Rebuke Folly, Shatter Rumors, Reveal Truth; High Platform Issues Order, Execute Rebellious Populace

The woman lay prostrate on the ground, sobbing so hard she could not speak. She did not dare look at the Blood-Clad Army soldier, only kowtowing to him again and again until her forehead was soon bloody. "Mercy, sir... If you need to refine vengeful souls, I alone will be enough. I beg you, give my child a quick death. Don't let her suffer..."

"Utterly foolish beyond belief!"

The Blood-Clad Army soldier was so furious that he pointed at the woman's nose and cursed, his finger trembling.

But seeing the terror-filled eyes of the commoners around him, he still took a deep breath, and his tone softened somewhat. "If my lord wanted to cultivate an evil art, would it ever come down to the likes of you?"

Perhaps it was for the child's sake.

He swept his gaze around and raised his voice so more people could hear him. "The Blood-Clad Army has followed my lord in conquering the realms, victorious in every battle, unstoppable in every assault!

"If we wanted to kill people to refine an art, there are enemies enough on the battlefield. Why would we need to kill unarmed commoners like you?"

"And some people say my lord distributed land only to deceive you into trusting him? What a joke!"

"To my lord, an army of twenty thousand is no more than a matter of a single halberd strike. If he wanted to refine Lieren City, would he need to waste the effort dividing land among you?"

"You've been oppressed by those landlords and wealthy gentry your whole lives, and now you're still letting them use you as their weapons!"

"They dragged you into resisting my lord for the money and grain in their own hands! For the land they wrung from you through exploitation and oppression!