The moonlight slanted and fell at an odd angle into the mahogany table in the king's room, or rather, on a bronze mirror that stood on the table.
The devil wiped the mirror slowly with a black silk cloth, and the king watched his movements with a little interest. The king is no stranger to dark creatures, and has even seen angels with his own eyes, but what the devil wants to show the king tonight is closer to people's fantasy about dark creatures in this era - wizards, crystal balls, illusions, dreams, etc. of.
The matter began when the king received a letter from General John.
When he saw the Holy Court holding the debate of truth, the king couldn't help but sneer, saying, this is a farce covered with black cloth. What do they want to discuss the truth? Do you use the logic that a woman will not sink if she falls into the water
"Would you like to see for yourself how this farce begins?" the devil offered graciously.
The diligence in his words also carried the obvious evil taste of wanting to make trouble. The king glanced at him, thought about it, and agreed happily. As soon as he nodded, the devil laughed. He and His Majesty could be considered to be on the same page when it came to making trouble for the Holy Court.
Other things are not counted, sometimes, the devil and the king are indeed in trouble, and they cooperate happily.
"Your Majesty, well, the time is almost up."
The devil put down the silk he used to wipe the mirror, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Allow me to get a drop of your blood."
The king's pirate godfather Charles once advised the king, when dealing with hell creatures, it is best not to agree to their requests lightly, and of course it is best not to give them anything that can be used to conclude a contract... Hell's bad reputation for so many years is not False words.
However, now the king directly stretched out his hand.
The smile on the devil's lips widened, and he wiped the king's hand with the rose ring. The king didn't even notice the pain, so he took a drop of blood and dripped it onto the surface of the bronze mirror.
"Let me do a trick for you," said the devil lightly, and he put his hand over the king's eye.
The king only felt that it was suddenly dark in front of him, and then it seemed as if a cold river was flowing in front of his eyes. Then he heard the devil say okay, and moved his hand away.
The king opened his eyes, his eyes were white, and the silver moonlight converged on the table like a river, meandering into the bronze mirror. The dim-yellow copper mirror became as smooth as mercury, and then blurred outlines of buildings appeared on the mirror. After a while, the picture became clear, and the king saw the Holy Court's "House of Truth".
It appears that the Holy See intends to elevate the debate to a similar status to the famous Eucharistic Debate, held at the Verbel University in Weir, the "capital of art".
The devil explained to the king in a soft voice that there was no hall that could accommodate enough audiences at Verbel University, so Duke Georgeson, who was in charge of the debate, gave up his private banquet hall.
In the case of the chief in the banquet hall, the special envoy of the Pope sat solemnly and dignifiedly with the holy book in one hand and the balance in the other, symbolizing his status and "justice" as an arbiter. On the left and right of the cathedral hall, scholars from the secular world and scholars from the School of Classics stood on both sides, symbolizing that there is only truth in this debate, regardless of identity. On the surface, it is indeed an unprecedented truth debate, with enthusiastic scholars attacking and arguing with each other, and making generous statements - if not all the scripts are "heretical" retreating, the theological priests holding hands. The holy book kills the Quartet.
"Excellent," commented the king. "When the Holy Empire collapses, the clergy won't have nowhere to go - Metzl's best actors will have to bow down before them."
It is true that the Holy Court has polemicists who are not well-known on both sides of the abyss, but most of them are experts in theology and law. In astronomy, mathematics and medicine, their talents are not enough. But in the current debate, the priests have all learned from the past and the present, and their knowledge cannot be faked. On the other hand, their opponents have repeatedly asked some stupid questions, which is extremely inconsistent with their scientific names.
The devil laughed approvingly at the king's poignant comment.
- Bet the skulls of hell skeletons, those eloquent theologians, they don't even have to memorize all the holy books. I think for today's performance, some people must have suffered a lot when reciting their lines.
The theory of blood circulation of the heart was overturned by the theory of Aura, and the question of air composition was criticized as absurd... The atmosphere in the Hall of Truth was fiery, and it would soon be the turn of the "heliocentric theory". The devil smiled and reminded the king: "It's coming."
The king sat up a little bit, looking intently at what was happening inside the bronze mirror.
…
The capital of art, the hall of debate of truth.
Bishop Martin is wearing a black robe. He is the main force of the Holy Court in this debate, and he is also one of the few orators who are not so mixed with water. He was tall, more like a tragic actor than a theologian. He was a cunning and formidable adversary to his former adversaries, whose speeches often contained sophistry and credible arguments. Today, he has subtly misquoted his opponent's words again and again, adding meaning to them that they didn't have before, thus jumping the argument from science to the trap of paradox not easily noticeable.
This is also impossible. Although the Holy Court has made perfect preparations, in front of the audience, they still have to do their best to show the posture of overwhelming everything.
Whenever other scholars of the School of Classics could not justify themselves, Bishop Martin would immediately summarize his views and understandings in a powerful voice, in order to prevent them from leaking too much in front of the audience.
As the debate draws to a close, Bishop Martin's opponent—if anyone who colluded can be considered an opponent—is the last one left.
"Gentlemen, as emphasized in the Supreme Treatise." Bishop Martin concluded his debate and challenged his opponent with a confident gesture, "The eternal and sacred sky is the realm of the Lord, whose kingdom of God is established. In that far country. Because of this, the heavens are still, the earth on which we stand is the center of the stars, and we are the beloved children of the Lord. Are there any of us who think we are his outcasts? ?"
Martin looked at his opponent, waiting for his answer.
It was a mid-sized Vibel University professor, Professor Bieber.
Bishop Martin knows exactly what Bieber will say next. Bieber will cite some data to justify the heliocentric theory. And he will pinpoint the arithmetic and measurement errors in those data, thereby declaring Professor Bieber's conclusions invalid. Of all the scholars, Bishop Martin is least worried about this Professor Bieber.
Because, unlike other scholars, this Professor Bieber himself is a villain who is corrupt and bribery. As early as a few years ago, he eagerly took refuge in the Holy Court and is their own.
Professor Bieber stood up, and he bowed to everyone, then glanced at Bishop Martin.
While Bishop Martin was waiting for him to speak, he took out some papers: "Respected gentlemen, I am only superficial in learning whether the celestial bodies are stationary and whether the heliocentric theory is a fallacy, and I am afraid that I will not be able to make a correct conclusion. There's something I want to show you...these esteemed figures of Bishop Martin, Father Peter, Duke Georgeson and others have written to me."
In the VIP auditorium, Duke Georgeson's complexion changed suddenly, and the smile on the complacent Mr. Martin's face suddenly solidified.
Before the others could react, Professor Bieber stepped out and held up the letter in his hand:
"Gentlemen! Ladies! Sad things have happened! What you have seen today is nothing but a careful rehearsal. Three days ago, my wife and son were under the watch of the Inquisition Bureau, and you got It is not a truth that has been fairly demonstrated, but a well-arranged deception. I am afraid that all the gentlemen here are as burdened by wives and children as I am, and it is difficult to speak bluntly…”
"He's talking nonsense!"
Duke Georgeson stood up with a squeak and pointed to Professor Bieber in the venue.
"How dare this greedy villain tell such a lie to insult me! Quick! Take him down!"
The hall was full of people turning heads. When some other scholars were speaking, there must be people around them monitoring their words and deeds, but no one expected that Professor Bieber, who was with them, turned against the water at the last moment.
"He's possessed by a demon." Bishop Martin immediately said loudly when he caught a glimpse of the rebuttal they had pre-coupled waving in Professor Bieber's hand.
There was an uproar in the audience, and a team of heavily armed guards pushed the crowd and rushed into the hall.
"The truth cannot be blasphemed. In order to prove everything I said today, I am willing to die to prove that what I said is true!"
Professor Bieber shouted, and before the guards caught him, he slammed into the stone pillar next to him.
Blood splashed, and the picture seemed to freeze at this moment.
…
"How is it? Your Majesty." The devil looked at the king with a grin. "Are you satisfied with the fun I've carefully prepared?"
"how did you do that?"
The king was a little surprised. Judging from the shocked expressions of Duke Georgeson and Bishop Martin at the end, Professor Bieber should be from their side.
"Because this Professor Bieber is also an out-and-out villain, I made a small deal with him." The devil spread his hands, "and his only eldest son is actually his beautiful lady, the same The product of a bishop's foolishness, he has nothing to worry about involving his wife and children - he can't wait to let them die together."
"What kind of deal can make people take the initiative to die?"
"Oh, this," replied the devil, "he's a half-assed wizard, secretly studying black magic - sorcery backfires on him, knowing that his time is short, and he wants a place in hell. I'll satisfy his little one. wishes. This is a fair deal.”
The king glanced at the devil and had complete doubts about the "fairness" in his mouth.
The devil shrugged, he promised to give the wizard some power, but he didn't say that he would not take it back after giving it? Isn't it normal for an undead to be torn apart by the lords of hell soon after gaining some power
"Shameless enough." The king sighed, whether it was Bishop Martin, Bieber or the devil, everything they did was called shameless, "Unfortunately, it's just a farce."
Both he and the devil knew that the last scene was only a little bit of trouble for the Holy Court - they could make it up after the fact, such as finding out what Professor Bieber used to do, destroying his image, and then claiming that the other party was a demon Allure - Well, that's not exactly fake. With the Holy See already miraculously awakening the faith, this debate will only end in a victory for the Holy See.
However, the seeds of doubt are always planted slowly.
"Didn't the bishops of the Holy Court notice your actions?"
the king asked pointedly.
He noticed that the speed and power of the devil's actions in the world had increased more than before. Or, the king suspects that even within the Holy Empire, there are some dark creatures driven by the devil. Otherwise, how did he find some little fun for the Holy Court so quickly
Although the devil considers himself a loyal knight in front of the king, whoever really treats him as an ordinary servant will probably have to pay a big price.
The king's concerns quickly shifted to other things: "Do wizards live on earth? How many are they?"
Ever since he knew of the existence of the Lady Witches among the Pirates of Walway, the King kept the group of "wizards" in mind. It is a pity that what happened next, whether it was the Black Death or the rebellion in the Northland, the founding of the Holy Court came too quickly and urgently, so that he was unable to take his hands to do related things.
The devil lifted the trick on the mirror, and it turned into an ordinary bronze mirror again. Hearing the king's words, the devil understood what he wanted to do, and after thinking about it, the devil suddenly smiled: "The number of wizards is much lower than before, but... I think Your Majesty, they are the easiest for you now. assisted."
"The Witch's Hammer."
said the king.
Apparently he had the same idea as the devil after promulgating this prey code in the Holy Court.
"Yes. But more than that." The devil tilted his head slightly, as if he was sensing something, and then looked down at the king, "Your Majesty, I think we can surprise the lords attending the banquet."
Just as the king was about to think about the meaning of his words, a crow had fallen before the king. The devil looked at him with a smile, apparently wanting to wait for him to read the letter before saying what kind of surprise they could prepare for the lords who were about to attend the banquet.
The crow carrying the letter was much larger than usual.
The king recognized it.
It was the pet of the witch Grela on the ghost ship.
The king remembered that he had promised the witch lady a request to help her bring the sacrificed Mr. Volway pirates back to the ghost ship when she was ready.