He approached his men, who were waiting outside the hall with serious expressions.
"Are you good at torturing people?" Darnel asked.
Their faces lit up at Darnel's question.
"Of course!" they answered in unison.
"Let's get the torture tools first."
Darnel suggested.
He was deadly serious.
His expression showed he wasn't joking.
His parents were murdered by rebels who attempted genocide in Glazareth.
It left a deep scar on his heart.
'Iwill never forgive those rebels.'
He clenched his fists and left the place, followed by his men.
***
Prison
Hastora continuously endured the pain in his fractured ribs using his mana.
If he hadn't gone to the Nihility Collapse, he might be dead by now.
No, he might have died when Darnel beat him earlier.
His injuries were truly fatal.
Darnel had only kicked him once with an aura-coated leg and launched two attacks.
But those attacks made his body scream in agony.
"Ughhh… That man is truly a monster. I'll get revenge someday."
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
He coated his hands with mana and tried to forcefully break the chains binding his hands.
However, it was all in vain.
The chains weren't even scratched.
"What's with these chains?"
They were incredibly strong.
The chains seemed to be made of a material with extremely high magic resistance, rendering mana ineffective.
He was utterly frustrated.
He had tried everything.
But every attempt ended in failure.
"Tch. Damn it!"
"Just you wait! I'll definitely—"
"Stop shouting."
A cold voice suddenly cut him off.
He flinched inwardly.
That voice... It was familiar.
He was sure he knew who it belonged to.
His body trembled, unable to contain his fear.
He bit his lip.
The brutal interrogation is about to begin.
"Why are you shouting alone? Have you gone mad from being tied up in prison?,"
Unbeknownst to him, Darnel had suddenly appeared before him, holding a wooden stick.
Soon, his men arrived with sinister smiles, carrying various torture devices.
"Hey, kid. Do you know what's coming next?"
Darnel asked with a cold gaze.
Hastora's muscles tensed at the sight of the torture tools they carried.
Fear gnawed at his mind.
What the hell?
They were going to torture someone who knew nothing about their problems?
They deserved the death penalty.
But who would punish them?
He couldn't do anything—at least, not now.
Pathetic.
Loser.
Weak.
He was utterly disappointed in himself.
He felt like crying.
"Take him out of there, then bring him to the torture room." Darnel ordered.
"Yes!"
They dragged Hastora out of the cell and into the torture room.
There, his hands were chained between two pillars.
This was done to make the interrogation truly brutal.
"Do it," Darnel commanded coldly.
"Understood!" they answered in unison.
They chose their preferred torture tools and approached Hastora.
They looked at him with sinister expressions before beginning the torture.
They beat his body with an iron rod until he vomited blood.
His bones were completely shattered by the attack.
Merciless.
They continued by brutally hitting, kicking his head, and trampling on him.
Darnel, witnessing this, was truly satisfied, but he didn't show it, preferring to hide his feelings.
Then, for some reason, he didn't want to keep watching the torture.
It felt like... pity.
Was it because his conscience was still there?
He didn't know and didn't want to know.
He wanted to leave.
"Don't just torture him. Interrogate him. Ask about the location of the other rebels, and who's behind it. Only torture him if he refuses to talk.
"That's our real goal. Stick to the plan and follow my orders. And don't kill him."
Darnel clarified before leaving.
He walked towards the training ground.
Actually, right now he really wanted to track down the rebels and find out who was behind it.
But, to face a much bigger threat in the future, he had to improve his fighting skills first.
No matter his current rank, he felt he still had to do it.
He stopped in his tracks when he suddenly saw Priest Aldren entering the palace.
"Priest Aldren!"
He ran towards him.
"Long time no see, huh?,"
Priest Aldren stopped when Darnel suddenly approached him.
He smiled.
"Darnel? I didn't expect to meet you here."
"Me neither. What are you doing here?,"
"I have something to discuss with the Queen, I called her earlier. But she didn't seem to answer her phone."
"Maybe the Queen is busy."
"Hmmm… You're right. She always answered my calls before, it seems she's really busy."
Priest Aldren was the most prominent priest in Glazareth.
He even had full control over the church and other priests in Glazareth under Valeska's orders.
Valeska gave him that special right because he had greatly contributed to Glazareth's development and prosperity.
To meet Valeska herself, Priest Aldren didn't need Valeska's permission.
He only needed to state his identity, and the guards would immediately take him to Valeska.
No wonder he could enter the palace alone without Valeska's permission beforehand.
"Do you want me to take you to the Queen, Priest Aldren?" Darnel asked.
"It's alright, Darnel. I can go myself, you don't have to bother."
"Alright then. I'll go first."
Darnel bowed and continued his journey to the training ground.
***
"Finally… It's done."
Valeska stretched her body.
Her body was stiff from filling out all those documents all day.
"Sister, how's the trading business?"
Valeska sat back in her chair.
"Is everything going smoothly?,"
Her sister, Lysette, looked up from her smartphone.
"Which trading business are you talking about? We have three, you know."
"The seafood sales business. How is it? Is it going smoothly?,"
"Seafood, huh? So far, it's smooth sailing, no obstacles whatsoever."
"Really?,"
"Yes. In fact, our seafood sales are the largest compared to other kingdoms."
Valeska jumped up from her chair and slammed her hand on the table upon hearing the news.
Her eyes widened.
"That's surprising! I didn't think our seafood would be the best-seller."
"Me neither."
"How much profit did we make?,"
"Hmmm… Quite a lot. Maybe… Around 10,000 gold coins."
"Wow, that's a lot!"
Valeska sat back in her chair, a smile spreading across her face.
"How about the other two businesses?"
"Both are also running smoothly without any obstacles."
"How much—"
Knock! Knock! Knock!
She was about to ask more when suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Valeska ordered.
The door opened as a maid entered and bowed respectfully.
"What is it?," Valeska asked.
"Priest Aldren has come to the palace. He said he wants to discuss something important with you, Your Majesty." the maid replied.
"Priest Aldren, huh? Alright, let him in."
"Understood."
The maid stepped out of the hall.
Then, shortly after, a brown-haired man with round eyes stepped in.
He was wearing a priest's uniform, appearing to be around 35 years old.
The man bowed.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. I'm here to discuss something important," he said.