Chapter 37: Will
“Chirp chirp~”
The nighttime forest was the territory of beasts. Various carnivores roamed through the woods, and poisonous insects, rats, and ants had all emerged from their nests.
Su Xiao crouched on a tree branch. Not far away, the Revolutionary Army headquarters was brightly lit, with a large group of patrolling guards nearby.
The Revolutionary Army’s uniforms were uniform, and their ranks were orderly. They didn’t look like a ragtag militia at all—this was a battle-hardened force.
After an hour of observation, Su Xiao determined that the Revolutionary Army had over a hundred patrolmen. Behind the massive ancient castle was a large military camp, which appeared to house at least two thousand troops at a glance.
This was just the standing garrison. If all the troops near the headquarters were mobilized, it would easily number tens of thousands.
Su Xiao didn’t dare underestimate an army of this scale. A formation of soldiers holding long weapons and marching in unison was different from ghouls. If he were surrounded in such a military formation, he wouldn’t last five minutes before dying.
Su Xiao planned to infiltrate the Revolutionary Army headquarters. His goal was to collect Imperial Arms and cause destruction, leaving behind traces that suggested the Empire’s troops had been there.
With the headquarters discovered, the Revolutionary Army had only two choices: either launch a full-scale attack on the Imperial Capital or retreat.
At this point, the Revolutionary Army had already been brewing for war with the Empire, so relocating the headquarters was unlikely.
If the Revolutionary Army’s current scale were small, moving the headquarters would be no problem. But now, they had taken on the form of a national organization, with nearly a million troops under their command. Relocating the headquarters at this stage would deal a massive blow to morale, so the Revolutionary Army would only accelerate their decisive battle with the Empire.
Su Xiao wanted exactly this situation to occur.
Once both sides clashed, the outer walls of the Imperial Capital would become the front line of defense. Esdeath’s army was no pushover. There would be a real fight, and the war could last anywhere from half a month to two or three months.
A capital in the midst of war was the most ideal capital. Su Xiao hadn’t forgotten that there was another extremely powerful general inside the Imperial Palace.
Leaping down from the tree, Su Xiao’s figure vanished into the pitch-black forest.
Ten minutes later, behind the Revolutionary Army headquarters, in the military camp.
Su Xiao concealed his aura and infiltrated the camp. He needed to capture a minor officer from the army to get a general understanding of the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Going in blind without knowing anything was suicide.
The person he captured couldn’t be too high-ranking, but also couldn’t be too low.
He couldn’t touch the soldiers patrolling the Revolutionary Army headquarters. The Revolutionary Army wasn’t a bunch of chickens and dogs; a missing patrolman would be discovered quickly.
The soldiers resting in the rear camp were different. At the very least, no one would notice until morning.
Dodging the patrol teams in the camp, Su Xiao began to sense and investigate near each tent one by one.
Finding a mid-ranking officer was a technical task. Fortunately, the Revolutionary Army’s uniforms had insignias.
Soon, Su Xiao selected a target. He administered a narcotic, entered the tent, and abducted the man. The whole process was smooth and seamless, taking no more than two minutes.
...
In the primeval forest near the Revolutionary Army headquarters, a middle-aged man in pajamas was bound hand and foot, his mouth gagged. He struggled on the ground, covered in leaves.
“Stop struggling. This is at least a kilometer from the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Unless you’re a lion, they won’t hear you.”
With the trees blocking the sound, even shouting at the top of one’s lungs would only carry a few hundred meters. Half a kilometer was the absolute limit for a loud voice. So Su Xiao pulled the rag from the middle-aged officer’s mouth.
“The Empire’s... assassination squad.”
The middle-aged officer’s voice was hoarse, his lips trembling. He knew how miserable it was to fall into the hands of an assassination squad, especially when they wanted to extract information from him.
“No need to be nervous. Although I have a bad habit of killing, I don’t have a hobby of torturing people. Answer a few of my questions, and I’ll send you on your way.”
Leaving a captive alive after a kidnapping was the dumbest move, especially since he was about to infiltrate the Revolutionary Army headquarters.
“I, I won’t say anything. Just wait. After we overthrow the Empire, you dark agents won’t have a good end either.”
The middle-aged officer made as if to bite his tongue, but Su Xiao just smiled at him without stopping.
Biting one’s tongue wouldn’t lead to death. The middle-aged officer knew this too, but he was afraid he couldn’t withstand the dark agents’ interrogation, so he chose to sacrifice his ability to speak.
Su Xiao didn’t care whether the man could speak or not. If he couldn’t speak, couldn’t he write? This officer might be brave in battle, but he wasn’t professional in interrogation.
“Hmph.”
With a muffled grunt, the middle-aged officer’s mouth bled, tears and snot streaming down his face. Biting his tongue was more painful than he imagined. He only bit down to a third of the depth before giving up.
“Continue. I really admire your courageous behavior. If you succeed in biting your tongue, I’ll give you a quick death right away. There are thousands of people in your camp. I’ll just kidnap someone else. I don’t believe every Revolutionary Army soldier has this much backbone.”
The middle-aged officer’s vision blurred, and the pain had already robbed him of his judgment.
“Spark Priestley, that’s a long name. Hmm? Lives in a nearby village? Has a daughter and two sons? The eldest son is also in the army.”
Su Xiao threw away the documents he had found in the tent.
“This is a photo of your family, right? What would happen if I went to your house?”
Su Xiao held a photo in front of the middle-aged officer. The officer’s emotions were unstable. He let out a muffled roar of anger, the flames of rage in his eyes seeming like they wanted to burn Su Xiao to death.
“There’s a saying. Have you heard it? The most important thing for a family is to die together, neatly and completely. What do you think, Teli?”
The middle-aged officer, Teli, froze.
“Step... no.”
Teli’s voice was very slurred. Biting his tongue had affected his speech.
“How about this: I ask, you answer. If you disagree, I’ll go kill your eldest son right now. If you lie, I’ll kill your wife. If you mix truth and lies, I’ll kill your daughter. Hey, your daughter is pretty. I won’t kill her then.”
Teli’s eyes showed despair.
“I, I’ll talk.”
Before becoming a Revolutionary Army soldier, Teli was just a farmer. Relying on his daring and aggressive spirit, he became a squad leader. But under Su Xiao’s psychological assault, Teli was afraid.
From start to finish, Su Xiao hadn’t laid a finger on Teli. He wasn’t good at torturing the enemy’s body; he was better at breaking the enemy’s will.
“That’s best.”
As Su Xiao spoke, he tore the photo in his hand to pieces. Teli’s eyes were full of excitement. This might mean Su Xiao wouldn’t go after his family.
Pure despair only numbs people, but if there’s a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair, it’s different.
“How many people are in the Revolutionary Army headquarters? I mean everyone. Cooks and cleaners count too.”
Teli’s mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t say anything for a long time.
“Wait ten minutes for me. I’ll bring your eldest son to see you.”
“Twelve thousand people.”
Teli roared, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. At this moment, Teli was apologizing over and over in his heart.
‘It’s for my family. It’s for my family...’
Teli kept repeating this sentence in his mind to reduce his guilt.
“I don’t really believe you. I’d better bring your eldest son here.”
Su Xiao slowly walked toward the Revolutionary Army headquarters.
“It really is twelve thousand people! Oh, right, right! Over nine thousand of them are out on a mission and will return tomorrow noon. The remaining two thousand are the standing garrison. There are probably a few hundred officials. You have to believe me. I’m not lying.
You bastard, come back! Don’t go near the camp!”
By the end, Teli was roaring.
“Oh? Then forget it. Let’s continue.”