Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

Tersolius showed no intention of dismounting, maintaining a superior posture throughout, and even during the conversation, he did not lower his head. However, no one found this to be amiss, as he had already gained the highest right to speak here, and after all, the emperor would not interrupt him at this moment.

"...Well, the reason is simple...the most important one is that I'm not truly in a desperate situation...Do you really think I would risk my life to come to the palace in person?"

Tersolius frowned, then suddenly bent down and grabbed Turias's face. The move was so decisive and ruthless that it almost seemed as if he were holding a sharp sword and about to disembowel the man in public.

Even Turias hadn't anticipated this, as Tersolius's iron gauntlet grabbed his cheek, and with a violent tearing motion, screams and the sound of tearing filled the air. A large, soft mass covered in hair was ripped into his hand.

Gasps of surprise erupted around them like raindrops. Some soldiers nearby saw it clearly and therefore doubted their own eyes. What appeared before them was not Turials's face, but a "smooth" face...

How can one describe such a face? No eyebrows, no eyelashes. No beard, no hair whatsoever, the entire face is smooth, even the nose is flat with two holes like a fish's. There are almost no protruding parts on the face, every corner appears rounded.

Tersolius kneaded the soft, gelatinous substance in his hand, then tossed it to the ground with a flick of his wrist, and nodded slightly.

"That makes sense now. So, who are you?"

The guy with the unsettlingly smooth face smiled, and the muscles in his entire face tensed up in a thin, almost slender way.

"That's not important, but I'm a lot like him, aren't I?"

"It does seem so, at least you managed to fool me just now, but what are you so happy about?"

"Ah, am I joyful?"

“Indeed, your face is very well done, and I know this guy Turials well enough.”

"Turials" shook his head somewhat helplessly:

"I didn't expect to reveal my weakness here... But it doesn't matter. After all, taking your life is an unimaginable honor for me. How could I not be overjoyed to have the opportunity to make such a contribution to the coming of the Lord of All Wisdom? I couldn't suppress it after all. I hope you can understand."

Tesorius remained unmoved, merely tapping lightly on the saddle seat with his fingers:

"Oh?...Do you still think you can threaten me in your current state? Or have you made additional preparations elsewhere?"

The man lying on the ground could no longer contain his joy, and he laughed a few times with a twisted smile:

"Can't you see it now?!"

boom!!!

Suddenly, the paving stones beneath the warhorse's hooves shattered, and the marble, meticulously polished by craftsmen, turned into a shower of fragments and dust. A massive, blood-stained hook emerged from the cracks, severing the saddle straps without hindrance and plunging deep into the warhorse's belly, gushing out scalding blood like a waterfall.

The warhorse's mournful neighing rang out along with a huge scream. "Turiars" couldn't help but show an expression of extreme excitement, as if he could already see the scene of the man being torn apart by that terrible hook blade, armor and all. He clenched his teeth and fingers in extreme excitement, eagerly anticipating that scene to come into view.

The massive hook, stained with blood, resembled a crab's pincer, except instead of barbed claws, it had a curved, concave blade a hand's thickness. It easily inflicted a fatal wound on the warhorse, causing its bloody entrails to spill out of the abdominal cavity in a clumped mass... But just as the massive hook was about to strike Tersolius's leg, he nimbly freed his feet from the stirrups, flipping forward and leaping off the saddle, narrowly avoiding the heavy, sharp blade almost in mid-air.

Disappointment flashed across Turiars' face, but it was quickly followed by undisguised anticipation. He no longer cared about his own life or death; now, the only thing he cared about was whether he could accomplish this enormous goal.

As the iron boots slammed into the ground, Tersolius swiftly took two steps back, his ornate saber already drawn the instant he turned, like a dragonfly fluttering its wings in mid-air.

The thing hidden in the square's sewers was no longer suppressed. The bloody limbs slowly retracted, while the dead warhorse blocking the way was violently pushed aside by unimaginable force. The deformed, swollen creature broke through the paving stones and exposed itself to the sunlight.

In that instant, countless people doubted their eyes. Terrified shouts and wavering could be heard everywhere in the once-orderly military formation. Some people almost lost their grip on their weapons due to the visual shock of that moment.

Emerging from the sewers was a deformed, twisted monster with skin as pale and smooth as a helmet. It was covered with stitches of all sizes, and its bulging, muscular body was held together in a brutal and grotesque manner. Its monstrous bones resembled a table frame cobbled together by a clumsy carpenter. Only its massive right arm and its thin head, almost fused to its chest, were barely visible.

The massive left arm had just torn open the warhorse's belly, with an iron frame at the end that went deep into the bone marrow, firmly fixing the huge hook blade to it. The lower body was a cylindrical shape like a worm, except that the tentacles that made it crawl were all human hands covered in wear and tear, with complexly spliced ​​muscles providing them with power.

At this moment, the blood of the warhorse had stained it crimson, and the huge blade, which was more than a man tall, and the barbed chains connected to the other short arm were already crashing down on Tersolius, determined to make him bleed on the spot.

"Yes, run! Turn around and run for your lives now, and expose your ugly side!"—Turials was practically screaming madly in his mind. He was impatient, almost obsessed, to see the Imperial Commander make a fool of himself before him... No matter how these mortals struggled or how foolish they were, they could not ultimately fight against intelligent creations! In the end, they could only struggle to survive like maggots!

Of course, turning around and running away would also lead to certain death—those specially designed hooves were enough to give this behemoth a mobility that was completely inconsistent with its appearance. Now that it had lost its warhorse, Tersolius had nowhere to escape!

The immense blade and barbed chains possess enough power to shatter stone tablets and grind a person into a bloody pulp with ease. Even the iron armor that had protected him countless times on the battlefield was of no use; he would only become a pile of iron fragments mixed in with the bloody pulp. For ordinary people, this would be a hopeless situation with no way out in the blink of an eye.

But in an instant, facing this terrifyingly powerful attack, Tersolius merely took a step back, as if dodging a leaf falling from above. The massive blade and chains grazed his toes and slammed him to the floor. The flying shards of stone left insignificant scratches on his armor, unable to harm him in the slightest.

The next moment, under the quiet gaze of the sun, his iron boots stepped onto the broad blade, and following the monster's subconscious action of retracting its weapon, he used the monster's monstrous strength to approach the ugly head.

The monster reacted quickly. The blade that was about to be withdrawn instinctively swept upwards, but he had already nimbly turned in mid-air and jumped onto the guy's broad, bulky back. Two arrows that shot from a distance grazed his skirt armor and pierced the monster's elbow joints, causing a terrible bluish-green color to spread rapidly.

With the composure of slaughtering a pig or a sheep, Tersolius plunged his saber into the monster's pale, stitched nape, precisely avoiding the bone and piercing through the flesh, exiting from the jaw. He then took a step forward and landed on the ground, the blade still firmly in his hand as he fell, its sharp edge slicing around half the monster's head. When he pulled it out, it was already covered in thick blood.

Finally, to the incredulous gaze of "Turials," Tersolius turned and calmly wiped the blood from his blade across the massive, crashing corpse. At this moment, he hadn't even taken his twelfth breath...

Chapter 447 The Rebels (1)

"You!—You! How could you possibly be like this!?"

With an expression that could only be described as distorted, "Turials" practically choked out the words. He simply couldn't comprehend what was happening before his eyes, almost having the illusion that he was still dreaming. His expression was so stupid it was laughable—of course, this was largely due to his ridiculously smooth face.

The massive body that fell was no smaller than a strong ox, and at this moment it was convulsing on the ground like an ox whose throat had been cut, smashing stone dust and debris into the air.

Thick blood was flowing from the severed neck, initially bright red, then gradually darkening until it turned into a strange, dark green. The monster's once strong muscles had also turned white and swollen, as if they had begun to rot and expand in just a few breaths.

This couldn't even be called a battle... At this moment, he only had this thought in his mind—rather than saying that Tersolis defeated this monster through martial arts, it would be more accurate to say that he calmly slaughtered this thing, without the slightest confusion from beginning to end, just like a butcher who has slaughtered countless strong oxen calmly slits the ox's throat, simply butchering it.

But precisely because of this, he found it even harder to comprehend what was happening before him… No one knew the test subject's power better than him. Even three of the strongest brown bears would be torn apart by it. There shouldn't be anyone in the world capable of dealing with something like this alone! Even an army would have to pay a heavy price to deal with it…

Thesolius did not answer him, but looked thoughtfully at the pile of rotting flesh on the ground... This deadly poison that could instantly dissolve bone and flesh was destroying this twisted and pathetic creation every second, turning these piled-up victim limbs and their former home into putrid mud, which would slowly flow into the sewer through the hole that had been smashed open.

This wasn't the kind of deadly poison that Talina had concocted—he knew very well what those toxins would do, focusing more on instantaneous destruction and death, rather than this kind of horrific corrosive and decomposing process that was almost like a corpse-dissolving liquid... So the answer was clear.

Talina's teacher, Bivis, undoubtedly knows a lot, and these things will certainly answer some of his questions... Fortunately, he will have plenty of time to ask him slowly later.

After receiving no response, the person disguised as Turiars quickly dropped his hysterical act. He remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before bursting into maniacal laughter again, the sound as shrill as a crow being choked.

"Hahahaha!! I get it, I get it, so you were one too, so you were one too!..."

Snapped! !

Before the words were even finished, a dull thud followed, like an inflated balloon being stomped on. The guy's head suddenly exploded, scattering hair, flesh, and bone fragments evenly across every corner, covering the surrounding ground completely. His body convulsed briefly before collapsing to the ground.

This happened so suddenly that even Tersolius hadn't expected it. He looked helplessly at the scene, which had left no trace, and brushed off the blood, flesh, and bone fragments that had stained his armor. It seemed that those rats in the shadows had realized that he had a way to deal with the parasites in the prisoners' minds, and had come up with a new trick: blow up their entire heads, leaving him no chance to take advantage.

As for what that guy finally wanted to say... only heaven knows.

The enormous corpse beside him was visibly collapsing, emitting a pungent, foul stench. Tersolius took two steps forward to his fallen warhorse, reached out and stroked its blood-stained mane, then stood up and looked at the turbulent legion formation.

He had initially thought things would get worse, but now it seemed there was still a chance to salvage the situation... at least no one would bleed needlessly today.

"Form ranks!"

The loud and authoritative voice pierced the ears of every officer like a sharp awl, carrying an indescribable authority that made them instinctively pause for a moment before hurriedly carrying out orders, reorganizing their formation amidst the clatter of armor and the clatter of footsteps.

This process did not take much time... The Capital Garrison not only had many veterans who had retired from other corps, but also underwent rigorous training. They were not as loose as the capital troops of other countries who had been out of the battlefield for a long time. Discipline was also engraved in the bones of each of them. No matter how panicked or confused they were, they would subconsciously obey the orders of their officers.

And so, the loose formation came together again, and the panicked and confused soldiers returned to their respective hundred-man squads. Seeing their ranks straight again, and seeing that someone had organized them once more, half of the panic in the soldiers' hearts dissipated without them even realizing it, and a solemn and calm atmosphere began to spread rapidly...

Just as chaos is contagious, so too is order. The square, which had been restless since last night, finally fell silent once more. Only an entire legion stood ready, facing the Empire's commander, awaiting the orders that would follow.

Tersolius reached out and untied the leather strap under his helmet, smoothed his hair which had been weighed down by the helmet, and made a gesture toward the distance. Immediately afterwards, Scripps, still covered in blood, along with his student Rostova and eleven senators, walked through the army formation under the protection of their guards. The old man's face was full of exhaustion, but he still mustered his spirits.

Tersolius stepped forward, took Scripps' hand, and helped the old man over, standing beside him. He then turned to look at the emperor on the city wall. Clautina immediately understood, and although she still had some doubts, she did not hesitate in the slightest. In the stillness of the night, she raised her scepter and struck the ground heavily, instantly drawing the attention of all the soldiers.

"Soldiers of the garrison, you must all have witnessed that Turiars intends to rebel, collude with a cult, and plot to assassinate the emperor of the empire... This is an unforgivable and heinous crime, and you who followed him to surround the palace have naturally become entangled in it."

The garrison began to stir again, but this time the commotion far exceeded the previous disturbances. The mere presence of Tersolius was enough to subdue many of the impulsive men like lambs. After this brief pause, the emperor spoke again:

"However, while the laws of the Empire are strict, they cannot implicate the innocent, especially those who have been lured and deceived into committing crimes. You have done everything a soldier should do, obeyed the orders of your legion commander, and tried to protect the safety of the Empire and the Emperor with your own strength. For this, you should not be criticized..."

The emperor's scepter struck the ground once more, and with a crisp echo, he delivered his verdict:

"Therefore, I hereby pardon your offenses of last night! Apart from those who colluded with the traitor Turials, none of you should be considered guilty. You remain the glorious force protecting this city, and the imperial soldiers guarding the palace and the emperor!!"

As soon as the words were spoken, after a brief pause, a huge uproar immediately broke out. The soldiers' worries vanished instantly, and they raised their weapons and cheered loudly, banging their shields in unison to praise the emperor's wisdom and benevolence.

Amidst the deafening cheers, Scripps struggled to regain his balance, took two steps forward, and appeared in everyone's sight, his loud and steady voice resonating through the surrounding air:

"I, Scripps, the Chief Elder of the Empire, represent the Senate in supporting His Majesty's decision and, at this moment, affirm its sacred and inviolable significance, just as every law of honor in our great nation dictates. No one may raise objections or dissent after this decision; otherwise, it will be considered a challenge to the Empire!"

The soldiers' cheers grew louder and louder, almost to the point of straining their voices. Many of them had flushed red, instinctively realizing that they had witnessed something extraordinary and important... but they were too excited to react yet. Meanwhile, the chief elder exchanged a glance with the emperor and, with a slow and bitter nod, conveyed some information to the emperor.

"And now, under Your Majesty's witness, I hereby declare that the most serious rebellion in the Empire's history of a hundred years has taken place! Members of the Senate, including Dolius, Salios... have betrayed the country and the Emperor, abandoned their former honors, and they and their families have become enemies of the state! I hereby request Your Majesty to strip them of their status and power, for they are no longer worthy of this honor."

The emperor nodded calmly.

“If they have truly participated in this rebellion, I will naturally show no mercy and will ensure that all those who betray the country receive the punishment they deserve… Now, I declare that the country has entered a state of crisis, and we must quickly quell the rebellion and destroy the armies of these ambitious men—I hereby entrust this matter entirely to you, General Tersolius.”

Tersolius bowed his head in salute, and the garrison immediately fell silent, everyone watching intently at this important moment... Many had already realized that their familiar lives were about to undergo tremendous changes.

At least, the opportunity to make a name for themselves that many of them have always longed for seems to be just around the corner... no longer as unattainable as it used to be.

………………

tick tock...tick tock...

Blood trickled down his wrist, rolled across his pale skin, and finally fell from his fingertips into the soil, hitting tiny pebbles along the way with a barely audible sound.

Quack quack quack!! ———

Red-eyed crows perch on treetops, watching menacingly—these scavengers are often the first to discover the death of a creature, even waiting around before it has breathed its last breath, and are therefore regarded as an ominous symbol of death.

rustling sounds~~——

The fat rats scurried among the broken cartwheels and smashed boxes, carefully avoiding predators while secretly licking the blood off the ground with their tiny tongues and gnawing on the fingers and toes of the dead. Carnivores roaming the surrounding forest were also drawn in, trying to join this unexpected feast.

This is a forest path that winds through the woods. It is well-constructed and sturdy, but because it is off the main road, it is not lavishly paved with flagstones and pebbles. It can still be muddy on rainy days. However, the mud here has nothing to do with rainwater, but is purely from being soaked in blood.

Death swept through this stretch of road like a whirlwind, with torn limbs and severed bodies everywhere. The victims' stiff, pale faces still bore the lingering fear that had seeped into their very bones, as if they had been chased and torn apart by demons that had crawled out of hell. The foul-smelling blood and entrails flowed on the ground, attracting mosquitoes and rodents.

At the edge of the road, around a bend, the last survivor of the group was struggling to survive in the forest...

His legs had lost all strength, and he could only move forward little by little by using the strength of his waist and abdomen and his elbows, looking as ridiculous as a caterpillar crawling on the ground.

The footsteps behind him pounded on his heart like a death knell, making him grit his teeth and crawl forward in vain, gripping the roadside weeds with his bloodied hands—even though it was destined to be futile, he still instinctively wanted to do so, as if his body was subconsciously trying to escape that presence.

But it was all in vain... A side kick as heavy as a warhammer sent him tumbling over like a dead dog. What came into view was an extremely ominous black robe and a gray undergarment. Two sharp blades emitting a green glow were dazzling and suffocating. There was not a trace of blood on them, but they were still too dangerous to look at.

He opened his mouth instinctively, wanting to say something, but found his gaze rapidly shifting upwards and outwards, rendering him speechless—the severed head was being carefully examined in his hand. After a long while, the leader of the henchmen sighed regretfully and tossed the severed head away.

"...Another stand-in."

This was still not Turiars, the leader of the rebellion, but she would not be discouraged in the slightest—now that she had received her lord's orders, she would not give up the pursuit until she had taken that person's head… She believed that she was getting closer and closer to her true goal.

P.S.: My throat has been so sore these past two days that I can barely speak. Hopefully, it will feel better tomorrow. (||?_?)

Chapter 448 The Rebels (2)

"I'm ready to hear what you have to say."

In the audience hall of the emperor's palace, Clautina sat on her throne with a smile on her face, supporting her temple with her right hand, her magnificent gold leaf crown slightly askew.

Standing before the emperor was Tersolius, who still hadn't removed his armor, nor even his weapons. His blood-stained boots left a trail of footprints on the ground, and servants outside were cleaning up the marks he had made.