "Elder Owen?"

"Although I know the answer, it must be answered by the principal. May I?" Owen asked again, staring intently at the principal.

The principal frowned and nodded slowly. "It has never happened, but..."

"There’s always a first time for everything." Owen laughed and stood up calmly. He looked at everyone present before fixing his attention on Mervan. "The man next to me, Instructor Mervan, is in charge of assigning this mission to Edward and his group. I’ll let him speak first."

Mervan stepped forward as everyone around him stared in astonishment. "I am Instructor Mervan, gentlemen. You don’t need to remember my name; I am simply in charge of a certain group of first- and second-year students." His introduction was brief, before he went on to explain the reasons why he had given Edward this mission.

The suspicion that Edward’s father was trapped was the trigger for two things: to issue it and to accept it.

Edward was looking for his father; this was not premeditated, as the Konan couple claimed at some point in their accusation. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Miss Ashford, a member of the group, sent me a message immediately after leaving the mine, as she needed urgent help due to the state Edward and Arnold were in. She immediately gave me the information that Lander had died because he was hit by an attack of several angles by a Lich."

"Attack of multiple angles?" One of the elders looked at him in shock. "You mean that Lich...?"

"Yes, Elder Shawn." Mervan nodded. "According to Miss Ashford’s reports, sent immediately after leaving the mine and written in the Ashford Family’s golden ink, the Lich could use attacks of multiple angles; I am certain it was from a Cursed Land."

"God... So what student Edward says is true?" Among the teachers acting as spectators, several looked at each other.

"How is it possible that they came out alive?"

"Maybe he made a mistake?"

Those last words were repeated among the spectators.

"I don’t know if it was a mistake, but what I do know is that the golden ink of a Count’s Family is not used lightly." He reminded them.

The teachers swallowed hard and decided to remain silent; it was not a time to meddle where they were not wanted.

Mervan spoke again, this time looking at General Lawyer and Colonel Kael. "I’m not saying that you said what you said with bad intentions. I know very well that when faced with a murderer within the academy, we must be as strict as possible to avoid putting our talents at risk. But I still have the letter sent by Miss Ashford, and I can assure you that it is viable."

"As a member of the Control Group, her ability to judge the strength of her rivals is superior to that of someone from the Convergence Group, such as yourself, General Lawyer. Her word carries enough weight. That’s all I can say."

Owen smiled placidly and allowed him to step aside.

"It’s always good to hear from all sides, isn’t it, Principal?" Owen looked at him. "That way we’ll make accurate judgments and not create a bad image for the academy."

The principal nodded... though he was deep in thought.

"The proof I can give you may be as short as..." Owen looked at Lawyer and Kael. "And you, what did you do for the mission?" he asked.

Lawyer trembled. "W-what do you mean, Elder Owen?"

"Just what you hear. What did you do? How many miners did you rescue? How many undead did you kill in a situation where you were protecting 100 miners?"

Lawyer felt an arrow pierce his body, cutting off his ability to speak.

"Exactly. You didn’t rescue anyone. You just went in, killed a few undead, and came out with the idea that the student Edward was a murderer. Considering that I know very well that he is one of the most useful and outstanding students we have had in recent years, I could believe that you want to kill our talent." Owen declared.

"In that case..." He looked at the principal.

"What would be the punishment for a general who wants to kill one of our most talented students?"

The principal frowned. "Death."

"Exactly." He looked at everyone again. "I am a meticulous man, you know? When I receive a mission, I make sure it meets my students’ standards. That’s why I’m sure that mission was a high-level one. When I found out that Edward’s group had taken it, I immediately went to punish the one who gave it to them."

"Because it’s irresponsible."

"But that’s precisely why I’ve learned a few things in the last few hours." He took out a file that had 89 pages and one additional sheet. "89 of the miners claim that Edward killed Lander. One swears that’s not what happened."

"I found something strange about that, so I went to investigate. It turns out that the 89 miners were bribed to say something against the student Edward. They received three thousand Yakins to go against their conscience."

"I understand them, maybe I would have done the same in their place, so I don’t blame them."

But...

Owen looked at Lawyer with a cold stare. "Unfortunately, for you, of course, I’m not in that position."

Lawyer trembled. He wanted to say something, but faced with that cold, deadly stare, the words wouldn’t come out.

"General Lawyer, please come to my office and leave your uniform. As of today, you are no longer part of the armed forces." Owen declared firmly. "A disgrace has grown under my tutelage, and you dare to come and pass unjust sentences on one of my students?"

"Who do you think I am? Get out!" He roared, finally showing a ferocity that shook the scene.

Lawyer suddenly fell backward. "E-e-elder..."

"Don’t you understand my language?" Owen looked at him coldly. "I’ll kill you if I still see you in 10 seconds," he declared.

Fear gripped Lawyer so tightly that he couldn’t even look back for another second. He ran out the door... and froze when he saw a woman standing in the doorway, staring at him with hatred.

Owen then looked at the principal. "Go ahead, principal. What will your sentence be?"

The principal frowned, but since Owen had decided to speak up for the boy, he had already made up his mind.

He stood up, maintaining his posture. "The words of an Elder carry weight, and even more so when it is the prestigious Elder Owen, so there will be no further proceedings in this judgment. General Lawyer, now exiled from the armed forces, will be tried in court as a traitor; await his sentence."

"As for the student Edward, he will be under the tutelage of Elder Owen. I have nothing further to say." With that, and almost as if washing his hands of the situation, the principal turned and left.

Some soldiers, still confused by the way the trial had ended, grabbed Edward and took him away to be released.

At the door of the building, Aurora jumped towards him.

"Ed!" She was crying deeply and it didn’t take long for her tears to stain his clothes. Edward didn’t care. He immediately hugged her, while his mind processed everything that had just happened.

He looked up and noticed Arnold in the door, waiting for him too, albeit with a book in his hand.

"Do you understand what I meant? This world is no place for the weak-minded, Edward," he said suddenly.