At the same time, Bucky’s voice reached Raymond’s ears: "Two Executive Officers, my brother must have gotten angry when he saw an escaped prisoner!"
Raymond sneered, quickly figuring out what was going on.
Barron had pretended to be an escaped prisoner, planning to shoot Raymond inside the prison area. Bucky had taken the chance to bring in the officers, hoping to cover for Barron and make it look like a lawful killing.
But too bad - their plan was about to fail.
To keep track of which actions could earn sinners Guard Contribution Points, Raymond had been secretly recording everything with a memory stone all day.
As footsteps grew closer, two officers in black armor appeared in the hallway.
"Greetings, Executive Officers!" Everyone in the room bowed their heads.
Just then, Bucky walked out from behind the two officers.
He looked around with a proud smile.
Suddenly, he spotted Barron sitting in the corner, beaten and bruised. His face went blank. "Brother! What happened to you! Who did this!"
Bucky hugged Barron, his eyes full of hate.
He looked around, then stared coldly at Hal. "It was you, wasn’t it!"
Hal was surprised. He had wanted to beat Barron up, but Raymond hadn’t given him the chance.
"It wasn’t him!" Barron took a deep breath, turned his head to look at Raymond, and said with regret: "I let my guard down this time. Put us in an open space, and you wouldn’t win!"
"What did you say!" Officer Marcus glared, walked straight up to Barron, and looked down at him. "You attacked a fellow officer, and you lost?"
Barron’s face turned red. "Sir Marcus, I thought this man was an escaped prisoner, so I attacked him. I’d never seen him before."
"Useless!" Marcus snorted coldly, looking annoyed.
Just then, another officer, Grayson, walked up to Raymond.
He looked at the junior guard badge on Raymond’s chest and smiled. "You’re new here?"
Raymond nodded and was about to speak.
Hal stepped forward and said loudly, "He’s Raymond, Lucian Baron’s eldest son!"
Hearing the name Lucian Baron, Grayson raised an eyebrow.
He stared at Raymond for a few seconds, then turned his head and asked, "So, this was all a misunderstanding?"
Raymond spread his hands and looked at Barron. "I’d never seen him before either. I was on patrol, and he attacked me. I thought someone was trying to break out of prison. Didn’t expect him to be so weak!"
Barron heard Raymond’s insult and flew into a rage. "Raymond! If you’ve got guts, fight me again! Next time, I’ll kill you with my own hands!"
Raymond glanced at Barron and snorted. "First, pay me for my mental distress. And my sword! I hit you too hard, and it broke. You’ll pay for that too!"
Barron couldn’t believe Raymond was this arrogant right in front of the Executive Officers. He was so angry he couldn’t breathe and started coughing violently.
"Enough!" Executive Officer Marcus roared, and the whole room fell silent.
He turned to the guards around him. "Does anyone have a memory stone?"
The guards checked around and all shook their heads.
A look of anger appeared on Marcus’s cold face. He turned to Raymond. "You started a fight, injured a fellow officer. I’m fining you three months’ pay and locking you up for a month. Do you accept?"
Raymond let out a cold laugh. "Of course I don’t accept!"
Clearly, Marcus was trying to pin all the blame on Raymond.
Marcus had expected this. He sneered. "This is Abyss Prison. When there’s evidence, we follow the evidence. When there’s no evidence, we follow power. Do you understand?"
As soon as Marcus said this, Barron and Bucky behind him both grinned with disdain.
The four squad leaders standing beside Raymond looked grimly at Grayson.
"Executive Officer! Raymond is not the useless draft-dodger the rumors say. There’s more to this story!" Hal said urgently, hoping Grayson would side with Raymond.
"That’s right, Sir Grayson. This young man has amazing talent with the sword. He’s nothing like what people say." Hilton glanced at his companion beside him and also spoke up in Raymond’s defense.
Grayson glanced at Marcus, a look of disgust on his face. "I’m still standing here. Could you show a little restraint?"
Marcus snorted coldly, unmoved. "A mere junior guard dares to disrespect an officer. If I use my authority to crush him, what can he do about it?"
Everyone heard the killing intent in Marcus’s words. They were so scared that cold sweat dripped down their foreheads, and none of them dared to lift their heads.
"Sir Marcus, if you insist on going down this path, we, the former soldiers of Lucian Baron, will not stand for it!" Hal drew his longsword from his waist, and his bronze-colored battle aura blazed to life.
At the same time, three more bronze-colored auras ignited.
The three squad leaders, together with Hal, quietly surrounded Marcus.
Seeing this, Marcus flew into a rage. "You’re all looking for death!"
Just as Marcus was about to strike, Grayson swung his sword and stopped it right in front of Marcus’s neck. "Marcus, I warned you. Are you pretending I don’t exist?"
Marcus stared at Grayson, his eyes dark. "I almost forgot-you’re also one of Lucian Baron’s old soldiers. Are you all joining forces to rebel today?"
As the tension peaked, a cold voice suddenly rang out: "Who’s rebelling?"
As the voice faded, a squad of white-robed priests quickly walked out of the tunnel. Leading them was a young priest wearing a golden crown and holding a staff.
"Greetings, Your Holiness!" The guards bowed as they saw the priests.
"Albedo, what are you doing here?" Marcus looked at the newcomer with displeasure.
He had been disrespected too many times today.
Albedo looked around, then raised his finger and pointed at Raymond. He turned to Barbara behind him and asked, "Is this the boy you said has a heart full of great love?"
Barbara nodded, then stuck her tongue out at Raymond. "Brother, it’s him! Trust me-he has the potential to become a bishop."
The moment Barbara said this, everyone in the room was stunned.
Raymond himself was so shocked he rolled his eyes.
What great love was she talking about? Little girls always liked to imagine things that weren’t real.
But the people around him didn’t see it that way.
The guards who had been ready to take Raymond down just moments ago now all lowered their weapons, waiting for Albedo and Marcus’s orders.
Marcus forced down his anger and warned, "Albedo! That’s enough! This man was just committing violence here, and you’re saying he could become a bishop? You’re insulting the gods!"
Albedo’s face was expressionless. He casually replied, "I trust Barbara’s judgment. So I’d like to request from the Guardian of the first underground floor that this junior guard be transferred to serve in the Holy Hall."
"Don’t even think about it!" Marcus refused without hesitation. "This junior guard assaulted a fellow officer inside the prison. He must pay the price first!"
Albedo narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at Marcus. The tension in the air grew thicker.
Seeing this, Raymond strode out of the crowd and said loudly, "Sorry, but I have proof!"
With that, he pulled a memory stone from his belt and tossed it out.
The memory stone rolled to the center of the corridor, and a projection instantly appeared.
The earlier fight in the hallway between Raymond and Barron quickly played out on screen.
When everyone saw Raymond moving like a leopard, dodging and blocking every arrow Barron shot at him, gasps of shock filled the room.
Even Barbara stood on her tiptoes, her little face flushed, cheering for Raymond.
When the scene showed Raymond cornering Barron and beating him mercilessly, the entire room fell dead silent.
Albedo turned to Raymond with a look of admiration. "Barbara says you’re fit to be a bishop. I think you’d be better suited as a warrior in the Holy Hall. Maybe one day you could even become a paladin."
Raymond watched these two siblings, Albedo and Barbara, getting more and more ridiculous, and just pretended he didn’t hear anything.
The projection stopped right when Raymond’s blade shattered.
Barron’s face was now pale with shame.
Having his humiliation played out in front of everyone practically crushed his pride.
And he never expected that Raymond would carry a memory stone on him and secretly record everything.
This guy was way too sneaky!
Grayson stepped directly in front of Raymond and looked at Marcus with a mocking smile. "Are you still going to take Barron’s side? With this memory stone here, even if you take this to the Guardian of this floor, you won’t get anywhere."
Marcus stared hard at Grayson and let out a cold snort. "Let’s go!"
With that, he whipped his sleeves around and strode away, Barron and Bucky following close behind.
Once the four squad leaders and the Albedo siblings were the only ones left, Grayson turned to Raymond with a smile. "Tell me the truth. What level are you really?"
Raymond spread his hands and answered honestly, "I’m Level 15 right now."
Hal’s eyes went wide. "Oh, come on! I bought you a drink yesterday, and you told me you were Level 10!"
Raymond rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "I level up fast. The level I tell you is only valid for one day!"
Grayson laughed heartily and gave Raymond a firm pat on the shoulder, his tone full of approval. "You’re something special. In ten days, the junior guard exam will be held. With your skills, the core area of the first underground floor will open up to you soon."
Raymond’s eyes lit up at those words.
The core area-that was the territory of squad leaders and official guards. The prisoners locked up there would be much stronger too.
When that time came, he would definitely be able to log in even more powerful cards!