System: Build My Own Territory

Chapter 928 - 281: Unyielding Judgment

Listening to the voices of doubt from the two former colleagues.

Watching their eyes filled with anger.

Tyrone still lay leaning against the pile of straw, his expression calm.

His gaze looked into the distance.

Indeed.

The soldiers responsible for guarding them cast questioning glances.

It was only after discovering they were merely conversing that their gaze shifted away.

Tyrone understood the soldiers’ supervision over them was even more lax than imagined.

The feeling was nothing like overseeing captives or slaves.

It was more as if protecting their safety.

Tyrone’s gaze shifted, looking at the two burly men, he began asking.

"Swearing allegiance to this young lord, is it a betrayal to the Portlands Empire?"

The two burly men exchanged a glance, one of them answered firmly.

"Of course!"

The other also nodded in agreement.

Tyrone continued asking: "If this counts as betrayal..."

"When soldiers under His Highness Cronos broke through Pan Yan City and we chose to surrender, we had already betrayed!"

"We betrayed His Highness Weituo, letting His Highness Cronos’s troops enter the city."

"Moreover, to avoid needless death, we chose to surrender, betraying the soldiers’ oath..."

A burly man’s expression slightly changed. He hurriedly spoke: "How can that be the same?"

"At the end of the Battle of Pan Yan City, we only had eight hundred left, clearly no match for His Highness Cronos’s remaining over ten thousand troops."

"We surrendered only to temporarily evade danger."

"Besides, even if we chose to surrender and become captives of His Highness Cronos."

"Cronos is also a highness of Portlands; we are still loyal to the Portlands Empire!"

Tyrone remained calm.

He stared directly at the speaking burly man and asked.

"Is that so?"

"Have you ever considered why we, captives of His Highness Cronos, were sold here?"

"Does His Highness Cronos really need your allegiance?"

"Or does he need more to trade us, captives, for cash with slave traders?"

The burly man who just questioned had his expression suddenly stiffen.

Tyrone’s four questions left him unable to rebut.

The other burly man also fell silent, seemingly pondering something.

Sitting near the trio were a circle of captives.

They had been listening quietly to their conversation.

Upon hearing Tyrone’s questions, their faces too showed complexity.

Seeing the two remain silent, Tyrone continued speaking.

"There’s another matter; perhaps as soldiers you’ve never thought about it."

"Why did the colleagues in Pan Yan City hold out for seven days before considering surrender?"

The two burly men shook their heads in confusion.

They were merely ordinary soldiers, capable in fighting, but clueless about strategy.

Tyrone explained: "Pan Yan City is crucial for His Highness Weituo’s territory and subsequent strategic deployment!"

"But we held out for seven days without receiving a single reinforcement from His Highness Weituo!"

"From the nearest Red Stone Castle to Pan Yan City is only a three to four-day march."

Seeing the two burly men still wear expressions of confusion.

Tyrone sighed lightly, "Simply put, when His Highness Cronos’s soldiers attacked Pan Yan City, our Highness Weituo had already decided to abandon it."

At this point.

The two burly men finally understood.

Their eyes widened in disbelief, speaking.

"This... this is impossible?"

"We all know, His Highness Weituo simply lacked enough troops, couldn’t... couldn’t..."

Under Tyrone’s direct gaze, the burly man’s voice grew fainter.

Until it disappeared completely.

Tyrone spoke: "As the defending soldiers of Pan Yan City, facing the current situation, it’s unnecessary to deceive ourselves, right?"

The burly men promptly fell into silence, their faces heavy.

Tyrone remained unfazed, "For our allegiance to His Highness Weituo, and for Pan Yan City, we held for seven days."

"Though Pan Yan City ultimately fell, as one of the commanders, I believe we gave it our all."

"I have no shame in His Highness Weituo’s support!"

"Therefore, when Pan Yan City had only eight hundred soldiers left, as the last surviving commander, I ordered you to surrender."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to live!"

"Because I don’t want all soldiers to die to the last man for a city that was abandoned."

"If in the end there’s ridicule and contempt, or if you feel you’ve wronged the Portlands Empire..."

"You can place all the responsibility on me, Tyrone Ramirez."

"I am willing to shoulder it all!"

His voice wasn’t loud.

But in this Lord’s Square, where only the campfire remained burning.

It was so clearly audible!

"As in Pan Yan City, now we have come to this territory, facing this young lord."

"Facing the choice between life and death, my first thought remains to help you survive."

"Only by surviving, is there any possibility!"

"To be well-fed and clothed, or return to the Portlands Empire, to see your families."

"If dead... everything is over!"

Tyrone’s gaze swept around, he continued speaking.