T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 397, Section 396: The Lion King
Mint's impassioned and righteous tone came out without any preamble, but if Kurien wanted to achieve his goal, emotion alone was not enough.

In the earliest version she envisioned, she focused on cultivating emotions centered around corruption.

The four prototypes glanced at it and shook their heads repeatedly.

Under his guidance, corruption still occupies a large portion of the text, but what remains are crimes that are enough to make the instructors of the Star Speaker Academy, from top to bottom, goosebumps.

They deliberately created a conflict between wild mages and nobles.

They are digging into the channels for the Awakened to rise, shaking the pillars of the Kurien's balanced nobility.

Either of these is a dangerous topic, like weighing a thousand pounds.

Even corruption seems more benign in comparison.

“If he wants to settle scores with the academic clique, he needs to find the right weapon. You need to give him a choice when you deliver the message, otherwise it will seem awkward for him to take the lead,” the Primordial said. “Given that you’ve been bullied by these scumbags, I’ve picked out a few good weapons for you, guaranteed to be sharp enough.”

No wonder he has the most experience as a corporate slave in the guild.

"Mint's private conduct is obviously terrible, and her ability to control her emotions proves that the criticisms of her by all the mentors are not out of discrimination, but rather out of objective and prudent composure."

As the person who was brutally beaten, Vanare, with his white hair and red eyes, tried hard to control the excessive resentment in his tone, but his clenched teeth and tense facial muscles all showed that he was furious.

Countless students witnessed his disgraceful behavior, leaving his self-esteem utterly devastated.

With things having come to this point, he had no way out and became a vanguard in the charge.

"How credible can the words of an excellent student who is driven by emotions, impulsive, easily angered, and violent be?"

"Your Majesty, please recall the explosion at the potion workshop that caused Mint the most controversy. Considering her actions today, was it really just a 'framing' as she claims? Given her impatient and irritable nature, couldn't it have been a serious experimental accident caused by her disregard for regulations?!"

The remaining professors echoed their sentiments, filled with righteous indignation, and recounted Mint's numerous misdeeds during her time at the university.

Disrespecting the mentor, illegally modifying potion recipes, engaging in unwarranted private fights...

In the blink of an eye, the wild mage idol who rose to prominence not long ago by fighting against Renee has become a tainted, arrogant, and wicked individual.

The stark contrast and sudden reversal caused the onlookers to whisper among themselves.

Kurien tacitly allowed the uproar to continue.

Silence is ambiguity, and ambiguity is bias.

Seeing the change in Kurien's attitude, the mentor became even more enthusiastic in exaggerating Mint's savagery and wickedness.

They said a lot, but Mint only said one thing.

"The potion ingredients I used before I dropped out of school don't match Renee's."

In short, the mentors' angry minds were doused with a bucket of cold water.

The two caused a huge scene after entering the academy, making everyone forget the most crucial point.

Kurien summoned the treasurer, who had been searching the academy for two days, and opened the marked potion ledger, finding the page where Peppermint and Renee were from two years ago.

He gently twirled the page, a slight twitch at the corner of his lips.

"Mint and Renee studied together for a year and a half, and their potion-related expense details are exactly the same."

With the parties involved present and the accounts reconciled, the credibility is quite high.

The students watching were even more astonished.

Most of them were new students who had dropped out of school and had not experienced the grand spectacle of a duel between two people.

But since Mint was able to defeat Renee, it's clear that she has a strong beauty. How could her mentor downgrade the materials she was given to such a genius?

"His Majesty!"

As one of the potion-making instructors, Vanaree knew he couldn't escape the truth and immediately defended himself.

"Two years have passed, and people's memories are bound to be biased. The supply of potion ingredients varies frequently, sometimes daily and sometimes weekly. Who can guarantee that this is not a generalization based on limited information?"

The Primal Body sneered: "Such a familiar move."

Jiang Heyi sighed: "I feel like you've tasted the same shameless excuses from someone else."

Renee interrupted angrily, "Are you doubting my memory?"

Vanaree dared not confront her, but solemnly reiterated: "No one's memory is 100% reliable. People tend to embellish the contents of their memories and embellish the parts that cause them pain. I think this is taught in the course of magical psychology."

Mint paused, her fist clenching tightly.

That old man, being able to teach magical psychology, definitely knows about Renee's pet being killed.

Bringing this up again at this point is utterly disgusting!

Kurien sensed Mint's anger. He pretended to defend the instructors, simply to let the students watching enjoy the ugly behavior of these people, so that they could embellish the news vividly and increase its spread.

Jiang Heyi had anticipated these scenes when he made the arrangements, and he asked Kurien to allow the mentor to slander and defame Mint.

When the reckoning and reversal take place, the Anau people will have a more three-dimensional impression of her, and the young magicians' admiration for her will reach a new level.

Reversal, whitewashing, effective publicity tactic.

"Mint is really lucky to have met them."

He sighed inwardly and cleared his throat.

“I agree with you that no one’s memory is truly reliable, but…”

The finance officer knelt down and presented a heavy set of accounts. Kurien used his hands as a table and gently turned the pages.

With just one glance, he let out a cold laugh.

“Vanare, come forward.”

Vanaree, not understanding why, moved closer to the accounts.

"Read the first sentence of the second paragraph."

Vanare recited blankly: "On June 2nd, Mint voluntarily withdrew from school."

He didn't know the deeper meaning behind those words.

Behind him, the person in charge of the potion department's accounts was trembling like a leaf.

“Don’t understand? Let me tell you.” Kurien’s face was ashen. “This is last year’s accounts.”

"Mint has been out of school for a whole year!"

The lion king let out a deafening roar, and the treasurer, who was holding the accounts in his hands, was so frightened by the imposing manner that he dropped his hands and hurriedly kowtowed.

The accounts are settled, and the pages are turned with the wind.

The pages listing the name of the mint went by in a flash.

Mint had been out of school for a year, yet the Star Speaker Academy still had her application reports using various magical materials.

The application form was entirely signed with Mint's name, and...

The autograph of the mentor, Vanaree.

Mint was dumbfounded. She had already seen through the shamelessness of these professors during the expulsion incident, but she never expected them to be this shameless.

She actually dropped out of school two years ago, but the report of her voluntary withdrawal was left at the Star Speaker Academy and was never filed.

The college advisors attributed all sorts of unresolved minor and major issues to her.

For a whole year, Mint became the most popular and promising rising star of magic at the Star Speakers Academy.

The resources she gained at the academy were something even the Glenn family behind Renee couldn't match.

Curious, she picked up the accounts and flipped through a couple of pages.

Everything went black.

"Experiment with the medicinal properties of the Fufeng Grass potion, the target medicinal property is... aphrodisiac?"

"what?"

This time, the boundary between reality and illusion that had been maintained by the gatekeepers on the sidelines could no longer be kept in check, and they all rushed forward to examine the ledger.

Upon seeing the enormous characters for "aphrodisiac," even knowing that a reckoning was imminent and they should be serious, they couldn't help but laugh.

"After knowing you for so long, I really didn't know you were a boy." Fries patted Mint on the shoulder. "Bro, you smell so good."

Mint was furious and continued turning the page.

The Influence of Slime Splitting Magic Fluctuations on the Generation of High-Level Mage Domains

The slime never imagined that its splitting would be related to such a high-level topic.

Half-dragon bloodline mixing experiment

What's the Star Speaker Academy up to? Artificial human experiments? A targeted experiment with a magic potion to address soil embrittlement caused by induced magical crop growth.

It looks somewhat normal, but... this experiment was actually applied for by Mint, with a bunch of professors listed as researchers.

Mint's position within the Star Speakers Academy is quite Schrödinger's cat.

She could be a troublemaker secretly instructed by her mentor to ostracize her.

It can also be a self-selected experimental project, making it a favorite among many mentors to follow and guide.

Vanaree's vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

Is this what they call a flawless accounting?
The students watching were either laughing or blushing and turning their backs when they heard about the aphrodisiac.

Upon hearing this, I felt nothing but anger.

The wild mage was furious that the funds that should have been his were being misappropriated by his mentor.

The nobles were furious that the academy instructors were doing these things under their guise.

Young people, full of passion and vigor, clenched their fists and soon someone took the lead and shouted the first word.

"Punish them severely!"

"Punish them severely!"

"Punish them severely!"

To maintain balance among powerful clans, the "living water" of humble origins was indispensable for the emperor who controlled the empire.

From a public perspective, this provides countless ordinary people with a visible ladder to upward mobility.

Privately, having no connections, they were the Anna royal family's top priority for winning over and shaping from the moment they entered the academy.

Even though this selection process also provides talent for other nobles, the royal family, represented by Kurien, always manages to select the best of the best.

Kurien knew very well that the Star Speakers, this group of utterly corrupt academic cliques, kept every penny of the nobles' funds, while the wild mages' share could be moved at will.

Vanaree's knees buckled. The mountain-like shouts shook his mind. His lips trembled, and he wanted to argue, but when his eyes met Kurien's icy gaze, he choked on his words, leaving only boundless fear.

He didn't act like an old man; he quickly bowed and kowtowed, adopting the humble posture of a commoner meeting a king, in exchange for the pity of the superior.

He was hoping to get away with it.

As long as they maintain the right attitude, at worst they will only lose the position that allows them to stay and work at the academy.

In a year or two, he can still start over in the public eye as a magician and a potion master, maintaining his prestigious status.

"So, you've confessed?"

Vanaree and his potion-making team immediately knelt down.

Meanwhile, the other professors' psychological defenses crumbled, and they too collapsed.

Kurien turned and looked around at the princes and officials who had come with him, muttering to himself.

"good very good."

"Just admit your guilt."

"Okay!"

He waved his hand: "Since you've admitted your guilt, then punish me."

He summoned the presiding judge forward.

“You are well-versed in the Imperial Law. Now tell me, according to the Anna Law, how should the actions of Vanare and the others be dealt with?”

The presiding judge shuddered. He looked up as if seeking an answer, meeting Kurion's emotionless eyes, and felt a chill run through his body.

He knew how to answer, but...

"What, is my voice not loud enough? Do you want to come closer?"

"No, Your Majesty... He should be executed."

Vanaree's forehead was pressed against the ground, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

Execution?

Many people here hold noble titles.

They only need to pay a fine for the same punishment.

Anna's laws apply only to commoners.

Kurien looked at Mint, then at the boundary between reality and illusion, and finally turned to the side to glance at the young students who were staring at him in a daze.

He smiled.

"Then execute him."

Thunder exploded.

Vanaree's mind was in a daze. Ignoring his impolite behavior before the king, he recklessly raised his head and stared directly at Kurien, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The presiding judge swallowed hard and tentatively asked, "All of them?"

"If you think those who knelt down are innocent, then go ahead and interrogate them."

A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and the judge knelt down as well.

Kurien saw the astonishment of everyone at the boundary between the real and the virtual, and a long-lost sense of pleasure welled up inside him.

Behind him, a young man dressed in fine clothes stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, although Vanaree and the others are unforgivable, they have, after all, been rooted in the academy for many years and have made invaluable contributions to the selection of talent for the empire... Perhaps..."

Kurien glanced at him, and the young man actually knelt down as well.

Jiang Heyi didn't find Kurien's gaze particularly frightening; it was just that everyone looked horrified when they met his eyes.

Is it really that scary?

"The empire is not yours to rule yet; I am the emperor."

The chilling tone in his words carried on the wind, sending a shiver down everyone's spine. Jiang Heyi even got goosebumps.

"Execution."

The inner guards were mobilized, pinning all the members of the potion department to the ground and stepping on their backs.

Vanare cried out, “Your Majesty, you cannot do this! I am willing to atone for my sins!”

Upon hearing this, the officials around him actually knelt down and began to offer their advice.

Kurien didn't look at them.

"I am the Lord of Anna, and I command you..."

"kill!"

The magic flowed into his body, and in an instant, blood filled Vanaree's pupils and flowed from his seven orifices.

The square was stained crimson with blood.

A gentle breeze carried the pungent smell of blood to every onlooker.

Kurien flipped through the ledgers, then looked up at the people on the boundary between the real and the virtual.

Admiring their surprised little expressions, I couldn't help but laugh even in this serious and oppressive setting.

The more he laughed, the lower the people around him knelt.

In the end, only the students who had been watching and the group from the boundary between the virtual and real worlds remained standing.

"Inner guards, get ready, it's time for the next batch."

"Your Majesty..." The presiding judge finally couldn't hold back any longer. He pleaded, trembling, "You...you should maintain the proceedings. They still..."

Kurien asked, "Can you do it?"

"I am the Emperor of Anna, I, Kurien, command you and the Imperial Guards to kill!"

With that, Kurien tossed his personal sword to the judge.

"Go, or you'll die!"

Mint snapped out of her shock and gave Kurion a thumbs up.

“Now that’s more like a Lion King,” she couldn’t help but exclaim. “Otherwise, I would have thought you were old, like Wick.”

(End of this chapter)