"Seventeen!"

"eighteen!"

"nineteen!"

...

The six-meter-long iron thorn whip left a trail of afterimages in the air, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, and struck the back of the tortured person heavily.

Blood, along with specks of flesh, splattered into the air and fell to the ground as the iron whip lashed out, quickly forming a semi-circular pool of blood.

"Karol Antarevic, an orc of the Crusader, has committed multiple offenses including desertion, damage to property, theft of a griffon, and disruption of a gathering. He is to be punished with flogging."

Face down, back up, Carol, her limbs bound to the execution platform, felt the excruciating pain in her back, clenching her teeth tightly, trying her best not to make a sound.

In the vast square, not only were there hundreds of Crusader aliens standing, but there were also thousands of human citizens watching from the periphery.

A human dressed as a blacksmith, looking at the terrifying execution ground, said with lingering fear, "If it were us with this kind of whip, one hit would probably kill us on the spot, right?"

His companion whispered, "I heard it all started because a human wanted to marry an elf."

"What did you say? Another idiot like Beatrice?! Can't these people learn what a lesson is?"

The blacksmith's companion lowered his voice: "This human is different! He's Randall Quincy!"

"Randall...you mean that hero of Twilight City?"

“That’s right, it’s him. I heard he fell in love with an elf. This orc being executed is their friend. He broke several commandments in an attempt to stop the trial.”

The blacksmith scratched his head: "Well... I think even Randall cannot violate the holy law set by the Holy King."

"Hmm... Shh, keep your voice down, the whipping is over."

The werewolf Aldnan walked onto the execution platform, helped the semi-conscious Carol down, glanced at the wound on the latter's back, and gasped.

Aldenan glanced at the werewolf who was acting as the executioner with a forced smile and said coldly, "Brother Kendall, didn't you go a little too far?"

With a flick of his whip through the air, shaking off the blood and flesh clinging to it, the executioner Kendall said expressionlessly, "Following the rules."

Aldenan spat inwardly, then helped Carol turn and leave.

Surrounded by onlookers, the orc's blood flowed down his back and onto the ground, forming a blood-red "path".

A few minutes later, Aldenan led Carol to the door of a small house that had been prepared in advance in the city.

Hearing the commotion outside, a dark-skinned minotaur pushed open the door and hissed, "Come in quickly."

Entering the room, Aldnan laid Carol face down on the bed, looking at the wound on the orc's back and muttering under his breath, "That bastard, I clearly told him to go easy on him!"

As Carroll slowly regained consciousness, he heard Aldenan's accusation and replied softly, "Kendall has already shown mercy."

"What did you say?"

“The wound looks bad, but it doesn’t actually damage any bones or tendons.” Carol braced herself against the bed frame with both hands, shifting into a more comfortable position. “I just need to rest for a while, and I’ll be able to get out of bed and walk around.”

The minotaur brought over a jar of herbs and handed it to Aldenan: "These are herbs prepared by our shamans to counteract the poison on the iron whip."

"Thank you, Brother Bulville."

Aldenan took the medicine potion and nodded to the minotaur.

Bulville said to Aldenan, "Keep Carol here for now, don't let him go anywhere. There are many people in the Holy Army who are unhappy with him."

Aldenan shrugged helplessly: "I understand."

Bulville glanced at the two of them, then turned and walked towards the door, leaving behind the words, "May the Dragon God protect you."

Watching the minotaur's figure disappear through the doorway, Aldenan tossed the medicine jar to Carol and said, "Apply it yourself."

"Nonsense! How could I possibly apply medicine to myself?!"

Aldenan gave Carol a disdainful look and asked decisively, "Do you want the hairs from my claws to fall into your wounds?"

Carol was silent for a moment, then said helplessly, "Alright, do me a favor and go to the hotel downstairs to find a waiter..."

Aldenan sat on the edge of the bed and teased Carol, "Don't you think you're living a miserable life?"

"What do you mean?"

"All of this you did was for a woman, but she is now in the arms of another man."

"I know what you're going to say next, but if you don't want to get beaten up, you'd better swallow those words!"

Looking at Carol, who was struggling to even turn over, Aldenan continued without any restraint: "At that trial, as long as you don't show up, or as long as you shift all the blame onto that human, the Crusader assembly will imprison him. In less than a month, he might disappear from this world completely, just like that unfortunate bard."

Carroll turned his head with difficulty, glaring at Aldenan: "I told you, shut up!"

Aldenan continued, "Once that human is imprisoned, Barbara, as a woman, will lose the protection of the elven race and face ostracism from the Crusaders. Who will she be able to rely on then? As long as you appear at the right time, comfort her, and encourage her, it won't be long..."

Bang!

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