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Viscount Rook didn’t wait for Hilda’s response and led his knight towards the village. Hilda continued to stare at Viscount Rook, didn’t say anything.

‘It is already the second time.’ If it was before, Hilda had already severed the head of the viscount. 

But this is a battlefield. Hilda knew when to control herself. Here one wrong step means death or worse. So she couldn’t just dispose of all those she didn’t like.

However, that didn’t mean she could let it go just like that. She wasn't the type to give their adversaries the third chance.

Hilda looked around to find Ridic just standing there without any intention of intervening. And Cyan…

Their understanding had progressed to the point where Hilda no longer needed to order him directly. 

As soon as Hilda saw Cyan’s movement, a smile appeared on her face. She did not revert to human and continued to move towards Viscount Rook.

“What are you doing?” Viscount Root frowned when Cyan and the guard unit stopped them from moving forward. “Move out.”

No matter what he was saying, Cyan had no intention of letting them pass. Viscount Rook shouted, “How dare you disobey the order from your military superior?”

“Why does Viscount Rook think that a guard unit, directly under the command of me, the imperial this princess needs to follow the order of someone as insignificant as a Viscount?”

Viscount Rook frowned but didn’t show any change in his expression. He kept on smiling, saying, “It is just that the soldiers the imperial prince had personally trained aren’t on the level of the imperial army. So I am…”

“Commander.” Hilda didn’t let him complete his sentence.

“Sorry?” Viscount Rook didn’t understand why Hilda suddenly said that.

“I thought Viscount Rook was well versed in the military discipline.” Hilda shook her head as if she was sorry for him, “Is that Viscount Rook doesn’t know how to designate the head of the army?”

Hilda glared at Viscount Rook, asking, “Or Viscount Rook is intentionally disobeying the imperial edict?”

At that moment, Hilda released her bloodlust and directed it towards’s his steed. Even though it was well-trained, it still was an animal. And it was unable to calm down in the presence of a predator.

No many how hard it tried, it threw Viscount off and ran away. He was yet to understand what went wrong with his steed when something cast a shadow on him. 

When he looked up, he noticed a pair of bright eyes staring down at him. It made him shudder when he heard, “Viscount should choose his words carefully. I will punish you accordingly.”

His subordinates quickly came off the horse and tried to help him. But, Hilda’s guards were faster and stopped them from interfering. 

“What is your answer, Viscount Rook?” It wasn't until Hilda asked again that he realized what was going on.

It was clear from his movement that he was a little hurt. He still maintained his noble hauteur as he stood up. However, he understood Hilda’s allegations.

However, he couldn’t just call Hilda ‘commander’ now. Doing so would mean he was accepting his mistakes.

“Sorry, your highness, this subject didn’t understand what your highness is talking about.”

Hilda almost laughed out loud. She somehow controlled her expression, saying, “Cyan, lead Viscount Root to a peaceful place to let him think about what he had done wrong.”

‘That is imprisonment.’ Even Viscount rook knew that. But he dared not to say it out loud. He calmly explained, “your majesty, I think I am just tired from the long journey. I will remember everything if I rest for a while.”

“Respected imperial teacher,” Hilda asked Ridic. After all, he was also the teacher of the emperor. “What is the punishment for disobeying the military command during the war situation.”

Although Ridic didn’t like Hilda, he couldn't help but praise her quick decision-making ability in the field. And looking at the situation, he could confirm that her ability to control his subordinates was good.

Yet, he kept a stern face when he said, “Death.”

“Your majesty,” Viscount was eager to explain the situation.

Hilda raised her hand and didn’t give him any chance. She smiled, saying, “I know the viscount had to consider the various matter when he decided not to lead his knights to assess the situation. And, I don’t blame you for that.”

“However, what I am saying is that it should be better for viscount to reexamine his previous course of action in a peaceful environment. Otherwise, Viscount might reach a similar conclusion as the respected imperial teacher.”

Hilda could feel scornful gaze from the viscount’s subordinate, but she didn’t care. She smiled at Viscount, saying, “So, if Viscount follows Cyan to find a peaceful place, it would be better.”

“Hmmph.” Viscount Rook wasn’t happy with Hilda’s arrangement but followed Cyan under their watchful eyes. 

Hilda didn’t pay attention to him anymore before turning to Ridic, “General, I have to trouble the imperial teacher by putting in charge of the Knights led by Viscount Rook.”

Ridic snorted but accepted his role. He couldn't help but laud Hilda in his mind. ‘He knows how to get the best of the situation.’

If Hilda had tried to control the knight, things would have gotten messy. After all, they wouldn’t have followed her who had punished their general.

Even if Hilda was a prince, she was still a teenager. Ridic was a knight revered by all of the empire's knights. Naturally, he was a better fit for the interim position than she was.

Even if they didn’t accept it wholeheartedly, they wouldn’t dare to ignore Ridic’s order. Ridic was about to praise Hilda, but when he remembered that this was his grandson-in-law, he couldn’t help but snort again.

Hilda had no idea what was going through Ridic's head as she led her guard regime to the village. The closer she got, the deeper she frowned. 

Her enhanced sense picked up the nasty stench from the air. Knowing what could make such a stench, her face darkened.

When she reached the make-shift wooden fence around the village, her hunches came true. 

“That!?” The guard behind Hilda was shocked. They had observed far more gruesome scenes than this. But the brutality truly shocked them.

There were rows of rotten bodies that were stacked outside the wooden fence. The bodies were rotten to the point where they couldn't tell whether they were old or young. Not even the children were spared.

“Your highness!” Kali, Hilda’s guard’s second-in-command, wanted to say something, but Hilda raised her hand to stop her.

Hilda couldn’t feel any ill-intent from the direction of the village. Still, she couldn't be careless. On her signal, the guards came off their steed and equipped themselves with swords and shields.

The guard unit spread in different directions as soon as they entered the village. They approached the village center. And a herd of deer centaurs with wooden spears and stone hammers surrounded them.

Hilda had already detected them. Even if she didn’t, they would have possessed little problem for them. Unlike the moose barbarians, these were smaller. And weapons didn’t change the result of the battle.

Battles broke different parts of the village simultaneously. However, the guard uint control the situation very quickly. 

There was one difference. All the barbarians were decapitated, mutilated, and turned into minced meat. Hilda knew it was a direct result of what they had seen outside. Still, she thought it was a bit excessive.

But, Hilda knew it was not the time to correct their mistakes. But, she made a mental note to her to-do list.

“Your majesty,” When Hilda turned to look, she found their face was red with anger. Kali’s voice was trembling, “you need to see these.”

Following Kali, Hilda reached the house. The smell of piss and feces overwhelmed their senses as soon as they opened the door.

However, that wasn’t the most concerning matter. There were atleast ten women inside the room. As soon as she saw the big bellies, Hilda knew what had happened. One of the pregnant girls in the corner had a body similar to Maysa's.

“There were 4-5 houses like this. Those bastards…” Kali wanted to curse but controlled herself in time.

Soon Hilda could hear voices at the village center was growing louder. Hilda moved to the center to find that the guard unit had dragged many barbarians out of the houses. There were only women and children in them.

And the soldiers weren't very patient with them. As soon as anybody didn’t heed their order, they were beaten violently with blunt sticks.

Hilda knew that if she let them do whatever they wanted, the majority of the barbarians would be killed.

“Stop.” Hilda’s voice was loud. And with the soul constraint put on them, they couldn’t disobey her order. Soon, Hilda felt tens of angry eyes turned toward her.

She sighed in her heart, remembering the words her teacher had told her. She initially disagreed with those words. But she eventually realized they were partially correct.

Kaison had said, “It’s didn’t matter whether you support such an act or not, but on the battlefield, you can’t go against the voice of the masses.”

Hilda didn’t agree to it that time. Even with soul constraint, the intense stare made her think otherwise.

‘A good general is the one who could suppress the voice of the army, rather the one who bends it under their will.’

Hilda remembered it, but she wasn't sure if she was a good general or not. Hilda shouted, “You are not a barbarian. You can’t give in to your instinct.”

Naturally, Hilda’s random reasoning was not enough to deter them. Hilda sighed quietly in her heart, knowing there was one thing she could do.

“Gather every one of them in the middle of the center. We would inflict them a punishment worse than death. We will make them wish that they hadn’t been born in the first place.” 

As soon as her words, all her guard unit roared in unison. Although Hilda had said those words herself, she knew how absurd her words sounded. Yet, even Kali cheered at her order.

It took her a moment to realize the truth. Even if a barbarian looked similar to a human, in a human's eyes, they were nothing more than a beast.