-Dual-Flags City-
The Mayor’s Mansion was lit up by the lights, and it was tightly guarded.
The previous Mayor’s Mansion got blown up by [Snow Mountain Hermit] and his secret love-child, Tony.
After Fei left with the Chambordians, Special Envoy Mathewson took over and got the control of the area. As a result, Mayor Soroyov and other nobles who were suppressed by Fei were heavily favored, and they went back to power.
Soroyov ordered people to reconstruct the Mayor’s Mansion, and it was renovated well. After it became luxurious and fancy again, he moved back to the place where he lived for more than a dozen years.
Of course, he wasn’t the real ruler of the mansion. Special Envoy Mathewson and the other people sent from the Imperial Knight Palace also moved in.
In order to accommodate the group of people from St. Petersburg, a lot of things were improved.
First of all, this mansion was one of the few places in the city that were this lit in the middle of the night.
Then, there were a ton of fully armored soldiers patrolling inside and outside the mansion, and stealth magic energy fluctuations could be vaguely sensed from the hidden magic arrays. It was clear that this mansion was tightly protected, and almost nothing was able to get through.
-In the dark and gloomy basement under the Mayor’s Mansion-
This was a terrifying and chilly prison.
A series of loud and beast-like groans sounded frequently, and these horrifying noises resonated and echoed in this underground prison.
Ribry was imprisoned in a bloody cell that was deep in the prison, and it was tightly guarded. At the moment, his body was full of injuries.
As he heard those groans, he knew that the prisoners were being tortured to an extreme degree. After all, these groans and screams didn’t sound like they came from humans.
In the last three days, Ribry was interrogated and beaten in this prison. Even though he was injured, was suffering from a lot of pain, and looked exhausted, his eagle-like eyes that were under the huge scar on his forehead were bright and shone in the dark.
In a bigger cell on the other side, there was a young man who was wearing the uniform of the native military force; he was one of Ribry’s guards.
Three days ago, Ribry and his 20 guards were tricked into the Mayor’s Mansion, and they were all captured by Mayor Soroyov and Special Envoy Mathewson. Ribry was locked up inside this smaller cell, and his 20 guards were imprisoned inside the larger cell on the other side.
In these three days, Ribry was interrogated and beaten, but those 20 guards didn’t go through anything similar surprisingly.
However, starting yesterday, warders came about every two hours and took away a guard, and these guards never returned. Now, this guard who was in the other cell was the last person there, and he and Ribry looked at each other and encouraged themselves.
Although Ribry didn’t know what happened to those 19 guards, since Mathewson and Soroyov were behind all this, he guessed that those guards who were like his brothers were probably dead by now.
As he thought about that, Ribry sensed a lot of mental pain and regretted his carelessness.
“It is all my fault! I overestimated these b*stards’ conscience, and I put all 20 of my comrades in danger! What is the situation with tens of thousands of native soldiers? With commanders such as Gago who are brave and smart, they should be ok, right?”
In this terrible situation, Ribry could only use optimistic guesses to comfort himself.
“Sir….. Sir……” The last guard saw Ribry’s expression, and he lightly asked, “Sir, are you ok?”
This guard was a good-looking young man, and he was only 19 years old. Even though he was young, he was brave and clever. He was an orphan, and his performance was splendid after he joined the military. Ribry specifically picked this young man to be his guard, and this young man didn’t disappoint him. In the war that just ended not long ago, he was one of the 20 heroic soldiers who was praised by King Alexander of Chambord and rewarded with medals.
“I’m ok.” Ribry opened his eyes and smiled at that young man. “Don’t worry…… Little guy, are you scared?”
That young man rubbed his nose playfully and laughed, “Sir, you are underestimating me; I’m not scared! I’m a warrior who killed Sand Ghosts of Jax with you and King Alexander His Majesty! I even received this hero medal! See!” As he said that, he opened his palm and revealed a silver medal that had the Martial Saint Mountain of Zenit on one side and this young man’s name on the other.
The King of Chambord designed 20 of these medals, and each of them had the receiver’s name on it. Before Fei left Dual-Flags City, he put these medals on the ordinary soldiers who outdid themselves during the war.
After Ribry and his guards were arrested, their bodies were searched, and all the items on them were taken away. Now sure how, but this young man was able to hide this medal on him and keep it until now.
Seeing this medal, the smile on Ribry’s face got even brighter. He suddenly thought of the man who designed these medals and wondered, “If His Majesty is still here, people like Soroyov and Mathewson won’t be daring enough to do anything! After all, His Majesty is powerful and not afraid of anything.”
“Sir, when you were taken for interrogations, we secretly saved this. Look, there are a few pieces of meat! It is delicious! You should eat it now! When you get full and recover your stamina, you may be able to get out of here……” that young man carefully put the medal away and magically took out a bowl of dry cooked-rice that had a few pieces of pork on it. As he swallowed his saliva, he lightly pushed it into Ribry’s cell through the iron bars.
They had been captured for three days, and they only got food twice. Ribry was sure that this bowl of food was saved for him by his guards…… As he thought about it, he got angry at how vicious people like Soroyov and Mathewson were, and he regretted his carelessness again.
“I am indeed hungry. How about this? We can each eat half.” Ribry knew that this young guard of his wouldn’t eat the food if he didn’t eat it. Therefore, he tried to adjust his mood and didn’t want to pass his negative emotions to the young man. With a smile on his face, he ate half of the food. Then, he was about to give the rest of the food back to the young man who had been swallowing saliva and trying to suppress his hunger.
Only eating two meals in three mentally and physically exhausting days; anyone would be extremely hungry and might even pass out.
As this young man was about to decline Ribry’s offer anxiously, the iron gate to the prison suddenly opened.
Then, a series of footsteps sounded.
Ribry’s heart shivered. “Again?”
In the other cell, the young man who had been trying to show a relaxed expression finally looked scared, and his face paled. It was clear that he knew his 19 comrades all died, and he tried to keep up a calm demeanor so that Ribry wouldn’t be that sad.
However, he was only a young man who wasn’t even 20 yet, and he was definitely afraid.
The footsteps got closer and closer, and it sounded like the call of the Grim Reaper.
“Sir, Sir, you…… Can you keep this for me? When we get out…… you can give it back to me……” That young man suddenly thought of something, and he said in a trembling voice as he threw that medal he valued as much as his life to Ribry. After a slight pause, he added, “If…… if I can’t make it, please tell Mr. Alexander that I’m a brave soldier, and I didn’t stain the honor of this medal even at the last moment.”
Ribry suddenly felt like crying.
“Come on! Come on! You b*stards! You cowards! Come and take me! Let him go! He is only a kid! He shouldn’t be involved in this! You inhumane b*stards! One day, the King of Chambord will know what happened here! Your doomsday is drawing close!” Ribry started to knock the iron bars with his hands like a madman and roared angrily. He felt like the amount of anger he was holding was going to explode!
However, six soldiers who were wearing top-tier armors walked in silently, opened the door to the cell next to Ribry’s, and pulled out that young guard.
The noble who was leading these soldiers suddenly turned around and sneered at Ribry, “Don’t worry, it will be your turn in two hours. Hehe, by then, you will ask us to kill you…… In terms of Chambord…… Hehehe, Crown Prince His Highness will soon take care of that stupid little king. Hehe……”
The footsteps gradually went away, and Ribry then heard the iron gate of the prison close.
Ribry’s eyes were wide open, and his fingers left a series of blood marks on the iron bars. He was too weak to do anything. The star swirls and the energy channels inside his body were destroyed from the beginning, and his warrior energy was gone. Now, he was only a little stronger than an ordinary person.
His heavy breathing gradually calmed down.
He sat down on the floor and ate all the food in the bowl; he was very focused, and he didn’t waste even one grain of rice. After that, he closed his eyes and tried to regain his stamina at every second.
The two hours of waiting was long, and it was excruciating.
Two hours later, the iron gate was opened again.
“Ribry, Hehe, Head Commander, it is your turn! Don’t you want to know where your 20 guards went? Let’s go; you will know soon……” The person who came to get Ribry was Mayor Soroyov, and this fat man had a vicious expression on his face. As he waved his hand, six fully armed soldiers walked into Ribry’s cell and carried him out.