In fact, the upper echelons of the Tomahawk Knights located in the inner city fortress were unable to come out collectively to greet the reinforcements, but it was because of a slight situation. Brother Teresa, who was under supervision, and Sergeant Rodrigo, who was also in the confessional, escaped from supervision and disappeared together.
To make matters worse, a knight's guard and several sergeants who were in charge of supervision were also absconding with them. Something is not going well at this juncture. Friar Delan, who was deliberately released by the enemy, has proven to be an unreliable member; and Rodrigo is even more troublesome.
After all, he is a reviled knight, so he naturally has some potential immunity; and in the frontier garrison to which he belongs, he is known for being fair, considerate, and approachable to his subordinates; he even dares to stand up for civilian soldiers, So it has considerable appeal and influence.
Therefore, what makes the leadership of these Knights regret, worry and worry is that once he is moved by Brother Teresa's nonsense and does some extreme behavior, it will only cause greater chaos and turmoil in the Knights; If they had the confidence to suppress it with force in normal times.
However, at this critical moment when troops in other places are approaching the city, we cannot do this easily. Otherwise, it would just be embarrassing in front of the big group leader who came from behind and the other sub-groups he brought with him. If the enemy outside the city saw the opportunity, it would be an unforgivable crime.
Therefore, at once, from the deputy captain to the military judge, coach commander, flag bearer, comptroller, and secretary, all the high knights and officials of different ranks who were qualified to attend the knights' meeting were mobilized to lead their respective subordinates. The knight and the knight's retinue searched the ground three feet deep.
Because deputy captain Lu Yins was worried that among the young trainee knights and knights' retinues, there might also be Rodrigo's sympathizers or even potential insiders; therefore, if there is no direct supervision of the commander, he is afraid that he will be Hidden or missed some traces.
However, on the ground of the inner city fortress, a frantic search was going on; in the underground twists and turns of the secret passages, monks Delan and Roderigo, followed by the sergeant with a wind lantern, slowly explored the depths. And go. But monk Teresa still couldn't help but say:
"Good brother Rodrigo, you are crazier than I thought!" "I just suggested that you find a way to get out and then make plans; I didn't say that I would start investigating from the underground secret passage with you!" "Now! But I’ve been implicated by you, and I can’t defend myself no matter what.”
"So, Brother Delan, you must help me find enough evidence and put it in front of everyone." Rogrigo, who was wearing yellow cowhide armor, smiled and showed his pale teeth: "This way At the knights’ meeting, there is no way to reject our request and defense.”
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
While he was talking, Friar Delan suddenly stepped on a soft object under his feet, and it exploded with a pop. Amid an indescribable smell and the squeaking sounds of rats that fled in all directions, he was numb and dusty. The hem of the robe was stained with a lot of filth of unknown origin;
Friar Delan's expression changed involuntarily, and then he covered his mouth and nose and quickened his pace. In fact, if someone hadn't led the way, it would have been hard for him to imagine that there was such a part of space underground in the inner city fortress; but judging from the marks on the four walls, this place seemed to originate from ancient times.
"It should be here. My cousin Grigo disappeared in this neighborhood." At this time, another knight attendant who had been silent in front suddenly stopped and said: "But they all told me that Grigo Rigaud might just be hiding, or in a brothel."
As he finished speaking, everyone had already entered a relatively open underground space; this underground space seemed quite deep, so much so that their lights could not illuminate it all. Above the head is a long and narrow shaft; only an extremely weak dim light shines down.
Under this dim light, all kinds of garbage and debris discarded through the narrow shaft mouth above are piled up like a hill. At this time, the faint sound of wind moving in the air and the sound of splashing water seemed to appear in everyone's ears. Obviously there is no connection.
However, the next moment, the knight's guard holding the wind lantern suddenly rushed forward; regardless of the stench of the garbage hills soaked in the sewage, he used the scabbard he carried to dig hard and dig; and under his demonstration, Several other sergeants were also stunned for a moment, and then stepped forward to help.
Therefore, not long after, a pale and blue arm was exposed on the top layer of the garbage hill. Then it turned into a body that was disemboweled and all the organs were taken away; even the limbs were A corpse that had been bitten and mutilated; but this was a female corpse with obvious gender.
Such a tragic situation caused Friar Delan's face to change drastically. He could no longer hold back his throat and vomited on the spot. Rodrigo said with an even more solemn expression: "Such traces of cutting are not found in this city. Is it true that some evil spirits have sneaked in and destroyed lives?"
Several other sergeants who were digging and rummaging with the wooden poles they carried also let out low exclamations again: but under the pile of female corpses, a thick arm was found again; only this one. The arms were also chewed into the bones, and fragments of the armor remained.
Surprisingly, these fellow soldiers were wearing yellow cowhide armed uniforms with the same texture and pattern dyeing. This discovery also greatly stimulated them, and they speeded up the movements of their hands. Suddenly, as the layers of garbage were excavated, , and more swollen limbs floated.
However, just as they were filled with anger and shock, concentrating on what they found in this garbage hill; suddenly Rodrigo drew his sword and turned around, slashing at the man who was crossing himself and praying repeatedly. Brother Teresa; I saw him retreating with surprise and surprise on his face.
Just listen to the sharp blade passing over his head, and hit something in the darkness behind him; it made a creepy crisp sound, and the sound scattered on the ground with a crash. Brother Teresa couldn't help but turn around in horror, and swung out the short-handled hammer in his hand; but he only saw a pool of broken bones.
"Stay on alert, stay close to each other, everyone, be careful, something strange is approaching." Rogrigo's voice sounded at the right time; "We seem to have been alarmed by some existence hidden underground." His words had not yet finished. , the sewage around the garbage hill is also bubbling in large areas.
Like rolling and boiling old swamp gas, it emits more suffocating and dizzy gases; it also makes the dark space illuminated by surrounding lights, and at some point, a low layer of mist rises to the ground. . Then, skulls full of dirt and attachments appeared one after another.
Then, the soldiers who gathered around Rogrigo, in a state of shock and anger, vigorously waved their weapons and knocked them down and smashed them one after another; they turned into sinking bone fragments again; however, they emerged one after another. Bones are endless and overwhelming.
Until, Rodrigo, who closed his eyes and held the sword as if listening to the sound, raised the broad sword in his hand again, and suddenly stabbed himself into the garbage mountain. Following an indescribable piercing scream, the skeletons emerging from the sewage like an endless stream of gophers suddenly scattered on the ground.
At the end of the broad sword that Rogrigao picked up from inside the garbage pile, everyone also saw a small and sturdy skeleton that looked like a dwarf; but the faint phosphorus fire gathered on the skeleton was quickly dissipating; Eventually, it became brittle and scattered like gravel due to weathering and decay.
"This is the 'gathering of corpses', an abnormal phenomenon that occasionally occurs on the battlefield." Rogrigo's voice sounded again in this dark space: "It is said that the special phenomenon is formed when too many resentments of the dead are gathered. All that exists is the instinct to constantly collect and repair the body.”
"If it's just a single individual, even women and children can be easily crushed; but when gathered in sufficient numbers, even well-trained knights will find it difficult." Then he said coldly to the shocked sergeants: "So , how many people were killed here!"
In fact, Rodrigo had been active on the front lines fighting the pagan armies in his early years; later he had to fight under the command of the Prince of Zaragoza against the Christian armies and lords who came to the Holy Kingdom; therefore, he was used to it. All kinds of cruel scenes and methods brought about by war.
Especially for those pagan captives, or the heretics/Moors who were originally converted from Christians; unless they have enough value in exchange for ransom, if they fall into the hands of soldiers with fanatical beliefs, they may even die immediately. A rare luxury.
Therefore, it is not that he has not heard of all kinds of strange rumors in those battlefields where too many people died, or in lynching places where people were tortured to death. Therefore, he spoke again, "Since the 'gathering of bones' has appeared, you must be extra careful as the scratched wounds will fester and be difficult to heal."
"What is that?" Brother Teresa couldn't help but trembled again: at the same time, the hammer in his hand was thrown out; it immediately hit the two will-o'-the-wisps that appeared in the darkness at an unknown time: and on the spot there was a sound similar to A canine whine: it's like a sudden blast signal.
In an instant, the sergeants who were under a certain degree of high tension and pressure suddenly swarmed forward with weapons in hand as if reacting to stress; they almost rushed to stab and chop in the darkness. The wind lanterns that gathered a moment later also illuminated a corpse molded of flesh and blood.
It was a creature similar to the size of a domestic dog, but almost all the hair on its body had fallen off, leaving only the bare skin with swollen veins and blood vessels. On the head, a structure similar to a bone plate grew, but it was Most of it was smashed into pieces; dirty blood and body fluids flowed across it and slowly twitched.
"This seems to be... a corpse dog!" Rodrigo, who was watching and covering with another knight's retinue, also walked over and said solemnly: "A type of dog that eats too many rotten and contaminated corpses and mutates. Wild dogs. Next we need to turn back and look for more support."
"Why?" Brother Delan couldn't help but ask: "This strange-looking corpse dog alone doesn't seem to be enough to convince the rest of the Knights..."
"Because, there is never only one cadaver dog that moves alone." Rodrigo said with a solemn expression: "What's more, I saw traces of restraint collars and nooses, which means that this thing is probably someone. They are specially raised and even used as a warning method."
As if to confirm his words, in the hollow at the end of the darkness in the distance, there was a small but dense sound of "tapping" footsteps; they were approaching the area illuminated by the lights. Rodrigo's expression also changed: "Next, don't put down the lantern..."
Then he grabbed a wind lantern and threw it with all his strength in the direction of the sound deep in the darkness. The moment it burst into flames on the wall, it immediately illuminated the hollowed-out layers and grids of the walls, the piles of withered corpses, and the strange moving reflections.
