Katz slowly approached Frankie, who was bound by iron chains, and his boots made a dull sound on the stone slab. He leaned down, looked at Frankie's level, and spoke in a very low voice, "I advise you to tell everything you know."
Frankie raised his head, and the chain made a harsh sound as he moved. His bloodshot eyes stared at Katz, and the corner of his mouth raised a mocking arc.
"Normally speaking," Katz continued, lightly brushing his fingers over the iron pliers on the torture rack, "The senior generals on both sides would not use torture to avoid getting too tense, but this time the situation is different..." His voice suddenly became sharp, "It was you who attacked first! So even if I torture you, the guy over there Poviss can't say anything."
Frankie burst into laughter, and the laughter echoed among the stone walls, "To avoid stalemate in the future?" He jerked forward, the chain stretched straight, "Do you think I still have a chance to leave here alive?"
A trace of ferocity flashed in Katz's eyes. He straightened up and a shadow once again enveloped his face. "Since you don't want to remain decent..." He clapped his hands violently, "Here comes someone!"
The heavy iron door was pushed open, and three burly jailers walked in, the torture instruments in their hands glowing coldly. Katz's voice boomed in the cell. "Give our 'distinguished guest' something good to try!"
"Come on! You bastards!" Frankie roared. Even though he was bound by the iron chain, he was still struggling like a wounded beast, spittle flying, "Kill me if you can!"
Herbert quickly stepped forward and held Katz's shoulders. "Katz, do you really want to torture him?"
Katz rubbed his brows tiredly, and his face looked particularly haggard under the firelight. "I don't want to either..." There was helplessness in his voice, "But we must know what the other party is going to do next and prepare in advance." He turned to look at Frankie, with a complicated look in his eyes. "If possible, I don't want to torture him."
At this moment, Yavi, who had been standing in the shadows, suddenly said, "Uncle Katz, I have a way to make him recruit him truthfully."
Katz's eyes lit up instantly, and he turned to the young Yavi: "Do you have a way?" There was hope in his voice, "Is it using magic?"
Yavi nodded, his blue eyes shining with mysterious light.
"That's great!" Katz breathed out a sigh of relief and waved his hand for the jailer to step back. "Come on, you can try and see how it works." He turned to Frankie and raised a dangerous arc at the corner of his mouth. "If it doesn't work, let's use torture again."
Yavi walked slowly towards Frankie, his blue and ice-like eyes glowed with a strange light in the dim dungeon, staring at the prisoner without any warmth.
"What do you want to do to me, you bastard?!" Frankie suddenly struggled violently, and the chain made a harsh sound on the stone wall. His bloodshot eyes stared at the Signs that was gradually taking shape in Yavi's hands, and he let out a low growl like a trapped beast in his throat.
Yavi remained silent, his left hand drawing complex trajectories in the air. The purple light traces dragged by his fingertips gradually intertwined into an inverted triangle Signs - Axii Sign of the Demon Hunter School slowly rotated in the darkness, dyeing the shadows of the dungeon with a strange lavender color.
"No... stop..." Frankie's voice suddenly became weak, and his pupils gradually expanded as Signs rotated. When the last gesture was completed, Signs turned into countless light spots and dissipated in the air, disappearing with it, the look in Frankie's eyes. His head hung down weakly, leaving only the sound of steady breathing echoing in the cell.
"Successful." Yavi turned to Katz and said, "He is in a state of unconsciousness now and will answer all questions truthfully."
Katz was overjoyed and patted Yavi heavily on the shoulder. "Good job!" Then he strode to Frankie, and his voice suddenly became sharp. "What is your plan this time?"
"Capture...Tuck Fortress..." Frankie's voice seemed to come from a far away place, "Before the Winter Solstice Festival... establish a frontline stronghold..."
"Who gave the order?" Katz asked, tapping his fingers on the hilt of the sword unconsciously.
"Royal... order..." A trace of saliva flowed from the corner of Frankie's mouth, "We... don't know... who exactly..."
Herbert suddenly interrupted with a low voice, "The situation around Kovir has been stable, who would suddenly..." He looked at Katz, and the two exchanged solemn looks.
"When will the reinforcements arrive?" Katz continued to press, leaning forward.
"Five days... later..." Frankie's head shook slightly, "Second Legion... from the west side..."
Katz straightened up and raised his lips as if he had a winning chance. "Liz's reinforcements will arrive in three days." He turned to Herbert, "There is still time to arrange an ambush."
The interrogation lasted for about a quarter of an hour, until Frankie suddenly stiffened. He raised his head suddenly and let out a heart-piercing scream. His body was shaking uncontrollably, and he kept shaking his head as if it was about to split. Cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.
"Very good." Katz waved to the jailer, "Give him food and water, put him down and let him rest." Before leaving, he took one last look at the prisoner huddled in the corner, and whispered to Yavi, "This spell... won't leave any permanent damage, right?"
Yavi shook his head slightly and smiled slightly, "Don't worry, Uncle Katz, there will be no permanent damage, it will just be a headache for a while, and you will recover after resting."
Katz breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. If he turns into an idiot, the value of his use will be lost."
Everyone left the cold dungeon and walked through the dark corridors and climbed the stone steps. The afternoon sun slanted in through the high windows, casting mottled light and shadow on the ancient stone bricks. Pushing open the heavy oak door, Tuck Fortress's war room suddenly opened up - the huge sand table in the center was illuminated by the sun, and various flags cast slender shadows on the sand table.
Herbert walked quickly to the sand table, bringing a gust of breeze with his sleeves. "The latest intelligence shows that the enemy reinforcements have chosen the open plain to the west." He ran his fingers across the flat terrain on the sand table, "This is expected."
Katz frowned and placed his hands on the edge of the sand table. "Fighting on the plains... they want to take advantage of the cavalry." The sun cast mottled shadows on his body, reflecting several lines of worry, "As soon as Mr. Liz's reinforcements arrive in three days, we can start preparing strategic deployments."
Jace slowly approached the sand table and tapped a woodland on the edge of the plain with his slender fingers. "They will definitely send scouts to explore the terrain first. We can set up an ambush here to create an illusion."
Herbert's eyes lit up and he immediately added, "Yes, let the light cavalry disguise themselves as the main force and move in the forest to lure them into splitting up their forces to pursue them."
Katz's fingertips drew an arc on the sand table. "The main force is hiding behind these hills, waiting for them to be lured into the encirclement..." He made an encirclement gesture, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.