Bud?? Wendell didn't know where he was being taken - but it wasn't because he was blindfolded or transferred unconscious, in fact, the soldiers and officials in charge of the escort didn't forbid him to look around, he couldn't figure out where he was and where he was going, simply because everything he saw on the road was beyond his knowledge and imagination.

A city so bustling and well-organized, a city with such a special and vibrant style, he had thought that Rock City, near the plain of the Holy Spirit, was already a stunned city, but now he realized why the warden had been saying that Rock City was just a rapidly growing frontier market, and that the real prosperity of the south was still further south—

Cecil City, the city of miracles at the foot of the Dark Mountains, is no wonder the arcanist who lives with him has advised him to visit this place when he has the opportunity to sober up.

It's hard for Bard to imagine how the Pioneer Territory, which had just been a barren land four years ago, had grown into such a way that perhaps it was too young in terms of its history and the number of complex classical buildings (which often took longer to build, and the older the city, the more such buildings there were), but it was so bustling and vibrant that the former General Typhon had seen in his lifetime.

He remembered the time when he had been evacuated in a hurry due to a failed mission—that wasn't the case back then.

Mechanically driven by magic drives smoothly through the wide and clean road, and from time to time you can see crystals floating in the air to power urban facilities on both sides of the road, as well as holographic projections flickering at intersections, squares, etc., the content of the holographic projection changes from time to time, news and scenery from distant areas are instantly close at hand, and energetic pedestrians greet each other on the road, without showing the slightest bit of malaise and embarrassment because the weather is constantly getting colder.

The heavily armed escort soldiers sat next to him, but only monitored Bud's movements, and did not stop this special "transcendent criminal" from looking all the way, until he was approaching the city center, he heard the prisoner he escorted suddenly speak and break the silence: "...... I've heard that during the War on the Plains of the Whitsundays, the city sent weapons to the front line in a month from steel that used to take an entire kingdom to consume in a year......"

The soldier glanced at Bard, and although he didn't know why the prisoner suddenly mentioned it, he nodded proudly: "Yes, but this is only part of the newspaper - in fact, the battlefield in the Plains of the Holy Spirit lasted more than a month, and the factory was transformed into more than steel. ”

“…… yes, there is still such a way......"

The prisoner let out a muffled sigh, inexplicable, and fell silent again, staring at the view outside the window, never speaking again.

The soldier shook his head - this is indeed an inexplicable fellow.

The vehicle drove across the avenue, through Pioneer Square, and was finally guided in front of a large building by another group of soldiers.

Bard was silent and obedient and got out of the car.

After being suddenly taken out of prison and placed in a strange armored magical vehicle escorted by soldiers, he vaguely realized who wanted to see him, and he had no idea of resisting the arrangement of his fate.

The soldiers were rigorous and conscientious, and despite Bard's highest cooperation throughout the process, these soldiers meticulously carried out the handover and escort process, introducing Bard into the building, as the former General Typhon and a member of the cult, Bard also secretly calculated the whole process in his heart, and came to the conclusion that even if he had the heart to escape, he might not be able to run out of the 100 meters alive-

Every soldier here has a magic reaction on their body, and the magic props that once blew themselves up and seriously injured them are their most basic equipment, not to mention that there may be countless hidden magic mechanisms and monitoring devices here, just like when he burned a newspaper in a bar and attracted a whole team of security guards, there will only be more similar monitoring devices in this seemingly important facility.

Obviously, these soldiers are just ordinary people.

With his head bowed, Bard walked forward under the guidance of the leading soldiers.

But more than 90 percent of the people in this world ...... It's all ordinary people.

The soldier stopped at a door, nodded to the squire guarding the door, and then pushed Bud's shoulder forward, "Once inside, be respectful—good luck." ”

In the room, Gawain saw a long-lost face appear in front of him—even though it was only a few years ago, the face was still very clear in his enhanced memory.

Compared with a few years ago, this face is obviously much more decadent, the beard and hair are neglected, and the eyes are no longer proud and confident as before, whether it is the ruthless aura of a cultist or the sharp edge of a former wolf general, it seems to be gone.

But when Bard walked to the center of the room and met Gawain's gaze head-on, those decadent eyes changed slightly.

His eyes regained some brightness, and then he tried to stand up straight, straightened his gray-white prison uniform, and bowed slightly: "Salute to you, Gawain??" His Majesty Cecil. ”

His attitude is like that of a captured general facing the monarch of another country.

It's ironic, he thought, that years ago, he had so decisively given up his glory in favor of a grand but dark cause, and now, years later, at the height of his downfall, he has stood up straight.

"We're meeting again, Bud?? Mr. Wendell," Gawain looked at the other calmly, neither immediately rebuking nor sneering, "the priest of the Society of the End of All Things, the wolf general who faked his death and defected from the Typhon Empire...... I really didn't expect you to be right under my nose these days. ”

General Wolf ...... Hearing this title that had been abandoned by himself, there was only a calm in Bud's eyes, and he glanced at Gawain: "It seems that you have investigated me a lot." ”

"It's just that I happen to have some channels," Gawain smiled, "I really didn't expect it to be you when I first heard that there was a strange prisoner who couldn't get rid of him by eating and drinking in the prison of Rock City...... It wasn't until I saw your name appear in the report that I couldn't help but feel the wonder of fate. ”

"I didn't expect to see you again in this situation," Bard frowned slightly, "so now that you've found out...... It seems that my comfortable days are coming to an end. ”

"You've committed a lot of crimes as a priest of the Society of the End of All Things, but to be honest, I'm not here to judge you today," Gawain looked at Bard?? Wendell's eyes, "Cecil advocates the rule of law and justice, the last time you appeared in this land, Cecil had not yet ruled the South, I can't use today's laws to judge the crimes of the previous dynasty, but for what you did in Leslie, there are others who are qualified to judge." ”

Bard was stunned for a moment, and just as he was stunned, another door to the side of the room opened.

A tall, thin, slightly pale middle-aged man carrying a decorative cane and wearing a dark blue coat stepped out of the door.

Andrew?? Viscount Leslie, former lord of Leslie, and today Archon of Tanzania.

Bard stared fixedly at the man who was walking towards him, and compared to what he remembered, Viscount Andrew's today, far from being weakened by age, seemed to be a little more energetic, and his pale face was a little less sickly, and looked more like a normal complexion—it seemed that the new life had greatly improved the health of the "noble lord".

Andrew?? Leslie hadn't taken any harmful potions in nearly two years.

Building and managing a thriving new city, and watching the realm prosper under his rule is happier than he ever imagined.

"Viscount Andrew," after a few seconds of staring at each other, Bard finally broke the silence, "you look doing well. ”

Andrew's sunken eye sockets seemed to be dancing with a flame, he stared at the person in front of him, slowly raised his cane, and pressed it against Bud's chest: "Do you remember what you did in Tanzania?" ”

"The memory is still fresh."

"My daughter, to this day it is still difficult to communicate with people normally, and a third of those who survive your evil ritual have not been able to return to their normal lives by now," Andrew's hand slowly strained, as if to use that cane as a sharp sword to pierce Bud's body, "not to mention those who did not survive...... Is there anything else you'd like to say? ”

Bard stood there without evasion: "Hanging or beheading can be done or burned at the stake as cultists are supposed to be, and my only request is that my name not be released after this - if this request is excessive, then please put lead in my skull, if there is any skull left after the burning." ”

In the customs of the northern and eastern peoples of Typhon, the filling of the skull with lead had a special significance, meaning that all the sins of the deceased during his lifetime were left in the deceased himself, i.e., there could be no redemption or forgiveness, and no sins and stigma would be passed on to any relatives or friends or to his own family.

There is a similar theory in Ansu (Cecil), except that the Northern Kingdom practices a nail in the skull of the deceased, but in either case, the premise is that the deceased must personally request it before it is valid - this is the embodiment of the human race's idea of "soul inheritance" in the realm of life and death.

Viscount Andrew stared into Bard's eyes: "I thought you would justify it - emphasize that you were still holding your hand at the time, or emphasize that you were also bewitched by cult ideas. ”

"If a person can be exonerated after committing a crime with just a few excuses or one or two extenuating reasons, then all the gallows in the world can be dismantled," Bard said calmly, "You can sentence me to death, or you can choose forgiveness, it's your right, but I ...... There is not much to say. ”

The room was quiet for a while, and Viscount Andrew stared at Bard for a long time before he suddenly pulled the corners of his mouth and slowly put down his cane: "I really didn't expect that you are humane now, what is this?" Seen through life? ”

"Human nature...... I've always had," Bard slowly closed his eyes, "but ...... I once thought that great cause was worth throwing away my humanity and bottom line......"

"Any cause that requires the abandonment of humanity and the bottom line does not deserve to be called 'great,' it is just a collective created by a bunch of lunatics in the illusion of self-satisfaction and self-emotion," Viscount Andrew interrupted Bard, using a sentence from Gawain's comment on the cultists in a recent issue of the newspaper, before he paused, and said slowly in Bard's stunned and surprised gaze, "but none of this matters now, your farce ends in your self-destruction, and you ...... I won't kill you. ”

"You're not going to kill me?" Bard looked at Viscount Andrew in amazement, "Why?" ”

"Don't get me wrong, just like you said, people are not so easily washed after sinning, and if I don't kill you, it doesn't mean that I have forgiven you, just because you can have a greater role than death."

As he spoke, Viscount Andrew turned his head and looked at Gao Wen, who was sitting not far away and had been calmly watching all this: "Your Majesty, let him go, if he can come back alive, maybe it means that he doesn't deserve to die." ”

Gawain frowned: "Are you sure?" It's not like we're not out of options, and you don't have to be affected by this......"

"He is the priest of the Society of the End of All Things, a person who should be judged, there is such a suitable candidate, why let brave soldiers form a death squad," Viscount Andrew's expression was firm and serious, "In this situation, it is not easy to find a second living Death Priest in a short period of time. ”

"If that's your will," Gawain nodded after a brief mutter, "I'll give it my permission." ”

Confused by what was happening, Bard understood that the other party was arranging something for him to do—something that might be life-threatening, but could be exchanged for his own life.

Although he was ready for the death penalty, if he could not die, he would naturally not refuse.

"What do you want me to do?"

Gawain glanced at Bard, "Go to your lair, which is out of control." ”