Before leaving the prison, Sevia Winter saw the citizens who had been arrested by the soldiers earlier; many were so terrified by the horrifying scene that they fainted on the spot, while others leaned against the walls, vomiting everywhere, and the rest were herded into a line by the soldiers.
Unlike before, they no longer cried out to her for help; they simply gave her a silent glance before lowering their heads and crawling into the cages under the violent threats of the soldiers.
They all knew in their hearts that, regardless of whether they had truly contracted the plague before, from the moment they stepped into this prison cursed by death, all testimony was rendered hollow in the face of this judgment of life.
All these citizens could do was pray.
They prayed that their bodies would rot faster and that death would come sooner.
The group arrived at the warden's office, where every decoration had been smashed to pieces, the circular golden candelabras twisted into lumps of scrap metal, and the gold-framed portrait with a red background lay on the floor, its glass shattered and covered in footprints.
The gaps carved into the stone walls served as windows, and looking down through them, the barbican below was swarming with soldiers, packing the area so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through.
A tall woman stood in the center of the execution platform, clad in heavy armor, her crimson helmet tassel fluttering in the wind, making her figure appear even more valiant.
A blood-stained guillotine was erected high, and an old man knelt under the gaze of ten thousand eyes, his disheveled long hair hiding his face.
"Vinos Ferratu, do you plead guilty?" the woman bellowed.
"During the most critical period of the fight against the plague, you accepted bribes and allowed others to enter the city to visit prisoners, causing the plague to ravage the entire kingdom and leading to the slaughter of countless lives!"
"You secretly colluded with the commander of the Royal Guards and bribed assassins to enter the palace in an attempt to assassinate the king and usurp the throne; such acts of treason are unpardonable!"
"I admit it," the man murmured. "I am guilty..."
The people below held their breath simultaneously.
Suddenly, he burst into laughter.
"My only crime was not letting everyone see your hypocritical true face sooner, you damned titan woman."
"What right do you have to speak of me? You are the real culprit behind this disaster. It was you who ordered the old king to be imprisoned in his chambers, who hunted down the guardian gods, and who used violence to suppress the lords, provoking the wrath of heaven and bringing down punishment, which caused the plague to breed in the kingdom."
"If it weren't for your tyrannical policies after taking power, so many people wouldn't have died. It's you who, without distinguishing right from wrong, threw so many innocent citizens into prison and left them to rot until they died. You are the usurper, the traitor."
"You are the dictator, you tyrant, Belisa!"
"You betrayed your subjects, you betrayed your king, you betrayed Pangard, and you betrayed this kingdom!"
"This kingdom is beyond saving! Cut off my head! I will become one of the thousands of evil ghosts and bite your thigh hard until I drag you down to hell, hahahaha!"
Hearing this, the surrounding soldiers began to whisper among themselves.
The woman spoke no further; she raised her poleaxe, chopped off the man's head, and tossed it into the crowd.
"This is the price of disobeying orders. No matter who it is, I will cut off their head."
"Men, hang his head on the city gate. I want those with ulterior motives to see clearly what their end will be!"
The soldiers were as silent as cicadas in winter.
This was the first time Sevia Winter had seen with her own eyes this female general who was rumored to be rigid, tyrannical, and deeply sinful, cursed and hated by countless people.
A demigod revered by the titans.
She was much taller than an ordinary titan, nearly nine meters tall, robust without losing her physical beauty, her tightened muscles hiding the power of a god.
With the execution over, the soldiers in the barbican began to disperse. Flora, having watched the entire process, was extremely excited and pumped her fists hard.
"That's how it should be! In extraordinary times, iron-fisted measures are necessary. Only when they are afraid will these guys behave. As for the old king..."
"Hmph, I think he's really lost his mind. To this day, he doesn't know that those damn rats are the root of this plague!"
"I believe General Belisa did nothing wrong!"
Seeing her friend so excited, Atula found it hard to argue. She simply let out a light sigh, shook her head, and continued to lead Sevia Winter forward.
"Don't you also admire this general quite a bit?" Sevia Winter asked.
"That's true," Atula scratched her head, "but it's also true that many innocent people have been dragged into this prison. Perhaps they only coughed on the street once before being taken away by patrolling soldiers."
"Everyone is in fear. Every day, the guards receive countless reports. For a piece of bread, friends and family report each other and turn into enemies."
"Sigh, let's not talk about that anymore."
"Let time judge what is right and wrong."
After several turns, Sevia Winter finally followed Atula to the female general. The woman had not removed her armor and simply sat on the stone throne, yet she radiated an invisible majesty that inspired awe.
Besides her and a few other titans, several figures in bird-masked black robes stood in the room. Among them, a youth wearing a platinum priest's robe with a face full of displeasure suddenly pointed at Belisa's nose and roared.
"Do you not understand human speech?"
"Do you know who I am? I am the Archbishop of Wrath! You dare to neglect me? You and this country, which is about to be destroyed, are both beyond stupid, goddamned..."
The female general's finger moved slightly, and a terrifying weight descended from the sky. The youth's face instantly deformed and contorted. He continued to curse with filthy and unpleasant words, pushing his hands upward, faintly managing to resist the heavy pressure.
BOOM—With a loud crash, the youth exploded into a mess of blood and gore on the spot, and the ground sank dozens of centimeters deep.
The wizards were silent, long since accustomed to such sights.
Sevia Winter was surprised to find that even she could not quite see through this general.
Yet she could clearly sense the lingering deathly aura around the female general; the woman was in an extremely weak state.
As if simply crushing a noisy ant, General Belisa ignored the wizards and scanned the crowd, her gaze finally resting on Sevia Winter, becoming solemn.
"Atula, who is this?" she asked.
"General, this is my friend. She just wanted to see you."
"Where is she from?"
"This... I'm not sure," Atula answered, unable to provide an explanation.
When it came down to it, she knew nothing about this foreign friend she had met.
As if scrutinizing the girl, Belisa stared intently at Sevia Winter, who met her gaze without a change in expression.
Time froze at this moment. Sensing the dangerous atmosphere in the air, Atula was about to smooth things over when Belisa withdrew her gaze and let out a long sigh.
At that moment, a strong sense of oppression suddenly surged like a tide. Invisible fury scorched the ground, and the gore that had exploded earlier flew up, returning entirely to the pile of meat on the floor.
In the blink of an eye, the youth's human form was reconstructed. A witch whispered in the people's ears.
"So noisy! Shut up, you old hag!" the youth roared, waving his hand.
Forcing himself to calm his chest, which was bursting with rage, the youth's breathing gradually stabilized, and the bloodshot veins in his pupils receded.
"I will be calm."
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