Chapter 181: Twentieth Episode : Chapter 9 (1/2)

Chapter 181: Twentieth Episode : Chapter 9

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Talking about His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette, the men of District One and Two of the Imperial Guards thought that he was an oddball; a lazy oddball who had nothing to do, and only knew how to complain and rant all the time.

However, these opinions were only held by those people who were too free. In contrary, the wise men greatly respected His Imperial Highness the Prince, who had risen through the ranks in Dulin City since he was young.

About funny things about Princes O'Neil, everyone had different things to say. Some people said that the Imperial Guards by his side were extremely odd; no one would put their life in the pagans' hands, so they thought that His Imperial Highness Prince was a weird person. Some even said that the lifestyle of this prince was absurd; he smoked and drank, but he had never messed around with women, yet others said that despite the nonsensical appearance of the prince in the daytime, once night fell, he would be more frightening than a monster, his eyes would be shining and would not have to light the oil lamps to read or write.

Which of these guesses were more accurate? Nobody had the answer to this question, probably, because that O'Neil Andrew Morisette really was an oddball. Right before the war, he had not mobilized any men, and had not disciplined his subordinates sternly like how a Marshal should. To be more precise, his Offensive Army Group Two was just like a heap of sand! When an order from the prince was being relayed by the Military Command Center, it was often a case where that the Army Commander could not locate the Division Commander, who could not find the Regimental Commander as well, and it would be even harder for the Regimental Commander to find the whereabouts of his Unit Commander.

It did not matter if it was just a joke or being made up intentionally. One the first day of the seventh month of Church's year 800, His Imperial Highness Prince suddenly felt that his brain was alive again after waking up! This was definitely something worth to be celebrated, as Torry, Murat and several other Special Warfare Officers whom he was close with … in summary, all his long-time friend had already left Hebhopp Castle, leaving the pitiful Marshall all alone.

When he was cleaning his room, the pitiful Marshal realized that the mini hand cannon which was a gift by Mistress Vijdeline was gone. Now this is weird! How was it possible that there was a thief in his Military Command Center?

His Imperial Highness Prince exploded with wrath, and his voice echoed throughout the entire forest.

After an investigation in the morning, the suspect had showed himself. The person was the personnel on duty at the group's staff quarters that night. He had lost his sanity after losing a huge amount of money, and had actually resorted to stealing the possessions of the Marshal.

Oscar's face darkened. He seemed to not know what to say, but he was certain that he must get his mini hand cannon back. The Imperial Guards' Marshal handed the unlucky man to Devil Sandy. It had been more than six months since the last time Sandinand had seen fresh blood. When he had taken over the suspect, he was beyond elated, like a horny bitch, wagging its tail nonstop at his master.

Soon after, another suspect appeared. This was a young Major, and rumor had it there was nothing but money in his house. He admitted that he had spent three thousand Golden Ti for the mini hand cannon. However, this silly fellow had not inquired the source of the mini hand cannon, he only knew that he could show off by hanging the item on his waist.

Oscar summoned him to his side, and asked, ”Do you know how to use this thing?”

The Major replied the Marshall like a fool, ”I'm still experimenting!”

Oscar rolled his eye, ”Let me teach you…”

As a result, the empire's prince had repeatedly pulled open the cartridge, filled it up with gunfire, filled it with ammunition, and aimed the weapon accurately at the fool.

The firing of the gun had shocked the birds in the forest. Almost the entire palace shook amidst the crisp and deafening sound. The young Major plopped onto the ground, his eyes bulging like those of a dead fish. Other than these eyes, his expressions were considered as lively and seemed to be plastering a grin, as if it was mocking the actions of the riled up prince.

In front of the scrutinizing eyes of the people, the Persian pagan dragged the unfortunate Major out of the palace. Fresh blood left its beautiful trail onto the white marble floor, like an incomprehensible abstract painting.

The men hid themselves in the corners of the palace in fear, they were still unclear of the situation and thought that the prince had gone insane. Nevertheless, no one dared to complain. It was only now that the people realized that the name of O'Neil Andrew Morisette did not come about without reason.

In the end, several minutes later, Devil Sandy presented the Marshal with the thief, who no longer had the normal appearance of a human being, together with his criminal charge. Oscar still said nothing, and only decided to deal with the man with cruelty.

The Titan Empire's Military Court Custody had a total of six executioners, of which one of them had been enrolled into Oscar's Offensive Army Group two, who was also the best among the six. In the holy Titan, the profession of an executioner was bound to be looked down upon. The civilians mocked these people who made a living by being an executioner as ”aunties”, painting them as nosy old women, or perhaps … they had meant for the other definition of the word, which was associated with filthy blood.

Nevertheless … the military executioners did not feel ashamed by the word ”aunties”, and they had even addressed themselves with the name according to their level of expertise. The most brilliant executioner would be ”big aunt”, followed by ”second aunt', ”third aunt', ”fourth aunt”…

Oscar was extremely delighted that he had brought along his best executioner. He met up with the elderly executioner, whose age was sufficient for him to be a grandfather in the main guest hall of Hebhopp Palace.

”Big Aunt Spark! For how many years have you been in this profession?”

Spark answered casually, ”Reporting to your Highness, it has been forty-four years!”

”For how long have you been big aunt?”

Spark scrunched his brows and pondered, ”Reporting your Highness, thirty-four years!”

Oscar was extremely satisfied, and sized up the old executioner of the Military Custodial Prison. The interior of the hall was dim. Sunlight penetrated from the slits of the window sills and shone onto Spark's features, onto the old man's sunken eyes, dry face, bowlegs, hunched back, and near his mouth beneath his tall nose, which had an apparent blade scar.

Spark's eyes only opened slightly, his icy cold gaze fell on the empire's prince. Oscar felt chills on his face and said to the old executioner, ”Big Aunt Spark, introduce to me a type of cruel punishment!”

Like listing out vegetable names, the old executioner listed out every single torture method the Military Court Custody had ever deployed, but they were all just beatings, putting heavy tanks on them, suffocation, fire torture racks, amputation by five horses or being chopped into chunks of flesh. After hearing what he had to say, Oscar shook his head repeatedly and said that they were all too average and not worth the attention.

His Imperial Highness Prince added on in the end, ”When I was a kid, I've seen much in Damorga! The Big Aunties there were always capable of coming up with new tortures! Spark, think again, don't ruin the image of the Military Court Custody!”

The aged executioner was then thrown off his feet, his competitiveness with his colleagues woke him up. However, what he treasured more was His Imperial Highness Prince before him. It seemed that the rumors within Dulin City were probably true, the Imperial prince had not stayed in Damorga Prison for more than ten years and gained nothing. The more you experienced, the more knowledgeable you got!

The old executioner exited the palace. People recognized him by his cloak with red words, which symbolized the profession of an executioner. The officers in the army group instantly understood what he was going to do, and distanced themselves from him. Although his face was plastered with the same old cautious demeanor, he was secretly smirking. The world could not do without an executioner.

It was similar to how the Holy City of Rome could not do without the God of Light. However, the people had looked down on the executioners. Similarly, Spark had also looked down on everyone else, just like how you would look down on pigs and dogs.

The Generals and Marshals of the empire's military had come and gone, but only Big Aunt Spark had stayed, stable like a rock and firm like the Alps. Thus … if you were to have worked as an executioner for forty-four years and had sent thousands of dead souls into the depths of hell with all kinds of torture methods, you, too, would feel that life was actually as meaningless as pigs and dogs.

The aged executioner returned to his small hut in the woods away from the dazzling royal palace, where he had a few disciples. Spark said to his disciples frankly, ”I've never stepped foot into the palace in my entire life. Even a mere guard thought lowly of us. Back in those days, I've never managed to enter the palace even when I've killed an empress together with my mentor. A few years back, I've never gotten any rewards for murdering the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Guards either! But today, I've gone to the palace! To be honest, you fools can never imagine how the empire's palace looks like. This means that … His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette prioritizes our profession, and at the same time, the standards of our work must meet his expectations!”

His few disciples nodded in fear. Entering the palace? Truth be told, they had not dared to even think of it! Undertaking the profession as an executioner was equal to isolating yourself completely from the realities of the world. They were just like the slaves of the empire, living in suffering like the monks, only having some insignificant income when they executed a death penalty. The income of an executioner could determine the amount of pain and torture the prisoner would have to go through.

”How could the nothing-for-good fellow steal something from His Imperial Highness the Prince?” a disciple lashed out.

All of a sudden, Spark had an idea! He rushed back to the place, and said to the prince with a dignified demeanor, ”I swear, you have never seen this method of torture! To these people are blind even if they're blessed with eyes, we can use decapitation! Please be rest assured, your Highness, although I've only seen my mentor deploying this method once, I won't disappoint you!”

Prince O'Neil exclaimed with enthusiasm, ”Listen to this! Listen to this!” He shouted at the soldiers, ”Decapitation! Decapitation! This is my first time hearing this! The location shall be fixed at the field outside the palace, let us all move there, and have an eye-opening experience.”

Among the many military orders, this is the first time the entire Offensive Army Group Two of the Imperial Guards had assembled without any exception. They lined up at the field outside the palace, preparing to witness this ancient torture method they had never heard of.

Spark had spent the entire evening just to get the materials ready for the decapitation. Firstly, he measured the size of the criminal's head, and then measured the distance between the eyes. After that, he found the Senior Officer of Military Supplies and obtained a piece of molten metal. He operated the furnace himself and produced an iron hoop. Just like a mask, there was an opening at the back of the head. There was a small hole on each side of the opening to be tied with a rope.

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Big Aunt's disciples were occupied as well, and they were tasked with the delicate woodworks. The diligent group produced a wooden winch. They chose a flexible cow-skin rope, and tied it onto the winch, the other end of the rope connected to the iron hoop.

At four o'clock in the evening, Big Aunt Spark had begun his performance just when the soldiers were starting to yawn. The most brilliant executioner of the Military Court Custody first saluted at Marshal O'Neil who was sitting on the stage of the field, and signaled for his disciples to announce the law-breaker's crime and the torture agreed by the supreme commander.

After this, the climatic performance commenced! The old executioner fixed the neck of the criminal in a wooden fence, so that it was impossible for him to move his head. Then, he put the iron hoop onto the law-breaker's head! Hehe!

The people were mesmerized by Big Aunt Spark's capabilities. The iron hoop was neither big nor small, fitting itself onto the criminal's head just right.

Spark focused his gaze as the law-breaker's eyes. He was not enjoying the fear and despair shown in the eyes, but he was observing if the location of the pair of eyeballs fitted the iron hoop.

At last, Big Aunt let out a sigh of satisfaction. He turned toward the Marshal again, ”All is set, please give your orders.”

Oscar waved his hand casually. He kept on moving about in his seat not because of nervousness, but excitement! He still recalled that when he was young, he had been scared to death even though he had spectated the performances of the Big Aunt of Damorga Prison several times. However, after some time, he had become numb! Since he was so excited today, he only wished for the military's Big Aunt to not let him down.

After receiving the confirmation, Spark started to act. It was actually pretty simple, all he had to do was to turn the handle of the winch, and the cow-skin rope would be tightened along with the iron hoop on the criminal's head. In the beginning, there might not be much to feel, but after a while, the offender began moaning, followed by hysterical screams. He kept on kicking his legs, and it seemed as if every single muscle on his body was shivering and shaking. No matter what, he could do nothing to stop the movements of the iron hoop, which had completely sunken into the spot where his eyes were, pressing into the bones at his brows as well as his eyeballs.

The spectating soldiers were shivering like autumn grasshoppers, some did not dare to continue looking and shut their eyes closed; some were in a daze, their consciousness blurring; nevertheless, there were still some who appeared calm. During this moment, Marshal O'Neil could be heard saying to his Chief of Staff, ”Take note. When the war commences, only assign those who are in mentally sane at the frontlines of the formation.”

Major General Lustone wiped the sweat off his forehead and nodded in understanding. His Imperial Highness the Prince's plans were indeed brilliant, those who could take in all of these in their eyes without crying would definitely be qualified to be at the frontlines.

Big Aunt Spark had been observing Prince O'Neil's demeanor the whole time. Just when the torturing of the criminal had hit the one hour mark, the Marshal of the Imperial Guards showed hints of exhaustion on his face. The old executioner of the Military Court Custody promptly made his decision and abruptly rotated the winch. Heart-wrenching cries were instantly heard from the criminal. Two lively eyeballs shot out from the sockets like bullets, leaving bloody trails on the two holes of the iron hoop.

The eyeballs which had shot out flew a long distance and landed on a spectating soldier. The man first looked at the lingering skin attached to the eyeballs on his armor, and looked at the spherical item rolling on the ground. With a roll of his eyes, he fell unconscious the next instant.

The torture was still ongoing. Barbaric movements exploded from the offender's body, his maniacal screams shaking the entire world and his constant struggles even cracked open the wooden fence which was holding him in place.

Big Aunt Spark stared at the criminal's eyes with devotion, oh right! The spots were now two bloody holes of which their depth was unknown. Along with the constant contractions of the iron hoop, blood water, bone scraps and skin flowed out altogether, resulting in the two tiny black holes to seem like an abyss concealing countless ghosts and lost souls.

Finally! The criminal's screams gradually turned into soft moans, and the maniacal struggles were now spasms of every single muscle. The iron hoop had already cut open his head, pressing into his skull, and white liquid flowed from the pitch-black abyss.

After some time, Big Aunt Spark tried to detect the offender's pulse. Relaxed, he sighed and retreated to the side as usual.

”Marshal, please testify the execution!”

The rows of officers made way for O'Neil Andrew Morisette to step down from the stage with glee, leaving only the one who had fainted blocking the way. After avoiding the unconscious people and the vomit cautiously, Oscar saw the pitiful victim of the decapitation.

Barely glancing at the criminal, he turned toward the executioner at the side.

”You're indeed Big Aunt Spark, who has held the name of big aunt for thirty-four years under the Military Court Custody! I'm impressed by your capabilities!” according to tradition, the empire's prince flung a heavy bag of money to the executioner while he was speaking. Peeking through the small opening of the bag, the old man Spark caught a glimmer of sparkle.

”Your Highness, thank you for your kindness, I'll always serve you with my all!”

Oscar spared a glance at the executioner who was down on one knee. He shrugged nonchalantly, and turned toward the bunch of military officers who were standing blankly at the side.

There was no lack of quick-witted men among the group from Military Districts One and two. They immediately kowtowed like how an honorary knight would greet his master.

Oscar then chuckled with satisfaction, ”Get up, my fools! But I need to say this first! Once we've departed tomorrow, it'll be the warzones ahead of the woods! If anyone happens to be late, falling off the formation, running unnecessary errands, or any events which displeases me …”

The young Marshal of the Imperial Guards pointed at the military executioner who was kowtowing on the ground like a skunk, ”I don't mind letting that certain someone to hang out with Big Aunt Spark for some time.”

For a long duration right after this point, or to be more precise, before Big Aunt Spark's retirement, and military men who had always carried themselves with dignity kept on sizing him up like a mother rabbit, and even greeted him along the lines of ”Good day Big Aunt Spark” and ”Good morning Big Aunt Spark”.

After that, all the way until Spark's death, he was still mumbling about how the Imperial Guard's Marshal, His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette's high opinion of him. At this time, the people needed to remind him.

It was the prince's kindness toward him. Old Spark glowered at the talkative bunch, and immediately gave off strong killing intent. The executioner said, ”Why don't you guys think this way? If my master hadn't deployed my torturing methods, would he have become the emperor?”

Just like that, old Spark had died even before the people had said much to him. While nobody knew if he went to heaven or hell, the great Oscar did not forget the countless killings committed by the bastard. After the executioner's death, Oscar granted him the title of an honorary knight. As a result, every other executioner had placed his portrait in front of the beds, and worshipped him as if he was a saint. Most probably … old Spark had risen to heaven.

Church's year 800, the sixth day of the seventh month, right when Marshal O'Neil's Offensive Army Group Two was strolling along the woods at the Western borders of Damorga Province, oh God of Light please take pity! Silver Fox Alan had even forgotten to put on his uniform when he had reached the temporary command center. He was shaking in elation, not bothering to sweep away the strands of hair obstructing his vision.

The Imperial Guard's Marshal was holding documents in each of his hands, one was the battlefield news which had been confirmed by the empire's Military Intelligence Bureau, while the other was the information regarding the enemies transmitted by the posting near the river bank.

”Haha! Hahahaha!” the sly fox Alan compared the two documents in detail.

His laughter had alerted everyone there, his booming voice echoing within the four walls for quite some time.

”They're crossing the river! The lowly peasants of the West have started to cross the river!” Alan put down the documents. He patted one staff officers on the shoulder, ”Relay these orders to each of the ballet departments in my stead, mobilize! Everyone mobilize! Gather yourselves at the battlefield by nine o'clock on the fifteenth day of this month.”

The old staff officer straightened his spine and saluted with delight. He looked at his hundred colleagues in the room, and looked at Alan, who was flailing his limbs about in elation.

”Marshal! Congratulations! The enemies have fallen into the deadly trap we've set up just for them!”

Alan shook his head. Nevertheless, he still failed to conceal the happiness on his face, ”We can't say for sure … there's no guarantee yet!”