Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

TL: Etude

The captive struggled.

“No, I’m telling the truth, I really don’t know anything else.”

However, the interrogator seemed to very much believe the words of the cloaked man. He cracked his knuckles loudly and spoke with a tone full of brutality, “It seems you won’t understand where you are until you’re shown some color!”

“Bring in the water torture!”

Quickly, two jailers came over and took down the captive who was hanging in mid-air. They then bound him face-up on a bench, his arms and waist tightly secured with ropes.

A jailer fetched a towel and covered the captive’s face with it.

The interrogator, holding a bucket of water, approached the captive. He scooped half a scoop of water and flung it onto the captive’s towel-covered face.

“Cough, cough~”

Choking on the water, the captive immediately held his breath to prevent more water from seeping through the towel into his nostrils.

But this was in vain.

Lying face-up, with his hands tightly bound, he could only shake his head violently from side to side, trying to shake the towel off.

However, the towel clung to his face as if glued, impossible to shake off.

“Ha ha! All your struggling is useless! If you honestly confess the information you’re hiding, I’ll immediately take off the towel,” the interrogator taunted, laughing wickedly as he splashed another half scoop of water onto the towel.

Due to his intense struggling, the captive quickly ran out of oxygen. A strong sensation of suffocation relentlessly assaulted his brain.

“Umm! Hmm—”

In agony, the captive made a sound. Finally, he couldn’t bear it any longer and suddenly opened his airway, taking a rapid breath.

However, along with the air, a large amount of water also rushed into his mouth and nose. In addition to the suffocation, another pain – a sensation of drowning – overwhelmed him.

The interrogator, very excited, said, “It looks like you’re enjoying this. Let me help you enjoy it a bit more!” He then splashed another half scoop of water onto the towel.

The captive continued trying to shake the towel off his face. Unable to breathe, his body’s reflexes forced him to open his mouth wide, breathing and swallowing forcefully, causing a large amount of water to enter his stomach, lungs, and bronchi.

The water in his stomach, lungs, and airways brought unbearable pain. He coughed, vomited, and kicked wildly.

After about two or three minutes, the captive nearly lost consciousness, but his central nervous system was still functioning, protecting its owner. At this moment, though he lost consciousness, his physical pain intensified, and his whole body began to convulse.

His lungs, airways, and bronchi began secreting a large amount of viscous mucus – a lot of thick nasal discharge.

Suddenly, a urine smell permeated the interrogation room as the captive began to urinate involuntarily.

A whip lashed fiercely at his body.

“Really now, you dare urinate on my territory.”

Feeling it was enough, the interrogator lifted the towel off the captive’s face.

The two jailers untied the ropes, helping the captive sit up and patting his back vigorously.

“Cough, cough! Cough, cough!”

The captive coughed violently, choking out a large amount of water from his mouth and nose.

The interrogator, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, asked proudly, “How about it? Will you confess now?”

“Let me tell you, my ‘water torture’ is very effective! About eighty percent of those who experience this end up speaking, saying whatever they’re asked. As for the remaining twenty percent…”

He smiled a chilling smile. “Guess what? They all died from the torture during the process!”

To hasten the captive’s recovery of consciousness, the jailers viciously whipped him a few times.

“I’ll talk… cough, cough… I’ll talk…”

The captive’s brain regained consciousness, unable to endure the hellish sensation any longer, not wishing to experience it a second time.

“It’s always the hard way with you, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have had to suffer so much had you spoken earlier. Now, confess everything honestly.”

The captive didn’t immediately start confessing but gasped for air, cherishing the preciousness of each breath.

“Untie him!”

The interrogator was in no hurry now; the captive’s psychological defenses had been broken.

With his eyes closed, the captive struggled to regulate his breathing, gradually recovering.

The cloaked man, who had been ‘enjoying’ the interrogation process from the side, stepped closer.contemporary romance

“Now, make sure you confess honestly this time. If there’s even a hint of falsehood in your statement, I’ll detect it immediately. And then…”

He pointed at the interrogator beside him.

“This gentleman will let you enjoy the service you just experienced once again. Honestly, I’m quite looking forward to you lying, so I can watch that splendid performance again. Ha ha ha ha!”

His maniacal laughter echoed through the interrogation room.

…

In the temporary command center located in the center of the town, several officers, including Samar, were gathered, discussing the new intelligence obtained from the captive.

The cloaked man, who had assisted the interrogator in extracting the confession, was speaking.

“Lord Samar, I believe now is the best time to attack, seizing the Thorn Fortress before the royal army’s main force moves south.”

“After capturing the fortress, even if we don’t fight during the coming winter, we’ll have a significant advantage when spr ing arrives.”

Samar, with one hand supporting his chin, watched the cloaked man’s performance coldly without a word.

He had no fondness for this strange person – the reason being that the man was a wizard.

It was no secret among the rebel high command that Duke Jars had wizards serving – or assisting – him, and not just a few. Their involvement was one of the crucial reasons that had convinced the Duke to initiate the rebellion.

When the Duke disclosed the existence of these wizards to his confidants and key subordinates, many thought it was a tall tale.

However, the magical abilities displayed by these individuals quickly convinced everyone of their identity, earning their respect and compliance. Indeed, the addition of the wizards was a significant boost to their side.

As for interference from church forces? Through generations of quiet arrangement, the upper echelons of the Southern Church had already been infiltrated by the Jars family. They could even afford to break with the central church authority, provided the Duke had the power to stand against it.

Although they couldn’t break with the central church authority at present, hiding the existence of the wizards was relatively easy.

However, given the negative perception of wizards, many commanders, including Samar, were wary of this group.

He was particularly irritated at the moment. This bothersome wizard had appeared in the army with the Duke’s orders, claiming to assist him.

But Samar soon realized that the wizard was constantly trying to take control of the army or undermine his authority.

Fortunately, Samar’s own influence was strong, maintaining his power without letting this cunning individual succeed.

In his view, the wizard was overly ambitious, utterly ignorant in military affairs, yet repeatedly urging him to attack Thorn Fortress.

Goodness! That’s the Thorn Fortress, known as the strongest bastion in the south, the cornerstone of the Dodge family’s power for generations.

Samar considered himself quite ‘bold’, but not to the extent of capturing Thorn Fortress with the forces at his disposal.

So he resolved to merely monitor the garrison there for now, waiting for the Duke to subdue the southern dissenters and join forces with him before making further plans.

He had already rejected the wizard’s suggestions several times. Perhaps the man possessed mysterious powers, but he was a novice in military matters.

The irate wizard, a few days earlier, had demonstrated his power.

He cast spells on several scouts, who were only wearing soft leather armor that wouldn’t hinder movement. Under the influence of his magic, they gained defense comparable to plate armor.

“Send them north into the enemy’s alert zone to capture a few tongues. If we can extract information about insufficient manpower in the fortress, we’ll attack!”

The news of the granary fire in the capital had already spread in the southern army, likely leaving them unable to send reinforcements south, fueling the wizard’s confidence.

“Fine! If the enemy’s manpower is indeed significantly low, we will attack.”

That was how Samar had agreed at the time.

Now, the intelligence had been extracted, revealing that there were only a few thousand men in the fortress. The wizard claimed that under his magic, all lies would be exposed, and the information was one hundred percent accurate.

So, the question remained: to attack or not to attack?

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