Compared to Suzaku, whose heart was as firm as iron and who focused solely on her enemy, the old chieftain of the Native became increasingly flustered amidst the cries of his tribesmen.
Watching his once peaceful and tranquil settlement turn into a devastated ruin, the place he had fought and dedicated his life to, transformed into such a state in the blink of an eye, the tragic and desolate feelings in his heart were likely known to no one.
The gleaming battle halberd blade advanced fiercely, attacking without defense, inheriting Rin's aggressive tactic of forcing the enemy to save themselves, fully utilizing the halberd's advantages as a long weapon and its flexible, unpredictable techniques. This fighting style, even more insane than the ferocious Danger Beast in the snowy mountains, with both skill and strength, made it difficult for the old Native chieftain, who had fought a lifetime in life-and-death battles, to adapt. With one missed strike, Suzaku cleanly severed his right arm holding the knife.
"Imperial people! Do you truly intend to completely annihilate my people?!"
Clutching his wound with his left hand, the old Native chieftain, knowing that nothing could be done, cried out mournfully to Suzaku, who held the heavenly halberd.
"From the day you Northern Nomads began to harass the Empire a thousand years ago, you should have been prepared for the Empire's destruction. You are a tribe of jackals that have multiplied to this day by gnawing on the flesh and blood of the Imperial people. The Seventh Expeditionary Force is here to bring permanent peace to the people of the Empire's northern regions."
"We only wanted to survive; we never thought of destroying the Empire..."
"From the very beginning, you should not have set foot in the Empire's territory! The weak do not grovel on the ground as the weak, yet you wantonly steal what belongs to the strong. Now that you face destruction, you still speak such childish words—it's too unsightly!"
Suzaku's heavenly halberd danced in the air, like a silver dragon emerging from the sea. The weapon instantly pierced through the old man, who had fought his entire life, and hoisted him into the air. Suzaku, looking on coldly, shook her weapon, and its indestructible blade instantly tore the body in half.
She flicked off the blood staining her cherished weapon and returned to her warhorse. The eradication of this settlement should be in its final stages. Suzaku took out the map with pinpoint coordinates drawn by Lin, confirmed her position, and prepared to head to the next target.
"Hmm? What's going on?!"
Just as Suzaku was confirming her marching position alone, the wails of swords entering flesh from the sky grew fainter. It wasn't that Suzaku enjoyed such sounds, but it meant the warriors had stopped their slaughter. If the settlement had been completely massacred, that would be one thing, but the sounds of weeping and wailing grew increasingly clear.
"What's happening?! Why did you stop?!"
Suzaku demanded, shouting in anger. The cavalry, who had finished clearing the area not far from her, quickly gathered, but they were also puzzled and couldn't answer. Just then, a warrior from the Seventh Expeditionary Force galloped over from the direction of the cries and reported the situation to Suzaku.
In the largest chieftain's tent at the center of the settlement, an Imperial woman sat leaning against the tent's railing, nursing the infant in her arms. The physical characteristics distinguishing Imperial women from Imperial people and Northern Nomads were quite evident, easily discernible at a glance. The child in her arms was clearly a Northern Region Outsider's. Her Northern Region Outsider husband, with a broken leg, also leaned against the wall, bleeding and struggling to get up to protect his wife.
Inside this tent were many other Imperial women and children, more mixed-blood children from both regions, and elderly members of the Northern Nomads, all standing helplessly.
"General! I beg you, I was once a villager from the northern part of the Empire. I have not forgotten the glory and humiliation between the Empire and the Northern Region over a thousand years. I have borne children for the Northern Nomads, I am guilty. You may kill or torture me as you see fit, General, but please, spare my children!" A former Imperial woman desperately clung to the leg of the First Myriad Cavalry's Vice Cavalry Commander, wailing and pleading. His right hand, encased in black gauntlets, held a battle sword aloft but hesitated, unable to strike down.
As the massacre progressed, looking at these last Northern Region Outsider civilians, most were combinations of abducted Imperial women and children and Northern Nomads. When the Northern Nomads invaded Imperial territory, they never forgot to abduct Imperial women. After being taken to the Northern Region for a long time, these women gradually developed a sense of reliance there, settling down, taking root, and raising offspring for the Northern Nomads.
Perhaps they never imagined that the Empire's army would one day reach here.
In the vast, boundless sky, there was nothing but snow and night. What else could explain such evil? The warrior beneath the black armor softened. She waved her hand, ordering the soldiers surrounding the area to stop their slaughter... "Xuela! What are you doing? Why did you stop?!"
Suzaku, leading the gathered black-armored cavalry, quickly arrived, stepping forward and directly dismounting from her horse. She walked towards her subordinate, questioning her, while her heavenly halberd swiftly struck towards the pleading Imperial woman without a moment's hesitation.
"Clang!"
The Seventh Expeditionary Force's specially made refined steel knight's sword parried Suzaku's swinging heavenly halberd. The Vice Cavalry Commander holding the sword also staggered back five steps before regaining her footing due to the unresolvable impact.
Looking at this subordinate, whom she usually held in high regard, her reaction at this moment made Suzaku's voice instantly turn cold.
"Xuela, do you understand what you are doing?"
The questioned Vice Cavalry Commander, Xuela, directly removed her helmet. Her long golden hair, coiled within the helmet, cascaded down to her waist. This was a very beautiful blonde girl, the top graduate among the last batch of Imperial Military Academy officers recruited by the Seventh Expeditionary Force before the expedition. By virtue of her own strength, she directly secured the position of First Vice Cavalry Commander. However, the reason why the First Myriad Cavalry was not directly handed over to her, and instead Suzaku was to lead everything during the war, was because her sense of responsibility as a soldier was too strong.
It was also she who spoke up during the operational meeting last night when Lin issued the order for slaughter.
"To exterminate the Northern Nomads and bring eternal peace to the people of the Empire's northern regions, I can do that. But to ask me to kill innocent Imperial people, as an Imperial soldier, I cannot do it!"
"There are no innocents in war, and no mercy! Their submission to the jackal-like tribe of the Northern Region, bearing children for them, and continuing their lineage is a crime that cannot be redeemed even by ten thousand deaths!"
Suzaku also took off her helmet. Her long hair, black as night, danced wildly in the wind, half-obscuring her beautiful face. Her expression was solemn as she said:
"Xuela, you are to issue my order now: kill all the 'Native' here. We still have a mission to complete quickly; we don't have time to delay here."
But Xuela, this strong Imperial female soldier, still held her head high, showing no sign of regret or compromise.
"Myriarch, if they are sinners, then shouldn't we, the soldiers who failed to guard the Empire's defenses, be the first to have sinned? They were all abducted during the invasion four years ago. You, who rushed to the scene with the Legion Commander, should know very well what that war was like, shouldn't you?"
At this, Suzaku's beautiful face turned ashen. Her five fingers, gripping the shaft of her heavenly halberd, were pale from excessive force. She slightly pushed the mechanism of her heavenly halberd, and the three-meter-long weapon retracted into a one-foot-long portable state, returning to the slot at her waist.
Four years ago, the Northern Region defense line was ultimately breached, leading to the large-scale invasion by the Northern Nomads. It was the Seventh Legion... Although the Seventh Legion at that time was still under the leadership of the former Legion Commander, and completely different from the current Seventh Expeditionary Force, the history of an army does not disappear with its reorganization and rebuilding. That war four years ago will forever be the Seventh Legion's shame.
"Although this is the evil consequence left by our predecessors, it is undoubtedly a debt the Seventh Legion owes to the Imperial people. Now, to ask me to raise a butcher's knife against my compatriots as if nothing happened, I cannot do it."
"Therefore, you pity them? You want to let them live."
"Exactly!"
Suzaku lowered her head, her wind-blown hair covering her face, making her expression unreadable. Perhaps she was looking at the pitiable and miserable Imperial women and children abducted by the Native, or perhaps she was scrutinizing the upright Xuela before her. At this moment, all the warriors of the First Myriad Cavalry were gathered around, watching their two commanders confront each other.
In truth, if Suzaku had simply given the order to "kill," the warriors of the First Myriad Cavalry would have unhesitatingly slaughtered all the old, weak, women, and children of these Native. Her current silence, however, kept the soldiers present from acting.
Finally, Suzaku lowered her head and sighed softly. Just when everyone thought the Myriarch's heart had been moved by compassion—
"Slash!"
Beyond anyone's vision, in an instant no one could react to or even clearly see, Suzaku, holding a longsword, pierced Xuela's heart! Blood splattered, staining Suzaku's armor.
"Although I don't understand how you passed the final military assessment... but, the three iron laws of the current Seventh Legion are: any who question, oppose, reject, or obstruct the transmission and execution of military orders shall be immediately executed on the spot during wartime, regardless of reason. Xuela, you who questioned and obstructed the Legion Commander's order, I sentence you to death..."
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