Chapter 247 Night Rain
The night gradually grew darker, and a gloomy fog filled the streets of the Fog Castle. The kerosene lamp hanging on the street corner swayed gently, and the remaining sewage on the cobblestone road was floating with coal slag, reflecting countless tiny bright surfaces.
Yialos's boots trod across the muddy tracks of wheel ruts. It was raining, tiny, slanting raindrops woven together, gathering on his expressionless face before sliding down in streaks. The knight, covering the cardboard bag in his arms with his shiny black cloak, walked leisurely toward the end of the street. A beggar huddled under a shop shed, sheltering from the rain, motionless as a corpse, his only sound emitting a faint, almost groaning mutter.
Yialos paused. He turned on his toes and stopped in front of the beggar. The gleaming silver coin slid in a dazzling arc in the rainy night, and with a crisp jingle, it fell into the broken can at the beggar's feet, which contained only a few copper coins.
"Thank you, kind sir... Thank you..." The beggar hung his head and mumbled his thanks. When he tried to pick up the unexpected gains tonight, his dirty fingers suddenly stopped and he stroked the silver iris pattern on the silver coin silently until a very slight click was heard - it was a photo stone disguised as a silver coin.
When he looked up again, the knight's figure had almost disappeared at the end of the street.
Yialos pushed open the door to his inn room. Rain dripped down his cloak, forming a small, sparkling puddle at his feet. The dark-haired young man in the room, unusually absent from his desk, occupied a soft chair near the fireplace, bent over a newspaper. The Knight Commander noticed that he seemed to be quite sensitive to the cold; even in spring, he still wore a light blanket.
Normally, the god who always liked to stick around at this time was nowhere to be found, and the Knight Commander's heart sank.
But when he saw someone hear the noise and took the time to look up at him, Yialos remained calm and raised the paper bag in his hand: "I went to buy some bread to eat on the way."
He calmly accepted the scrutiny from those smoky grey eyes.
The rebel leader certainly had no habit of mistreating prisoners—he'd even begun to loosen up his restrictions, allowing him to go out on his own to buy rations. Whether it was due to overconfidence in the gods' power or a deeper motive, this allowed him to track down the spies in the royal city and seize the opportunity to pass on information to His Majesty. After all, he couldn't use magic. Any powerful sorcerer would be extremely sensitive to fluctuations in mana, let alone a god. He didn't want to provoke them.
The black-haired young man stared at him thoughtfully for a while - it seemed a little too long. Yialos had seen the other party's abilities, and under the gaze of those gray eyes like silver mirrors, even the weathered Knight Commander couldn't help but feel uneasy, even though this man was strictly speaking just an ordinary person who would be killed by a crush.
Fortunately, the other party quickly lowered his head in disinterest and returned his gaze to the newspaper in his hand.
"Bus Catherine is dead," he said slowly, shaking the newspaper. Yialos was stunned for a moment—who was it? Oh, the unfortunate nobleman on the train. Hadn't he been shot dead right in front of them by General Catherine's soldiers? Why bother repeating it?
"The newspapers say it was done by the Land Freedom Party," the professor calmly continued, updating everyone on the recent news from Batalia Heights. "Under the wise leadership of Governor Batalia and General Catherine, the leader of the Land Freedom Party, James Wood, has been arrested. He will be publicly hanged in front of the Piazza della Signoria in three days. The public is welcome to attend the execution."
Yialos, who had suffered greatly from the corrupt old foxes in the royal court, immediately reacted: "The Land Freedom Party is being used as a pawn."
"It's obvious." Nova turned the page of the newspaper and said calmly, "I heard that the Catheran family and the Governor have been having a disagreement recently over the division of the spoils after the land acquisition. Bas Catheran's death is probably a warning."
The knight stared at the black-haired young man's sharp eyebrows for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You want to save him?"
The other party answered the question irrelevantly: "How will the Empire deal with the illegal land annexation in the Batalha Highlands? How will the Empire resettle those displaced farmers?"
"...You shouldn't be asking me. The Kite Heart Guards don't get involved in politics," the knight said gravely. "Besides, I lost an arm. I'm no longer a member of the Kite Heart Guards, let alone a representative of the Empire."
The black-haired young man scoffed. He folded up the newspaper with a rustle and placed it casually on the table. Then he stood up and stretched his neck lazily.
The blanket slipped off the other person. He was a tall and thin young man. He looked gentle and refined with glasses, and seemed fragile and fragile - but the eyes behind the lenses made people feel the extremely terrifying danger of being seen through by some existence, so much so that when he approached Yialos, the Knight Commander could not help but take a step back.
"No, you know very well what they will do." Those light and cold endings fell on the knight's neck, so heavy that he froze in place and couldn't move.
After all, even the royal family can take the lead in levying unreasonable heavy taxes to fill the fiscal gap. Naturally, no one would offend the entire vested interest group for a group of poor and untouchables.
"I suggest you wipe off the mud and water on the ground." Nova took the paper bag from the knight, opened it and took a look. He broke off a small piece of bread and put it into his mouth. Then he choked on the rough taste and frowned. He stuffed the paper bag back into his arms with dissatisfaction.
"And you stayed in the rain for too long." Ignoring the knight's suddenly shrunken pupils, he scrambled for water while mumbling, "The bread is a little wet. Remember to hide it better next time."
…
James Wood was imprisoned in Orendel, the capital of the Batalia Highlands and the seat of the Supreme Council of the six administrative districts of the Western Frontier of the Empire.
Since most of the prisoners there were death row inmates with unforgivable crimes, the local highest prison was nicknamed "Guillotine Prison", and the square where executions were carried out was also called "Guillotine Square".
In the gloomy prison, the damp, musty smell mingled with the stench of blood, and the faint cries of prisoners pleading for mercy and wailing could be heard from time to time. To vent General Catheran's anger, Wood had been tortured and, barely breathing, was dumped on a pile of dirty straw. Preparing for the hanging tomorrow, the inmates reluctantly fed the bloodied prisoner a vial of healing potion, lest he die before dawn.
The moonlight shines through the skylight, which is so narrow that it can barely accommodate a hand, and illuminates the prisoner's eyes.
There was a rustling noise outside the invigilator. Wood moved his fingers and slowly turned his head - a short and thin figure, covered tightly, nodded and bowed, stuffing a large bag of coins into the guard's hand. The other party paid attention to the weight and snorted.
"You only have five minutes." The guard said sarcastically: "Regarding the rules, you can't even get five minutes. General Catherine wants to cut this guy into pieces. But considering that he will dance on the gallows tomorrow morning——"
He clicked his tongue a few times, shook his head, and walked to the end of the corridor.
"--elder brother!"
The person threw themselves against the iron railings and spoke in a young female voice. Wood's eyes widened suddenly, and he strained to suppress a growl from his throat: "Fina?! What are you doing here? You're just fooling around!"
"Brother, listen to me first." Fina gripped the railing tightly and spoke quickly and quietly, "Tomorrow, Big Brother Saber will create a commotion near the tower to distract the soldiers. You'll have to act accordingly!"
"Why would Saber join in your nonsense?" Wood's face was extremely gloomy, and he angrily retorted in a low voice: "Orundel is the most powerful and heavily guarded place in the entire Batalia Highlands. Don't joke!"
He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice with forced composure: "Be obedient and don't worry about me. After I die, the Land Freedom Party will be handed over to you, Brother Sabul. You must listen to him-"
"Bullshit!" Fina angrily shoved her hand into the iron bars and tried to poke her brother's forehead. "Brother, your brain isn't working well to begin with, just listen to my instructions! Mom and Dad died a long time ago, do you really want to leave me alone in the world like this? You're dreaming!"
Wood couldn't help but whispered weakly: "Fina, girls shouldn't swear..."
"Brother, shut up!" Fina stood up, unable to bear it any longer. Her voice was gentle but fierce. "It was you who taught us to pay blood debt with blood. What are those nobles and soldiers to be afraid of? Once their heads fall off and their legs kick, they'll be no different from fat pigs being slaughtered. It's settled!"
"—Wait, Fina!"
But Fina had already ignored her brother's urgent calls, wiped away her tears, and without hesitation, turned and left the prison. She knew the feasibility of robbing the execution grounds was almost zero. But was she going to watch her only blood relative fall to the butcher knife of those greedy and cunning nobles?
The moonlight, pale as mist, enveloped the entire landscape. The faint sound of barking dogs echoed from the streets, and pale beams of light pierced the night, sweeping everywhere. Fina broke into a run, using her petite figure to nimbly avoid the patrolling soldiers.
She didn't know where she was going to run or how long she would run. When she left the most dangerous area in one breath, the girl's steps became slower and heavier. Finally, she squatted on the ground, hugged herself, and cried like a child.
Is resistance a sin? Is revenge wrong? Do these people, who have nothing, these lowly grass seeds, deserve to be crushed to pieces by those beasts who claim to be born noble, while the latter cannot even get a speck of dust on their clothes?
...Gods, she prayed devoutly under the moonlight, no matter which god is looking down at the earth - please bless us with mercy, please lend us a helping hand, and create an unprecedented miracle with your humble body!
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