"Put him down," his superior ordered, "I have something else to ask." Completely ignoring another contrary order from a few minutes ago.
The rope was cut, and the criminal knelt on the ground, his face turning purple. He scratched feebly at his throat, and finally pulled off the tight hemp rope with his left hand and threw it aside. He gasped for air, his pupils becoming lighter with fear and suffocation. His fingers twitched. The missionary turned his head away, as if he couldn't bear to see people dying.
Devout Gaia believers, Mike thought to himself, this is the kind of person I like best. Mention faith at all, and they'll abandon reason and act according to your orders, never asking why.
It's a pity that Veronca is not that kind of person. His boss was holding a helmet and a spear, and kept changing his weight on his feet, almost swinging on the swing next to him. What he was thinking was anyone's guess, but it probably had nothing to do with Mortus and the Freemen gang. It's always been like this. As the criminal struggled to his feet, he kicked the clods of dirt away from his feet and stepped forward past his subordinates.
"What are you asking?" he said to Mike.
"The whereabouts of Lord Mortus." Mike told him. "The city is in chaos right now, and we don't have time to search from house to house. After the city gate was breached, it's not surprising that the local lord and his family were in any house. .”
"It doesn't happen to be in Evelin, right? Forget it, you can ask, but I don't think he will know."
The criminal must have heard their exchange. There is no more effective means of interrogation than death. When Mike asked questions, he bowed his head to the noose. The knight's squire noticed that he had alien eyes.
"I didn't go into the city," the criminal said intermittently. "Kandena Belle found him."
"Don't lie, little bastard. Maybe I should wake you up..."
"He gave me the lord's seal!"
Even the lord of Mortus would never leave behind the seal granted by His Majesty the Emperor himself. Mike rubbed the seal in his palms, revealing the imperial emblem under the soil. Veronka didn't think of sending someone to search the death row prisoner's pockets, which was really an inappropriate mistake. He was too confident in himself. Even if the enemy held a spear or a sword, he would probably just slap his horse and charge forward. Mike had to follow miserably.
The attendant put away the seal and said, "It's genuine." When he arrived in front of His Majesty the Emperor, he was convinced. I'm too lazy to collect his body. "What do you want when a free man steals the lord's seal?"
"What the hell else is a seal supposed to do? Of course it's a seal."
Forged letters, or used as bait. Mike looked at the bandit in surprise. He didn't expect that the other party could think of a use other than selling it. He doesn't think like a free man. "You rushed all the way from Blackwood County to Mortus, why didn't you go to Sandstone Town?" The Silver Song Knights defeated the monsters there, but the news must not have spread yet.
The criminal stared at him, but his desire for survival was stronger than his resistance. "The lord of Mortus is an idiot. After Blackwood County was closed, he obeyed and sent troops to Blackwood County to rescue him." He stared at the attendant warily, as if he was worried that Mike would hit him with a stick. Still, he didn't change his words. “Cities led by fools are easier to win.”
Mike suspected that the little bastard wasn't telling the truth. He has some cleverness, the attendant admitted, but he is too young and too impatient. Influenced by the usual behavior of free people, he did not think far enough and his vision was too narrow. Normal free people would not consider plundering a city. Firstly, they have no ability, and secondly, they have no plan. The knowledgeable bandits have long since died in the empire's annihilation.
But he still had questions to ask. "What happened to those archers?"
"What archer?"
"Honestly, kid! You still have one arm and two legs, right?" Mike was too lazy to talk nonsense to him.
"...I have a deserter from the Royal Army under my command."
He shouldn't have been surprised when a deserter turned into a bandit. The war between the forest races and Aurenia was protracted, but even more daunting was the war between the lords. People were recruited from fields, wells, stone mill streets and alleys to fight for different flags that also marked the emblem of Aurenia. These motley crews received only two weeks of basic training. It doesn't matter, the same goes for your opponent anyway. Their lives depend on mysterious creatures, and victory does not mean victory, as the defeated nobles are ransomed and released in an instant. No one knows when the war will end, and no one knows how they will survive until then. So why not run away? For honor?
The lord is good at promising more to his soldiers, until they die in vain in some dishonorable battle, and the promise has no giver. Mike is well aware of the appeal of title, wealth, and fame to civilians, but these do not belong to mortals. Civilians are not qualified to become mysterious creatures. "Who is he? Is he among those people?" Mike pointed to the body hanging from the tree branch.
The criminal glanced fearfully at the ash tree. If not for luck, he would have been one of them. "No, he was already dead."
The attendant nodded and turned to report the situation to his superior. The criminal gritted his teeth and raised his body in pain. There was only an unknown missionary staring at him, but he didn't have the strength to escape. "We're leaving right away, sir?" Mike asked.
"Wait a little longer," said Veronka. "Where's the missionary? There's still a lot of trouble waiting to be sorted out here... I saw him. Standing very close. Okay, what are you doing?" was called. The Gaia believer hesitantly opened the scroll in his hand, as if he was worried that he was illiterate.
"Still wasting rope, sir?"
Veronka turned his head and glanced at the free man who was lucky enough to breathe for a moment longer. "Waste? Is this guy worth more than a piece of hemp rope?"
"He is a rare species." The attendant told him, "If I read correctly, 80% of his ancestors have fairy blood. Maybe it comes from his mother. There are many slaves of foreign races in Quartz City."
"Evelyn has goblins? They're so small."
"The big goblin is only a little shorter than you, sir. The Sky Tower claims that they are on the verge of extinction, but I am not sure what species he is..."
"You are always right. Well, just a bandit." The knight captain stepped forward and kicked the criminal down. The latter immediately struggled and seemed to have forgotten his fear. Very energetic, Mike commented, maybe he is the animal I am looking for. "Your sentence has been changed, little bastard. The Three Gods want you to serve time. Let me think about it, a thousand years."
"Fuck you!" the criminal spat at him with spit and curse words.
Veronca ignored him. "Leave it to you, man. Anyway, the locals want to pray more than revenge. Solve it quickly. I hope those forest races will cause less trouble because of our contribution to maintaining species diversity." A branch It fell from the sky and was easily pulled away by the knight. He lowered his head and smiled at the criminal: "Are you lucky? Maybe I will find time to go to Quartz City to find your bitch mother. Don't even think about escaping. Believe me, I would rather say this to your corpse."
If anyone can escape from the Silver Song Knight, the guy who failed should resign. Mike considered escaping from his colleagues, but the supposed target was someone else, not Veronka. If there were no rigid requirements for qualifications, the squire felt that his promotion to knight leader would be just around the corner.
He dragged the criminal behind a fallen statue, out of sight of the knights.
"What are you going to do, Mr. Mike?" the missionary asked curiously. Don't know why he's still standing here.
"Send a believer to your god," Mike replied. Anyway, Gaia has no requirements for believers. "Lucia will only execute him, Gaia is more tolerant."
"What about Otto? The Aurenia Empire has a belief in three gods, right?"
"Only the astrologers believed in Otto. They should believe no one."
"Oh." The missionary held the parchment, "Then will he believe in Gaia?"
"At least within a thousand years. Well, you want to perform the baptism, Uriel?" The attendant was tired of explaining, but the criminal was indifferent. How long can a goblin-human hybrid live? Mike was interested in this, and he didn't care what the other person believed. There are more questions that need answers, he thought, that need cooperation. Fortunately, we now have a direction. "Hold him down," Mike ordered.
The soldiers quickly pinned the criminal to the ground, who tried to use magic to resist, but Mike easily stopped the flow of magic. The mystery that was about to take shape disappeared into the air, and only a few leaves fell. This guy has never seen this kind of hand, not even the missionary. Their surprise showed on their faces.
The sword was placed on the criminal's shoulder, and he did not dare to move. Only two kinds of people will receive this treatment, one is punishment and the other is glory. When the Knights of Silver Song are conferred, His Majesty the Pope of the Holy Church will personally preside over the ceremony, while ordinary knights will be canonized by their seniors. Mike had no intention of turning a criminal into his colleague. He was still Veronca's attendant. This is a necessary step in the formation of the mystery.
He started chanting the mantra.
The missionary took a step back, seemingly frightened by the sudden rise of the magic runes. Maybe it awakened a bad memory in him. Mike remembered that when he became a priest in the Mercury Temple, the priest who performed the ceremony held a mahogany scepter in his hand, with a flame burning at the top. Both terrifying and divine, he seemed to be holding red-hot iron pincers. Faith requires reverence, and now Mike agrees with this.
The oaths were dull and boring, all the same old stuff. "Swear on your true name." Mike ordered. Words of promise mean nothing, but real names have power.
"A free man only has a nickname, not a name."
"And Candena Belle is an exception?"
"He killed two people and used their names as a nickname."
The empire has ruled the continent for nearly a thousand years, but it still cannot eradicate the superstitions inherited from the distant gods. These low-class people in remote areas believe that killing more noble people can take away their status, and killing young children can gain vitality and live longer. The channel through which luck is transferred is names, so when free men plunder wealth, they also plunder names. Fortunately, they believe that surnames have nothing to do with individuals, Mike thought, otherwise those noble families with ancient surnames would have ordered the eradication of bandits.
The squire had no interest in learning about the barbaric local customs; he only needed to complete the ritual to collar the rare animal. A person's real name is a code name that accompanies them throughout their life and is closely related to their personal cognition, but goblins are different in that they are born with names. Mike didn't know if hybrids would be an exception. He had never seen a demi-human with fairy blood. In fact, the Mercury Temple's research had already proven that there was reproductive isolation between the two races. This little devil is simply a mysterious creation, and its value is immeasurable.
"You'd better think about it carefully." Goblins know everything about the past, not about future problems. They know everything. "Don't make me use witchcraft. If you waste more than half a minute, I'll call you Evelyn."
The criminal's gaze almost tore him apart. "No fucking way!"
The descendants of fairies and humans have no names? It seems that his genes are more inclined towards humans. Mike considered whether he was trying to escape the contract or if that was the truth.
"He's telling the truth, Mr. Mac," the missionary said. His eyes were evasive, but his tone was quite sincere. “There’s something special about my profession, being able to spot lies.”
He has no reason to speak for criminals. I'm afraid the truth is the latter. Mike didn't want to drag it out any longer. "Then let's take Joey, kid." Without a last name, he couldn't tell the guy's race for a while. "You'd better not pretend to be deaf when I call you this name from now on." It's better than 'Evelin's bastard'. The attendant just wanted to leave quickly. "Follow up-"
His words were interrupted by a loud bang. The roof of a house shattered in the street. Not far away, Veronka ordered his men to exterminate the thugs and release the refugees, while the elementalists were used to clean up the streets. Mike frowned in disgust. Mortus should be left to its lord, and Silversong Knight's intervention would only delay the matter. His superiors never know the difference.
The magic text causes mystery and catches the weak fire. The pardoned criminal coughed and unconsciously groped at his neck with his good hand. He stood up and stared grimly at Mortus, enveloped in flames and smoke. "There's nothing to fix in this damn place," he said nonchalantly.
The attendant sneered in the language of goblins: "You have done a good thing." It is absurd to expect such a person to reform in the Mercury Temple, but the power of the contract is undoubted. When the other party was surprised by these words, Mike turned around and used witchcraft to block the gap in the city wall. Such crude repair practices would be reviled by the craftsmen, but it would allow the Knights to speed up their pace.
"What do you want me to do?" the criminal asked.
"Nothing to do."
He raised his eyebrows, "Is that for mercy?"
"No, I'm protecting species diversity."
"Go to hell." He didn't believe it. "What on earth do you want to do?"
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