It was another quiet night.
In the large tent, Count Loon's attendant used a pair of tongs to take out a red-hot iron bar from the fire and inserted it into a wooden cup filled with light beer.
"Zi La~"
The light beer "screamed" and white steam rose up. The waiter felt that the wine in the wooden cup in his hand had become much warmer, so he put the iron bar back into the fire and placed the warm light beer on Luoweng. On the table in front of the count.
The nobles in the camp noisily sang songs praising violence and women, and had their servants open barrels of beer.
There were musicians playing music and minstrels singing at the edge of the tent, and clowns in strange clothes were amusing themselves in the center of the tent. A fire was lit at the entrance of the camp, and the beef cattle slaughtered this afternoon were placed on skewers for roasting. The butter dripping from time to time made the fire sizzle, and the alluring aroma filled the entire camp.
Except for those on guard duty, the soldiers around the camp were either dancing around the campfire, telling stories, or playing dice games.
"Drive, drive!"
A hurried sound of horse hooves came from outside the camp. The soldiers standing guard at the gate of the camp recognized that it was the count's messenger, so they did not stop him.
The messenger rested his horse in the stable and strode towards the largest tent set up with a blue and white striped tarpaulin in the center of the camp. When passing by the beef that was grilled to a glistening oil, the messenger swallowed his saliva and couldn't help but touch his dry belly.
"My lord, the messenger is back."
"Let him in."
"yes!"
The attendant opened the curtain of the tent, and the messenger passed through the nobility having fun and went straight to Count Loon.
The messenger hurriedly told the earl what he had seen in the village of Verde this afternoon.
"What!?"
Count Luo Weng opened his eyes wide, shook his head in disbelief, and said angrily: "No! How is this possible? Are you lying to me? You know the consequences of lying to me!"
"I swear to you that all this is true. You can send two of your cronies to verify it, but be careful. Now that area is back under the control of the Dorsten family." The messenger carefully paid attention to his He was afraid of irritating Count Luo Weng with his words.
"I understand, you go down," Count Luo Weng's face was frighteningly gloomy. He looked at the messenger's back as he opened the door and went out, and said to himself, "Quenir is indeed a waste. He led nearly three hundred people without a trace. I couldn't even defeat the small village of Knight's Castle, and I was completely wiped out. Maybe I should have asked Yubes to attack the Dorsten Barony in the north at that time."
Count Lowen may not have known something, but no matter which of his barons he sent to Dorsten to besiege Fordeburg, they would all come back defeated.
The waiters served roast beef, bread and onions. The nobles fell silent and feasted on their plates. Some nobles who were very observant noticed that the earl was very unhappy.
"Gentlemen, please raise your glasses and toast this glass to our great monarch, Earl Lowen. The final victory will definitely belong to us!"
As a flattering baron spoke, he was the first to raise his wine glass. The nobles applauded and asked the attendants to fill their glasses with wine and also raised their wine glasses.
However, Count Luo Weng just picked up the warm wine on the table with no interest, signaled to everyone, and then drank it.
The sycophant baron was called Guy. Seeing that the count's mood did not improve, he patted the armed sword in the gorgeous scabbard at his waist, belched wine and loudly said to the baron: "My beloved monarch, who deserves to die?" What bastard makes you so unhappy? Tell me his name and I'll take his head back and offer it to you to make you happy!"
"Alas!"
"Wow ha ha ha ha!"
The surrounding nobles cheered for Guy, praising his bravery and courage. The nobles generally believed in force.
"Baron Quinnir."
Count Luo Weng's moderate voice, neither loud nor quiet, seemed a bit small among the noisy nobles, but everyone heard it clearly.
For a moment, the camp became quiet.
Guy's hair stood on end, extremely embarrassed. His face was so red that even his thick beard couldn't hide it: "Sorry, I drank too much. I didn't mean to offend."
Count Loon said nothing, just waved his hand, and Guy wanted to find a crack in the ground to sneak in, and quietly retreated behind the nobles.
"The news just came back that Baron Kunir was captured and his army was wiped out." Count Lowen said, scanning everyone's face with a pair of sinister eyes, trying to see how they would react. .
Some looked shocked, some were devastated, some were gloating, and some still had not gotten over their embarrassment.
"Now that things have happened," Count Luo Weng paused, "I want to hear everyone's opinions on what our next step should be."
"We have to redeem Baron Kunir!" An older, white-haired baron said immediately.
Count Loon looked up and saw the speaker's face. He was not surprised. His name is Franco, and he is the father-in-law of Baron Quenier. Their territories were adjacent and they had been married a long time ago.
"Of course, François, there is no doubt about it. I don't want to see your daughter's husband being locked up in Dorsten without being able to return home," Count Loon said unequivocally, "What I just meant But, having lost Baron Kunil’s army and the supplies they plundered, what should our army besieging the town of Dusseldorf do next?”
"We need to increase supplies," the quartermaster who stood silently behind Count Lowen opened his mouth. "I originally thought that we could get a batch of supplies from Baron Quinnier, but now it seems that everything is in vain. We have to Collect supplies from their respective territories as soon as possible and form a baggage train to cross the Rhine."
"I support!"
"Seconded!"
"Very good, let's do it like this." Seeing that the nobles present did not object, Baron Loon nodded and said to the quartermaster, "Marlow, go and make arrangements."
The quartermaster replied and left the camp in a hurry.
"Now the Baron of Dorsten is like a wild horse that has escaped the reins. Baron Quenier has not tamed it, and we do not have the extra troops to contain them. Although it is unlikely that they will lead troops to attack us directly, in my opinion , we need to strengthen the patrol of scouts in the northern part of the town of Dusseldorf. It is always right to be careful."
……………………
The next day, the bright sunshine made the earth return to the green embrace full of vitality.
Birds sang in the woods, praising the spring when all things revived, but Fox didn't think so. He just wanted to be quiet before death, so that he could calm down his chaotic heart, repent of the crimes he had committed, and pray to God. of forgiveness.
The young clerk and Jonas were also led to the gallows.
Jonas's wife and daughter had committed no crime and knew nothing of Jonas's past evil deeds, so they were not thrown into the dungeon but were allowed to watch from the sidelines.
I saw them covering their mouths and their eyes were red from crying. But even if she cried until she fainted, it would not help, because Keother hated these guys who betrayed him, and when the execution was over, he would ask them to pack their things and get out of his territory.
If the traitors are not given the harshest blow, some people will take chances and take risks for the sake of money, land, or even words.
There was a crowd of people in front of the gallows, and many villagers opened their mouths. They were extremely surprised to see Jonas, who was wearing gorgeous clothes and entering and leaving the baron's court yesterday.
"Jonas, Fox, you two have violated your oaths, betrayed the interests of your own monarchs, and engaged in sneaky and traitorous behavior behind your back. It is disgusting and shameful!"
The parish priest, wearing a black robe, loudly rebuked the two traitors on the gallows, causing a burst of sighs from the onlookers.
"Do you have any last words to say before you die?" The parish priest closed the parchment and squinted at the three guys who were obsessed with Satan.
Jonas was trembling all over, looking at the powerful executioner beside him and the noose above his head floating in the breeze, he was so frightened that he couldn't say a word.
Fox, on the other hand, pretended to be calm and snorted, closing his eyes again: "I will tell God personally."
"It's not God, it's Satan," the priest corrected him sternly. "You haven't sincerely repented until now. You killed people, you knew the law and broke the law. The sins you committed are unforgivable and unexcusable! You will go to hell and suffer eternity." The fire of my karma burns me, and the immortal insects bite me day and night, and I will never be reborn!"
"No!" Fox stared angrily, as if he wanted to say something to make up for it, but the executioner put a black linen cloth on his head, and he could only make a "wuwu" sound.
The executioner picked up Fox and Jonas from behind with sackcloth over their heads, put the noose around their necks and tied them tightly.
"Let's begin." Keoser frowned and said to the executioner.
A smell of urine suddenly filled the air, and Jonas's pants were instantly wet. This guy was so frightened that he became incontinent at the last moment.
"Squeak~"
The noose made a sharp scraping sound the moment the trap opened at the feet of the two traitors.
They were suspended in the air, their legs kicking wildly, and after a while, they became quiet.
These close friends were not born on the same day, same year, same month, but they managed to die on the same day, same year, same month, and finally went to hell with this friendship.
"It turns out that Fox was not in collusion with them and deliberately encouraged me to destroy my army." Baron Quinnier swallowed his saliva from the top of the Dorstenburg Tower on the hill, overlooking the execution scene in the village.
"Yo ho!"
"Woohoo!"
The villagers, who usually don't have much entertainment, cheered as if they were watching a bear trick.
"It's not over yet. It's your turn now, Roman. Your crime is lighter than those two guys and you don't have to go to the gallows. But according to the baron's sentence, you will be castrated and then blinded. What do you have to say about this? Do you want to say something?”
Under the gallows, the executioner stood behind Roman, bringing him endless fear and oppression. His mind went blank and tears flowed uncontrollably.
"I, I was wronged," Roman, the young clerk, still refused to give up. He cried and struggled to stand up, but the executioner held his shoulders tightly. "Jonas forced me to do these things!"
"But the fact is that instead of reporting Jonas to the Baron, you were willing to do these evil things! In addition, we found in your home the silver coins that Jonas privately rewarded you. In this regard, you have What do you want to explain?"
Roman was so frightened that he collapsed on the ground. He could see his elderly mother not far away, lowering her head and wiping tears continuously. Endless regrets welled up in his heart - as a baron's document, this was a respected document. work. He had a great future, but he ruined it himself.
"Exercise the sentence," Keoser said to the executioner. Even if this young man is literate and has a talent, he must not cross his bottom line.
The executioner picked up a pair of gleaming scissors and walked up to Roman, who was stripped naked and begging for mercy.
"Kacha!"
Roman's sac was cut open, and the two balls clattered to the ground. He screamed at the top of his lungs, and blood dripped down his thighs to the ground.
"This is what happens to traitors!" Keother shouted. All the cheering courtiers and villagers shuddered.
At this moment, a wild dog appeared out of nowhere and ran away with Roman's ball in its mouth. The crowd burst into laughter.
"And then there's the eyes."
The executioner tied Roman to the pillar under the gallows, put down the scissors, held Roman's temples with both hands, dug his sharp nails into his eyes, and with another scream, Roman's eyeballs were squeezed out. , a large amount of mucus overflowed from the corners of his eyes.
"Untie him." After Keoser said this, he turned and left. An attendant picked up his seat and wool cushion and followed behind.
"Child, you are free now. You can go home, if you remember the way, hahaha!" The executioner sarcastically laughed at Roman, who collapsed on the ground and groaned in pain.
The villagers seemed to have just finished watching a visual feast, chatting with each other contentedly, and went home in twos and threes. Except for Jonas's wife and daughter and Roman's old mother, no one cared about what would happen to today's "protagonists" in the end. Sample.
Today, they saw the cruelest side of Kooser's treatment of traitors, and I believe they will remember this day firmly for the rest of their lives.
"Is there no whereabouts of the traitor Dieter yet?" Lange, who had watched all this with a cold eye, asked the spy leader.
"Not yet."
"Humph, this gallows misses him."
