Chapter 13: The Cattle Butcher
The number of the Civil Guard has already exceeded one and a half hundred people. Watermark Ad Test: Watermark Ad Test
Captain Eric and Heredin would appear together at each recruit to ensure that the soldiers they chose to join would meet their requirements. Some of the soldiers were constantly being removed, some were some of the ruffians who came to speculate, some were tattooed former noble minions, and of course, some were simple cowards. Some of these individuals will be denied entry into the Civic Guard in the first place, while others will be expelled after a period of training.
Most of the soldiers of the Civic Guard had not yet adapted to their duties, and when they saw the local nobles in the city, they instinctively showed timidity. When I was touring town with the Varan soldiers, I saw several Civic Guard soldiers being pulled aside by an old man and reprimanded. The soldiers of the Civic Guard did not yet regard themselves as the most powerful force in the city, nor did they regard themselves as the protective shields of the citizens, and it was difficult for them to change their fear of the nobility in a short period of time when the nobles' minions had been accumulating power for a long time.
On the bright side, although the townspeople still dare not challenge the aristocracy in person, their long-suppressed grievances are beginning to be exposed.
The owner of an apartment came to me for help. His estate is one of the best apartments in the city, and it is said that each of them can be sold for a small building with a garden in the city of Paraven. But a merchant of the Roland family, who had only spent the same amount of money to buy a wheat field, took the apartment from his hand.
"They set fire to my apartment, my lord." The man who came to me for help gave me the blueprints of the two apartments and the subsequent transaction deeds, "In two months, my apartment would always catch fire, and my residents would move out. When I realized that I had been targeted, I found other nobles. I hope they buy my property for a decent price, and I'm willing to leave this sad land. But all the nobles offered me the same price, and at this time I knew that they had colluded, and no one would be particularly kind to me. The price they gave me was the price of two wheat fields of the same size. I was very angry. I recruited a team of more than 10 people. And two arsonists were caught. I handed these two over to the old mayor, who advised me to leave the city on my own. Neither trade with the nobles so that they can succeed, nor do they resist uselessly. Now that I think about it, it was the best choice I could have made. I foolishly turned down the old mayor's kindness and increased the number of people in my guard team. Someday. None of my boys made it to my apartment, and I knew something was going to happen. I rang the alarm bells around the building, and the two arsonists walked up to me and laughed at me for being an idiot. That night, my apartment was burned to the ground. The next morning, someone came to me and bought my apartment for the price of a wheat field. That's it. My lord. ”
I accepted his pleas.
But when I offered to identify the criminals in court in the presence of the Paraven magistrate, he backed down. (pnxs Pingnan Literature Network)
He looked at me blankly, his face full of fear and sadness. In the end, he silently took away the design of his apartment and the transaction contract, "My lord, this is impossible. ”
This is true of many citizens, who see their opportunity in the violence of the Valans, but when the Valans demand that they reciprocate, they do not even have the courage to testify. The only evidence I have in my hands is the confessions of a dozen people, who either have relatives in their families who died directly at the hands of nobles and are anxious for revenge; Either they have nothing to lose and see testifying as their only opportunity. I was able to hide the evidence of the uprooting of the nobles among these commoners, but they would not come forward and say what they wanted.
In order to reduce the prestige of the nobles' minions among the citizens, a Valan officer organized a bullfight at my behest.
It was very simple.
Last time, the big man who slaughtered the cow with his horns in front of me was led into the square. Beside him were warriors who were beating the carcasses of cattle with weapons. The men showed their cruelty in front of the Valans and proved their courage by killing one of their own cows, only to have half of them killed that day, and the other half thrown into the dungeon by the Valan soldiers. For the first few days, they were screaming and cursing in the dungeon. The Varan soldiers told them that if they could shut up all day, they would get bread and water the next day. These people laughed loudly at the Valans as cowards, and they must have been cowards to capture them but not dare to kill them. They scolded for three days and starved for three days. At last they had no strength to scold, but when the whole day was about to pass, one of them complained, and they broke the agreement of the Valanites again, and they did not receive any food for the fifth day. Their hungry eyes rolled and they covered each other's mouths, not daring to make a sound, and any one of them would starve everyone if they said a word, which made them stare at each other fiercely and blush.
On the fifth day, the brave cattle slaughterers did not say a word, and this allowed them to eat food from the sixth day onwards, and they ate their own while weeping. After this, they became mute, and each of them kept a noble silence for their food the next day. One after another, they learned what the Valans had done, which made them look at the eyes of those Valan soldiers gradually changed, from disdain to fear, from contempt to shrinking.
When the Civic Guard took them out of the dungeon, the cattle butchers, all but the biggest thug, were all and urine, and the corns on their toes turned white with fright, and they thought they were going to be executed. But when they were thrown out into the square, they looked happy but puzzled.
The captain of a soldier in the Civic Guard, a Swadia pauper promoted by Eric. He had defected to the Valans at the very beginning, full of hatred for the nobles, and at this time, he happily stood in front of these cattle butchers and announced the decision of the Civic Guard: they would fight each other until they felt that they were enough, and after that, the Valans would give the survivors a chance. Let them leave alive.
This strange order bewildered both the cattle butchers and the surrounding citizens who were invited to watch.
Without much explanation, the Valans dropped a bundle of weapons to the seven cattle butchers in the square and left them to decide for themselves.
Although the cattle slaughterers were initially kept in the dungeon, the Valans carried out a sixty-man fight in the square. They are still very clear. They had to make a decision right away: to declare now that they were not willing to fight. It's better to kill a few people first, and then ask the Valans what chance they are going to give them.
In close to a quarter of an hour. The attitudes of these seven people have changed a lot. They didn't know what the Valans were going to do to them in the end, and at first they were still discussing what to do, guessing about the Valans' vicious tricks, and after a while. The way they looked at each other changed: if they were smart enough, they knew that everyone around them was their opponent, and what if the last chance for the Valans was that only one person was left alive? Or can the person who kills the most get out alive?
Doubt is a strong seed that, once planted, will grow into a towering tree in an instant.
The seven people distanced themselves from each other, and several people with better relationships got together. Looking at the rest of the people with fierce eyes. Then, the small group that split up was divided again, because no matter how good the brothers were, at such a time of life and death. It is also difficult to trust the people around you. In the end, the seven men were almost all in a corner, with the only exception being the tallest thug, who was accompanied by a short, sidekick-looking man who seemed to be his subordinate, who at this time thought it would be easier to survive with him than to fight alone.
These bullfighters guarded each other in the square full of heads, and none of them dared to strike first, so as to be robbed by others. These thugs used to be the most relied upon minions of the city's nobility, and they were fierce and aggressive, using the most brutal methods against uncooperative citizens, seeking to obtain their property or forcing them to serve the nobles. The townspeople feared them even more than the nobles themselves.
At first, the citizens only dared to look at the mob and did not dare to make a sound, but when they saw that the mob was stupid because of their suspicion of each other, many of them let out a happy laugh. The man urging them to hurry up and start the fight also appeared.
"Hurry up! The knife is in your hand! "What are you afraid of, brave fellow?" "I've seen four games of the Valans, and this one is the ugliest one for you idiots!"
After these words were shouted, several people in the venue made obscene gestures at the citizens in dissatisfaction. In the past, citizens would have been scared to silence, but this time, it has attracted a lot of boos.
The citizens grew more and more impatient and excited, and the cheers almost made it a market in a peaceful city.
When the majority of the citizens began to make noise, even the most timid citizens no longer feared reprisals, and the shouts of battle and the slogans of encouragement followed. Watching the minions of the aristocracy of the past being trapped in the square and fighting each other, the pleasure of such a thing is simply more than the pleasure of cheating.
The cheers of the citizens suddenly stopped, as a middle-aged man in the square dropped his weapon on the ground.
"That's stupid!" He cried out, "The people of Valan are here to see us ugly, and to amuse these poor devils." It's time for us to announce that we don't want to play anymore. ”
He kicked his weapon away, spread his hands, and walked over to the person closest to him.
Seeing that this battle was about to be destroyed, the citizens voiced their dissatisfaction.
The middle-aged man walked up to the man beside him, who was still looking blankly, the weapon in his hand tilted crookedly to the side.
"I don't know if it's supposed to be like this"
The man said to the middle-aged man that he had already pointed the tip of his weapon to the ground, as if he was more interested in the proposal for peace.
"Of course it shouldn't be like this!" The middle-aged man snatched his weapon, plunged the blade of the dagger into the poor creature's shoulder blade, and then grabbed the latter's head with both hands, twisting it so hard that the crisp cracking of bones could be heard far away.
The townspeople, who had been silent for a moment, almost let out a frantic cheer.
Among the applauding citizens, there were even a few well-mannered women.
It reminds me of the poet Zenda describing the Colosseum, "Even the gentlest priestess would give a thumbs up to the gladiators who behaved poorly." ”
The remaining six froze for a moment amid cheers that almost sounded like a volcanic eruption, but then the quickest responders were already in action: the middle-aged man immediately ran to a man who was still watching the audience in amazement; The big man and his men surrounded a man in a corner; The last one was observed. Joining the fight against the big man, he seems to see that this big man is the biggest obstacle to his life.
In a moment, the middle-aged man slit the throat of the latter, killing the second man; The big man hit three times with a hammer. hammered the head of the man in the corner off; The last man immediately broke away from the battle. Ran to the middle-aged man's side and shouted something to him.
The middle-aged man accepted the temporary ally. He knew that he was already struggling against the big man, and it was impossible to have the strength to deal with the big man's men.
Within a few minutes, three people had died on the field, and the rest were two-on-two. Circling each other.
The big man may seem clumsy, but he is still the most formidable fighter. He turned his head and saw a short spear beside him, which he asked his men to pick up for him, while he watched out for the two men opposite. After getting the throwing spear, the big man rushed towards the middle-aged man with his men, and the middle-aged man immediately ran parallel to the edge of the square.
The battle has been going on so far that even the Valan soldiers find it very interesting. I couldn't help but poke my head out to take a look at the scene.
While the big man is chasing the middle-aged man, the middle-aged man's allies are waiting for an opportunity to kill the big man's men. At this time, the big man suddenly stopped, and turned around almost instantly. Raising his arm, he threw his short spear at the middle-aged man's allies. After the sound of crackling air, the spear plunged into the man's abdomen, causing him to fall to the ground clutching his belly. The big man's men immediately pulled out their weapons, ran to the guy, stabbed him several times, and then slowly helped him to lie flat on the ground so that the blood could drain quickly.
The middle-aged man let out a lament, then dropped his weapon.
"I'm powerless to resist, it's useless to kill me." "Let's see what the Valans are going to do in the end," he shouted. That's it. ”
The big man walked up to him, the hammer in his hand was still dripping blood, and his panting voice was like a bellows, squeezing out the words in his mouth word by word, "I don't believe you." With every word he spoke, he would hammer the middle-aged man, shattering his jaw with the final blow.
After the big man had killed the middle-aged man, he turned his head at me, "Vicious Valans! We've had enough, tell me, what other nasty ideas do you have'''"
Before he could finish speaking, his men had already stabbed him twice in the back.
When the big man turned to catch the man behind him, the short man used his dagger to cut the wounds on the big man's legs and ankles, and the little man was as fast as a gust of wind, and after cutting several joints of the big man, he ran far away, ready to wait for the big man to bleed to death.
The big man was naturally unwilling to sit still, and he kept picking up the weapons around him and throwing them at his former men. He was indeed a formidable warrior, and after a few attempts, he struck the traitor in the back, causing him to fall to the ground and gasp for breath. The big man staggered, dripping with blood, and walked towards the traitor step by step. As he walked up to the traitor, the traitor suddenly turned around and stabbed him in the stomach and thigh several times with a dagger, but the big man seemed to shatter the traitor's teeth with just a flick of the hammer in his hand, and then the next few hammers killed his former men.
All the citizens were cheering for him.
The big man fell to his knees in frustration, his intestines gushing out of his cracked belly.
"Varans!" The big man shouted, "Vicious Valans. Everyone is dead, give me freedom, if you still have a shred of honor. ”
The captain of the Svadia soldiers walked to a door, "We naturally have honor. Now, give you a chance to live. Let's take advantage of the mercy of the city councillor. ”
He opened the wooden door.
An enraged bull came out, its horns wrapped around its sharp knives, the noise of the yard on the verge of madness, and its muscles bulging as it stepped out of the wooden door, its hooves whipping up shards of dirt.
The captain of the Swadia soldiers, with the help of several recruits, fled the square.
Only then did the citizens know that the opportunity of the Valans was to let the survivors of the seven cattle slaughterers kill each other and kill a cow together.
If they had chosen peace in the first place, they would have seven strong men against a bull. They are all good at using weapons, and it is definitely not difficult to resist a bull, so that they can still eat fresh roast beef after they are free. Even if there are only two people left, the odds against a bull are dangerous, but the odds are high. But now, there was only one cattle butcher left, mortally wounded, sitting alone by a pile of corpses, facing an angry bull that was charging at him.
"Evil Valans!" The former cattle slaughter hero lamented.
Then, the twin knives of the horns of the charging bull plunged into his chest and provoked him.
For the next few minutes, the big man was still trying in vain to save his life, weakly slapping the bull's head. Finally, the bull shook him off his head, his whole body broken, his internal organs leaking out, and he murmured on the ground waiting for death.
The shouts of the citizens almost pierced the clouds in the sky.
At this time, I stretched out my left hand, and a blind woman put her hand in mine, and I carefully led the girl to the bloody square.
The cheers of the citizens gradually stopped.
"Citizens!" After the voice died down completely, I shouted to them, "I want you to agree to give me an order to order the Civic Guard, which belongs to you, to arrest one of you. ”
Stunned doubts came, and countless citizens were talking to each other.
"You might think that the Valans are a bunch of savages. Even if it was an assignment from the emperor, it was a mob! You may feel that the Civic Guard I have formed does not belong to you, but is merely a victim of my own organization to die for me. But today, I want to tell you that this guard belongs to you. I can't force the two Captains of the Civil Guard to arrest either of you, but you can. ”
"Who are you going to catch?" A citizen leaning on a railing asked.
"You're asking the wrong question, citizen. You should ask, I want to ask you for your consent to catch whom. I replied, "I've said enough, and now I'd like to hear the story of this little girl beside me, the little girl who might have been running and playing around your apartment." After you've heard her story, please tell me what you're going to do! ”