Ushi City.
City Defense Army Garrison.
“Sir, what should we do now?”
Below, a sergeant named Xiao Si asked anxiously.
And above—
Gabur Leishi—one of the commanders of the City Defense Army of Ushi City—looked extremely relaxed at this moment.
“What do you mean, ‘what should we do’?”
“The people from the Castle Lord’s Mansion have already surrounded the Vice City Lord’s Mansion… If Her Highness Willis catches Mike, will we be exposed!?”
“Heh.”
Gabur Leishi sneered.
“So what if we are? Is there any evidence?”
“Who saw us take things from the treasury?”
Faced with this question, the officer named Xiao Si gradually calmed down.
Right, who saw?
At that time, wasn’t it just you, me, and the heavens?
“Even if Mike is caught and confesses about us, as long as we firmly deny it, he would just be making baseless accusations, trying to drag others down with him. Her Highness Willis can’t do anything to us!”
Seeing his subordinate come to his senses, Gabur Leishi smiled with satisfaction.
“Not bad, not bad. A teachable one. As long as all who know are dead, who would know I took anything?”
In that instant, Xiao Si’s hair stood on end.
Before he could run, Gabur struck him down with a single sword.
“At that time, only you, me, and that old thief Mike were there. With you dead, there are no witnesses. I am safe.”
Gabur revealed a bloodthirsty smile.
“As for the bribes my subordinates took… I was kept in the dark, unaware… At most, I’d be guilty of negligence…”
“Rest in peace, hahaha!”
On the ground, Xiao Si stared wide-eyed, dying without closing his eyes.
Not long after, Gabur cleaned up and called for an officer.
“Sir!”
“Mm, go order the brothers under your command to fully cooperate with the Lord of the Territory’s orders!”
“But as for matters concerning the Vice City Lord, avoid them if possible, push them away if you can! Remember not to get involved with that old thing Mike!”
“Yes! Sir!”
Watching his subordinate leave, Gabur was very pleased with his arrangements.
“This way, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
And it wasn’t just Gabur.
Except for a few loyal subordinates under Mick Ingram, the rest of the Ushi City Defense Army did the same.
Everyone had dirty hands, all afraid that Willis would uncover their shady dealings with Mike.
Now, they kept their distance, watching Willis and Mike battle it out.
By the time they denied everything, without evidence, even if Willis was more ruthless, she couldn’t do anything to the City Defense Army.
That’s what they thought.
But strangely, there was no movement from the Castle Lord’s Mansion toward Mike Millen’s side.
At this moment, Hill Yu stood on the city wall, pointing down with her slender fingers.
“You, go down and arrest these dozen people for me.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The soldiers accepted the order and left.
Outside the city gate, the crowd trying to enter the city began to stir at the sight of these soldiers.
Not long after…
“Your Highness, Your Highness! We’re innocent! We’re honest civilians!”
On an empty lot within Ushi City, a dozen civilians knelt, crying and banging their heads.
Hill Yu remained unmoved.
She took an iron whip from a soldier beside her and began to lash one of them.
Pa!
“Ah!!”
Pa!
“Aaah!!”
Each whip was followed by a scream, very rhythmic.
As she struck, Hill Yu asked, “Will you talk? Will you talk!?”
“What does Your Highness want me to say… Ah~!”
“Will you talk!?”
“So, Your Highness… Ah! What do you want me to say! I… Ah!! I’m really a good citizen!”
Seeing his stubbornness, Hill Yu signaled her men to bring out all sorts of torture devices.
The other ‘civilians’ nearby trembled like leaves.
Some were so scared they lost control of their bowels.
By the time the self-proclaimed honest citizen had been torn apart and left a pile of bones, the rest couldn’t take it anymore.
They always said Willis was ruthless, but who knew the Grand Princess Hill Yu was even more terrifying!
“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Please don’t kill me!”
One couldn’t stand it any longer, and the rest of the ‘good citizens’ confessed too.
It turned out they had all returned after receiving news and were subordinates of Vice City Lord Mike.
“We were originally at the mine, managing it and sometimes training…”
“Last night, we received an urgent order from the Vice City Lord to return to the city…”
“But who would have thought the city would be sealed at dawn? We had no choice but to mix with the civilians, shouting to open the gates.”
Hill Yu had seen these agitators from the city wall, which is why she caught them so accurately.
“Then why didn’t you use carrier birds or communication formations?”
“Your Highness, how could we carry birds with us? Communication formations are for nobles; we could never afford them.”
Hill Yu sighed.
“Sigh… Just as Imperial Sister said.”
“This Ushi City is rotten from the officials to the mines.”
Her gaze grew sharp.
“In that case, among you, someone must know the stronghold where Mike Millen is hiding rebels in the city, right?”
The dozen ‘good citizens’ looked at each other, and as Hill Yu signaled her men to move, they immediately knelt in fear.
“We know, we know! Please, Your Highness, give us a chance to redeem ourselves!”
Hill Yu smiled.
“Good, it’s likely there are more of your people at the city gate, yes?”
“Go, bring in fifty at a time, claiming the Vice City Lord sent you to escort them. Then go back for more…”
“Do well, and your lives may be spared.”
Hearing this, the dozen people kowtowed frantically.
“We will do our utmost!”
An hour later, the first fifty were disarmed and tied up by Hill Yu.
The stubborn ones were ruthlessly dealt with, and the rest, terrified, expressed their willingness to switch allegiances.
***
At noon, the miners had a twenty-minute break.
Naturally, Willis wouldn’t eat food barely better than pig slop.
Beside her, Nidnia had no appetite either.
All morning, she had been cursed at three times by the overseer and whipped over a dozen times.
Even as captain, she couldn’t escape her status as a miner.
Willis glanced at her basket—she had gathered even less than Willis herself!
It seemed Willis had improved!
But even so, the overseer still lashed at her more than a dozen times, but Willis used the Petals of Sakura Killing Speech to block the blows on her skin.
Of course, she didn’t forget to slice the overseer’s back and pants with petals, giving him a nice cool half-naked run.
At this moment, Willis, Victoria, and Nidnia remained in the mine tunnel.
Everyone else, including the overseer, had gone to eat.
“Xiao Wei…”
Nidnia looked at Willis, took a deep breath, and her gaze became resolute.
“I’ve decided. I can help you! But you must agree to one condition!”
“Oh?”
Willis asked, “What condition?”
“Help me clear out No. 13 Mine Tunnel. Inside are my father and many miners’ corpses!”
Nidnia clenched her fists.
“I want to bury them!”
“No problem.”
Seeing her resolve, Willis breathed a sigh of relief.
She was only worried the other would lack hatred or courage and shrink back here.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
“By the way, can I ask you something too?”
Since the other agreed, Willis’s tone grew lighter.
“A question? Go ahead…”
Nidnia said.
Willis voiced the doubt she had harbored since meeting Nidnia.
“You’re such a beauty. Why, after being here so long, has no miner tried to bully you?”