However, Benson was utterly stunned when he saw Azula escorting the enemy troops back to camp.
Their entire force had spent so much ti and effort without even catching sight of the enemy, yet she had simply gone out for a casual walk and returned with them in tow?
Seriously, you're making look like a complete fool!
He also noticed that the Royal Guards showed no obvious injuries, and the troops he had sent to stand by for support looked even cleaner, clearly having never entered combat.
From this, it was obvious that Azula had not only found the enemy force in an extrely short amount of ti, but had also swiftly secured victory with only twenty mbers of the Royal Guards, and done so with absurd ease.
How was that even possible!?
Regardless, he now understood that he had clearly misjudged her.
Although Azula had mocked him relentlessly before leaving and nearly infuriated him to death, now that she had successfully completed the mission and returned with a full haul, he could only stay silent and, unable to hold back, ask:
"How did Your Highness find their hiding place?"
"Just a little deduction based on the intelligence we already had."
"Nothing difficult."
Azula answered lightly, then seed to recall sothing and 'kindly' added:
"Just listen."
"Don't try to learn it."
"You won't be able to."
"...Your Highness jests."
Benson forced a smile, while inwardly cursing: I'm literally @#$%...!
However, as he looked at the rebels led by Lidon, who all appeared to be unhard, Benson felt puzzled.
Fire Lord Ozai's order had been to annihilate the enemy, so why had Azula taken them alive?
Could it be so feminine softness, unable to finish the job?
But he quickly threw that thought aside.
Because Azula ordered Iroh's forr subordinates to be tortured in the open field.
Whips soaked in salt brine lashed viciously across each rebel's body, tearing open their flesh as the stinging liquid seeped into the wounds, multiplying the pain.
Once the wounds split open, enduring the next round of lashes beca even more unbearable.
Aside from Lidon and a few iron-willed n who gritted their teeth and refused to scream, the miserable shrieks of the others rose without end.
The crack of whips and the cries of nearly a hundred n spread through the entire military camp like the howling of damned spirits.
In a short while, they had been beaten until they were raw and drenched in blood, their torn underclothes stained crimson, looking utterly ghastly.
The open field allowed every soldier in camp to witness the horrific spectacle.
Although the soldiers' hands were already stained with blood, slaughter on the battlefield and deliberate torture were two entirely different things.
Many imdiately turned their heads away, unable to continue watching.
At this mont, Azula was not rely watching.
She was smiling.
That sight made Benson's scalp prickle.
He cautiously stepped forward and asked:
"Princess Azula, may I ask what this is...?"
"Of course."
"I am carrying out Father's orders."
Azula smiled at him, as though finding the scene before her rather soothing and enjoyable.
"Don't you think this will be far more effective at frightening the rest?"
"I even plan to drag them all the way back to the Royal Capital and display their miserable condition to the common people along the road."
"That should leave a very deep impression."
"What do you think?"
"I-I think Your Highness's insight is profound."
Benson answered with a trembling voice.
Is this really a princess who supposedly knows nothing of the world?
How can she be this vicious!?
However, Azula seed to be enjoying herself more and more, and she continued speaking with smooth confidence:
"On this matter, I do think Father's order has certain flaws."
"Wouldn't it be too wasteful to let these traitors die so easily?"
"The Fire Nation does not have such an endless supply of manpower, and besides, simple execution would hardly serve as much of a warning."
"I intend to tornt them to their limits, then send them to labor until they die, forcing them to make one final contribution to the Fire Nation."
"Isn't that wonderful?"
"Your Highness's insight is profound."
Benson repeated once again.
At this point, he felt fortunate that he had not offended Azula too deeply.
Otherwise, the consequences truly would have been unimaginable.
This punishnt did not last long, because their lives still had to be preserved.
Afterward, they not only needed their injuries lightly treated, but also required enough food and water.
As long as they were kept from starving or dying of thirst, that was sufficient.
As Azula had said, sotis living was far more painful than dying, and there would be many more rounds of this on the road back.
After the punishnt ended, Azula went to Kahn's tent.
He had been ditating there ever since it began, but when she saw his slightly furrowed brows, she knew he had most likely not entered a ditative state at all.
As for the reason, Azula knew perfectly well.
She unceremoniously sat down beside Kahn and scoffed:
"You're not regretting it now, are you, seeing those people suffer?"
"You were the one who ca up with this plan."
"Besides, isn't it already too late for regret?"
"Regret?"
"Of course not."
Kahn slowly opened his eyes and said:
"It's just that my plan is now complete, but whether it ultimately succeeds still depends on Ozai's decision."
"That feeling makes sowhat uneasy."
Ozai wanted Iroh's forr subordinates annihilated, while he was doing everything he could to keep them alive.
That was an extrely difficult thing to pull off.
It was not the saving itself that was difficult, but rather how to explain it to Ozai after they were saved.
The only thod he could think of had been inspired by a single sentence Ozai had spoken.
'Find them and wipe them out.'
'Let them understand the price of betrayal!'
He guessed that Ozai truly wanted to accomplish two things.
First, to force him to completely sever all ties with Iroh's faction through this incident.
Second, to slaughter one rebel as a warning to the rest, thereby intimidating Iroh's remaining forr subordinates.
Annihilating them was only one way to achieve that result.
But if the result alone mattered, then there were naturally many thods.
Even so, by doing this, they were still altering Ozai's orders without permission.
To make up for that, they had to carry it out even more thoroughly and more perfectly than the original command.
Wounding oneself to survive.
Walking into death in order to live.
Only by making Ozai feel that their punishnt had surpassed re execution would they have a chance to truly survive.
Even so, the final outco still depended on Ozai's decision.
He hated this kind of gamble, but this was the only plan he could think of that could balance every side.
"And if even this fails to keep them alive, then I really would feel a little sorry for them."
If Kahn had not known them, it would have been one thing.
But when he thought about who they were, his emotions inevitably stirred.
He now truly understood how suffocating it felt to have one's life held in another person's hands.
He could not continue remaining in such a passive position.
Kahn thought silently.
In truth, this plan had another purpose as well, and that was to build strength for himself and Azula.
As long as Lidon and the others survived, they could beco a force that would aid them in the future.
That was also why they needed to speak with Lidon and the others beforehand, and why Azula had to put on this special performance.
However, there was also a hidden danger here.
Azula pointed directly at the crucial issue:
"Instead of worrying about that, you should think about what happens if one of them is a fool and suddenly decides to expose our plan."
"Then there is only one option."
Kahn's gaze darkened as he said:
"Although we must do everything we can to save them, our own safety cos first."
Azula smiled in satisfaction.
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