Chapter 6
While the wedding was going on, the rebels assaulted as they had planned. Rushing through the eastern wall, the rebels attempted to charge up to the citidel, but turned around and saw their escape blocked by 250 elite troops. Grimacing, they moved towards the ramp to the northern side of town, before they saw 250 more troops blocking their way. Since the lower town had little to plunder and since they knew they could not flee where they came, they stopped for a bit and talked among themselves at the Natonito Square in the center of town, where the two massive statues for the Emperor and Directrix stood in glory. With 250 troops from the citidel marching down towards them, 250 troops from the eastern side of town marching towards them, and some 500 or so regular troops marching towards them from the work camps to the south where the completed buildings were, there was nowhere for them to go but west.
"I wish I could knock these down," grumbled a raider.
"Well, I wish the same, but if we try to do that we will be unable, because these statues are made of adamantium, the strongest metal in the world. We cannot even scratch or dent, much less destroy these statues. They are extraordinarily heavy as well, so we cannot topple them over since we have no rope with us. As it is we shall have to let these metal monstrocities stare down at us and try to escape through the only remaining route," the rebel leader said, swearing under his breath. Everyone could see Petain was not a happy man.
"Well, if that is what we have to do, let us go off and do it," the raiders said in agreement.
"It is off to the races then. Hopefully they do not have more troops blocking that way," said Petain, "Charge!"
With that the raiders, only 40 or so in number, charged towards the western gap in the walls, near the pleasant hills and the river. To their horror, they saw 250 elite troops with their pikes to spike down horsemen. The raiders had no choice but to charge, and their horses were impaled and the riders fell down into the mass of well-trained infantry. The lower ranked raiders were merely decapitated by the small swords the pikemen carred on their belts, but Petain was taken alive and bound to face General Van Larken. It being almost morning, all of the people were tired and ready to sleep. General Van Larken ordered Petain bound in irons for his punishment the next day.
When he had gotten a good night's sleep, Van Larken burst into the cell where Petain was pitifully huddled under the weight of steel chains. Van Larken sarcastically remarked to the captured rebel leader about the fate of rebels against the empire.
Van Larken commented, "You know the fate of rebels and traitors to the empire, right?"
Petain replied, "You make them your right hand man, just like that pig the Directrix."
Van Larken smiled sardonically and replied, "That is too good a fate for you. It so happened that the Directrix came voluntarily once he was offered a high position, and has served the empire loyally since then. You were captured trying to destroy the empire. There will be no mercy for you. The only thing that is in your hands is the method by which you will die. Tell us who you are working for and you will die a relatively painless and quick death, but try to keep silent and you will be sawed in half, or worse."
Petain shouted out, "I will never betray my benefactors."
"I would not be so quick to claim that you will never betray anyone. You will, of course, be tortured if you do not speak. First I will rip your fingernails off of your hand and your toenails off your feet, one by one, thus causing intense pain to you. After that I will give you the torture of a thousand cuts, each small cut reducing your resistance. In agony you will scream, and at that time I will give you chemicals to deaden your pain for a short while, and also deaden your ability to resist answering the questions I will ask you. If you still have not told us everything, you will be recircumsized, and if you are still hardy enough to resist that, then I will either saw you in half or have my archers fire into you, avoiding all of the vital organs, until they rip out your beating heart. Needless to say, I do not think it go that far. I have a feeling you will not be able to stand the pain long before that," Van Larken said with a chilling glare.
"And what happens if I talk?" Petain said, gulping heavily.
"See, you are learning already," Van Larken replied condescendingly, "If you tell, and it turns out to be true, then your death will be quick, by garroting. Within two minutes you will be gone, without much pain at all."
"What about my men?" Petain asked, pathetically.
"Your men are dead already, and their heads now decorate the eastern and western walls of the city, a demonstration of what happens when one attacks the empire. Their lives were wasted, and as they did not serve the empire, they will now fertilize its farms and feed its wild beasts," Van Larken snickered.
"You are an evil man," Petain said.
"These are evil times, and do not say to me that you are any less evil. If one is going to be evil, then one must be strong. Those who are weak and evil are punished, those who are strong and evil become great. Learn that lesson and you will discover the way the world works. So long as no one is stronger than you, your evil will have no punishment. Since I am stronger than you, though, your evil is being punished now," Van Larken said pendantically.
"Okay, I will talk. It was the Longberts that I was working for," Petain said weakly.
"The Longberts. This should be fun. Well, then, we shall find out before too long if your confession is true. If not, your fingernails go tomorrow," said Van Larken with a cautious glee, "We shall see."
With that Van Larken went outside, commenting on how weak most people were to their causes, and went to his officers and told them what Petain had said. They then marched out to the Longbert estate to aprehend the Duke and Duchess and their son, as Cherie had gone and would obviously have nothing to do with the plot against the Directrix, being only 13 and a friendly girl besides. The sun rose to its midday peak as they arrived at the Longbert manor house.
[ Chapter 5 ]
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