Cromwell had been covered in blood, and he had been in a worse situation in all his years of campaigning for the Church, but never before had all the blood stained on his body come from his own army......

Perhaps it was the scorching heat of the fire or the ubiquitous smoke that made it difficult to breathe, but the deputy head of the Knights Templar was already showing some signs of losing his strength, his head becoming heavier and heavier, and many chaotic fragments of memories appeared in his mind without interruption, and his eyelids drooped repeatedly like lead......

If it weren't for the subconscious obsession of having to protect the Pope, if it weren't for the human body under his armpits that had fallen into a deep coma but still had body temperature, Cromwell really wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while

Tired~ Too tired, even if he is as strong as a brown bear, he has reached the limit of his body in such an environment, so that the long sword in his hand seems to have become a two-handed giant axe commonly used by barbarians, and the frequency of swinging is getting slower and slower......

"Ahh

Cromwell, who was subconsciously moving forward on the back of the chaotic war horse, was suddenly awakened by the sharp pain coming from his waist, and in a frenzied cry of pain, the warrior whose battlefield experience had been immersed in the bone marrow did not check the wound for the first time, and the long sword in his hand made an arc in front of him, and he slashed down with a feeling

As the familiar feedback of the blade slicing into the flesh was transmitted down the hilt to his hand, Cromwell's gaze also turned at the same time, and sure enough, a spearman wearing the Church's silver-gray chain mail was lying on his back, and the spear that was still trembling at the end of his waist told the whereabouts of the opponent's weapon......

"Damn! You blasphemers deserve God's punishment! ”

Cromwell did not hesitate to throw away the exquisite longsword in his hand, and forced the tremor caused by the pain to place the Pope under his armpit on the horse's back very gently, then closed his eyes and gasped for a while, and then firmly grasped the middle of the spear deep through the gap in the armor

It should be that the insertion is too deep, although the movement is extremely gentle, but just one action of holding the handle of the gun makes this iron-clad warrior can't help but let out a cry of pain again, and his pale and terrifying face is suddenly covered with beads of sweat the size of beans, and the unbearable pain of ordinary people makes Cromwell have the idea of giving up for a moment

It was at this moment that Nathaniel, who was unconscious on horseback, let out an unconscious moan, and it was this subtle sound that made Cromwell's pupils that had begun to dilate instantly condense again, and a kind of light burst out from his eyes, which could almost be called sacred, and roared wildly in the sky while his arms wrenched outwards like a desperate beast, and directly pulled out the spear on his waist......

"Whew~Whew! ~Whew~"

After completing this move, Cromwell's already pale face lost the last trace of blood at this moment, and he gasped weakly for a few bites, he quickly tore off a piece of cowhide from the inner lining of the armor and pressed it tightly on the wound, and after the blood gushing out became slow, he used a rope to fix the cowhide firmly, and the human war horse under his crotch seemed to know the pain that his master was going through at this moment, and tried to stand firmly, enduring the tiredness and motionless

"Good boy!"

Gently stroking the neck of the warhorse, and looking at the wound that was still oozing a lot of blood, Cromwell bit his lip and pulled out the last weapon, which was a short sword with a handle wrapped in gold wire and inlaid with precious stones, which had once been used as a symbol of his status, and the weapon given by the Pope himself had been perfectly protected for many years as a symbol of Cromwell's loyalty and pride

And now, it has to fulfill its true duty as a weapon - to kill!

As he tried his best to keep his red, swollen eyes scorched by smoke and fire, Cromwell was pessimistic to find that he had become alone in the chaos, and that the knights he had been with him had either been cut off and separated in the collapsing buildings, or had been killed by the soldiers who resisted in the chaos......

How long has it been since you noticed your surroundings? Cromwell's chaotic mind could no longer think about this, and all he could see was the city gate not far away and the Pope in front of him

"Maybe we'll be able to get there before death comes......"

The sharp blade of the short sword slashed through the thigh, and the sudden sharp pain made Cromwell lift his spirits again, and he firmly held the pope with one hand with his teeth and the short sword, and he kicked his mount's stomach hard without hesitation, and the war horse seemed to feel the resoluteness and unbearable of his master, and with a painful scream, he barely raised his four hooves again and limped towards the city gate that was almost within reach

Hold on, hold on a little longer, it's coming, don't give up Cromwell, don't give up, it's the church that gave you the dignity of being a human being who was once just an orphan, instead of fighting with wild dogs for food in the garbage heap and ending up as a mutilated corpse, it was the kindness of the honorable Pope that gave you, a grumpy and stupid person, where you have the status you have and the faith to fight for! You can't die yet, you can't ...... Now it's time for you to repay the favor, persevere......

In the darkness, there seemed to be a warm voice constantly telling in Cromwell's mind, or he was subconsciously convincing himself, like a real god appearing, Cromwell, whose fingers had become almost transparent under the blood loss, miraculously did not fall unconscious, he tried to keep his balance, looking at the city gate that could almost be touched not far away, and roared in the most pious tone of his life

"In the name of the Most High God!"

Holding the Pope firmly in his hands, Cromwell smiled, he could already see a large number of soldiers and colleagues from outside the city frantically driving their horses to him, desperately welcoming him...... Tired......

Perhaps providential so, Cromwell's insistence, which almost defied the limits of humanity, probably provoked the displeasure of the god of death, who was about to pass through the city gate, and a huge bluestone above the arched doorway was burned for a long time, and after the collapse of the last support, it was not too long or too late to smash down the edge of the doorway with a loud noise

The frictional resistance gave Cromwell a moment to react, and when he saw such a scene, he strangely lost any despair and anger when he saw such a scene, and a holy smile like a newborn baby appeared on his face full of flesh and ferocity

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I can't follow in your footsteps anymore......"

In the flash of lightning, Cromwell took the Pope with his arms and threw it out of the city gate, and when the Pope's body landed on the grass not far from the gate, Cromwell's tall body disappeared into the thick smoke and dust of the Gray Fort gate, along with the short sword he regarded as a treasure

The Knights Templar had lost their lieutenant, a true knight of all who was most devout, straightforward, strong, and never flinching

Perhaps it was Pope Nathaniel, who was quickly picked up and withdrawn from the danger zone, that two strings of tears quietly slipped down from the corners of his eyes in a coma......

**********************

The armor on his body was covered with ashes scattered everywhere, and Saru strode into the camp where Rolf was resting without bothering to clean up his appearance, and said after a slight pause

"We got the latest news, Your Majesty, His Majesty the Pope successfully escaped from the city, but now he is still in a coma, but it is said that the body is fine, it should be caused by excessive fright and poor breathing, but ......"

Putting down the flask in surprise and looking at Saru with a slightly sad look in front of him, Rolf stood up and asked a little puzzled

"As much as I wish Nathaniel were to die in front of me now, it is acceptable for him to survive from the point of view of an ally anyway, my dear friend, why do you have a sad face? Don't...... Could it be that some organ in Nathaniel's body was damaged, such as the most important one for men...... Hahahaha~ I know it's unlikely, but I really hope so! ”

Rolf's crude joke didn't yield the same smile as before, and Saru shook his head and said in a low voice

"I don't know what kind of news this is, but in order to save His Holiness the Pope, the Knights Templar have lost one of their lieutenants once again after Aeoris has been seriously injured!"

Raising his head to look seriously at His Majesty the Emperor, who was puzzled and gloating, he couldn't help but increase his tone

"He is a true knight, his body was exhumed and even the most demanding people could not be disrespectful, the medical officer said that he had lost almost a third of his body's blood before he died, I don't know what kind of force supported him, so that he could escape alone and finally saved His Holiness the Pope with his life......"

Licking his lips, Saru cast a slightly pleading look at Rolf

"If you don't object, tonight I want to attend the funeral of Head Cromwell in person, it's nothing else about any other factor or loyalty to you, I just want to...... I want to use my fellow knight to show my respect to this true warrior! ”

After waiting uneasily with his head down, the silence of the room frightened Saru for a moment, and he even thought at this moment that Rolf was about to refuse his request without hesitation

Just when he was struggling inwardly, Rolf's somewhat bleak and empty voice came softly

"Go, my friend, and by the way bring my greetings and condolences as Emperor of the Empire, a true warrior as you say......"

He walked back to his back and sat down again, took a big sip of the wine in the glass, lifted the flask and re-opened his mouth to the back of Salu, who was filling the golden cup with fine wine

"You know, my friend, all of a sudden I had a hunch that maybe we really made a bad decision in a hurry, maybe the difference between us and Cromwell was just the dead and the going to die......"

Rolf's words made the strong figure in the doorway shudder and pause, and then he stepped out of the dimly lit tent without looking back......

(To be continued.) Pen, Fun, Pavilion www.biquge.info)