Sorcerer’s Handbook

The prisoners soon stopped their cursing—for they realized that whenever they swore, the Executioners behind them would rapidly swell and grow larger.

It seems only the dim-witted end up as death row inmates; they had actually forgotten that hundreds of thousands in Kaimon City were watching them spew their obscenities.

The Audience thought, Good! Keep the filth coming! They rewarded the vile speech with votes, ushering an earlier passage beyond life.

Once the commotion settled, Nago finally spoke leisurely, “The pain you feel is not a problem we’ve arranged, but one of your own making. I’ve said it before—if you are truly remorseful, you won’t be affected by the Flames of Atonement. These flames burn sin, they sear deceit.”

“Not everyone feels pain, look at Mr. Ashe Heath and Mr. Valcas Uhl; the Flames of Atonement do not touch them. Take a lesson from them.”

It was only then that the agonized crowd noticed Ashe and Valcas almost clinging to the Executioners, the boiling Flames of Atonement passing through them, yet they stood tall and straight.

“If you’re in pain, take this chance to be cleansed by the Flames of Atonement, repent, and start anew,” Nago said, not in mockery, but as if earnestly urging them to confess, “The Blood Moon Sovereign and the citizens of Kaimon City will see your sincerity.”

“I admit my wrongs, I admit—Aaaahhh!”

Harvey was in so much pain that tears and snot ran down his face; his emaciated features twisted like wood grain, with most of his body hanging off the platform, his hands clutching the Steel Wire were cut to the bone.

Yet even this peril, this torment, paled in comparison to the brief touch of the Flames of Atonement!

“Only by fully recognizing the unforgivable nature of past transgressions, and completely severing ties with a sin-laden past self, can one attain the Blood Moon’s forgiveness.”

Nago’s lips curled into a smirk, “Of course, there’s a more expedient method: simply endure the burning of the Flames of Atonement, and the sinful Soul will be reduced to ashes, leaving behind only the good Soul.”

Though it sounded far-fetched, Ashe didn’t think Nago would lie, least of all on a Live show watched by the entire populace.

This meant that the Flames of Atonement had the effect of splitting personalities, by sheer, sustained agony, bifurcating a death row inmate into a good persona, then brutally extinguishing the original one!

Upon hearing this, nearly all the death row inmates would rather hang from the Steel Wire.

Compared to death, the complete destruction of their Souls was even more unbearable!

“I understand… I understand now…”

Ashe looked at Harvey murmuring beside him, who suddenly choked up, the corner of his mouth twitching, “We’re all done for this time…”

Curious, Ashe asked, “What are you afraid of? Isn’t it said that only one person dies in the Blood Moon Tribunal? Just endure a little longer, and it’ll all be over soon.”

“Not all Blood Moon Tribunals end up the same, and this time we’ve encountered one of those rare exceptions,” Harvey said, crying like he was laughing. “I remembered, Old Man Rein said that there would be a significant death in the Andalem Faction soon, a bunch of Civil servants and councilors are going to be purged…”

“What does a political shake-up have to do with the Blood Moon Tribunal?”

“Who do you think would be more entertaining in a Blood Moon Tribunal? A serial killer, or a Civil servant caught in corruption?”

Ashe understood.

The entertainment value of an execution was directly proportional to the social status of the condemned.

“The political struggles in the Blood Moon Kingdom are the most brutal. Which councilor or Civil servant who made it to the top didn’t have blood on their hands? The winner takes it all, the loser faces the Tribunal, squeezed dry of their last drop of social worth. It’s both a settlement with the public and a warning to other bureaucrats: a warning to be more secretive and leave no evidence…”

“You seem to know quite a bit.”

“What do you think the bodies I used to handle were?”

“But even if we’re about to welcome new prison mates, what’s that got to do with the Blood Moon Tribunal suddenly becoming indiscriminate?”

Harvey’s face contorted with frustration: “There aren’t enough dormitories.”

Ashe paused for a moment, a plethora of herbs sprouting in his mind.

That makes perfect sense!

Since there aren’t enough dormitories, some people need to be killed to free up space for the future downtrodden bureaucrats. Such a rationale is as realistic as it is laughable.

Because the Prison was overpopulated, they had to die.

How absurd, how cruel, how straightforward the logic.

“Woo!”

At that moment, Harvey bit down on his teeth and hung directly from the Steel Wire, swinging towards the Main Platform.

With each swing, his palms were abraded by the Steel Wire, quickly grinding away the flesh to reveal the bone, which made one’s teeth go on edge. However, Ashe clearly saw that Harvey’s bones were not the usual pale white but gleamed with a silvery light!

After the flesh on his palms had been worn away, Harvey’s climbing speed increased substantially. Even as the Steel Wire grated against his bones with a noise that was akin to nails on a chalkboard, he seemed to feel no pain at all, his expression incredibly relaxed!

It was a spirit!

A spirit used to enhance the defensive power of bones?

Other Death row inmates also clung to the Steel Wire to escape. Some had skin so tough that the Steel Wire could only leave a red mark;

Some excelled in agility, running directly along the Steel Wire;

The most outrageous was the Ogre, a Sorcerer from the Temperature Faction, who rapidly cooled the Steel Wire until it was encased in thick ice, then simply swung his body and slid across.

Indeed, the Prison was full of talent, with people who spoke well and performed various acrobatics.

Compared to these hastily fleeing Death row inmates, Ashe, who was unaffected by the Flames of Atonement, naturally had more time to think.

He turned around and looked toward Nago, who stood on the Observation Deck behind him.

Nago noticed his gaze, placed his hands behind his back, and smiled slightly: “A very good idea. Instead of struggling on the Steel Wire under the Blood Moon Rule, why not break the rule and escape back into the Prison?”

“Right!”

The patrons of the Red Mist Tavern had an epiphany: “If we jump back into the Prison, can’t we avoid these setups and escape the Blood Moon Tribunal?”

“Are there no other traps?”

“Does this allow the death row inmates to escape the torment? What’s going on with Shattered Lake Prison? How could such an entertaining mode of Trial have such a big oversight?”

“A bunch of bastards born from whores, give us our money back!”

Lorens keenly noticed that at this moment, the odds for Ashe Heath had suddenly dropped from 1.65 to 1.45, indicating that Snake Boss felt the probability of Ashe ‘hitting the jackpot’ had significantly increased, so he adjusted the odds in time to avoid losing money.

After a moment of thought, the Merfolk understood why Shattered Lake Prison would set it up this way.

The ‘Blood Moon Tribunal’ has been a nation-wide craze for decades not only because of its excellent entertainment value but also because of its strong interactivity.

Such obvious little loopholes are actually left intentionally by the prison, as an interactive segment for the audience to relish – allowing them to personally crush the hopes of the criminals!

Is there any entertainment more thrilling than bestowing despair?

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