Sorcerer’s Handbook

Above Shattered Lake.

“It’s over!” Moken shouted loudly: “The trial is over, let’s go back!”

All but the still-dazed Andrei were eager to return to Prison for their reformation, looking ardently at Ashe. However, Ashe maintained his pose holding the Catalog of Sinners, calmly observing them without any movement.

Panic set in among them—could it be that this escapee intended to finish them all off?

A buzzing sound.

Suddenly, the noise of a turbo engine came from afar. Everyone turned to look and saw a speedboat cutting through the waves on the lake, now dyed red by the Blood Moon. Even without seeing the figures on the boat, they knew very well that this was not a middle-aged man out for night fishing, but a Blood Mad Hunter from the Sin Hunter’s Hall!

Instead of feeling relieved at the arrival of someone to stop the criminal’s rampage, they grew even more panicked!

No, please no, not like this, not rescue that arrives only after the trial has ended!

The escapee might have been considering sparing their lives, but with the Sin Hunter’s Hall’s sudden appearance, they feared he might ruthlessly kill them on the spot to provoke the Blood Moon Kingdom.

At this point, they had no hope for Ashe’s rationality—anyone sane would simply escape from prison, not hold their own escape trial and put the mayor in the dock to coax out the dark underbelly of the Blood Moon Kingdom that glory couldn’t illuminate!

In their minds, Ashe Heath had no intention of living; he wanted to turn his own funeral into a circus show, orchestrating a grand finale for himself!

But if you want to turn into fireworks, do it on your own; don’t drag us into meeting the Blood Moon Sovereign!

Seeing the approaching speedboat, Ashe finally made a move. He closed the Catalog of Sinners and reached into the pocket of his trench coat—

Clang!

With the sound of a distant sword’s cry, a line of blood split the Shattered Lake, tearing through the night sky, crossing the vast distance, and piercing Ashe’s chest from afar!

The bloodline was like a tangible thing, violently pulling the person from the speedboat to the Sea-view Terrace!

Looking at the figure that landed on the terrace, the Blood Mad Hunter, Sin Hunter Half-sleeve, with white hair and red eyes, the death row inmates instantly felt a sense of relief.

It was Gerard, the Tri-wings Sanctuary Sorcerer!

With him here, this mere escapee from prison would surely be—

“Huh?” Moken asked in confusion, “Where did he go?”

Andrei finally snapped out of his shock from his political enemy’s death. He turned his head towards the terrace and discovered that Gerard was the only one there.

The host of what might have been the highest-rated Blood Moon Tribunal special in history, Ashe Heath, had vanished without a trace.

He couldn’t possibly have escaped from the eyes of a Tri-wings Sorcerer, could he?

And Gerard had clearly hit him, so how had he disappeared?

Even if he was dead, there should be a corpse left behind, unless…

“Substitute spirit.”

Gerard crouched down, seemingly indifferent to the crucial Catalog of Sinners, and picked up something about the size of a pen, gently pressing a mechanism inside it.

Ashe’s voice came from inside: “That’s right, you’ve got it. So, I wasn’t really expecting you to confess to ‘illegal acts,’ but rather I was looking forward to you revealing those legal but illicit activities of Fernand Snow…”

A recording pen, a common item among most citizens of the Blood Moon Kingdom, designed to record others’ speech. If one captures discriminatory or criminal statements, they can take it to the Sin Hunter’s Hall for an official report, and the Hall provides cash rewards for citizens who help maintain public order, also improving their civic credit rating.

Gerard eyed the pens scattered on the ground, fully aware that Sin Hunter’s Hall had been played—the statements Ashe made during the live broadcast all came from these recording pens!

Since conjuring a true duplicate capable of independent thought, action, and speech was at least a Miracle of the Tri-wings level, no one at the Sin Hunter’s Hall had considered the possibility that Ashe in the broadcast was fake. Gerard had personally taken the speedboat to make the arrest as quickly as possible.

Indeed, even though there was no evidence right now, Gerard was convinced in his heart that the only possible mastermind behind the prison escape had to be the Cult Leader of the Four Pillars, Ashe Heath!

Suddenly, Gerard noticed one of the pens wrapped with a ribbon and pressed it, chaotic noise spilled out:

“Hey? Why so quiet, Igor? You were quite animated just now, saying things like Gerard was kicked out of the Research Institute for peeping at a Legend Sorcerer bathing, or how Gerard generously donates to poor girls, or how Gerard is a shared plug for a dozen Bewitchers… Keep talking, I love these legendary stories.”

“Sigh, the renowned Con Artist Igor Bukin won’t speak, then it’s my turn to leave a message. Hi, Gerard Wessminster, this is ‘Innocent’ Ashe Heath. Although I would advise you not to come after me, I suspect you wouldn’t take kindly to criticism, so I might as well suggest you go after them instead.”

“Igor Bukin, Archibald Harvey, Langna Chios, Ronald Wade, each one of them is a major villain, overflowing with evil deeds. Why don’t you go after them first? Let me live a few more days in fear, consider it punishment, alright?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Gerard, I’m not trying to provoke you. I genuinely consider you a friend. That’s why I wanted to leave a message to thank you.”

“After all, if it wasn’t for your act of mercy that night, there wouldn’t have been my escape tonight. Thank you, Gerard, you are my hero.”

Crack!

Gerard crushed the recording pen, disregarding the plaintive looks from the death row inmates on the Pillar, and turned to gaze towards the lake’s edge. At that moment, clouds drifted across the sky, obscuring the moonlight, casting darkness around, except for the eyes of the sacred bloodline, which still shone bright as fire.

“Ashe, not even a personal visit to say thanks? That’s hardly sincere, is it?”

In Kaimon City, within the Pearl District at a construction site, five individuals dressed in prison guard uniforms reached the top of an unfinished building, looking out over the glittering lights of the bustling metropolis.

The Pearl District, also known as the Pig District, like the Wheat Ear District referred to as the Lower District, is home to the city’s underclass.

The difference is that the Lower District has been poor for centuries; it’s lively in its poverty and has its order. The Pig District, however, emerged only in the past two decades as a new planning area. Due to some political issues, development has been continuously postponed. Unable to afford to pay the Earth Magic construction crew to finish the buildings, what was meant to be a future commercial zone turned into a large cesspool for gangs, vagrants, and criminals.

Suddenly, the five felt a lightening of their souls, as if some shackles had dissipated.

“Fernand Snow is dead, Harvey, our contract with you is over,” Langna stated.

Harvey nodded sincerely, “Thank you.”

“How odd, we don’t have chips, and we didn’t witness Fernand Snow’s death, so how did the contract fulfill itself?” Ashe wondered. “Could the Virtual Realm be monitoring the progress of our contracts, and as soon as it detected Fernand Snow’s death, it immediately settled the contract?”

“This is why Contractors are needed in all walks of life,” Igor chuckled. “Most of the time, the Virtual Realm is the fairest judge. Since it’s a success, it means Ashe really conducted a Blood Moon Tribunal with just those recordings… How did you do it?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Obvious? How can you predict what others will say?”

“You can tell you’ve never given a business presentation. Guiding others to ask the questions you need answered is an essential skill in the workplace, crucial for promotions and raises,” Ashe spread his hands. “After you’ve been beaten down by clients enough times, you naturally come up with multiple contingency plans to ensure fail-safe outcomes.”

Although skeptical, Igor had no real retort — after all, his expertise was in one-on-one direct sales, while Ashe was more akin to a cult leader skilled in mass marketing, clearly more authoritative in this domain.

Ronald clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention: “Ladies and gentlemen, now that Harvey’s contract is concluded, and we’ve successfully escaped to the outskirts of Kaimon City, with the city on our right and the suburbs on our left.”

“So, is it time to part ways?”

Langna, Igor, Harvey, and the others nodded in agreement, and Ashe, filled with emotion, said, “I truly appreciate everyone’s strong support. Without it, we could never have pulled off this near-fantastical plan. This achievement, this honor belongs to each and every one of us!”

He stuck his finger into his mouth: “I, Ashe Heath, will never forget any of you—”

Boom!

Crash!

Snap!

Ashe pulled out his ‘Honeyed Blade’ from his mouth, rapidly retreating while raising a Sword Barrier, his sword pointed directly at Langna, his Heart Sword shooting out like a dart towards the bald giant;

Langna transformed into a Werewolf, lunging at Harvey, darkness becoming his minion, sweeping over everything in a vast tide;

Harvey swung his hands, launching three gray-black spikes of deathly energy, targeting Igor, Langna, and Ronald respectively.

Ronald spread his hands, and a handful of steel balls hung in the air for a moment before abruptly locking onto the Con Artist with guided precision. The steel balls accelerated within a fraction of a second to speeds that sliced through the air, breaking the sound barrier;

Igor let out a piercing psychic scream on the spot, the ensuing vibrational ripples acting like armor, canceling out other effects and flying Items. The shrill sound caused several cracks to burst forth in the unfinished building!

With the team disbanding, they became adversaries to one another!

Could it be that someone thought that escaping prison together would make them sworn friends for life? Surely not.

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