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"Then… what?" the man stammered in a heated voice. "Fight on until we are finally killed or captured?"
The men stared at the red-faced officer who had spoken. These men had been fighting the Order for a long time. They were not hearing anything they didn't already know. Still, fighting the invaders was all they could do. It was their duty. It was the only thing they knew.
Richard turned and took in Cara. Standing there in her red leather, her feet spread, her hands clasped behind her back, she looked like she believed she could take on the Order all by herself.
Richard gestured to the woman standing beside Cara. "Nicci, here, once served on their side." When he heard the whispers about an enemy among them, he added, "Much the same as all of you were once in the service of tyranny when you served Darken Rahl, and some of you even his father, Panis Rahl. You had no choice. Darken Rahl did not care what you wanted to do with your lives. He only cared that you followed his orders. Now, when given a choice, you have committed to our cause. Nicci has as well.
"The men of the Order are different. You were fighting because you were made to under threat of violence or even death. They are fighting because they believe in a cause. They hunger to fight. They want to be a part of their war effort.
"Since she was there, with Jagang, Nicci has firsthand knowledge. She has seen things that may help put it into perspective for you."
Richard turned again to Nicci. She looked like a statue, her skin smooth and fair, her blond hair tumbled down over her shoulders. There was nothing about her face, her figure, that Richard would have changed if he were the one to carve a statue of her. She was a picture of beauty, who had seen ugliness beyond imagining.
"Nicci, please tell these men what will happen to them if they are captured by the Imperial Order."
Richard had no idea what she would say, what she knew, but he did know, especially from the things Jebra had told them, that the Order had only contempt for life.
"The Order does not execute their captives immediately." With deadly calm, Nicci glided one step closer to all the men staring at her. She waited at Richard's side until the silence was painful and she had the undivided attention of every man before her. "First," she said, "every man captured is castrated."
A collective gasp went up from the assembled men.
"After that, after they have suffered unendurable agony and humiliation, the ones still alive are put to torture. The ones who survive the torture are finally put to death in one brutal fashion or another.
"Those who surrender to the Order without a fight are spared such treatment. That is the design behind the cruelty toward captives—to strike fear into a potential adversary so that they will surrender without a fight. Their treatment of civilians in captured cities is just as brutal and it has the same goal in mind. As a result, many cities have fallen to the Order without a fight.
"You men have fought them long and hard. You would not be spared any of it. If you are caught by Jagang's forces there is no hope for you. You will be made to wish with all your hearts that you had never been born. Death will be your only release.
"Not that it matters. Life under the Order is not much different than waiting for death at the hands of the Order. Life under the Order is a slow, grinding death in itself. It just takes longer; the misery of it stretches out over years.
"Only those who hate life, and everything good, prosper. The Order, in fact, fosters and encourages those who hate the good aspects of life. Their teachings are, after all, formed from a bitter hatred for the good. The environment such beliefs create is one of universal misery. The haters relish the misery of others, since the good angers them. If captured, these haters would be your masters."
The men stood in stunned silence. In that silence, Richard heard the gentle patter of rain on the awning stretched overhead. The storm was rolling in on them.
Nicci spoke offhandedly into the silence. "The fried testicles of their enemies are a prized treat for the soldiers of the Imperial Order. The camp followers will scour a battlefield after a battle, looking for loot and any wounded enemy still alive that they can castrate. Those precious, bloody gems harvested from a living enemy are a valuable and sought-after commodity during the drunken celebration after a victory. The soldiers believe that such a delicacy gives them greater strength and virility. Afterwards, they turn their attention to their women captives."
Richard pinched the bridge of his nose between a thumb and first finger. "Anything else?"
Nicci raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that enough?"
Richard heaved a sigh as he let his hand drop. "I guess so."
He turned back to the men. "The simple truth is that there is no way you can win the coming battle. You are going to lose."
Richard took a deep breath and finally uttered the unspeakable words he had come to say.
"That is why there will be no final battle. We will not fight Emperor Jagang and his army of the Imperial Order. As Lord Rahl, leader of the D'Haran Empire, I refuse to allow such an act of pointless self-destruction. We will not fight them.
"Instead, I have come to disperse our army. There will be no final battle. Jagang will have the New World unopposed."
Richard saw tears filling the eyes of many a man.
* * *
CHAPTER 25
Richard's words were received like a slap.
An angry officer shouted, "Then wh
y should we fight?" He swept an arm around at his fellows. "We've been at this war for years. Many of our fellow soldiers are no longer here, with us, because they have sacrificed their lives to preserve our cause and loved ones. If there is no chance, if we are just going to lose in the end, then why have we bothered to fight? Why should we bother to continue in this struggle?"
Richard smiled bitterly. "That's the whole point."
"What point?" the man growled.
"If people see no chance for triumph, no chance to win, and see instead that they face only ruin and death, then they begin to lose their will to fight. If they see that they have no chance to spread their beliefs, that they face only death if they continue to try to do so, then they will begin to want to forget all about such a war."
If anything, the man was only getting angrier, as were many of the other officers. "So you're telling us to forget about the war? That we can't win against the will of the Order? That since we can't win there is nothing to fight for?"
Richard clasped his hands behind his back as he lifted his chin with resolve. He waited until he was sure that he had every ear.
"No. I'm telling you that I want to make the people of the Old World feel that way."
The men frowned in confusion, muttering questions among themselves. They quickly quieted down as Richard went on.
"Jagang is bringing his army up into D'Hara. He wants to meet us in battle. Why? Because he believes he can defeat us. I believe he is right. I don't believe this because you men lack anything in bravery, training, strength, or skill, but simply because I know how vast his resources are. I've spent time down in the Old World. I know how vast the place is. To an extent, because I have traveled through the Old World, I know how many people they have, how much livestock, crops, and other assets. I've seen; these things on a scale I've never seen before. They have reserves you cannot even begin to imagine.
"Jagang has amassed an enormous force of savage men who are devoted to their beliefs. They intend to crush everyone and everything opposing them. They lust to be conquering heroes, to spread their faith. Jagang has been provided with everything his experience tells him he will need, and then he doubled it. Just to be certain, he then doubled it again.
