Chương 164: Chapter 161 - Difficult Decision

Edward's POV Once I killed the Tier-3 Rokan and the others were dealing with, the rest of the battle ended quickly. After that, I joined Garran and Varric to capture one Tier-3. Then, with the help of privates from Rowan's and the other squads, I captured the village head and another Tier-3, but we lost two soldiers in the process, while some privates were also injured. Rowan, Colin, and Aaron also killed the Tier-3 attacking them, but Colin and Aaron were severely injured. For now, I ignored them.

I might be compassionate, but not so much so that I would heal people who had been bullying my squad for one month. Especially when I was almost out of mana. I stood above the corpse of one Tier-3, taking some deep breaths to recover some of my mana. Just then, two privates from Rowan's squad dragged the village head to me. The village head was in a miserable situation right now. He had spoiled his pants and was crying nonstop, struggling against the privates. The privates stopped in front of me and saluted me.

The complete contrast in their attitude before and after this battle only irritated me. To make matters worse, the village head crawled to my feet and, holding them, started crying.

"Young hero, I did not know these animals would attack. I thought they were simple guards. You have to believe me. I did not know they were traitors. Please, please let me live. I will spend my whole life serving you." Looking at the frown on my face and my clenched fist, the privates dragged the village head back and put a knife to his neck.

"Sir, please give us the order," one of the privates said, asking me if I wanted them to end the village head. I looked at the village head and then at the privates, and started to daydream of killing not just the village head but these two as well, for the crime of not allowing me some free time to clear my head. My thoughts were disturbed by Barry's voice from behind.

"Haha, cripple, did I tell you I would end you?" Barry walked out of the house shirtless, his chest still covered in herbs, and lazily walked toward the village head, smiling ear to ear as if he was the one who had done all the fighting.

"Young hero, don't trust him. He is a thief. He barged into my house a few days back." Then, as something clicked in the village head's mind, he continued, "He was the one who brought these guards to me and threatened my family if I didn't accept them." It looked like, in his nervousness and fear of death, the village head forgot that I had already told them Barry was from my squad.

Honestly, looking at Barry walking half-naked with a rugged face, if I did not have the document of approval from the captain and lieutenant, it would be almost impossible for me to prove that Barry was a soldier and not some thug. Listening to the village head's words, Barry started laughing out loud, clutching his chest and stomach at the same time.

"Barry!" I shouted, shutting Barry up. By this time, all the other soldiers were surrounding us, with Rowan, Colin, and Aaron also joined in barely stand, supporting each other. Barry's entry had caught Colin's squad by surprise. Both Colin and Owen stared at him with their eyes wide open, as if they had seen a ghost. After asking Aaron to hold Colin, Rowan approached me with tentative steps. The arrogant noble demeanor was completely lost. He was not even able to meet my eyes.

"Sergeant Edward," Rowan started in a low voice, "why did you keep your soldier hidden? Did the captain suspect something? Or was it your plan?" Rowan asked. I smiled inwardly. From Rowan's perspective, it looked like the captain either suspected something or did not trust his leadership ability, which was why he had allowed me to hide one of my soldiers. If that was true, then it meant the captain had already suspected Rowan, and his career, maybe even his life, was over.

If I had been the one to request it, Rowan might still have had a chance to survive this.

"I cannot presume to know the captain's thought process. But he did approve Barry's placement," I gave him a vague answer. Then, without giving him a chance to speak, I looked at all the soldiers gathered.

"I am calling an end to the mission. I have credible information that a Blood Chief, who is at least Tier-4, is present in this region. The village head himself has been dealing with the Blood Chief and receiving benefits from the enemy kingdom."

"The Blood Chief has recently left the village. He should not return for the next few days. I do not know when he will return, or if he will even notice what we have done here, but I want to put as much distance as possible between him and us. We have vital information, and I do not want us to die before we deliver it to the captain. We leave in three hours."

"Privates, start packing. Keep everything light. We will use carriages for half the journey and run for the other half, with the aim of reducing the 20-day journey to 10 days. Two privates and Rokan, run to Sergeant Victor and Sergeant Caleb. Inform them of what happened here. We are going to search the village head's house, and I want all sergeants present as witnesses. I suspect we will find evidence of the village head's dealings with Frosthallow."

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Then I pointed at the prisoners we had captured. Clenching my fist and hardening my heart, I gave the order.

"Execute all Tier-1 prisoners." The order made me feel nauseous. Up until now, every human I had killed had been in combat, while defending myself. This was the first time I was ordering the execution of people who had already been captured and could no longer defend themselves. But it was a decision I had to make. I could not take them to the fort with us. They would only slow us down. I could not leave them here either.

The village did not have the ability to hold this many prisoners, and once the royal army left, they could harm the villagers.

"Tier-2s, Tier-3s, and the village head are coming with us. I want the captain and intelligence department to interrogate them," I continued. While Tier-1s were not important enough to bring to the fort, Tier-2s and Tier-3s could have vital information about Frosthallow's plans. And there were fewer of them, even including the village head. In a few minutes, I saw Victor and Caleb running at full pace toward us, surprise and horror visible on their faces.

But I could see a hint of relief on Caleb's face, probably proud of himself that he had stayed neutral during the whole power grab. And I was thankful for that as well. With Caleb and Victor staying neutral, I felt relieved that I did not have to worry about Rowan and the other squads turning on me. I did not think these sergeants would try to eliminate me, because that would turn them from incompetent soldiers into outright traitors.

But desperation and the possibility of losing their careers could make people make stupid decisions. This was why the presence of Caleb and Victor was so reassuring to me.

"Did Rokan inform you about what happened here?" I asked.

"Yes," Victor and Caleb nodded.

"Before we search the village head's house, I have a question. Since we came to the village, which squads were responsible for guarding the village gates?" I asked. At my question, Aaron, Rowan, and Colin tensed. They knew what I was getting at. The blame for what had happened today fell directly on the sergeants whose squads had been guarding the village entrance.

"It was mine and Sergeant Colin's duty most of the time," Aaron said in a low voice.

"But..."

"Please, I do not need you to explain anything to me. We will file our report and inform the captain what we have done and observed. I am just surprised that, as the royal army, we missed Tier-3s entering the village with complete sets of equipment." I ended the sentence sarcastically. There was no denying I was still mad at them. I would be a fool to miss this type of opportunity to let my anger out. We spent the next hour searching the village head's house.

The village head provided the locations where he kept his valuables and documents, but it turned out to be a waste of time. None of the locations he gave us contained any useful evidence. Whenever we pressed him, he started crying while maintaining that he was innocent. That was where Barry shined. Inside the village head's house, he was like a hound, listing all the possible places where the village head could have hidden his valuables.

At the end of the search, we found more than 100 gold coins from the Frosthallow kingdom, one talisman, and a few documents which appeared to be mercenary contracts with the sign of some noble house I had never seen. It was likely the fake seal of some noble. But I didn't have enough knowledge to distinguish between a real noble seal and a fake one. We collected everything as evidence and made our way out of the village head's house. But that did not end things. The village head had not been working alone.

From the documents we found, one contained the names of people who had been running errands for Frosthallow in his absence. These people included his only son and most of his brothers, and I was sure there were other villagers who had indirectly helped him as well.

But we did not have time to find everyone responsible, so I made one more difficult decision that day and executed all the males of the village head's family who had been involved with Frosthallow, leaving only the women and children below fourteen alive. In just one day, my hands were stained with the blood of civilians, maybe even with some innocent blood. While the village head was a manipulative and cunning person whom I would happily kill, the same could not be said for the others.

When a Tier-4 individual demands something from you, you do not survive by telling them no. Sadly, due to the dire nature of the situation and the limited amount of time available, I had to make these decisions. Worst of all, in front of the soldiers, I had to maintain my cold demeanor. Showing weakness here could affect the morale of my soldiers, which would not be good, seeing that we were about to make a journey that would require every last drop of their stamina.

Outside the village head's house, the whole village was gathered. I had asked some privates to bring everyone here. Taking a deep breath, I stabilized my thoughts.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming. I have grave news for everyone present here. The village head and his family have been found guilty of treason and working with the enemy kingdom of Frosthallow." My words caused all the noise to stop.

"As the leading sergeant of this mission, I have used my authority to capture the village head and execute the culprits from his family. Today, the royal army will leave the village, so we will not be taking over its administration. To ensure the village is not affected by the absence of the village head, I am appointing Halvar as acting village head. Once the town of Velker receives the report on what happened here, they will appoint a permanent village head."

My announcement of declaring Halvar acting village head had mixed reactions. While the Draknirs were happy, and even some other villagers looked happy, the richer population of the village had frowns on their faces. Halvar himself looked shocked by the announcement. After my short speech, I dismissed the villagers and turned to Halvar.

"I never knew there were good people in the army of butchers, but you have proved me wrong," Halvar said and started to kneel.

"For your effort to save the Draknirs and me, I will hold this village for Avalon until my last breath." I stopped Halvar from kneeling and took him to the side, where we could not be heard.

"Are you a fool? Who is asking you to die? If you have not heard, a Tier-4 is dwelling in these parts. Honestly, if the village head had not been actively trying to kill you and my squad, I would have had no problem with him dealing with Frosthallow."

"Your death will not solve anything. I made you acting village head so you could protect the village, not bring doom to it."

"B-but you are a soldier of the Avalon army," Halvar said, unable to believe what I had said.

"Yes, and it is my job to die for Avalon, not yours. You are a civilian trying to survive a fight between two large nations. My only request is that you remain neutral and let the armies do their job," I said. Halvar nodded vigorously. Then I clasped his hand.

"And take care of your people," I said before parting.