Two days later, Duden and other prisoners were escorted out of the dungeon on a dark cloudy morning by soldiers cursing at them.
Wave after wave of summer wind lifted up the sour and moldy hems of their clothes, which had rotted in the dungeon for so many days. When they walked towards the castle gate, even the old dung pickers passing by covered their noses in disgust.
"Is that Duden?"
"It seems so... I almost don't recognize him anymore. This damn guy really deserves it!"
"He deserves it!"
Several townspeople in the village stopped, pointing at the escort team, and discussing in whispers.
At this time, Duden had completely lost his previous healthy and rosy complexion.
His face was pale, and his eyes with thick dark circles were bloodshot and decadent. His body was covered in mud and feces and smelled disgusting. When he walked, his hunched back was no different from that of an old man. He was completely different from the person he was before he was imprisoned in the dungeon.
The look on Adam's face was like that of a person who was about to be pushed into the abyss, but this poor guy who had no strength at all was now restrained, with no way out. He looked at the gloating eyes and heartfelt cheers of the villagers who were usually bullied and insulted by him, and he just wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide.
At this time, Cliff, who was following Adam, was much calmer. In fact, when he was arrested at Redburg Port a few days ago, Cliff's heart had already died once. At least the end now was much better than what he had imagined - he no longer had to be beheaded. .
As for the wife who colluded with Colif, compared with Duden's wife who occasionally showed kindness, she was disliked by the villagers because she often stole wheat when grinding flour for others. Someone proposed to Simon that he cut off her hands that stole wheat, then tied her to a chair and threw her into the Rhine River to die, but Simon did not adopt it.
I really don’t know when the last trace of kindness that Simon brought from modern society will be wiped away by this barbaric and rough era.
At least, these people had no deep hatred against Simon, and hanging them would be enough to atone for their sins and establish their own authority. Cruel torture seems unnecessary today.
"Go faster, idiot." The soldier walking behind kicked the robber who was dawdling at the end of the line.
The shackles of the chains crackled, and the frightened robber fell to the muddy ground. His whole body was limp and he refused to get up again.
"Please, I am innocent. I still have a young wife waiting for me at home. Oh my God, for the sake of God, don't let her become a lonely widow at such a young age, okay?" The bandit burst into tears, and his mouth was filled with an incomprehensible foreign accent.
He failed to win any sympathy. Instead, he was mercilessly ridiculed by the villagers.
"Despicable foreigner, a guy who has done all kinds of bad things, it would be better for you to be hanged honestly. In this way, there will be no more poor widows born in this world."
"Hahaha, hang him, this shameless thief doesn't know our sympathy!"
"Go to hell!"
The robber was so angry that he was shaking all over. The crowd's ridicule lingered in his mind like a curse. He spat and shouted at the villagers angrily: "I curse you, I curse you!"
"Bah," Farmer Erwin was annoyed. He spat at the robber, and then straightened his neck like an aggressive rooster. "I spit on you, a thief, even in your grave after your death! Oh, that's right. , A thief like you will not have a grave, you will be hung on the crooked neck tree on the border of the territory and let crows gnaw at you, hahahaha!"
Erwin's laughter was a bit harsh, but it directly hit the robber's sore spot.
After being beaten and whipped by the soldiers, he finally stood up and almost collapsed to the ground again. He sniffed and his eyes began to glance around, as if looking for any chance of escape.
"I advise you not to have any evil thoughts." The soldier holding the whip noticed the abnormality of the robber. He sneered, "If you try to escape, we will not only hang you, but also kill you." Cut off your head and nail it to the back of the wooden bridge in the territory. From now on, everyone can trample on your soul!"
The robber's legs, which were not very agile just now, stopped shaking as if a medical miracle had occurred. He buried his head deeply, completely desperate and resigned to his fate.
…………………………
Without too much nonsense and lengthy opening remarks, Duden, as the mastermind behind the scenes, was the first to be escorted to the gallows in the small square.
Here, Duden could feel the true attitude of the villagers who usually respected him towards him in private.
The villagers picked up mud, stones and horse dung from the ground and threw them at Duden, and they vented their curses on Duden.
"Damn it, you all hit me exactly where you want to," the executioner's dark clothes had a yellow muddy mark due to accidental injuries, "I've never done anything sorry for you!"
After Duden endured everyone's "love" for a minute, Priest Hannes pressed his hands and shouted to the crowd to stop.
He also wanted to read out Duden's charges. The red-eyed young men in the audience were angrily picking up rocks and throwing them at Duden's head. I'm afraid if they don't stop, Duden wouldn't even have a chance to be hanged. He would probably Will be beaten to death.
The priest briefly and quickly read out several of Duden's charges. In Duden's eyes, this time was longer than a whole night of insomnia. In the eyes of the villagers, even if Duden's charges were just one, I couldn't finish talking all night long.
The executioner picked up two weighted stone balls embedded with iron hooks from the side of the gallows and installed them on the chain between Duden's feet. This would allow the hanged prisoner to relieve his pain more quickly and increase efficiency. After all, this is the only rope, and there are five people waiting behind.
"Go to hell, you stupid thing, you deserved this fate a long time ago!"
"Today is a good day, because we are about to execute a bastard for a crime that cannot be pardoned!"
The villagers became restless again.
Standing on the gallows, Duden noticed that little Hao Wen, who usually refused to fight back or scolded him, was one of the people in the crowd who scolded him the most. Unexpectedly, this cowardly boy would become so "brave" in the last moments before his death. Duden couldn't help but curl his lips sarcastically.
"Where is my wife?" The voice that came out of Duden's dry lips was hoarse.
"She was expelled from the territory yesterday." The executioner said, putting the sack on Duden's head, and then tied the noose around Duden's neck.
"No toot toot~~"
Since there was no trumpet, Simon had a soldier blow the trumpet before executing the prisoner to signal the execution.
The trap under Duden's feet opened with a snap, and the thick hemp rope that was suddenly tightened made a sharp "squeak" sound.
Duden's bare feet, covered in mud, kicked instinctively in the air a few times, as if trying to reach the ground, but it was all in vain. After a while, he stopped struggling.
Looking at Duden who was no longer moving, the villagers seemed to be plunged into a sea of joy. A girl with a scar on her face danced excitedly, and several boys nearby sang a cheerful ditty.
Adam's face was ashen in the audience. He had never seen these farmers so happy.
The last time I saw such bright smiles on their faces was the Christmas of the year before last. That year, in order to celebrate the harvest, Baron Quinnier showed an extremely rare act of generosity and gave the villagers a wild boar.
The village of Esbai was extremely lively that night. The villagers wore thick clothes, breathed white air, drank cold cider, ate roasted wild boar, and danced hand in hand by the bonfire, with their faces rarely exposed. An easy smile.
"No, I don't want it!"
Adam's recollections were roughly interrupted by armed soldiers who pushed him onto the gallows, where he sobbed like a child.
He regretted it.
Over the years, he had done a lot of bad things under the protection of Baron Quenir and his uncle Duden. In the end, there was no one left to grieve for him before his death. Everyone would only be excited and happy about his death. Be happy and raise a glass.
Even Herta, the tavern owner who usually had a good relationship with him, cheered in the crowd. Adam couldn't understand why Herta didn't seem to feel sorry for losing a loyal drinker.
When the priest finished reading Adam's sins, Adam's mind went blank. He felt that his crotch became wet and hot, and a pungent smell of urine quickly spread around.
"Dirty guy, he really didn't forget to disgust us for the last time before he died!" Several villagers in the front row of the gallows covered their noses and took two steps back.
The urine dripped on the wooden trapdoor, and then the trap was opened, and the urine began to moisten the lichen under the gallows, which rarely saw sunlight.
…………………………
"Sir, what should I do with their corpses?" Bill watched all the prisoners' executions with cold eyes, watching fresh corpses being untied one after another, being carried by soldiers and thrown into an open carriage beside them.
"Except for Cliff and his wife who have found a place to bury them, everyone else's bodies should be hung at the intersection at the edge of the territory." Simon said calmly.
"Why were the bodies of the Colliffs buried?" Bill asked with some confusion.
"Coliff's cooperation played a big role. Since I promised him that he and his wife will be buried together after his death, then I have to keep my promise," Simon yawned, looking a little Tired, "Just bury them behind the mill."
"Okay, sir, I will make it clear to the soldiers." Bill nodded and walked towards the carriage.
After watching the execution, the villagers were driven back to the farmland to work by the soldiers.
Now, Simon has taken back the mill that originally belonged to Coliff and the house and fields that belonged to Duden.
Simon can reassign someone to work for him in the mill, and all the income from the mill will belong to him. As for the choice of new mill workers, the eldest brother Miller at the mill in Verde Village across the river seems to be good.
"Little Klein, come with me." Simon stood up from his chair. He was going to visit Duden's house.
Cliff told Simon in the dungeon that Duden had a large sum of emergency money hidden near his home. In addition, the Duden family seems to have an unknown cellar, and no one knows what good things are hidden in it.
