Supreme Judge

Sulfur Mountain City was a good place. This was a commonly accepted fact in the Underground World.

In order to understand what kind of place Sulfur Mountain City was, one must first understand what kind of place the Underground World was like.

'A land for exiles.' This was probably the common understanding among those living on the surface.

The Underground World was a crevice under the continent of Eich. The total size of the Underground World was immeasurable, its geography far too complex to be mapped out properly. It was even said that there was a route in the Underground World that led straight to the Chaos Abyss.

Initially, there weren't many residents here, but as eras passed, it became a land of gathering for the exiled.

The elves had exiled the dark elves, the dwarves had exiled the gray dwarves, and the goblins had exiled the wild goblins. 40% of the beastman tribe were chased by other factions into the Underground World. Even the powerful great dragons chased the brutal Red Dragons and cunning Black Dragons into exile here. This was also where the Titans had exiled the Volcanic Giants.

The dominant race of the surface, the humans, were no exception as well. Although it was all their brethren they exiled, it was the most complicated bunch of all, including witches, extremists, cultists, necromancers, revolutionists, demon worshippers, scientists and so on. It seemed as though the Underground World was a disposal ground.

As time passed, the races of the Underground World became far too complicated to be calculated, but there was one common rule here.

In the Underground World, there was no order. Strength spoke the loudest. The winners earned it all while the losers were enslaved.

Even in the chaotic Chaos Faction, this was one of the messiest places. The Underground City Lords waged and fought wars all year round.

They annexed land, stole rations, attacked cities and enslaved the population. Of course, the countries on the surface were no better, but due to the restrictions by the different religions worshipping the Gods of the Order Faction and the different Councils of each country, it was still mainly peaceful there. However, in the land abandoned by the Gods, the Underground World, the war had never stopped.

Those who were able to survive in the chaotic Underground World, when placed in comparison with those on the surface, were far from being weaklings.

Well, if we were to use the analogy of a game, the Underground was a dangerous zone for the high-leveled, opened later on in the game. Only players above LV40 were able to form parties to enter.

In most of the cities of the Underground, due to the presence of diverse races, there would normally be just one dominant race oppressing the others.

But, Sulfur Mountain City was different.

This city lay next to the Sulfur River but did not have a long history. It was slightly younger than 130 years, and in the eyes of those tribes blessed with longevity, that was no more than a blink of an eye.

But they accomplished a deed that the surrounding Underground City Lords had been unable to achieve for a few millennia.

There was no war here, no nobility or oppression.

In fact, there was no ruling race here. The City Lord Adam Han, a well-known hero, took up the lonesome job of becoming the City Lord. Despite Adam, a human, being the City Lord here, humans were the scarcer race within the city. Furthermore, there wasn't even a single ruling-class nobility present here.

And, the fellow being was jokingly said to be muscle-brained. The City Lord was even more renowned for having totally no interest in power or land.

Contrary to the armies in other Underground Cities, which numbered in the tens of thousands, Sulfur Mountain City only had a few hundred people in the reserve army and public security team. In fact, the strongest of them was the Town Order Security Army, better known as Town Security, which mainly comprised of dark elves. Yet even so, their scale didn't even cross the 800 mark.

In the chaotic Underground World, pacifists were synonymous with weaklings. With their backs to the mines in Sulfur Mountain coupled with their weak defense force, they naturally attracted aggression from the other Underground City Lords.

But, after a couple of battles, no one dared to set their gazes on them anymore.

The reason? Their fists were strong enough.

No army? In actuality, there was no need of one.

Ein Mezus, the ancient Red Dragon who was titled Disaster of Veron, lived in the sulfur mines behind Sulfur Mountain City. This evil dragon once laid waste to dozens of human kingdoms, but for reasons unknown, it became the guardian beast of this city.

Adam Han was one of the most renowned heroes of this era; he had once killed Undead Emperor Lord Yongye1 and saved the world. After coming to the Underground World alone, he destroyed a city of dark elves with just brute force. That was 40,000-50,000 dark elves and a hundred thousand of other races. He himself was probably the most famous Thousand Man Killer.

The Great Saint Margaret, nicknamed 'The Child of Heaven', was comrades with Adam on their journey to seal Lord Yongye. She was rumored to be a remarkable existence capable of summoning an army of angels by herself.

It was said that there was once an Underground City Lord who, while on his way to attack Sulfur Mountain City, was 'persuaded' to leave by a prominent figure without even catching sight of the city walls…

It was said that as long as the three heads of Sulfur Mountain City existed, it would remain an impregnable fortress.

In my System, these three fellows were LV200-300s perfect super boss level characters. Not mentioning the current era, even after 3 or 4 updates in my game walk-through database, they were still extremely powerful characters, far beyond the reach of those LV80-90s barely Legend-ranked Underground City Lords in the surroundings.

It was due to their strong protection that this city had turned into the only clean land in this chaotic Underground World.

However, having only military strength was insufficient. The Great Saint took up the role as the Head of Internal Affairs and kept the city in good order, while the Chief Justice Wumianzhe—yup, that's me—even went on to create the most equal and fair laws in the entire Eich.

As for the City Lord Adam, he spent most of his time doing what he usually did, being a useless lucky charm.

Coincidentally, I, who was rather close to the 3 heads of Sulfur Mountain City, became one of its founders.

Previously, when I was questioned by the Town Security, I didn't lie. I really am a good employee with a proper job—the Chief Justice of Sulfur Mountain City!

Although my memories had been mostly scattered after three deaths, I still managed to retain most of the important knowledge.

As a lawyer and judge in my previous life, I had accumulated knowledge of legislation far beyond that of this era. The legislation I had written for Sulfur Mountain City had become a role model for the entire Underground World, and the surface dwellers even sent scholars to study from us.

The conflicts due to the diverse races? I carved Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' on the city markets and city gates such that everyone entering or leaving the city would see it. And this was only the first step.

I established racial discrimination to be illegal, and offenders would be severely dealt with. I then came up with a series of policies to tackle racial tensions, and I severely dealt with a couple of fools who crossed my laws to give a stern warning to others.

As someone interested in sociology, I understood that society would get used to the presence of a rule as long as it gained recognition and agreement on the surface. After sufficient time, it would be viewed as being morally correct.

As an immortal undead, the only things I didn't lack were time and stamina. After spending long years trying to change other people's mindset, I had at least succeeded in planting the ideas of racial harmony in the minds of the citizens of Sulfur Mountain City.

The comparatively harmonious relationship between different races was the basis of Sulfur Mountain City's prosperity, and the next step would be security.

Killing a person and stealing his items was a heavy crime? In other Underground Cities, one could pay his way through his crimes, causing rich merchants and nobilities to not treat folks of other races with proper dignity and respect. Here, however, it was a non-negotiable death penalty. Under the threat of heavy punishment, the security of the city turned for the better.

Of course, there must be sufficient strength to put these legislations into action, and a group of queer dark elves, who were driven out of their clan for believing in the Holy Light, became the cornerstone of the security team. After devoting a lot of resources, I managed to turn them into a team of Public Security Officers trusted by the citizens.

Sometimes I did regret getting such good equipment for the Town Security. Giving them so much power made the difficulty of completing my daily quests twice as difficult and the frequency of me being locked in a cell increase progressively… Cough—cough—let's not talk about how I managed to shoot myself in the foot. Let's continue talking about how the blood and tears of a transcender ushered in a new era for the Underground City.

The religious conflicts that resulted in the splitting headaches of the leaders of other parts of the Underground World? This was indubitably a difficult problem for other cities to handle due to the physical manifestation of Gods in the world of Eich. The Underground City Lords were often believers of certain Gods, so how can they be trusted to be impartial? An oppression against certain races would cause endless conflicts in the city.

In this city… amongst the three heads, Red Dragon Ein Mezus believed in gold coins, the City Lord Adam Han was well-known for not having a faith, while the Great Saint believed in knowledge and Adam…

Yup, you didn't hear it wrong. The Great Saint has had a 'crush' on the Great Hero for very long and this was a well-known fact throughout the world. However, the blockhead seemed to be ignorant of it. Little Red2 and I couldn't stand looking at the situation any longer so we trashed his wedding reception twice.

Of course, I couldn't deny my ulterior motives. Other than the Evil Points I earned from causing utter chaos, looking at Adam's dumb face on the verge of tears was really gratifying.

Alright, looks like I'm going off topic. Let's continue talking about the Underground World.

The faiths of the three heads weren't reliable and if I, arguably, were to have a faith, it would probably be 'to give those who sinned what they deserve' and 'to grant the innocent the protection of the law' and such, in the spirit of the justice in my previous life. Thus, I did something never seen before in the history of Eich—I granted the citizens of Sulfur Mountain City the freedom of faith.

"Faith is an individual choice. While we will allow one to spread their faith within the city, no religious organizations are to force others to convert to their beliefs. Those who break this law will be exiled from Sulfur Mountain City."

In Sulfur Mountain City, there were people who believed in demons, the Holy Light and even those who believed in Gaia and such. There was an incredible number of altars and shrines in the city. However, if any of them tried to use religion as a flag to oppress others, they would face severe punishment.

While the rest of the Underground World coped with internal conflicts, wrestling over political power, the frequent war of faith between different churches, and the casual plundering of the weak by the strong, our Sulfur Mountain City's was exceptional in the fact that it was politically stable with suitable laws put in place. We had great efficiency in governance, peaceful and orderly. We attracted countless talents and merchants, making our city a prosperous one that eventually became known as the paradise of the Underground World.

In reality, the city wasn't all that good. It was just that the other Underground Cities were too chaotic—the city looked much better in comparison to its surroundings.

Chaos had already become a symbol of the Underground Cities and the Underground World, which resulted in many resources and manpower to actively seek out our city, heightening its prosperity.

On the surface, even the Holy Light Church was so taken aback by the peaceful city within the land of chaos that they sent Holy Knights and Priests to receive teachings from the city. Many Holy Knights were stumped by how diverse races could get along, and the majority of them chose to be stationed in the city for extended periods of time. During their time in the city, they studied the 'scripture gifted by the Holy Light' while they tried to spread the greatness of Holy Light and enlighten the 'evil Underground World residents'.

As a lich, the natural enemy of Holy Knights and Priests, my detest for them was great. At times, I would be tempted to peel off my mask and tell them that their 'scripture gifted by the Holy Light' was the creation of an evil lich to see if the faith of some people would crumble from that fact.

Let's come back to the present. This facade had become my best cover while under pursuit.

No one would have expected the fair, impartial, and infallible Chief Justice Wumianzhe to actually be Lich Roland, who often stirred up trouble and was known to 'have a loose screw in his head'.

When I took on the responsibility as the head of the Supreme Court, I insisted on putting on my mask. Due to the unreliable Evil Lich System, I was cursed to be unable to retain my dignity, and as a judge who would take law into his own hands, dignity and authority were crucial.

After all, any legislation without authority or fear was just another piece of scrap paper.

At this moment, the dignity that I had accumulated throughout the years worked its wonders.

Right now, despite only standing there silently, the members of the Town Security, under long years of being under my authority, were quivering down to their feet.

I turned my head and looked towards the one leading the team, Diana Syfan.

"Lo—lo—Lord!!"

There was no doubt that from the trembling of her voice, she was definitely having a guilty conscience.

I was the superior of their superior of their superior of their superior, and this does not only mean that my official rank was higher than theirs. They were members of the Town Security, and the Town Security was a subsidiary of the Subordinate Court, and the Subordinate Court was a subsidiary of the Supreme Court, while I, Wumianzhe, was the head of the Supreme Court.

In the legislation that I drafted, as a subsidiary of the Subordinate Court, the Town Order Security Army did not have the rights to authorize an arrest. They could only listen to the orders of their superiors. They had to request for an approval from the Subordinate Court to carry out an arrest, who would then send a report to the Supreme Court. This was especially so if they wanted to carry out a large-scale event along the lines of 'Swiftly and heavily, we shall severely punish those committing crimes' to enforce law

As the head of the Supreme Court, I hadn't received a report for the large-scale arrest warrant.

"…Insubordination?"

Of course it was an act of insubordination. I had just bombed the base of the Town Security yesterday but they had started with the operation today—how was it possible for them to request for an approval and receive the approval within such a short period of time? Even just considering submitting the request, they would have to first gather the documents required from the mess of their base and that was quite a big project!

Diana's face turned white in an instant after hearing my muttering.

"No matter how righteous the rhetoric is, the enforcement of law is a violent process. The law enforcers are the tools for carrying out such violent acts for the court. If these tools were to grow their own mind and start acting as they please, then it might be time to get rid of these tools."

This was one of my well-known quotes and was on the first page of every Town Security member's work manual. It served as a warning.

I reckoned that they were intending to carry out a sudden raid and fill up on the administrative matters later on. On other days, the Subordinate Court and Supreme Court would just turn a blind eye, but they hadn't anticipated my sudden appearance. They were caught red-handed in the act.

Merely looking at them silently caused the dark-skinned dark elves' faces to turn ash-white—it surely put them in a very good position to compete with that of the undead.

Insubordination? No matter the reason or the outcome, for a group of law enforcers to do as they pleased was a very dangerous act. Today, they could be committing insubordination to beat up others, but tomorrow they could very well be committing a coup d'état, trying to overthrow the current order.

Following Sulfur Mountain City's laws, those who tried to overstep their authority, even in the lightest of sentences, were to be exiled from Sulfur Mountain City.

The dark elves had landed themselves in a desperate situation. If the person they met with was one of the other members of the Supreme Court, they could still negotiate with them and settle it privately. However, the man in front of them was the man who had miraculously converted the intangible laws of justice into an actual power similar to Holy Light, the very symbol of law. They had never heard of an occasion where he compromised with those who tread on the boundaries of the law.

Town Security Captain Diana's face was bitter, but it was time for her to stand out.

"After working so hard for a long time and going through many difficulties, the 'evil' dark elves finally managed to receive recognition from the citizens. Will it all go to vain like this? After leaving the city, will we have to go out there and live the days of blood and brutal killings… How can I face my sisters who believed in me like that?"

The young lady's red lips were bleeding from being bitten on, and her purple eyes were filled with tears. They thought back to the days where they fought just to survive, and they thought of how they were finally able to find a blissful home and lead good lives after being exiled from their clan. The dark elves' beautiful faces were distorted with pain.

"Lord… It was all my individual decision! If you have to punish, please only punish me!" The strong Town Security Captain threw away her pride and knelt for forgiveness.

"Big Sis Diana!"

"It is not big sister's fault, we did it all for the order of Sulfur Mountain City!"

"Yeah, what rights do you have to punish us?!"

Surrounding their captain, the other Town Security Knights were drunk in their emotions. Some of them started glaring angrily at me, and the situation seemed to be on the verge of turning physical. Thus…

"Incantation of Law: Silence!!"

Following the echo of my voice, a mysterious magic started to take effect. In the midst of air, a silver gavel struck down, and a reverberation spread through the entire plot of land.

As the silver ripples undulated outwards in all directions, not only did all sounds disappear, but even the intense indignant emotions vanished.

In this mystical world, if the faith in the concept of Order and Holy Light could be transformed to become an origin of power, then how could the faith in law and justice lack the support of supernatural powers?

It had to be said that while I was in court and the fourth Soul Imprint began to take shape, the one who was the most surprised was me. This meant that the code of law that I had single-handedly created was recognized by the source of the world and had become a part of the powers of Order.

Law was the power of words. The rules of the world were known as laws, and as the one who controlled the rules and the code of law, my words could become the rules of the world.

And that was the Incantation of Law.

It was a unique magical art that combined the concepts of law and magic. Although it was very different from the Art of Truth used by mages and the commandment branch of Divine Arts used by priests, as long as one fulfilled the strict requirements for its usage its prowess was one to behold.

At this moment, I was dealing with a case with this Town Security as the accused and the narrow alley as my court.

As I called for silence, all living beings must quiet down and listen to my truth.

The dark elves' innate resistance against magic was useless in the face of my Incantation of Law. No one was able to hear their words or their body. Their hearts felt as though they were soaked in icy water as they felt a chill run down their back. They all quieted down in an instant.

Only now did they recall that the man in front of them was not just the Chief Justice, but even more so a great mage whose limits had yet to be tested.

The Incantation of Law he had created by combining both law and magic together had become a unique rule-based magic; its fame had spread far and wide. It attracted even the great religious heads and saints from the surface to study. The Supreme Court had become a sacred land where only powerful Gold rankers could learn the secrets of the Incantation of Law.

He created three new jobs—Knight of Justice, Judgementor and Law Incantationer. They were equivalent to the Holy Knights, Cardinals and Monks that the Holy Church was so proud of.

"How fearsome… My magic resistant skin has been totally ignored."

"I'm unable to analyze the level of this magic. In fact, I can't even feel the pulsation of magic, but it's at least at the Saint rank (i.e magic used by a Saint)."

In their eyes, defying orders meant starting a war against the entire Law Organization of Sulfur Mountain City. Even if they tried to escape, they might not be able to escape from the hands of the judges. What was in front of the dark elves seemed to be a dire situation where they might very well end up exiled.

In the face of such dire circumstances, everyone's heads drooped as they waited for me to pass my verdict.

"My Lord! Please consider how I worked for Sulfur Mountain City for so many years! Please only punish me!" Diana knelt with a teary face.

A respected female Knight Captain just knelt down; how could the other knights still continue to remain standing? Thus, the sight of a group of kneeling knights unfolded in front of my eyes.

Aiyo! Looking at how deep their sisterhood was, I started to feel sentimental myself.

In reality, the Town Security Captain Diana was also a LV81 Legend-rank Knight, and her abilities were definitely above mine. As for why she was unable to stand up against me? Other than her guilty conscience, it was the workings of my God-tier equipment.

The enchantments of this silver robe were done by me during the most powerful phase of my life. Initially, I had used it mostly to scare other people, but after I became a judge, I mainly used it to pressurize the accused. After realizing the Incantation of Law, the Elite-ranked magic robe turned into a piece of SemiGod equipment for no apparent reason.

[SemiGod Equipment: The Dignity of Judicature (Bound)]

[Defence: 10 Points (Even metal plates only have 5 Points of defense. For a cloth magic robe to reach this level of defense is already very incredible.]

[Special Ability 1, The Self-Judgement of the Sinner: Induces guilt within sinners, and as time passes sinners would fall deeper into a state of fear and helplessness. The greater the sin, the greater the effect of this ability. The innocents are exempted from this ability.]

[Special Ability 2, The Dispassionate Judge: The user equipped with the mask would have his Charisma fixed at 100. Resistance against seduction, detection, illusory and similar magic +20.]

[Special Ability 3 isn't activated as the user doesn't satisfy the basic requirements.]

[Special Ability 4 isn't activated as the user doesn't satisfy the basic requirements.]

[God Equipment Curse, Weight of the Gavel: The user equipped must have a job related to the legislative system and must carry out his job impartially. If he were to twist the laws for personal reasons or speak falsely, the law robe will transform into an unquenchable fire, destroying the user's soul and physical body.]

["Please use the authority granted prudently. The choice made after the gavel strikes down doesn't merely decide the rise and fall of an individual, but represents the dignity of the legislative system and its impartiality."—Chief Justice Wumianzhe]

In the continent of Eich, SemiGod equipment and such were that troublesome. Its abilities were specific albeit strong but were often affixed with some kind of troublesome God Equipment Curse.

The magical robe was exactly the case. Other ordinary robes could only boost the effects of spells cast. It, however, didn't boost one's intelligence, but in exchange, it came with several powerful special abilities.

The first Special Ability saved me quite a lot of hassle while on trial. Be it a serial killer or the head of a triad, as long as they retained a shred of conscience they would all become a bunch of chickens in front of me. As for the second Special Ability, it allowed me to disregard all attempts at figuring out my true identity.

As for the God Equipment Curse, being unable to defy the laws set and being unable to lie wasn't too big of a deal to me. Firstly, I was single, and thus there was no reason for me to flout the laws for personal reasons.

Taking a step back, if I were to engage in a scam, it would be more than sufficient to play a word game to mislead others. Instead, using lies that could be exposed were actually less effective.

"I don't lie, but this doesn't mean that you are able to understand the true meaning of my words. Don't blame me if you misunderstand my words." The SemiGod Equipment Curse might not work on me but its power didn't take a cut.

Right now, the law enforcers, who believed in the Holy Light, had overstepped their authority and were filled with guilt. Under the pressure of the SemiGod equipment, they felt as though invisible chains were restraining their bodies and pushing them down, causing them to be unable to straighten their bodies.

I estimate that by simply standing there, the pressure the other party encountered wouldn't be inferior to that of a dragon, and this would continue to increase as we proceeded on with the judging. However, seeing the current circumstances, if I continued to pressure them so, I might end up seeing some girls wet their pants.

Alright, this should be sufficient. If I were to go too far, they might just snap and do something desperate. Furthermore, I had no intention of driving them from the city.

Thus, I turned around to leave, leaving just a few words behind.

"I just happened to pass by and didn't see anything. Tomorrow, remember to get your captain to file the report."

Hearing my words, I could hear tears of joy and thanks sounding from my back.

"Thank you, my lord!!"

After I turned about the corner, the dark elves collapsed onto the ground together, some of them hugging each other crying, celebrating the dangerous circumstances they had just overcome. I smiled under my mask.

"Lord Wumianzhe may seem frightening but he is actually a kind person."

"That scared me! Momo almost suffocated to death. Sister Anna, let Momo rest on you a bit."

"You wrench, don't touch as you please. You should go find Lilith Milan instead."

I left a little toy to listen in on their conversation—cough—I meant the naughty wind delivered their discussion to my ear.

"To listen seriously to the complaints of your subordinates is the responsibility of a superior. If I don't know who is talking bad about me, what if I mistreat the wrong person…? That girl is called Stacey, right? She really knows how to talk. Of course I'm a good person." My mood lifted significantly and I decided to lighten their punishment. However, in the next instant, I knew my mood would worsen.

That was because just by the street, my loyal maid, Elisa, had been waiting for a long time.

"Master, what happened to you? To think you would actually let them off?"

"The law is dead, but we are alive. A legislation with no flexibility or humanity would only create grudges. Their actions and motives weren't wrong; it is just that the procedure they worked by is illegal. Exiling them would be going too far. See how the great me dealt with this perfectly, holding the executioner's blade high up in the sky yet putting it down lightly. This is how a true superior official should act; learn a bit."

"The truth?" Her lips curled in disdain. The maid with a vicious tongue, my number one loyal servant, once again chose to ignore my facade and glee.

"… It isn't fun playing them to death at one go. Haha! I really earned quite a bit today. Not only was my daily quest a huge success, I also got a handle and a favor over the Town Security. Heh—those lasses, see how I will deal with you all tomorrow! You all actually dared to steal the feed from the mouth of my Ah Bao!?"

I would forever remember the dark elf named Diana, that evil bitch who had taken Ah Bao's bone from me.

Tomorrow, when you go to the Supreme Court to file the report, I will let you understand what a superior's harassment meant. I will let you understand what non-violent aggression was like, what bloodshed in the office meant!

Chasing you out of the city? As dark elf knights who believed in the Holy Light, you all are probably the only such ones in the entire Underground World. Wouldn't I lose a hard-to-come-by toy and useful tool like that?

Elisa sighed helplessly.

"As expected, I really shouldn't hold any expectations for your conscience. You really are evil to your bones."

"No, I am a good person! One day, I will definitely convert those Evil Points to Justice Points, then work hard at doing good deeds. Then, I will finally be able to enjoy a good reputation!"

From a certain viewpoint, my current situation could be said to be caused by that mess of a System… Having to do evil deeds to earn points, just how could I earn a good reputation doing evil deeds? I even had to wear a metal mask just to go to work…

If only that was all. What I really couldn't tolerate was that…

"…That darn mask and robe, for it to be a SemiGod equipment set. Just by looking at me, those beautiful ladies are either stunned with fear or shaking their legs and peeing their pants, causing me to still not have a girlfriend despite being advanced in age."

"No, what is wrong isn't the mask or your dress up but your brain. An undead lich looking for a girlfriend? …Hehe, I can't even laugh at such a joke. Right, I heard that while you were still a human, you retained your virginity… Reality may be harsh, but please don't escape from it."

"Tsk! I don't want to scare you, but there's a female who says that she wants to marry me."

"Aiyo! Which necrophile would have such heavy taste… No, I get it, it must be some naive loli, agreeing to marry someone after receiving a lollipop. Even though you aren't popular, but to go to the extent of lying to lolis just to satisfy your own pride, that really is too pitiful… Aiyaya, master, why does your face look so awful? Don't tell me Elisa has guessed it correctly again?"

"Elisa, you bastard! I… I want to be a good person! I also want to have a girlfriend!"

Thus… This time, the citizens of Sulfur Mountain City had the honor of seeing the tears of the Head of their Supreme Court.