Thump thump, the whole crowd immediately fell to their knees. The villagers had earth-colored faces and were lying on the ground begging. Some were so frightened that they almost urinated on the spot when they saw the bloody corpses on the ground.
"No! Don't!" A high-pitched and thin voice was quite obvious among the people's pleadings. Then a thin and small figure crawled forward a few steps on the ground, hugged him and stood there blankly. Rody's thigh, cried: "Sir! Sir! They are all forced! They are all forced!" It was the little daughter of the village chief.
"Persecuted!" Before Rody could say anything, Siege roared furiously: "Just because they are being persecuted, can they be spies! I have lost a hundred of my best brothers! Kill them all!" Ge's face was purple with anger at this moment. Just because of the fierce battle just now, half of the two hundred most elite warriors he carefully selected from his twenty thousand men were lost in one fell swoop! Those are the best soldiers in the Wolf Fang Army! Just because of these cowardly villagers! Let one hundred of his rigorously trained elite warriors die in battle!
"My lord! My lord!!" The girl was so frightened that her face turned pale, but she still hugged Rody's legs tightly and kowtowed like a pound of garlic. All she could hear was a banging sound. On her originally delicate face, her forehead had already been kowtowed. There was blood, mixed with the dust and tears on his face, and his face was extremely miserable.
Rody tried his best to calm down, but his heart kept beating violently. He glanced at the more than twenty villagers kneeling on the ground. Among them were old and young, male and female, all of them had good faces and looked extremely frightened. He felt sad and sad at the same time.
At this moment, he knew very well that as long as he waved his hand, these twenty or so people would immediately fall to the ground. According to the imperial decree, all those who collaborate with the enemy and treason will be executed! Absolutely unforgivable! And these villagers had just tipped off the army of Dayue Kingdom, causing their own army to be attacked, with more than a hundred people killed and injured. There is no way to escape the words "collaboration with the enemy and treason"...
But…
But they are also civilians! ! Rody was heartbroken! Asking Rody to give the order to massacre civilians is an order that Roddy would never give out no matter what! ! Looking at these men, women and children crying miserably, looking at these people at the bottom of the empire, these poor people who work hard for three meals a day... But just two or three months ago, I was not A commoner like them? !
What would happen if this happened to me
If his parents and relatives were captured by the enemy and threatened him with the lives of his relatives... Rody sighed in his heart... He didn't dare to think about it anymore.
For these civilians, empires, emperors, wars, and dynasty struggles for hegemony are all distant things, and they are not as important as their closest relatives!
Seeing the uncertain expression on Rody's face, Siege gritted his teeth and said: "Sir! Mercy does not lead the army! They have committed an unforgivable crime. If they don't kill, how can they lead the army! How can they explain to the brothers who died in the battle? !”
Rody was shocked. He glanced at the surrounding soldiers and saw that those soldiers were full of indifference - especially the remaining one hundred soldiers under his command. They looked at the civilians kneeling on the ground with their eyes. Full of hatred - after all, it was because of their tip-off that the comrades they lived with day and night died tragically! Especially the officer who was guarding the soldiers, his hand had been pressed on the hilt of the sword, and his face looked like he was gritting his teeth.
"My lord... My lord..." The girl at her feet was crying so hard that she almost lost her breath, and the blood and tears on her face had already blurred into one piece.
"By imperial decree, those who collaborate with the enemy and treason will be executed!" Zig shouted.
Rody gritted his teeth. He understood that he must not be soft-hearted at this time! No matter what the reason was, collaboration with the enemy and treason caused his army to suffer such heavy losses. More importantly, it exposed the whereabouts of his lone army! Taken together, these people will never be able to escape execution regardless of any reason.
Sieg winked, and two soldiers rushed up and dragged the girl on the ground away. Rody sighed and was about to wave when the girl suddenly got the strength from nowhere and struggled violently, crying with all her strength: "Sir! Please wait a moment, wait a moment! I... I have something important to say!" "
"Is there anything else you haven't said?" Sieg said coldly.
The girl was already trembling with fear. She just looked at Roddy, bit her lip, and said with a trembling voice: "I, I know a path that can lead to the north... From this path to Trier Fort, you can save half a day. If Going north can also save you a day... I... I can lead you... Please, sir, please let them go... They are also forced!"
Rody glanced at her, then swept his eyes across the entire place, and said coldly: "Separate these people house by house! Then arrest the person who set fire to each house, and let the others... let the others go!"
"My lord" "Your Majesty the Duke!!"
Sieg and the soldier captain exclaimed at the same time.
Siege grimaced and gritted his teeth and said: "Sir, all collaborators, male and female, must be put to death, otherwise we cannot serve as a warning to others!"
"I know! I know the laws of the empire! I feel sorry for the soldiers who died just now! But... But have you ever thought about it... They are all civilians!"
Rody took a deep breath: "I think everyone...except for some officers, most of the people here are born civilians! We are soldiers! Soldiers of the empire! The duty of a soldier is to protect the empire. Territory, protect these civilians! They did commit a crime because their relatives were captured by the Big Moon Kingdom! But why were their relatives captured!"
Looking across the audience, Rody said in a deep voice: "It's because of our soldiers' negligence! It's because we failed to fulfill our duty to defend our homeland! It allowed the army of the Big Moon Kingdom to wreak havoc on the territory of the empire! These are our faults. The military's negligence! If the army can keep the enemy out of the empire, if the army can protect their homeland well, how can they, these civilians, be forced to do these things under the slaughter of the Great Moon Kingdom!"
No one spoke…
Taking a deep breath, Rody continued slowly: "I know you are not willing to let your comrades die like this! But it is not these civilians who should be punished! They should not have to face the enemy's butcher knife in the first place! Those It should be done by us! Your hatred should not be poured out on these defenseless villagers, but on the butchers of the Big Moon Kingdom!"
Still no one spoke...
"Your Majesty the Duke..." Only Sieg gritted his teeth, but finally stopped talking.
Rody didn't look at Siege, but slowly glanced at the villagers kneeling on the ground, and said slowly: "I know you can't help it, you are forced to have no choice. But after all, you have done something treasonous and treasonous! You let One hundred of the empire's most heroic warriors died tragically! Therefore, I can't forgive you..." At this point, Rody gritted his teeth and said with all his strength: "You, those who set the fire just now, stand up for yourself. Accept the punishment! Your families will be safe and forgiven!"
For a moment, the whole place was silent. The soldiers looked at Rody, but no one moved.
Rody's face was gloomy and he suddenly shouted: "What are you doing! Do you have to kill them all?! Is the saber of 'Thunder God's Whip' prepared for these civilians!!!"
Suddenly hearing Rody's loud shout, all the soldiers couldn't help but trembled and stood up straight.
"The Criminal Law Team obeys the order!" Zig suddenly shouted loudly: "Execute the order!"
Finally, the soldiers moved and separated more than twenty people. After a fight, ten villagers stood up and knelt on the ground. The other people behind them were pulled behind by the soldiers.
"Were you the ones who set the fire just now?" Rody's voice was gloomy.
After a moment of silence, a middle-aged man among the ten people whispered: "I let it go." The other nine people also nodded.
"Because of you, a hundred of the empire's most heroic warriors died tragically! I understand that you were forced to do this for the safety of your captured family members! But! You killed another hundred people! You are human, Are the one hundred soldiers who died not human beings? Do you have family members? Don’t you feel sorry for your family members? But don’t their families feel sad for these brave soldiers? !”
Silence... Not a single kneeling villager dared to raise his head to look at Roddy.
Rody said in a deep voice: "I will execute you now according to the decree of the empire. Do you have anything else to say?"
All ten people lowered their heads and remained silent. Even the village chief's daughter didn't speak anymore, but looked at Rody with tears on her face. She also seemed to understand that forgiving the families of these people was already an act of mercy beyond the law.
Rody stopped looking at them, turned around and walked towards the back. Siege looked cold and waved to the soldiers of the Criminal Law Team...
After a few chirps, Gulu Gulu's head fell to the ground. A burst of mournful cries suddenly burst out from the distance behind him, and then Siege strode up from behind.
Rody glanced at him and said slowly: "Commander Sieg, I know you are not willing to accept it, but I believe you can understand my approach! I can punish the guilty, otherwise the dead soldiers will die with their eyes open! But those innocent people villagers, I will not raise my butcher knife against them under any circumstances!”
After being silent for a long time, Siege slowly said: "Sir, I understand. I will seek revenge from Dayue Kingdom for today's revenge! They killed a hundred of us, and I will kill a thousand of them! Ten thousand! people!"
Rody shook his head and said calmly: "Okay, our whereabouts have been exposed, and we can't stay here now! Send the order and leave immediately! And... that girl, she said there is a small road, take her with you! If If we can get to Watt Fortress early, we will be safe sooner!"
Sieg nodded and waved for the soldiers to bring the girl up.
"May I have your name!"
"Gadalena..." The girl lowered her head, with a hint of crying in her voice.
Rody said seriously: "You just said there is a path here that can lead to the north... Can you get to Watt Fortress from this path?"
"Okay!" Gadalena whispered, then she hesitated for a moment, and seemed to have mustered up the courage to speak: "Only my brother and I know this road... He used that path to get from Trierburg. Escaped. It takes one day to go to Watt’s Fortress via that path than by taking the main road.”
Zig asked some more questions carefully and confirmed that the road was indeed very hidden (Gadalena said that her brother accidentally discovered that road when he went hunting in the mountains), but the road was not easy to walk. You could ride a horse. It can be passed, but vehicles will never be able to pass on the rugged mountain road.
"Very good." Zig glanced at Rody and thought that being able to ride a horse was enough. They didn't bring any food or supplies anyway.
"Give her a horse! Can you ride a horse?" Rody whispered.
"Yes... yes!" Gadalena seemed to dare not look at Roddy again. In fact, Roddy was covered in blood at the moment, and his face was still stained with blood and had not been wiped off. He looked a bit scary indeed.
Seeing that the messenger had already gone down to convey the order to leave, Gadalena suddenly summoned up the courage to plead: "Sir! You... can you go and rescue the people who were captured in the village? They... "
"Impossible!" Rody refused flatly, and then his eyes became cold: "I tell you, the people who were caught have died long ago! The people of the Big Moon Kingdom came out to look for food! They will arrest them Are those who left here to consume the food? All the people captured in your village must have died!"
"Boy, do you still think it is pleasant to hold power now?" Andy's voice said coldly in his mind.
Roddy felt so depressed that he could no longer breathe, and his heart seemed to be pressed by a huge boulder... He said miserably: "I don't know... Andy... I found that I can't understand many things..."