Chapter 24: The Imperial Edict
The mother ran towards her child, not even caring about her own situation. She was naked herself but hid her child in her embrace.
The lieutenant was reluctant to release her, but… "If the captain wants her I will gladly gift her to you."
"But lieutenant didn't us the one to get her first? Why should we give up on her?" The boy was reluctant, and his little brother was ready for some action. But the moment his eyes meet the blue flame of Kinoya he felt somebody had poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"Tell me Akori, do you have someone you love?" Akori didn't dare to meet that eye again nor did he answer.
"Let's tie your ball and penis and throw you in a cage with horse aphrodisiac fed men. If that doesn't satisfy you, I will let you have a stallion. If still have your urges then I will let you enjoy her with a hot rod in your anus."
Each and everyone present in the place, even the one who was observing them broke into cold sweat. The upright member of naked Akori had fallen from its grace. He really wanted to put something on himself but couldn't control a single muscle.
"What you say, do you want to try it? I think Chanakya has some horse aphrodisiac" Hearing Kinoya, he lost the power in his leg and slumped on the ground. The only person who was unaffected with the whole situation took out a small pouch of white powder from his bag.
This development was outside their expectation. The other two was in the army from a long time ago, but in front of a superior officer there was very little they could do. Within a moment the all three of them ran away, dragging the unconscious one.
Chanakya walked towards the mother and daughter pair. The child was still crying in her mother's embrace. He offered them the white powder.
"What is that? Is that horse aphrodisiac?" Kinoya was surprised. That was the same thing Chanakya took out when he had asked.
"This is the calming medicine. Also, relieves pain." The mother was still hesitant. Chanakya put some powder in his mouth before offering her again. The woman waited to observe if there were any abnormalities with Chanakya's lower body before accepting it.
"Captain what if he had someone he loves?"
Kinoya couldn't help but smile "That is your concern right now?"
"No, I actually want to know why you wanted to tie his balls and penis before throwing him in the cage?"
'How could I know? That was at the heat of the moment. Sorry for not thinking something effective.' Kinoya screamed in his mind.
"Blow the whistle, meet them at Chararch. Put up a camp at a safe distance away from the city. Save as much as citizens as possible, tell them for everyone they would rescue, they will get they will get 1 silver from me. And if anybody dared to do something silly, kill him and blame it on me. "
It was just a high pitch whistle, with some basic command system. Kinoya introduced it to the troop as a form of simple communication. Chanakya blew it.
"Lord, give me some food. No, just for the child will be enough." Before Kinoya could move the woman grabbed his legs.
Kinoya frowned before removing the naked woman from his body, "Don't you have food in your house?"
"The Lord and his army took everything and ran away a week ago." The woman said after hesitation for a while. "We didn't eat anything for three days."
Kinoya pointed at Chanakya and said, "Go with him and he will give you the food. Take anybody whom you know with you." They parted away.
**************
Kinoya went looking for Akai. After looking for a while he found him at the city lord's palace. The guard was heavy here but there were very few people in the general's guard who didn't know about him. After some exchange words, they led him to the chambers.
The people who were present was almost the same as last time. The commander-in-chief, General Akai, General Andlat, General Vorn. Other than the captain of the general guards, there was one new person. From what he had heard, it's a 3-star general, General Riyasu who came as reinforcement from the front of general of the south.
"What do you want to say, boy?" General Andlat sounded hesitant. Even without that Kinoya could feel the tension in the air.
"It's a trap. There is one inside the city, not sure if there is one outside the city or not." High-level politics had nothing to do with a mere captain like Kinoya. All his intention was earning as much contribution as possible.
"So you are the little devil?" Riyasu had an eerie smile on his face, "What fine name! Devil. Well, you are one after all. So little devil, what type of news do you bear today?"
The frown didn't appear on Kinoya's face, but it surprised him that Riyasu had the audacity to talk like that in front of general of West, the commander-in-chief. They had two levels of rank difference, even if that was not considered, just by the power of commander-in-chief, he could have stopped him but had chosen not to do that.
Kinoya couldn't care less about it but from the sad look on Akai's face, he was sure that he, himself had fallen from the commander-in-chief's grace. It was not like he cared much about that, so he did what he should do as a soldier.
"The city is a trap."
"And what makes you think that?"
"There is no food in the city."
"The fleeing army took it away."
"They opened the gate to invite us in."
"They didn't open the gate we fought our way in the city."
"They could have just defended the closed city if they wanted."
"You have said it, they don't have any food, how do you expect them to defend."
"There is the only women in the city."
"That is because all the man died defending it."
'How much arrogant can you be to miss such an obvious clue?' Kinoya sneered as he controlled his temper as much as possible. But if he could just convince the other there might be able to save some lives.
"General I am saying there might be a chance…"
Kinoya couldn't even finish his words before Riyasu shouted out again, "Yes that is the thing I was talking about everyone. This little devil putting a seed of doubt in your mind when he plays with you with the words until he convinced you to do those unethical work. Don't worry about it, now the problem is identified there will be no problem at all."
Kinoya stood there, dumb-found not knowing whether to laugh or cry. 'Is this guy a general or a court-jester? Or the war of this world is really that honoured thing? Did I really do something unethical?'
[Skill Check: [Soul Persuasion] been used]
[Ill intent detected]
[Affecting…]
[Trying to break the skill…]
[…]
[Skill Check: [Soul Persuasion] is blocked]
Kinoya didn't move for a moment. It's a really effective skill for a general. Even if somebody told him he wouldn't believe that the skill was effective against the general of West. If it had really work he couldn't have broken it so easily.
[Skill Check: Time is taken to break [Soul Persuasion]: 5 minutes 28 seconds]
[Do you really think the skill was easy to break?]
The system didn't forget to add a sarcastic command but he had a more important thing to think about.
"Boy, do you accept your crime?"
"Crime? What crime? Is, as a soldier of empire, helping the empire in war include as a crime? If yes, then I am a criminal."
Riyasu made a sarcastic sound, "Your crime is that you had dirtied the name of The Great Krounen Empire, you persuaded others to do the dirty work, you had done the sinful work of deceiving your enemy in the trap, raided you enemy camp at night…"
"Let me get it, you are saying I did something sinful because I deceived the 'enemy'?" It was hard to control the laughter. Forget about the trap which actually was the idea of commander-in-chief, somehow he couldn't take the joke of 'deceiving the enemy'.
"Yes"
"Do you know you are saying it's an enemy, not a friend."
"I am well aware of that."
"You are an idiot." The whole room plunged into silence.
"Boy do you know what are you saying?" Riyasu slammed on the table, with veins popping up on his forehead.
"I was wrong" Kinoya took a deep breath and said again, "All of you are idiots. And the funny thing is all of you know that except him."
Not a single one spoke any words. Riyasu was shouting in an intangible language with fumes coming out of his ears.
"Cut out the list of sins, go straight to punishment part," Kinoya said without emotion. Without the proper background, it would be impossible to escape the fate and he was aware of it.
"According to imperial edict, though you did sinful and vicious act you actually contributed toward the victory so your life will be spared. But you will be stripped of all of your achievement. You will do various work for the army for 2 years then you will be free to go. For persuading the high authority to do ill-work you are subjected to 50 whiplashes."
"Like they are the child or something." Kinoya didn't hold it in any more.
Riyasu glared as he continued, "For insulting the empirical edict you are punishable by death. But doing that will be an insult to the empirical edict itself. Your one week ration will be revoked."
Kinoya laughed it out. A twitch appeared at the forehead of Riyasu, "What so funny?"
Kinoya shook his head and started to take off his armour, "Let me ask you one last question. According to the 'Great Imperial edict' if the commander-in-chief was found to be the one who was behind these sinful act what would have been the punishment?"
For the first time today the commander-in-chief gave a strong reaction to Kinoya's words. Like a tiger, he was staring right at the eye of Kinoya. But Riyasu didn't notice it. "He would have become a 4-star general and would have been sent to the empire for further trial. What you have something to say?"
Kinoya looked at the general and gave a smile. That smile made the commander-in-chief to skip a heartbeat.
"No there is nothing to say, I just want to see how much my fellow people of the Great Krounen Empire loves it."
Riyasu was looked little surprised, "What?"
"Never mind" Kinoya had already stripped himself naked. Leaving the erect talwar on his back and the underwear on his body. "Let's not waste any more time and get my war tattoos as soon as possible."
"Leave that here." Riyasu pointed at the talwar.
"I have given up all the things that were given to me by the empire, the short scimitar, armour, boots and the badge. This talwar is my personal property. I am not taking it off on my own but you are welcome to try."
Hearing it Riyasu was fuming, he was going to Kinoya but Akai stopped him. "It's his personal belongings." Riyasu was about to argue but didn't. "General of the west if you bestow the punishment on the guilty."
The general didn't move he just signalled and the captain of the general guard came out. Along came general Riyasu. Under the protection general guard, he was taken to the city centre, right in front of the Chararch.
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