That's not how you use a witch!

Chapter 18 Confess and receive leniency; resist and receive severe punishment.

The registration of the surrendered soldiers took more than three days. They were temporarily settled on newly reclaimed wasteland, living in makeshift shacks they had built themselves.

The original organization was completely disrupted. Each defeated soldier had to stay in a designated area and was strictly prohibited from communicating or moving around without permission. The well-equipped militia was divided into three shifts, patrolling the various areas day and night. The cooks would bring hot porridge at mealtimes, which was also distributed according to the area. During this process, the militia was ordered to strictly prevent looting, and anyone involved would be directly deprived of their right to eat.

Ronan himself would occasionally take Maddie for a stroll, hoping to beat up a couple of troublemakers—however, under the above arrangements, the four thousand defeated soldiers were all extremely well-behaved, and there was not a single mutiny or fight in three days.

Meanwhile, the interrogation and conviction of the most heinous criminals are also being carried out concurrently.

Compared to the former, this process was much more turbulent—

"According to multiple accusations, during your time in the territory of Aovi, you condoned your soldiers' forced entry into civilian homes, arson, looting, and oppression of women and children, and even led the way in these acts yourself, far exceeding the limits of survival. The evidence of your crimes is conclusive and irrefutable. In accordance with the laws of the Thorn Territory, you are sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out one day from now."

"What? Who said that... Wait! You can't execute me! I'm a one-star knight, and my father is Marquis Wesker, the lord of Wesker Territory!"

In the office that had been used as a makeshift interrogation room, the knight, having received Ronan's verdict, roared and slammed his fist on the table.

Before he could make any further moves, his head was slammed onto the table by Medale behind him with one hand. A sharp sword was drawn with a clang and instantly pressed against the knight's neck.

The knight immediately broke out in a cold sweat and didn't dare to utter another word.

"I failed to put on a show again..." Ronan sighed silently.

"I'll reiterate: the moment you were captured, your identities were reduced to nothing. No matter your rank or background, you will pay the price for your actions. Believe me, my punishment will be swifter than your retribution."

Ronan gestured to the militiamen on duty to take the guy away, then expressionlessly picked up the list: "Next, number 34. Hurry up!"

"Sir, number 34 is me."

Taking a deep breath at the door, Howard walked shakily into the office.

If that night in Fulong Valley was unforgettable, he was now completely terrified.

God above, he had never seen such a trial, where knights and officers were punished the same as serfs for their crimes—in fact, to this day, most of those sentenced to death were officers or knights of various ranks!

But Ronan's interrogation was not a farce; on the contrary, it was very rigorous and meticulous.

First, he would conduct preliminary screening, compiling a preliminary list of suspects through inquiries during registration and cross-accusations among the defeated soldiers. Only the core criminals who were accused by multiple people, had a history of violence, and played a leading role would be sent for trial, without implicating the vast majority of unrelated or passively coerced individuals.

Ronan then divided the interrogations into three levels: those with minor offenses were directly classified in batches and exempted from interrogation; ordinary guilty soldiers were tried by the chief knight, while squad leaders, officers, and knights, regardless of their guilt or innocence, were personally interrogated by Ronan himself.

Throughout the process, they were isolated and not allowed to communicate in advance; all equipment or accessories that symbolized their identity were confiscated.

Compared to those serious offenders with irrefutable evidence who can't be exonerated no matter what, Howard was actually more uneasy at this moment.

Before stepping through that door, he had no idea whether he had been convicted or not; he was only told that confession would be met with leniency, while resistance would be met with severity.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Howard."

Ronan's face remained expressionless, neither angry nor pleased. "I remember you. We had a fairly pleasant conversation that night in Fulong Valley."

"I, I remember you too. We can never repay your kindness in our lifetime..."

Howard said anxiously, seeing Ronan's tense expression, wondering what he had said wrong, and became even more nervous.

As an outcast in his family, Howard was not good at horseback riding or sword fighting; instead, he preferred to immerse himself in the world of books and dreamed of becoming a diplomat. If it weren't for the rebel invasion, he probably would never have gone to the battlefield in his life.

The reason he had a relatively strong voice among the defeated soldiers was because all the soldiers who were better than him were dead, so he was forced to become a leader.

But will Ronan care about these things?

Although his interrogation process seemed rigorous, who knows who he specifically questioned, and whether their testimonies were embellished? Rather than leaving your fate in the hands of others, it's better to confess proactively!

"My lord! My crimes are undeniable, and I deeply repent. I only hope you can give me a chance to atone!"

Thinking of this, Howard gritted his teeth and said.

"So far, you have the best attitude."

Ronan laughed, as expected. "Then tell me, what crimes have you committed?"

"I, as a knight, failed to restrain the soldiers in my ranks, witnessing many atrocities they committed along the way and choosing to turn a blind eye. Also... I stole grain from farmers because I was too hungry, but left them no money, which is an insult to the knightly code and to the dignity of a nobleman..."

Huo Dewei poured out his explanations like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, looking like a student racking his brains to fill up an exam paper.

Seeing that he was sweating profusely from trying to recall something new, Ronan waved his hand.

"Actually, I have already investigated everything about you. Giving you the opportunity to explain is just to see if you are sincere. Congratulations, Mr. Howard, you have done better than others."

"Master, you are wise!"

Seeing this, Howard was delighted. "Then should I...?"

"You will still have to pay the price for your crimes. No matter how sincere your attitude is afterward, you cannot undo the harm you have done to those farmers."

Ronan dashed his hopes and continued, "Of course, you can pay this price with your labor, instead of the guillotine and the gallows. Or—if you can provide me with some useful information, such as the specifics of the rebellion, the rebels' troop deployment, and their combat movements, I might consider further reducing the price you have to pay."

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything I know!"

Howard organized his thoughts and described the specific details of the rebellion.

Ronan listened intently, while the clerk he had brought from the mountains wrote furiously at his desk.

After listening to Howard's description, Ronan's brows gradually furrowed.

According to his confession, the rebellion was launched by the three strongest territories in the North: Frostbringer Territory, Galebringer Territory, and Silverbringer Territory. The leader of the rebels was none other than Manstein, the Duke of the North.

This duke was deeply trusted and favored by the current emperor, and was even invited to banquets in the capital several times. Yet, he single-handedly orchestrated this storm that swept across half of the empire, shattering the Blackstone Empire's dream of prosperity that had lasted for more than forty years.

As a military stronghold of the Blackrock Empire, the three northern territories have armies that have been honed through years of fighting against barbarians and evil beasts. Many of them even employ barbarian mercenaries, making them extremely powerful.

Manstein, under the guise of resisting the church's oppression of witches, also recruited a large number of wandering witches to serve him, and even many disgruntled vagrants and nobles who were dissatisfied with the church joined him.

As a loyal supporter of the church and the royal family, Marquis Scott of Dragontooth quickly led the other territories to join forces in suppressing the rebellion, but the campaign ended in a crushing defeat in less than half a day.

Marquis Scott fled in panic, Dragon Tooth Territory was captured, and the allied forces that quelled the rebellion were reduced to a disorganized mess. Pursued relentlessly by the rebels, the original 30,000-strong allied army suffered continuous losses, until only a mere 4,000 exhausted survivors reached Dragon Valley…

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