Chapter 34: The Kingdom of the Dead

In late April 1348, outside the gates of the port of Naples, the capital of the Kingdom of Naples in southern Italy.

If the port of Marseille and the city of Avignon, which we have seen before, have been ravaged by the plague; Then it wasn't until the traversers crossed the [random gate] and stepped into the port of Naples that the Black Death broke out earlier, that Wang Qiu and the others realized that they had truly seen hell on earth

Here, they were greeted not by crying and asking for help, or even by the numb and dull eyes of despair, but by a quiet dead silence

There was a chilling dead silence.

There were no loud human voices, no curling smoke, only a few muffled barks of dogs and crows occasionally heard......

Looking through the open gates, a thick layer of ash fell on the windows and doors of every house, and the empty streets were littered with white bones. The tenacious plants and trees had crept out from under the slates and grew wildly, letting their roots dig into the cracks between the slabs, and the tangled vines climbing up the lattices of the mansion...... An aura of death that seemed to emerge from the depths of the ninefold underworld was now silently permeating every corner of the city, making the buildings on both sides of the street look extremely sad and eerie.

This once bustling city seems to have been swallowed up by the undead, and it no longer belongs to the living.

In the face of such a creepy scene, even though the sun was shining overhead, Wang Qiu and the others still couldn't help but feel a chill down their backs.

As for Queen Giovanna, who deliberately changed into a gorgeous long dress in order to highlight the style of "the return of the king", she leaned against the cold stone pillar with a pale face at the moment, and kept vomiting, as if she had vomited all the bitter gall, and she didn't even notice that the crown was rolling off her head.

In the past year, in those days of exile in foreign lands, Queen Giovanna has fantasized countless times about her return to her homeland.

Perhaps, it would have been a great celebration if she could peacefully resolve this crisis with the help of the Church and her supporters:

All the states of Italy sent messengers to congratulate her on her restoration, and the streets of Naples were lined with colorful flags and lanterns, and the cries for the return of the queen and the restoration of chaos resounded in the sky. The crowded squares filled with the aroma of wine and barbecued meat, the roaring bonfires kept burning all night, the troubadours played cheerful melodies on harps and flutes, and young girls and lads crossed their arms and danced the country folk dances.

And she sat on the throne of the palace with a glass of wine, a golden crown on her head, and the most luxurious gown, and knelt before her a black oppression of nobles and ministers, waiting for the queen to open her lips, to reward the meritorious, to forgive the repentant, and punish the guilty......

Perhaps, it will be a burning battlefield, which is probably a scene more appropriate to the term "return of the king":

Armies carrying different banners rushed back and forth, and unkempt old and weak women and children cried and screamed. Mercenaries with sinister smiles raised their knives to kill and plunder their property. From time to time, sharp bolts flew out of the alley, sending sticky blood to the ground, but the knights still sang war songs and marched bravely. The rebellious rebel nobles gathered their ranks, spears raised, and fired a final charge against her royal flag.

Dressed in sturdy armor and holding a golden scepter, she rode her horse in the middle of the widest road in the city, with her back to the raging flames and a triumphant smile, and gave the order for a general attack. Knights loyal to the royal family rushed into the enemy line like a tidal wave, crushing the last rebels to pieces......

Perhaps, it will be a gloomy end, she still failed to fight those traitors and enemies after all, and fell from a noble king to a prisoner:

The lead-gray sky looked overcast, just as she felt as a loser. The streets of Naples were lined with silent crowds looking at the down-and-out queen with all sorts of complicated eyes, and the old, tall gates of the city were covered with the heads of her close men.

Dressed in stubble hair, coarse linen, and clanging shackles on her hands and feet, she sat in a rickety prisoner's cart and swaggered through the city like a trophy, and then she was taken to the convent or sent to the execution ground to be beheaded by a round-shouldered executioner......

Whether it is victory or defeat, war or peace, Queen Giovanna has been a little mentally prepared.

However, she never imagined that she would stand in front of the gate of such a city of death under the luxury of honor guards

I haven't seen him for a year, and the scenery of my hometown in my memory has turned into such a picture of purgatory, and even the sea breeze that should have been refreshing is filled with a strong smell of corpses

Her enemies, her loyal subjects, her people, her capital, her land, have now been consumed by plague and death.

The power games of Yiqiē have come to an end, and the grievances and hatreds of Yiqiē have since come to naught.

In the face of the fair and cold Grim Reaper, the intrigues and struggles she had been immersed in for half her life all seemed so ridiculous and so unmentionable.

After a moment of respite, Queen Giovanna finally looked up from her memories and delusions, and looked at the city of Naples before her again, which had been consumed by death. A female official, whose face was also pale, stepped forward and whispered if the queen needed to go back to rest, but the queen shook her head and refused.

“…… No, let's go into the city and see, I want to see with my own eyes what my country has become? ”

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Although this city engulfed by death was really terrifying at first glance, no matter what, after hesitating for a moment, everyone finally managed to muster up the courage, put on masks, hats and gloves, and cautiously walked into the city to find out.

Then, the scene that unfolded in front of the eyes of these outsiders was even more unbearable.

-- At the base of the wall, at the corner of the street, under the eaves...... Whether it is a low thatched hut or a gorgeous mansion, there are countless dead bodies lying everywhere, men, women and children, but there is not a single living person who can still breathe. Some of the bodies lay on their backs, others curled up and rolled on their sides, and some were lying on the ground, but the expressions on their faces were all twisted and hideous in agony, almost suffocating onlookers. As the weather was getting warmer at this time, some of the corpses were already highly decomposed, and even maggots with white flowers appeared. The air is filled with a disgusting stench of decay, which drifts away with the breeze, and the trance can almost give people the illusion of ignorance.

All in all, in the corpse-strewn streets of Naples, there are no half-living people to be seen, and no traces of human activity can even be felt, but red-eyed wild dogs can be seen everywhere scurrying in and out, roaring in a low voice, fighting and tearing at the dead bodies.

In the sky above the city of the dead, a large flock of crows hovers all day long, like dark messengers announcing death to mortals, from time to time they fold their wings and float down, perch on some mutilated corpse, and then peck at the rotten flesh and internal organs of the deceased.

Everyone walked silently through the silent streets with their trembling legs, but there was still an endless dead silence all around, and there were only dead corpses in different shapes in sight, as well as crows pecking at the eyes of the deceased, wild dogs tearing at the broken corpses, and maggots wriggling in white flowers...... The sight after night of the sight of the tragic scene soon almost destroyed their nerves, and the stench of corpses that permeated every corner of the neighborhood made everyone's stomachs tumble over and over, forcing them to cover their noses and mouths tightly so as not to vomit.

The terrifying aura that struck with death penetrated into everyone's hearts invisibly but really, making them more and more unable to open their legs...... Finally, after hastily inspecting a few streets, the traversers could no longer bear this pervasive and unspeakable fear, and no longer tried to find the survivors who could not survive at all, but turned around and ran as fast as they could, escaping the city of death, which was completely lifeless.

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“…… This...... It's horrible...... How did it come to this? The whole city is dead? Absolutely nothing left? ”

After rushing out of the city, Miss Ma Tong, who was relatively not strong enough, leaned weakly against a big rock, gulping down the mineral water she carried with her, while pressing her wildly beating chest tightly, and at the same time couldn't help but muttered in such a low voice with palpitations.

“…… Who knows? But months have passed since the Black Death came. Due to the chaotic political situation, it is estimated that no one can take care of organizing isolation and epidemic prevention. In addition, there is no medical treatment and no medicine, so it is not very unusual for the whole city to die."

After resting quietly for a while, Wang Qiu washed his hands and cheeks with mineral water, and threw the used mask and gloves into the fire to burn them, and casually replied to Ma Tong, "Of course, even in such a bad situation, there will be some people who are particularly strong and have very good resistance who can struggle to survive." However, even if they survive this plague, I am afraid that they will not dare to continue to stay in this city of death full of rotting corpses, and it is likely that they have fled to the countryside or the wilderness while they still have strength......

“…… Alas, in this way, if we want to raise money in the Kingdom of Naples, I am afraid it will be very troublesome—we can't even find the living."

Ma Tong said with a sigh as she glanced behind her—behind her, Queen Giovanna seemed unable to accept this harsh reality that was too impactful, and had already fainted, and was being put on a makeshift stretcher by several knights and maids, ready to be carried back to Avignon by the guò [random door] to recuperate. The Pope, who had been accustomed to seeing death before, was a little calmer, and was ordering his subordinates to put all kinds of magic weapons on display, as if he wanted to hold a festival for the dead in Naples......

“…… There is no way, but those adventurers who can only learn PP play, and they are dead in the ruins of abandoned cities. ”

Wang Qiu shrugged his shoulders and replied very coldly, without the slightest sense of moral guilt for stealing the relics of the deceased, "...... Fortunately, this time with the [Free Gate], we can mobilize the citizens of the entire city of Avignon to take charge of the burning and cleaning work, and even the troublesome things like organizing manpower and assigning commands can be done ⊥ the Holy See, we just have to sit and wait for them to hand over all kinds of belongings......"

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