The muddy swamp was chaotic with all kinds of strange plants, some of which looked like ordinary trees, with their crowns blocking the sun, but their roots were like humans, with two legs wrapped in blood-colored vines, burrowing into the silt, not knowing where to reach, and there were many similar creatures, each of which added countless mysterious and terrifying colors to the swamp.
Vicente hid behind a half-man-high stone, the silt under his feet was dry and firm, and his nose was filled with a foul odor that made people dizzy.
At this time, he slumped on the ground without daring to move, his eyes trembling forward, on the black sludge, a python as thick as a bucket was swimming towards him, his eyes were like candlesticks, emitting an unusual green light, and the terrifying aura made all the swamp creatures around him avoid it from a distance.
Vicente, who had been dealing with corpses all year round and had recently begun dissecting, was not timid, but his reason could not resist the intimidating aura emanating from this extraordinary python, which was an instinctive reaction of the body, and for an ordinary person like him, who was not even a knight's attendant or a magic apprentice, he was powerless to get rid of it.
His legs were paralyzed, his whole body trembled, his teeth were creaking, Vicente wanted to turn around and run away, but he didn't even have the strength to stand up, so he could only watch the python approach him little by little.
He had never been in the depths of the swamp for so long in the past, often following familiar paths, carefully looking for special plants nearby, and then returning immediately, but this time, he had lived here for five whole days, and the fruits he picked along the way were almost finished, so naturally he also encountered one of the terrifying creatures in the depths of the swamp.
The black python leisurely approached Vicente, as if preparing to enjoy today's lunch, gradually, the distance became shorter and shorter, its strange skin covered with patterns and scales, and the fishy smell in its mouth were deeply imprinted in Vicente's mind.
Just when Vicente was desperate, the front half of the black python suddenly stood upright, its crimson tongue expanded and contracted with a circle of turquoise streamer, and a pair of giant eyes stared at the mud behind the stone.
After a few minutes, the black giant python turned around and fled in a hurry!
Vicente looked at this scene in disbelief, this terrifying giant python actually escaped like this? I haven't done anything yet!
After staying for a long time, Vicente's eyes were projected into the mud behind the stone, and a thought suddenly appeared in his heart: "Could it be that the magic book I buried and that pale palm scared away this monster? But they are still in the mud!"
Gradually, he had a conjecture that perhaps the black python's senses, which were much stronger than his own, touched the "breath of death".
Perhaps, in its eyes, the stone side has become the underworld or hell!
After Vicente recovered, he tried to resist the urge to dig up the grimoire and walked out of the swamp along the secret path he had discovered.
After half a day, he quietly hid on the edge of the swamp, but there was no familiar mark on the trees.
"Is it that things are so troublesome that the baron can't guarantee it?" Vicente thought frustratedly, after all, it was standard evil to be caught desecrating a corpse before it came to fruition, and even if it wasn't a magician, it would be tied to the stake.
He sighed and decided to wait another five days, so he returned to the swamp and collected food along the way.
…………
"What? Shirley is dead?" Baron Brensel looked at the night watchman in front of him, as if he was still in a dream.
This night watchman has two huge eyes, a broad forehead, and a mouth full of canine teeth, when he doesn't speak, he gives people a simple and honest impression, once he speaks, the canine teeth are exposed, it is extremely ferocious, so seeing this appearance, Baron Brensel is like a nightmare.
"Mad Dog" drew a cross on his chest: "Yes, she died under magic in order to keep the secret of the evil magician."
"You are crazy, crazy! You actually tortured her!" The baroness screamed first.
Baron Brensel maintained his last sanity and glared at the night watchman: "In other words, in fact, Shirley didn't say anything, that is to say, she was still a pure believer before she died, and you have no evidence at all!"
The anger in his chest burned fiercely, even if he crashed into the gate of Cooks, he had to let the Grand Duke and all the nobles confirm this problem, the church's night watchmen were crazy, they must be contained and eradicated!
The "mad dog" drew a cross again: "The Lord tells us that only the power of the devil can make her withstand the torture and confess nothing, and only the power of the devil can make her die before the confession is about to be confessed and keep the secret.
"Crazy, really crazy......" Hearing these strong words, Baron Brenzel felt more and more that the world was unreal, so much so that he did not roar, refute, or attack.
"Mad Dog" laughed: "Based on this, we have reason to suspect that you are colluding with the magician, and your agreement to marry Vicente, the evil magician, is proof of this.
"What?" Baron and Mrs. Brensel felt that the sky was falling, and before they could digest the bad news of their only daughter's tragic death, they themselves encountered the crazy night watchman again.
The night watchmen rushed up and arrested the baron and baroness.
"No, let go, we are nobles!"
"We are nobles!"
…………
In a villa in the city, Andrew and his two companions listened to the report in a daze.
"How is that possible? How could Shirley die?"
"They didn't have any evidence, so they arrested the baron and his wife?"
"In the future, they can do the same to us in the future......
The "false accusations" of themselves and others against Vicente seemed to have led to a monster more terrifying than the devil, that is, the Night Watch of Pure Faith!
…………
"Hmph, their bones are not as hard as their daughters." The interrogator walked out with a shuddering smile.
"Is there a good result?" "Mad Dog" asked urgently.
The interrogator nodded: "A few years ago, during the stalemate in the Battle of Alto, they secretly contacted a certain magician, but when the Death Lord was killed by His Majesty the Pope, they cut off this contact."
"Very good, this shows that our method of doing things against evil is very effective, and we have dug up the hidden depraved people of the baron couple." He believes that he and other nightwatchmen have the most devout beliefs and can directly identify the fallen without external evidence, so this style of doing things is most suitable for himself and others, and of course, it is also convenient to make contributions.
The interrogator laughed: "I have long seen those wavering nobles not pleasing to the eye."
"Hang their daughter's body at the stake for a week to see if Vicente can be brought out." "Mad Dog" said with a grin, "As for them, I think the executioner's hand can't wait."
…………
Andrew paced anxiously back and forth in the hall, waiting for news from Cooks' side, and his two companions slumped on the sofa, completely unacceptable to such a situation.
"Master, there is news from Cooks, asking the nobles to exercise restraint." The butler walked in panting.
Andrew stopped and fell weakly on the sofa: "I know, I know......"
It may not have been clear before, but after the night watch captured the baron and his wife, they were horrified to find that even if all the nobles united, they could not compete with the church's clergy and night watchmen!
Dong dong dong, there was a knock on the door abruptly.
"Who?" The housekeeper asked suspiciously.
"I'll get my reward." "Mad dog" appeared at the door.
Andrew and the others jumped up in fright: "You?"
"What? Want to default?" "Mad Dog" had a kind smile on his face.
"No, no, this is the final payment." Andrew took out a money bag full of Kintale.
"Mad Dog" threw the money bag and weighed it: "Yes, very sincere."
Then he said with a smile: "Thank you so much for this incident, Mr. Andrew, you made us understand our own strength."
After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving Andrew standing there as if petrified, and the breeze blew through the open door, making Andrew feel cold both physically and mentally.
…………
A few days later, Vicente dived out of the swamp again, still without finding a mark.
"Could it be that something happened?" The more he thought about it, the more worried he became, and decided to go back quietly to take a look.
Taking advantage of the night, he sneaked back to his village, and just as he was about to "kidnap" a child and ask him carefully, he suddenly heard two peasant women talking.
"Hey, Miss Shirley is so pitiful, I don't believe she was seduced by the devil to fall......" Under the propaganda of the church, even peasant women know how to use such a written word as seducing the fall.
"Yes, Miss Shirley is so gentle and kind, like an angel, it was that damn Vicente who deceived her, or she would not have died in the court and was tied to the stake......" another peasant woman echoed.
Dead, dead, Shirley is dead?
The news was like a giant hammer hitting Vicente's brain, causing him to feel dizzy and almost fall out of his hiding place.
The next conversation between the peasant women made him understand what happened, his face became extremely pale, his eyes were expressionless, and he walked back to the swamp without knowing that there were other things outside him.
Perhaps with the blessing of Lady Luck, he actually walked back alive to the depths of the swamp.
"No!" After a long time, a heart-wrenching scream sounded in the swamp, more desolate and sad than the lone wolf Howling Moon.
Vicente's face was full of tears, and his eyes showed the ultimate spark of hatred, he lay on the ground, digging the dirt hard with both hands, blood oozing from the cracks of his fingernails, dyed red.
A few minutes later, two black-covered mystery books and a pale palm appeared in Vicente's hand.
The rest of the expression on his face had faded, leaving only numbness, despair and resentment.
…………
"Didn't you come?" The "mad dog" secretly looked at the corpse on the stake.
"The Tamer" smiled and said: "Such a simple trap is easy to see through, and magicians are very cunning."
"Poor girl, she values feelings so much." The "mad dog" spread his hands.
The burning rack was only used to "purify" the living, so the corpses were not burned.
Many citizens around watched, spurning this evil person who colluded with the devil and the magician, and only a very few people who knew Shirley sighed secretly, but did not dare to defend her.
In the crowd, a man with a "dark" face looked at Shirley's body with love, pity and self-reproach, then gritted his teeth, turned around, and walked towards the city gate without looking back.
Leaving the city gate, he suddenly took off the cross he wore on his chest and held it tightly with his right hand, so that the tip pierced his palm and the blood stained the surface red.
He calmly inserted the cross into the wall next to the city gate, and then walked slowly towards the gradually dimming distance.
I'll be back!
I'll come back to bring you back to life!
I will come back with death and destruction!
(End of this chapter)