When Alexander walked out of the house, he saw that the hunting guards had completely surrounded the place, and on the periphery of the hunting guards, the villagers who did not know when they had gathered were also in a circle from afar, they held all kinds of weapons in their hands, and most of them looked indifferent, but there were also some people who were not only angry but also afraid.

Tough does not mean that they are not afraid of death, there are no people in the world who are not afraid of death, but for various reasons, when they think that what they need to do is more important than life and death, they will give up the right to live, and they will not hesitate to use death in exchange for those things they think are worth fighting for.

Alexander always had a reverence for such bravery, but when he had to face it himself, he found it somewhat disgusting.

What's more, he didn't think that the nobles of those Dragon Knights were worthy of these people's lives for them, or that it could be seen from the faces of these villagers that they would choose to obey the orders of those nobles and priests, but the dependence and inertia that had formed over the years.

For these villagers, whether it is Vlad's family or the Dragon Knights, they are the rulers here, they are the masters of the land taxes and taxes, and they have long faced oppression and coercion from these brutal rulers, and the fear in the time of Vlad III is only exchanged for more harsh demands from the Dragon Knights, and it can be seen from the indifferent looks on the faces of these people that they have no good feelings for any nobles, but in the eyes of these farmers who have never walked out of the mountains and have no knowledge, Outsiders obviously can't shake the rule of these people, and they may even think that those lords of this land are the most powerful people in the world, and no one can do anything to them.

Alexander didn't want to waste any more energy on these peasants, and he didn't have the time, he knew that it would not be difficult to break this situation, as long as he made them understand that the lords who were in power on the land were not invincible, let alone inviolable.

Once is enough, and if the locals discover that there is a greater force that can subdue these people, then things will be much easier.

Alexander did not underestimate the wisdom of these peasants who lived in the mountains all the year round, perhaps they were a little stupid because of their lack of knowledge, but they were not stupid, and even had the cunning and tactfulness peculiar to the mountain people, these characters allowed them to obediently obey the orders of the old men to avoid whipping and more cruel punishment when facing the rulers, but once they discovered the weaknesses of those people, these farmers who were usually well-behaved like sheep in front of the old men would show their horns and even hidden teeth.

Alexander had no doubts about this, because he had the impression that this was how these Balkan mountain people dealt with Hungary and the Ottomans.

As for the dragon knights, it may not be so easy for the others to deal with, but, as he told Vateretto, he did not think that this guild of old knights and local nobles could threaten Sophia's rule, and they were probably expecting Bucharest to send troops to encircle them, because then they could drive the local mountain people to fight a war like they had fought against Mehmed II.

They may have even figured out that if the army encircling Transylvania had suffered heavy losses, they would be able to bargain with the nobles in Bucharest, either to force Sophia to admit that they already had a substantial separatist power, or if the situation allowed, they might even simply shake Sophia's position and find an obedient Grand Duke of Wallachia to the throne.

It is entirely possible that this speculation will come true, and if someone else might have guessed their methods, they would have been unable to solve it, but it was really not a very difficult thing for Alexander.

These local aristocratic clergy, after all, are too addicted to the power of the land of Transylvania, because they can't let go, they almost put everything they have on this land, which is sometimes a good thing, after all, it only took them just 20 years to almost completely erase the traces of the rule of the Tepes family here, except for some horrific and absurd legends, the rule of the Tepes family here has become a thing of the past, so that many years later, when Tepes wants to regain his father's position, But he had to think about relying on his activities in Bucharest to regain recognition.

Alexander walked down the steps, but he didn't go far, but chose a shade to sit down, and then he beckoned to Schell and asked him for a jug and took a big drink.

The hunters were not upset by the threat of the villagers, and although for a while, some of the mountain people came out of nowhere, but they still just surrounded the house.

Alexander thought that the people in the house would not be so stupid as to leave only a way out for themselves, and that many of them should have slipped through some hidden back door by this time, after all, it was the habit of these people to sneak around, and this kind of secret organization that always hid in the shadows and recognized itself as mastering everything was either fantasizing about one day ruling the world, or eager to quietly influence the development of the entire human civilization in the shadows.

Interestingly, both the organization itself and the people who believe in the existence of such an organization just because they have heard all kinds of legends, often really believe that they can do it.

The door of the house opened, Vateretto appeared at the door, he looked at the hunters who were very close to him, and then at the mountain people in the distance, and then he walked towards Alexander in the shade of the trees.

"Stop," Schell stood in front of him, and there was a hint of excitement and contempt on the faces of the Balkans, who did not seem to take the nobleman who thought he was the owner of the land, in the eyes of him, "and do not approach without the permission of the duke." ”

"Let me pass," Vateretto said angrily, his finger poked at Schell's glamorous-looking uniform, "Listen, if you dare to speak to me like that, I'll let you know what will happen if you offend me." ”

"That's not easy," Schell looked at Vateretto without moving, "I used to stand guard for His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Wallachia, I also worked as an errand for the Queen Regent of Naples, and even I met the Pope of the Vatican, so you can't intimidate my lord, you have to wait here now until the Duke thinks he can see you." ”

Vateretto looked at Schell with a shocked face, he could see that this person should also be a Balkan and not those Romans from the West, but this soldier from the mountains dared to talk to him like this, which made Vateretto more uneasy in addition to anger, he came to see Alexander for a reason, but now this soldier's behavior towards him seems to indicate that Alexander's attitude has become tougher.

Could it be that he had discovered something, otherwise why would he have uttered that sentence inexplicably before leaving?

Vateretto's gaze looked past Schell to Alexander, who was sitting in the shade of a tree not far away, and just as he saw Alexander put down the kettle and beckoned to him.

"I think I can get over." After saying this, Vateretto was a little annoyed to find that he was actually complacent about getting permission, he instantly felt that his self-esteem had been hurt, and what was even more annoyed was that it was all in front of those villagers, which made Vateretto's face even hotter.

Alexander watched this scene with satisfaction, and Schell's actions were actually instructed by him.

The fear of the Balkans for the nobles and the clergy was often visceral, even if they were physically strong, but that fear came from the shadows that had been etched in their bones over the years, even by the hunters, and for Scheer, if Alexander ordered them to prepare a noose, they would not ask "why", but "how many".

If this heartfelt fear cannot be broken, then many things will not be able to continue at all, and the way to break this fear is actually not complicated, as long as the old men who are regarded as high by the villagers will lose face in public.

And Alexander believed that even if he was resentful because of this, Vateretto would not turn away angrily because of what he had said in the house earlier.

"Precious anointing oil is so cherished that it is good to give it to the Lord, but is it not more merciful to give to the poor?"

When he walked up to Alexander, Vateretto heard Alexander say something that frightened him again, and he stared in amazement at the young duke who was sitting there with a calm expression.

Whereas he had previously thought that the young Roman nobleman, despite his reputation as a hero against the infidels, would eventually bow down to them in front of them, he now saw the young man as a wolf that could pounce at any moment.

"What does that mean?" "As far as I know, there is no Gospel that contains such a word, so can you tell me where you heard this terrible phrase?" ”

After Vateretto finished speaking, he stared at Alexander, he wanted to find out how much this duke knew, if it was really more than he thought, even if he completely broke with Bucharest now, he couldn't let him leave this mountainous area!

"Tell me how much you know about the Bible?" Alexander looked at Vateretto and saw the slight trembling of his cheeks, and Alexander chuckled, "The Bible is the record of the gospel of the apostles, the faithful record of the words and deeds of Jesus Christ by the apostles, and the traces of Christ walking in the world, is that so?" ”

"Isn't it?" Vateretto asked cautiously.

"Of course, unless, in the course of writing the Bible, for some unknown reason, something crucial was deliberately erased from history."

Alexander smiled slightly, he could feel the discomfort of Vateretto, who was almost suffocating from nervousness at this moment, even though he tried his best to hide it.

Vateretto began to feel that this meeting was becoming more and more uncontrollable, and a Western nobleman who had thought it would be easy to deal with looked like a beast that had hidden itself well, and now he was gradually revealing the claws that seemed to be hidden under his elegant exterior, and perhaps his fangs would be exposed next.

"I don't quite understand what you're talking about, Duke." He spat in the dark to make his voice sound less dry and difficult, but the sound of his heart beating violently because of nervousness made him worry that the other might be able to hear it.

"I'm talking about a history that is considered taboo, or legend is more appropriate," Alexander said, looking at the villagers in the distance, with a hint of seeming anachronistic innocence in his voice, "Many years ago there was a saint born of divine will, who guided the world in the pursuit of truth with his thoughts and light, and among his followers were twelve of the most proud students, whom the world called the Twelve Apostles, and one of them was named Judas. ”

Vateretto's expression changed slightly, and he licked the corners of his mouth imperceptibly because he was worried about some dry hair, and listened silently as Alexander continued.

"Judas's followers and students as a teacher were a little different from others because of his superior intellect and a deeper understanding of the teachings of his teacher than anyone else, and he was very much appreciated by his teachers, the most commendable of which was his courage and uprightness to question even his teachers......"

Alexander said to himself, seeing the surprise and inexplicable uneasiness on Vateretto's face, he continued unmoved: "But the teacher's appreciation did not bring him respect, but jealousy and hatred, and his classmates gradually hated his position, and feared that one day he would become the teacher's heir, because his upright personality made them uncomfortable, and almost all of them did not want him to inherit the teacher's career, so they decided that this would never happen." ”

Vateretto's face grew more and more ugly as Alexander's words grew, and he stared at the face in front of him, which seemed to have no idea what the terrible consequences of these words would be, and his hand clutched the hilt of his sword tightly at his waist.

"But how do you make their mentor change his mind," Alexander smiled as he looked at the Balkan man with murderous faces, as if he didn't realize what he was going to do, "they all knew that the teacher trusted and appreciated the student named Judas, and he seemed to sense the hostility of others towards Judas, so he seemed to have made arrangements for his students, which made the students realize that they could not wait for the teacher to change his mind, and they decided to take matters into their own hands......"

Vateretto's face was now as pale, his hands were trembling slightly, his fingertips were numb from too much force, and his body was slightly stiffened.

"Those people finally decided to do something amazing, they betrayed their teacher to the local officials who hated him, and then put the blame for betrayal on Judas, because everyone was involved in this conspiracy, so no one came forward to clear Judas's innocence, and because they were afraid that the facts would be discovered by posterity, they simply destroyed all the deeds and records about Judas, and each of them got their own part of the inheritance that belonged to them, generation after generation, stepping on the blood of the teacher, It is only known that among those students there was a bad man, a traitor who betrayed his teacher and benefactor for a few silver coins, and no one knew the truth but the opposite, but there were still people who knew the secret, and these people considered themselves to be believers in Judah, the successors of the true teachers, and they even kept the Gospels belonging to Judah that had been secretly circulated for unknown centuries......"

At this point, Alexander finally stopped, he smiled at Vateretto, and asked in an inquiring tone: "The story is finished, so do you think this story is wonderful?" ”

"Who are you?"

Vateretto asked in a deep voice, but he stepped forward only to be grabbed by the shoulder by the side of Scheer, and the saber at his waist was removed.

"Who are you?!"

Vateretto asked in a sullen voice, his face pale, and his eyes fixed on Alexander's face, as if to see through him.

"Duke of Rometesia, and your sovereign, the Archduchess of Wallachia, the Divine Marriage Contractor," Alexander stood up, "and now tell me, do you still want me to obey your orders, or should you think carefully about how to deal with me?" ”

Vateretto's face froze, his gaze quickly glanced at the villagers, and after a little hesitation, he finally lowered his voice and said: "Duke, I don't know where you heard such a ridiculous story, but I know that it must be the result of your cranky thoughts, so don't plan to blackmail me with such a ridiculous thing, on the contrary, I think you should regret the stupid thing you did, because you moved the taboo that you should not touch." ”

With that, Vateretto ignored Alexander and turned and walked towards the house.

Schell glanced quickly at Alexander, and after seeing him shake his head slightly, Schell slowly released the handle of the gun at his waist.

"Sir, why don't you let me take this man down," Schell asked, puzzled, "maybe he's going to let those mud legs do it next." ”

Listening to Sher mercilessly count his fellow countrymen, Alexander chuckled.

Many of today's Balkan hunting guards were the first to be recruited from Helva's territory, and after fierce battles, some have been killed, and those who survive have become the elite of the Balkan hunting guards.

Some of these men will return to their homeland when their contracts expire, while others will choose to stay and continue to serve, but whether they leave or stay, they will be Alexander's sharpest sword.

"Wait, war or peace, we'll see soon," Alexander looked at the villagers who seemed to have gathered another group of villagers who had only worked so hard, and then raised his hand to the hunters who had been monitoring the villagers' movements, and ordered in a loud voice, "The huntsmen listen to my orders, prepare to shoot!" ”