65: Good job catching him! That bastard!

In the Free Army Propaganda Department, Pedro was talking on the phone, spitting excitedly.

His feet were propped up on the table, and he was so excited he was practically trembling.

"What? The front page isn't big enough?"

"Double the layout! Print those photos of the Seventh Division Commander kneeling in surrender clearer than his own mother's face!"

"Yes! And the photos of our tanks rolling into Samaypata Town must have impact!"

"I want every citizen of Santa Cruz to wake up, flip open the newspaper, and spray their coffee out of shock!"

Pedro hung up the phone and immediately dialed the next number.

"Is this the TV station? I'm Pedro. Yes, the one from the Free Army."

"For the evening news, prime time, save me half an hour. No, an hour!"

"I want you to loop our battlefield footage! Broadcast all the cowardly images of the Government Army throwing away their armor, crying for their parents!"

"I've already thought of the title: 'The Dawn of a New Era'! Tacky? Tacky is right! The common people love this stuff!"

Pedro was working furiously, and the entire Propaganda Department entered a wartime state.

Explosive news items poured wildly into the streets and alleys of Santa Cruz via newspapers, television, and radio.

[The Free Army Blitzkrieg Captures the Two Major Strategic Towns of Samaipata and Pailas!]

[The Government Army's Ace Seventh Division Completely Annihilated, Commander Captured!]

[The Free Army's Vanguard Points Directly at the Heartland; the Government Army Defense Line Collapses Completely!]

This news triggered completely different reactions among the various social classes in Santa Cruz.

In the wealthy district west of the city, several pot-bellied capitalists gathered, their expressions uniformly grim.

"It's over... everything is over... The Seventh Division was the elite of the Government Army, how could they have been defeated so quickly?"

"I just donated a large sum of money to the Ministry of Defense last week, hoping they could drive these peasants away. Now it's all gone down the drain!"

"What do we do now? Our factories, our estates... those people in the Free Army..."

"They are the ones who shout about overthrowing us 'exploiters'."

Panic spread among them.

For the ordinary citizens of Santa Cruz, however, the mood was much more complicated.

Initially, when the Free Army entered the city, everyone was afraid.

But after a few days, they discovered that this army was strictly disciplined, did not commit the slightest offense, never harassed civilians, and even helped maintain public order.

Now, seeing the Government Army utterly routed, the lingering attachment many felt for the old regime began to waver.

At the very least, they no longer had to worry when going out at night.

Just as the entire city was buzzing with discussion, something even more shocking occurred.

A deep engine roar came from the main thoroughfare in the east of the city.

Citizens peered out curiously, seeing a convoy consisting of military trucks and armored vehicles slowly driving down the street.

The vehicles were not filled with soldiers carrying supplies, but with men whose hands were bound behind their backs and whose mouths were gagged with rags.

Every one of these men looked fierce and sinister, covered in frightening tattoosclearly not good people.

"Look! Isn't that Javier, the owner of the Black Rose Bar in the east of the city?"

Someone in the crowd recognized the most conspicuous fat man among them.

"My heavens, it really is him! How did the Free Army catch him?"

"Good catch! That bastard! Last month, my cousin just went to his bar for a drink and was extorted for five hundred thousand by his subordinates!"

"More than that! I heard he also deals drugs, forces women into prostitution, and has countless lives on his hands!"

"These gangster scum should have been arrested ages ago!"

The citizens pointed and talked about the convoy, the noise growing louder.

Hatred, anger, and a hint of satisfaction fermented within the crowd.

Nobody understood what the Free Army was going to do, but seeing these villains who usually threw their weight around now become prisoners.

Everyone felt an unspeakable sense of gratification.

The convoy did not stop, driving unimpeded toward the Central Plaza in the city center.

There, a high platform temporarily constructed from scaffolding had been standing for some time.

The convoy stopped.

Free Army soldiers roughly dragged the criminals down from the vehicles.

They were dragged like bags of trash and then rudely shoved onto the platform.

A total of forty-five men were lined up, kneeling along the edge of the platform, with soldiers pointing guns at them.

The rags in their mouths were yanked out; some began cursing loudly, while others were so terrified they cried and begged for mercy continuously.

The plaza was surrounded three deep by citizens who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

People craned their necks and stood on their tiptoes, trying to see clearly what was happening.

A Free Army officer in a crisp military uniform walked to the center of the platform holding a large megaphone.

His face was stern, and his eyes were sharp as knives.

He cleared his throat, and the square instantly fell silent.

"Citizens of Santa Cruz!"

The officer's voice spread across the entire plaza through the amplifier, clear and powerful.

"I stand here to announce something to everyone."

"These forty-five people kneeling before you are neither prisoners of war nor political prisoners."

He paused, then pointed to the bar owner named Javier.

"Javier, nicknamed 'The Butcher,' has long been entrenched in the east of the city, engaging in drug trafficking, human trafficking, organized prostitution, and extortion!"

"Investigations have confirmed that no fewer than twenty people have died directly or indirectly by his hand!"

He then pointed to another person.

"Carlos, nicknamed 'The Viper,' is the biggest drug lord in the south of the city. His drugs have shattered countless families and plunged countless young people into the abyss!"

The officer read out the names of these criminals and the monstrous crimes they had committed, one by one.

With every name read, a burst of angry condemnation erupted from the crowd.

Many victims' families sobbed uncontrollably, using the most vicious language to curse the villains on the platform.

When the last name was read, the officer's voice became even colder.

"Crimes such as these are too numerous to record!"

"They are tumors entrenched in Santa Cruz! Parasites who drain the sweat and blood of the people!"

"According to the Supreme Resolution of the Free Army Headquarters! To reshape the order of Santa Cruz and guarantee the safety of the people's lives and property."

"After trial, Javier, Carlos, and forty-three other criminals have been ruled guilty of heinous crimes, incurring immense public outrage!"

The officer took a deep breath and roared with all his might.

"Sentenced to... Death! Immediate execution!"

"Furthermore, I hereby announce! Starting today, within the jurisdiction of the Free Army, anyone engaged in drug trafficking or human trafficking..."

"...or serious crimes like aggravated robbery and murder, once confirmed, will be severely punished without leniency! This is the consequence!"

As his voice fell, the entire plaza went silent.

Everyone was stunned by this earth-shattering proclamation.

Public execution?

The criminals on the platform completely broke down; crying, begging, and cursing mixed into a chaotic din.

The officer ignored them. He simply raised his hand slowly, then sharply brought it down.

"Fire!"

The command was crisp and decisive.

The line of soldiers standing below the platform simultaneously raised the automatic rifles in their hands.

"Bang bang bang bang bang!"

The dense gunfire suddenly erupted, like popping beans, tearing through the quiet above the plaza.

The forty-five criminals kneeling on the platform jerked backward violently as blood blossomed on their chests and backs, instantly staining their clothes red.

Like puppets whose bones had been instantly removed, they collapsed one after another.

The gunfire ceased.

But on the platform, a few bodies were still twitching, guttural sounds escaping their throats.