Volume 6 Chapter 29 Interrogation
Around the time Sandra was watching over Gold's blacksmithing. At night. Toxy had returned to Lord's manor from the battlefield.
"Phew, I'm exhausted, Clay."
"Yeah, me too. But we did quite a number on them, and our control is going well, don't you think?"
Today was the first time they moved under the army's command, and the result was more than satisfactory.
They didn't encounter any high-ranking generals today, but instead fought against the lower-ranking officers and their troops. Needless to say, they won overwhelmingly. Toxy's Poison Sea sank a large army, and Clay's Typhon, wreaking havoc from afar, was a sight to behold.
"So, after this, we'll lightly greet Lord and report our battle results, and... head home?"
"No, let's wrap up what we can as quickly as possible. The other two are also making good progress, so we can't afford to slack off."
"Yeah, that's right. Ice-chan is investigating the enemy's abandoned castle and planning our strategy, and Sandra is... what was it again? Watching over the blacksmithing?"
"Ice-san's task is pretty tough, but Sandra-san's is even harder, I think. It's hard to explain in words."
"It's not like Sandra's just slacking off, is it? ...I mean, Sandra will work hard for Wade's sake, and is probably really struggling."
Alright, Toxy straightened her back. And then, she said to Clay.
"No choice, so we'll keep going and do our best! Right, it's the interrogation of 'Wrath' and 'Narcissistic Bard'?"
The two were led by the interrogators to the underground prison.
"There are 'Wrath' and 'Narcissistic Bard' ahead. Both are nobles. As long as they cooperate, don't do anything rough with them."
"In other words, if they don't cooperate, we can use rough methods, right?"
The interrogator's piercing gaze made Clay ask back, and the interrogator responded with a subtle expression.
"Using rough methods would be pointless. Neither of them can be hurt by ordinary human strength. So, it's better to try to persuade them with words, which might still be effective."
"I see. I'll remember that for now. So, Toxy-san, I'm 'Narcissistic Bard'."
"Yeah. I'm 'Wrath', and I'll undergo the interrogation."
The two of them entered the underground prison, each going through a different door. Toxy went through the left door, and Clay went through the right door, accompanied by the interrogator.
In front of Toxy, there was a room that was more like a luxurious stone chamber than an underground prison. 'Wrath' wasn't restrained and was lying on the bed, looking relaxed.
"...He's not restrained?"
The young interrogator replied to Toxy's question.
"Well, we don't have any effective restraints for 'Wrath'. Instead of using restraints, we made a promise with 'Wrath' to not resist when captured, and to receive treatment by pulling out the sword from his body."
"Is that kind of promise really effective...?――"
"Yes... we're the kind of people who keep their promises, so we can receive good treatment as prisoners. On the other hand, if we don't keep our promises and can't be restrained, we'll be killed."
Still lying on the bed, 'Wrath' opened his mouth and continued talking in a lazy tone, rolling his body back and forth.
"So? You're here for the interrogation? Do as you like... The king has given permission to answer as I like."
"...I thought this kind of interrogation was about making you talk by using lies or something, but..."
"That's what I do with the lower-ranking soldiers who aren't authorized to talk... I've been given permission to speak honestly, and you'll confirm the facts by comparing the stories with Roman."
"...Got it."
As long as both of their stories matched, it would be the truth. If there were still some unclear points even after their stories matched, they could further interrogate the lower-ranking officers.
But one thing bothered Toxy, and she asked.
"What do you mean by 'answer as you like'?"
"It's the king's decision... The king judged that if we refused to answer and had our arms cut off, it would be a greater loss than the information we could gain. So, no matter what the situation, we're prepared to tell everything..."
Indeed. If Fist of the Dragon's strength is at the level of the Four Heavenly Kings, then they must have the power to ignore military secrets and the like. In other words, if they have the strength to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, then information is just a minor mistake.
If you can win, you can win even without knowing, and if you can't win, knowing won't help. People like the General and the Commander-in-Chief are in that realm.
However, Toxy can't say "it's the same whether you interrogate or not." For Wade's sake, Toxy wants to hear as much as possible.
So Toxy pulled the chair closer, sat down beside the bed, and asked.
"Tell me. About Fist of the Dragon. The secret to Fist of the Dragon's strength. The weaknesses of Fist of the Dragon."
"..."
Wrath slowly got up, looking annoyed at Toxy.
"I'll tell you beforehand... the Commander-in-Chief has no weaknesses. He's just the strongest... that's what makes him the Commander-in-Chief."
"That's for me to decide. Tell me everything."
"...Got it."
Wrath let out a deep sigh, rubbed the back of his neck, and began to talk in a reluctant tone.
"The Commander-in-Chief... was originally an orphan from somewhere. This orphan thing is important, and it means he wasn't just any ordinary orphan."
"Was it a noble or something?"
"No... it's hard to explain... but he's from a village that worships a very rare god. That god wasn't worshipped anywhere else outside the village."
"..."
Toxy couldn't see the point, so he stayed silent and encouraged Wrath to continue.
"It was a good village, apparently... the villagers were all like family, and it was a warm village.So you'd think he wouldn't become an orphan, right?"
"Did the villagers who accepted him all disappear?"
"Ha... you've got a good imagination. That's exactly what happened. The village was destroyed by a group of orcs and goblins. Everyone was killed, r*ped, and devoured... it was a tragic story, I heard."
Fist of the Dragon was the only survivor of that village. Among those who had died, the last one to remain was the former Fist of the Dragon ―― Sieg, the young boy.
"There's a rare god involved in this. That god was the Commander-in-chief's last faith. No one except the Commander-in-chief knew of that god. If the Commander-in-chief died, the god would completely lose its faith."
"...What happens to the god if it completely loses its faith?"
"It disappears, it seems. Even gods can die, you see... So, the god that protected the village resisted, and it made a deal with the young Commander-in-chief."
―――Please don't die. Live on. I'll return everything I received as a god to you.
"...Everything he received as a god, you mean?"
"Life, thoughts, regrets ―― those kinds of things become the god's faith and nourish it. But the god returned all of that to the Commander-in-chief. What do you think happened as a result?"
Toxy couldn't imagine it and shook his head sideways. Wrath laughed.
"All the enemies he killed became the Commander-in-chief's power. Power, speed, intelligence, faith, magic. If he killed a goblin, its power was added to the Commander-in-chief's, and if he killed an orc, its power was added to the Commander-in-chief's."
"..."
"It seems you still don't quite get it... In short, it's addition. Let's say there was a box that the Commander-in-chief and an orc could lift together. But if the Commander-in-chief killed the orc, he could lift the box by himself."
After hearing that, Toxy began to realize the absurdity of the story.
"So, if he kill a hundred goblins, will he get a hundred times the strength of goblin?"
"That's right... And the Commander-in-chief, who became stronger, would challenge even stronger enemies. The result is not just addition, but an exponential game..."
Wrath is like explaining something with pride.
"When the Commander-in-chief was a boy, he used his power level 1 to kill a Goblin with the same power level 1. The Commander-in-chief's power level became 2. So next, he killed a Kobolt with power level 2 and became level 4..."
And Wrath says.
"Let's say a Dragon's power is 1000. If the Commander-in-chief fights it just ten times, he'll catch up... In reality, he didn't even need to fight that much. And so, the Commander-in-chief became a Dragon Slayer as a boy."
With just ten battles, he became strong enough to rival a Dragon with his raw power. In reality, he fought a Dragon with his bare fists and won. And then he killed it, gaining power.
So, Fist of the Dragon.
The one who defeats Dragons with his fists.
"The Commander-in-chief continued to punch everything that got in his way. Thieves, corrupt lords, Demons, the Demon King, and even God. The Commander-in-chief was actually the hero who defeated the Demon King and the Great Demon King who killed God...!"
And then the Commander-in-chief met the King.
"The King told the Commander-in-chief... 'You've surpassed God by killing Them. You're already a God. You don't need to get stronger. You don't need to kill anyone else. Humans can't handle that kind of power.'"
The King offered his hand to the Commander-in-chief.
"Join me, Fist of the Dragon. You're smart, aren't you? Then, don't bother with those troublesome thoughts. Be a general under me. It's a pain, difficult, and troublesome to be above humans."
"...So, did Fist of the Dragon become a subordinate of the Arrogant King?"
"It's been said that he's gone down. Since then, the Commander-in-chief hasn't killed a single insect, apparently. But, according to the king, he's become even more carefree than when he was an adventurer, killing even the strongest enemies with ease..."
Toxy listened to the whole story, deep in thought. If this story is true, then it's likely that Fist of the Dragon really has no weaknesses. Without any special abilities like immortality or poison, he's been dominating everything with just his natural physical abilities.
In other words, they need to raise Wade's abilities to that level as well.
"Do you get it? The Commander-in-chief is a god... a god's beloved messenger, a living god. That's Fist of the Dragon Sieg..."
Toxy covered his head. The strongest. Literally, the strongest. There's no weakness.
The only way to defeat him is to win with sheer power.
"...Got it."
Toxy stood up. Wrath teases him, saying, "Have you given up?" and she glares back.
"Don't joke around. Wade can beat Fist of the Dragon too. Thanks for the info. I'll raise Wade's abilities to that level and show you our victory, so look forward to it."
"...My heart's broken just from hearing this story, so I'm going to take a break."
Saying that, Wrath lay down on the bed again. Toxy, with a fierce determination burning within her, left the underground prison.
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