Nango.

Thick storm clouds made the sky over Nanyu almost as dark as night. A flock of dead crows hovered over the palace, their cries echoing through the streets of the city. Many superstitious citizens hid in their homes, hiding from the eyes of the messengers of the gods of Hades. As the Black Death spread, no one wanted to tempt this cold god.

There's only one place in a huge city that stands out from the rest. A large crowd gathered in the execution square under the courtroom, and the nobles and peasants were drawn to watch the execution of the Praetorian commander. In the long and famous history of the forbidden army, the emperor's most loyal army has never been charged with treason. And there has never been a person with such a heroic reputation as Xue Ju, the commander of the forbidden army, who has been sentenced to the shameful fate of public beheading.

The crowd gathered around Judgment Square was talking excitedly to each other. After so many of them had endured so many weeks of terrible solitude to escape the plague, this excuse for forgetting caution and ignoring danger was seized upon by a desperate recklessness. It was a carnival-like atmosphere, with peasants and aristocrats laughing and laughing.

Hawkers weave their way through the crowds, selling shriveled fruits and crusted vegetables, and the prices are ridiculously high. Halflings push carts through the crowd, selling roast rats to anyone willing to put frugality above prudence. Unlike fruits and vegetables, the most important thing in Nanyu is rats.

Around the square, black-uniformed Inquisition soldiers were heavily armed, armed with halberds and crossbows. Han Ben and a small group of officers and guards stood by the wooden platform in the center of the square. Han Cheng looked at the crowd gathered to watch the execution, with a triumphant smile on his face.

This was not just the destruction of a traitor, but a moment of personal triumph for him. By proving that the young and well-known leader of the Forbidden Army was a traitor, he was able to disband and ban the Forbidden Army, and this incident also created a gap in his power structure in the Southern Empire, which he and his family would soon fill.

Still smiling, he lifted his eyes and looked at the palace from the chattering crowd. Underneath the hovering raven, he could see a balcony. From there, the people in the palace could look straight out over the Place de la Judgment and watch the executions. Xiao Guang, as the emperor of the southern kingdom, was naturally there, and as usual, he wore a golden mink robe, and the crown of the conqueror was tightly placed on his head. Han Cheng was very happy that he could be present to watch the execution, and in order not to let His Highness be bored, he specially arranged a wonderful performance for Xiao Guang.

When the gates of the Imperial Inquisition were raised, the crowd fell silent. Soldiers of a phalanx appeared on the side of an iron prisoner cart. Xue Ju squatted in the carriage, his thin arms tied behind his back, wearing a shabby linen robe, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Walking behind the carriage was Collier, the Empire's finest executioner. Dressed in black and hiding his head under a leather mask, he strode across the square like a primordial patron saint. The Sword of Justice, a giant sword almost the height of a man, rested evenly across his broad shoulders, the head of the sword shaped like a silver skull, and the blade was engraved with curses and curses, cursing the souls of those who were bitten by it.

Han Sung rejoiced in the silence of the crowd. He could smell the fear rising in their hearts, and in the writings of the greatest sages of the Sun Tower, it was mentioned that "fear is power". Today's scene will leave an indelible impression on everyone's heart, and it will also tell those who are dishonest if they dare to defy the emperor...... Or someone as powerful as themselves, maybe this will be their future fate.

Collier walked up the steps to the torture platform, like a demon of fear crawling out of a pit. When he reached the platform, he took off his executioner's cloak, revealing a body of muscles that made him look more like an ogre.

Every inch of Collier's chest was bulging with muscles, and every movement of his made a tremor of raw power flow from his thick arms. The listless black eyes glared out of the hole in Collier's hood, as if judging every face he happened to see, whether they were qualified to be caressed by the greatsword in his hand.

Xue Ju was too weak to be helped down from the carriage, a task assigned to the two prisoners in the dungeon. Xue Ju collapsed limply in their hands, and as they lifted him to the guillotine, his body shattered by a cough. There was no priest to serve those convicted, and after this attempted rescue operation, Han Cheng forbade anyone to contact Xue Ju.

The doomed man was half-dragged to the wooden block in the center of the platform. He was asked to kneel in front of the slab and rest his head against the dented and stained slab. A belt was tied around his shoulder, fastening him to a wooden block and preventing him from getting out.

Collier raised the great sword of justice, raised it above his head, and circled around the torture table for all to see. Then, with a savage gesture, he plunged his sword into the earth beneath the torture table, and threw the great sword like a boar hunter's javelin. The scene surprised the crowd, both because Collier showed off his strength and because he violated the usual routine.

For a moment, an inexplicable tremor swept through the crowd. Could it be that Collier is refusing to carry out the death penalty? In the hearts of those who sympathized with the efforts made by Xue Ju and those forbidden troops, the flame of hope flickered again.

Then that hope was quickly snuffed out, crushed by the cruelty invented by that tyrant. I saw a burly warrior wearing a hideous mask walking past Han Cheng, holding a huge double-ended axe in his hand.

It was not enough for Han Cheng to just kill Xue Ju, Han Cheng wanted to humiliate him, humiliate him in front of all the people of Nanyu. The tradition is clear, the law is firm. The nobles could only be put to death by the sword of justice. Only peasants and lowly people need to suffer from the kiss of an axe. It was a distinction that both nobles and commoners could understand, an insult that even the lowest serfs could understand.

Collier took the axe and circled around the table again. When he finished the third lap, he turned to the prisoner and the wooden block. He raised the axe with both hands and chopped its gleaming blade off.

Judgment Square was filled with terrifying screams for a moment. The axes did not hit, at least partially. The sharp blade slashed through Xue Ju's neck, but failed to decapitate him. The wounded captive was tied to the ground and bouncing around, a bloody throat making a terrible gurgling sound. Blood gushed from his wounds and splattered onto the guillotine.

Collier leaned back, his hands resting on the bloody axe handles. He waited for almost a minute, while his victim struggled in pain. Then he picked up the axe and slashed at Xue Ju's neck with all his might.

For a moment, the Judgment Square fell silent again. Han Sung smiled and looked at the impact of the deliberately screwed execution on the crowd, they would remember this, they would be afraid to suffer the same notorious ending

Then, a voice shouted loudly and clearly. "Shame!" The voice shouted, and the others followed suit, gradually turning into angry roars. Han Cheng overestimated his abilities, and his taunt of Xue Ju angered everyone present instead of frightening the crowd. The guards guarding the square struggled to suppress the mob as the angry crowd sought revenge for the death of a terrible martyr, with bricks and stones rattling around the guillotine.

Under the smashing of the dense bricks, Han Cheng hurriedly retreated into the thick walls of the courtroom building, with Collier and Han Cheng's generals following closely behind him. However, before he retreated to the gatehouse, Han Cheng looked back at the high platform on the palace. Xiao Guang retreated to the palace, away from Han Cheng and his failed attempts to intimidate the people of the Southern Imperial Court into submission.

And Han Cheng could only watch as everything he had worked so hard to slip through his fingers. He'll get it back. No matter who he denounces, whoever he imprisons or executes, he can get back what is rightfully his.