Chapter 363 Judgment
"A pretentious idiot, a scumbag with no moral bottom line."
After the prison door was closed again, blocking out Theodore Luca's screams that gradually became weaker and weaker, the assassin leader was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered and raised his chin to the black-haired young man who appeared in the shadows of the prison corridor after receiving the news.
"He's got some cleverness, some ruthlessness, and a bit of luck, but that's all." He sneered, commenting, "This messy, filthy world, like a stable, has given these stinking bugs the opportunity to thrive. Graven Worriff is still too naive to have been hurt by such a creature."
Actually, this was a bit too harsh. The assassin's comments were entirely from the perspective of the battle-hardened King of Assassination in his previous life. After all, no one had ever seen the new gadgets of the "Shelter" Company before, and the soldiers of Osiris City were by no means scattered soldiers who couldn't even put on their uniforms.
But Orel wouldn't extend these considerations to the slave general. He was a hypocrite. First of all, he disliked this man's seemingly gentle and calm personality, but in fact he was delicate and twisted. He didn't like people who were afraid to face their inner feelings and kept complaining. Just looking at this man's performance on the battlefield, he knew that he was holding back.
Secondly, strictly speaking, the three of them had blood feuds with others in their previous lives. In Orel's opinion, the only reason he could "live in harmony" with others was because of the face of the Majesty in front of him.
"Greven still needs experience. He's certainly not as good as you in this area right now." The professor glanced at him calmly, but before the assassin's lips could even curl upwards, he added mercilessly, "But he knows more about self-control and obedience than you do. As a soldier, he's qualified."
...Although sometimes this subordinate in his previous life would get so angry that he wanted to beat him up.
Ole's eyes widened when he heard this.
"Hey, be reasonable, Your Majesty!" The assassin yelled somewhat dissatisfiedly. He was very confident in his torture skills. "How did I disobey you? You let me interrogate this guy. I'm sure he's still breathing even if all his internal organs have been vomited out-"
What's more, this guy is just protecting his own people, Ole thought sourly, why should we make fun of him?
"...First, I'm talking about interrogation, not torture. I mean, you should use your mouth, not your hands. Theodore Luca is likely thinking about surrendering, and torture is likely to lead to false confessions." The professor stared at him expressionlessly. His voice was not loud, but it made the assassin subconsciously shrink his neck. "Second, I want him alive to provoke Ravel, the Imperial garrison behind him, and even the Queen. But now this guy seems to be dead."
"Finally." The gray eyes glared at him unhappily. "I don't understand. You keep calling me Your Majesty. Are you dissatisfied with me in some way?"
—For example, satirizing his arbitrary and dictatorial behavior? The professor thought doubtfully, not really understanding the subtext…though the assessment wasn't entirely wrong.
Ole: “…”
He was silent for a moment, feeling somewhat guilty and skipping the last question directly: he would never dare to blurt it out, purely because it was particularly interesting to see the tyrant in his previous life getting angry at him because of this title.
The assassin skillfully pulled his friend out to clean up the mess for him: "No problem, Azuka should be able to heal."
- Damn it, he thought with some annoyance, this scumbag Theodore Luca was too annoying, he saw the shadows of many annoying people in the empire in this man, so that he was too smooth during the "interrogation".
The professor gave him an unpredictable, cold glance and slowly looked away. This wouldn't happen again, he silently warned him.
Ever since going to the battlefield, Nova had noticed that the second male lead was a bit too reliant on his own strength and the memories and understanding of his past life. While this did make him very comfortable on the battlefield, the few times he managed to avoid failure were only due to good luck and the timely intervention of others.
The strength of an individual certainly has a certain impact on the war itself, but it is often not the decisive factor.
"Ore, you must learn to control your 'advantage,'" the professor said, looking over the bewildered assassin. "Otherwise, the very thing that makes you strong will one day put you in danger."
Ole stared at the black figure's back for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but lower his voice and ask his friend who had also emerged from the shadows, "What the hell is he mad at me for? I've already given you a solution—does he think I'm too cruel? That shouldn't be the case. Our Majesty is not a soft-hearted person."
He was so decisive in killing that it was hard to imagine that he was once a university professor who was powerless. Sometimes even he was scared.
"...He's worried you'll get carried away and end up in big trouble." Azuka glanced at him like he was stupid, then suddenly slapped him on the back. "But you've been a bit cocky lately, kid. Be careful, don't let my good words for you in front of the professor go to waste."
The assassin was caught off guard and staggered after being hit by him. When he came to his senses and remembered to glare at the two bastards, they had already disappeared. He didn't know whether they were going to give first aid to the prisoner who was almost killed by him.
If it were the old Orel, he would have jumped up in anger, fought with others for three hundred rounds because the tyrant "looked down on him", and then been so angry that he slammed the door and walked out.
But now, the assassin just stood there for a moment, then rubbed his nose uncomfortably and muttered softly: "...Tsk, it's so awkward to say such caring words."
The city of Osiris was captured by the people.
This news sent shockwaves through the surrounding region. The commanders of the Imperial garrison in the northern provinces, while internally cursing Edward Ravel's incompetence, grew increasingly nervous. Osiris City's strategic location was crucial. They feared accountability from the Imperial City, but they were even more concerned about being asked to dispatch troops to recapture it. The Far North nation of Ferros had been aggressively attacking recently, and if they sent more troops, no one could guarantee they wouldn't lose their position and face a court-martial, potentially costing their lives.
Ethan and Charlotte, the two mercenaries who had been staying in Stone Creek Town at Mr. Ghost's request, also received the news. Shocked, they couldn't help but recall the true appearance of "Mr. Ghost" they had seen in that dim, simple stone house—pale, thin, overly young, and seemingly refined, even with a touch of scholarly weakness and nervousness. He was a far cry from the image of the "iron-blooded leader" or "warmongerer" who could break through the empire's most important military fortress in the north.
But the fact was that this man had taken the heavily fortified and heavily defended city of Osiris in less than a month. Furthermore, from the scattered merchants and defeated soldiers who had fled to Stone Creek, Ethan and Charlotte hadn't seen any signs of the mysterious dragon knight taking action.
At this moment, the two mercenaries who were still in inexplicable panic received news from the ghost - the other party asked Ethan and Charlotte to go to Osiris City immediately and contact the contact person of the "Shelter" company to tell them that they had found a way to cure Lionel Money's "strange disease".
Ethan was a little nervous, but he still did as he was told. On the second night after he and Charlotte arrived in Osiris City, they finally received news - Osiris City was heavily guarded by the People's Party and the security was extremely strict. The "Shelter" company was temporarily unable to sneak in, so they had to ask him to leave Osiris City on his own before reconnecting.
"It's at this location." Ethan silently pointed on the map. "They told me to find a way to sneak out and look for a merchant caravan outside the city of Osiris."
The professor took the map and thought for a moment, then turned and whispered to Azuka, "It's not a cave. It seems the 'Shelter' company has discovered the situation of the Crescent Mine."
Under the blessing of torture spells, Theodore Luca, whose mentality was completely broken, explained clearly all the transactions between Osiris City and the "Shelter" company.
Just as the professor had speculated, they were involved in illegal coal ore mining, human experiments, slave trade, corruption, and bribery. They had also successfully gained access to the top management of the "Guardian" company. This group was very cautious. Without an introduction from a trusted senior executive, these deep-level "collaborations" would be completely unattainable. The "Guardian" company was simply a company that produced coal ore byproducts.
Now that the cooperating high-ranking imperial officer has fallen into the hands of the enemy, the people from the "Protector" company will probably not easily contact them again - but fortunately, they still have Lionel Money's biological son in their hands.
So, on the day of the meeting, Ethan silently led the tightly wrapped dragon rider and Ghost himself to the outskirts of Osiris to search for the caravan. Charlotte had originally wanted to come as well, but was successfully persuaded to stay in the safer city of Osiris.
Along the way, Ethan was taciturn by nature, and the two big men had special identities. He was not like Charlotte, so he would not talk to others easily. He could only listen silently to the two men communicating in a language that he could not understand at all.
Honestly, whenever Ethan thought of the true identities of these two gentlemen, he felt a wave of disorientation, doubting whether his head was still attached to his neck. The two men seemed remarkably calm, as leisurely as if they were simply taking a leisurely stroll in the countryside. Halfway through, the dragon knight even had the leisure to vanish from his position for a moment, scavenging a few remaining berries from a sparse bush, carefully washing them, and placing them into the ghost's palm, his gesture intimate and natural.
...Ethan even had some suspicion that if he hadn't been standing next to him, the other party would have stuffed it directly into his mouth.
The agreed time gradually arrived. As dusk fell, the afterglow of the sun was trying to paint the desolate mountains, outlining the tops of the black pine trees with deep orange shadows.
A medium-sized carriage sat quietly beside a dry riverbed. Its wheels were caked with mud, and its waterproof tarpaulin looked slightly worn, giving it the appearance of a dusty caravan. Several burly men, seemingly servants, were stationed around the convoy, their eyes warily scanning the surroundings. Their hands rested casually on their waists, yet their movements betrayed the signs of thorough training.
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