Chapter 220: [220] Good Cop, Very Bad Cop

Ark managed to rouse Rodolph from his nap with a few concrete slaps that turned both his cheeks steaming red.

He grumbled out of sleep, then Ark pulled him along to where Rangar was waiting for them.

Rangar sat in one of the colder regions of the camp, next to a frozen tree. In front of him was the old man, Harold, who had been tied up securely to said tree.

The old man was tied up so firmly that there was no chance of escape, leaving only his right hand free so that he could eat.

To Ark’s surprise, despite the copious amount of food he had eaten earlier, the old man was still feasting, his cheeks shimmering from the oil of the meat.

Rangar was watching him closely, his claws extending and retracting, his eyes sharp with malice.

He was still of the opinion that the man should be killed, and the earlier attack on their camp had only solidified his beliefs.

It was clear that Harold was related to them in some way, and that was what Ark was here to find out.

But before they got too close, Ark turned to Rodolph. "You know what we are here to do, right?"

He nodded sleepily. "You want to interrogate the old man, right? I don’t know if you will get much out of him, though. He speaks so little that he might as well be a mute."

"That is because he always has something in his mouth..." Ark explained.

"Oh." Rodolph stroked his chin. "You actually have a point there. So, what do you need?"

"I’m going to need you to play good cop, bad cop. You be the good cop, and I’ll be the bad cop. Understand?"

"..."

Rodolph’s eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? Good cop? What is a cop?"

"Oh..." Ark had completely forgotten that Rodolph was a native. Natives only knew guards; they had no idea what police were. So he spent a few minutes hurriedly explaining the concept to him.

"Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah... I think I’ve gotten most of it. But will this work?" Rodolph looked skeptical as he scratched his head. "It sounds like something that would be acted out in a play..."

"Trust me." Ark adjusted his armour. "Just follow my lead, and it will work."

Normally, torture would have been an option if the man was tight-lipped, but in this weather, and considering his age, torture could mean death.

If they killed him, they would lose their only guide in this frozen wasteland, so they had to keep him alive at all costs.

"Let’s go."

"Ragnar..." Ark nodded at the weretiger once they got closer. Rangar returned his greeting with a stiff nod, then Ark turned his attention back to Harold. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, old man."

"Do you know what just happened a few hours ago? A couple of men stormed our camp. They had already taken two of our girls captive. They even cut off the arms of one of them..."

Rodolph continued feasting on the meat without remorse. He even seemed to increase the speed of his chewing.

"Actually, there was no way you wouldn’t know. You were there when it all happened."

Ark paused for a few seconds, then he summoned the hero’s blade in a very peculiar shape... the shape of a gleaming crowbar.

"Those men knew you, Harold." Ark ran a finger along the length of the crowbar.

"Care to explain why?"

Harold did not say as much as a peep. He completely ignored Ark, focusing on his food.

Ark had long suspected that this would be the case...

Since the attack, Rangar had been trying to get information from him, only to fail miserably. Maybe if Ark had allowed him to rough him up a bit, the results would be different, but Ark was not sure if Rangar could restrain himself.

"Don’t bother." Rangar shook his head. "He is as tight-lipped as a clam. He won’t speak, not even a peep."

Ark nodded. "I see..."

A few seconds passed in silence, and then suddenly—

CLANG—!!

Ark slammed the crowbar into the meat Harold was munching on, sending it flying into the snow.

Booom!

The plate of food was next. One hit, and everything exploded into the distance.

Harold’s eyes widened as he reached out for the crumbs, only for the restraints to hold him back.

"Harold." Ark’s voice ground to an edge, his eyes burning like pits of fire. "Haven’t we been... accommodating enough?"

"Surely, you can spare us a little information." Ark cocked his head to the side ever so slightly. "Or are you one of them? Are you a spy?"

"Did you lead them here?"

Harold stared up at Ark with hard eyes and a defiant expression. When he had come, hungry and cold, he had begged, but now that he had gotten food and heat, his true nature emerged.

"I’m sorry, I can’t tell you any—"

Ark suddenly closed the little distance between them. The crowbar morphed, becoming several times larger. The wind was pulled into a frenzy, whistling past the V-shaped groove on its tip as Ark brought the weapon down.

Harold saw his life flash before his eyes, his hands trembling as he envisioned death. He tried to stop himself from panicking. They couldn’t risk killing him right? Right?

The crowbar did not slow...

"W-WAIT!! STOP DAMN IT ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!" Harold’s lips betrayed him as he screamed at the top of his voice.

But just like he had ignored Ark, his screams fell to deaf ears.

"SHITTT—!"

Swish!

Just before the crowbar could land—

"Stop!!" Rodolph screamed as he jumped into the space between them, blocking Ark. "Wait! Have you no mercy? Will you kill him just like that?!" He hissed.

Rodolph shook his head. "Before you decide to kill him, give me five minutes. Let me talk to him—"

Clack!

The crowbar cut right above their heads, slamming into the tree and ripping the entire top of it away as though it was made of toothpicks.

Harold’s mouth went dry, his eyes popping out of his head as he watched the angry skeleton glare down at them, empty chest rising and falling for dramatic effect.

"Two minutes."

"Get the old man to talk in two minutes..."

A large ball of black fire appeared in his hands, and Ark placed it just above their heads before turning around.

"Or you’re both dead..."

Just as Ark walked away, he glanced at them and caught Rodolph’s gaze, then sneakily gave him a thumbs-up.

’Great job, dude!’

Ark had never expected him to throw himself into the front of his attack with no regard for his own life. He had played his role perfectly well!

Rodolph, on the other hand, blinked, stared at the shattered tree, and then at the fireball hovering above them, then turned back to Ark.

’What the fuck?’