“You think this is the end? No, this is just the beginning. On the third day in the stone house, we will send you two things.” Todd gently tapped the cross on the other’s chest: “A dagger and a basin of human blood.”

"Two paths lie before you. First, commit suicide with a dagger, and according to doctrine, you will be condemned to eternal hell; second, drink human blood, prolong your life, and become an unclean being despised by the Holy Spirit." (In Christian doctrine, suicide is murder, a grave sin against God's creation, leading to hell after death; blood symbolizes Christ's redemption, and those who consume blood are considered unclean and will be eternally rejected by believers.)

"Father above! I! I'm willing to give anything!" The fur merchant, whose psychological defenses had completely collapsed, raised his blood-stained head and cried out, "I am Felicidade, a deacon in the central government of the Papacy!"

"The Vatican's central leadership?" Todd asked. "Which department of the church do you belong to?"

"No, no! We do not belong to any single administrative department of the Church; we report directly to Pope Alexander!"

"The Pope? Then this fleet of ships transporting slaves also belongs to the Pope?"

"It was nominally a charitable association spontaneously organized by the knights of the Papacy, specifically for rescuing believers who were persecuted for religion or refugees who applied for asylum."

“A charity?!” Todd scoffed several times. “And what about the wealth from the slave trade? What happened to it?”

"This money will be deposited into the Vatican's treasury in the form of donations or indulgences."

Todd said with a disdainful tone, "It's probably going into some people's pockets rather than the Vatican's treasury."

After a pause, he turned to Felicidade and asked, "How long has the church been involved in the slave trade?"

The latter swallowed hard: "I don't know about the past, but I've been in charge of this for over a year now. I heard that the fleet's original destination was the Southern Empire, but due to the war between the Abbasid Empire and the Ayyubid Empire, they had to change the location of the slave trade to Gugu City."

Upon hearing this, Todd suddenly remembered something: "I ask you, where did all these slaves you're transporting come from?"

"Wars frequently broke out between diocesan kingdoms. When the victors dealt with prisoners, the Papacy would first rescue them, then send them on merchant ships under the guise of charity, and finally sell them to the Southern Empire or the northern kingdoms."

A sense of uncertainty and unease flickered in Todd's mind as he continued, "Where did your most recent batch of slaves come from?"

After a moment's hesitation, Felicelhard finally said, "Saint-Guardian City..."

Enraged, Todd gritted his teeth, grabbed the man by the collar, and lifted him into the air: "Let me guess, there are currently three factions in Holy Guard City. One is the royalists who uphold the king, another is the liberals who fight for independence, and the third is the church faction who are willing to be lackeys. So, you've colluded with those church bastards to sell the people of Holy Guard City like livestock?!"

Suspended in mid-air, Felicel flapped his arms and legs, shouting "I don't know," but a hint of suspicious panic flickered in his eyes.

Todd frowned as he looked at the expression on the other man's face, then released his hands, letting Felicidade fall to the ground.

“It seems you won’t tell the truth about some things…” Todd’s right hand evolved into Tyrant form, the sharp iron claws turning into sharp needles, piercing towards Felicidade’s forehead: “Very well, I’ve lost my patience anyway. Rather than waiting for you to tell me one thing at a time, I’d rather open your mind and see what you know for yourself!”

The horrific and cruel scene before them caused the barbarian torturers to kneel down. They stared in horror at Feliceld, whose head was pierced by sharp needles, his eyes rolled back, his body convulsing, and drool dripping from his mouth.

A few seconds later, Feliceld unconsciously said, "The person behind the slave trade with the Church is His Highness Sinclair, the leader of the liberal faction in St. Guard and the eldest son of the King of St. Guard."