With all the rebels brought back to camp, the greater part of their mission was now complete.
To maintain his image, Youdan offered only a few words of mockery before the others when faced with Devin, who had been arrested and brought in, but he could hardly conceal the smug delight on his face.
After Azula had kicked him, Devin no longer dared to shout and wore a wretched expression. He had never imagined his escape plan would fail so quickly. And at the thought of what he would face next, his expression grew even more miserable and bleak.
Yet his punishment came sooner than he had expected.
Just as they had previously surmised, given Devin's personality, he would never have dared to lead his troops in desertion unless he had some assurance or had received some information.
Azula expressed interest in this and decided to interrogate him personally. Upon hearing this, Youdan declared with righteous conviction that he, too, should take responsibility for the matter and joined in. Anyone with eyes could see that Youdan simply wanted to make trouble for Devin.
Youdan therefore eagerly ordered a tent cleared out to serve as an interrogation room. Before long, however, a commotion arose inside, followed suddenly by Devin's screams, so piercing that they made people turn to look.
Accompanied by those screams, Azula walked out of the interrogation room as though nothing had happened. Kahn could not help asking curiously:
"What happened in there?"
Azula shrugged.
"Nothing. Someone just seemed not to understand the situation, so I helped him come to his senses."
"What about the interrogation?"
"That can wait. Continuing seemed like it would be a little too much for him."
Kahn was surprised to hear this. Since when had Azula become so gentle? Yet just as he was