"Enough talking."
The cold voice of Mentesh rang out defiantly throughout the hall causing an immediate audible disappointment from one of the women present.
"Awww, and now things were getting interesting."
Assad quietly let out a small breath through his nose.
'At last. It seems like my secret is safe, for now.'
Mentesh deliberately stepped forward with his hands still clasped behind his back while scanning all the criminal prisoners in restraints with his piercing attention.
"Questioning has ceased; therefore, we will begin the next phase of our procedure."
The room fell silent almost immediately upon his command.
"First we will remove the blindfolds."
Instantly there was a moment of hesitation among the prisoners before removing blindfolds followed by an instant recoil from the brightness of their lighting.
"Damn, finally." said one.
"I could hardly breathe with this damn thing on."
"My eyes hurt like hell." said another.
The sound of complaints began to echo throughout the hall as everyone awaited their next instruction to be given.
"Take this moment to assess your surroundings."
The prisoners instinctively turned to observe their surroundings.
"At this moment, there are precisely one hundred criminals in attendance here; therefore, that is how many expendable lives I have in my possession."
A darkening expression quickly covered many faces while others remained quiet and emotionless.
"The Nami Lan Expedition will involve the participation of each and every one of you."
Mentesh began walking again, making his way forward.
"But this will not be done without knowledge of what will take place. You will be placed into groups of ten individuals. Each group will have a designated member of the Dark Division to oversee their actions."
Mentesh looked at Sanae, Mae Yongsun, and Geng Xuefeng briefly during this.
Mentesh stood quietly.
"I suggest that all of you work together, as there are no other options available to you except death in this arena."
The quietness in the large room continued until an inmate jumped to their feet in protest.
"This is all completely futile!"
His face displayed the intense anger he was feeling at the moment.
"You honestly think we are going to risk our lives for this filthy empire? I became a criminal for many reasons. Do you believe that a person such as myself, was simply born with evil tendencies? The Empire left me without any other option but to become a monster."
As the criminal was speaking, Mae Yongsun patiently placed his hand on one of his swords so he could begin to pull the sword from his sheaf, but after several seconds, he placed it back into the sheaf, with a small sigh after that.
The perpetrator abruptly stopped speaking. The group who had assembled to partake in this event shifted their attention back and forth with confusion.
The man blinked his eyes.
Soon half of the man body started splitting off from each other and eventually all of them collapsed onto the floor and subsequently blood sprayed out of the body halves, resembling a fountain.
All of the other criminals stayed dampened in place; not moving at all. Assad's eyes opened widely to reflect his lack of knowing what had just transpired in front of him
'What?!'
Mentesh's gaze shifted slightly towards the fallen criminal. He took a slow breath through his nose.
"Mae Yongsun. You didn't need to go that far."
His hand was still resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.
"I'm sorry, First Squad Commander." Mentesh's eyes lingered for a moment before he spoke again.
"But I guess I could let it go. You didn't even use any qi."
That one statement created an uncomfortable amount of tension that filled the room.
'He didn't even use qi?'
A few of the criminals were suddenly frozen in place. Assad had not moved a single muscle. He slowly shifted his gaze over to Mae Yongsun. The moment he did so, he felt a burst of recognition.
'He's the officer who kept coming into my cell when I was in prison.'
Assad assumed Mae Yongsun was just another officer. Then a completely new thought entered his mind.
'He's really, really strong...'
Assad's gaze moved back to the other commanders in the room.
'If he's this strong, how strong are the others?'