Chapter 1397: Chapter 103: Rebuilding the Nation (End of Volume 5)

Kai Morland stayed in place, staring blankly as the Blood Wolf approached him, until they were just a few steps apart before he realized it and retreated in panic, awkwardly yielding the judgment seat.

Not far away, Lieutenant Colonel Magash Colvin clearly observed that Kai Morland no longer had the confident demeanor he previously displayed, but rather showed bewilderment and surprise.

This left Lieutenant Colonel Magash Colvin full of doubt.

At the same time, Winters stepped onto the judgment seat.

Eyes from all directions converged on him, a massive collective emotion flooding toward him, the people under the dome were confused yet delighted, bewildered yet angry, but Winters was already well adept at handling such challenges.

He fearlessly surveyed the grand assembly hall, every Free Person who met his gaze instinctively avoided his eyes.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” Winters’ voice was clear and powerful, resounding in every corner of the grand assembly hall: “Please allow me to respond with two points regarding the accusations made by Mr. Kai Morland.”

“First, it is not I who joined Colonel Gais Adonis, Colonel Skur Meklen, and Lieutenant Colonel Magash Colvin.”

Winters glanced at Kai Morland: “But rather, they joined me.”

“Second, the only entities to whom I swore allegiance were the Alliance Charter and the people. When the New Reclamation Legion betrayed the Charter and the people,” Winter’s words were forceful: “the New Reclamation Legion also betrayed me.”

After speaking, the grand assembly hall was quiet enough to hear the sound of sweat droplets falling from Free People’s cheeks.

Gais Adonis was furious, smoke practically coming out of his ears, yet he could not refute.

Colonel Skul looked at Kai Morland, then at Winters Montagne, and asked with interest: “Captain Montaigne, do you oppose Kai Morland’s proposal?”

“Yes.” Winters replied politely and ceremoniously: “I oppose swearing allegiance to the assembly of all Free People!”

Upon hearing Winters’ response, Kai Morland’s face turned pale.

“Why?” He stepped forward, fists tightly clenched, forcing out a slender sound from between his teeth: “We had a prior agreement…”

Kai Morland’s voice was so soft only he and Winters could hear it, but Winters’ answer was directed at everyone in the grand assembly hall.

“I promised to reaffirm my oath to the legitimate representatives of the New Reclamation People.” Winters scanned the faces in the grand assembly hall, his gaze as sharp as a blade: “But you, all you Free People…”

Winters angrily questioned: “Do you truly believe that, with just yourselves, you are qualified to represent all the people of the New Reclamation Land?!”

“…represent all the people of the New Reclamation Land…”

“…all the people…”

“…the people…”

The echo reverberated in the columns and dome of the grand assembly hall.

Winters’ questioning was like a cannonball fired into a powder magazine, igniting the emotions of the Free People.

First came bewilderment—what is he saying?

Then came anger—what is he saying?!

Finally, what flooded their minds was resentment—what is he saying…

The humiliated Free People glared with resentment at the Blood of the Wolf, they dared not make a sound, nor dared take any action, but they kept staring at the Blood of the Wolf.

Gais Adonis, Skur Meklen, Magash Colvin, and their subordinates were all equally shocked.

Though truthfully, the officers inwardly looked down on the fence-sitter behavior of the New Reclamation Free People, publicly humiliating all Free People at the assembly of all Free People was not only unnecessary but had no justification, even seen as political suicide.

Even Kai Morland didn’t care about being played by Winters just now, and hurriedly scurried behind Winters, trying to speak without moving his lips as much as possible: “What are you doing? Your Excellency Montaigne…”

However, Winters was far from finished with his speech.

He gestured towards the doorway, signaling Xial, who immediately exited the grand assembly hall through the side door next to the main entrance.

While everyone was still wondering what kind of pantomime the Blood of the Wolf and his subordinates were performing, the main entrance of the grand assembly hall, which had been closed since the ceremony mourning the fallen, suddenly opened a narrow gap.

Light streamed through the crack, extending along the aisle toward the center of the grand assembly hall.

The gap widened until it was about two feet wide, and a person stepped in from the light.

This person walked very cautiously, timidly, as if afraid of damaging the granite slabs paving the aisle.

Not until this person fully entered the grand assembly hall did the Free People inside see his appearance clearly, and they were deeply disappointed.

It turned out that the person who walked in was just an old man, an old man commonly seen in fields and countryside—thin, hunched, with a forehead and arms tanned black-red, his face wrinkled deeply like carved with a chisel, the depths of the wrinkles were ingrained with black deposits that couldn’t be cleaned.

The most striking feature was his hands, hands transformed by years of heavy labor, with swollen and twisted joints, palms and finger pads covered in hard calluses, and nails nearly worn down.

Compared to the generally pampered Free People, this old man was pitifully poor and pitifully ordinary.

Finding himself being stared at by everyone in the hall, the old man instinctively wanted to retreat back through the door.

Seeing this, Winters quickly strode to the entrance of the grand assembly hall. Seeing “His Excellency Montagnae” appear, the old man no longer wished to escape.

Winters bowed to greet the old man, supported his arm, and led him to the center of the hall.

The old man hunched his shoulders throughout, keeping his head down, not daring to meet the gaze coming from all around.