Mage Manual

Chapter 143: Chapter 131 Legal Illegal Acts (Three More)

Fernand had forgotten why he developed ambitions that ogres should not possess.

Was it because he saw those immaculately dressed councilmen arrive at the Orphanage Bone Club, smiling as they patted the Beastman children, their eyes betraying disdain they couldn’t bother to mask?

Or was it because he longed for the grand mansions and elegant, high society life depicted in the films?

Or perhaps it was because… he saw on the Light Screen a confident human mayor raising his right fist, telling lies not even Beastman children would believe, “To make all races greater!”

In any case, Fernand began a life utterly different from other ogres: After fighting for food, he would sneak into a corner, turn on the Light Screen, and watch the day’s supplemental videos from Jade Garden.

Even though each child had a complete set of general education materials from the start, theoretically capable of mastering all knowledge points on their own, if one wished to get into middle school, university, or even postgraduate studies, they had to grasp the knowledge points in depth, something well beyond the scope of the textbooks.

Naturally, better-equipped orphanages would hire teachers to tutor the offspring, but clearly, Orphanage Bone Club was not one of them; the average education level of those blue- and green-skinned individuals who left there amounted to prenatal education.

But perhaps for the sake of fame, or to set an example, the elite orphanages would upload their instructional videos to the Veil. Children without such good educational conditions could download these videos to study on their own. After all, everyone had a chip; there was no barrier to downloading.

That was an unforgettable memory for Fernand: after a fight, bruised and battered, he stayed in a cold, stinking corner, watching Beastman ogres fighting viciously in the sand, blood and flesh flying. Not far away, an ogre ate food while defecating, and another Beastman added his own toenail clippings to a sandwich.

On the other side, he saw neat classrooms on the Light Screen, cultured and learned teachers, and students full of laughter and joy.

Even after so many years, Fernand could still recall that surging emotion of his youth, the flame that fiercely scorched his soul flaring up in his chest once more—

Shame!

“…Now that the audience is familiar with these eight redeemers, there is undoubtedly a question in everyone’s mind: Mayor Fernand might be temporarily suspended, but he is not a criminal, so why is he participating in this trial?”

Hearing this, Fernand looked over and saw a Prison Guard standing at the edge of the sea-view rooftop, the person who had led him to Shattered Lake.

He remembered it now; after signing the Sinners’ Catalogue, his entire strength was restrained, and then he was attacked by a sudden assault from the Prison Guard, which was why he had been unconscious up to now.

Looking carefully, he realized that the Prison Guard was not talking to them but towards the camera eye.

Prison… live broadcast… Blood Moon…

The ogre squinted and turned to the human beside him: “Officer Ledor, who is he?”

Although he himself had been ousted by Fernand’s purges, when Fernand asked so naturally, the former project officer Ledor subconsciously answered: “He is Ash Heath.”

He paused and then added, “A condemned felon who rightfully should be serving his sentence in prison.”

At once, Fernand understood everything. He looked at Ash but found Ash was also looking at him. Ash held the Sinners’ Catalogue that controlled the fate of all prisoners, covering his face and revealing only a pair of detached pupils.

“The reason Mayor Fernand is present here is because I have a friend who says he’s a bad man, who has repeatedly escaped scrutiny by exploiting legal loopholes.”

Fernand let out a contemptuous laugh and couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Ash continued, “Of course, ‘I have a friend’ can hardly count as testimony. In fact, according to the Crime Hunting Hall Memory Masters’ investigation files, despite many inexplicable doubts and memory losses, strictly speaking, Mayor Fernand has not committed any illegal acts.”

“As everyone knows, the true authorities over the Blood Moon Judgement are not the mayor, not the Crime Hunting Hall, nor a minor host like myself. It’s the keen-eyed citizens before the Light Screen, your Redemption Tickets that are key to guiding this trial.”

“Obviously, I presume none of you would hearken to the incitements of a mere former condemned felon like me, allowing this mayor, who has not followed laws and regulations, to meet with the Extreme Master of Blood Moon ahead of time.”

“And this,” he announced, “is precisely what makes the Blood Moon Judgement I am conducting this time interesting.”

“Unlike Mayor Fernand, the other seven, former council members, officials, and gang members, are vermin with proven crimes. If the broadcast station is reluctant to cut off the signal, then the citizens can click on the portrait to access the crime files of these seven losers.”

“In theory, the redeemer of this trial will be chosen from among you seven. But now, I’m giving you a chance.”

Ash pointed at the ogre, “You can speak of Mayor Fernand’s illegal activities to give him votes. This way, you naturally escape disaster. Based on my understanding of the citizens and my personal experience, the more substantial and crucial your accusation, the fewer votes you’ll receive.”

The crowd’s expression turned subtle, and the former Secretary Beastman Manken shouted, “I accuse Fernand of hiring assassins to kill—Ah!!!”

Suddenly, Manken let out an agonizing scream; his crimson stone seat began to emit smoke, seemingly heating up rapidly, causing Manken’s skin attached to the stone to char!

“Ah, I forgot to mention that the Executioner’s enhancement for this trial is the ‘Devouring Lie Mouth’,” Ash’s voice, devoid of any apology and filled with schadenfreude, continued, “The moment you lie, slander, fabricate, or speak unverifiable words, even by your own standards, the Executioner’s mouth will keep heating, heating, until you’re turned into a delicious cooked meal. I’m very grateful for the technical support provided by the Crime Hunting Hall for this trial.”

‘Devouring Lie Mouth’!?

The faces of those present changed dramatically but soon realized they could not break free from the stone seats, as if glued firmly in place. Moreover, they were unable to use their Magic Power to attack others—this Blood Moon trial was absurdly outrageous in that it only granted them the freedom of speech, while all other permissions remained prohibited!

“That’s right, the eight stone pillars you are sitting on are the Executioner itself. Congratulate yourselves, not many in this world get to sit on the Executioner.”

Then let’s switch places! They cursed Ash in their minds and glared at him fiercely.

“Wait.”

Adorned with silver-framed glasses and resembling a middle-aged scholar, Andrey raised his hand to speak, “First, it is known that Fernand has not committed any crime. Second, we cannot speak of things we cannot verify. With these premises, we are unable to speak of Fernand’s ‘illegal activities.'”

Ash looked toward Andrey.

“That’s correct, you’ve hit the nail on the head, so I’m not actually asking you to speak of ‘illegal facts,’ but rather I’m looking forward to you revealing Fernand’s ostensibly ‘legal’ illegal activities.”

Legal illegal activities?

The attendees, all hardened politicians and officials who had struggled to climb to the upper echelons of Kaimon City, immediately understood the subtext of Ash’s words. Their faces turned exceedingly grim, not excluding Fernand himself!

…

…

“Ah-hah.”

In the office of the Director of the Crime Hunting Hall, the Director flipped open a file, on it was the record of Ash Heath.

“How odd, there are no government personnel among the victims of the Four Pillars God Sect. He hasn’t participated in related work either… Could it be that someone leaked information to him? Or is it simply his own observation?”

“It seems he’s not just holding a grudge against Fernand or trying to challenge the Crime Hunting Hall, but is testing the touch of deeper societal Laws.”

“This will be a headache for both the research institutions and the Church…”

“But…”

Resting his cheek in his hand, the edges of the Director’s mouth curled up with a hint of a smile, his bloodshot eyes surrounded by dark circles sparked with anticipation.

“I haven’t encountered trouble in over a hundred years.”