Chapter 20: The Angel Comes with Cat Ears (I)

March 1348, Port of Marseille, South of France

The bright and brilliant spring light once again sprinkled on the romantic land of Provence, but it could not sweep away the haze in people's hearts.

Obviously bathed in the warm sun, the hearts of the vast majority of people are as cold as ice cellars - although the plants, trees, birds and beasts are thriving, but human beings, as the spirits of all things, are falling in thousands of places and dying like ants in winter......

Since January of this year, the plague god known as the Black Death has swept across the land, littering the land with corpses and depopulating people, and the epidemic is still intensifying as the temperature rises. In particular, Marseille, a city of about 80,000 people, carried 57,000 corpses in just one month, and in the following month, people continued to die with black spots all over their bodies.

(Don't underestimate the size of the population, at that time Europeans mainly stayed in the countryside, and the cities were quite small, and more than 20,000 people were considered metropolises.) The largest city, Venice, had only 200,000 people, London had a population of 50,000, Paris had a population of 150,000 to 180,000, and Marseille was the second largest city in France at that time. ）

In the face of the unprecedented severity of the plague, the doctors and priests of this era were powerless to even find out what the source of the plague was.

(Modern people knew that the Black Death was the bubonic plague, but medieval Europeans didn't know anything about it, and it wasn't confirmed until hundreds of years later.) ）

Compared with the overwhelming deaths that followed, the more terrible problem is the collapse and confusion of people's hearts.

In fact, mass death has never been uncommon in human history, but when it comes to death in wars and massacres, survivors will strive for survival and revenge, while naturally venting their resentment on the murderer and the enemy; If they die of famine, hungry people will do whatever it takes to get food to fill their stomachs, and they will turn their anger on those who hoard, raise the price of food, and become rich......

However, in the face of this unprecedented plague known as the Black Death, although relatives, wives and children, and friends fell one by one, the surviving human beings could not find a person to hate—the rich and the poor were as precarious, and any power and wealth were meaningless in the face of death...... In the face of such a "equal for all" death, people become hysterical in despair, extremely vulnerable, and full of resentment without knowing where to vent. The medical knowledge of this era is not yet able to correctly determine the cause, but the frightened people need to find an explanation for the catastrophe and save themselves from the boundless despair.

Thus, under this unfortunate external pressure, some inner catharsis can be said to emerge naturally in the city......

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

“…… Woo-woo-woo-"

As the sun gradually rose, the long-dormant cathedral door of the port of Marseille finally sounded loudly again.

Moments later, six heavily armed soldiers, armed with halberds, swords at their waists, and cloaks with crosses on them, walked out of the church's open copper-clad door and dragged out a ragged figure with staggering steps.

Although Marseille is now empty, the square in front of the church is still filled with hundreds of Marseille citizens who are watching the excitement - for the current precarious, lifeless and desperate life, the tragic scene of setting fire to people is really a thrilling entertainment.

Seeing the guy in the tattered linen shirt being escorted out, the crowd of onlookers immediately burst into a commotion. Everyone was waving their fists, booing and cursing at the criminal, who had just been accused of being a wizard, a former gentleman of high class:

“… Look, that guy is the evil sorcerer, and it's he who colluded with the demons of the East to bring this plague."

“…… He is nominally a member of the Knights Hospitaller of Rhode Island, but in reality he secretly breeds evil cats and practices blasphemous sorcery."

“…… God, the wizard who infiltrated the Knights Hospitaller? Was this guy sent by Satan to destroy the world? ”

“…… Oh, you damned demon, take your retribution and go to hell."

“…… Kill him, chop him up, burn this blasphemous slut"

In the midst of the roar of the tsunami, Knight Levi walked barefoot in the cobblestone square with infinite malice as if it were substance, the armor and ornaments that once belonged to him had long since been stripped of by the jailers, and now he was wearing only a tattered linen shirt, his hands and feet were heavily shackled, and a thick iron chain extended from the collar around his neck and dragged it into the hand of the soldier in front of him.

After only one day, he was no longer a feared knight, but an evil "wizard" that everyone condemned

- Although Lord Levi actually really wants to be a savior, and has really begun to put it into action......

Despite the excitement of the citizens in the square, the six soldiers went on with their work in silence, brutally dragging Levi onto the pyre, chaining the heinous heretical wizard to the stake, and then struggling to carry the heavy oil drums and pour expensive grease on them.

While they were preparing to be burned at the stake, a bald priest stood up, holding a scroll of papers, and read to the citizens of the city the indictment of Knight Livy - under normal circumstances, the Inquisition would not have the right to judge a nobleman on its own, but the Bishop of Marseille was going to do it this time.

According to the parchment, the knight of Levi is accused of making a deal with the devil to sacrifice people in exchange for the magic of witchcraft, concocting poison from frogs, snakes, and scorpions, and then releasing poison into the air. In addition, he raised a magical beast called a cat in the manor and fed the cat with human flesh to summon evil spirits...... Because of these crimes, which made people feel ridiculous and funny at first hearing, he was sentenced to death.

But the citizens of Marseille did not dispute this, only fanatical invective and ridicule abounded - although everyone knew that the plague had first been brought from that Genoese ♂ merchant ship, no one had any intention of revealing the truth in public in this lively execution ground.

This situation, which borders on madness in the midst of common sense, is exactly what the so-called "model Christians" of this era should have—like the "witch hunt" of the past, this heretical interrogation is nothing more than a bullying show, and the cruel execution of the so-called "wizards" is really a wonderful performance that can ⊥ them to forget their pain for a while. Bringing this "sacred ritual" to a high ♂ point and enjoying it is also a testament to one's own devout faith. Whether the charges are true or not is something that no one cares about.

And at times like these, the stake also carries the meaning of a pressure relief valve - the horrific Black Death devastated cities, torn families apart, and left relatives abandoning each other in a very short period of time. No doctor can treat it, no force can resist it. But people will still be angry, they will go crazy, they will be afraid, they will cry, they will want to do something about this disaster. If this accumulated madness is not effectively channeled, the city will become a powder keg, and a random spark will be wiped out in a devastating explosion.

Therefore, the Church needs to introduce a "suspected criminal" to bear all the sins, and use his blood to free people from despair and rage - in the final analysis, the burning at the stake is really just a religious ceremony, and the role of Knight Levi is no different from that of an animal slaughtered during a sacrifice.

While the indictment was being read, more and more people got the news, walked out of their homes, and poured into the square, on the rooftops, on the trees, on the balconies, on the shoulders of people...... Citizens crowded everywhere to see the excitement. Such a noisy scene, just like the grand occasion of killing the head of the vegetable market in the Qing court drama in China, is also a sight to see by tens of thousands of empty alleys, in order to grab a good position to watch on the street, rich people even spend a lot of money

-- Humans are the most complex creatures on the planet, benevolent and cruel murderers, often two faces of the same person.

Finally, the lengthy indictment was read, and it was almost noon. The Bishop of Marseille, who had been closed for many days, dressed in his most luxurious brocade clothes, once again appeared before the citizens, only to see him first make a cross, and then with his own hands a torch, he lit the pyre at Levy's feet.

As the flames lit up, the people who had been in the mood for a long time fell into a frenzy, cheering, jumping, cheering, glad that they had the opportunity to enjoy such a rare spectacle, but no one sympathized with the helpless prisoner, paid attention to his pain and struggle, and everyone only had a bloody word swirling in their minds - "kill, kill"

Seeing himself in a sea of fire, Levi, whose mouth was gagged, began to struggle desperately, but the thick iron chain tied him to the pillar and could not move...... Deep despair and fear surged into his heart, but he couldn't end the pain immediately, so he could only accept the reality of death step by step......

At the same time, the Bishop of Marseille rubbed his hands together and watched nonchalantly as the prisoner was engulfed in flames. As the leader of this tragedy, he certainly knew very well that even if the man who was labeled as a wizard was burned, the plague would not stop, but at least it gave people a reason to deceive themselves: the cause of the disaster had been eliminated so that they felt that there was still hope for the betterment of everyone around them - and that was enough

As for what will happen in the future...... That's really something that only God knows.

He pursed his lips and was about to turn around and go back to the church...... However, in the next moment, there was an unexpected shock in the square:

Almost without warning, a magnificent piece of music that flowed like a clear spring, without losing its solemnity and holiness, sounded very abruptly.

At the same time, the brilliant golden light, which was far greater than the scorching summer sun, also lit up in the sky above the square, making everyone unable to open their eyes for a moment.

Although nothing could be seen in the light, the Bishop immediately realized that something unexpected seemed to have happened

Then he heard an incredible term.

“…… Angels are angels, and angels have come."

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