CG Chapter 40: Tears of the weak

Despair began to spread throughout Maro's being; he had an immense amount of anger bottled within him. However, he could not do anything to the other party since he held the fates of his family in his hand.

"Why do you think I would believe you? You might just kill them even after I tell you what I know," Maro, in a last-ditch attempt, challenged, his voice a mixture of defiance and desperation.

"It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not, as you can't change anything, and you know it," Tom replied to Maro with a snicker.

Maro hesitated as his eyes darted around the room. He knew that he was done for, "Fine, what do you want? Do you need information? Because I don't know much."

Tom smiled after he saw Maro break, "First, I want you to tell me in detail about the forces that my younger brother commands. Second, I want to know why Elizabeth is helping him. Lastly, I will need you to write down your knight training method."

He paused before caressing the face of Maro, "I am sure that I don't need to warn you that if your information has even a single falsehood, then…"

"Can I ask you something?" Maro asked in a confused tone.

"Sure, go ahead," Tom replied.

"I might understand why you asked about the first two, but I can't fathom why you would covet after an inferior training method? As a direct descendent of Flameheart, you should have a training method that is best suited for your bloodline." Maro questioned, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Tom replied passionately while concealing his true motivation, "I want to experience the joy of exploring the myriad training methods that are spread across the world."

Maro nodded his head understandingly. If he had heard these words from the trash of Flameheart before today, he would have laughed, but after seeing him take down the whole ship alone, he understood that Edward Von Flameheart wasn't someone to be messed with unless you wanted to court death.

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He began revealing everything he knew about their forces, from the number of knights they had to the strengths and weaknesses of every member of the army.

Focusing on every gesture of Maro, Tom ensured that he was telling nothing but the truth.

After he laid the information about the army bare, he took a deep breath to gather his thoughts before continuing, "As for why Lady Elizabeth is helping him, I can only assume that she's doing that in the hope of securing a position in the family once Lord Timmothy becomes the head."

Tom didn't know the personality of Elizabeth, so he couldn't judge whether she was seeking to secure her place or if she had something more in her mind, 'Well, I could figure out her true motivation once I reach the castle.'

"Okay, now it's time for you to give me the training method," Tom said, hiding the extreme excitement he felt within him. This moment was something that he had waited for an extremely long time. Throughout his lonely journey across the mortal realms, there was one thought that kept him going—the power of Arcanum that enables a person to break free from their mortal shackles.

'Tick-Tock'

The two of them exchanged glances as Tom waited for him to write down the method.

"Ahm…" Maro hesitated, "How can I write it down if my hands are tied?"

Tom's excitement made him ignore that fact. He quickly regained his composure after that misstep, bringing a paper and a pencil near Maro. But before he untied him, he suddenly asked, "What hand do you use to write?"

Maro wasn't sure why Tom would ask such a question, "I use my right hand, but w-"

Before he could question Tom, he heard: "This is going to hurt."

Tom didn't hesitate to use Maro's own sword to sever the tendons in both of his legs and his left arm.

Maro looked at his hand and then at Tom as the realization, accompanied by the extreme pain of what had just happened, hit him like a train. "Ahhhhh."

He couldn't hold back his screams. If anyone heard him at that moment, they wouldn't be able to help but feel pity for his state. Maro had already made peace with the fact that he would die, but he hadn't expected to go through so much pain.

"Ahhh."

Tom placed a three-leaved green herb in Maro's mouth, instructing him in a cold tone, "Chew on this while you write."

The room reverberated with the sound of Maro's muffled screams, accompanied by the relentless scratching of the pencil against the paper. Each stroke of the pencil inflicted immense pain on him, and Maro, drenched in his own blood and sweat, trembled as he fought to maintain his composure. Silent tears fell down his face.

Maro felt that all the agony he went through as a knight was useless at that moment; the tears weren't from pain but from helplessness as he felt a lump stuck in his throat that refused to go down no matter how hard he swallowed.

Despite the excruciating agony, Maro clenched his teeth on the bitter herb, attempting to numb the pain that coursed through his veins. Meanwhile, Tom watched the scene to ensure that nothing would go wrong at the most crucial moment.

As the minutes stretched on, Maro neared his breaking point. Finally, sweat-soaked and fatigued, he completed the task.

Tom retrieved the papers, scanning their contents with a scrutinizing gaze. He instructed, "Noor, analyze this document and simulate whether implementing this training method would cause me any harm."

[Undergoing analysis.]

.

[Initial Result: The method provided is accurate]

[Starting deep analysis]

[Estimated time: fourteen days]

Upon seeing the initial analysis result, Tom smiled innocently. However, his following words sent a chill down Maro's spine, "Now, Maro, you've served your purpose."

Without allowing Maro a moment to comprehend, Tom swiftly swung his sword, severing his head from his trembling body.

'Thud'

The room echoed with the sound of the severed head hitting the ground.