"It's none of our business! Help! Let us go!"
"We are subjects of the empire! What are you doing?!"
"Damn it! We know nothing about the Revolutionary Army! We are innocent!"
"Wuwu… Please let me go! I know nothing!"
…
In a village in the eastern part of the empire, hundreds of villagers were bound and thrown to the ground, surrounded by a group of fierce imperial soldiers. The villagers were shouting and pleading, their faces filled with fear and panic.
The imperial soldiers surrounding the villagers were all dressed in bright red uniforms resembling flames, each carrying a flamethrower on their backs. They were the empire's special forces, the Incineration Squad, responsible for carrying out the empire's "cleansing" tasks.
Whether the villagers were shouting or pleading, the soldiers remained unmoved, their faces filled with bloodthirsty and cruel smiles, as if they could already see these foolish commoners turning to ashes.
"Hehehe, innocent? So what?!"
"Someone reported that you supported the Revolutionary Army and that there are spies in your village. As subjects of the empire, you dare to betray it? That alone is enough to make you die without a burial place!"
This was a middle-aged man with a beard and a fierce expression, the captain of the Incineration Squad. His eyes were filled with coldness and disdain as he looked at the villagers on the ground.
"What? Supporting the Revolutionary Army? Spies? No, sir, we really didn't do that!"
"Sir, please let us go! We really know nothing!"
"Hmph! You say there are spies in our village? Where's the evidence? Where is it?"
"Yes, yes! Without evidence, you can't do anything to us! Let us go!"
…
Some of the timid villagers were already scared to death, while the smarter ones tried to argue back. However, no matter how the villagers pleaded or protested, the man remained unmoved.
"Captain, all the villagers are here!"
At this moment, a soldier ran over, saluted the man, and reported.
"Hmph, a bunch of foolish commoners. Even without evidence, so what? The empire won't feel any loss even if more of you die. On the contrary, eliminating spies of the Revolutionary Army would be a great achievement!"
With a cold laugh in his heart, the man, who had already slaughtered countless innocent lives, felt no sympathy for these villagers.
"Bols, clean them all up using the Teigus granted to you by the empire!"
The man barked at a tall soldier wearing a strange mask standing beside him.
"Ah? Captain, I can't, I can't…"
Unlike the other fierce soldiers, this man appeared extremely timid and shy, completely opposite to his large build. He kept waving his hands and shaking his head, trying to refuse.
"Huh? Bols, are you disobeying orders and betraying the empire?"
With a cold smile and a chilling gaze, the man questioned the soldier named Bols.
Logically, as the only Teigus wielder in the entire Incineration Squad, such a simple and lowly task of slaughtering innocents shouldn't fall to him. However, the man was filled with endless jealousy towards this soldier—
Why does someone of lower status than me get recognized by the Teigus while I don't? Why does someone who wears a strange mask and looks ugly have such a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter?!
Jealousy, yes, not only the captain but almost everyone in the Incineration Squad deeply envied this soldier named Bols. After all, he possessed so much happiness that they didn't have!
Although he had become an Teigus wielder, due to his kind and weak nature, Bols had always been the target of everyone's dissatisfaction.
"No, Captain, absolutely not!"
Hearing the man accuse him of betraying the empire, Bols immediately panicked. His wife and daughter were still living in the capital. If he were to be unjustly accused of such a crime, not only would he have no way out, but their fate would also be tragic!
"Is that so? Then why aren't you acting?"
With a nonchalant tone, the man felt a sense of vengeful pleasure, thinking to himself, "So what if you're an Teigus wielder? So what if you have a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter, and a happy family? You're still just a pawn under my control, and you'll do whatever I tell you to do!"
"But, Captain, there are many innocent people here. Even if there are spies, what about the elderly and children?"
Not daring to disobey the man's orders, but seeing so many innocent villagers, Bols felt extremely reluctant and tried to make a final effort.
"Hmph, Bols, you can choose not to follow orders, but you know the consequences of betraying the empire."
With a slight smirk, the man continued, knowing full well Bols's weakness, as did almost everyone in the Incineration Squad:
"Don't worry, if that happens, I'll take care of your wife and daughter in the capital. After all, we're old acquaintances, hahahaha…"
"Yes, yes, Bols, don't worry, we'll take care of them too, hahaha…"
Not only the bearded man, but all the soldiers laughed heartily, as bullying this timid giant was a daily source of amusement for them!
Of course, they weren't just joking to scare him. If something really happened to Bols, then his beautiful wife and daughter, hehe…
"I'll do it! Captain, I'll do it!"
Clenching his fists until they creaked, Bols's face under the mask was filled with endless anger, but in the end, he yielded.
Although he was extremely dissatisfied with these cruel and merciless imperial soldiers, and although he felt immense sympathy for these innocent villagers, for the sake of his wife and daughter living well in this hellish world, he was willing to do anything, even if it meant staining his hands with sin!
Watching Bols turn and walk towards the terrified villagers, the man and the soldiers showed no sympathy, their faces twisted with perverse smiles…
"I'm sorry, villagers!"
With a look of extreme pain on his face under the mask, but thinking of his wife and daughter waiting for him to return, Bols gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, and raised his gun-shaped flamethrower Teigus, aiming it at the villagers below, who were filled with fear, hatred, and despair.
"I will be punished for this, someday I will be punished…"
In his heart, he kept muttering, and as he pulled the trigger, Bols knew that from now on, he would carry another layer of sin on his shoulders. Someday, he would face retribution!
A bright red flame shot out from Bols's hand, and in an instant, the hundreds of villagers below were engulfed!
"Ah, help! Help! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"Damn imperial soldiers, you will face retribution! You will!"
"I curse you! Even in death, I curse you! Ah…"
"Hahaha, foolish peasants, die! Die! Hahaha…"
…
The agonizing screams, the venomous curses, and the insane, twisted laughter of the imperial soldiers painted a hellish scene of carnage!
"Hahaha, well done, Bols, you are the empire's most loyal dog! Hahaha…"
Watching Bols walk back silently, even though the man wore a mask, he could imagine the face full of guilt and pain, and he felt a surge of satisfaction, laughing heartily.
"Mission accomplished, let's go!"
Looking at the villagers who had been reduced to ashes, the man waved his hand and prepared to leave.
But just then—
A sentry soldier ran over, his face filled with terror, as if he had seen something horrifying:
"Captain, it's bad! Death… Death and the devil are here!"