Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 399 Fox and Cat Game (Part 2)

  Lieutenant Colonel Thomas looked at the prisoner on the seat:

   He was in his early forties, with an ordinary appearance and an ordinary temperament. There was nothing special about him other than the strong arms and shoulders suggesting that he came from an environment that lacked neither meat, bread nor manual labor.

   In fact, it was this physique that was markedly different from the malnourished urban poor that made him the most visible prey, and ultimately led to his capture.

"I think we can save each other a little time, Mr. Kapfen." Lieutenant Colonel Thomas began, not harshly, but with authority: "You know what awaits you—hanged as a traitor, Or live as a foreign spy. There are two paths in front of you, choose for yourself."

   Alfonso's Adam's apple turned up and down, he coughed a few times, and begged in a hoarse voice: "Can you give me some water? I haven't had water for two days."

  Lieutenant Colonel Thomas subconsciously turned his attention to the fake baron beside him.

  Alfonso keenly captured the fleeting little movements of the other party, "The younger one is the leader?" He secretly speculated.

  From the moment he was brought into the interrogation room, the fake baron didn't look at him, just carelessly fiddling with the small stack of cards on the table.

   It was not until Lieutenant Colonel Thomas asked silently that the false baron raised his eyelids to look at Alfonso. His eyes were cold and uninteresting, as if he was scanning a specimen.

  Alfonso tried his best to meet the gaze of the other party quietly, but for some reason, he failed. The other side was difficult to deal with—he knew it instinctively.

At the other end of the interrogation room, Winters also made a judgment-for the cards in his hand, the prisoner did not show any special concern.

   This means one thing: either the captive is so skilled at concealing his emotions that he cannot see any clues;

   Winters nodded slightly.

   With permission, Pierre, who was guarding the room, picked up the kettle and walked to the chair, bringing the spout to the prisoner's mouth.

  Icy cold water ran down his dry throat, and Alfonso swallowed greedily, almost choking himself.

   "gudonggudong", a pot of water was quickly drank.

  Alfonso carefully paid attention to the person who was feeding him water. He felt a little familiar, as if it was the cavalry who was biting him.

   "Any more?" Pierre asked.

   Alfonso gasped: "No."

   "I drank the water." Lieutenant Colonel Thomas's tone was three-pointed with irony: "Is it your turn to go to the toilet next?"

   A pot of cold water was poured into his stomach, causing Alfonso's already huddled stomach to churn again.

   "No." He endured the colic and answered truthfully: "I couldn't hold it before, I already urinated."

"boom!"

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas slammed his fist on the table and scolded: "You think I'm visiting prison? Don't try to delay time, because it's pointless. You are a spy of a false emperor, and no one knows torture better than you. You want water. Well, here's water for you! You want bread? Bread for you! A woman? You can also find a prostitute for you."

The lieutenant colonel paused for a few seconds, and then threatened: "But as long as you don't cooperate, we have time to slowly torture you, no matter how long you can delay it. Many people who have been tortured to death, don't ask for trouble."

  Alfonso recalled the sweetness of the clear water and exhaled a long breath: "You are going to kill me after all."

"Nonsense!" Lieutenant Colonel Thomas retorted, his voice softened a little: "What good will it do us to kill you? I can tell you frankly that since you are here, nothing can happen. You can live, you can live comfortably, you may even be free - but only if you cooperate."

"Cooperation?"

   "Where are your other accomplices?"

   A mocking smile appeared on Alfonso's face: "How do I know you won't go back on it?"

  Lieutenant Colonel Thomas was about to speak when Winters suddenly gathered up the cards into a stack.

Seeing this, Lieutenant Colonel straightened his back, cleared his throat, and stared at the prisoner but did not answer.

   "You're not afraid that we will kill you." Winters said slowly: "You're afraid that your accomplices will come and silence you."

  Alfonso's smile froze.

  …

  [Old Town North Bank]

  [City Palace]

  A double carriage drove into the Plaza Mayor from the intersection on the west side and stopped under the steps of the City Palace. The driver immediately jumped out of the carriage and left in a hurry.

   The sergeant guarding the Municipal Palace was suspicious and ordered the coachman to stop.

   But the driver paid no attention to it. Instead, he took a step forward and fled into a side street without looking back.

   The sergeant waved his hand, and the two guards on duty immediately chased after him. Then he drew his side sword and ordered two more guards. The three walked down the steps in an alert attitude and surrounded the carriage.

   A guard used the tip of his spear to carefully lift the drape over the cargo box.

   "It's all pebbles and scrap iron," reported the Guards.

  The attention of the sergeant was drawn to the chariot—the belt connecting the yoke and the harness had been cut, and the horse remained in place not because of restraint, but because of good training.

  The sergeant suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake, grabbed his subordinates, and ran up the steps desperately: "Run."

too late.

   There was a loud bang, and the earth trembled.

   Looking from outside the city, a black-brown smoke rose from the location of the municipal square. Immediately afterwards, there was a series of dull roars in the direction of the debtor's prison and the parish headquarters, and the smoke filled the air.

  The other guards at the main entrance of the Municipal Palace were farther away, but they were also swept away by the air waves and the flying rubble and iron slag.

   Before the guards could recover from their stupor and dizziness, the enemy with dual swords and daggers had already rushed up the steps and rushed towards them.

  …

   A sudden loud noise interrupted the interrogation, and the ceiling of the room was shaken to a layer of dust.

   There was a chaotic sound of running and questioning outside, and then the door was pushed open, and a lieutenant entered the interrogation room and whispered a few words to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas.

   Through the gap between the door opening, Alfonso briefly observed the scene outside the door.

   The result disappointed him. Outside the interrogation room was a closed corridor, and neither the time nor the location could be seen.

  Lieutenant Colonel Thomas nodded, the lieutenant saluted and turned to leave the interrogation room.

   There was a hail-like sound of horse hooves from outside the house.

  Alfonso listened with bated breath until the environment returned from noise to silence. When he came to his senses, he saw that the false baron was watching him with interest.

  Alfonso immediately lowered his head, but the other party took the initiative to say: "Waiting for someone?"

  Alfonso did not answer.

"Do you know who I am?"

   "Baron Granasse." Alfonso licked his lips: "Call yourself."

   "Very good." Winters was noncommittal, and nodded to the lieutenant colonel beside him: "It's enough for you to know that this lieutenant colonel Thomas and I are not affiliated with the same interests."

  Lieutenant Colonel Thomas heard this, touched his Adam's apple, and glanced at little Bernie covertly.

"Although Lieutenant Colonel Thomas has made all kinds of threats, you should be able to sense that he doesn't want to execute you." Winters carefully analyzed the interests of the other party: "A dying prisoner cannot prove the ability of the lieutenant colonel. He wants to An unassailable statement, a willing witness. Only in this way can he make the 'Imperial Spy Arson Case' an unassailable iron case."

  Alphonso listened silently.

   "But I'm different." Winters stared into the captive's eyes: "I just want the truth."

   The room was deadly silent, and Alfonso's heart throbbed.

   Winters, however, got up and walked to the closet as if nothing happened.

  Alfonso unconsciously watched him open the cupboard, but the fake baron just came back with a bottle of wine.

   Winters uncorked the bottle and poured himself a little wine: "Frankly, I'm no better at interrogation than Lieutenant Colonel Thomas, you, or anyone in this room."

   Not only Alfonso, but all eyes in the interrogation room were on Winters.

   "I don't like torture either, because inflicting pain on other people doesn't make me feel good." Winters took a sip of wine, and his pale face was quickly smeared with a sickly rosy finish.

   In his puddle-like eyes, melancholy and determination are intertwined:

   "But for the truth, I will use whatever measures are necessary, and no one can stop me.

  You can't bear what I'm about to do, and no one can. There is always a limit to the mind and body, you are like this, I am like this, everyone is like this. No matter how brave you are, it's only a matter of time before you destroy them. A man can smash the hardest stone with a hammer. You should know this better than me. "

   "I..." Alfonso lowered his head, his mood was low, and he asked with difficulty: "How do you want me to cooperate with you?"

"It's very simple." Winters yawned and said indifferently: "Provide a few innocuous downlines, explain a hiding place that has expired, and reveal a bit of half-truth information. It takes time to verify the news. It can always be delayed for another day or two.”

  Alfonso raised his head in astonishment.

Winters stood up, walked between the table and the prisoner, and sat half-reclining on the edge of the table: "I fully understand your behavior, and can assure you that you will not be subjected to unnecessary harassment because of your deliberate delay. torture."

   At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas couldn't hide his puzzlement and shock, and looked sideways at Winters.

   "You're lucky because you think time is on your side." Winters looked down at the prisoner and asked sympathetically, "Are you waiting for someone to rescue you?"

  …

  [suburban]

  [Outside the Garrison Camp]

The figure of the    cavalry disappeared at the end of the road, and the smoke raised by the horses’ hooves gradually subsided.

  Captain Eagle holds the saddle head in his left hand, and holds a drum-shaped silver box in his right hand. He stood beside the warhorse, staring motionless at the inside of the silver box.

   In addition to the Eagle Guard who feigned to attack the Municipal Palace, the Prison and the Guild Headquarters, other Eagle Guards who could still fight were behind him at the moment.

  No, not just Eagle Guards and Advisors to be precise.

The agents of the Royal Security Council, the royalists who thought that His Majesty was going to fight against the rebels tomorrow, the outlaws who were tempted by big rewards but didn't know what to do... All the armed forces the Empire could mobilize in Solingen were mobilized stand up.

   Those who can be evacuated have been evacuated, and those who cannot be evacuated will drain the last value.

The deputy director of the Emperor's Hand did not hesitate to end the years-long layout of the Empire in Solingen with a Pyrrhic victory—because from the moment the top leader was captured, the Empire's intelligence in Solingen The Internet is doomed to come to an end.

   The hands inside the drum-shaped silver case jumped again.

   "It's now." Captain Ying snapped the lid on the box and stepped on the horse: "The rebel cavalry has been led away. A quarter of an hour is enough for us to act."

   A single carriage was pushed out of the woods and carried onto the road.

   A few eagle guards skillfully set up the chariots and horses, while others, under the command of the deputy supervisor, dragged out the trees that were felled in advance and blocked the road.

The   -wrapped carriage drove out of the valley along the road, bypassing the last ups and downs of the mountain, turning a corner, and the high wall of the legion's station and the camp gate on the west side appeared in the field of vision.

  …

[trial room]

   "Recognize this?"

   Winters placed a drum-shaped silver box in front of the prisoner.

   Lifting the lid of the box, the dial inlaid with luminous stone and the gold hands emit a dark green light - it is the Newron clock that Pierre found from the other party.

  Alfonso nodded and glanced at the time without a trace, but he wasn't sure if the fake baron adjusted the Newron clock.

"Don't think about it, I haven't moved the pointer." Winters fluttered to the prisoner's thoughts, turned around and took out a drum-shaped silver box from the tortoiseshell wooden box that had just been sent in - from the masked man in Esther Manor Turned out Nurem Clock - put it in front of the prisoner: "Do you recognize this?"

  In the first few seconds, Alfonso didn't understand what was going on, as if he had been hit in the head by surprise.

   So he immediately showed a drunken numbness and dullness. Soon, he regained consciousness, although his face did not change, but his lips were white.

   Winters looked at Alfonso and leaned in for a few sniffs, as if tasting the prisoner's fear.

   Then he turned around again and, facing the frightened eyes that the prisoner could no longer hide, he took out a third Nurem bell.

  This time, he didn't say anything. Just open the clasp decorated with the tallow and laurel branches, and gently place it in front of the prisoner.

   "Click."

   "Click."

   "Click."

  The inside of the three Nurem clocks emits a rhythmic ratchet sound, and the three gold hands set with luminous stones point to the same position uniformly.

  Three bells? Three bells! How could he have a bell? How could it be in his hands? Are the other two teams dead? Is the messenger's bell in there? Messenger, where is the messenger? The messenger was also captured?

   Countless terrible thoughts flooded into Alfonso's mind, and a pair of invisible hands grabbed his throat, making him unable to breathe.

   For the first time, he showed real - not the faked - fear. His heart was beating violently uncontrollably, and the blood vessels on both sides of his forehead bulged. Sweat was oozing from his back, but his chest was cold as if he could breathe out cold air.

   Winters leaned over the prisoner's head, allowing his voice to come clearly into the latter's ear canal.

   With a hint of pleasure, he said softly: "I caught you from the shadows."

As soon as the    voice fell, Alfonso's body trembled uncontrollably.

   He whimpered and howled, desperately trying to break free. This time, there is no longer any calm and confidence, only human beings, as animals, have the instinct to escape when faced with a beast that cannot be resisted.

  …

  [Legion Station]

  Because of the riot and fire in Steel Fort, the officers who stayed behind added another checkpoint outside the gate of the garrison.

  The so-called checkpoint is actually a piece of unskinned wood blocking the road.

   Four militiamen stood guard at the post, and when they saw the carriage approaching from a distance, they waved their spears to signal the driver to stop.

   "What are you doing?" asked the militia leader.

   The driver who was driving the carriage answered in a hurry: "Give it to the feeder, pork and horse meat."

   "I haven't heard that anyone is going to bring meat here." The militia headed by the militia frowned: "You come down, we want to check."

   "I don't have any money to bribe you now." The coachman did not move at all: "It's not easy to go out of the city. When I find the quartermaster to deliver the goods, I will have money when I come back."

The militia led by    took a step back vigilantly and leveled the halberd: "Get off!"

   The other two militiamen with muskets sensed that something was wrong and hurried off the arquebuses wrapped around their wrists.

   "Okay, okay." The driver raised his hand in surrender: "Get off."

  The driver raised his butt, and with the cover of his body, he drew a short gun from under the seat, aimed it at the leading militiamen armed with halberds, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The    spring wheel turned, the fire flashed, and there was an extra blood hole in the chest of the halberd-wielding militiaman.

   Another swordsman jumped out from under the veil, his swift sword bypassed the trajectory of the halberd from below, and plunged into the chest of another halberd-wielding militiaman in an extremely twisted posture.

   Up until this point, the two militiamen armed with arquebuses had not hung the arquebus. Seeing the murderous swordsman in black, the two militiamen threw away their muskets and fled.

  The swordsman did not chase after him, and he moved the barricade alone.

The guards of the    camp have been alerted by the sound of gunfire, and the alarm bells are ringing frantically.

   The eagle guard who was driving the carriage lit the lead, flicked the reins, and pulled the horse into a gallop. When there were more than ten meters away from the gate, Eagle Guard stabbed the horse's **** with a sword, turned over and jumped off the carriage.

  The horse was in pain, but in the face of a wall, he instinctively wanted to avoid it.

   At this moment, the lead burned to the end.

  The rear half of the draught horse was blown to pieces, the air wave overturned the surrounding guards, and the gate of the fort was shaken.

  The guards on the camp wall were still calling for help, and a cavalry team had already passed through the smoke, killing the guards outside the camp and reaching the west gate.

   Soon, another violent explosion.

   This time, the west gate of the Legion's quarters was knocked down like a piece of paper.

   "Grenades and explosives open the way, don't think about accidental injury!" Captain Ying stared at his bloodshot eyes with smoke and dust on his face: "I'd rather die! Don't live!"

  …

   There was a new round of commotion outside the interrogation room, with shouts and hooves.

  Alfonso, who had just lost all hope, seemed to have caught the last straw at this moment.

   He no longer struggled and resisted, but stretched his neck and listened unabashedly to the voices outside the interrogation room. He stared straight at the sealed window, as if trying to penetrate the plank to see the scene on the other side.

   Winters didn't stop the prisoner either. He asked coldly, "Don't give up yet?"

  …

   After breaking through the west gate, the front is the central guard area of ​​the station.

   The attacker who launched the raid no longer considered concealment and low-key, and recklessly used explosives and grenades to clean up buildings, looking for the messenger from room to room.

   At the same time, the guards still occupying the west gate tower kept firing projectiles and crossbow bolts. There were more figures shaking in the distance, and it was obvious that more guards were coming.

  The "troop" put together by the emperor's hands was soon on the verge of disintegration. How could a small group of hooligans who were lured by the high bounty could bear such a scene and wanted to slip away.

   The Eagle Captain who was in the formation beheaded one person on the spot and ordered others to set fire to disperse the defenders.

   "Sir." The emaciated Captain Ying bowed his head deeply to the masked man beside him: "If the pseudo-magic of the rebel army is exposed, please do your best."

  The masked man looked around, the Eagle Guards had already fallen into street fighting, and the rabble who made up the number had also fled into the camp and disappeared without a trace.

   He sighed and knocked Captain Ying unconscious with a punch.

  …

  The sound of hooves came from outside the interrogation room, this time from far to near.

  Alfonso listened attentively: the visitor entered the yard, dismounted, opened the door, another door, and the sound of footsteps became clearer.

   Immediately afterwards, the door of the interrogation room was completely pushed open.

  A cavalryman wearing an eagle-beak-handled saber walked in, took out a package from his carrying gear, and presented it to the fake baron respectfully.

  The false baron just glanced at it and commanded lightly: "Show him."

The    cavalry opened the **** cloth outside the package and placed the contents in front of Alfonso.

   is impressively the fourth Nurem Clock — and the last Nurem Clock.

  Alfonso's stiff back suddenly went limp, all his hope and strength were drained in the instant he saw four hours.

"Kill me! Please, kill me!" Alfonso trembled and begged desperately: "I cannot betray Your Majesty! All my family in the north will die! Please! Please! Kill! I!"

   "This problem is easy to solve." Winters' voice contained convincing power: "Help us kill all your accomplices, and no one will know that you are still alive."

   Winters stared into the prisoner's eyes and knew he had won.

  Eyes always tell the truth. Firm, unforgiving eyes are fixed on people, either staring straight at you or focusing on a point behind you. Those eyes are fixed on one place and draw strength from it.

   But at this moment, Mr. "Kapfen" doesn't have those kind of eyes. He looked at everyone in the room in horror and pleading, trying to find strength, but found nothing.

   "Want a drink?" Winters put the glass in front of the prisoner and filled it with wine.

  Alfonso looked at the cup, the white foam swirling on the dark red liquid was the flag of his surrender.

  …

   After a moment, Winters walked out of the interrogation room and came to the front yard.

  This single-family compound that once belonged to the royalists has been temporarily requisitioned by him - together with the secret storage room below.

   The day pierced the smoke and dust, and in the yard, the sun was just right.

   [Big chapter! No middle school three, four or five! Sprinkle flowers! ]

   [Almost went up and down, but! It’s still a big chapter, and it’s more emotionally coherent]

   [I feel that the parallel narrative of this story is better, so I tried to use it]

   [In fact, the two timelines were not parallel at the beginning. Winters' interrogation time was very short, while the empire's plan to rescue the messenger spanned a long time. Until the very part, it becomes "occurring at the same time"]

   [Because it is easy to confuse the time, so I hope to "completely write it and then release it", but in the end it is divided into upper and lower...]

[The interrogation techniques in this chapter are from "Cardinals of the Kremlin". Because I don't understand criminal investigation and interrogation at all, I think it is better not to write blindly. It is better to borrow the strategies from Tom Clancy's book... After all, Tom Clancy A writer who is professional enough to startle professionals]

   [Thank you for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation ticket, monthly ticket, reward and comment, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)