There is a heavily guarded dungeon beneath the St. Laurent Cathedral.
In the Mycroft continent, it is a well-known 'secret' that there is a dungeon in the church. Through various knight novels and historical documents, even civilians know that there will be darkness accompanying them in the sacred place. These lawless people and cultists will show no mercy even if they are kind priests who distribute food to the poor.
Because they are all betraying human identity, abandoning human morality, breaking away from human society, and are undoubtedly inhuman scum. To treat these hateful existences, there is no need to pray, no need to repent, and no matter how cruel methods are used, will be forgiven.
No one questioned this, because the stories about cults circulated among the people let everyone know that this was justice.
After crossing the inconspicuous dark corridor, walking down the granite stairs, opening two fine steel forged doors, and passing through the narrow passage full of magical traps, Joshua and others arrived at this distance from the surface of the earth. The dark dungeon is fifty meters long.
Using solid granite with a thickness of more than one meter as the foundation, and then pouring it with molten iron, the St. Laurent Dungeon is not so much a basement as a huge iron pot buried deep in the ground. It has no gaps and is dense. It is airtight, uses magic to purify the air, and ensures absolute isolation from the outside world. Countless magics cover its appearance, blocking all communications.
It can be said that once you enter here, you are completely isolated from the outside world.
The cultists throughout Moldavia were imprisoned here waiting to be executed. The day when they were executed was the Harvest Festival every autumn. On that day, the city's main square would be filled with various torture instruments, crosses, and guillotines. The execution ground and other instruments of torture will be prepared, and then different death sentences will be given to each cultist according to the wishes of the people.
Article 37 of the Imperial Code states that the categories of punishment, especially the death penalty, are decided by the people.
On both sides of the dungeon, dim pyroxene lamps hung, and the gray silver light swayed, illuminating the dust in the air. Under the leadership of Bishop Artanis, Joshua and others walked through the outer cells, where It was deserted and covered with dust, as if no one had been in for a long time. Noticing the curious eyes of the soldiers, the old bishop explained: "There have been no cultists in the Northland for a long time."
After arriving here, Artanis's voice became low and serious, and the originally kind bishop's eyes flashed with a cold and sad light: "Except for a few sacrifices in the years when I was a child, in the sixties and seventies For years, no cultists have appeared in Moldavia.”
—And my sister disappeared at that time, and there is no news yet.
This sentence was not spoken, and the old bishop just continued in a low voice: "This group of cultists can be regarded as the first batch during my term of office. I put them in the innermost cell."
Joshua noticed that according to the grammar of Mycroft Continent Common Language, the old bishop used the animal version of him to those cultists, not the human version of him.
But what does it matter? Thinking indifferently, the soldier shrugged, the cultists were not human in the first place.
They are monsters born after chaos swallows the human heart.
"Your Majesty Bishop!"
There were several guarding knights in the dungeon. When they heard the footsteps, they walked out cautiously. However, when they found out that the visitor was Bishop Artanis, these knights lowered their heads with respect and allowed the group to pass.
"Thank you for your hard work. The lord is also coming to see those cultists today. Please guard the door."
Nodding slightly to these knights, the old bishop paused, and then gave a serious instruction: "Later, no matter what sound you hear, don't come close."
"Yes!"
The knights responded in unison. They didn't think there was anything strange about this. It was so normal for the lord to interrogate the cultists in his territory. It was so normal that no one could find any reason to doubt. As for how the cultists would be dealt with, What kind of screams and howls you make—it doesn't matter.
As long as they have seen the scene of cult sacrifices, no matter how holy they are, they will never have the slightest sympathy for those remnants.
Fortunately, these knights lowered their heads and did not see Joshua's face. Even if some of them raised their heads and saw the side or back of the warrior's head from the corner of their eyes, they were not so intimidated. At most, they would feel palpitations, and then I was impressed by the powerful momentum and majesty of their lord, otherwise, it would definitely cause panic and chaos.
There is darkness in the deepest part of the dungeon. The pyroxene lamp hanging here has been replaced by a strange magic prop. It is a diamond-shaped purple crystal that releases the blurred magic light. Joshua stretched out his fingers and felt it. Its magic power fluctuated, and he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "The stance of banning demons?"
"There is also an anti-invisibility field. No matter whether you use magic or fighting spirit, you can't sneak in here."
In response to the warrior's words, Bishop Artanis stopped. He was silent for a while, and then said: "We're here."
Then, he clapped his hands, and the fluctuations of the holy light were transmitted out, as if some magic circle was activated. Suddenly, a dazzling positive energy light slanted out from the ceiling, illuminating the depths of the dark dungeon extremely brightly.
"Ahhhh!!!"
"Turn it off, turn it off!!!"
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
Suddenly, countless screams came from the originally silent corner, and Joshua squinted slightly and scanned the surroundings with this light.
This is an oval-shaped hall. Around the hall, there are thirty extremely small cells that cannot stand or lie down, and can only allow people to squat. There are double-layer stainless steel forged fences around the perimeter of the cells. These fences also have lines of holy light visible to the naked eye, and they look extremely strong.
Most of these cells were empty. Their floors were contaminated with black and red stains, the walls were covered with dark red diffusion lines, and there was even suspicious yellow grease seeping into the gaps in the walls.
In the empty cells, there are screaming human figures that are twisting crazily. Their bodies are emitting dark smoke when illuminated by positive energy rays. However, they are limited to the small cells and cannot get up. They couldn't lie down either. After squatting for a long time, these guys' knees completely turned into a ball of iron, making them completely unable to move.
"These are the guys. Even though they are in such bad shape now, they are actually very tough-talking. We have been interrogating them for a long time, but we haven't gotten any information at all."
Speaking in a tone that Joshua had never heard before, but which made people feel extremely normal, Bishop Artanis's face was as cold as steel: "Eight people died in the previous interrogation, and now there are still nineteen left. Personally, my children, you can do whatever you want with them, even if they all die, it doesn't matter."
Just ask for information.
"Damned followers of false gods—"
After hearing these words, a prisoner who was screaming in the cell suddenly raised his head and said in a vague voice, as if laughing wildly: "You never know what you are going to face. The gospel of our Lord It is about to come, and you will eventually fall into despair, hahahahahaha!!”
The human figures in other cells seemed to be inspired by the prisoner's words, and the screams suddenly disappeared, and all kinds of obscene words and blasphemous prayers sounded. Among them, one voice was particularly loud: "You won't know anything! "
The appearance of these prisoners is undoubtedly that of human beings. They have eyes, noses, ears and mouths. However, although their bodies are so thin that they seem to have no flesh due to hunger and fatigue, and their eye sockets are deeply sunken, as long as you see their You'll know by the look on your face, that's definitely not something humans can do.
As if a layer of mud was applied to the bones, the mud-like flesh and blood flowed continuously, forming extremely twisted expressions, as if they were laughing or howling in pain. Their skin was covered with bulging blood vessels and The veins are pulsing, and dark purple liquid can be seen flowing behind them. The eyes of these cultists are closed tightly because of the strong positive energy light, but through the thin eyelids, you can see that their eyeballs are working in an extremely uncomfortable manner. Twisting in a natural way.
Gradually adapting to the shining of positive energy, these cultists began to open their eyes and look towards the center of the cell hall.
Their eyes, without exception, were all shining with a disgusting dark green light, like something rotting away. This light was like a whirlpool, twisted and deep, making people think of a bottomless mud swamp.
"Don't want to say it? It's not up to you."
Ignoring these cultists who were completely driven into madness, the old bishop smiled coldly, turned his head, patted Joshua on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice: "Leave it to you."
Treat these monsters without mercy.
Then, he stepped aside and walked out of the cell hall.
"no problem."
As the other person passed him by, Joshua said softly: "I have no mercy when it comes to my enemies."
Then, he signaled Ying and Lin to leave with Artanis. Although the Shenji siblings were hesitant, they still obeyed their master's wishes and followed the old bishop out of the cell hall.
And just as the footsteps of Artanis and the other three gradually faded away, the soldier took a step forward and walked to the center of the cell hall. He glanced at all the cells with a grin, his expression as cold as polar ice. A voice like that said: "Leisure time is over."
"Now, look at me!"
Originally, these cultists were a little confused because of the sudden departure of the old bishop. They didn't know why Artanis, as a clergyman, would be so relieved to hand over the task of interrogation to a stranger, but these are not important anymore. When the guy was about to laugh loudly at the man in front of him, the air suddenly solidified.
Because they all saw Joshua's face.
What does that feel like? No one can describe it. It was as if the air in the lungs was being sucked out in an instant, and the throat could only make a creaking and spasming sound. All the cultists closed their mouths in an instant, and their teeth trembled up and down, making a shuddering sound. .
The originally bright and dazzling light of positive energy that shone brighter than the sun seemed to dim in an instant, and endless black mist was spreading out from the man standing in the center of the cell. This black mist seemed to be just an ink-like mist. , but countless ferocious monster faces emerged from it, as if the heavy pressure of the deep sea was substantively suppressed on all the cultists. They wanted to breathe, but desperately found that their lungs refused to work due to fear, and they could only breathe a little Waiting for the suffocation to come.
Unable to collapse or kneel down, a strong smell of rust filled the nostrils. The small cells did not even allow these prisoners to twist their heads. Their necks and eyeballs also refused to work, unable to lower or close. They could only wait for themselves. His consciousness became blurred bit by bit.
The cultist closest to Joshua seemed to see a demon god who seemed to come from hell, and this demon god was gradually approaching. He raised his hand made of black steel and a sword blade and stretched it towards him.
Before completely falling into coma, the cultist felt a hand grab its hair and lifted its head. It saw a pair of blood-red eyes that seemed to be burning and were staring at it, with a biting coldness. It flows in the bone marrow and blood vessels, instantly clearing the mind.
"Tell me everything you know!"
Hearing a sonorous sound like the friction of steel, the mind that was originally infected by chaos seemed to be struck by a giant hammer at this moment. The cultist felt that his whole soul was shaking violently, and the endless despair filled his heart. Falling into the abyss, its eyes were confused for a moment, and its lips trembled slightly, and then slowly opened. Even if the knight had been tortured for half a month, his will that had not wavered was now close to overturning.
But just when it was about to open its mouth and reveal all the truth and secrets, the cultist's eyes suddenly bulged, and then he howled violently.
The sound was so piercing, far more painful than being irradiated by the positive energy light before. Even Joshua felt the pain from the depths of the other party's soul. Under the gaze of the warrior, the cultist's two eyeballs As if it was about to jump out of its eye sockets, its originally thin body began to expand violently, its face covered with bloodshot veins and veins also turned purple, and the liquid inside made a viscous flowing sound.
"No! My Lord, no! I didn't say it, I didn't say it, ugh!!!!"
A scream that was so sharp that it was deformed burst out from the cultist's throat. It was already an inhuman level of high-pitched sound. Joshua let go of his hand and let go of the other party's hair. He frowned and watched this scene. , eyes full of solemnity.
This cultist was originally a man, which can be seen from his decent appearance, but now, no one can tell any information from its face. The piece originally called The flesh and blood on the face has now become green and black, and the things under the skin seem to have been completely dissolved, making the face seem like it will fall off the skull at any time.
"puff-"
Suddenly, a column of purple-red blood spurted out from the cultist's ear holes, and the fishy smell suddenly filled the entire cell hall. The positive energy light continued to shine, and then the disgusting smell was eliminated. The chaotic breath of the smell was purified, and after the blood spurted in the ears, the cultist's body became motionless. It no longer struggled or screamed, but stood there like a zombie, with its eyes Blood was flowing out, and the thin body was now strangely swollen.
"I didn't expect... I thought it was just an ordinary cult attack, but I never expected it to be like this."
His brows furrowed tighter and tighter, until they finally stood up completely. Joshua's expression was extremely serious. He ignored the other prisoners who had long since passed out, but stared closely at the seemingly dead cultist in front of him. , murmured to himself: "Ahead of time? No, it was supposed to happen in the Far South. I didn't pay attention to the Northland in my previous life, so maybe the same thing happened in the Northland... "
As Joshua whispered to himself, various other strange changes began to occur on the cultist's body - first, its swollen body suddenly burst, and a huge amount of black turbid liquid flowed along the cracks. The skin spurted out from under the skin, and then, clumps of half-melted internal organs also leaked from the gaps in the skin. Finally, they seemed to be corroded and completely melted into the warm black turbid liquid.
Because all the flesh, flesh and internal organs were dissolved by the black liquid and flowed out, only a layer of skin was left of the original cultist supported by the bones. As for the people, they were naturally dead and could no longer die.
"Black blood."
"The Plague God's big move."
"The super plague that killed 60% of the population in the far southern coastal area."
Turning around without any nostalgia, Joshua's expression had completely turned cold.
"This matter cannot be handled by the Northland alone. To deal with the plague, we must devote all our efforts to the whole country. We need to report it to the Imperial Capital as soon as possible and inform His Majesty the Emperor."
This chapter has been revised back and forth for a long time, and I am quite satisfied now.
(End of chapter)