Chapter 367: Chapter 367: Cleansing
They knew that the Minister of War was following the instructions of Cardinal Treniel. It wasn't the Holy Church that had failed but the Minister of War who had failed.
There were only four ministers who had no idea about it as they weren't supported by the Holy Church. As the Holy Emperor was saying it with such confidence, they didn't doubt his words.
They simply wondered who else was a traitor to the Holy Empire. If even the Minister of War had fallen then who could they trust? They even wondered if there were traitors amongst the Ministers who were present here.
This also explained why the Holy Emperor was so furious. Because of these Traitors, the Holy Empire had almost entered a war with the Great Demon Sect which they could not afford.
While they still had to worry about the Necromancer Tower, they couldn't afford any more enemies. If they were in his place, they were sure that they would have been even more upset.
"Your Majesty, do you believe that some of us are compromised as well?" A minister loyal to the Holy Emperor asked.
He already knew the answer to that question but he still wanted to hear that from the Holy Emperor's mouth.
Eren didn't answer right away. His gaze swept over all the Ministers. Even those who were on the side of the Holy Church looked around, as if wanting to guess who could be the traitor. Unfortunately, it was too late for them to put on an act.
"There are indeed more traitors." After a period of silence, Eren nodded as he broke the silence. "The Minister of War has already confessed the names of the other traitors."
The Minister of War had passed out before he could be interrogated but the ministers here didn't know that. Eren could easily fool them with the story of a confession.
Even the Royal Guards couldn't doubt Eren as they hadn't been with the Holy Emperor for quite some time. They didn't even know that the real Holy Emperor was dead.
"The number of traitors is quite higher than I expected. To cleanse this place, I'm afraid I would have to spill a lot of blood today."
Eren lowered his head, appearing really sad that he was betrayed by the people he trusted. As he was about to kill most of the Ministers, he wanted to put on a nice act.
"Your Majesty, if there are indeed traitors, we should inform the Holy Church first. With their help, it would be much easier to verify the presence of dark magic. You can't believe the words of a traitor."
The Ministers who sided with the Holy Priestess found it hard to believe that the Minister of War exposed everything.
They all knew how scared he was of the Holy Church. He also had a family he loved after all. He would rather die than expose the Holy Church.
They didn't know why the Holy Emperor was lying about this but they knew that they had to control the situation while they still could. They had to bring Cardinal Treniel here.
"Informing the Holy Church?"
Eren stood up, stepping down from the throne. He walked over to the Minister who had spoken with his hands behind his back.
"T-that is right. It's important for them to know," The Minister said, even though he was slightly taken aback by the Holy Emperor's close proximity to him.
"You know that the Holy Church is busy trying to find the lost sword. Still, you want them to be informed now? Aren't you just trying to buy some time so you can escape?" Eren asked, tilting his head sideways like a child looking at an amusing toy.
"Escape? Why would I-" the Minister tried responding as his eyes narrowed. However, before he could complete his sentence, he saw a beautiful silver light flash in front of his eyes.
The silver light belonged to the sharp blade of a sword that soon turned red. The man watched the sword covered in fresh blood while gently touching his neck, a warm liquid slowly spilling out and staining his blood.
He opened his lips and no words came out, as if his vocal cords itself were sliced. Soon, his entire world turned upside down as his head rolled to the side, falling at the Holy Emperor's feet.
His vision turned dark, watching the Holy Emperor's feet turn in another direction, leaving him behind. Soon, he lost his life as the rest of his body also dropped on the ground with a thud.
"What?"
"You killed him?"
The Ministers who were supported by the Holy Church were absolutely stunned, watching one of them die. Some even wondered if they were dreaming.
Was it really the same Holy Emperor that always took the opinion of the Holy Church before even taking decisions of small importance? He had killed a Minister?
"All the Traitors shall be killed today. No one will be given an opportunity to escape!"
As Eren spoke, the Ministers who were against him realized that the Emperor already knew about their loyalties. He had really gone crazy, wanting to go against the Holy Church with the excuse of betrayal.
Now that it had come to this, they couldn't just let themselves be killed. They had to fight back.
The Ministers were ready to fight back. Even though the Holy Emperor was strong but with their combined strength, they could still suppress him and wait for Cardinal Treniel to arrive.
"Huh?"
The traitorous Ministers had already decided to fight back, only to grow stunned as they noticed that their bodies had frozen in a thick layer of ice. Only their head was free, as if left that way intentionally so they could watch their own execution.