In the annals of history, the strong have always prevailed over the weak; what then, of right and wrong?
Within the confines of the dimly lit interrogation room stood a table, its plain design ubiquitous across the Eastern Continent, utterly unremarkable. A desk lamp sat upon it. Perhaps the lamp’s illumination was too intense, for its head was angled slightly outward, deflecting the harsh glare from the tabletop.
Two officers sat on one side of the table. With the desk lamp directed away and the overhead bulb casting a meager, flickering light, the two men were plunged almost entirely into shadow, their lower faces barely discernible. Despite the poor lighting, the Xuanji Star military rank insignia on the cuffs of their sleeves, resting on the table, were strikingly clear. They were clearly a Second Lieutenant and a Lieutenant of the Xuanji Star Territorial Army. They sat one on each side, like two solemn gatekeepers, the stern set of their mouths, devoid of any hint of humor, underscoring the somber atmosphere.
On the other side of the interrogation room stood an exquisitely crafted wooden chair, to which a military man with a seemingly benevolent countenance was bound. From his insignia, he was a Corporal in the Territorial Army. Unable to move freely, he tilted his head back, gazing at the swaying bulb above, his thoughts lost to the flickering light. Two guards stood beside him, one on each side, ready to restrain him instantly should he make any sudden move.
The Second Lieutenant and the Lieutenant exchanged a glance. The Second Lieutenant spoke first.
“Corporal Man, is this your identification?”
He held up the document on the table for the corporal opposite him to see, having deliberately adjusted the light so the corporal could view its contents. Corporal Man’s expression remained calm, betraying none of the fear or confusion one might expect from an interrogated prisoner. He affirmed with a nod.
“Yes, sir.”
“Since your personal information and unit number are correct, we will begin the interrogation.”
The Second Lieutenant picked up several photos from the table and showed them to Corporal Man. After displaying them one by one, he asked, “Corporal Man, are these actions in the photos your doing?”
“Yes, sir.”
The Lieutenant looked at the Second Lieutenant and nodded. The Second Lieutenant then held up the first photo and asked, “You led men to burn down ‘Coachman Village,’ slaughtering the entire population. Who gave you that order?”
“No one gave me an order, sir.”
“Then what justified the complete eradication of a village that had already surrendered and lay within Xuanji-occupied territory?”
“Sir, we encountered resistance fighters along the way and discovered they had fled into Coachman Village. We pursued them into the village, but the villagers harbored the resistance fighters, adamantly claiming no one had entered the village. We were left with no recourse but to eliminate these villagers who harbored the resistance.”
“And the resistance fighters?” The Lieutenant slammed his hand on the table, leaning forward and demanding, his voice sharp, “Don’t tell me you didn’t catch them!”
“Sir, we did not find the bodies of resistance fighters among the corpses. The resistance fighters had used the villagers as cover to escape, but we did find several Vega-manufactured firearms in the villagers’ homes.” Corporal Man responded with unruffled composure, neither subservient nor defiant. His countenance remained perfectly natural, revealing no trace of the brutality that had claimed an entire village.
“Heh! Those were weapons used by the ‘Village Guard’ organized by the Xuanji Star Blaze Clan Restoration Organization in the village. Besides those, you must have also found the Restoration Organization’s armbands, right!” The Lieutenant was clearly disdainful of Corporal Man’s actions. In his eyes, this was no ‘guerrilla suppression’ but a flimsy fabrication to rationalize a massacre.
“Yes, sir.”
The Second Lieutenant cast a sidelong glance at the Lieutenant, then picked up the second photo. “You violated the women of the village, carving a ‘Black Sun’ into their corpses with your bayonet. What is the meaning behind such an act?”
“It means nothing, sir.”
“It means nothing? Corporal Man, our records show you voluntarily joined the Territorial Army after Xuanji Star launched its attack on Vega in New Calendar Year 213. You received relevant professional training, so you should be well aware of what the ‘Black Sun’ signifies. It is the symbol of the Blood-Soaked Army, and you are a soldier of the Territorial Army.”
“Sir, the Black Sun is the symbol of the Blood-Soaked Army.”
“Corporal Man! You are a soldier of the Territorial Army, not the Blood-Soaked Army. Should the Territorial Army be leaving the mark of the Blood-Soaked Army?” The Lieutenant slammed his hand on the table. The Second Lieutenant beside him gestured for him not to interrupt the interrogation, and he huffily withdrew his hand beneath the table.
“Sir, the Black Sun is indeed the symbol of the Blood-Soaked Army, but it is also the emblem of our Great Leader, the Grand Dean. It is an infinitely sacred mark in the heart of every Xuanji Star citizen. I merely carved the pride of the Xuanji Star people onto the bodies of our enemies.”
The Lieutenant felt a surge of anger and was about to rise and strike the table again, but the Second Lieutenant’s focused gaze quickly brought him back to his senses.
“What about the rapes? The Territorial Army emphasized in Order No. 112 of New Calendar Year 213 that Vega citizens who have surrendered and are willing to cooperate with Xuanji Star should be treated favorably and not be arbitrarily detained, killed, or humiliated. You should be aware of this order.”
“Sir, I did not kill Vega citizens who had surrendered to Xuanji Star and were willing to cooperate. They were a vile collection of hypocrites, surrendering to Xuanji Star on the surface but secretly harboring resistance fighters and even providing them with various forms of support.”
“I asked about the rapes.”
“Sir, according to Edict No. 7 of the Qianhua Empire, the Blaze Clan is the most superior race in the world, a great civilization with nine thousand years of historical legacy. The purpose of this war is to save our suffering Blaze Clan compatriots across the land, to unify our fractured Blaze Clan territories, and to rekindle the inherent glory of our people. I was merely enlightening and instructing the barbarian aliens, to comprehensively purify their bodies, minds, and souls, enabling them to comprehend our Blaze Clan’s exalted mission and cleanse their impure bloodlines.”
The Second Lieutenant subtly glanced at the Lieutenant, who stood with his arms crossed, his expression grim as he regarded Corporal Man.
“Hmph! Such smooth officialese! You couch your blatant defiance of military discipline in terms so lofty, one would think you were saving the world. Corporal Man, it’s a pity your eloquence isn’t being used in the diplomatic corps.” The Lieutenant shot a look at the Second Lieutenant, signaling him to cease the pretense and lay bare their decisive evidence.
The Second Lieutenant hesitated for a moment, observing Corporal Man before him. The corporal, utterly devoid of fear, fixed his gaze upon the lower half of the Second Lieutenant’s face. Although the upper half was obscured, his visible lower face betrayed no sorrow or joy, and with each question, one could discern his even teeth and facial muscles moving without a trace of emotion.
The Second Lieutenant took out a notebook and flipped through it, showing page after page to Corporal Man. “These are the confessions of the Territorial Army soldiers who were with you. Are the statements described therein, regarding what you said during the massacre, true?”
“Sir, I couldn’t clearly see the text.”
The Second Lieutenant stood up, preparing to walk over and show the notebook to Corporal Man, but the Lieutenant quickly pressed him down, whispering, “Just play him the recording.”
The Second Lieutenant took out a recorder, placed it on the table, and pressed play. A man’s low voice emanated from it; one could tell from the voice alone that the speaker was dispirited. After that man’s voice ended, another man’s voice began. Compared to the previous muffled voice, this person sounded much more orderly—and the content detrimental to Corporal Man increased significantly.
Once the last person’s voice finished playing, the Lieutenant stood up. Though his face remained unseen, one could vaguely sense the livid expression hidden in the darkness from his tightly controlled voice. “Who told you these statements? You’ve been in Xuanji Star for less than a year. Who told you to say these things publicly?”
“Sir, no one told me. These are all insights I gained myself, based on the principles put forth by our Great Leader, the Grand Dean, the edicts of the Three Emperors, and the speeches of the Dean.”
Though his body was bound, Corporal Man’s feet remained agile. He suddenly stomped his feet on the ground, rising along with the chair he was tied to, with a sudden, forceful movement. The guards rushed to push him back down, but he straightened his spine, stubbornly resisting the guards’ efforts to press him down, and shouted loudly, “Our Blaze Clan is the greatest race in the world! We are destined to rule all other races! To occupy all lands! All the wealth in this world belongs to the Blaze Clan! Before the Blaze Clan, every alien man must grovel in subservience, and every alien woman must willingly yield herself! Our pure bloodline is the most brilliant light in this world, the eternal, unsetting Black Sun!”
As his body was forced back into its seat, his final words were little more than a hoarse, ragged cry. “Long live the Blaze Clan!”
“Enough!” The Lieutenant slammed the table, his eyes blazing with a furious intensity. “Corporal Man, our Territorial Army is a disciplined force with strict orders and prohibitions, not a place where you can act on your whims and do as you please. You should know how your actions will be dealt with.”
“I will die, and the Blaze Clan will live eternally in fire.” Corporal Man looked up, meeting the Lieutenant’s gaze with unwavering resolve. “Every man must die. I have merely contributed my humble efforts to the great historical mission of the Blaze Clan. As a member of the Blaze Clan, I will march towards immortality in the eternal flames, alongside countless compatriots, the inheritors of fire.”
“Where the sun reaches! Where the light extends! Long live the Grand Dean! May Xuanji Star endure forever! May the Black Sun shine eternally!”
“Silence!” The Lieutenant slammed the table again. He picked up a document and began reading loudly, “Given your violation of military discipline, unauthorized slaughter and r*pe of citizens who had surrendered to Xuanji Star, burning of homes, looting of property, deliberately leaving symbols of other armies on corpses besides the Territorial Army’s, and publicly spreading unauthorized statements within the military, according to Xuanji Star Academy Territorial Army Disciplinary Regulations Chapter Five, Section Six, Articles Twenty and Twenty-One, and Chapter Six, Section Three, Articles Two and Seventeen, you are hereby to be…”
“Hold on!” The interrogation room door was swiftly pushed open. A guard stood at the entrance, saluting. Seeing the officer bearing the shoulder insignia of a colonel enter the room, the Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant immediately stood and saluted. “Sir.”
Corporal Man’s eyes swept over the three men. He noticed the Second Lieutenant’s footsteps when he stood. ‘A feigned stumble… a very common martial art technique…’
The officer referred to as ‘Sir’ (a colonel, the lowest rank of field officer in Xuanji Star military) surveyed the two officers whose faces were obscured, then cast his gaze towards the dim lighting in the room, finally resting it on Corporal Man.
“The light in here is quite dim.”
“Sir, this is merely a temporary interrogation room. Conditions are simple during wartime. I will arrange for repairs immediately.” The Lieutenant responded quickly, his usually irritable and impulsive nature instantly becoming compliant.
“No need. I need to take this man with me immediately.”
“Sir, this corporal violated military discipline and committed…”
“I know. His case is to be transferred to me immediately for handling. This is Commander Lei’s order.” The colonel emphasized his words, and the Lieutenant, having no choice, snapped to attention and saluted in obedience. “Yes, sir.”
The colonel patted both their shoulders, looking at the identification tags obliquely pinned to their collars, and nodded. “Lieutenant Li, Lieutenant Gao, your efforts are appreciated.” He then glanced at the ropes binding Corporal Man and said, “Untie him.”
The guards looked at the Lieutenant’s expression. After receiving his tacit approval, they immediately untied Corporal Man. The colonel turned and walked towards the door, illuminated by the light filtering in from the doorway, he addressed Corporal Man. “Come with me! Someone wants to see you, and hear those words you were speaking earlier.”