Prince's guards cannot be taken away from the fortress, so the takeover by Rocky is just a change of location for their confinement.

Badov remains unconscious. Moes and Rocky put a burlap bag over his head and moved him to an empty room on the second floor of the fortress. The room is very large and faces the street. There is a small window that cannot be passed through, which is the only source of light in the room. Badov is thrown into a corner, and the dust stirred up is particularly noticeable in the light. The air also carries a pungent musty smell.

"This doesn't look like an interrogation room." Rocky observed the room and casually closed the door.

"It used to be a warehouse, where we stored household items like blankets and a large quantity of musket ammunition," Moes explained.

"The police chief has a unique storage style, putting blankets and gunpowder together. Isn't he afraid of causing a fire?" Rocky raised an eyebrow.

"Originally it was just for storing blankets, but a few weeks before the Oxias incident five years ago, a batch of armed supplies was transferred here from the military. The supplies were used up that night... After the incident, the chief also felt that storing things like blankets here had the risk of fire, so another warehouse was selected in Nomenge. Therefore, this place has been temporarily abandoned."

"I see." Rocky squinted his eyes slightly. Moes may not have realized the implications in his own words... The police had already started preparing strategic supplies against the Oxias Clan long before they were convicted. Doesn't this indicate that the empire has long had the intention to eliminate the Oxias Clan? These blatant preparations were impossible to go unnoticed by the family. So why was there no reaction from the clan?

"This is not an ideal place for confinement, but apart from the interrogation room, this is the best place I can think of for now," Moes interrupted Rocky's thoughts. "I can't arrange guards outside the warehouse, as it will easily arouse suspicion. Should we put him in shackles? Otherwise, if Badov escapes, all our effort will be in vain."

"It's fine, he can't escape." Rocky was quite confident. "Mental manipulation causes significant damage to the human brain, especially when it is interrupted halfway through, it will cause even greater impact. Although it won't lead to mental disorder, it is certain that he will lose the ability to act in the short term. I don't think he can even stand up at the moment."

"But isn't that the key?" Moes sighed. "Although it avoids interference from Xinsas, can you really control his mind? If you can't make Badov confess during the trial, wouldn't it be meaningless?"

"Of course, I can't perform mental manipulation. That is advanced magic that only sorcerers can master," Rocky said. "But who said that Badov has to be mentally controlled in order to make him confess?"

"Well, I'll wait and see then. Since it concerns your own life, it's good as long as you are confident." Moes shrugged and turned to leave. "I need to attend to some matters. I assume you wouldn't want to be disturbed either."

"Yes, let's wake him up for now." Rocky gently shook his finger, extracting nearby water elements to form a small water sphere.

..............................................................................................................................

These past two days have been a nightmare for Badov. The prince he served received a mysterious letter, supposedly sent by a noble girl. The letter was written in an affectionate tone, with a fervent confession at the end, stating that she would secretly slip out of Nomenge and wait for the prince at the designated location.

However, this "infatuated girl" never revealed her identity in the letter. She only continuously requested the prince to meet her at the location mentioned in the letter. This letter seemed highly suspicious to Badov. The prince of Skaat Kingdom was wide-waisted and fat-faced, with excess fat hanging down to his chin, bearing no resemblance to the "handsome and dashing" description in the letter. Badov couldn't believe that any noblewoman from the Reles Empire would be interested in this foreign prince.

Normally, the prince would not pay any attention to such a ridiculous confession letter. However, just a few days ago, the prince happened to attend a noble ball in the imperial capital. According to the prince himself, he had a chat with a young lady from a prominent family at the ball. The prince interpreted it as a sign of her favor towards him. Therefore, this time the lascivious prince believed in the mysterious invitation without hesitation, ignoring Badov's dissuasion, insisting on meeting the noble girl who secretly promised her heart to him. Even the suspicious aspects of the letter, in the prince's words, turned into reasonable arrangements. For example, the absence of a name was to avoid the prying eyes of family members, choosing a meeting place outside the city to escape the family's surveillance. As for the unrealistic flattery for the prince, he never felt he had any connection with ugliness.As a prince's attendant, Badoev had no authority to interfere with the prince's actions, so the only thing he could do was to adorn himself with his one-handed sword and brass handgun and accompany the prince to the appointment. In fact, even he himself had a slight sense of luck, as he believed that the prince would be absolutely safe in this turbulent imperial capital. The prince had not provoked any important figures and was not involved in any conspiracies. If the prince died in Nomenge, it would be a betrayal of the treaty by the Reles Empire, which would attract the besiegement of other countries. The people of the imperial capital would not kill him, but instead find ways to protect him. So how could someone go through such trouble to deal with him?

Indeed, this was the truth. If he had not left Nomenge with the prince, the police commissioner's plan might have been postponed. But in the moment he and the prince left Nomenge, the hilarious prank turned into a carefully planned assassination.

Badoev and the prince arrived at the designated location, only to be met not by a beautiful aristocratic girl, but by a group of well-trained and equipped assassins. In the heart of the Reles Empire, only those within the empire would have such a level of armament. Badoev even noticed the openly marked Reles Empire emblem on their repeating pistols ... it was not a sinister terrorist, nor ambitious major families, but the Reles Empire itself targeting them.

Badoev was definitely an excellent bodyguard. He was an old soldier of the Scyath Kingdom, always trained in how to protect his master. His marksmanship and swordsmanship were exceptional in any army. However, in front of the well-prepared assassins, they became meaningless. The opponents easily separated him from the prince, and then his protected object died without suspense.

As a bodyguard, once the prince died, his value no longer existed. Badoev did not attempt to escape or fight back, as neither of these actions would succeed. He closed his eyes and waited for the assassins to deliver a fatal blow to him, eliminating all witnesses.

But the expected death did not come. After the assassins blindfolded him, Badoev was tightly bound and taken away. Even at this moment, Badoev couldn't figure out the situation. Did the other side mistake him for the prince? Shouldn't their plan be to kill the bodyguard and kidnap the master? How could they reverse their strategy?

Badoev was secretly transported back to the city, and when he could see again, the first person that caught his eye was a mage dressed in robes. The mage even introduced himself quite ostentatiously as Sinsas Niderl – a name Badoev swore he would never forget.

What followed was a hellish torture. The mage didn't touch him, but whenever Sinsas opened and closed his lips silently, Badoev could feel a snake crawling into his brain.

Badoev had seen magic before, but he knew nothing about mages. He was defenseless against this kind of mental magic that made a person unable to live or die. As the spell progressed, the initial snake turned into countless snakes, with sharp skin and a cruel nature. Whenever Sinsas began to chant, these things surged from all directions, circling and biting him, until they cut open a hole in his skull and burrowed inside. At this point, his brain would buzz and the pain would wash over him like waves. This pain was limitless, becoming more and more intense each time. Badoev began to resent himself for not choosing self-destruction at the first opportunity instead of falling into the hands of the enemy.

Sinsas' spell was interrupted several times. Each time it stopped, Badoev begged the other party to kill him, but Sinsas just sneered and administered various drugs to him. These substances were harmful to the human body, but for Badoev at this moment, he couldn't refuse. As long as it could alleviate the pain caused by the spell, he would even eat bowls of poison.

Afterwards, Sinsas removed all restraints from Badoev's body, but Badoev realized that he could no longer escape. His body began to act beyond his control, doing things he would never do under normal circumstances ... at least not in this situation. For example, singing to the ceiling, or standing up and performing a dance he had never learned in front of the mage.

Although his body was out of his control, Badoev felt his mind clearer than ever before. He was not a fool and finally understood that the mage intended to seize control of his body. Despite knowing this, he could only watch helplessly as each part of his body gradually accepted another person's commands. Then he realized that his consciousness was also starting to betray him. He became drowsy, and the boundary between reality and dream became blurred, with only the pain remaining as the initial truth, growing with each passing moment.At the end of the nightmare, a chill swept over Badouf and he woke up from his daze. It was as if a drowning man suddenly emerged from the water. He opened his eyes and barely had time to take in his surroundings before he began to breathe heavily.

The incessant pain had disappeared. He tried to lift his hand but found that his whole body felt as heavy as lead. Even moving his fingers required immense effort...but at least he could clearly feel his senses and limbs again. His body belonged to him once more.

Then, with great difficulty, he raised his head and looked ahead. In his line of sight was a blue-haired boy wearing the uniform of Mersea Academy, with a red-haired girl standing behind him in the same attire.