It's so hard being a hero!

The ground was covered with bedding and blankets brought from various households, and dozens of injured townspeople lay on them.

Several accompanying doctors were busy bandaging and treating patients; the sounds of groans and sobs mingled together, making one's heart ache.

Drummond stood at the edge of the square, talking to several knights.

Seeing Samira and Sofia approaching, he went to greet them.

"Where is that silver-level bandit?"

"They are still alive in the ruins east of the town, but they can't move."

Samira replied.

"I've already sent someone to guard it."

Drummond nodded and adjusted his glasses.

What happened to the prisoners who were captured?

"Over there."

Samira gestured with her chin toward the west side of the square.

Sophia followed her gaze and saw a dozen men in tattered leather armor bound like dumplings, squatting in a corner.

They were all covered in dust and dirt, and most of them were injured, but their eyes did not show the panic and fear that ordinary bandits would have after being captured.

Instead, it was an indescribable calmness.

It's as if they're waiting for something, or perhaps afraid of something.

Drummond walked up to the group of prisoners.

He glanced down at the crowd and immediately noticed that something was off about them.

“I am Drummond, the Deputy Minister of the Resource Management Department of the Delos Empire.”

"Now I ask you, who are you? Who is your superior?"

The prisoners looked at each other, but no one uttered a sound.

Drummond waited for about ten seconds, then asked again.

"I'll ask you one more time, who sent you?"

Still, no one spoke.

Some people even closed their eyes, acting as if they were completely unfazed.

Drummond's face darkened.

But he didn't get angry. He just took a deep breath, turned around, and walked back to Samira and Sofia.

"You won't tell me?"

Samira asked a question.

"He wouldn't say a single word."

Drummond shook his head.

Sophia looked at the group of prisoners, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

"How about I give it a try?"

Drummond turned to look at her.

How would you like to try it?

Sophia raised her right hand, and a pale purple light shone from her fingertips.

"I can just use magic to search their memories and then I'll know everything."

But Drummond's expression changed, and he quickly reached out to stop her.

"No."

Sophia raised an eyebrow.

"why?"

"Because it's illegal."

Drummond's tone was very serious.

"Imperial law clearly stipulates that no one may use mental magic to probe another person's memory as evidence."

Sophia rolled her eyes.

"What kind of time is this to talk about this? These people are burning, killing, and looting, and you're still talking about human rights with them?"

"This is not a question of whether or not to respect human rights."

Drummond shook his head.

“This is the law and the rule; to convict them, they must speak up themselves.”

Sophia opened her mouth, but then swallowed her words back.

She could tell that Drummond had reservations.

Or rather, he simply didn't want to get involved in this mess.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Sophia shrugged.

"We can't just leave it like this, can we?"

Drummond was silent for a moment, then spoke.

“According to imperial law, if these people are soldiers of the local fortress or private soldiers of a lord, we have no right to interrogate them directly.”

He paused.

"We can only contact the local officials in charge and ask them to send someone to handle it. If we handle it ourselves, it would be overstepping our authority."

Sophia was speechless upon hearing this.

Of course she understood the intricacies of the Empire; Drummond was simply trying to shift the blame.

What's with all this talk about overstepping authority? To put it bluntly, it's about not wanting to get involved in any trouble.

"Lord Drummond."

Sophia's tone became a little impolite.

"You are a high-ranking official of the empire, yet when faced with this kind of thing, your first reaction is not to investigate thoroughly, but to think about how to extricate yourself from the situation?"

Drummond's expression changed slightly.

But he didn't refute it; he just pushed up his glasses.

“Miss Sophia, you don’t understand the ways of the imperial bureaucracy.”

“Some things are not something you can investigate just because you want to. Besides, I am not a military officer, so this is not within my scope of responsibility.”

Sofia was completely stumped.

These words reminded her that she was no longer the imperial duke and high-ranking military officer she once was.

"So, we're just going to leave it at that?"

Sophia pressed for an answer.

"of course not."

Drummond shook his head.

"What I mean is, contact the officials in charge of this area and have them send someone to take over."

He glanced at Sophia.

"As for these people, they will be handed over to the local garrison before we leave. They won't be able to escape."

Before Sofia could say anything more, Samira suddenly spoke up.

"Lord Drummond is right."

Sophia turned to look at her.

“It’s not appropriate for us to get involved in this matter directly. If we force an investigation, we will not only fail to help these townspeople, but we will also harm them.”

Sophia sighed helplessly.

"Fine, fine, it has nothing to do with me anyway, whatever you say goes."

After Sophia finished speaking, she walked to the side and sat down, no longer asking about the matter.

Chapter 60 Truk Fortress

Drummond could tell that his approach had displeased Sophia, but he could only smile helplessly and then had someone contact the area's administrator.

With his authority, determining the local jurisdiction would be very simple.

He finished in less than half an hour, and then came back to Sophia and said something.

"Miss Sophia."

"I have already contacted the fortress that governs this area."

"This area belongs to Truk Fortress, a legion directly under the Empire, with 20,000 troops stationed there. The legion commander is Baird, a diamond-level powerhouse and a viscount of the Empire."

Upon hearing this news, Sophia frowned. A diamond-level expert stationed at the legion's fortress was actually just a viscount.

In general, this situation occurs when a commoner is born into a family and obtains a noble title through military merit.

"and then?"

“I have already informed them in the name of the Empire, and they will send people to take over these prisoners.”

Drummond glanced at the sky.

"They should arrive within three to five hours."

Sofia nodded, then glanced around at the burned-out houses.