Chapter 49: Crime and Punishment (Part 2)
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"Interlude: Fugitive Ben Juan"
Run!
We must run! Faster, even faster! Don't stop, run and only run!
These were the thoughts rushing through my mind as I raced among the trees of the forest. My legs braided as I quickly pushed off the ground, stumbling over bumps, holes and thick roots. Winding through the trees, I ran and didn't look back, didn't think, just tried to get as far away as possible. Fatigue was starting to take over, my thoughts were jumbled and my chest ached, but I didn't have time to rest! I had to run some more, a few more kilometres.
I couldn't relax!
That damned monster would surely give chase! Bastard princess, bastard inspection, bastard day and bastard spies! I hate you all so much!
And everything started out so well! The bitch wasn't supposed to sail to my colony for another couple of months, dealing with the islands off the capital where those old cocksuckers are in power! But everything that could go wrong, went wrong. And my fear of the princess, especially her reputation, gave me more strength than ever. Damn the spies who'd betrayed me! And there was no doubt about it, the bitch didn't just sail so fast to the borders, right into my domain. I don't even want to think what she'd do to me if she caught me. But that's not going to happen, I've thought this through well!
Leaving my palanquin, deceiving the servants and guards that I wanted to urinate. I escaped from the foolish puppets. They couldn't be trusted, even the most trusted ones couldn't be trusted now. There was a reason this monster had decided to visit my city so early. I had been running for hours through the thickets of the forest. Without looking back or thinking, I just ran. The escape plan was far from perfect. It was too sudden. I could only hope for stashes of gold and some connections in the Earth Kingdom. But first, I had to get to safety. Greed had always been my vice, but this time it really nearly drove me to my grave. The damn mayor, never able to stop my vices, only acquiesced and corrupted me. And my subordinates are weak-willed, weak-minded lowlifes, following every order without thinking about the reasons, in a word, idiots.
But there is no time to remember the past, as well as no time for idle thoughts. My eyes are getting dark, I need to keep my strength and keep running. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how much I want to stop, I have to run. My legs are braided, I can't feel my feet, my lungs are burning with fire... I have to run.
Don't think, run! I can use a swear word against the mayor who persuaded me to stay and grab more, we can do it afterwards, now we have to survive! But there was no more strength to move my legs. The stomach that I had weaned did not allow me to exert myself for long, my body still remembered the army loads, and I had travelled a long way!
Running... still running. But no, the steps are getting slower, I'm walking, long time ago I'm walking not running. I just felt like I was still running, an illusion of the mind. Ha ha. That's funny. That's it! That's enough. I can't take it anymore, I need to rest or I'll just fall to the ground and fall prey to the local predators. I just hope they don't find me.
I leaned against the tree trunk, breathing deeply and trying to catch my breath. I had no strength to stand, so I had to sit down near the tree. Rest, long-awaited rest. Breathing is gradually recovering. Somewhere far away birds are singing, how beautiful it is.
It's especially wonderful to realise that I've won after all. I'm gone, now I have to get to a safe place, visit the hiding place, and then life will go on as it should. With money it's always easier to get along in life, I learnt that from my poverty-stricken childhood. No one will pay attention to one of the many refugees, and the walls of Ba Sing Se are impregnable. Lee (the mayor) must be thinking the same thing. Perhaps we will meet again and discuss our success.
- Ha ha. Khe-keh," I laugh at my own thoughts, how good it feels.
I have succeeded, it will all work out.....
A whistle.
A stab of pain. Opening my eyes, I saw my knee pierced by a sharp arrow... my knee.
- a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a! - a shattering scream of pain echoed through the neighbourhood.
A whistle.
Another arrow pierces the other leg. The hunters have stalked their prey.
***
- That's all I know. The gang liaison was my assistant mayor. I kept his work anonymous and covered everything that happened in the lands I was in charge of. To keep the capital from taking an interest in us. Ahem. I beg for your mercy, Princess," the man with the burnt face coughed up blood and looked at Azula with desperate hope in his one eye.
After a little torture, the captured fugitive was ready to tell everything and everyone. And I wouldn't call what Zula did to him torture either. The princess only reminded the lowlife of his place, in the best tradition of her father. She gave the man a burn almost exactly like her brother's: half his face with an eye burned out. At the same time she let off steam, and none of the soldiers present even blinked or looked away, silently supporting the girl. Zula was right in her own way, and the fire nation's rules were very strict.
Combined with the rest of the injuries he had sustained during his capture, this was the last straw. The captured criminal was ready to confess to anything. It was at this point that Tai Li and I arrived at the room. The girl didn't understand why she was around Azula, but I insisted on her presence. Azula needs support too, especially in times like this, and she as her mate should support her in difficult or controversial moments. The good-natured acrobat wept at her selfishness and ran ahead of me to her mate.
Since the perpetrator was from the Fire Nation, I had no problem instilling myself into him, recognising and confirming everything he said. It didn't take long, but the amount of work that needed to be done was staggering. The governor turned out to be a piece of work.
- Of course, I will commute your sentence, Governor," Azula said in a softly caressing voice, only to speak in a different tone the next moment, issuing a dispassionate order: "String him up in the square.
- My Lady... you promised, you promised to commute the sentence! You promised! - sobbed the wounded man, crawling on the floor and staining the expensive carpet with his dirty blood as he was picked up by two sturdy guards in a hurry to go and execute the sentence.
- I promised to commute the sentence, not overturn it. Now you'll be hanged instead of staked. Treason is punished as severely as possible, the gallows is too merciful a punishment for you. Be grateful," the princess replied softly with a touch of sadism, watching with a smile the despair on the face of the man sentenced to execution.
- Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! - The soldiers led the governor away under shrieks of attempted pity.
"Hope. That's the kind of bastard that even in the most desperate situation makes you believe in the best," I put up my voice, beginning to philosophise with pleasure after the end of this scene.
Inwardly, I felt an evil pleasure at the justice that had been done. I don't even know if it was because of my past life, with the high corruption or Azula's influence on my character and outlook. Either way, it didn't really matter now.
"By giving him hope, you pushed him to contribute and made him believe in his own survival. That made him much easier to relate to. And afterwards, you plucked his hope from the roots, preserving the death sentence he was so eager to avoid. Nice, good for you, Zola, you managed to keep your bloodthirstiness in check. I thought he was going to be burned or staked," I praised the girl, who was not paying attention to me because of the strangers waiting for her orders.
In addition to the guards, the princess' soldiers and Yuyang's archery squad, both of the girl's friends were also in the room. The impartial Mei and Tai Li, who was looking out the window while turning away. Despite the great gentleness of the interrogation, the girl was not comfortable watching such a thing. Azula, on the other hand, enjoyed watching the criminal's desperate screams, clearly enjoying the emotion of utter despair in the suicide bomber's voice. The missed mayor had hurt the girl quite badly that she still hadn't let all her anger out and was now acting somewhat more aggressively.
However, all this did not prevent her from thinking, and when the man's screams had fallen silent in the corridor, the princess spoke confidently.
- There are a lot of pirates, deserters, marauders and other rabble in the vicinity of the city and in the city itself, - Zula said without taking her eyes off me, looking directly into my eyes, as if trying to say something. - Tai Li, you lead the Yuan archers, take the maps, they mark the suspected hideouts of criminals. I want the city's prisons to be overflowing and crime to be wiped out!
- Ah... - The girl was momentarily confused. - Me? Are you sure? I mean...
Having stopped drilling me with her gaze, Azula turns to Tai Li, rudely interrupting the girl's uncertain babble. She's a commander now, and a friend after that. The commanding tone shouted its presence in every word of the girl, the acrobat only had to obey.
- Only you can perform this task perfectly. Take the papers, the law enforcement agencies have already been informed of my presence, anyone who stands in your way will be recognised as a traitor. Don't spare them. Your squad is completely under the command of Tai Li, don't let me down, again... - the last one was addressed to a dozen archers that knelt before the princess and admitted their guilt. They could not catch the mayor, only the governor, and by the tone of the princess they all realised that the punishment for another failure would be very terrible.
To me, however, the general meaning of the princess's innuendo finally comes through. Accepting the princess' unspoken request, I fly up to the acrobat in order to explain everything to her. This is really the best option available to Azula, she is a genius after all. It's time to stop marvelling at her skills in tactics.
"Don't worry, I'll be with you, we'll get through this easily!" - Placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, I encourage the unsure acrobat. She won't be alone, I'll be with her on this task, for Azula's words were meant for me rather than her.
- You're still here? Command your squad and cleanse this city of filth!
- Yes, that's right, Madam Princess," Tai Li hurriedly moved towards the exit with her archery squad. I only had to follow them and help them with everything. After all, I sympathise with this girl, Zula must have calculated that too. And it wouldn't hurt to test the acrobat. So many targets for one mission, it's amazing, and when did Zula come up with all this? But I've got more important things to worry about right now.
- As for the rest of the problems... block all exits from the city. Anyone leaving the city will be killed on sight. A sweep among all officers and officials must be arranged... - I heard Azula's other orders as I left the room where the girl was working. The role of super scary inspector was clearly to her liking.
Already on the way out of the mayor's mansion, I managed to talk to Tai Li, explaining her words Azula. To do this, I had to take over the girl for a while, and that talking to an invisible commander is at least strange. The girl took to my mission and her role in it much better than I expected. She is a subordinate of the princess, and after all a friend. And she was the only one who could see me, except for Zula, there were no other options.
Being inside her, I even felt a certain excitement and anticipation. Like she wanted to show off or even show off in front of me. What was even more surprising, I didn't even believe it right away, but Tai Li really couldn't wait to go and show off her hand-to-hand combat skills, and they were high on Azula's memory. The character of the acrobat had many more facets than I had imagined.
Finding the lawbreakers wouldn't be a problem, and we already had all the clues to their hideouts. It was only a matter of time before they were caught. And my immateriality was going to play a key role in that.
A dozen archers and one acrobat, that's the whole punishment squad. Some might laugh at the strength of such a small force. But their numbers and not the most formidable appearance was just a deception for fools. The professionalism, skill, and strength of every member of the squad was at the highest level. Even ordinary ordinary ordinary mages and soldiers could do nothing to the squad, and there was nothing to say about ordinary criminals. For us, they were just herbivorous game. Still, this is not my usual world, where technology has supplanted skill and personal strength. Here one swordsman can wipe out a small army, proven by Piandao, and not to mention masters of magic. And soon I was to see it for myself.
Having listened to my plan of action, Li and brought it to the rest of the squad. And after that we came to the first point where the bandits were hiding.
"Seven, everyone behind this door. Let's move fast," I said to the girl, flying out of the warehouse door, where the bandits were hiding, who were dealing in stolen goods.
- What a big door, - Lee said thoughtfully, examining the thick door, which is probably impossible to break down without a battering ram. - What should we do?
"And you try knocking, maybe they'll open up?", - I suggest her with a little bit of sarcasm, but the girl took my words too seriously.
- Knock, knock, knock!
- Hey, open up. I've come to put you all in jail! - says Lee loudly, silencing everyone inside.
As expected, no one rushed to go and open the door. Rather they rush to arm themselves and prepare for battle. Damn, Lee doesn't have any experience in this at all. I feel stupid, I should have insisted on being possessed, I wouldn't have made such stupid mistakes. And while I was berating myself, covering my face with my hand, the girl came up with her own way of penetration.
- Huh...I read something like that in a book! Her main character liked to kick the door in with his foot.
"Lee, you don't have enough..." - I try to say to the girls, but it's too late.
Raising her foot, Ty Lee kicks the door with all her might.
- Crunch! - The huge door flies off its hinges with a nasty crunch of wood. Then it lands on the floor with a loud thud.
- It worked! - shrieked Lee, while I was in a state of prostration from the demonstrated strength of a seemingly fragile girl. Even those inside were greatly surprised by the identity of the vandal that had come over their heads.
- Hey, surrender, perhaps this will commute your sentence! - confidently offers the girl, stepping inside the building and allowing herself to be surrounded by a dozen filthy ragamuffins.
- Never! Guys, what can she do to us? She's all alone!
- Stupid little girl, you're in the wrong neighbourhood.
- What tits she's got! Huge!
- And her arse! What an arse!
- She's a real beauty! She's the prettiest girl I've ever seen!
- What are you saying, I'm not that beautiful, - the girl was a little embarrassed, quickly assessing the strength of the enemies.
The enemies were armed with melee weapons and did not pose any threat to Tai Li. And judging from their words, all the blood from their brains had leaked out of their heads. Since I would at the very least be wary of a girl that was breaking down thick doors with a kick of her foot.
Starting to approach the girl, the bandits were going to take advantage of the numerical advantage, except that the entrance was open and they were all perfectly visible. And while the acrobat smiled awkwardly at the arrogant faces of the criminals, the squad of archers chose their targets. When all the enemies were clearly visible, the bowstrings were released and the arrows flew at the men with a light whistle, easily rounding the body of the calmly standing acrobat without even cutting her clothes, as if by magic.
Yuyang's archers lived up to their reputation. Just a few moments, about two seconds and the seven men fall to the floor, beginning to groan in pain. None of them were dead, but they wouldn't be able to fight for much longer. The arrows had hit the most vulnerable places, it would be a long time before the men would be able to do anything with both hands.
- 'You should have surrendered,' the girl said in a friendly manner, ignoring the curses and matting from the wounded males.
"Order them to tie them up, inspect the room, and then we can boot them off to the guards afterwards," I say to the only girl in the squad.
Neutralising the criminals was quick and easy. The villains paid for their crimes. After handing over the wounded bandits to the guards, we continued to cleanse the city of various gangs and other criminals. And the acrobat still showed me her skills as a fighter. Having beaten more than a dozen strong men, each of whom was a head taller than her, she cleaned up a den of bandits alone.
By the end of the day, a couple of hundred people had joined the population of the local prison, and the more daring ones became comrades to the hangmen. As I expected, it was a simple task for our small squad. Most of the time we followed the tried-and-true pattern: Ty Lee attracts attention, archers shoot everyone. The town wasn't the biggest, but it had enough criminals to fill the local jail. Not only did we do our part, but Azula had some of the city's soldiers and officials court-martialled and hanged some of the most brazen and delinquent.
All day long we'd been doing nothing but cleaning out secret or not-so-secret criminal bases. There were plenty of them in the city. It wasn't hard, nobody could get away from me, my invisibility in such cases is invaluable. Even if there were clever people who decided to run away, I would track them down, and then I would move in and break their leg against the nearest corner. I felt joy and satisfaction in doing so. The sadism I had left from Azula still lingered, so sometimes I had to restrain myself. But in general, we cleaned the city without any problems.
However, even after sunset, our work did not stop. On the map given by Azula, there were marks outside the city, places that also needed to be cleaned. But I decided not to make a fool of myself and leave it to the professionals. Tracking down criminals at night... neither Azula nor I had enough skills to do such a thing. Unlike Yuan's archers. After reporting this to the princess, Tai Li was ordered to rest, the archers were allowed to leave the city, and I stayed with the princess to encourage and help with the city's problems.
And the city had quite a few problems....
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