"Did you just talk back to me?"
The Vice Captain's voice was calm, almost bored, but the room went silent.
"It seems you don't understand the position you're in right now. According to our laws, knight law, and every law of war recognized by any sane authority, any invader who enters another nation to kill its citizens is executed on the spot."
He leaned forward slightly.
"And yet here I am, giving you a chance. A chance to defend yourself. A chance to offer an excuse. And you are wasting it."
He straightened and turned his head.
"Fine. Let's do this another way."
The Vice Captain looked at Blondie. "Bring out two hundred of his people."
Minutes later, the doors opened.
Heads were carried into the hall, screaming, crying, each accompanied by a knight. Terror filled the room as the prisoners realized where they were.
The Vice Captain turned back to the lizardman.
"Since you are their leader," he said calmly, "you should be able to tell who followed your orders and who resisted. Who tried to kill my citizens, and who stayed their hand."
He gestured.
A knight stepped forward, holding two heads in front of the lizardman.
"Choose."
The lizardman froze. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide. These were his people, those he had sworn to protect, fought for, bled for.
The Vice Captain tapped the armrest of his chair.
The knight understood.
Both heads were crushed, heart and skull destroyed in the same instant.
The screams stopped.
"Hesitation," the Vice Captain said evenly, "means both are guilty."
Another gesture.
"Next."
Two more heads were brought forward.
Again, the lizardman hesitated.
Again, the knight acted.
Two more lives erased.
"You speak of fairness," the Vice Captain continued, voice unchanging. "Of cowardice. Yet you invaded another nation, attempted to slaughter its people, and now demand mercy."
He leaned back.
"You don't have that privilege."
"Continue."
Another pair was raised.
Before the knight could strike again, the lizardman screamed.
"STOP!"
His voice cracked.
"We were ordered by our king! We didn't know everything! We were told to rely on him, on the elf. He promised support. Aid to our Allied forces!"
The Vice Captain smiled faintly.
"Allied forces?" he repeated. "You mean the Beast Kingdom."
The lizardman lowered his head, unable to meet his gaze.
"Yes," he whispered. "Multiple races. What the Human Empire calls the Beast Kingdom."
The Vice Captain nodded.
"And why come here?" he asked. "This city holds no strategic value. No rare resources. No advantage."
"We are knights," the lizardman said desperately. "We follow orders. Our mission was to kill you, or capture you, if possible, and extract answers about what happened to the Kingdom of Coexisting."
The Vice Captain gestured.
Two more heads were destroyed.
"You stopped talking," he said. "That means you stopped being useful."
He pointed again.
"Continue."
The remaining prisoners screamed, begging their captain to save them.
Their agony filled the hall.
The lizardman broke.
"We worked with someone inside the city," he cried. "He told us when you would arrive. He said you would be weakened. He worked with the tree spirit to help us kill you. That's all I know. I swear."
The troll chuckled. "Sisi, you're quite famous. Everyone wants you dead."
Blondie stepped forward.
"What about the girl?" he asked. "The young elf one."
The Vice Captain's eyes narrowed. "There was another elf?"
"Yes," the knights said quickly. "She was with them. Young, thirteen, maybe fourteen. We captured her easily. She didn't fight. She didn't resist."
The lizard man continued,
"She was a survivor from the Kingdom of Coexisting. For some reason, she knew our purpose. She followed us willingly. She wanted answers, from you."
His voice trembled.
"Because she knew our plan, we couldn't let her go. Even our leader couldn't extract anything from her. She gave us nothing."
Silence fell.
The Vice Captain did not move.