"Bold madmen! Do you know who I am!? How dare you treat me like this!"
A well-dressed nobleman who was tied up yelled at the soldiers who were escorting him. This person is Ugos, the lord of Riley City, who is being roughly escorted to the execution ground by soldiers at this moment. He who has always been pampered couldn't bear it at all, and kept struggling and cursing along the way, thinking that his noble status would still be useful now.
After struggling and making noise all the way, Ugos was taken to the square in the center of Riley City. A part of his remaining followers gathered in the square, as well as several members and customers of the slave trade association, which were found in the city but were smaller than the slave trade union in the west area. All were guarded by the exiled soldiers as prisoners. What all the prisoners here have in common is that each of them was involved in the slave trade in Riley City. The citizens gathered around an open space surrounded by the exiled soldiers in the middle of the square to join in on the commotion.
The citizens naturally understood the purpose of the actions of the soldiers. In this era, when the defeated ruler and his henchmen are captured, if there is no value worth exchanging for ransom, there is a high probability that they will be executed by the victorious party. And the circled open space in this square is obviously their place of execution. In the past, these aristocrats often bullied and oppressed the common people, so most of the onlookers at the scene watched their execution with a gloating attitude.
"Hey bro! How do you think those Erdtree guys will deal with Ugos and his lackeys?"
One of the onlookers saw that the former city lord Ugos was taken to the execution ground, and curiously asked his friends.
When the person heard his friend's question, he stroked his beard and said:
"Probably beheading? I don't think they made gallows, but just bought a pile of stakes. They will probably be beheaded and put on the stakes for public display later, I think?"
After speaking, he specifically pointed to the wooden stake placed on the edge of the execution ground. These wooden stakes are sharpened at the left and right ends, and each one is not particularly thick.
"Her Majesty has arrived!"
At this time, Siduri amplified her voice with magic, announcing the arrival of the judge of the execution. Marika rode in on Torrent into the arena in her heroic silver armor. The townspeople saw their new rulers, and soon began to discuss among themselves. However, most people have a good impression of Marika. Thanks to her order not to harm civilians, none of the townspeople were hurt. Usually in wars, the first victims of the defeated side are often the people at the bottom, but this time the Erdtree Army respected each of them as if they were honored guests and did not burn, kill or loot them. This move deeply won the goodwill of the people, and also made the work of the Erdtree Army to control Riley City a lot easier.
At this time, Marika got off her horse under the eyes of the crowd, and walked in front of Ugos. This time, only Achilles was with her, Einar, Melina, and Ladybug were all gone.
In view of the fact that Einar, Melina, and Ladybug seemed to be frightened when she killed the slave trade union with the Snake devil last time, Marika decided that it would be better not to bring them with her when doing dirty jobs in the future. Otherwise, it would be bad for them to misunderstand her as a bloodthirsty king. Dealing with ordinary soldiers and officers Marika can spare their life, but there is no need to show mercy to villains who are doing crimes against humanity like slave trading.
"Marika! You damned witch! Do you know what you are doing!? If you kill me now, you are putting yourself against the whole kingdom of Inrud! Do you think you can get away with offending the kingdom?! Your dead!"
At this moment, whether it was extreme panic or anger, Ugos kept yelling and cursing at Marika.
"Master, this guy is really annoying, can we make him shut up?"
Achilles said disgustedly in his usual laidback tone. During the Trojan War, he often had quarrels with the nobles of the Greek coalition army, and he disliked such self-righteous nobles the most. So he also wanted to get rid of the man in front of him as soon as possible.
"Give me a moment, I need to ask him a short question first."
Marika responded simply, then focused her gaze on Ugos. When her gaze set on him, his whole body trembled suddenly, as if he was being targeted by some dangerous existence. Marika stared at him condescendingly, and said in a cold voice:
"The lord of Riley City, Ugos. I'm going to ask you a very simple question now, you just need to answer yes or no. Have you ever participated in the slave trade?"
"I curse you! You evil witch, you—puff!" Before Ugos could finish cursing, Malika slapped him on the left side of the face. The impact from the palm of her hand wrapped in iron gauntlet caused the corner of Ugos' mouth to bleed.
"As I said, you just have to answer yes or no."
Marika repeated.
"How dare you hit me! I'm- Ugahh!"
Ugos wanted to continue cursing, but Marika slapped him again on the right cheek. Now both sides of his face were red and swollen, and he looked very funny.
"You hit me again, I—!"
Slap!
"I am-!"
Slap!
"you-!"
Slap!
"I-!"
Slap!
Whenever Ugos tried to fight back, Marika gave him a loud slap. After a few rounds, Ugos' already swollen face was swollen like a fat pig. Achilles on the side couldn't help but laugh at how pathetic this man is.
"Y-yes, I did."
At about the tenth slap, Ugos finally gave in and admitted his evil deeds in a weak tone.
"Good grief~ Could you have said it earlier! You were practically asking to be embarrassed." Achilles complained disdainfully.
And Marika was finally satisfied when she heard the answer she wanted. She slapped him just now to hear him confess his crimes, so that she can send him to hell without any burden.
"Come on, pass me a stake. Then have him restrained with his hips facing me."
Marika ordered. Although the soldiers felt a little strange by it, they obeyed the order, holding Ugos and pointing his butt at Marika. The citizens were also at a loss when they saw this scene, not knowing what Marika was going to do. Ugos was terrified, he didn't know what would happen next, but he had a bad premonition.
Marika took the wooden stake handed to her by the soldier and weighed it in her hands, while Siduri turned her head, not wishing to watch this scene. Then Marika pointed the tip at Ugos' ass and stabbed forward, hard.
"Ooo-ga-"
Ugos uttered a short scream, before the stake came out of his mouth along with blood. Everyone present clenched their butt just looking at the terrible scene. Marika erected the stake with the Ugos on it and planted it in the ground.
Marika looked around coldly and said:
"This is what happens to enslavers."
Marika used impalement on Ugos. It was a method of execution popularized by the famous 15th century Romanian king, Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler. For these villains who enslaved and raped women from innocent families, Marika thought this was the most appropriate punishment, allowing them to experience the feeling of being raped. Only such extreme violence can intimidate the hopeless criminals. And watching everyone's performance with lingering fear, the effect can be said to be very outstanding. Even Achilles, who witnessed the cruelty of the Trojan War, couldn't help frowning.
"The rest of the guilty will be dealt with in the same way as I demonstrated just now."
Marika gave instructions to the Banished knight who was in charge of supervising the execution. Although the Banished knight was somewhat shocked by this brutal scene, he was still loyal, and he awkwardly answered yes.
There were many screams of impalement in the square that day.
After one day…
Marika ordered the elves to be sent back to Stormveil City for shelter as well as further examination and treatment. Although the physical scars of these women have healed, their experiences also left indelible scars in their hearts. Marika is afraid that they will have to spend the rest of their lives healing their inner wounds. Marika looked at these women whose hearts had been severely tortured, and her hatred for the nobles of the kingdom was getting deeper and deeper.
After the Erdtree Army was reorganized, they left behind the summoned Godrick soldiers as defenders and set off for the second city in the southern territory, the City of Tucket.
The whole army reached its destination after marching for two days.
Looking at the city of Tucket in the distance, the Erdtree Army camped on a hill several kilometers away in the south of the city. In this way, it is easy to look down on the City and the surrounding environment.
The city's location in proximity to a large forest made it easy for them to send people to escape and inform the other cities when an attack was launched. This is somewhat similar to the original Uro Castle.
Regarding how to capture Tucket City, Marika decided to hold a meeting to listen to everyone's opinions before making a decision.
"My lords, the next thing we have to face is Tucket City. This city is close to the forest. If we attack the city now, I'm afraid they will soon leak the news and arouse the vigilance of other city owners. If that happens, we will lose the element of surprise. So now I hope to listen to your opinions on the matter."
"Master, why don't Artorius and I sneak into the city and kill their mayor. That would leave them leaderless!"
Achilles made a proposal that was very in line with his personality, and Artorius on the side nodded silently in agreement.
"This is a good proposal, but some areas may need to be improved, Sir Achilles."
Marika said after thinking for a while.
"Then what do you think we should do, Master?"
"I believe that you and Sir Artorius are our main force and should stay on the frontal battlefield to deal with the more threatening enemies. As for assassinating the city lord directly, we cannot guarantee that his adjutant will not take over the command. If we assassinate him, it is very likely that they will be alerted and cause them to leak our whereabouts. However, I think it is still a good choice to send people to sneak into the city."
Marika paused for a moment, the thoughts in her mind kept running, and then continued:
"We know that the elven adventurers are very dissatisfied with the kingdom. Then we might as well use this as an opportunity to let people sneak into the city to contact the elven adventurers to rebel, let them make trouble in the city and open the city wall. The personnel sent in will give the army a signal that the city gate has been breached. After receiving the signal, we will take advantage of the chaos to attack Tucket City. Sir Einar, you have several contacts with the elves, what do you think?"
Being called up by Marika, Einar thought for a short while and quickly gave an answer.
"Your Majesty is wise. I think this plan will surely succeed. However, in order to increase the credibility of our envoys, it is better for me to write a personal letter as physical evidence to convince them."
"Very good, now let's discuss the candidates for this mission!"
Marika was about to announce her candidate, when Melina raised her hand and asked:
"Mother, may I volunteer for an infiltration operation?"
Melina, who is usually well-behaved and quiet, suddenly volunteered to participate in a mission that tested her espionage ability and eloquence, which really surprised Marika. Can Melina really be able to do this task well?
"Melina, are you sure?"
Marika asked.
"Yes, Mother, I think my ability to transform into a spirit body is perfect for this mission."
Melina said firmly.
"Well, if you have already set your mind on going, I will entrust this task to you, but..."
After careful consideration, Marika finally decided to agree to Melina's request. After all, Melina is also a demigod, and her performance in battle in the game was not half bad. But Marika felt a little worried, after all, she was her precious daughter.
"Ladybug, come here."
Marika motioned him to come to her.
"Eh? Ah—yes ma'am!"
Ladybug was surprised by the sudden name call, but walked over anyway.
"Give me your hand, I will help strengthen the rune in your body."
"Uh... Ok."
The ladybug was puzzled by Marika's weird behavior, but when he heard her talking about a power up. He felt that it shouldn't be a bad thing, so he obediently stretched out his right hand, and Marika also extended her left hand to hold Ladybug's hand. The two now look like they are shaking hands.
What Marika has to do now is to use part of the runes she has obtained recently to enhance the ladybug's physical ability. Just like Melina strengthened the Tarnished, if Melina and the other Finger Maidens can do it, then as the master of the Elden Ring, she should be able to do it too.
Marika began to concentrate on controlling the Elden Ring in her body, trying to guide a small number of runes to Ladybug. The rune enhancement process soon paid off, and Ladybug felt a powerful force pouring into his body, nourishing his body and mind. If he was just a skilled agent before, now his physical strength is at the level of Captain America.
"How does it feel?"
Marika let go of his hand, and asked him while carefully observing Ladybug's reaction to his enhanced body.
"Holy crap, I feel like a superhero now!"
Ladybug looked at his hands incredulously, feeling that his current strength could kill a cow in one punch.
"Very good, Ladybug, I hope you will accompany Melina on this infiltration mission. You are an expert in this field, so I hope you can help her complete the mission."
"A duo mission? Ok no problem! I'm great at teamwork!"
Ladybug agreed without hesitation, and gave a thumbs up gesture with a confident smile on his face.
So the infiltration plan was finalized.
When the two were about to leave, Marika handed them Soporific grease and Sleep pots made from the Trina's lilies she had synthesized. After Malika gave them careful instructions again, Melina and Ladybug set off for Tucket City under the cover of night.