Chapter 25 Trial

In addition to the dozens of female insects found in the dungeon, the army also found insects from Yongmen Village in a more remote snow cave.

When they were brought down, An Lang couldn't help frowning.

They were either old female insects or young ones, and even the proportion of larvae was very high. They were all pale and thin, with similar faces, grayish-blue hair, and the clothes they wore to keep warm were very thin.

The youngest one was held in the arms of a female insect. He clutched the female insect's clothes tightly and asked in a low voice, "Brother, where are we going?"

His eyes were large but unfocused, and his right eye was covered with a noticeable white film. An Lang discovered that several of the larvae had eye problems, preventing them from seeing.

Rayleigh, standing by, reported to him, "The village your Highness is visiting is not Yongmen Village, but the one Reed built on top of it. In fact, most of the residents of Yongmen Village live in snow caves."

"The house was nominally funded by Reed for the villagers, but the actual purpose of the dungeon underneath is to remove the glands and wings of female insects. More importantly, it houses the delivery room and hatching room."

Rayleigh said in a grave tone, "All insect eggs in the Empire are registered to prevent male insects from being raised privately. Although the hatching rate of male insects fertilized by insect workers is very low, Yongmen Village did hatch a male insect sixty years ago."

"This male insect was secretly raised and used as a breeding insect, giving birth to several orchids."

This explains why there are so many larvae in Yongmen Village. Ever since their tribe was exiled as sinners, all the males in the tribe have been taken away. Even if the Empire provided male mirrors to Yongmen Village to prevent extinction, the rebirth rate is far from this high.

"After the male insect died, Reed continued to use its mirror to reproduce in order to obtain more orchids. However, due to inbreeding, more of his offspring had diseased larvae."

"So Reed was so bold that he set his sights on His Highness." Rayleigh couldn't help but feel scared when he said this.

"He originally wanted the guards to bring His Highness to the village, but Qing Meng had second thoughts. Your Highness knows the rest."

"As for what Qing said earlier, most of it is true. Sagunto's unique city walls require the blood of ice beasts as fuel, so Reed lured the villagers to hunt and kill the ice beasts by offering them the chance to live in the city."

"The strong and beautiful female insects that have been selected will have their wings clipped and be sent to the club. They find it difficult to resist because for every female insect that comes down, Reed will provide a batch of food and medicine to the villagers in the cave to ensure the survival of their relatives and friends."

"Some other underage female insects who couldn't gain entry into the city by hunting Star Beasts were sent down under the guise of medical treatment."

"As for removing the glands..." Rayleigh was silent for a moment, "It's a new tactic that became popular last year."

Of course An Lang knew the reason, it was all the original owner's fault!

"Take them all into the city and place them in a safe place. Has the Inquisition arrived?"

"Yes, they'll be here tomorrow morning," Rayleigh said. "Because it involves the illegal breeding of male insects, the Male Protection Association has already arrived."

An Lang nodded. This matter was too terrible and would attract a lot of public attention. If used well, he might be able to help the Lan Clan play the emotional card and pave the way for them to get rid of the sinners.

Rayleigh glanced at him hesitantly and whispered, "Mr. Cleveland has come in person too. Do you want to meet him?"

"Who is he?" An Lang asked, "How come the Xiong Bao Association ran faster than the Inquisition?"

"Mr. Cleveland is very prestigious among male insects. He serves as the vice president of the Male Protection Association."

An Lang nodded: "Are they trying Reed now?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

The insects of the Xiongbao Association stood up one by one and saluted Anlang. Only the middle-aged male insect sitting in the main seat nodded slightly.

An Lang was arranged next to him. He was a rather serious male insect. He was wearing a gorgeous robe and sitting upright in a high cushioned chair. The corners of his mouth were slightly turned down, and he was holding a jewel-studded cane in his hand.

Dozens of female insects stood behind him, and the scene was much grander than An Lang's.

Reed was brought up. He was very excited when he saw An Lang. He knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness! Your Highness! Do you still remember me?"

An Lang was stunned.

Could it be that the original owner knew this person?

He had a bad feeling in his heart. Could it be that the culprit was the original owner?

"Your throwing bamboo was provided by my subordinates! At that time..." He moved his lips twice, then closed them again, turned his head to look at the female insect who was detaining him, and then looked at An Lang with suggestive eyes.

The insects of the Xiongbao Association looked vaguely at An Lang who was sitting on the soft chair.

Rayleigh also looked at An Lang inquiringly, but You Zhuo's face beside him turned ugly.

Reed raises the female Orchid insects like livestock and sells them as commodities. He is certainly despicable, but are the male insects who are involved in the buying and selling behind the scenes not despicable too?

Even if Reed's evil deeds were made public, only the female insects would be punished, while the male insects who were the driving force behind the incident could hide away peacefully, and no insect would dare to say a word about it.

Without waiting for An Lang to reply, You Zhuo raised his leg and kicked Reed: "Speak clearly."

Reed shuddered and his voice weakened a lot: "I have done things for you before, you must save me!"

He knew the Male Protection Association very well. Once it came to the fault of the male insects, they would just make a big deal out of a small matter. But when the jury came, he would be finished!

"Everything I do is for you, my lords. The Orchids are inherently sinful insects. I clip their wings and remove their glands to reduce their aggressiveness and prevent them from harming you, my lords!"

An Lang was amazed. He didn't expect Reed to be so shameless. What made him feel even more magical was that all the insects in the Xiongbao Association, except Mr. Cleveland, showed expressions of approval.

They all echoed, "The Orchid's lethality is obvious to all, but they are also famous for their beauty. If it is to please His Excellency the Male Insect, this is not a bad way to do it."

An Lang was dumbfounded, and then he heard Reed continue.

"I have served countless male insect lords, and Sagunto has prospered because of them."

"My only mistake was not reporting the poor male insect's information. He was so weak when he hatched that he couldn't even leave the incubator." Reed even wiped his eyes with genuine emotion, "let alone bringing him down from the Ongta Glacier."

"That lord also didn't want to be separated from his sire, so I was soft-hearted and concealed the news."

"He fell into a coma at the age of ten, and his health deteriorated, gradually turning him into a plant-worm." Reed continued, "At this time, the orchid population was also dwindling, and I had to use special means to reproduce the orchid."

"This is also for the development of the Mantis Tribe! The Orchid Tribe is very cold-resistant. Apart from them, it's hard for any other Mantis Tribe to hunt Icefield Star Beasts on the Wengta Glacier for a long time! If I don't do this, they will become extinct!"

"I have a copy of the account, and all the transactions are recorded in the book. If the trial is open and it negatively impacts your reputation, it will be entirely my fault..."

The insects of the Male Protection Association exchanged glances. The Empire didn't explicitly forbid the sale of slaves, but it did forbid the sale of organs. Removing the glands would inevitably provoke resistance from the female insects. If this became a major issue, the nobles on the list would be implicated...

And His Highness sitting here is also one of the male insects involved.

Wasn't the beautiful female insect standing next to him also from the Orchid tribe that he had purchased? As staff insects of the Male Protection Association, they were well aware of the current trends among the Mantis tribe. Ultimately, the gland removal incident was inextricably linked to His Highness.

One of the staff insects, noticing His Highness's lack of comment, turned his gaze to the Vice President. Seeing him tap his staff twice, he cleared his throat and said, "The male insects are simple-minded, but the insects under them are taking it upon themselves to speculate on their preferences, leading to such disastrous consequences."

"How about we not hold a public trial for this matter? Your Highness, what do you say?"

You Zhuo gritted his teeth. He knew the usual style of the Male Protection Association. As long as male insects were involved, they would have no principles at all and would protect them to the end.

But with so many insect lives, so many female insects whose organs had been dissected alive and whose wings had been clipped... just let it go like this!

An Lang knew that the Male Protection Association meant not to pursue the matter. Firstly, the persecuted female insects were all sinners of the Orchid Clan, and secondly, it would be awkward if too many male insects were involved.

As the perpetrator who had the female insects' glands gouged out, he was still sitting in the judgement seat. The Male Protection Association would not only give face to other male insects, but also to him.

If the original owner was sitting here, he would definitely have gone down the stairs.

But the core of this body is Anlang.

Reed thought he could escape, and just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard An Lang say, "Bring up the accounts."

"What?"

"Didn't you say you had an account? Are you lying to me?"

Reed quickly said he didn't dare, and handed the account hidden in his arms to Anlang.

The insects looked sideways and saw a string of names of noble male insects, with the name of His Highness at the head.

An Lang flipped through the paper and asked, "Where did you put all this money?"

Reed heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He quickly said, "They are all hidden in the backyard. I am willing to present them all to Your Highness."

"Oh? Really?" An Lang smiled. "Rayleigh, please help me check how much money there is."

Reilly took the order and retreated. The insects had different expressions. They looked at An Lang sitting on the soft chair. They didn't expect that this prince was so bold as to openly ask for the stolen money.

Lord Cleveland's face darkened. He rebuked, "Your Highness, this is inappropriate. These treasures should be used to support the Lan people. Their glands were removed, partly because of your Highness."

"Don't be angry yet." An Lang laughed. "I was just counting my belongings. Besides, I was quite frightened on this trip. Isn't it right for me to get some compensation?"

Cleveland shook his head: "Your Highness is a pureblood, so you should be more considerate of your own kind."

Seeing the two distinguished male insects confronting each other, the hall suddenly became extremely quiet and you could hear a pin drop.