Mage Manual-Chapter 148 - 135: The Sheepdog and the Sheepfold
Chapter 148: Chapter 135: The Sheepdog and the Sheepfold
The Research Institute cafe resounded with Andrey’s angry roars.
The patrons’ expressions, subtly agitated, gently swayed their wine glasses. Behind the bar, the snake owner washed glasses as usual, apparently ignoring the tirade going on about the Blood Moon Judgement.
“Such unfair accusations,” a human Blood Saint said solemnly, “It’s one thing to scold the Church’s dogs that only chase their own tails, but our research institute has always focused quietly on research. We don’t meddle in politics or public opinion…Which of today’s technological products didn’t come from our institutes? From machines that manufacture screws to core programmers for Veil applications, which aren’t the result of years or even decades of our researchers’ work?”
“We haven’t hurt anyone, always diligently contributing to the development of the Kingdom of Blood Moon. Because our lifespan is more than three times that of ordinary races, our work time and contributions are also more than triple that of ordinary people…and now they actually blame us for the ruler’s mistakes!?”
“Do they think we won’t speak up because we don’t like to?”
“Exactly!” others also became indignant, and someone cursed, “There are only two Blood Saint representatives in the parliament now, compared to numerous other racial representatives; our voices hardly matter, just like an ambient noisemaker—making others think we are easy to bully!”
...
“It’s time to increase the seats for the Blood Saint representatives!”
“And Andrey—he forms factions for his own power and private gains. Does he have any right to criticize us?”
“These politicians really can’t tell right from wrong, the absolute shamelessness!”
“But Fernand’s proposal for the fighting league actually seems pretty good.”
The cafe paused briefly, the red glow in everyone’s blood pupils becoming brighter.
“Indeed, it is a very good spectator industry.”
“The best would be unlimited fighting, allowing mechanical modifications and biological enhancements; otherwise, it’s not interesting.”
“We could also have multi-person battles, fighting until only one person is left standing.”
“And interspecies fighting—let them capture some creatures from the Abyss for the arena and see if normal people can fight those Abyss creatures.”
“There should also be a Mage League. Two-winged might be too much, but two One-winged Mages fighting to the death should be no problem!”
“Besides the prize money, the institute is willing to provide free treatment to all participants. As long as they don’t die, we guarantee on-site recovery so they have no worries. Not to mention, I’m willing to volunteer as the league’s Medical Practitioner!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, you just want to perform the second Blood Embrace ritual! Look at your age; you’ve lost the potential in your bloodline long ago. Even if we really need a league Medical Practitioner, we’d definitely choose someone from the new bloodline first.”
Watching everyone enthusiastically discussing the details of the fighting league, Lorenz, however, was concerned about the voting situation in the Blood Moon Judgement. He noticed that while Fernand had been neck and neck with Andrey just moments ago, he had now surged ahead, causing him to frown.
Although this blue-scaled Blood Saint faintly felt Andrey made some sense, it was only a little. More so, it was mostly sophistry—was it the institute’s fault that apartment board members from Dragon’s Den came for life-extending surgery?
Was it the institute that forced Fernand to mishandle the 422 incident?
And the upcoming fighting league that Fernand was pushing, should the institute be held responsible for all the negative social impacts this industry might create?
Why should they?
Just because the Blood Saint Clan had longer lives and stronger abilities, should they be morally hijacked by these lesser races?
That made no sense!
Lorenz turned and asked, “Snake owner, do you think Andrey makes sense?”
“Hiss…” The snake owner placed the glass down, deliberating, and said, “Representative Andrey makes sense; in his view, Fernand indeed is pandering to the Two-winged clans.”
This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.
The blue-scaled Blood Saint was somewhat surprised, “Then—”
“But you also make sense,” the snake owner continued. “For the Two-winged clans, Andrey’s accusations are just displaced anger. Clearly, you all have done nothing, yet others put the blame on you.”
Lorenz couldn’t help but laugh, “So if we’re fine, and they have a point, then who is the problem?”
“Nobody has a problem; the problem is…”
The snake owner looked towards the Light Screen, “Perhaps the mayor will give us an answer.”
…
…
“Ogre, male, general education, 24 years old, has a habit of eating moon candy before bed, frequently stays up all night, is currently in the oil painting industry, his favorite food is sauerkraut larou, masturbates twice a day, currently secretly in love with another female ogre, hopes to cohabit with her but despite trying to please her for more than a year has not progressed further. He had clearly seen the female ogre enter a hotel with someone else three months ago, but that didn’t extinguish his love; rather, it made him think he had a chance…”
Initially, Andrey was somewhat confused listening, but the more he listened, the more shocked he became, not waiting for Fernand to finish, he interrupted, “You actually… wait, you have undergone memory scrutiny! How could you possibly still retain these memories! Haven’t you deleted any memories?”
The ogre smiled, “I don’t trust the Memory Masters, I eliminate my memories myself. Once I pass the memory scrutiny, I will immediately restore the memories that are crucial to me— and the information about my son is the most important memory for me.”
Now, even the uninformed audience understood who the information Fernand was talking about referred to—it was about his son!
“Have you given up, Mayor?” Kent said blankly, “The ‘Law of Blood Prohibition’ is a superior law, second only to the top ‘Blood Moon Constitution.’ You have violated the ‘investigation of procreation crime’ strictly prohibited by the ‘Law of Blood Prohibition,’ which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty… Even if you survive the Blood Moon Judgement, you’ll have to spend the rest of your life at Shattered Lake!”
To everyone, Fernand seemed to be committing suicide!
Among them, there were those who had investigated their offspring, but basically, they had the Memory Masters delete such memories immediately after finding out, because this was a deadly serious crime!
Worse than selling tons of moon candy, even more severe than continuous murder!
Investigating offspring was a provocation to the authority of the Extreme Master of Blood Moon, a desecration to the foundation of the Kingdom of Blood Moon!
“Yes, I violated the ‘Law of Blood Prohibition’…” the ogre smiled, “Kent, you graduated from law school so many years ago, do you still remember the meaning of ‘Law of Blood Prohibition’? Explain it.”
Perhaps stunned by Fernand’s words and deeds, or perhaps still harboring obedience to the mayor, Kent replied without hesitation, “The ‘Law of Blood Prohibition’ standardizes the reproduction methods of various races, adjusts and protects broad social relationships, beneficial for optimizing resource allocation and improving per capita resource levels. It helps improve the population quality of all ethnicities, disintegrates the backward unit of the family, breaks down class barriers abolishes inherited traditions, and ensures every newborn fairly enjoys the resources of the entire society, it is the legal basis for ‘racial equality, equality for all.'”
Fernand looked as if he suddenly realized, “Right, racial equality, equality for all. Who can explain to me the implications of this statement?”
“People should not discriminate against others based on their appearance, race, gender, education, work, and other factors. Everyone facing behavioral discrimination and verbal discrimination can report to the Crime Hunting Hall and has the right to defend their personal dignity, this is stipulated in the ‘Racial Human Rights Bill.'” Andrey said, “Fernand, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“What you just said to me, I am now returning to you—Andrey, you are not unaware of my thoughts, you have already anticipated my thoughts, but you still dare not speak them out,” the ogre’s tranquil pupils seemed to hold a hysterical madness: “At most, you only dare to criticize the two-winged of the Blood Moon; your capacity is ultimately pitifully small.”
The others and the audience were stunned—Is not criticizing the two-winged of the Blood Moon audacious enough!? They are the true ruling class of the Kingdom of Blood Moon, the darlings of the Extreme Master of Blood Moon!
Do you still want to criticize the Extreme Lord?!
The redeemers cursed quietly, wishing they could just jump into Shattered Lake to commit suicide—if Fernand keeps speaking, their fate might not just be as simple as death!
…
…
At the Crime Hunting Hall, in the director’s office, the director, watching the popup call alerts on the Light Screen, swiped them all away impatiently.
“They’re blocking me from watching the live broadcast, honestly.” Her haggard face flushed with intense excitement, “Can’t these old fools just enjoy such an interesting spectacle?”
“Heh, making me stick to this position, now you see where you went wrong? Stick me in the Church and Institutes!”
“Fernand, let me see the extent of your capabilities.”
…
…
“The ‘Law of Blood Prohibition’ cuts off all familial relationships; we grow up in foster care and die declared in hospitals, regardless if life is long or short, but during this journey, we are unable to obtain any trustworthy bonds,” Fernand said, “It has made us each lonely individuals.”
“The ‘Racial Human Rights Bill’ explicitly talks about abolishing discrimination, but in reality, it provokes discrimination because it demands disparate races, genders, and educational levels, even different ages, to get along harmoniously, forcing entirely different lives to respect each other—how can this not breed resentment? But because of the presence of the bill, everyone can only hide their discrimination deep within, fermenting this resentment into a more sophisticated, more natural, more cruel prejudice. It causes us to engage in endless internal conflicts, unable to unite as a whole.”
“Andrey, just now you said that the Extreme Master of Blood Moon kept the Blood Saint in the Institutes and restricted Moon Shadow in the Church to protect us.” The ogre’s voice echoed through Shattered Lake, “I beg to differ.”
“He silences the Blood Saint, makes the Moon Shadow benevolent, leaves us lonely, impossible for the masses to unite. You know what this reminds me of? Well-behaved sheepdogs and sheep pens with a strong sense of self-management.”
“The Kingdom of Blood Moon is a carefully constructed farm by the Extreme Master of Blood Moon.”
