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*****
"This is Helgen. I used to have an old flame here. I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries."
When a fortress resembling a castle appeared in front of the cart, a look of nostalgia crossed Ralof's face.
"It's funny... when I was a kid, the Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."
"Shut up, you damn rebels!"
Hearing Ralof's voice from the cart behind him, the Imperial soldier driving the front cart, clad in Imperial armor, immediately reprimanded him with disgust.
At this moment, however, George's attention was not focused inside the cart. Instead, he was using his superhuman hearing to gather intelligence on the entire military convoy.
Although he had temporarily sealed all the energy within his body, including even the slightest leak of spiritual power, to prevent detection by the Creator, his physical body was still terrifyingly strong, and his five senses were extraordinarily acute.
If he wished, his eyes could see a single strand of hair on the ground a thousand li away, his ears could hear every sound within a thousand-li radius, and his sense of smell was tens of thousands of times stronger than a dog's.
However, under normal circumstances, he would certainly not indulge his five senses to such an extent; otherwise, it wouldn't be a very comfortable experience.
For example, if he fully unleashed his sense of smell, the stench of a pile of feces a thousand li away would be as if it were right under his nose. How disgusting would that be?
Therefore, his body's instincts would normally limit his senses to a normal level, automatically activating them when needed, and the extent to which they were used was entirely up to his will.
Just like now, it was sufficient for him to amplify his hearing to cover the range of the prisoner escort.
"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is already in place in the town!"
Just as the escort convoy approached the military fortress of Helgen, an Imperial soldier, who had been waiting in front of the fortress, loudly reported to Tullius, who was riding at the very front.
Tullius nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Let's get this over with. Proceed with the execution immediately after we enter."
However, just as his words fell, a High Elf dressed in Thalmor robes, accompanied by two Wood Elves in ornate Elven armor, rode up to intercept them.
"General Tullius, stop! By the authority of the Thalmor, I am taking custody of these prisoners!"
The High Elf in the lead commanded arrogantly.
A look of disgust flashed in General Tullius's eyes, and he retorted without yielding an inch: "Ambassador Elenwen, surely you don't want to miss a perfect execution."
Handing Ulfric over to the Thalmor? What a joke. If the Thalmor got their hands on Ulfric, the leader of the Stormcloaks, there was no telling how many schemes and plots they would devise to bring down the Empire.
Although the Empire had signed the shameful White-Gold Concordat, it didn't mean they had truly submitted to this group of High Elves.
It was merely a strategy to bide their time.
Once the Empire regained its strength, it would inevitably drive these invading High Elves back to their homeland, and perhaps even send a grand army to conquer the Aldmeri Dominion.
It was only this idiot, Ulfric, who disregarded the bigger picture and insisted on stirring up a rebellion now, needlessly weakening the Empire's military strength.
The most important thing for him to do, as an Imperial General, was to seize this chance to execute Ulfric, quell the rebellion, and prevent any further complications.
"According to the White-Gold Concordat, signed by your Emperor, you must submit to Thalmor oversight. I am ordering you again, hand these prisoners over to me!"
Seeing Tullius's unwillingness to hand over Ulfric, Thalmor Ambassador Elenwen immediately brought up the White-Gold Concordat, attempting to use it to force Tullius to compromise.
However, Tullius had already dared to defy orders to execute the prisoner first and report later; how could he possibly compromise at this moment?
"You should know that my... guest... Ulfric Stormcloak, was once a candidate for the throne of High King of Skyrim, and is a traitor to the Empire. I believe that as an Imperial General, I have the absolute right to deal with him!"
Drawing the high-quality enchanted longsword from his waist, Tullius's tone was extremely firm. "If you insist on taking him, then we can only resolve this with force."
"You... you've made a mistake! I will be demanding an explanation from your Queen when I return!"
Seeing this, Elenwen's face turned green with anger—although her face was already somewhat green to begin with.
With only herself and two Elven guards, how could they possibly be a match for the Empire's most elite soldiers led by Tullius? She could only spit out a harsh threat before turning and riding away from Helgen.
"There was this extra scene in the middle, huh? I really didn't notice it when I played the game."
Hearing the conversation between Tullius and Thalmor Ambassador Elenwen up ahead, George muttered to himself inwardly.
The real world was the real world, and the game was the game. They were certainly consistent in the broad strokes, but the details were bound to be very different.
This was because, in the game, many things were designed for a better player experience and didn't completely conform to reality.
The game from his previous life could only serve as a reference; he still had to compare the specifics himself.
The convoy entered the fortress town. After being gawked at by the town's residents, they finally arrived at the innermost square, which was also the execution site.
"When your name is called, step forward to the chopping block!"
After the cart stopped, George, Ralof, and the other two were pushed off. A female Imperial officer in heavy armor walked up, her face cold.
"The Empire just loves their damn lists. Hmph, formalism."
Ralof snorted coldly, then looked at George with some surprise. "I didn't expect a little horse thief like you to have so much guts."
They were about to be beheaded, yet he noticed that George's face didn't show the slightest trace of fear.
As an old battlefield veteran, he was accustomed to life and death and had long prepared himself mentally, yet even he still felt some fear. But this civilian, who had been wrongly arrested, was actually this calm.
"Since ancient times, who has escaped death? You have to die sooner or later. There's nothing to be afraid of."
George shrugged and replied.
Of course, he wasn't afraid. He wasn't going to die here at all.
Hearing George's words, not only did Ralof show a look of admiration, but even Ulfric, who was gagged over there, gave him a second look.
The dazed-looking Dragonborn did the same.
"I didn't expect you to have such courage. If we weren't about to return to the embrace of Talos, I'd really want to recruit you into our ranks. The Stormcloaks need men with courage like you, even if you are a Breton."
"Same to you."
George smiled and nodded. He thought to himself that if this were the game, he probably would have just received a side quest to join the Stormcloaks.
The Empire and the Stormcloaks... to be honest, neither side was righteous; both had their own problems.
The Empire was corrupt, full of graft, and had a disregard for human life, among many other issues. The Stormcloaks were racist and their order was chaotic; they weren't much better.
In the war between the Empire and the Stormcloaks, the ones who suffered in the end were the ordinary civilians.
That's why George didn't have a favorable impression of either side when he played the game.
The only Jarl he felt was decent was Balgruuf of Whiterun, though his bratty kids were an exception.
(End of Chapter)