Walter Huan isn't lacking in ability. If not for the worry that Empress Tianshan might recover her powers and single-handedly massacre everyone, he wouldn’t need to rush in and fight head-on—there’d be plenty of ways to deal with these women. But with Empress Tianshan as a wildcard, Walter can’t afford to sit still. He’ll use every trick in the book and risk it all to break through as fast as possible.
“No rush, let’s start with a little warm-up show.” Walter Huan’s eyes gleamed with malice as he sneered, “General Ba, get all your archers up on the ramparts and have your best light-footed fighters stand by. When it comes to sieges, brute force is the last resort—breaking their spirit is the real game. Today, let’s go for a heart-piercing strike!”
“Heart-piercing?”
“Yep, just came up with this brilliant plan after chatting with General Mutier. Listen up...” Walter Huan whispered a few words to the armored general, and the two shared a sinister laugh.
Soon enough, the female disciples of Spirit Eagle Palace were dragged over and tossed to the side. Behind them came a rowdy bunch of men, laughing and making crude jokes, each with eyes gleaming and nostrils flaring. A servant rushed up to report that William Bo had also brought prisoners from Cold Frost Cave. “Oh, that fast? Perfect timing—let’s use them all.” The drawbridge was already down. Walter Huan strode onto the bridge and shouted, “Hear me, people inside! I, your island lord, give you one incense stick’s time to open the gate and hand over the demon woman!”
No one appeared atop the women’s battlements, but a middle-aged woman’s voice rang out, her cultivation clearly impressive: “Walter Huan, you villain! Dream on. Even if we have to fight to the last woman, we’ll take you down to the bitter end!”
“Hmph, if you won’t cry until you see the coffin, then let me show you what one looks like—bring them up!” With a wave of his hand, Walter Huan had two men roughly drag out two women and toss them onto the bridge: one was the big loli, the other, a young woman who’d been beaten nearly unconscious.
Walter Huan grabbed the big loli by the hair, yanked out the cloth stuffed in her mouth, and snarled, “Speak! What’s your name?”
The big loli winced in pain but refused to answer, only shaking her head.
“Fine, don’t answer and I’ll kill her!” Walter Huan waved his hand, and the armored general stepped forward, drew his saber, and pressed it against the young woman’s neck—the blade already drawing blood.
"No, wait!" the girl cried out, gritting her teeth. "Fine, I'll tell you—my name is Lily!"
"And her name?"
"Her name's Orchid."
"Heh, Orchid, good!" Walter Huan shouted, raising his voice so everyone inside could hear. "Listen up, people in there! I've got fifty of your palace girls here—two of them are named Lily and Orchid. They're your sisters, your friends. A few days ago there were seven or eight more, but they're dead now. Want to know how they died? Lily, tell them how their sisters died!"
Lily clenched her jaw, refusing to answer, but Walter just burst out laughing: "Not talking? No problem, let them see for themselves! Listen up—two of your sisters died exactly like this—" Smack! Walter slapped Lily hard across the face, the sound echoing. Her cheek instantly swelled up. "Yep, beaten to death, just like this." Smack! He backhanded her again, making her eyelid puff up.
"Cry for me! Scream! Wail so your sisters can hear you!" Walter got even more vicious, the slaps coming one after another, but Lily just gritted her teeth and took it, refusing to make a sound. "Oh? Still tough, huh? Not gonna scream? Fine, let everyone inside know exactly what you're suffering. In fact, maybe I'll just beat you to death right now, let them see it firsthand."
As soon as Walter finished, angry shouts erupted from behind the city wall: "You despicable bastard!" "Rot in hell, you son of a bitch!" "May you die a thousand deaths!"
Walter just chuckled, ignoring them and getting ready to go at it again. But Orchid, who was slumped nearby, coughed up blood and spoke weakly: "She's just a kid... If you have to hurt someone, hurt me instead..."
"Oh? Orchid wants to play hero, huh? Fine, let me show you all another way to die." Walter waved behind him. "You there, finish Orchid off."
"Yes, sir!" Five or six men stepped forward, cackling as they grabbed at Orchid's clothes, tearing at them.