Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

"Doris, why aren't you worried at all? You know we're out of food! We can't just stay home and starve to death, can we? We have money but we can't get any food. What are we going to do?"

"Why not just go and buy it? You're not going to starve if you have money in your hands, are you?"

After hearing his wife's words, the man suddenly fell silent, and after a while, his eyes began to redden.

"It's my fault, darling... I didn't realize you were under so much pressure. You should rest well for the next two days. I'll figure out the food situation. I promise you won't go hungry!"

Doris rubbed her temples, both amused and exasperated.

"What are you worrying about? I'm telling the truth. Just buy a two-bedroom apartment. Don't worry about the Imperial soldiers; they won't kill people randomly."

"How is this possible!"

The man shook his head firmly, still insisting on his opinion:

"When the city fell a couple of days ago, the alleys were piled high with dead people, you saw it! Those imperialists killed people without batting an eye, slaughtering them one after another like pigs and sheep! Who believes they would show us any mercy?"

"It's true, listen to me, I just saw it with my own eyes..."

........................

A few minutes later, Doris pushed open the door amidst the surprised gazes of those around her, carrying a burlap sack. She moved with the ease and naturalness of someone going to the market to buy things on a peaceful day, and soon walked onto the street, heading towards the city center.

A patrol of Imperial soldiers slowly approached her, and everyone in the surrounding rooms held their breath, some even trembling with fear... But at the same time, something called hope began to take root in their hearts.

Just as they approached, Doris, surprisingly, spoke first with a smile on her face:

Good morning, esteemed elders.

The captain, who was in the lead, glanced at the woman in surprise, then scanned the sack in her hands:

"You've got some nerve, woman... What are you up to?"

"We're out of food at home, sir. Look, there's nothing we can do about it. We haven't left the house for days..."

The captain chuckled softly:

"Then go ahead. There's affordable grain for sale in the city center. Report any price gouging to us immediately... Also, be careful and don't get any funny ideas, or you'll be in big trouble if we catch you. Understand?!"

"Of course, of course."

Chapter 260 Cities and Laws of the Empire (1)

"No one shall appear on the streets after the third chime of the evening bell; violators shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"

Loud shouts rang out in the street. The soldiers were strong and energetic, and their voices carried far into the distance, ensuring that all the residents in the vicinity could hear them.

A few days ago, such sounds would have terrified the residents hiding in the surrounding rooms, who feared that these soldiers would soon go berserk and start killing and looting. But in the past few days, many people have begun to get used to it.

These soldiers remain ruthless and cruel, and will not hesitate to arrest and execute criminals and saboteurs. To them, killing is as simple and commonplace as breathing, eating and drinking. Every day, unruly individuals are executed in the street, and none of the punishments clearly stated to them are ever reduced... Similarly, as long as they do not violate the explicitly stated laws, these soldiers will not do anything to them.

The Empire has brought a cruel but rational order to this place and is teaching everyone how to live in accordance with it. This city, which was originally shrouded in despair and fear, is slowly changing.

There was an unfortunate man right in front of me. For some reason, he was still hurrying along the street after the third chime of the bell. He had a puzzled look on his face and was also very uneasy. His steps were getting faster and faster.

But he still ran into the patrol team, and unsurprisingly, he was pinned to the ground in the street, tied to a pillar of a nearby house, and whipped mercilessly. Each whip left a bloody welt, causing the man to scream in agony and convulse in agony.

Until the last lash was delivered, exactly 20 lashes, he was finally released from the pillar, collapsing to the ground, utterly exhausted, his screams tinged with sobs.

“If you don’t go home now, and get caught again, you’ll get another 20 lashes.”

The captain's calm remark made the man jump up as if he'd been bitten on the butt. He turned and rushed to the door of a house on the side of the street, pounding on the door frantically.

"Ark! Ark! My friend, please save me! Open the door and let me hide, or I'll be beaten to death here today!"

Before he could even knock twice, the wooden door was opened, and a burly Holstein man grabbed him by the collar and dragged him inside. Then, he gave the soldiers outside a fawning smile and hurriedly closed the door.

………………

"What's wrong with you? Those soldiers just walked back and forth in the street at least three times, and you still dared to run around? Do you really think your head is as hard as stone and can't be chopped off?!"

Yak nags at his friend, glaring at him like he's watching a dim-witted fool tumbling over a narrow mountain path...

The unfortunate man was still trembling and letting out low screams. With Doris's help, he took off his tattered clothes, which had already been whipped to shreds—they were already quite worn, almost just strips of cloth, but now they would probably be rejected even as rags.

"I was in such a hurry that I didn't pay attention to what they were saying. Oh dear! Why am I so unlucky..."

"You're lucky. If you made any more suspicious noises... you might even get thrown into jail. The rats there are notoriously fierce. Be careful they don't eat your nose and ears."

“I’ve seen a little more than you have, you know? Yak, that Han Aizai who lives in the wool mill at the west end of the city!”

"You mean Han Ai, the leader of the blind gang?! What's going on? Tell me!"

Acton grabbed the man's hand excitedly, looking very concerned about the matter. Doris, standing beside him, was equally excited—it was no wonder the couple cared. They hadn't lived here before; they used to live near the bustling wool mill in the city. They had to hide here because they couldn't stand the blind gang's harassment and extortion.

"If you ask me, that guy Hanai can't tell the difference between what's important and what's not. He bosses around a bunch of bullies and tyrants, and he thinks he's someone important. He actually dared to do that kind of thing when the imperial army was controlling the city..."

"To be honest, I only found out recently that the guy was so audacious as to traffic people, and he did it so sloppily that he was discovered in just two days. He was arrested and thrown into jail the day before yesterday, and I heard that he was beheaded yesterday. None of his brothers escaped either; their heads are probably still hanging at the wool mill."

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Yak shook his head repeatedly, but there was no trace of regret on his face. He couldn't suppress the smile on his lips, and his wife, Doris, had the same expression.

"This is what he deserved. At least the Imperials won't be bought off by his paltry sums... To be honest, I now doubt whether anyone can actually bribe these Imperials. These guys are practically made of steel..."

"By the way, why were you rushing around like that? Even if you didn't hear those words, shouldn't you have been more careful lately?"

The unfortunate man hesitated for a moment, then a decision formed on his face:

“I was only going to tell my older brother about this, but since you just saved me, Ark… please don’t tell anyone else, or this good thing will fall through.”

Ark was somewhat puzzled, but his expression also became serious:

“I swear to Ephas.”

"That's good……"

He peeked out somewhat mysteriously, as if not wanting his voice to escape through the window, and whispered:

"I've received word from reliable sources that the Empire seems to be preparing to appoint several city administrators in our region. That's a good position!"

........................

Peeling off skin is always an extremely cruel act, not only because of the terrible pain and bloodshed involved in achieving this result, but also because the victim will suffer horrific pain every moment afterward due to the flesh being exposed to the air, making it an extremely tragic and painful way to die.

Due to the limitations of medical technology in that era, the exposed flesh and blood were destined to rot and become inflamed, attracting countless flies and leaving the victims to die in extreme despair and pain.

For most people, skinning a victim would easily kill them, but for Cicero, peeling just the right amount of skin from areas with dense nerves and high pain levels, without threatening the victim's life, was an easy task, as simple as drinking a glass of water.

Moreover, he wasn't just simply torturing the guy in front of him... to be precise, his main task wasn't torturing him, but to remove the necrotic skin on his foot, save his right foot, and make him feel pain and torment was just a side effect.

The big toe, half bitten off by a rat, had rotted and turned black, spreading to the surrounding soles. The skin on it had become wrinkled, revealing bulging blood vessels underneath... This would undoubtedly cause terrible pain, and the various symptoms of inflammation and infection would gradually weaken the injured person until they died completely.

His tools consisted of silver tweezers and a sharp, willow-leaf-shaped dagger. First, he would use the tweezers to pick up the rotting, blackened skin, and then use the sharp dagger to precisely and swiftly cut away the decayed parts. He didn't care how much new pain this process would cause.

He had long since lost count of how many prisoners' limbs he had dissected with this small knife. Over time, he had become intimately familiar with human limbs, and even with his eyes closed, he could use the finger-length blade in his hand to dismantle the strong calf in front of him into a pile of minced flesh and long bones... And generally speaking, even the most vicious and ruthless guy would be terrified when he saw his own leg being dismantled into parts, and would then answer any question he was asked.

The knife tip slid down along the tendon, precisely cutting away the connection between the skin and normal skin along the rotten, blackened edge. Then, silver tweezers were used to lift the flesh and observe the condition of the subcutaneous fat and muscle to determine the appropriate cutting depth. Using both, the entire piece of skin was peeled off. The sharp blade was then used to make incisions in the rotten, blackened areas, skillfully removing the necrotic parts.

During this process, even though the skin had turned black and rotted, the intense pain did not lessen in the slightest, causing the foot in front of him to tremble incessantly. However, the trembling was extremely slight, not at all like what someone enduring such torture would do, and he didn't even utter a sound.

This was certainly not because the other party had become so tough; rather, it was due to the terrible paralyzing effect of the toxins that seeped directly into the bloodstream from the neck muscles. The concentrated venom of the Bartosyaro snake would make him stiff and unable to move, but he could still feel the pain. This made the criminal wish he were dead, which was exactly what the jailers were good at.

He deliberately slowed his movements, using the patience and meticulousness of a master craftsman meticulously carving a sword, peeling away the rotten flesh and tendons bit by bit, ensuring that the torture was long and painful enough to cut away the opponent's psychological defenses, just like the rotten flesh, slice by slice.

Several footsteps and conversations could be heard coming from the passageway outside the prison, gradually approaching. For absolute security, this was the only cell where the prisoner was held, ensuring that he could not escape by any strange means.

"...In conclusion, sir, it can be confirmed that the purple liquid mixed with nematodes in that bottle is a nutrient solution to ensure the survival of the nematodes. It is simply to create a suitable environment for these creatures to live in, so that they do not become inactive and rot in a sealed environment."

"Based on what the warden saw and heard, we can conclude that this potion must have played a huge role in maintaining his life. It could even be said that the reason why the parasites that greatly enhanced his physical fitness did not cause any changes in his appearance or other side effects was because of this potion, or more precisely, because of the white, thread-like larvae in the potion."

"These larvae are a necessity for him that is more important than food and water."

"Through experiments on clean mice, it was found that these larvae have extremely high nutritional value. The mice did not feel hungry for a long time and did not have the ability to cause harm to living organisms. They are simply a source of nutrition and should be specially bred."

The jailer put down the tweezers and knife in his hand, stood up, turned around, and bowed respectfully to the cell door. Almost at the same moment, Tersolius, Tarina, and the warden walked in together. The warden waved his hand, telling the jailer to leave first, and Tersolius, having just completed his task, turned and left decisively.

"Take care of him, doctor, otherwise our prize will die here from the rotten poison in the rat's teeth."

Tersolius glanced at the tightly bound man and his right foot, which was covered in blood and gore from being skinned and fascia peeled off, then turned to Talina and gave her a word of advice.

"Yes, sir."

Tarina also stopped her calm and concise report, casually took out a glass bottle containing a pale blue potion from the small white fur pouch at her waist, uncorked it, and poured it onto the bloody and mangled area.

As a puff of white smoke rose, the fascia in the foot twitched a few times due to the intense pain, and then returned to its original state. Tarina took out a small roll of bandage, wrapped it briefly, and that was the end of the treatment.

The warden, also intrigued, stepped forward, lifted the man's hair, examined the small holes in his neck where his finger cots had pierced him, and then slapped him twice across the face. He easily arrived at his conclusion:

"This guy will be numb for a while... around the sixth bell this afternoon, we should take advantage of that time to get everything done, get that little guy out of his head, and take apart his arms and legs to see what's inside. I'm quite curious how those thorns suddenly grew out of there and cut through the two layers of leather straps. If we hadn't been careful, this guy might have really gotten away."

"I just guessed that his bones were different from those of a normal person. I had a vague feeling when I grabbed his neck. The bones in a normal person's neck are definitely not that shape or feel."

"You can do whatever you want, just don't kill him..."

Thesolius was flipping through Talina's notebook, pausing occasionally to think:

“We need this guy’s tongue, nothing else matters. I also believe that you, Brazil Saiyaros, can get everything I want to know out of his mouth.”

"We will certainly not let you down."

The warden bowed slightly, his words revealing genuine pleasure.

P.S.: I was exhausted yesterday, and I actually fell asleep while writing this =_= I almost lost my perfect attendance bonus, I'll have to make up for it in the next few days?_?

Chapter 261 Cities and Laws of the Empire (2)

The empire's army is being mobilized. A city has just fallen to them, and these insatiable soldiers are already eager to trample their iron hooves on other fertile lands and continue their conquests, as if their passion is like the boiling lava in a volcano, maintaining a terrifying heat capable of melting iron at every moment.

Wave after wave of scouts risked their lives to continuously probe the surrounding area, but the vast majority were discovered, driven away, and eliminated by the patrolling light cavalry within a very short time. Every possible, albeit dubious, piece of intelligence was exchanged for countless lives. If the battle between the two armies were likened to a death match in a ring, then the Hols were now as if they had been blinded by a heavy punch, only able to vaguely see some chaotic light and shadow, completely unable to see where their opponent was going to strike next, and were in an extremely passive position.

After securing Toracasi, the key transportation hub of the Kingdom of Hols, the imperial army, under the orders of Tesolius, split into three parts and launched attacks in three directions. They aimed to take advantage of the Hols' recent crushing defeat and their agonizing pain to plunder them and feed their war-hungry hunger.

Tersolius knew very well that there was another hidden danger lurking in the shadows that could not be ignored: the southern kingdom of Asel could not remain silent forever. Their Shah was not the kind of fool who did not understand the principle of mutual dependence; this wealthy and prosperous kingdom was worth his vigilance.

Therefore, before obtaining more accurate intelligence, he made a relatively conservative choice and did not allow his army to launch an overly aggressive attack. Even though the Hols were now nothing more than skeletons in a tomb and fish in a net to him, and he was only left to be beaten, he was not prepared to devour the feast in front of him all at once.

The Hols' role on the stage is almost over, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they are unlikely to have another chance to appear. Before they are completely wiped out, the Asel will surely react, as long as they do not want to lose their northern barrier and expose their rich coastal oases and plains to the Empire.

........................

The army's march began at dawn and would continue for a considerable time. The noise of people shouting and horses neighing, along with the flickering lights, accompanied the residents' dinner time. The city's control became increasingly tight to prevent any malicious individuals from deliberately causing chaos during this period.

The city's residents experienced a not-too-drastic change today—they were divided into small units according to the distribution of their houses, with the men of each household becoming heads of households, and ten households forming a team. From among them, a capable and shrewd person was chosen as the team leader, who was responsible for spreading the empire's laws and policies to others on a daily basis, and also for organizing people to participate in military training at fixed times each year.