The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 166: Ashe Handed Over in Just Three Sentences

He cleared his throat lightly and brought the camp to silence, leaving only his voice echoing in the air.

For sorcerers with political ambitions, the Sound Class was almost a necessity. The way a person spoke determined the presence they projected. Even if a politician had no interest in hearing a rival's arguments, they still had to be able to defend their right to speak.

Keppert continued, "I understand your concerns. I won't waste time with pleasantries. If we dragged out all the adventurers and arrested every last one of them, innocents would certainly be caught in the crossfire. But if we targeted only a portion, some of the guilty ones would inevitably slip through."

He glanced down at the frightened adventurers. The contempt in his eyes deepened. At this point, they're no different from stray dogs. The mayor was right. Dogs can be used, but never trusted. A dog will always chase someone else's bone. Only by working with wolves can these dogs be stripped to the marrow. Feed the wolves, sharpen their claws, and eventually they'll turn on their master. The Blood Moon Kingdom has too many dogs and too few wolves. That's exactly why the Combat League has to be promoted at all costs.

Recalling the former mayor's teachings, Keppert's expression grew colder. "Rest assured. This festival is of utmost importance. Compared to the offering the Blood Moon Lord demanded, your crimes are trivial. Even if Captain Gerard were to lose his mind, I would not allow him to harm the valuable combatants gathered here."

Gerard folded his arms, his gaze sweeping eagerly across the adventurers. "Don't worry, Secretary Keppert. No one here values this festival more than I do."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Of course... the Heresy Court and the Battle Zone have always kept their distance. This festival is meant to counter foreign invasion. There's no reason for Gerard to be making arrests here.

Still, unease lingered. Festival matters had nothing to do with the Heresy Court. Few adventurers could explain Gerard's presence. It seemed highly unlikely he had simply come for a stroll.

Keppert continued, "As you might have guessed, Captain Gerard is here to pursue criminals. But it has little to do with most of you. His targets are wanted fugitives disguised as adventurers. Adventurers in general are not his concern."

At that moment, a bad feeling welled up in Ashe and his fellow accomplices.

Gerard went on, "Corpse Lover Archibald Harvey, Rotcrow Ronald Wade, Fraudster Iger Perskin, Eater of the Dead Ronna Chios, and Demonic Saint Ashe Heath. I am here only for these five fugitives. They removed the Miracle Chips embedded in their necks when they escaped Shattered Lake Prison, which makes them unregistered adventurers in the Battle Zone. I am not overstepping my authority."

The crowd visibly relaxed. These five escapees were not their concern. More importantly, the fugitives were not adventurers. Gerard had not violated the tacit agreement between the Battle Zone and the Heresy Court. That alone reassured them.

If Gerard had started arresting criminals among the adventurers today, the others might have looked the other way. Sooner or later, however, they would have fled Lakeview Battlezone for good. If even the Battle Zone couldn't guarantee their safety, there was no reason for them to stay and serve as the Heresy Court's performance metrics.

Ashe and the others exchanged glances. This should be interesting.

Silent nods passed between them. No words were necessary. From this moment on, they had to cooperate, or they had no hope of escaping a Three-Winged Sacred Realm sorcerer.

Gerard added, "One more thing, in theory, I am pursuing five people, but I have a particular interest in Ashe. In addition to the public bounty the Heresy Court issued, I offer a personal reward of one hundred Gold Coins for specific information on Ashe Heath. If the other four are willing to hand him over, I can represent the Heresy Court and suspend your pursuit. You will have three days to flee."

Ashe turned to the others, only to find their eyes fixed on him. "You're not seriously considering betraying a friend just to survive, are you?"

Harvey scratched his head. "Are we friends?"

Ronald spread his hands. "What's wrong with surviving?"

Iger spoke coldly, "If you hadn't left that recording to provoke Gerard, would he be chasing us this relentlessly? You caused this; you deal with it. What's the problem?"

With just three sentences, Gerard had shredded their already fragile alliance. For someone who understood human nature this well, the title Bloodrage Hunter was well-earned.

Just as Ashe prepared to distance himself from this group of turncoats, Ronna spoke calmly, "We don't have chips. Eventually, we'll have to leave the Blood Moon Kingdom. Unless Gerard is willing to let us pass, handing Ashe over brings no real benefit. Even if we gain three more days to run, there's no place left for us here."

Ashe raised a thumb. "See how reasonable Ronna sounds? You all fell for the enemy's trick so easily. Learn from Ronna—"

Ronna continued evenly, "But if we truly find no way to exploit the situation, then we may have to hand Ashe over to buy ourselves some breathing room. Better to sacrifice one than have all of us die."

Iger hooked an arm around Ashe's neck. "Thank you, Ashe. I didn't expect you'd be willing to sacrifice yourself for everyone. You'll grant my wish, right? Hmm

?" Ashe's expression fell, but the mask hid it. At this point, he could only take things one step at a time. Iger might betray him at any moment, but for now, sticking with these four scumbags remained his most practical team arrangement.

At the very least, they shared the same goal, and doing bad things was their specialty. Teaming up with strangers would leave him with nothing but hope for a miracle.

Gerard waited for a moment. When no one stepped forward, he showed no sign of surprise and gestured for the goblin to continue.

Keppert spoke, "The priest squad will now cast the Blood Moon Blessing. Line up by team. The Bloodrage Hunters will be responsible for protecting the priests while also scanning your chip information. Intelligence on the foreign nation beyond the channel has been sent to everyone in this camp via group message. Please read it promptly."

Ashe and the others pretended to summon their light screens. Without chips, there was no way for them to receive the messages. They could only mimic the motions of the adventurers around them.

The priest squad arrived at the platform. Each of them bore subtle wolfhound traits, and nearly all had fluffy tails. Ashe couldn't help glancing at Ronna.

Ronna remained silent, simply pointing to the Blood Moon hanging high above. Unlike the Moonshadow Clan, blessed by the Blood Moon, he could only transform beneath its shadow. Most of the time, he displayed no Moonshadow traits. The difference between him and others of his race was as vast as the gap between living on proper meals and surviving on filth. It's unsurprising that they treated him like a heretic and threw him into Shattered Lake to die.

Adventurers began lining up for the blessings. Ashe watched as the ritual unfolded. Five priests instructed each adventurer to extend their right arm. Once a vein was located, they plunged a steel syringe straight in.

Assistant Priest Kerr raised a loudspeaker and pressed a button. Sacred chants echoed across the camp. Moonlight drifted like thin smoke, transforming into layers of gauze-like robes that settled over the adventurers' bodies.

"Whoa!"

"My power's surging!"

"Praise the Blood Moon!"

Ashe muttered, "Damn it, isn't this just injections and music-induced hypnosis?"

Ronna replied, "This is how blessings have always worked. The priests prepare blessing potions in advance. When needed, they inject them and play sacred music to activate the Miracle inside. It's not as strong as a personal casting, but it's fast, convenient, and portable. You can even exchange priest-made blessing potions in the Battle Zone, which are otherwise impossible to buy."

Clearly, many adventurers had never experienced anything this high-end before. The surge of power thrilled them so much that they seemed ready to throw themselves into battle just to vent it. Ashe even wondered whether the potion contained Moon Candy... or if Moon Candy contained the blessing potion's ingredients.

For Ashe and the others, however, the blessing was bad news. Every blessed adventurer now wore a thin crimson gauze robe. At a glance, anyone could see who had received the blessing. There was no sneaking past it. Once the camp was bathed in this light and only the five of them remained dark, it would be practically the same as surrendering.

They stood near the back of the line. The priests worked quickly. They had at most ten minutes before it was their turn. Decisions had to be made fast.

"Why don't we just package him up?" Iger asked.

Ronald responded, "We should clean him up first before handing him over. That'll show that we are sincere."

Harvey added, "Leave it to me. I'm a professional when it comes to handling corpses."

Ashe shuddered. "I'm already regretting bringing you scumbags along when we broke out..."

"What are you talking about? We're clearly discussing cooking methods for Lala Fat."

"Enough. Stop scaring little Ashe," Ronna said, then looked at Harvey. "Necromancer, can you use the same trick again?"

Harvey glanced at the night sky and replied, "I can. The problem is that the prison was a specially structured building, which explains why its restraints were so strong. This place, on the other hand, doesn't even have a ceiling. I can only guarantee attack and movement restraints. As for Gerard... don't get your hopes up."

He didn't dare look directly at the hunter captain, only managing a glance from the corner of his eye. "Before we even consider his strength, there's the possibility that his authority level surpasses the Chip Processor. Any command from it likely won't work on a law enforcement captain like him."

Ashe realized what this meant. No matter how well-prepared Harvey or the others had been, Gerard remained the greatest threat. Without the chip processor to hold him back, their prison-break plan would fail, no matter what tricks they tried.

Ashe asked, "Maybe we can cause a commotion and slip through when we get the chance? Didn't they say the Virtual Channel only allows Two-Winged sorcerers or below? Gerard shouldn't be able to chase us in, right?"

Iger spread his hands. "You're underestimating him. Even the worst gambler wouldn't bet that a Three-Winged Sacred Realm sorcerer would leave openings for low-level sorcerers like us... Wait. Gerard's primary target is you. That means we can hand you over to draw his attention, then slip through while he's focused on you. Our chances for a successful escape this way would be much higher."

Ashe shot him a sideways glance. "In that situation, do you think I'd desperately run to buy you time? Or surrender and let Gerard free up his hands to capture you all so we die together?"

"Hmm. Ashe, you really are a refreshingly straightforward scumbag."

"Thanks. I'm flattered."

Despite the nonsense they threw at each other, Iger's concern was real. Gerard was like a mountain blocking their path. No trick would matter if they couldn't deal with him.

"I agree with Iger's plan," Ronna said suddenly.

Ashe stared in shock. He had not expected this stern, bald man with thick brows to yield to survival instinct and switch sides without hesitation. Damn it. Hand me back the gratitude I felt earlier.

Iger's eyes lit up. He clapped a hand to Ashe's shoulder. "Indeed. Given the current situation, this is by far the method with the highest success rate. Ashe Heath, we must hand you over."