"Come on, choose."
In a somewhat dilapidated inn room, Riezel looked calmly at the pile of Oasis Knights stacked atop one another like a human pyramid before him.
Meanwhile, the group of Oasis Knights, still twitching from the electric shocks they had received, remained silent for a long time, until someone finally spoke up.
"No wonder you're the so-called criminal who snatched a forbidden item right under the noses of so many mercenary groups and underground forces... You sure talk big..."
Unsurprisingly, the speaker was none other than the captain who had been leading the Oasis Knights.
Even though his wounds were far from healed—the vicious gash across his torso still sizzled with fresh blood, leaving his face pale—he still had the energy to mock Riezel when he looked at him.
"If you've really got the guts, then go to the City Hall and face our City Lord."
"If you can still talk like this in front of our Lord Sword Saint, then I, Bordo, will truly be impressed."
"Too bad, I doubt you'd dare."
Speaking mockingly, the Oasis Knight Captain who had introduced himself as Bordo let out a scornful laugh, clearly thinking Riezel was bluffing.
What was the City Hall?
It was the heart of Sinielle—the residence of the City Lord, the administrative center that governed the entire city, and the official organization where countless powerful individuals and officials gathered.
Not only did it house Oasis Knights who served directly under the City Lord, but it was also home to the four great knightly orders, each numbering over a thousand members.
While most of them were stationed throughout Sinielle—guarding the city gates and walls, patrolling important sites, or manning the district branches—hundreds of knight captains still remained within the City Hall itself, keeping a watchful guard.
To confront such an important place, even if all the local underground organizations joined forces, it would still be impossible to take the City Hall, let alone for a mere outsider.
More importantly, the City Hall was also the residence of the city's most powerful and terrifying figure—the City Lord, who was in the realm of Sword Saint.
What were Sword Saints?
Sword Saints were the strongest swordsmen on the Akasha Continent—the highest-ranked of warriors.
Even among the four great countries, Jinas had only seven Sword Saints, and Reiburg had only nine.
Given that, Sword Saints were far beyond what ordinary people could compare to.
In some smaller countries, even the strongest swordsman might be nothing more than a slightly more seasoned Sword Master.
If a Sword Saint were to emerge in such a country, it would instantly draw the attention of the great powers. Even if they did not feel threatened, they would still treat that country with utmost caution.
It was precisely because Sinielle had a Sword Saint that it could survive between the pressures of Jinas and Reiburg, maintaining its autonomy.
In the eyes of the local people, the City Lord was a god-like existence—an invincible figure.
Especially for the Oasis Knights who served directly under him—they knew better than anyone just how terrifying Sword Saints truly were, so they had always revered the City Lord as if he were a god.
And now, Riezel had said, right in front of them, that he would break into the City Hall and confront the City Lord face-to-face?
To Bordo, that was nothing but a laughable and foolish claim.
"So, you're saying you won't tell me anything at all?"
Speaking in an offhand manner, Riezel withdrew his gaze from Bordo and the others, acting as if he had not noticed Bordo's contempt and mockery while toying with an hourglass-shaped item resembling a scale, which he had taken from the Oasis Knights.
It was the magic item that had interfered with the functioning of his magic earlier—its effect was rather peculiar, sparking some curiosity in Riezel.
If not for the fact that its interference was caused by a spread of fine sand particles across the area—which could be dispelled simply by blowing them away, thereby restoring magic—then when the Oasis Knights had bombarded him with those so-called magic shells, Riezel would not have been able to activate Force Sanctuary so smoothly to defend himself.
For that reason, Riezel could not help but play with it, his expression somewhat distracted, as if he did not even take the Oasis Knights seriously—an attitude that made them burn with anger.
"For a criminal like you, we have nothing to say." Bordo said, his tone was icy.
"Alright." Riezel nodded unexpectedly in agreement. "I wasn't planning on using Control Amnesia, a magic spell that could damage the brain, on you... But since you're so eager to embrace death, I'd be doing the name 'criminal' a disservice if I didn't."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the Oasis Knights changed instantly.
Control Amnesia?
A magic that could manipulate memories?
He could use such a rare magic spell from the Interference System?
"If you've got the guts, then just kill us!" Bordo roared in defiance.
Ignoring the hollow bravado, Riezel tossed the hourglass-shaped item to Lizbeth, then reached out and pressed his hand onto Bordo's head.
"Touch of Undeath."
Bordo had just begun to resist when Riezel unleashed the magic that inflicted abnormal status on anyone he touched.
"!!!"
Bordo's entire body instantly stiffened.
Not only did all his strength vanish, but it also felt as if he had been electrocuted again—frozen in place, unable to move a single muscle.
Under the effect of Touch of Undeath, Bordo was paralyzed.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
"Bastard!"
Seeing their captain's condition, the remaining Oasis Knights shouted in alarm, some even hurling curses at Riezel.
"What did you do to the captain?!"
"Let go of the captain!"
"Damned criminal!"
Riezel ignored their angry cries and, keeping his hand firmly pressed on the immobilized Bordo's head, cast another magic spell.
"Control Amnesia."
As the magic activated, Riezel's consciousness began to delve into Bordo's mindscape.
He first skimmed through Bordo's past experiences and found that this man had actually once been quite an upright and honorable knight.
From childhood, because underground forces had persecuted his family, he had dreamed of becoming an Oasis Knight, serving the City Hall, striking down crime, eliminating evil, and allowing the people of Sinielle to live peaceful lives.
After joining the City Hall, through hard work and unwavering conviction, he became a Sword Master at the age of thirty-three, receiving the Sword Master Medal.
At thirty-five, thanks to his great contributions, he was granted a Special Swordsmanship by the City Lord.
After three years of dedicated practice, he finally became one of the expert Sword Masters at thirty-eight, assigned as the Captain of an Oasis Knight Squad, earning the deep trust of the City Lord.
Now, just past forty-two, Bordo had already risen to become one of the top-ranking Oasis Knights. Among the Oasis Knights, his strength easily ranked in the top five—and across all of Sinielle, he stood firmly within the top ten.
Although Riezel had easily defeated Bordo—and even the other Oasis Knights who fought alongside him were swiftly crushed—that was only because their opponent was Riezel. If it had been someone else, even Albert, reputed to be the best swordsman just below the Sword Saint, taking Bordo down would have been far from easy.
Thanks to that, Bordo was quite famous in Sinielle.
He was on the blacklist of many underground organizations—either regarded as a thorn in their side or deeply feared by lawless individuals—and enjoyed high popularity among the common people.
No one knew how many crimes he had eradicated or how many citizens he had saved.
One could say that Bordo was the very image of a Knight of the Round Table in Sinielle—honorable and upright all his life, to the point where many believed he had a strong chance of reaching the realm of Sword Saint in the future.
'Well, damn, turns out you're actually a righteous guy, huh?'
Riezel found himself holding a bit more respect for Bordo.
'Guess I'll spare your life, then.'
Knowing Bordo's true character, Riezel began moving more carefully within Bordo's mindscape.
Control Amnesia did not always damage the mind—it only had the potential to.
If the caster disregarded the target's well-being, recklessly delving deep, flipping through memories at will, and prying without restraint, such a violent lock-picking approach would inevitably damage the mind.
However, if the caster exercised care and caution, using a gentler method to browse the target's memories and doing their best to avoid harming them with magic, the result would be entirely different.
Even though this would reduce efficiency, make it harder to find the desired information, and consume more magical energy, with Riezel's mind recovery speed, such a cost was negligible.
In the end, Riezel carefully sifted through Bordo's memories, focusing more on the most recent events.
At last, Riezel found the information he was looking for.
"You don't actually know much, huh?"
Riezel released his hand from Bordo's head and curled his lip at him.
"Huff… Huff…"
Bordo collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily, his head unbearably heavy and spinning with dizziness.
"Captain!"
"What did you do?!"
"Let us go!"
As the Oasis Knights began shouting one after another again, Riezel ignored them, lost in thought.
Just as he had said, Bordo didn't know much.
He had only received intelligence from the City Hall stating that a large-scale private brawl had broken out in the Warehouse District and that someone had touched upon a forbidden matter.
According to the intelligence department, it seemed that someone had obtained an item originating from a forbidden ancient ruin, sparking a bloody struggle over it.
When this information was reported to the City Lord, he flew into a rage and immediately ordered Bordo to lead his squad, which consisted of a hundred knights, to punish the person who had come into contact with the forbidden item.
And the order given by the City Lord was dead or alive—it made no difference.
For that reason, the Oasis Knights attacked on sight, acting with brutality and decisiveness, showing no intention of negotiating.
"City Lord, huh..." Riezel muttered flatly.
For nothing more than an unproven crime of taboo, the City Lord had issued a dead-or-alive order without the slightest hesitation.
Just as the rumors said, the City Lord was extremely sensitive to the matter.
In that case...
"Guess I'll pay this City Hall a visit."
===
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