Simon and Winter each brought five soldiers, and they escorted Hans, who was begging for mercy, to an uninhabited forest.
The soldier unloaded the basket of firewood from behind under an oak tree with a thick trunk sticking out.
"As usual, tie him up first." Winter said to the soldier holding the tool bag.
The escorting soldier kicked Hans hard on the thigh from behind. The nervous guy who was waiting for relief screamed and knelt on the ground. Another soldier came over with a tool bag. He did not choose to tie Hans' legs. Instead, he took off his dirty strappy shoes first.
Hans looked at the firewood basket full of firewood, as if he had a premonition of something terrible. He shouted for help, kicked his legs like a fleeing goat, and even kicked the soldier who took off his shoes.
The soldier escorting Hans raised his head and saw Simon looking at him with dissatisfied eyes, as if to say why you can't even handle this little thing.
"You bastard, be honest!" The soldier felt that he was provoked by Hans, so he angrily raised his fist and hit the poor guy's head several times, which made Hans very angry. He "obediently" stopped struggling and didn't even move.
"He fainted." The soldier carrying the tool bag said as he took out a solid belt and tied Hans' legs tightly.
"Hang him up, don't put the rope around his neck, put it around his arms and armpits." Winter spoke again.
The two soldiers tied up Hans in a hurry. Then, they threw the other end of the rope over the tree trunk and hung up the unconscious Hans.
The soldier in charge of lighting the fire placed the firewood in the basket next to the tree one by one on the ground half a meter below Hans' feet. After a while, with the regular collision of flints, small sparks ignited the firewood and hay. Young flames began to consume the wood.
"It's too high. Let's lower him." Winter saw that the fire in the fire was not that big and was not enough to burn Hans, but he was afraid that adding more firewood would burn too much and Hans would lose the ability to speak in pain. So the soldiers were asked to loosen the rope wrapped around the tree.
After a while, the rolling heat wave woke up Hans. After the guy opened his eyes, he was obviously frightened by his bad situation. Winter stepped forward and nodded with satisfaction - this was the interrogation environment he wanted.
"Who are you?" Seeing that the fire in Hans' soles had not yet completely burned, Winter planned to delay for a while and attack his psychological defense.
"Hans from Santois." Hans's forehead was beaded with sweat, and his toes were moving. It seemed that he was beginning to feel the sting of the fire.
"Ha, Santois, the territory of the Duke of Lorraine," Winter said with a playful smile, "I heard that King Heinrich married off the twenty-year-old Princess Gabriella. The Duke of Haute-Lorraine, whose body has been buried, they should strictly speaking be considered allies. But this time the kingdom was invaded by the pagans, the scheming Duke of Haute-Lorraine not only did not send troops, but also sent you bastards to spread panic in the camp. Rumors, right?"
The flames engulfed the nearest twigs, growing taller and trying to reach the bottom of Hans' feet.
"S***, stop talking nonsense, I'm just an innocent wanderer..." Hans became anxious. Before he could finish his words, he was punched in the abdomen by a soldier on the side. He was like a drunken shrimp, curling up involuntarily in mid-air.
"Attention, you are talking to the noble Baron now. If you don't want to get beaten more, waste more time and be roasted alive, then keep your mouth clean." The soldier licked his lips sadistically. .
"Sorry, sorry, Lord Baron, what I want to say is that I am just an innocent and humble wanderer. I have not served anyone. If I have caused trouble to you because of the stupid words I said while drunk, I beg you. I am willing to do anything for you to spare my humble life!" Hans blushed and said quickly. He had begun to feel the pain coming from the soles of his feet.
Winter was pleased with Hans's new attitude of humbly begging for mercy, but this was not what he really wanted.
"The house of lies
Partner. It seems you won't tell the truth unless you suffer a little. Simon sighed, shook his head and walked away.
Hans was already sweating profusely and struggling in the air. This time, there was no need for soldiers to hit him in the abdomen. He curled up and tried to keep his feet away from the fire.
"Whose instructions did you follow to spread rumors in the military camp? Since you are not working for the Duke of Lorraine, then who are you working for?" Winter asked unhurriedly, while Hans was being burned by the fire. But it's getting more and more urgent.
"No, I didn't follow anyone's instructions. I was just drunk and said some stupid things uncontrollably. It's that simple!" Hans shook his head desperately in fear. His pants turned black, and a faint smell began to spread around him.
"Is it that simple? Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure! For God's sake, what does *** want from me?" Hans's feet had already begun to be directly burned by the flames. The strong flames licked Hans like a kitten, making him scream in pain every time.
Winter motioned to the soldiers on standby under the tree next to him to pull the rope higher. Hans's condition is not good now. If he burns for a while longer, he might not be able to think, and then the meaning of the interrogation will be lost.
"How much compensation did he give you to deserve such a secret?" Winter looked at Hans's burned feet and continued to say to him, "To be honest, I have almost lost my patience. Please be honest. Tell me who is instigating it, and then testify at the meeting of the nobles of the principality. After the matter is over, I will send four soldiers to escort you to the Kingdom of Italy and give you five high-quality silver coins, enough for you to go anywhere incognito and become a wealthy man. Free farmers."
"Otherwise, you have to hang in this tree all night, watching yourself being roasted bit by bit, and then eaten by wild wolves." Simon added.
Hesitation and hesitation appeared on Hans's face. Winter was right, he was just a small character who took money to do things. Although this was an act of betrayal that violated the rules and was despised by others, in the face of his own life, why did he need to defend an unknown person like he would protect his closest relatives? What about employers you know?
The worst case scenario is just like Winter said, after the matter is over, fly away and start a new life. In such a vast world, would his previous employer really spend a lot of money to hunt down him for such a small character?
"Put me down quickly, I say, I say!" Hans has almost reached the limit of his patience. He felt the soldier pull the rope around his lower arm. He was lifted up and finally escaped from the high temperature purgatory. The breeze blowing around him had never been so comfortable.
The soldiers quickly extinguished the campfire and lowered Hans from the tree. He looked at the charred black and white embers beside him and breathed a sigh of relief with lingering fear, but soon, the pain of the burn on his feet began to gradually invade his brain.
"Say it." Winter said without mercy as he drew the sword from its scabbard, which made Hans's heart rise again.
"The employer is a mysterious person, probably a nobleman." Hans was obviously frightened after such torture. He looked at the sharp armed sword in Winter's hand and did not dare to tell a lie. " He wore a very loose and fat dark hood and an equally large robe, and seemed to want to deliberately hide his identity. He always chose to meet us at the camp by the river at night, although the light was dim. But I still noticed his deerskin boots, which are not something ordinary people can afford."
Hans was right. During this period, most farmers living in the countryside did not wear shoes. Even if they did have shoes, they were very rudimentary. Most of them were clogs and straw sandals. Apart from wealthy businessmen, only nobles could wear deerskin boots.
Judging from the current situation, if you cut down a tree in the garrison camp and casually kill ten distinguished people, nine of them will be nobles. Therefore, the possibility that that employer is a businessman is very small.
"This employer, did he come to you alone? What does his voice sound like?"
"He always brings two strong men to protect him. One is bald with a scarf on his face, and the other I only know is blond. The employer never talks to us directly. Every sentence is relayed to us by the bald man. . He never only
They would watch from a distance behind the two guards and never approach us. "
"Ha, this cunning mouse is quite cautious." Simon thought with some disappointment.
Even if he turned into gray, Simon would be able to recognize what Lange's personal guards looked like, and none of them were bald at all. As for the other blonde, this feature is so common that it has no reference value at all.
But think about it, he covered himself so tightly and tried not to let the people who did the dirty work hear his voice. How could he expose his secrets to his two subordinates who were relaying orders?
"How tall is your employer? Fat or thin?" Winter did not give up. He wanted to pry as much information as possible from Hans' mouth.
"It's about the same height as him," Hans licked his lips at a soldier holding a torch next to him. "He's very thin."
The figure of the female sycophant immediately flashed through Simon's mind. Even if the current clues are just speculation, Simon still silently identified the mastermind behind this incident in his heart.
"No more?" Winter took two steps forward with his sword in hand.
Hans' eyes widened in horror.
"I swear I have said everything. Even if you put me on the fire again, I can't say more! Please, I don't want any more silver coins. I have said everything I need to say. Please Let me go!" Hans, who was lying on the ground, ignored the excruciating pain in his legs and twisted wildly, like a big earthworm.
"Let you go?" Winter seemed to have heard something very funny and couldn't help but sneered, "Let you go back to warn your companions and employers?"
"No, no, I swear I won't do this," Hans realized then that he had said something stupid again in a state of shock and fear, "In the name of the Lord."
"In the name of the Lord? Ha, you don't deserve it."
"You're right, you're right, but, I, I... you don't need to kill me. I can testify to anyone you ask me to identify," Hans was so anxious that he almost cried. He couldn't do anything from beginning to end. It's a piece of fish meat on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered. "I beg for your mercy, noble lord, just as we agreed before."
Winter and Simon exchanged glances, and it seemed that Hans had indeed confessed everything he knew without reservation. Simon shook his head, and Winter put away his sword with understanding, and said to the soldiers: "Tie him up, cover his mouth with a cloth, and take him back and keep him under strict guard."
The soldier tied up Hans in silence. This time Hans had to be carried back. His legs were badly burned.
After packing up all this, they left the deserted woods.
The forest, which had been filled with a sense of security just now, was now shrouded in darkness again. A breeze blew by, and there was no longer Hans' painful groan, only the rustling of leaves and the occasional howl of wolves in the distance.
A lonely figure pushed through the bushes and walked to the campfire that was still warm. He looked up at the fading torch light, stood thoughtfully for a while, and then followed him silently.
