Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Declaration of War (3)
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Kurrrrrr...
In the center of the darkened plaza, a massive blaze roared fiercely toward the sky.
The corpse was gradually losing its form within the flames, turning to ash.
The towering pillar of fire danced wildly on the fierce winds, emitting a terrifying roar amid its ceaseless, scorching heat.
Crack! Crack! Craaaack!
Thick black smoke writhed upward like a gigantic serpent tearing through the night sky.
This smoke was no ordinary haze.
The scent of agony, despair, and death rode the winds, spreading far and wide.
The smoke rendered the overcast sky even more ominous, and beneath it, everything seemed to sink into a deathly silence.
Thus, Administrator Yuda's corpse was incinerated.
Impaled on the cross to the very end.
"...".
Federback stood in the plaza, gazing at the flames and the serpentine smoke.
At that moment.
A set of footsteps approached from the side.
Cardina. She stood beside Federback.
"...".
"...".
Sister and brother stared at the blaze in silence for a time.
The inferno atop the towering pyre of logs swayed and shifted direction with the wind, dancing merrily.
Eventually, one of them broke the silence.
It was Cardina.
"You've done well."
She was already well aware of the laws Federback had enacted amid chaos and fear.
"Even if it's temporary, the role of judge is a tough one. Succeed, and you break even; fail, and you're immediately condemned."
"...There's no better position for catching rats."
Federback wanted to excise the territory's rotten elements as quickly as possible.
Only then could he focus on training without distraction.
He had reached the early stage of 3rd Circle and needed to properly master the swordsmanship that followed.
He would have to demonstrate the secrets of the ultimate techniques many times to teach them to his father and sister later.
Reproducing advanced swordsmanship with his current small, frail body required a solid foundation of mana.
The realm of 'Circle (成)', which formed the layers of mana.
Federback recalled the characteristics of each step.
...The first stage, 1st Circle: Those who can see and hear mana.
...The second stage, 2nd Circle: Those who can feel mana as touch.
...The third stage, 3rd Circle: Those who can gaseousize accumulated mana.
...The fourth stage, 4th Circle: Those who can liquify accumulated mana.
...The fifth stage, 5th Circle: Those who can solidfy accumulated mana.
...The sixth stage, 6th Circle: Those who can shape mana into its ideal form.
...The seventh stage, 7th Circle: Those who twist the world's causality through mana.
And the sword forms that could be manifested through mana Circles were as follows.
...1st Form. Bloodletting (放血).
...2nd Form. Skin Peeling (剝皮).
...3rd Form. Bone Extraction (拔骨).
...4th Form. Flesh Carving (整形).
...5th Form. Decapitation (斬首).
...6th Form. Demon Devouring (魔族攝食).
...7th Form. Rite (祭禮).
The seven steps of mana Circles.
The seven sword forms of Meursault Swordsmanship.
This alignment was no mere coincidence.
The human will corresponding to each mana stage.
This was why Meursault Swordsmanship was hailed as the most perfect demon-slaying art across the Mythic Era.
'This time, I'll slaughter all the nuisances in the territory. To do that, I need to advance my mana Circle by one step as well.'
From 5th Circle onward, one was called a Sword Master.
That had been Federback's realm in his previous life.
Eventually, Cardina continued.
"Tell me if there's anything I can help with."
"Got it, Sister."
Federback's tone was noticeably lighter than before.
Cardina nodded slowly, pleased by that change.
Gazing at Yuda's fiercely burning corpse, she continued.
"Father has wanted to clean out the parasites eating away at the family for a long time."
"And you, Sister?"
"Naturally, the same for me."
She watched Yuda's body turn to ash, her gaze devoid of emotion.
"From the moment I was first adopted here, I couldn't stand that old man. You could tell at a glance what filthy ambitions he harbored. I wanted to cut him out, but he was a parasite rooted too deep to remove easily."
"At least we pulled him out now."
"But, little brother."
Cardina turned to Federback.
"We haven't caught everyone who colluded with him yet. It won't be easy to snag those ones from the start. They're rats who've burrowed deep into this territory for ages."
"Don't worry. I've got a plan. I won't hunt them personally."
Federback had no intention of chasing down every rat scattered across the territory one by one.
It would take too much time, and compared to the great evils he would face ahead, they were utterly trivial.
Cardina looked at him quizzically.
"You're not hunting them yourself? Then whose hands will you borrow to catch the rats?"
"Rats."
"...?"
She still seemed puzzled.
Federback continued.
"Catch the rats with rats."
"I don't follow."
"You know this?"
Turning to Cardina, Federback went on.
"On some island in the southern seas, they catch rats in a peculiar way."
"How?"
"First, they catch about a hundred rats and bury them in a box underground. Then they leave them be."
"And?"
"What do you think happens inside that box?"
"Hm."
Cardina stroked her chin once.
Then, her face bathed in the firelight, she answered.
"The rats probably eat each other, right?"
"Exactly."
Federback nodded.
As the flames began to die down, he continued.
"Only the strongest rats survive in that buried box. Ones that have tasted their kin's blood and flesh. They make countless such boxes."
"...No way?"
"Yes. They release those rats all over the island. Then the kin-eating rats hunt down the others."
Federback's scheme was beyond what a fifteen-year-old could devise.
Cardina's mouth fell open.
"I see. Catch rats with rats... So then?"
"Exactly."
Federback nodded.
"I'll announce one more law. It will be..."
He concluded in a cold tone.
"...probably something related to whistleblowing."
Yuda's nearly consumed corpse flickered with its final embers.
A week later, notices were posted throughout the Meursault family's territory.
It was a predictable outcome, really.
The local elites had dismissed Meursault's declaration—backed by no real power—as a joke.
"This special law... what was it? Proposed by that Federback kid from Meursault House?"
"Voluntary reporting or whatever—too complicated. Just call it the Federback Special Law."
"Who the hell falls for that kind of bluff?"
Whenever three or more gathered, they mocked the events of that day.
Meursault's ambitious reforms hit a snag from the start.
The faint tension that had gripped the territory dissipated, returning to normalcy.
The consensus among the elites was that Meursault was recklessly overreaching to fill the void left by Administrator Yuda.
Especially the bureaucrats, elites, and local bosses stained with corruption—they began openly scorning Meursault.
"They thought burning Yuda's corpse would scare us."
"Foolish move. Yuda was just a figurehead covering our backs."
"Catching one rat and suddenly the world looks bright, eh? Heh heh—never knew Meursault's lot were such idiots..."
But.
The next notice was enough to shatter that sentiment.
Reading the notice, a single phrase echoed in one's ears.
'Kill each other now.'
A law turning the entire territory's populace into informants had been enacted.
All criminals trembled before this notice bearing the name of Acting Judge Federback Meursault.
On the day this law was announced.
Screams, shouts, and wails erupted one after another from the finest taverns where a single night's booze cost hundreds of gold.
"That crazy bastard! Trying to lure internal whistleblowers?"
"Even non-existent snitches are gonna pop up now, damn it!"
"Turning the people against each other to spy? Mad dictator! How can he do this?!"
"W-Wait. Can't reach my underlings. This why?"
"Me too! Both my left- and right-hand men have been out of contact since morning. Those traitors!"
"Our guild's accountants all quit en masse! Double ledgers are gone! Damn it all!"
"Th-This is tyranny! Dictatorship! How can he trample on freedom and rights like this?!"
The innocent go about their days unfazed.
The guilty rage that everyone's freedoms are being infringed.
Thus, the rats were locked in the box.