The Mayor Falls

"If you have been hurt enough, use a pair of hands to cleanly slice away yesterday's curse..." As the prison's spirited wake-up chime rang, Yaxiu got out of bed to wash up. Brushing his teeth, he pondered the Sword Princess's bizarre behavior over the past two days. Abandoning their idle chitchat, the Sword Princess had suddenly bombarded him with targeted questions in the Void Realm: what color palettes he liked, how he made friends, whether he preferred mystery-suspense or psychological horror, and so on. She had even asked whether he liked big breasts or flat chests, leaving Yaxiu utterly bewildered. Wasn't that obvious? Could anyone actually not like big breasts?! Moreover, the Sword Princess could cycle through four distinct personalities in a single evening. Sometimes gentle and considerate, sometimes cold and haughty, sometimes sexy and provocative, sometimes innocent and adorable. Yaxiu's take on the matter was: if only she could change her outfits along with her personalities, that would be even better. He had asked her what was going on, but she insisted nothing was wrong, keeping him on edge. He turned it over in his mind. Surely she couldn't be putting him through a psychological test, could she? Aside from that, he could only come up with one plausible explanation—the Sword Princess must have entered her monthly blood metabolic cycle. Thinking carefully, mood swings, talkativeness, and random curiosity fit the profile of a woman during her cycle quite well. Aside from marveling that even 2D waifus got periods, Yaxiu didn't give it any further thought. Opening the light screen, *Aurora's Sorcerer Handbook* immediately flashed a notification: [Cultivation for Death Frenzy Sword Princess has concluded. Please check the growth report and set this week's training policy as soon as possible.] [Death Frenzy Sword Princess's Growth Report: April 19 – April 25] [Swordsmanship Faction: Silver → Silver] [Light Sorcery Faction: Silver → Silver] [Water Sorcery Faction: Silver → Silver] [Mind Faction: 0 → Silver] [Sorcery Power: Silver Half-Wing → Silver Full-Wing] [Cultivation Evaluation: A!] [For achieving an A-rank evaluation, Death Frenzy Sword Princess has received a class advancement from the sorcerer manual: Silver Slayer Sorcerer → Soulbreaker Silver Sorcerer] [Soulbreaker Silver Sorcerer · Class Trait: Each effective attack deals an additional 1% soul damage.] This new class trait brightened Yaxiu's eyes. Enemies in the Void Realm were undeniably soul bodies, which meant the Sword Princess would deal bonus true damage to them. Coupled with her impressive attack speed, the accumulated extra damage would be substantial. Her sorcery factions hadn't developed much. Over the past two days, they had only obtained one Water Sorcery Orb, and after feeding it to her, her water sorcery faction naturally remained at the Silver tier. If not for her mind faction advancing from zero to Silver and her sorcery power breaking through from Half-Wing to Full-Wing, her evaluation certainly wouldn't have reached an A. Even so, Yaxiu harbored some resentment—why wasn't there a growth report for him as the "End Watcher"? He wanted to receive a class advancement from the manual and switch to a new class too! To this day, his class remained a useless cult leader! The blessing of the Four Pillar Gods hadn't triggered even once! Yaxiu checked his points. Though they had hunted many knowledge creatures and collected numerous sorcery spirits lately, the Sword Princess had mentioned needing money to purchase sorcery spirits on her side, so they split the spoils sixty-forty, with Yaxiu taking sixty and the Sword Princess taking forty. After converting all the sorcery spirits he had no immediate use for into points, Yaxiu currently had 124 points—still shy of the 198 points needed to buy a "Bag of Origin Crystals." With no card-draw ritual available, Yaxiu proceeded straight to configuring the Sword Princess's training policy for the upcoming week. He had originally intended to max out her swordsmanship training as usual, but recalling that she was on her special days and needed rest, he hesitated. He pondered for a moment before deciding... to grant her one hour of rest, limited to today. Ah, his heart ached. Was this what being a boss felt like? Seeing an employee take a break felt like losing a fortune. Yaxiu promptly confirmed the training policy before he could regret it. Then, as usual, he headed to the dining hall for breakfast, only to find the Central Hall packed with people. Were they recruiting volunteers—cannon fodder—again? However, that wasn't the case. The convicts were simply gathered to watch the news broadcast on the hall's giant light screen. Even Igola was staring intently at the display. Yaxiu squeezed in and asked Igola, "What's the news saying? Did the citizens find their consciences and decide to boycott the inhumane Blood Moon Trial system?" "It's even more thrilling than citizens finding a conscience." Igola kept his eyes glued to the screen, murmuring softly, "Financier has fallen." "Who?" "The mayor of Kaimeng City. He's finished!" Yaxiu paused, then turned to watch the news alongside him. "...Current casualties are roughly estimated to exceed ten thousand. Countless people have been killed or injured in Tianjie Xinyicheng, fires rage across multiple sectors of the Upper City, and corpses litter the streets. They might have been office workers on their commute, couples strolling together, future Legendary Sorcerers, or ordinary people working diligently at life. Yet at this very moment, because of an invasion that never should have occurred, they have been reduced to pale corpses." On the light screen, an attractive, shapely female anchor stood atop a high-rise. Her features bore a faint resemblance to Igola's, her eyes brimmed with charm—suggesting some Veela ancestry—and she wore adorable lavender fur cuffs around her wrists. Yet her expression was furious, her voice thick with suppressed rage: "Look behind me, everyone. This is Kaimeng City's most prosperous Upper City. But what can we see now? Ruins, flames, corpses, bloodstains, exposed rebar, and shattered dolls—" "Kaimeng News is the mouthpiece of the church and the Research Institute," Igola whispered. "When the anchor displays such an obvious political bias, it means the two Blood Moon clans are rolling out a scapegoat to quell public outrage." "Forty hours have passed since the first attack, and we cannot help but ask: why hasn't the Sin Hunting Hall captured the attackers yet? Why are attacks still taking place? Why does the Upper City remain a high-risk zone where even medical teams dare not enter to treat the wounded?" "Where has our taxpayers' money gone, and who squandered it? Why has a region rated as having the best public security in the country suffered such a catastrophe? Why must ordinary people like us, who live and work peacefully in Kaimeng City, endure such misfortune?" "Why did organized, large-scale assailants from other nations manage to infiltrate Kaimeng City? What exactly has the Administrative Hall been hiding from us?" "We demand answers, and the dead demand answers! Someone must be held accountable for this disaster—" *Splatter!* Watching the screen instantly smeared with crimson blood, the death-row inmates in the Central Hall let out a collective gasp. They had seen plenty of death during the Blood Moon Trials, but seeing a news anchor abruptly hacked down during a live broadcast was a first. The live feed went dark, but quickly switched to a new frame. This time, the backdrop was a clean, orderly, dignified office. Seated behind the desk was an ogre dressed in a dark black formal suit—yes, an ogre. Though he lacked tusks, his nails were neatly trimmed, his features bore no trace of malice, and he even looked somewhat approachable, he was indisputably a blue-skinned ogre. The massive chair beneath him, broad enough to seat two Yaxius, proved as much. The moment he spoke, Yaxiu was stunned. "I am the mayor of Kaimeng City, Alandor Financier," the ogre said in a solemn voice. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce that the number of innocent victims killed in this terrorist attack has reached thirteen thousand. The Sin Hunting Hall is operating at full capacity, and the Administrative Hall has mobilized adventurers from the nearby Lake View Warzone to assist in the hunt, hoping to capture the fleeing attackers as soon as possible." "These assailants are butchers who reached the Blood Moon from other nations through a Void Realm passage. I must admit that I bear a certain responsibility for this. Conducting a joint investigation and research on the Void Realm passage was a collective decision made by the Administrative Hall, the Council, the Sin Hunting Hall, and the Lake View Warzone. If the Administrative Hall had formulated a more thorough plan and exercised more cautious judgment back then, perhaps..." "He hasn't given up yet," Igola sneered. "He's threatening his co-conspirators. If he goes down, none of them will get off easy either. He might accept defeat, but he doesn't want to step down." "...To this end, I am willing to submit to an investigation by the Sin Hunting Hall and temporarily step down from the mayor's office. Mayoral duties will be overseen by Deputy Mayor Guluo in the interim." Finally, Financier stood up and bowed deeply. "I offer my deepest apologies for my administrative failure." "Woah!" "Haha, Financier, you have your day too!" Cheering erupted across the Central Hall. Though the Noise Regulations prevented them from laughing too loudly, so many people cheering at once still filled the hall with a jubilant atmosphere. Truly, nothing brought these scum of the cesspool more heartfelt joy than watching someone else's misfortune. Yet Yaxiu noticed that even the usually calm Igola was so excited his earlobes were flushed red, barely able to suppress a grin. Yaxiu couldn't help asking curiously, "Igola, do you have a grudge against Financier? Even if you're gloating, there's no need to be this happy, is there?" Igola grabbed Yaxiu by the shoulders. "Don't you get it? The mayor fell! He's facing charges from the Sin Hunting Hall!" Yaxiu was bewildered. "I heard that. What about it?" It was clear Igola wanted to launch a personal attack on Yaxiu's intelligence, but the chip prevented any uncivil behavior. After holding it in for a good while, he whispered in a voice trembling with suppressed excitement, "During a mayor's term, if they face serious charges that force an immediate suspension, they are transferred to the nearest Blood Moon Prison for isolated investigation—both to ensure their personal safety and to prevent suicide." Yaxiu remembered now. When discussing the proper way to break out of prison with the healer, he had heard about this rule. A realization dawned on Yaxiu. "You mean..." Igola stared directly at Yaxiu, his eyes shining so brightly they seemed ready to pull Yaxiu in. "We don't need to wait for the transport ship on the first of next month! The moment Financier is escorted to Shattered Lake Prison, that will be our chance to break out!" "When will Financier be locked up in Shattered Lake?" "Normally, the sooner the better. But before coming here, he'll definitely have to spend a night at the Sin Hunting Hall so they can alter the restriction permissions on his chip in advance. Which means—" Yaxiu locked eyes with Igola. "Tomorrow, the Blood Moon Trial on the twenty-seventh!"