Armored Cavalry, survive in a world full of mods

The emperor leaned close to Tersolius, reached out his slender fingers and gently touched the baby's cheek. He was startled by the incredibly soft touch, but couldn't help reaching out to stroke it again.

Theolys's expression was now somewhat tense—he had never imagined that a newborn baby would be so soft and light to hold. He felt that if he applied even a little more force, this tiny life would shatter like fragile porcelain.

So he didn't dare to put any force into his palm, as if he were holding a large block of jelly, letting the soft little thing lie in his hand.

"It looks a bit ugly. Shouldn't babies be chubby and fair-skinned?"

Claudia looked at the baby girl in the swaddling clothes with some curiosity. The baby's swollen and pale features could hardly be described as pretty; it was a kind of childish ugliness.

"Things will change soon."

Tarina finally had a free hand and breathed a sigh of relief. The girl had been busy all day, carrying a terrible burden, and felt utterly exhausted; even her legs were weak. But she still tried her best to explain to the emperor beside her:

"Every baby is like this when they are first born. They will become very cute after their skin relaxes in a few days."

"Is that so? Then I'm really looking forward to it."

As he spoke, the emperor, with a smile, scratched the girl's cheek again, causing the little girl to frown, wave her little hands to the side a few times as if shooing away flies, and her little mouth to purse, which made Tersolius and the emperor laugh out loud.

The fiery red sunset was warm and bright, casting a red glow on everyone's faces and making their eyes sparkle.

…………

The capable young man hurriedly rode in a carriage through the streets and alleys. Under the strict guard of the soldiers, he entered a majestic and magnificent building and arrived unimpeded at the door with a hard mahogany base. He put his hands behind his back and gently tapped the door with his hard knuckles.

"come in."

Rostoia pushed open the heavy, sturdy wooden door and stepped inside. The instant his face lit up with excitement, as if a switch had been flipped:

"Teacher, both mother and children are safe and sound, and they have given birth to twins!"

The old man's fingers trembled as he looked down at the documents on the parchment, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes relaxed considerably. Although his face remained expressionless, anyone familiar with him could easily sense the joy in this serious old man at that moment.

Have they given the child a name yet?

"Yes, yes, the boy's name is Ikosoya, and the girl's name is Felsitara."

"Hmph!..." The old man snorted somewhat discontentedly.

"It's barely passable, so they don't really need me anymore..."

"The good news is already circulating outside, and everyone is speculating when the emperor will officially announce it."

"Don't worry about that for now... Have you made any progress on the matter I asked you to investigate?..."

The old man's eyes, which had just been filled with joy, drooped again, and a coldness filled his words, more chilling and terrifying than the ghosts of hell.

"I've got some leads—"

Rostoia suppressed his excitement, nodded slightly, and spoke as if he were chewing on steel.

"But it will take time, if we can get help from the henchmen..."

“I will speak to Her Majesty and she will not refuse. Neither of us will refuse or hesitate on this matter.”

"The price that should be paid cannot be delayed any longer, and I cannot tolerate those damned scoundrels."

------------

The heavy axe drew an arc and slammed into the solid tree trunk. Some dry lichen and moss fell from the damp bark with the tremor, creating a deep notch that continued to widen.

The man wielding the axe was short, even shorter than some tall women, but extremely strong. His shoulders were half again as wide as those of an average man, and his powerful muscles covered his entire body, making him look as solid as a heavy rock.

The axe in his hand flew up and down like a light feather, chopping off piece after piece of tree trunk. Sweat beaded on his forehead, sticking his short curly hair to his skin. His coarse linen shirt was patched in several places, but his trousers were clean and in good condition, and his shoes showed no signs of wear, looking like they had just been changed.

The man with a simple and honest face stood alone in the dense forest of the deep mountains, cutting down a tree that would take three people to encircle. A thick hemp rope was already tied to the top of the tree to prevent it from falling and hitting him—this was the most likely danger that lumberjacks would encounter, especially when logging in the deep mountains. No one knew where the tree would fall and hit. If even a branch blocked its path, it would change its original trajectory. Even the most experienced workers had to be extremely careful.

After swinging the axe three times, the man finally let out a long breath, letting his sore and numb shoulders and arms relax. Then he hoisted the axe onto his shoulder, ready to finish the last task.

The clanging sound rang out again, and broken pieces of wood fell to the ground around them. With the final blow of the axe, the whole tree trembled ominously, and the remaining wood fibers in the middle snapped with a crisp sound. Following the gap he had deliberately left, the tree fell towards the foot of the mountain.

The massive tree, whose weight was immeasurable, crashed heavily to the ground. The dull thud and the spray of fallen leaves enveloped it before it sped away again, the dust settling after a while.

The man picked up his axe again, preparing to break up the tree, piling the most valuable trunk aside, while the branches, whether thick or thin, would make good firewood once dried.

Just as he was working diligently, and a thick tree trunk had been trimmed, a cold voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Looks like you did a good job. Look how skilled you are with that axe. I almost forgot how you used it to chop off heads before."

The man swung his axe with all his might, expressionless, and cleaved a tree branch as thick as a thigh in two. The axe blade fell into the soil, creating a deep trench.

He released the smooth axe handle from his hand and turned his head expressionlessly:

"You didn't come to me just to spout this nonsense, did you? If so, I can use this axe to loosen your muscles and teach you a lesson."

"Don't be angry, don't be angry. It was just a little joke. I was just teasing you because you did a good job."

A tall, thin man in black appeared on a slightly higher slope. He seemed to be the opposite of the man in question. His body was as long and thin as a stick insect, and his arms and legs were so thin that one would wonder if they were just a few bones.

His face was equally sharp and mean, gaunt and bony—his cheeks were sunken deep, without an ounce of extra flesh, his eye sockets were equally deep and dry, his cheekbones were high and protruding, as if covered only by a layer of withered yellow skin, and he had a pair of rather large ears, which easily reminded people of vampire bats living in caves.

The two men, one tall and one short, one strong and one thin, didn't exchange any pleasant words upon meeting, but they inadvertently revealed a unique tacit understanding, like old friends of many years.

The strong man snorted, pulled his axe from the ground, turned around and chopped it into the tree trunk, then sat down on it.

A man with thinning hair, resembling a skinned skeleton, sat down with a smile. An ant crawled up his finger and burrowed into his clothes, only to be precisely caught by his hand, which reached inside his collar. He slowly rubbed it into a small black curl in his hand, the formic acid squeezed out emitting an unpleasant smell.

"We messed up the whole thing. The target is still alive and well, and the 'framework' we set up there has been dismantled."

"You failed too, huh?..." The short, stocky man looked at his companion in surprise, his expression revealing undisguised schadenfreude.

"You were bragging to me before that what you did was completely secretive and foolproof, so how did things go wrong so quickly? You even boasted to the elders that you would definitely offer sacrifices..."

204 Re-emergence (2)

The short, stocky man's words made him blush, a mixture of embarrassment and anger making him retort bitterly:

“These foolish mortals always seem to get lucky… No, perhaps I underestimated them. Even with my unparalleled grace, I shouldn’t have been so careless. Now that I think about it, there were indeed many things I did poorly.”

"You're just incompetent, what nonsense are you spouting..."

The short, stocky man yawned without any interest, showing no intention of believing a word, ruthlessly exposing the guy's hypocritical facade.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, the other person immediately fell silent, his face turning ashen as if he had eaten shit. He stammered, not knowing what to say, and could only point at him with a trembling finger.

"You yourself coveted this credit, thinking you could accomplish things secretly, making our sacrifice die in childbirth, and bringing back its soul..."

The short, stocky man stood up, pulled the axe from the wood, and appeared ready to continue his work.

"But you don't have the ability to hide anything... This country is powerful and prosperous, and it's easy for all kinds of talented people to emerge. You think too highly of yourself and really believe that no one knows the truth about this difficult birth and that you can fool them."

"You came here for no other reason than to find a way to salvage the situation after realizing you've messed things up. You're probably worried about being caught by those lackeys... Get out of here. My only advice is to get out of here as soon as possible, or things will get worse."

As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his axe and, with his strong arms and the sharpness of the axe, quickly dissected the complicated branches, soon trimming out the most valuable, thick trunk.

He breathed a sigh of relief after doing all this. He turned around, and the tall, thin figure that looked like a stick insect had disappeared, leaving only a small package wrapped in black cloth in a patch of bare soil.

Without a word, he stepped forward, picked up the package, and stuffed it into his arms. After a long while, he muttered in a low voice:

"Beneath the blue rocks, there is white light; that is our kingdom, in the name of the Supreme Being..."

………………

The empire's capital is seething with tension. The country has a terrifying number of jailers to uphold the law and ensure that anyone who breaks it receives the punishment they deserve.

Even the most worldly-wise imperial citizens had never seen such a scene of so many jailers moving out at the same time. The figures in black robes could be seen everywhere, like a flock of ominous crows covering the sky, putting immense pressure on anyone with a guilty conscience.

This is not a precise, targeted arrest, but a thorough cleanup, to eliminate all abnormalities and misconduct.

The residents of the capital are already very familiar with this process. During this period, everyone tries to minimize unnecessary outings, seizes the opportunity to stock up on at least a week's worth of food for themselves and their families, and then locks their doors, anxiously and expectantly waiting for things to pass.

Every day, countless people are dragged into black carriages and iron cages. Some of them are released, while others never appear again, their fates self-evident.

The entire central province was in turmoil. The machinery of this vast country was in full swing, and in the blink of an eye, it unleashed terrifying power. Those scoundrels who thought they were hiding their true strength immediately met with annihilation.

In the blink of an eye, this country, which was once a place where one could hide anywhere, became fraught with crisis. The empire’s outstanding control over the grassroots was on full display. Every village and town, wherever people could live, was ordered to conduct a population check. Any suspicious person had to be reported, and every traveling merchant and traveler had to have proof.

Prisons everywhere were suddenly overcrowded, and all suspicious persons were arrested. After careful screening, most of the unlucky ones were released in a short time, and the rest were gradually cleared of suspicion. Only those who had actually committed crimes were left there.

The vast majority of arrests were not unusual, and the spies sent here by neighboring countries suffered heavy losses, with most of them being caught and arrested by following the clues.

For many people, this is not a good time...

-----------------------

The black iron carriage slowly drove across the paved road. In the still of the night, even such obvious noise did not attract anyone to come and investigate, which was extremely rare in the usually heavily guarded imperial village.

But upon seeing those figures dressed in black robes and wearing brass masks appearing on the carriage, all doubts were answered—whenever these ominous figures appeared, someone would be punished, so no one dared to show up at this time.

"The target lives in the east of the village, in the third house next to the well. Let's hurry up and finish this so we can go back and rest earlier."

The leader's deep voice came from beneath the bronze mask, and the others silently scattered, flanking the houses from both sides. Several members also approached from the other side of the village, and in the blink of an eye, they surrounded the house.

The target did not rush out of the house to escape, which surprised and disappointed some of the members. After all, tracking a target who was running away in front of them was quite easy and a rare pleasure for them.

Armed with clamps and chains, they had no interest in doing anything unnecessary. They simply kicked the door open, the broken wooden bolt making a crisp sound. The two doors slammed heavily against the wall, the rattling chains flooding into the room, and a dark figure immediately leaped up from under the table.

This level of resistance was expected. The exceptionally tall and strong jailer calmly raised his right leg and kicked the dark figure in the center with a moderate force, sending the figure flying back even faster, slamming the table with a creaking sound.

A sturdy iron clamp reached out and clamped onto the shadowy figure's neck. With a slight exertion of the strong arm, the person was dragged out and pulled out of the moonlit room. The clamp was then slammed to the ground. The user was very careful, ensuring that the sturdy iron did not break the person's neck.

The man on the ground had an ordinary appearance, and even his height and weight were at an extremely average level. He would be hard to spot if thrown into a crowd. At this moment, he was clutching his stomach and dry heaving on the ground.

Although he had deliberately controlled the force of that kick, it still struck the softest and most vulnerable part of the human body, leaving him powerless to resist. He writhed and struggled like an insect placed on a hot tile.

After carefully observing the man's face and finally confirming with some effort that he was indeed their target, the captain waved his hand slightly, and immediately men with chains stepped forward and tightly bound the man.

Having finished their business, they had no intention of lingering. They quickly checked the room and, after confirming there were no suspicious items, prepared to leave. A carriage with black iron cages was approaching.

…………

Ouch!

A strange sound suddenly came from behind, like the sound of bones being rubbed against hard stones, causing everyone to turn around and look at the man still struggling on the ground.

The man who had been writhing and thrashing like a worm was now completely still... or perhaps not so much. To be precise, only his head was twitching irregularly and strangely, as if something was jumping inside it.

The sharp scimitar was slowly drawn from its sheath. The jailers watched the struggling criminal on the ground in silence, seemingly prepared and not surprised by the strange sight.

As that sickening sound continued to ring out, the man's head was visibly deforming. Some parts bulged out as if snakes were crawling inside, while others were deeply sunken in, like diseased fruit that had been gnawed by insects, possessing a deformed vitality.

During this process, the jailers did nothing but stand by and watch with great interest as the bones in the man's face deformed and shattered, his skin broke open to reveal the scarlet flesh beneath, and snot and saliva mixed with blood flowed all over the ground, his hair was also stuck together with dust and blood.

Just when the commotion suddenly stopped, and they thought it was all over, that the sinner was worthless and had become a pile of dead flesh—the man's head suddenly exploded. Countless bone fragments, still covered with hair and flesh, flew everywhere at a terrifying speed. The jailers, unable to dodge in time, groaned in pain as their bodies were cut and pierced by these bone fragments.

A twisted black shadow wriggled and stretched out, its tentacles, as long as an arm, groping around. The man's body began to move again. Although only half of his head remained, with fragments scattered from the bridge of his nose upwards, his body moved stiffly and rapidly. He even broke his own joints without a care, quickly removing the sturdy iron chains from his body, and then, in an extremely bizarre manner, swiftly crawled towards the woods next to the village.

But before he could crawl a few meters away, a grappling hook with an iron chain was thrown at him, piercing deep into his flesh and hooking into his bones. The silent captain pulled hard, unleashing terrifying force, pulling the inhuman creature back a distance.

The remaining jailers immediately swarmed forward, their sharp scimitars rising and falling. With the slurring sound of flesh and bone being cleaved, a large amount of blood gushed out, quickly soaking the surrounding yellow earth and creating a large pool of blood.

Seeing that the man had finally stopped moving, the prison guards exchanged bewildered glances, their earlier composure completely gone—this didn't match the intelligence they had received; such a special target shouldn't be able to achieve this level of restraint…

The flying bone fragments had caught everyone completely off guard. Although their chests and abdomens were protected by chainmail and leather armor, there were always gaps where they were hit, though not deeply. But thinking of that inhuman, ghostly thing, everyone immediately began cleaning their wounds, fearing they might end up like that.

They quickly cleaned away the bone fragments still covered in hair and flesh, and even washed the wounds with the medicine they carried with them, before finally stopping and gathering around the long-dormant corpse.

"...I've been in this line of work for 12 years, and this is the first time I've encountered something like this."

The captain, who was in the lead, sighed slightly, then reached out his sharp blade and turned over the mangled, dismembered pile of flesh on the ground. The severed, grayish-white tentacles were particularly eye-catching.

“That’s right, who would have thought that someone’s head would explode on its own… I almost thought that something strange was filled in his head… I guess I’m not wrong.”

“I bet many people would rather encounter a vicious criminal than something like this… This thing is really too eerie, it reminds me of the legends from my hometown.”

"Are you sure you've cleaned it up properly? Don't let those damn bugs get away."

"No problem, don't worry. I specifically chopped it off its head. This worm has been minced into a pulp."

………………

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. This body needs to be taken back. You bunch of scared girls went a bit too far. I wonder if it's even useful after being destroyed like this..."

"Captain, you can't blame us! Who wouldn't be scared when they first see something like this? We managed to react in time and keep it here. Otherwise, I can't even imagine what the consequences would have been if it had escaped."

…………

Some of the frightened horses were calmed down, and a carriage with a black iron cage drove up to the side. The jailers found some old, yellowed sheets in the room, wrapped up all the odds and ends on the ground, and then threw the large bundle into the carriage.

In addition, they carefully searched the surrounding area for bone fragments and scraps of flesh, carefully packing up anything they could pick up to ensure there were no leftovers.

This carriage was supposed to be carrying living people, but now it has become a mangled corpse, and it is unknown how much the weight has changed.

With a crack of the whip, the silent horse trotted its hooves out of the village, proceeding slowly along the road under the moonlight, and soon disappeared below the distant horizon. All the houses remained utterly silent, as if the village had become a ghost town.

After a long while, even the startled insects began to chirp again, and a slender figure silently appeared in the woods…