"Sir Blake Glatheham, Captain of the Guard, is working. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 One of the guards said, "Lord James can wait here, and if I don't want to, I can also help your lord pass the word." ”

"He's always busy, isn't he? James said, "But if my words had been conveyed by the messenger, I would not have come far away." The weather isn't good for travel, especially for people like me. ”

"So...... Would you like to wait here?" said the guard.

"No, no, that's the last thing I want to do. "I know Master Black, he's always indulged in his 'little hobbies' and probably won't have time to see me all day," James said. I'm going to go to him, and if he doesn't like butterflies and flowers, then I'm not mistaken, and I'm sure I'll find him in the dungeon. ”

"But my lord!" said the guard, "Mr. Black probably doesn't want anyone to disturb him, and a noble adult like you shouldn't go to that kind of place." ”

"So you're saying that Lord Blake Grantham is not as noble as I am, and deserves to stay in a dungeon and do the hard work?"

"What...... That was not what I meant. The guard replied in a panic.

James smiled and said, "I believe you don't mean that, how can a loyal guard be disrespectful to his superiors?

"Yes, sir. The soldier said.

The soldier would never have imagined that he would be caught in a few words. If James adds a few words, his new career will definitely be lost. A senior guard passing by couldn't see this hairy boy ruining his future, so he interjected:

"Good afternoon, Lord James. The old guard said, "He's a new nobody, and there's no need to worry about him." Lord James wanted to go to the dungeon to see Sir Black, of course, without asking anyone here. ”

A few minutes before, the young guard would have said, "Master Black has commanded, and no one is to disturb him."

But what happened just now completely cut off the idea of daring to speak out in his mind, although it was just an expectation that it had never happened, but it was still terrifying.

James was glad to meet the "reasonable" man and said, "Thank you very much for your understanding, I have an urgent matter with Lord Black." Will any of you take me to the dungeon? I admit, I'm not very familiar with the location. During my three years at Buckinghouse, I spent counting the feathers on the birds. ”

"Yes, my lord. The older guard said to the young man, "Take Lord James to the dungeon." ”

"That's great, please lead the way. James said.

When the young man heard this, he immediately led the way for James. The location of the dungeon is not very far, and after a few corridors around the corner, the next dark staircase arrives. The Captain's room was the closest to the dungeon, and it was Blake Grantham's first order since he took office. Since then, Blake has been having fun in the dungeon, paying little attention to other things.

James once asked him why he liked to torture people in the dungeon, and didn't he see enough blood on the battlefield? Blake replied that he would not get tired of having such a thing, and that he would not quit once he had it. James did not quite understand his words and went to ask many soldiers who had fought in battle. The answers they gave were all the same, and the killing was so exciting that it was unstoppable. When the enemy is under your sword, mercy and chivalry have long since lost sight of where to go. Such an answer gave James the creeps.

The guards led James to the dungeon, and there was a scream from the torture chamber, like the purgatory of some poets. A few torches lit up in the claustrophobic hallway, reflecting a little warmth on the rough stone walls. The flickering light of the fire flickered in and out with the screams of the prisoners, and it seemed as if the dungeon was trembling under Blake's punishment.

"Just send it here, and you can go back to your post. James dismissed the guards and pushed the door open and walked into the torture chamber.

Blake put down all kinds of knives in his hand and said angrily, "Who the let people in!" Blake was a little happy when he saw James standing in the door with a smile. "Well, old friend. I didn't expect you to come to me, especially at this point. As you can see, I'm a little busy right now. ”

James took a closer look at the prisoner, all the knuckles of his right hand had been broken, and his nails had been pulled out and were no longer bleeding. Blake was about to peel off the little flesh left on his palm, and the salt shaker next to him was red, as if it was not used to salt the wound, but to put the wound in the salt. Looking at the whole body of the prisoner, only the right hand was miserable. But looking at his pale face, he may have fainted a few times because of the pain on his right hand.

Blake looked at James' expression and said, "You won't sympathize with this guy, will you?"

"I want to know who he is, what secrets are hidden, and what kind of torture deserves to be questioned. James said.

"So you do sympathize with him?" said Blake, "as I always say, a man with fingers on the palm of his hand will not tell the truth. We captured 2 Tongmasons in the eastern city of Dolehel, but the former had a different story from him. So I interrogated them alternately, and locked the other one next door so that he could listen carefully to what was going on here. ”

"What's the point?" asked James.

That's the beauty of torture. Blake was willing to explain his methods to others, "Torture is not only the beginning of the swing of a knife and whip, but the fragile souls of their frail souls, like ancient monuments, are peeled away little by little in the cruel gale as they listen to the wailing of their fellow soldiers." The impregnable fortress soon ceases to exist, and the secrets they hide within are exposed to our eyes. ”

"I don't want to interrupt your work, Lord Black, but I have important matters to discuss with you. James said.

"I also don't want to tell you what big conspiracy the Freemasons might be having. It is no secret that they colluded with the Kurosawa people to spread crazy rhetoric to the citizens of the Reich. Recently, their activities have become more and more radical, and the king is afraid that something big will happen to them. Command me to ask something as soon as possible, so nothing is more important than this. Blake said, "If you want to get to the point with me sooner, why don't you help me interrogate their little secrets!"

After a moment of thought, James asked the prisoner, whose face was covered with beads of sweat, and said, "Dear sir, I don't know why you are so tight-lipped. Is it really worth sacrificing so much?"

The prisoner endured the pain and said, "Our cause is to liberate this dark empire, and we will sacrifice everything we have for it." ”

"Really?" said James, "do you really think so? I have a mage friend who specializes in illusion. He said that illusion was not something incomprehensible, that magic was just an opportunistic trick. With the right method, anyone can perform illusions, which he calls hypnosis. ”

"You don't want to shake my position......" said the prisoner, "our great cause is the truth of the world, not the trick of stupid mages, and the members of the Masonic Order are all loyal, and you scum will eventually be run over by the iron hooves of fate." ”

"I have no denying that you have a firm position. "But what I would say is that the most common form of hypnosis is a collective will," James said. If you think about it, in a collective, if everyone obeys the law, even if everyone is just pretending, it will subtly affect the whole collective consciousness. If it is a collective, all people are full of enthusiasm and hope for life, even if it is only positive for no reason, it will drive the unity of the collective consciousness. Unwarranted fanaticism does not involve rational thinking, but only blind obedience. Although this truth is simple, it is a naked illusion that can be seen everywhere. The true consensus is the result of the clash of contradictions, the fanatical sacrifice of the Freemasons, you speak. Is it the pursuit of lofty self-worth or the blindness of following the crowd?"

The prisoner spat and struck James in the face.

Blake grabbed the knife in his hand and slashed his right hand, his broken hand falling to the ground, and there was nothing left on the blackened flesh that could be destroyed. Because it was painful in the first place, it was like a relief to suddenly cut it down. "Mr. Prisoner, you're really me off. As she spoke, Blake stabbed him on the wrist with a strip of cloth and said, "I wish I could have killed you, but you have something to say." Blake grabbed a handful of salt and stuffed it into a bandage, wrapping the wound on the prisoner's right hand. Suddenly, his screams filled the entire dungeon. Blake instructed his guards to feed him water so as not to kill him, and let James and himself out of the torture chamber.

"He looked very determined. James had just wiped something off his face and said, "This passion is hard to find in the Empire." ”

"Crazy people are like that. Blake said, "Have you ever heard of what happened to Kurosawa? There are no nobles, no banks, no gold coins, everything is distributed equally among all, and it is no wonder that the poor and crazy believe it." ”

"A daydream doesn't attract people to believe it, and that kind of thing must have come true in Kurosawa. That's why the Freemasons are so enthusiastic, and in my memory they are all loose people who don't care about the world. James said.

"Leave these things alone, let me see if their zeal still exists after being cut by a thousand cuts. Blake said, "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

James put the handkerchief back in his pocket and said, "On behalf of Sam Pendragon, Protector and Allegiance of the Monarch, Knight of Justice of Lauyal, Supreme Judicial Overseer of the Reich of Rant, Minister of Justice, I seek your assistance. ”

"Okay......" Blake said, "You mean Sam needs my help?"

"Yes, Sam and your old friend need your help. James said, "We are going to prepare to turn the imperial capital upside down." ”