Dark clouds loomed over the horizon, a strong wind blew, and the tolling of bells echoed in St. Marienplatz.
"Execute them!"
At the command, the executioners simultaneously removed the wooden planks from the feet of each prisoner.
As they performed this action, Wolfgang, standing on the platform, began to tremble uncontrollably. Despite his efforts to control himself, his jaw clenched and chattered. His pale face had lost all color, just like his full head of white hair hidden under his hat.
In just a few days, Wolfgang's hair had turned completely white, and now, with his eyes tightly closed, he dared not look down again.
He couldn't bear to look at the man's death, especially since it happened right in front of him.
Without a doubt, he was a criminal who committed heinous crimes that caused the deaths of countless people in the war. His mistakes could not be made up for in any way, and even being hanged a hundred or a thousand times would be justified.
But now that he is a criminal, who can deny what he did for the country and the nation?
The cowardly and incompetent Federico ceded land piece by piece, watching his entire nation languish under the brutal oppression of the Kosovos. It was that man who fired the first shot against the Kosovos.
He paid a heavy price for firing that shot, not only ending up in prison but also subjecting his family to bloody retaliation from the Kosovo people.
But if he hadn't fired that shot, perhaps there would have been no more resistance, and everyone would have obediently become cowards, living in slavery day after day.
To this day, Wolfgang has not regretted his decision to free von Palen from prison.
Even if he had to do it all over again, he thought he would still get Von Palen out of prison.
But this situation is something Wolfgang didn't want to see. He never imagined that one day he would be the one to order Von Palen's execution.
But it has to be done.
Moreover, this was even requested by Von Palen himself.
The man had said that the night he left the castle.
'If we can surrender smoothly and the Yan people are willing to end the war, then hang me in St. Marien Square in front of everyone.'
That night, Von Palen said this calmly.
He could have been secretly executed, or he could have ended his life with dignity, but he did not.
He remained calmly in prison, waiting each day for the moment he would be hanged.
It was this very action that caused Wolfgang to experience an overwhelming surge of emotion at that moment.
This man was a tyrant obsessed with war, who used war to create a massive disaster, plunging the country into misery. Yet he was also a hero, who stepped forward when the nation was in peril, liberating the people and saving the country.
He was a warrior, possessing unwavering perseverance and indomitable spirit. But he was also a coward, afraid to face the harsh reality and lacking the courage to live.
Today, in the final moments of his life, Wolfgang believes he is no longer a coward; he did not use death to escape anything, but chose to calmly accept his fate.
Putting everything else aside, this man was still his closest comrade-in-arms, someone he had fought side by side in the hail of bullets, and someone he had laughed and toasted after each victory.
Looking back, the years I spent with this man were difficult, but also extraordinary.
Now that this close comrade-in-arms has committed an unforgivable crime, shouldn't I have done the same? As the Emperor of Yan said, this is a joint crime, and everyone was involved.
Wolfgang was overwhelmed by intense guilt and shame, as well as complex feelings toward von Palen, which made him unable to look von Palen in the eye as he was being executed.
Tears blurred his vision beneath his tightly closed eyelids, but Wolfgang knew he must not shed a tear at this moment.
But even though he closed his eyes, he couldn't stop the sounds of the execution from reaching his ears—a series of falling sounds.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
A series of thuds rang in Wolfgang's ears in an instant, while the West Bright Bell continued to ring.
Wolf's already pale face visibly turned bluish, as if a noose had been placed around his neck, making it difficult for him to breathe. He could only gasp for air with his mouth wide open, like a drowning person.
His lips finally trembled, and a cry of anguish escaped his lips:
'Let's end this...'
'Please end his suffering quickly...'
Those subjected to hanging will have their necks snapped as they fall, losing consciousness within thirty seconds, but not dying completely for a minute or two. During the thirty seconds before losing consciousness, they can consciously feel the pain.
At this moment, Von Palen is hanging on the gallows.
As he fell, his neck was snapped. His face was flushed red, and his pale blue eyes turned bloodshot. His hands were not bound, but he did not struggle. He was not shackled, but he did not kick his legs wildly.
Because even now, he is still conscious.
3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds...
Every second felt so long, so long that even now, fragments of memories kept flashing through Von Palen's mind.
The hands of West's Holy Bell of Light are moving forward, but his time and memories are going backward.
He recalled his conversation with Wolfgang as he left the Hofburg Palace on the evening of February 9th, a night when he realized that living required courage. He also remembered Wolfgang approaching him late at night on February 7th. After Wolfgang left, he felt both angry and sad, realizing that Wolfgang might betray him. But Wolfgang was his most trusted comrade-in-arms; why would this happen? He was lost in confusion.
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