Chapter 188: Judgment
The Evernight Empire, Iron Fortress Territory, Judiciary Court.
This was a brand-new department under the Punishment Legion, specifically designed to handle the Empire's ever-increasing civil disputes. With the opening of Evernight Aviation, the Empire's subjects no longer had to remain confined to their own little corners, and population mobility had reached an unprecedented peak. Where there were people, there was trouble. Today, the goblin in Zhang San's household was caught peeking at the succubus in Li Si's house while she bathed; tomorrow, the dwarf in Wang Wu's house got drunk and beat up the beastkin in Zhao Liu's house. If the Punishment Legion had to handle every one of these trivial matters personally, the personnel under Skele-Pride would have long since collapsed from exhaustion.
Thus, the Judiciary Court was born.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the Court hall was tense to the point of snapping. Skeleton Swordsman No. 300 sat in the judge's chair. He had originally been a centurion in the Punishment Legion, but because his train of thought was somewhat... unique, Skele-Pride had kicked him into this position to serve as a judge, under the pretense of "using every person to their fullest talent."
The hall was packed with citizens of various races who had come to observe. They were the Empire's supervisors and the most loyal of gossiping busybodies. Standing before the judge were the two parties involved: one was a sultry, beautiful dark elf, currently weeping like a willow in the rain; the other was a brawny man in dragon-man form, his face a mask of grievance and fury, the veins on his neck bulging.
"My Lord! You must seek justice for me!" The dark elf covered her face, her voice choked with tragic sobs. "Last night, this... this fellow! He... he tried to force himself upon me!"
"Bullshit!" The dragon-man's saliva practically sprayed onto her face. "You were the one who got drunk, grabbed my leg, and wouldn't let go, insisting I take you home! You even said your bed was 'big and soft'! I, Dragon-Three, have roamed the world for so many years—everyone knows my 'Three Don'ts' principle! Don't touch minors! Don't touch pregnant women! Don't touch drunk women! You were a puddle of mush at the time; how could I possibly lay a hand on you?!"
Hearing this, the dark elf cried even harder, her body going limp as if to collapse to the floor. "You... you liar! I wasn't drunk! I was just... just a little dizzy... You just saw that I was pretty and wanted to take advantage of me!"
"I took advantage of you? Open your eyes and look!" The dragon-man gestured wildly. "I'm two-and-a-half meters tall in dragon-man form! I weigh three hundred kilograms! Do you think I need to force myself on a skinny bone-bag like you who doesn't even weigh fifty kilos? I could blow you away with a sneeze!"
"You... you're attacking me personally! This is discrimination! I'm going to report you to the Punishment Legion!"
Seeing that the two were about to brawl in the solemn courtroom, No. 300 could finally take it no longer.
BANG!
He slammed his hand on the desk, the brand-new judicial table cracking under his strike. The entire hall fell silent instantly.
"All of you, SILENCE!" No. 300's voice made everyone's ears ring. Within his hollow eye sockets, two balls of soulfire pulsed violently as he stared daggers at the two people before him.
"What do you know about 'forced acts'!?" No. 300's voice was filled with disdain and arrogance. "In the entire Empire, nobody knows more about 'forced acts' than me!"
A gasp rippled through the hall. The observing citizens whispered amongst themselves.
"Did I hear that right? What did the judge say?"
"He said... he knows the most about 'forced acts'?"
"Truly a tough guy from the Punishment Legion; even his knowledge base is so unique..."
The dark elf and the dragon-man were also frozen, forgetting to continue their quarrel. No. 300 ignored their reactions, standing up, his massive skeletal frame casting a heavy shadow.
"The Evernight Empire Penal Code, Volume Three, Chapter Seven, Article Forty-two—it's written clearly! In cases of drunkenness, unconsciousness, or altered consciousness due to mind-altering magic, the female does not possess full autonomous consent capability! Any act of violation occurring under such conditions is deemed a 'forced act'!"
No. 300 recited the law word for word, stumbling slightly, but every syllable was dripping with absolute confidence.
"And the only core criterion for determining a 'forced act' is—did it go in?" He extended a massive bony finger, poking at the air forcefully. "According to your testimonies, you were just pulling at each other on the street, and no act occurred that could serve as effective judgment! Therefore, legally speaking, this case is impossible to judge!"
At this point, No. 300's soulfire flickered, as if he had hit upon a brilliant idea. "Unless..." He dragged out the tone, his hollow eye sockets sweeping over the elf and the dragon-man. "...you two do it right now, on the spot!"
"..."
"..."
The entire courtroom plunged into a dead silence. Everyone was left dumbfounded by No. 300's outrageous proposal. Do it right now? On the spot? What kind of tiger-wolf language was this?
The dark elf's tear-stained face instantly flushed the color of pig liver. She stood with her mouth agape, unable to utter a sound. The brawny dragon-man was equally stunned. He pointed at himself, then at the dark elf, stuttering, "My... my Lord... are... are you serious?"
No. 300 nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course! It is the most direct and effective way to gather evidence! As long as you do it, I can immediately determine whether he tried to force you or if you did it voluntarily! If he can't get it up, then it's attempted forced action! If he can, but you aren't enjoying it, then it's forced action! If you both enjoy it, the case is closed, and you two can go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get your marriage certificate!"
The surrounding crowd finally snapped out of their shock, erupting into a roar of laughter.
"Hahahaha! The Judge is a genius!"
"This method of judgment is unparalleled!"
"Quick! Do it! We're all waiting to see!"
"Yeah! I bet ten gold the dragon can!"
The dark elf, hearing the jeers, was consumed with shame and fury. She had never imagined that a simple attempt to extort money would devolve into this situation. She immediately dropped her crying act and spoke indignantly to No. 300. "My Lord! I believe there is more to this matter than meets the eye! I need to go back and recall the details more carefully! I request to withdraw the lawsuit!"
With that, she turned and bolted. The dragon-man snapped out of his stupor; he didn't want any association with this extortionist dark-skinned elf. "My Lord! I agree to withdraw! Last night was just a misunderstanding! Nothing happened!" He turned and ran faster than a rabbit.
Watching their retreating backs, No. 300 scratched his skull in confusion. "Strange. Wasn't that a perfectly good suggestion? Why did they both run?"
He felt his judgment was flawless—logically sound and highly efficient at solving problems. And the reason he dared to judge this way was that he had the data. As a centurion of the Punishment Legion, he had the clearance to access patrol logs via soul link at any time. Before the trial, he had already watched the footage recorded by the Shadow Guard on duty last night.
In the recording, the dark elf was drunkenly clinging to the dragon-man's leg, crying and shouting about how she would love him even if she died, while the dragon-man looked on with utter disgust, trying to peel her off his leg. The whole process, besides being a bit cringe-worthy, had nothing to do with assault. It was a clear-cut case of an attempted shakedown. No. 300 saw through it, which was why he used such extreme methods to scare off the extortionist elf. It was just that his neural pathways were a bit unique, and his delivery was perhaps a bit too direct.
As the case concluded, the observing citizens left the Judiciary Court feeling satisfied, not forgetting to give No. 300 a thumbs-up on their way out.
"No. 300 is mighty!"
"We'll come to you if we have any cases in the future!"
Hearing the praise, No. 300 puffed out his chest proudly, feeling that in his position as judge, he had found a new direction for his life.
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