106: execution

At noon the next day, under the scorching sun, the soldiers of the Magic Empire in the square had beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads, falling one by one onto their armor.

Wei He stood in the very center of the square, with Carlos, bound in chains, kneeling before him. At this moment, Carlos's hair was disheveled, his appearance haggard, his head lowered, his brow slackly furrowed, his mouth drooping, and his face sagging like a wilted rag, having long lost his former vigor.

Wei He, however, looked at Carlos with a beaming smile and said leisurely, "General Carlos, did you ever imagine a day like this? Do you still not understand why, out of nowhere, you became a traitor who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the nation?"

"You... what do you mean? Why did I become a traitor? Could it be... could it be you!" Carlos's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had realized something. His brow furrowed into a knot as he stared at Wei He for a long while, but in the end, he could only sigh. His magic had already been crippled by Neme, so even if he knew who had framed him, what could he do?

"Forget it. I tormented you so much in the past, so it's only natural for you to retaliate. What I don't understand is, what clever method did you use to deceive everyone? Even I don't know when I fell into your trap!" Carlos said in a calm tone.

"That, I cannot tell you. Hahahaha! Actually, I'm not from this place. I just want to return to my homeland. If you hadn't blocked my way back, hmph!" At this point, Wei He poured a bowl of wine and fed it to Carlos.

"However, this isn't exactly me framing you. After Charlie rescued you, regardless of whether you colluded with the enemy or betrayed the nation, no one would believe you anymore because of the demonic power and traits you possess. Don't you agree?" Wei He added fuel to the fire, not mentioning a word about how Carlos was injured or how he was surrounded by his own Red Alert Warrior.

"Fine, go ahead and do it. It's just death, after all. Even if the world doesn't understand me, I'm not someone who fears death!" Carlos's gaze gradually grew resolute. The breeze blew through his graying hair, making him appear utterly desolate.

Wei He nodded, then turned and walked onto the nearby high platform. He shouted to the sea of commoners in the square, "People, I am Wei He, the Lord of the Magic Empire. The man below is Carlos, the traitor who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the nation. He has been transformed into a demon. Today, we will remove his demonic traits here and, at the same time, serve as a warning to all those ungrateful scoundrels—traitors meet no good end. Execution!"

At Wei He's command of "execution," several soldiers of the Magic Empire walked up, carrying Wooden Trays filled with various Instruments of Torture.

Wei He's actions only proved the saying: those who wrong you know better than anyone that you are wronged. The commoners in the square jostled and pushed, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to watch Carlos being tortured, including Charlie, who was hidden among the crowd.

Charlie was wrapped entirely in coarse linen clothing, with a large straw hat covering his face. Beneath his clothes, white gauze was stained with green blood seeping from his wounds.

Before he could be treated by the Abyssal Demon, he received the news of Carlos's execution, deliberately leaked by Wei He. Ignoring his injuries, he came to Kongdi City. Now, he no longer had the strength to rescue Carlos and could only come to see him one last time.

"Ah, ah, haha! Wei He, you despicable scoundrel! Don't think you can catch Charlie! He will surely avenge me, ah~" Carlos cried out in pain. He knew why Wei He was holding the execution in the square—to lure out Charlie and capture him. In truth, he was overthinking it. The demons in the Ground Fissures were no match for Wei He. The reason they hadn't been eliminated yet was to use them to continue draining the Magic Empire's resources.

Now, with Carlos being tortured in the square, Charlie would become even more determined to side with the demons and fight more earnestly against the Magic Empire. And things were indeed unfolding as Wei He had planned. As Carlos's punishment proceeded, his agonized screams tore at Charlie's heart. Charlie clenched his fists tightly, causing his unhealed wounds to bleed green blood once more.

Finally, the Scales on Carlos's chest were torn off. Then, the soldiers hoisted him up with chains, removed his gem-studded boots, and exposed his bare feet. A soldier inserted a small Iron Tube, the size of a pinky finger, into the soles of Carlos's feet. Drops of green blood dripped onto the floor. At last, the many commoners saw that the man before them was truly no longer human—he had indeed become a demonic beast.

The soldiers did this to let Carlos's blood drain slowly, rather than quickly, so he would live as long as possible and suffer more torment. This punishment was primarily designed to torture the prisoner. If the wounds on his feet scabbed over, specialized soldiers would reopen them to let the blood continue flowing. Throughout this process, the prisoner was not allowed to eat or drink. Sometimes, even the soldiers didn't know whether the prisoner died of starvation or blood loss.

Wei He stood on the high platform, watching the dense crowd of commoners below casting admiring glances his way. He greatly enjoyed this state of affairs. However, he suddenly noticed a Man in Black in the crowd giving him a hostile look. He steadied his mind and looked again, but there was no trace of the Man in Black in that spot. He didn't take the matter seriously, because in this place now, no one was a match for him.

Wei He was observing the execution when suddenly, a figure flew down from the sky. This person wore a light pink dress, its hem fluttering slightly in the breeze, revealing fair legs beneath. Seeing this, Wei He felt his heart stir.

"Linlin, what are you doing here? How can you fly in the air?" Wei He looked at Linlin in the sky, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape, asking in disbelief.

"Hmph, when you came back, I asked you if you noticed any changes in me. Hahahaha! Let me tell you, I'm now a High-level Magician!" Linlin's lips curled into a slight smile, her eyebrows lifting as she cheerfully answered Wei He's question.

"Is that what I'm asking? Come down quickly! How can you fly in the air wearing a dress!" Wei He was speechless. If Linlin flew in the air wearing a dress, wouldn't everyone below get an unobstructed view? This Linlin was still so bold.

"What's wrong? Isn't it pretty? I think it looks quite nice. Look, they're all drooling and staring blankly!" Linlin pointed at the commoners below, giggling.

"Get down here right now! Come here and behave!" Wei He glared angrily, his tone stern as he shouted.

"Oh, I understand!" Linlin instantly shifted from her cheerful state to a pitiful, aggrieved expression, like an obedient kitten, and obediently flew to Wei He's side.