Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: War on Terror (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What is the most frightening situation for a person driven into a corner?
It is when the person they trusted abandons them.
Because after barely enduring extreme situations by trusting each other, nothing hurts more than getting stabbed in the back by one of your own.
"What nonsense is that! Lieutenant Colonel Rielson is not the kind of man who would betray us..."
"Do I have any reason to lie to you lot? Rielson abandoned you."
The prisoners tied to their chairs screamed at me in fury.
If they weren't bound, they looked ready to grab me by the collar.
"Shut your damn mouth! Lieutenant Colonel Rielson would never betray us! You think we're going to fall for your bullshit?!"
"Even under torture, they're resisting this fiercely. Impressive."
"Shut your bullshit and just kill us."
What's the point of killing them when we haven't even extracted any information?
Dead men tell no tales.
And they were already starting to waver.
Whether from fear of torture, the risk of dying here, or the news that their leader Rielson had betrayed them—I couldn't say.
If I were a psychologist, I might have analyzed why they were starting to shake.
For a soldier, such trivialities didn't matter.
"Rielson confessed everything three days ago. In return, our Empire is rewarding him handsomely for providing all the information he knew."
"What bullshit."
"Rielson has been transferred to a camp for senior officers. There, he's provided with soft beds, delicious meals, and liquor. After spending about a week there, he'll receive support to start a new life in the Empire."
This was all a complete lie.
Rielson hadn't cracked even after repeated torture—he'd been infuriatingly tight-lipped.
But these Ortz Kingdom spies, stuck rotting in here, had no way of knowing the truth.
Their rational judgment must have been clouded by the torture as well...
"So, even after all this, if you refuse to talk... there's nothing we can do."
I turned my gaze toward the guards.
I didn't even issue a verbal order.
The moment I drew my hand across my throat, they began untying the prisoners from their chairs and preparing to drag them away.
"Aaaagh, spare me!"
"I don't want to die!"
After enduring torture and hearing that even their mental pillar, Rielson, had betrayed them...
They couldn't possibly stay sane.
"They're worthless scum not even worth keeping alive. Execute them."
"No execution order has been issued for them yet, sir..."
"Execute them. I'll take responsibility. Isn't it a waste to feed flour to trash like that?"
With those words, I signaled Lieutenant Lina with my eyes.
Lina picked up on my cue and played along.
"Major, these men infiltrated our Empire with the intent to overthrow its social foundations."
"True, but aren't they just the grunts? It'd be better to kill them quickly and cut down on resource waste."
At my words, the faces of the Ortz Kingdom prisoners drained of color.
No hatred or anger showed—just the terror of being discarded like trash.
To them, I must have looked utterly terrifying.
"These scum tried to unleash a horrific catastrophe on the Empire. They must go through a formal trial and be executed in the most gruesome manner possible, in front of everyone in the public square."
"You're right. It's too merciful to quietly shoot them here—their crimes are far too grave for that."
I went to each prisoner one by one, describing in vivid detail examples of gruesome execution methods.
The bound men trembled violently at my words.
One even pissed himself.
The human imagination is truly remarkable.
To make someone wet themselves with fear alone.
Now that I'd sufficiently backed them into a corner, it was time to offer a way out.
"But there's no guarantee everything Rielson said is true. So, before we hand you over for a formal trial, if you provide information useful to us..."
I deliberately trailed off.
Locking eyes with each one, I declared:
"We'll help you start a new life in the Empire."
"Shut your damn mouth! We serve the Ortz Kingdom..."
"Now that Rielson has betrayed you, the Ortz Kingdom will treat you as traitors just the same. You don't seriously think you'll be safe if you return home, do you?"
"Shut your damn..."
If they were in a state to think rationally...
They would have spotted the holes in my words.
But prolonged confinement, fear of death, and the physical and mental exhaustion from the recent torture had dulled their judgment.
"Speak honestly, and we'll support you in starting a new life in the Empire—and get you out of this moldy cell right now."
"...... Understood."
His tone had turned polite.
Probably because we were holding knives to their throats and threatening them.
Evidently, good manners had been drilled into their heads properly.
Our ancestors even left a saying that foreigners who didn't speak Korean could quickly learn etiquette after a taste of the rod...
Very reliable indeed.
"Good. So, what was your objective in infiltrating the Empire?"
"We planted bombs throughout Salzburg City and planned to assassinate key figures like the mayor, city council members, officers, and administrators. Then, we intended to incite riots across the entire Empire."
"Even if you sparked riots across the Empire, what benefit would the Ortz Kingdom gain? Is there more you know?"
"Grunts like us don't know the details! I swear! Really, we know nothing, nothing at all!"
Even a dry rag yields water if you wring it hard enough.
But there was no guarantee these guys would spill everything easily...
"Guard."
"Yes, Major."
"Go downstairs and fetch some of those old torture tools from the witch hunts. These friends seem to get excited under torture—like it's their kink or something."
"Yes, sir."
At the mention of bringing torture devices, the one who'd pissed himself reacted.
"We were going to spark riots to sow chaos in the Empire, then attack and annex the Heinrich Province into the Ortz Kingdom! They promised each of us fifty million marks if the Kingdom achieved victory!"
The other spies shot cold glares at the one who'd spilled.
From their reactions, this was undoubtedly the truth.
"They must think the Empire is some neighborhood punching bag."
"Good. So, under whom did Rielson and you serve?"
Once one started talking, the rest spilled like a dam bursting, pouring out everything they knew.
As expected, the first is the hardest; the second is a breeze.
In any case, we'd successfully extracted plenty of information from them...
"Isn't there a man named William among them?"
"Yes, there is."
"During the transfer, give that one a subtle chance to escape."
"You're saying to release a prisoner?"
"I've planted disinformation in that one."
Planting false info in a prisoner and releasing them.
It's a common tactic even in modern warfare.
Testimonies from their own soldiers who escaped POW camps carry high credibility, making it an effective method.
"Understood. But we'll need permission from the camp commandant..."
"I'll get it myself."
"We'll prepare accordingly."
That night, one Ortz Kingdom prisoner escaped from this POW camp.
Sergeant Noah of the Ortz Kingdom Intelligence Command.
He hadn't given up hope on escape.
The reason was simple.
Why would anyone stay when there was no guarantee that damned Imperial Major would keep his word?
Escaping on his own and returning home would earn him hero's treatment...
'And I've got important information.'
The news that Lieutenant Colonel Rielson had betrayed the Kingdom.
The Colonel held a fairly high position in Intelligence Command.
If he wanted, he could expose the entire spy network against the Empire in an instant.
If Noah returned and helped prevent that even a little...?
The Kingdom would surely reward him handsomely.
"Even those damned guards are a bit lax tonight..."
It was a shame he couldn't take his comrades.
But in such situations, a spy had to escape alone first and survive.
Fleeing with the best of the 36 Stratagems to deliver valuable intel to the Kingdom—that was a spy's duty.
This wasn't some selfish desire to save only himself.
At least, that's what he told himself.
"I've got to run now."
Seizing a moment when the guards' watch slackened, he crouched low and crept forward carefully.
Slowly, ever so slowly.
In truth, the escort guards saw him fleeing...
'Pretend not to notice one escaping prisoner.'
They'd received orders, so they turned a blind eye.
Sergeant Noah thus bolted straight from the camp to a nearby military unit in the homeland.
"Who's in charge here?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Tomsen."
"I'm Sergeant Noah from Intelligence Command. Please deliver this letter to Intelligence Command via the Colonel as quickly as possible."
And so, the false information held by Sergeant Noah swiftly made its way up to Ortz Kingdom Intelligence Command.