Snickering.
Facing Andrei’s accusation, Fernand Snow actually laughed.
He laughed loudly and wildly, as if he didn’t care about the audience watching the live broadcast.
The Ogre nearly laughed to tears. Wiping away the smile-induced tears at the corner of his eyes, he said, “Andrei, your are quite unbecoming. In the pursuit of survival, you have lost your composure. You are not worthy to be my adversary.”
“Yes, exploring the virtual chaotic flow was approved by me. Both emotionally and rationally, I should bear the main responsibility, hence why I am here for investigation. But if you think you can bring me down in front of the citizens of the entire city with just this, you are too naive.”
“How can an exploration operation that involves the Heresy Court, war zone, and even the prison be a minor matter that I can decide with a single word? It’s said that big meetings discuss minor matters, and minor meetings discuss major matters. Before the operation, the leaders of all parties held three meetings. Andrei, you are a representative of the council, you haven’t forgotten this, have you?”
“It was only after a vote among all parties that this operation was fully implemented. ‘Event 422’ was a disaster, but it was also a man-made calamity resulting from our collective misjudgment. I am not shirking my responsibilities, but Andrei, the responsibility on your shoulders is no less than mine.”
Andrei nodded, “Indeed, if you have to say it, this is just a war initiated by the rulers for their own interests, it’s a pity that we are the losers this time. If we had found the correct virtual gateway first, then Fernand Snow, you would not only be free from accusations, but you could also gain the support of all parties and be reelected as mayor with a 100% vote.”
“At most, I can accuse you of promoting this operation for your political achievements. Besides, you’ve already apologized, and the citizens can’t say much more.”
Andrei glanced at the Ogre’s stone pillar, which was almost unchanged. This meant that the citizens did not deepen their resentment towards Fernand Snow because of his accusations.
This was beyond his expectation. After all, although Event 422 caused tens of thousands of casualties, what does it have to do with the living?
It’s not them who died.
Maybe among the victims were their friends or even lovers, but… so what?
It’s not them who died.
If they suffered losses due to the attack, the Government Affairs Hall was willing to compensate. As for the casualties and building collapses caused by the attack, it was all benefits to the living – the dead’s positions would be vacant, the collapsed buildings meant new construction work, rents would fall due to fewer tenants, and the streets would become less crowded.
Caimon City was a bit too crowded to begin with, but now that the attackers had come, killed a bunch, and scared off a bunch, the remaining people naturally had more city resources. At this moment, who knows how many people are thanking the attackers for their slaughter, which allowed them to seize a lot of benefits.
Even Fernand Snow, the main person responsible, didn’t attract much hatred. The resentment he attracted on this matter was even less than that of Dragon’s Den Apartment and the control of the public examination.
After all, the ones who truly hated him are already dead, and among the survivors, quite a few were cheated out of their money by Dragon’s Den Apartment or had their positions taken away in the public exam.
In the Blood Moon Realm, the living do not empathize with the dead.
To bring down Fernand Snow with Event 422 is a pipe dream. Andrei is not so naive. He just needs this topic as a lead-in.
“Correct, if we only discuss the cause of the event, every decision-maker is at fault. It is the responsibility of all the rulers,” Andrei said, “But the process of the event, that was your one-man show stage, my dear Mayor.”
The Ogre narrowed his eyes, coldly looking at this political adversary.
Andrei said, “Twenty minutes after the arrival of the Outer Domain Sorcerer, the Church informed you of this news. But for the first three hours, you claimed that nothing was happening, until multiple attacks occurred on the outskirts of the city. Only then did you tell the citizens not to go out, deploy the Heresy Court to meet the enemy, and gather adventurers from the war zone…”
“The announcement to the citizens before the arrival of the Outer Domain Sorcerer would only create panic!” The Ogre said unequivocally, “If the citizens gather and flee out of fear, it would provide an excellent opportunity for the Outer Domain Sorcerer to attack. The casualties at that time would definitely be greater than they are now!”
“Yes, you’re right,” Andrei said, “If the only combat forces around Caimon City are indeed the Heresy Court and the war zone, your decisions were correct.”
At this moment, everyone else, including Fernand Snow, looked shocked!
Meunken even loudly rebuked, “Andrei, do you know what you’re saying!? Do you think you can survive just by telling everything?”
“Even if I don’t speak, I’m sure I’m going to die anyway,” Andrei said word by word, “I’ve never thought about surviving. I just hope that before I die, I can have a clear conscience.”
Fernand Snow sneered, “Indeed, Andrei from a high-level Foster Home would have such a luxurious and high-class thought. How funny it is. You didn’t have a conscience before, but now you’re suddenly seeing the light after being put in jail?”
Andrei shook his head, “Fernand Snow, sometimes I wonder, do I really deserve to be in your position? Do I truly have the ability to control the fate of so many people? Can I really watch so many lives die before my eyes, like you, and remain indifferent?”
He looked at the camera, as if he was speaking to the hundreds of thousands of citizens in Caimon City.
“In the Caimon region, the most powerful armed forces are not the Heresy Court or the war zone, but the research institutions and the Church!” He said, “Every member of the sacred bloodline in the research institutions, and every Moonshadow in the Church, are Sorcerers, and most of them are Two-wing Sorcerers!”
“Some people may have heard that the scholars in the research institutions are not good at fighting, and that the priests in the church only know how to pray, but these are all lies tailored to cater to the common people’s need to belittle the strong, a cocoon of information woven to satisfy your inner jealousy.”
“After all, you are not Sorcerers, nor are you Blood Saint Moonshadows. So the Blood Saint Moonshadows must have ridiculous shortcomings, such as fear of sunlight, fear of fire, so you can feel superior, so you can convince yourself that there is no need to be jealous, so you can live on.”
“Any Sorcerer is not a weakling, and definitely not incapable of fighting!”
“If the research institutions and the Church were to take action, although they might not be able to quickly suppress the Outer Domain Sorcerer, they would definitely be able to control the situation within a smaller range, reducing the number of casualties to thousands or hundreds!”
“But they don’t want to get involved, because it has nothing to do with them, the Outer Domain Sorcerer won’t attack their areas. What’s more important, the sacred bloodline craves corpses, and the Moonshadow appreciates death. This accidental massacre actually aligns with their interests.”
“The only one who can change the situation is you, Alandor Fernand Snow,” Andrei said word by word, “As the mayor, you have the authority to command the Church and the research institutions. If you’re willing, you can summon the Blood Saints and the Moonshadows, completely reversing the situation of the Outer Domain Sorcerer’s rampage.”
The Ogre’s face was calm, as if he didn’t care about Andrei’s accusation at all.
“But you didn’t. Because you dare not damage the interests of the two races, because you still need the support of both races. Not only that, but you also knew that the attackers came through the level 2 virtual gateway, and this attack would last at most three days. The Outer Domain Sorcerer would inevitably retreat on their own. Therefore, you didn’t hesitate to sacrifice the interests of the citizens, using the bodies of the people as gifts to please the Blood and Moon Race.”
Andrei had a faint hint of derision on his face. “No one told you to do this, nor did anyone warn you not to. You made the choice yourself. You used the lives of thousands to demonstrate your humility to the Blood and Moon Race.”
The ogre glanced at the squirming chains on his body and sneered, “Your words don’t seem to have much impact. Everyone understands my predicament. Though it is not a glorious deed, pleasing the Blood Moon is not shameful.”
“Is that so?” Andrei chuckled, “But what if I say that the incident at the Dragon’s Den Apartment was also a result of your deliberate indulgence to please the research institutes?”
“Everyone knew that Dragon’s Den Apartment amassed a lot of money through financial fraud, and the chairman of Dragon’s Den has already absconded. But very few know where that money went — before absconding, the chairman went to the four major research institutes to undergo a life-extension surgery that would add 200 years to his life. Just this surgery alone consumed a third of the liquid assets of Dragon’s Den Apartment.”
“Not only that, other board members of Dragon’s Den Apartment also went to the research institutes one after another for life-extension surgeries, body repair surgeries, and so on. In the end, most of the cash assets of Dragon’s Den Apartment ended up in the various research institutes. Then the event broke out, all the directors disappeared, and tens of millions of people were burdened with debt.”
“Neither your Forest Gallery nor my Everlife Elixir gained more than a minor profit in this matter. The real devourer of the wealth of tens of millions of people was the research institutes.”
“And that’s just one of the more noticeable ‘achievements’ of your political career. If we really delve into it, we wouldn’t finish in half an hour. But to sum it up, it boils down to one principle –”
“Exploit the public, and flatter the Blood Moon.”
Andrei looked at the Blood Moon in the night sky, the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes revealing his fatigue.
“That’s why your approval ratings have dropped while you’ve remained in power for eight years. Your existence serves a purpose — the research institutes and the church need people like you as public puppets. Once you’ve attracted enough public anger, they will send you to Shattered Lake Prison to satisfy the public’s thirst for justice.”
“Even if Event 422 hadn’t occurred, you, Fernand Snow, would have only served as mayor for a few more years before facing the Blood Moon Tribunal. Because you’re a ‘sinner’ who sold the public’s interest to secure the position of mayor.”
The smile had completely disappeared from the ogre’s face.
The stone pillar beneath him seemed to melt, and hundreds of writhing chains wound around him like hands, seemingly ready to pull him into the dark red Shattered Lake.
“But if that were all, you’d just be an ‘ordinary mayor’, no different from your predecessor or the one before him. Every mayor is a future sinner, or rather, only sinners have a chance of becoming mayor.”
Andrei said, “Fernand Snow, the reason I’ve been competing with you for the position of mayor is because you’ve tried to elevate the act of selling out the public’s interest into a higher form of art — you’ve teamed up with the advocacy groups of the four major races, elves, beastmen, ogres, and goblins, to promote the development of professional fighting leagues.”
“Of course, your reasoning is very righteous, absorbing the unemployed, reducing crime rates, nurturing sorcerer seeds, managing the tertiary industry… It’s impeccable, and would even make someone seeing your proposal for the first time wonder why no one thought of such a great idea before.”
“That’s because previous rulers weren’t as ruthless and despicable as you!”
Speaking to this, Andrei’s eyes were bloodshot, the wrinkles on his face gathered into a bunch, too angry to even manage his expression, “Fernand Snow, can’t you foresee what will happen after the combat league appears!? A large number of young people will flood into this get-rich-quick industry, gambling will flourish, body modification will become a new trend, the ring will be painted with a thick layer of flesh and blood, and there might even be Foster Homes specifically nurturing fighting machines for combat!”
“Violence, death, corpses, these will become the only melody of this city! Fernand Snow, it’s not that you can’t foresee this future, you are just clever enough to foresee everything, that’s why you are promoting this plan!”
“The Blood Moon Supreme kept the Blood Saint Moonshadow in the research institute and the church, all in order to prevent them from causing slaughter, to suppress their torment of the people, and to buy breathing space for all races! But you, Fernand Snow, for your own desires, you are willing to put all the people on the altar, standardize, formalize, and streamline slaughter and death, just to please your master!”
“You have united all the high-ranking individuals of all races, just to establish a large and shameless ruling group, the people are your best merchandise, the Blood Moon is your worshipped customer!”
“But don’t forget, Fernand Snow, you are still an Ogre, without crimson pupils, let alone a fluffy tail! No matter how much you flatter, in their eyes, you are just food!”
Andrei’s abusive words echoed over the shattered lake, the rest of the people were as quiet as cicadas in cold weather, shrinking themselves in their seats, as if praying that the Blood Saint Moonshadow watching the live broadcast would not notice them.
For a moment, the live broadcast was so quiet that only the sound of sliding chains could be heard.
At this time, Fernand Snow suddenly glanced at Ashe, showing a strange smile.
“Are you done?” The Ogre looked around: “Well then, please allow me to make a few sophistries.”
Snickering.
Facing Andrei’s accusation, Fernand Snow actually laughed.
He laughed loudly and wildly, as if he didn’t care about the audience watching the live broadcast.
The Ogre nearly laughed to tears. Wiping away the smile-induced tears at the corner of his eyes, he said, “Andrei, your are quite unbecoming. In the pursuit of survival, you have lost your composure. You are not worthy to be my adversary.”
“Yes, exploring the virtual chaotic flow was approved by me. Both emotionally and rationally, I should bear the main responsibility, hence why I am here for investigation. But if you think you can bring me down in front of the citizens of the entire city with just this, you are too naive.”
“How can an exploration operation that involves the Heresy Court, war zone, and even the prison be a minor matter that I can decide with a single word? It’s said that big meetings discuss minor matters, and minor meetings discuss major matters. Before the operation, the leaders of all parties held three meetings. Andrei, you are a representative of the council, you haven’t forgotten this, have you?”
“It was only after a vote among all parties that this operation was fully implemented. ‘Event 422’ was a disaster, but it was also a man-made calamity resulting from our collective misjudgment. I am not shirking my responsibilities, but Andrei, the responsibility on your shoulders is no less than mine.”
Andrei nodded, “Indeed, if you have to say it, this is just a war initiated by the rulers for their own interests, it’s a pity that we are the losers this time. If we had found the correct virtual gateway first, then Fernand Snow, you would not only be free from accusations, but you could also gain the support of all parties and be reelected as mayor with a 100% vote.”
“At most, I can accuse you of promoting this operation for your political achievements. Besides, you’ve already apologized, and the citizens can’t say much more.”
Andrei glanced at the Ogre’s stone pillar, which was almost unchanged. This meant that the citizens did not deepen their resentment towards Fernand Snow because of his accusations.
This was beyond his expectation. After all, although Event 422 caused tens of thousands of casualties, what does it have to do with the living?
It’s not them who died.
Maybe among the victims were their friends or even lovers, but… so what?
It’s not them who died.
If they suffered losses due to the attack, the Government Affairs Hall was willing to compensate. As for the casualties and building collapses caused by the attack, it was all benefits to the living – the dead’s positions would be vacant, the collapsed buildings meant new construction work, rents would fall due to fewer tenants, and the streets would become less crowded.
Caimon City was a bit too crowded to begin with, but now that the attackers had come, killed a bunch, and scared off a bunch, the remaining people naturally had more city resources. At this moment, who knows how many people are thanking the attackers for their slaughter, which allowed them to seize a lot of benefits.
Even Fernand Snow, the main person responsible, didn’t attract much hatred. The resentment he attracted on this matter was even less than that of Dragon’s Den Apartment and the control of the public examination.
After all, the ones who truly hated him are already dead, and among the survivors, quite a few were cheated out of their money by Dragon’s Den Apartment or had their positions taken away in the public exam.
In the Blood Moon Realm, the living do not empathize with the dead.
To bring down Fernand Snow with Event 422 is a pipe dream. Andrei is not so naive. He just needs this topic as a lead-in.
“Correct, if we only discuss the cause of the event, every decision-maker is at fault. It is the responsibility of all the rulers,” Andrei said, “But the process of the event, that was your one-man show stage, my dear Mayor.”
The Ogre narrowed his eyes, coldly looking at this political adversary.
Andrei said, “Twenty minutes after the arrival of the Outer Domain Sorcerer, the Church informed you of this news. But for the first three hours, you claimed that nothing was happening, until multiple attacks occurred on the outskirts of the city. Only then did you tell the citizens not to go out, deploy the Heresy Court to meet the enemy, and gather adventurers from the war zone…”
“The announcement to the citizens before the arrival of the Outer Domain Sorcerer would only create panic!” The Ogre said unequivocally, “If the citizens gather and flee out of fear, it would provide an excellent opportunity for the Outer Domain Sorcerer to attack. The casualties at that time would definitely be greater than they are now!”
“Yes, you’re right,” Andrei said, “If the only combat forces around Caimon City are indeed the Heresy Court and the war zone, your decisions were correct.”
At this moment, everyone else, including Fernand Snow, looked shocked!
Meunken even loudly rebuked, “Andrei, do you know what you’re saying!? Do you think you can survive just by telling everything?”
“Even if I don’t speak, I’m sure I’m going to die anyway,” Andrei said word by word, “I’ve never thought about surviving. I just hope that before I die, I can have a clear conscience.”
Fernand Snow sneered, “Indeed, Andrei from a high-level Foster Home would have such a luxurious and high-class thought. How funny it is. You didn’t have a conscience before, but now you’re suddenly seeing the light after being put in jail?”
Andrei shook his head, “Fernand Snow, sometimes I wonder, do I really deserve to be in your position? Do I truly have the ability to control the fate of so many people? Can I really watch so many lives die before my eyes, like you, and remain indifferent?”
He looked at the camera, as if he was speaking to the hundreds of thousands of citizens in Caimon City.
“In the Caimon region, the most powerful armed forces are not the Heresy Court or the war zone, but the research institutions and the Church!” He said, “Every member of the sacred bloodline in the research institutions, and every Moonshadow in the Church, are Sorcerers, and most of them are Two-wing Sorcerers!”
“Some people may have heard that the scholars in the research institutions are not good at fighting, and that the priests in the church only know how to pray, but these are all lies tailored to cater to the common people’s need to belittle the strong, a cocoon of information woven to satisfy your inner jealousy.”
“After all, you are not Sorcerers, nor are you Blood Saint Moonshadows. So the Blood Saint Moonshadows must have ridiculous shortcomings, such as fear of sunlight, fear of fire, so you can feel superior, so you can convince yourself that there is no need to be jealous, so you can live on.”
“Any Sorcerer is not a weakling, and definitely not incapable of fighting!”
“If the research institutions and the Church were to take action, although they might not be able to quickly suppress the Outer Domain Sorcerer, they would definitely be able to control the situation within a smaller range, reducing the number of casualties to thousands or hundreds!”
“But they don’t want to get involved, because it has nothing to do with them, the Outer Domain Sorcerer won’t attack their areas. What’s more important, the sacred bloodline craves corpses, and the Moonshadow appreciates death. This accidental massacre actually aligns with their interests.”
“The only one who can change the situation is you, Alandor Fernand Snow,” Andrei said word by word, “As the mayor, you have the authority to command the Church and the research institutions. If you’re willing, you can summon the Blood Saints and the Moonshadows, completely reversing the situation of the Outer Domain Sorcerer’s rampage.”
The Ogre’s face was calm, as if he didn’t care about Andrei’s accusation at all.
“But you didn’t. Because you dare not damage the interests of the two races, because you still need the support of both races. Not only that, but you also knew that the attackers came through the level 2 virtual gateway, and this attack would last at most three days. The Outer Domain Sorcerer would inevitably retreat on their own. Therefore, you didn’t hesitate to sacrifice the interests of the citizens, using the bodies of the people as gifts to please the Blood and Moon Race.”
Andrei had a faint hint of derision on his face. “No one told you to do this, nor did anyone warn you not to. You made the choice yourself. You used the lives of thousands to demonstrate your humility to the Blood and Moon Race.”
The ogre glanced at the squirming chains on his body and sneered, “Your words don’t seem to have much impact. Everyone understands my predicament. Though it is not a glorious deed, pleasing the Blood Moon is not shameful.”
“Is that so?” Andrei chuckled, “But what if I say that the incident at the Dragon’s Den Apartment was also a result of your deliberate indulgence to please the research institutes?”
“Everyone knew that Dragon’s Den Apartment amassed a lot of money through financial fraud, and the chairman of Dragon’s Den has already absconded. But very few know where that money went — before absconding, the chairman went to the four major research institutes to undergo a life-extension surgery that would add 200 years to his life. Just this surgery alone consumed a third of the liquid assets of Dragon’s Den Apartment.”
“Not only that, other board members of Dragon’s Den Apartment also went to the research institutes one after another for life-extension surgeries, body repair surgeries, and so on. In the end, most of the cash assets of Dragon’s Den Apartment ended up in the various research institutes. Then the event broke out, all the directors disappeared, and tens of millions of people were burdened with debt.”
“Neither your Forest Gallery nor my Everlife Elixir gained more than a minor profit in this matter. The real devourer of the wealth of tens of millions of people was the research institutes.”
“And that’s just one of the more noticeable ‘achievements’ of your political career. If we really delve into it, we wouldn’t finish in half an hour. But to sum it up, it boils down to one principle –”
“Exploit the public, and flatter the Blood Moon.”
Andrei looked at the Blood Moon in the night sky, the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes revealing his fatigue.
“That’s why your approval ratings have dropped while you’ve remained in power for eight years. Your existence serves a purpose — the research institutes and the church need people like you as public puppets. Once you’ve attracted enough public anger, they will send you to Shattered Lake Prison to satisfy the public’s thirst for justice.”
“Even if Event 422 hadn’t occurred, you, Fernand Snow, would have only served as mayor for a few more years before facing the Blood Moon Tribunal. Because you’re a ‘sinner’ who sold the public’s interest to secure the position of mayor.”
The smile had completely disappeared from the ogre’s face.
The stone pillar beneath him seemed to melt, and hundreds of writhing chains wound around him like hands, seemingly ready to pull him into the dark red Shattered Lake.
“But if that were all, you’d just be an ‘ordinary mayor’, no different from your predecessor or the one before him. Every mayor is a future sinner, or rather, only sinners have a chance of becoming mayor.”
Andrei said, “Fernand Snow, the reason I’ve been competing with you for the position of mayor is because you’ve tried to elevate the act of selling out the public’s interest into a higher form of art — you’ve teamed up with the advocacy groups of the four major races, elves, beastmen, ogres, and goblins, to promote the development of professional fighting leagues.”
“Of course, your reasoning is very righteous, absorbing the unemployed, reducing crime rates, nurturing sorcerer seeds, managing the tertiary industry… It’s impeccable, and would even make someone seeing your proposal for the first time wonder why no one thought of such a great idea before.”
“That’s because previous rulers weren’t as ruthless and despicable as you!”
Speaking to this, Andrei’s eyes were bloodshot, the wrinkles on his face gathered into a bunch, too angry to even manage his expression, “Fernand Snow, can’t you foresee what will happen after the combat league appears!? A large number of young people will flood into this get-rich-quick industry, gambling will flourish, body modification will become a new trend, the ring will be painted with a thick layer of flesh and blood, and there might even be Foster Homes specifically nurturing fighting machines for combat!”
“Violence, death, corpses, these will become the only melody of this city! Fernand Snow, it’s not that you can’t foresee this future, you are just clever enough to foresee everything, that’s why you are promoting this plan!”
“The Blood Moon Supreme kept the Blood Saint Moonshadow in the research institute and the church, all in order to prevent them from causing slaughter, to suppress their torment of the people, and to buy breathing space for all races! But you, Fernand Snow, for your own desires, you are willing to put all the people on the altar, standardize, formalize, and streamline slaughter and death, just to please your master!”
“You have united all the high-ranking individuals of all races, just to establish a large and shameless ruling group, the people are your best merchandise, the Blood Moon is your worshipped customer!”
“But don’t forget, Fernand Snow, you are still an Ogre, without crimson pupils, let alone a fluffy tail! No matter how much you flatter, in their eyes, you are just food!”
Andrei’s abusive words echoed over the shattered lake, the rest of the people were as quiet as cicadas in cold weather, shrinking themselves in their seats, as if praying that the Blood Saint Moonshadow watching the live broadcast would not notice them.
For a moment, the live broadcast was so quiet that only the sound of sliding chains could be heard.
At this time, Fernand Snow suddenly glanced at Ashe, showing a strange smile.
“Are you done?” The Ogre looked around: “Well then, please allow me to make a few sophistries.”
