After dealing with Floch, Chen Si began handing some of his authority to Gal to test him. If Gal proved capable of shouldering major responsibilities, the 104th Cadet Corps might no longer have to suffer through war.
After Marley's surrender, numerous guerrilla groups rose up against Floch. The largest was the seven-thousand-strong Marley Salvation Army, whose leader was unknown. It had defeated an army of 120,000 black soldiers in Brittany and briefly occupied Brittany's city hall.
The Marley Salvation Army fled after seizing a shipment of supplies from Brittany. Under Tailor's iron-fisted command, it paid no heed to whether the black residents lived or died, robbing them of all their food and clothing before immediately retreating to an unremarkable small town.
In the end, however, they were surrounded by the Governor-General's Guard and the Aima Auxiliary Army, led by Gal, who had long been waiting for them.
Gal stood on a raised platform, looking at the remaining thousand men surrounded before him. Each carried only a crude bolt-action rifle, and they had fewer than ten machine guns between them, yet every Marleyan's eyes burned with fanaticism and resolve.
A flicker of guilt and anguish crossed Gal's eyes.
"Battalion Commander Caesar, shall we attack?" Samuel asked tentatively. Chen Si had ordered him to monitor Gal's words and actions.
"No," Gal murmured.
"Hmm?" Samuel narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Bring ten residents over. Cut off their heads and throw them in. Tell them to surrender immediately, or we'll behead another person for every minute they delay." Gal's tone was utterly calm, as though he were discussing something trivial.
A chill ran through Samuel at those words. Even after serving under Floch for years and doing countless dirty deeds, he could not help shuddering at such brutality.
Soon, following Gal's orders, ten heads were