Chapter 158: Interrogation 2
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
The prisoner struggled.
"No, everything I've said is true. I really don't know anything else."
But the interrogator believed the cloaked man's words completely. He cracked his knuckles with a cruel tone.
"It seems you need a taste of what happens here!"
"Bring in the water torture!"
Soon, two jailers came over and took down the hanging prisoner. They strapped him face-up onto a bench, tightly binding his limbs and waist with ropes.
One jailer placed a towel over the prisoner's face.
The interrogator approached with a bucket of water, scooped half a dipperful, and splashed it onto the towel-covered face.
"Cough...!"
Choked by the water, the prisoner immediately held his breath, trying to prevent the water from seeping into his nostrils through the towel.
But it was futile.
Lying on his back, his face upturned, hands tightly bound, he could only violently shake his head from side to side, trying to dislodge the towel.
However, the towel clung to his face as if glued, impossible to shake off.
"Haha! Your struggles are useless! If you honestly confess the hidden intelligence, I'll remove the towel immediately."
The interrogator smirked continuously, sprinkling another half dipper of water onto the towel.
Due to the previous intense struggle, the prisoner's oxygen quickly depleted. The strong suffocation continued to assault his brain.
"Ugh! Uhh—"
The prisoner groaned in pain, unable to hold back any longer. Suddenly, he opened his mouth to gasp for air.
But along with the rush of air came a large amount of water, sucked into his mouth and nostrils. Besides the existing suffocation, another kind of agony—the feeling of drowning—rushed in.
The interrogator exclaimed excitedly, "Looks like you're enjoying this sensation! Let's make you enjoy it a bit more!"
After saying that, he poured another half dipper of water onto the towel.
The cloaked man watched the prisoner's torture with interest from the side. He returned to his chair, crossed his legs, and savored the scene.
"Fascinating, fascinating!"
The cloaked man smiled faintly, muttering to himself.
"I didn't expect mere mortals to devise such methods. This seems much more effective than the magic used for torture."
The prisoner continued to struggle to remove the towel from his face. Due to the inability to breathe, his body reflexively forced him to open his mouth and swallow forcefully, causing a large amount of water to enter his stomach, lungs, and bronchi.
The pain from the water filling his stomach, lungs, and bronchi was unbearable. He coughed, retched, and kicked his legs.
After about two or three minutes, the prisoner lost consciousness, but his central nervous system continued to work, protecting its owner. At this moment, although the prisoner had lost consciousness, the physical pain intensified, causing his entire body to convulse.
His lungs, bronchi, and trachea began to secrete a large amount of viscous secretion—a lot of thick mucus.
Suddenly, a strong smell of urine filled the interrogation room, and the prisoner began to urinate uncontrollably.
A whip cracked harshly across his body.
"Damn it, you've actually peed on my territory."
Satisfied that it was almost enough, the interrogator lifted the towel covering the prisoner's face.
Two jailers untied the ropes, allowing the prisoner to sit up and vigorously pat his back.
"Cough...! Cough...!"
The prisoner coughed violently, spitting out a large amount of water from his mouth and nose.
The interrogator crossed his arms proudly, asking, "So, how about it? Will you confess?"
"Let me tell you, my 'water torture' is highly efficient! About eighty percent of those who experience this trick will start talking, saying whatever they're asked to say. As for the remaining twenty percent..."
His face revealed a chilling smile. "Guess what? They were all tortured to death during the interrogation!"
To quickly restore the prisoner's consciousness, the jailer swung the whip fiercely a few times.
"I'll... cough... I'll talk..."
The prisoner's brain regained consciousness, and he couldn't bear it anymore. He never wanted to experience that hellish sensation again.
"It's better to confess early, so you won't have to suffer so much. Just tell the truth."
The prisoner didn't immediately confess, just kept panting heavily. Air was precious to him now.
"Untie him!"
The interrogator wasn't in a hurry now; the prisoner's psychological defenses had been broken.
The prisoner closed his eyes, trying to adjust his breathing, gradually recovering.
The cloaked man, who had been "observing" the execution process, approached.
"This time, you'd better confess honestly. If there's even a slight falsehood in your testimony, I'll detect it immediately. Then..."
He pointed to the interrogator nearby.
"This gentleman will let you enjoy the service again. So, be honest. I'm actually looking forward to you lying. That way, I can enjoy the splendid performance again. Hahaha!"
His maniacal laughter echoed in the interrogation room.
...
In the temporary command post located in the central area of the town, several officers, including Samal, were gathered, discussing the new intelligence obtained from the prisoner.
The cloaked man who had assisted the interrogator in the dungeon was speaking.
"Lord Samal, I believe now is the best time to attack. While the royalist army's main force has not yet headed south, we should seize the opportunity to take Thorn Fortress."
"After capturing the fortress, even if we don't engage in battles during the upcoming winter, we will still have a significant advantage in the following spring."
Samal rested his chin on his hand, silently watching the cloaked man's performance.
He had no good feelings for this strange person in front of him, for one reason only: he was a wizard.
The Duke Giles' forces had wizards in their service—or assisting them, and there were quite a few of them. This was no secret among the rebels' top brass.
The inclusion of this mysterious power was one of the important reasons why the Duke decided to rebel.
When the Duke publicly revealed the existence of wizards under his command to his trusted confidants and key subordinates, many thought it was a fantasy.
But the miraculous abilities displayed by those people quickly made everyone believe in their identity and wholeheartedly accept them. The addition of wizards was indeed a great help to their side.
As for the interference of the church's power? Through generations of silent arrangements, the upper echelons of the Southern Church were already under the control of the Giles family's people. Even if they were to break with the headquarters of the church, it would be possible, provided that the Duke had the strength to counterbalance the headquarters of the church.
Although it was not yet possible to openly break with the headquarters of the church, it was easy to conceal the existence of the wizards.
However, considering the traditional image of wizards, many generals still harbored reservations about this group, and Samal was one of them.
He was quite annoyed now. This wizard, who had suddenly appeared in the army with the Duke's order some time ago, claimed to be there to assist him.
But he soon discovered that the wizard was constantly trying to replace him in controlling the army or trying to sideline him.
Fortunately, he had a strong wrist himself and firmly held onto his power, not letting this insidious guy succeed.
In his opinion, this wizard was very ambitious. Clearly, he knew nothing about military affairs, yet he repeatedly urged him to attack Thorn Fortress.
Well! That's Thorn Fortress, the number one fortress in the south, the existence on which the Dodge family's generations had relied to establish their rule.
Samal considered himself quite "daring," but he hadn't gone mad enough to take Thorn Fortress with the troops he had.
So he made up his mind that, at this stage, he would just keep an eye on the garrison of the fortress. When the Duke had pacified those troublemakers in the south, he would lead the main force to join him before making any plans.
He had repeatedly rejected the wizard's suggestions before. Perhaps the other party possessed mysterious power, but he was a novice in military matters.
The rather resentful wizard had displayed his power a few days ago.
He cast a spell on several scouts, who were only wearing light leather armor that did not affect their mobility. However, under the influence of the mysterious power, they unexpectedly gained defense comparable to plate armor.
"Send them further north into the enemy's alert zone, capture a few tongues, and if we can interrogate them to find out if the garrison in the fortress is inadequate, we'll attack!"
The incident of the royal capital's granary catching fire had already spread in the southern army. The probability was high that they were unable to send troops south, which was why the wizard was so confident.
"Good! If the enemy's strength is really reduced to a certain extent, we will attack."
That's how Samal had agreed at the time.
Now, the intelligence had been obtained. There were only a few thousand troops inside the fortress, and the wizard claimed that under his magic, all lies were exposed, and the intelligence was one hundred percent true.
So, should he attack or not?
(End of the Chapter)
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