The man's eyes widened further in fear as Raven's smirk deepened, relishing the palpable terror emanating from his captive. With deliberate cruelty, Raven prodded the open wound with the spikes of the bat, causing the man to grit his teeth in agony.

"So, willing to speak now, Oliver?" Raven inquired, his voice laced with a chilling edge.

Oliver, his resolve unbroken despite the pain, clenched his jaw defiantly. "Even if I die, I won't tell you, Hunter," he spat out through gritted teeth.

Raven's expression remained impassive as he met Oliver's gaze head-on. "Death is an easy choice, don't you think?" he remarked calmly, his words carrying a weight of inevitability.

Standing straight, Raven signaled to a nearby guard, who promptly retrieved a tablet and positioned it in front of Oliver. With a swift motion, he activated the device, revealing a chilling video to the captive.

In the video, a woman and a small boy were shown, their limbs bound to chairs in a dimly lit room as they sobbed uncontrollably. Two menacing figures dressed in black stood nearby, each holding a small stout glass bottle containing a venomous snake that hisses menacingly.

Oliver's eyes widened in horror as he recognized his wife and son in the video. "You bastard, leave them!" he shouted, his voice hoarse with desperation. The already torn flesh on his cheeks began to bleed anew, and his dry throat caused him to cough uncontrollably.

"Relax, Oliver. I haven't started yet," Raven remarked calmly, a twisted smile playing on his lips as he spoke. "Do you see the small snake over there? It's a Dwarf Adder, small and cute, right?" His words were laced with a deceptive charm, but his eyes betrayed a much darker intent.

Brandon, who had been enjoying the scene, exclaimed, "Awww... that's my baby Sara. I wonder where she went for two days?" His remark went unnoticed by Raven, who remained focused on the interrogation at hand.

"Now tell me, to which rat did you sell the information?" Raven asked the man before him, his tone patient but firm.

"No, I won't, not even in your dreams," the man spat angrily, defiance etched in his every word.

Raven's eyes narrowed at the man's refusal. "You've left me with no choice," he declared, his gaze flicking to the side. Without a word, the guards were summoned, and they issued orders to release the snake.

"No... No, what are you doing? Please, leave them," the man begged desperately, his pleas falling on deaf ears.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"I will when you are willing to speak. No rush, take your time," Raven replied calmly, his voice betraying no hint of remorse.

Oliver remained silent, his eyes fixed anxiously on the video feed. In the footage, the little brown snake emerged from the bottle and slithered slowly toward the two bound individuals.

As the snake approached, the young boy began to cry out in fear, "Mommy, it's coming! Help!"

The woman pleaded with the men nearby, tears streaming down her face. "Please, leave us. Please," she begged, her voice filled with desperation.

Little Sara, slithered its way up the boy's leg, its small form moving with eerie precision towards his neck. Feeling the rough scales and the unsettling slithering motion, the boy's terror escalated, and he wailed loudly in distress.

"Daddy... daddy, help me!" he cried out, his voice trembling with fear.

Oliver, overcome with panic at the sight of his son in danger, pleaded with the men nearby. "Stop that. I will... I will tell you. Please, stop that," he begged, his words frantic and filled with urgency.

"Hmm... That's a good boy," Raven remarked with a cold smile, his demeanor unwavering. With a simple gesture, the guards bowed and issued orders to their men to retrieve the snake from the boy's body, and enclosed it in the glass bottle.

"It was Antonio, I gave the details of goods and export routes to them. He wants to sabotage your successful union with the Northern border. He is planning to gain their trust by selling your goods in his own name. If I am right, Antonio's gang members should have already ambushed your ship and snatched the goods, even crossing the border already." His words hung in the air, punctuated by the chilling echo of his laughter that reverberated through the empty walls of the base.

Raven remained calm, his expression unreadable as he listened to Oliver's confession.

"That was such a lousy plan, But do you think I am a fool? Why would I choose the sea when a safe way to the Northern border is by sky?"

With a calculated gesture, Raven slid the tablet towards Oliver, prompting him to look at the screen.

"The Secretary of Defense, William Cornell, flies on his private AF-V to the Northern Border army camp to meet with the Field Marshal and discuss peace on the border. The agenda..." Raven paused, his gaze steady as he allowed Oliver to absorb the information displayed on the screen.

After a moment of silence, Raven paused the broadcast and handed the tablet to his subordinates nearby.

Oliver looked at Raven with shock and disbelief evident in his eyes. The extent of this man's influence was truly unbelievable. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Raven would have planted his own men in high-ranking positions in politics. Before he could utter a word, a loud bang resonated inside the basement.

"Meet you in hell, Oliver," Raven declared calmly, his voice devoid of remorse as he holstered the gun and adjusted his suit.

Brandon, witnessing the scene unfold, let out a long sigh. "Poor rat, walking straight into the cat's mouth," he remarked, his tone tinged with a mixture of pity and amusement as he patted the lifeless body. A gaping hole was visible in Oliver's chest, blood seeping out from the fatal wound near his heart.

"What are we going to do?" Brandon questioned Raven.

Raven's lips lifted in a sardonic smirk as he gazed down at the corpse before him, his green eyes gleaming with malevolence.

"Deliver the goods to Antonio"