"Come on, you imperial dogs! I'm not afraid of you!"
"The empire's dogs! You won't be jumping around for much longer. We will achieve final victory!"
"Cheer for our great cause!"
...
Standing on the city wall and listening to the prisoners below shout their defiance, Selene felt a bit disgusted. They were so full of spirit, it almost made her feel like she was the one who had lost. She then turned to Esdeath and asked, "Are you sure these are all the infiltrators? No one slipped through the cracks?"
"Yes, General. Based on the interrogation results from the rebels who tried to storm the execution ground yesterday, these are the last of the rebel spies in Patrypol City," Esdeath confirmed with satisfaction.
Seeing the look of contentment on Esdeath's face, Selene understood—interrogating this many rebel spies must have been quite a thrill for her.
"Hmm, it's time to move on and suppress the southwestern barbarians. We've spent too much time rooting out rebel spies in Patrypol City."
Selene looked down at the prisoners. "In that case, kill them all. Keeping them alive is just a waste of food and a disturbance to the peace."
Selene didn't bother to lower her voice, so the prisoners below heard her clearly. Some glared at her with hatred, some shouted curses, and some slumped to the ground in despair...
"Those who are the loudest, have them impaled!" Selene ordered coldly. These people didn't even deserve the honor of being killed by her own hands.
You want to be tough? Want to be a hero? Fine, I'll let you be one!
Selene was not someone with a broad heart. If you insulted her to her face, there was no way she would give you a dignified end. This wasn't some melodramatic TV show where enemies admire each other!
"Yes, ma'am!" came the response from multiple voices.
"The General orders that the ringleaders be pulled out, and the rest hanged!"
Seeing the imperial soldiers closing in, the remaining prisoners summoned the last of their courage to resist. They knew that their only option now was to fight, as surrendering would not save them. "Kill them!"
But these prisoners, barely clothed, still starving, and without any weapons, were no match for the heavily armed and well-trained imperial soldiers. Most of them soon became nothing more than fertilizer for the soil.
The few who were spared were those who had been the most defiant. Their deaths would not come so easily.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ahhh!!!
...
The next day, as Selene's Eighth Imperial Guard Corps marched out of the city, the rebel intelligence agents, now in disarray after losing their command structure, couldn't help but come to Patrypol City to inquire about their superiors.
But the scene that greeted them—
The severed head of their direct superior, Nal, hung on the city wall. Even more horrifying, many of their comrades, whom they recognized, had been stripped naked and displayed, impaled on stakes near the city gates.
Wooden stakes, driven through the mouth or the anus, stood like forests, while crows and vultures pecked at the corpses, filling the air with a thick stench of decay.
No one was spared. Every cadre they knew had been brutally impaled.
The rebel intelligence agents, who had come to consult with their superiors, shuddered at the ghastly sight. A cold chill ran up their spines, freezing them in place, their courage shattered.
"Th-th-this... Commander Nal is dead?! All the officers are dead!!"
"What... what do we do now?"
"We... report to headquarters!"
...
Whoosh.
A strong wind blew through, stirring up a cloud of dust.
"We should be entering the frontier region now," Selene said, raising her hand to shield her face from the sandstorm. In the distance, she could vaguely make out towering structures.
"Yes, this is the southwestern frontier of the empire—Yueshan Pass," replied a local official guiding them, speaking with respect.
As they moved closer, Selene realized that what she had seen was not a group of buildings but a wall.
The wall, made of gray stone, stood tall against the wind and sand, its surface pitted and worn, clearly having gone without repair for centuries.
This wall was a testament to the empire's decline. Such a crucial line of defense had been left to deteriorate, even though this pass was supposed to guard against the southwestern barbarians.
Yueshan Pass, as its name suggests, is the gateway between the southern and western borders of the empire. It is the empire's defensive stronghold, with towering mountain ranges flanking it on either side. The peaks are perpetually snow-capped, and the cliffs are steep.
Aside from the flat valley between the mountains, large-scale troop movements through the mountain range are impossible.
The harsh climate of the southwestern region has left it resource-poor, and the deadly miasma and poisonous insects have claimed many lives. The southwestern barbarians, who live there, are a hardy people, accustomed to a life of fishing and hunting. Their culture, passed down through generations, is one of ferocity, with both men and women trained as warriors.
During years of famine, they frequently cross the border into the empire to raid, and they have long coveted the fertile lands of the central empire.
This time, several of the largest southwestern tribes, incited by the southern Revolutionary Army, couldn't resist the temptation to strike, hoping to carve out a piece of the empire for themselves.
In a sudden attack, combined with the Revolutionary Army's internal support, Yueshan Pass fell over two weeks ago. The barbarians then used the pass as a base to continue infiltrating the empire's territory.
As the wind howled, Selene's officers in the Eighth Corps began positioning their troops in front of Yueshan Pass without needing her command.
"The barbarians always use the same tactics—hit and run. Whenever the imperial army comes to retaliate, they retreat into the pass, only to emerge again in small groups to harass us once the army withdraws. It's infuriating!" complained a local imperial garrison officer beside Selene.
Selene pulled the reins, halting her horse as she looked at the massive pass ahead. "Guerrilla tactics, huh? So, most of the southwestern barbarian forces are inside the pass?"
The officer nodded. "Yes, the terrain here is treacherous, making it impossible to outflank them. They can attack or retreat at will, and with the pass being so easy to defend and difficult to assault, most of their main forces are stationed there."
"Damn the Revolutionary Army! If it weren't for them, Yueshan Pass wouldn't have fallen!" The local garrison officer clenched his fists in anger, his hands trembling.
"General, what is your plan? A prolonged siege? A series of assaults?"
Selene smiled and shook her head. "I don't have the time to waste here. We'll take the pass today."
Hearing Selene's seemingly unrealistic response, the officer was taken aback. "This... this... how?"
"Oh, is that so? Let's see." Selene dismounted, the sound of her metal boots echoing as they struck the ground. "Everyone, stand back."
The garrison officer looked bewildered as Selene's Imperial Guards gently but firmly pulled him away from the scene.
"It's time to let the Honkai begin."