Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"Use grenades and explosives to clear the way, don't think about collateral damage!" The Eagle Captain's face was covered in soot, his bloodshot eyes glaring: "Better dead than alive!"

...

Another wave of commotion erupted outside the interrogation room, with shouting and the constant clatter of hoofbeats echoing.

Alonso, who had just lost all hope, now seemed to grasp at the last straw.

He stopped struggling and resisting, instead craning his neck and openly listening to the sounds outside the interrogation room. He stared intently at the sealed-off window, as if trying to pierce through the wooden planks to see the other side.

Winters made no effort to stop the prisoner. He coldly asked, "Still refusing to give up?"

...

The western gate was breached; up ahead lay the central guard zone of the garrison.

The attacking force that had launched the ambush no longer cared for discretion or subtlety, recklessly using explosives and grenades to clear buildings room by room, searching for any trace of the envoy.

At the same time, the guards still holding the western gate tower continued firing bullets and crossbow bolts. In the distance, more figures were visible, clearly reinforcements rushing to the scene.

The cobbled-together "troops" under the Emperor's Hand were quickly on the verge of collapse. The small band of riffraff lured by high bounties couldn't withstand such chaos and began looking for opportunities to flee.

The Eagle Captain, who was stationed to maintain order, executed one man on the spot and ordered the rest to set fires to distract the garrison's forces.

"My lord." The exhausted Eagle Captain bent deeply toward the masked man beside him: "If the rebels' pseudo-mage is exposed, I implore you to act with all your strength."

The masked man looked around. The Eagle Guards were already embroiled in street combat, and the makeshift rabble had scattered into the camp, disappearing from sight.

He sighed and knocked the Eagle Captain unconscious with a single punch.

...

The sound of hoofbeats returned outside the interrogation room, this time approaching from far to near.

Alonso listened intently: The newcomers entered the courtyard, dismounted, opened one door, then another. The footsteps grew clearer with each passing moment.

Finally, the interrogation room door was fully pushed open.

A cavalryman, bearing a saber with an eagle-head hilt, stepped inside. From his satchel, he retrieved a package, which he respectfully offered to the fake Baron.

The fake Baron merely glanced at it and nonchalantly ordered, "Show it to him."

The cavalryman unwrapped the bloodstained cloth covering the package and placed its contents in front of Alonso.

It was the fourth Nulan Clock—also the final Nulan Clock.

Alonso's once-rigid spine suddenly collapsed; all his hope and strength were drained the moment he saw the four clocks.

"Kill me! Please, kill me!" Alonso trembled, pleading in despair, "I cannot betray His Majesty! My entire family in the north has been killed! I beg you! Please! Kill me!"

"That's an easy problem to solve," Winters' voice carried an undeniable authority, calm yet commanding. "Help us kill all your accomplices, and no one will know you're still alive."

Winters fixed his gaze on the prisoner. He knew he had already won.

Eyes always told the truth. Firm and merciless eyes stared unwaveringly at their target. They either locked onto you directly or focused on a point just behind you. Such eyes clung to a single spot, drawing strength from it.

But at this moment, Mr. "Kapufen" lacked such eyes. He looked around the room in terror and desperation, his gaze flitting from person to person, searching for strength but finding none.

"Would you like a drink?" Winters placed a cup in front of the prisoner and poured it full of wine.

Alonso stared at the cup. The swirling white foam marked his surrender.

...

A moment later, Winters walked out of the interrogation room and into the front yard.

This once privately-owned residence of a Royalist Party member had been temporarily requisitioned by him—including the secret storage room below.

Daylight pierced through the haze of smoke. In the courtyard, the sunlight was just right.