The lively atmosphere instantly became silent, replaced by whispers echoing like flies.
Klaus made a controversial statement. Elizabeth was an S-Class awakener as well as the leader of a large guild. A person of her caliber had unquestionable credibility. There's no way she's telling lies.
If Elizabeth really did it, not only herself would be tarnished, but also the great name of the Oathkeeper. People's trust could decline, and this was not good news.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. "You son of a bitch."
The woman took the stage with bulging eyes. She even rudely took the microphone from the Mayor's hand.
As she came face to face with Klaus, she took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure, but her chest contained the overwhelming anger.
"Klaus Lee or whoever you are. I don't know what I ever did to you to make you call me a liar. If you have a personal problem with me or Oathkeeper, let's settle this legally. Don't make statements that mislead others like a coward."
The blonde woman provoked, trying to keep Klaus away from the crowd. She wanted to avoid arguing as much as possible.
However, Klaus would not eat her bait.
"We can do that after this. But the world needs to hear the real truth."
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. She really didn't want to argue. It wasn't that she was afraid of losing to Klaus. In fact, she was confident she could win over him. She had a good name and credibility. It was easy for her to put an 18-year-old boy in a corner.
However, she was worried about Hugo. Will he side with Klaus or with her?
She and Hugo were not enemies. They used to cover for each other, just like in this situation. But, they were not friend either.
However, this time, Hugo let Klaus go on stage, running his mouth to create a commotion. She was worried that Hugo was doing something behind her back.
Elizabeth saw Hugo from a distance. Their eyes met for a long time. Then, the man nodded his head.
A sly smile bloomed on her face.
"Alright then. Let's see who they will trust more. The spoiled son of a rich man like you or me who has conquered hundreds of dungeons."
The atmosphere in the harbor became increasingly tense as Elizabeth and Klaus faced each other like two fighting horses who did not want to back down. The applause and cheers had died down, leaving a tense silence around the stage.
Klaus faced the crowd. With a steady face and confident eyes, he laid out the chronology of events.
"I've seen her speech via live stream. Some of the things she said were true. But most of them are lies. She and her men never entered the dungeon!"
The crowd gasped. What he said contradicted her.
Of course, Elizabeth did not remain silent.
"Nonsense. I was fighting in there, along with Morning Star and Sunstrike. I didn't even see you. Where were you when we faced hundreds of drakes? Where were you when we were lost for days in the castle?" She denied his accusations and counter-accused Klaus.
They presented their arguments and evidence to each other, trying to convince the crowd of the truth of their respective versions.
On the one hand, Elizabeth said she was always at the forefront when facing monsters. She also said that the Rays of Hope deliberately broke away to avoid the battle.
On the other hand, Klaus told the facts. He told the chronology of events coherently. Starting from his party being deliberately held outside the dungeon to separate them from the main group to how they got into the castle.
The people around them were divided between support and doubt, swayed in this horrendous battle of arguments.
Cameras rolled on them as journalists took notes word by word. The sunlight got hotter as time passed, creating a dramatic picture in this heated debate.
"We made it through the maze and found Vincent and the wyrm. They were not fighting but complementing each other. It took us a while to figure out that Vincent was under hypnosis. We fought against them."
Elizabeth smirked. She turned to the crowd. "Look at this guy! He just said an S-Class awakener was hypnotized and killed his own men. And the one who slandered Vincent was only F-Class. Can you see who here is lying?"
The crowd nodded their heads. Most of them were starting to agree with her.
What she said made sense. Vincent Thomsen might be a jerk. But this guy was an S-Class. There was no way he would be exposed to a lowly negative effect like hypnosis.
"I have witnesses to prove this man is a liar."
Elizabeth called out to one of the awakeners wearing a red outfit with a star symbol on its chest. This person was part of the Morning Star members. He seemed to bow his head as he came on stage.
She embraced this man in front of the audience.I think you should take a look at
"You heard what he said, right? He basically said your boss is a murderer. Are you going to let him have his way? Tell people what you saw there!"
The man had already received dirty money from Elizabeth to keep his mouth shut. Surely he knew what story she wanted to hear.
"I am Tony. I'm under Vincent's direct orders. So I accompanied him from the beginning to the end of the raid. And what she said is true. Our boss killed the wyrm, and this guy's story is rubbish."
The man stroked the spatial ring on his finger and took out a wyrm scale, showing it off to the crowd.
"These scales are proof that we faced a wyrm. It was Vincent who killed the alpha."
The sound of gasps echoed through the air. Whispers began to be heard, and eyes with disgusted gazes focused on Klaus.
Elizabeth grinned in triumph.
If a Morning Star member said so, her statement was irrefutable. The crowd was on her side now.
The blonde woman gave Klaus a mocking look. "Did you hear that? They're starting to think your talk is bullshit. They won't trust you anymore after this. This is what you get for playing with fire. You mess with the wrong people, boy."
Various negative and demeaning words entered Klaus's ears. However, instead of feeling down, he grinned as if it was what he had been waiting for.
"You said Vincent defeated the wyrm, right? But actually, the wyrm is not alpha. It's just an ordinary monster," Klaus said.
Elizabeth laughed loudly. "Now you're saying nonsense again. I've brought you a direct eyewitness. But you just keep making up stories. If it's true that the wyrm is not an alpha, give us the proof."
Klaus smirked. "Very well."
Naturally, the blonde woman raised her eyebrows. She did not expect Klaus to agree to it. Based on the stories she heard from the awakeners, they had not gotten any notifications from smartlinks after killing the wyrm. So, they were sure that the wyrm was not an alpha.
Suddenly, worry popped out in her chest.
Confidently, Klaus stroked the spatial ring on his finger. A bright light appeared in the center of the stage, blinding the eyes of anyone who saw it. Not long after, it disappeared.
"Eh?"
"Whoa!"
"Eh. What is that?"
Klaus showed off an item, and the crowd showed different reactions. Some squinted, some frowned. Ordinary people assumed the object in his hand was an ordinary strange object found in a dungeon.
But for experienced awakeners, it was an extremely valuable item. They all were dumbfounded. Elizabeth was no exception. She dropped her jaw as the dragon heart glowed in Klaus' hand. It was a very rare item.
Klaus grinned. "The alpha actually is a dragon."
Instantly, a rumble of surprise echoed through the air. Those who were non-awakener might not know about items and so on. But the dragon was a legendary monster that once destroyed parts of South America. Everybody knew about it.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. She wasn't giving up yet.
"Hah! The dragon's heart is probably a fake item or something you can get from the black market. You need more than just proving that you defeated the dragon. Especially since you are an F-Class. This is highly improbable."
Klaus chuckled. "I'm not saying I defeated it alone. One of the strongest awakeners in this raid also joined. He is the one you mentioned who often fights by your side."
Opening her eyes wide, Elizabeth knew who Klaus meant.
At that moment, she knew that she was in a trap.
"I'll call some people to back me up," Klaus said. "Hey, come up here!"
Three men broke through the crowd, and people gave way reluctantly.
As they climbed onto the stage, Elizabeth trembled. Anger and feelings of betrayal rose in her chest.
They were Hugo, Gavin, and Noah.
And Klaus handed the microphone to the Sunstrike's guild master.
"As you know, I am Hugo Musgrove. I guarantee Klaus' statement is the truth."
