Nango.

The Southern Inquisition was a huge stone fortress, almost in the shadow of the royal palace, facing the temple. Its gray walls are made of large blocks of asphalt bricks, and tall Janissaries loom over the wide square. Palace Guard soldiers in gold-jewellery uniforms patrol the walls of the Inquisition Building.

Dozens of halberders stood guard on both sides of the city gate, their weapons ready at any time, and their expressions were alert and resolute. The Tower of Silence is a huge circular fortress that towers above the Inquisition building, and high above the tower, there are twenty marksmen in reserve, who have been chosen because of their accurate bow and arrow skills.

And these were still visible fortress defenders, and Feng Yang knew that once they did enter, someone else would surround them. Whether it was the traps designed by the dwarven engineers during the Wu Empire, or the new surprises added by Xiao Guang and his entourage, it was a big trouble. In order to ensure that those who were dying in the dungeons below the fortress did not have a chance to escape, they had made every effort.

Feng Yang's armor was covered with a black robe, and the battle-hardened veteran was moving his body in a hurry. In order to reduce speed and mobility, the Praetorian Army replaced the heavy armor with lighter cotton armor. Without the protection of heavy armor, Feng Yang instantly felt fragile and vulnerable, he only wore a boiled iron armor, and several steel plates were woven between the layers of iron armor.

However, what is even more uncomfortable is their camouflaged robes, and wearing the clothes of the Silent One is not something to lift people's spirits. This is a blasphemous act that is likely to cause displeasure to the Holy Spirit, and they may also be invited by the gods to his kingdom to discuss their blasphemy.

Feng Yang took his eyes off the daunting courtroom to examine his companions' disguises. Even such a wide black robe could not hide the tall body of the forbidden army, and no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a priest. "It's useless," Feng Yang complained.

"Have faith in the gods, young man," admonished the man at the front of the line, the only one who looked like a priest, because that man was a priest. Feng Yang didn't know who he was, because he had hidden his face in the folds of his hood all the time, and Prince Gallo Vecchi, who came from the Holy Land, only introduced him as "an ally from the clergy". However, through the man's frequent invocation of the name of an unknown god, Feng Yang concluded that he definitely did not belong here.

The priest placed his hand on Feng Yang's arm and pulled the coarse cloth from his robe. "People only see what they are used to seeing, and the clergy have an extraordinary position in them, especially those who wear hoods." He nodded emphatically. "And that's the crux of this operation."

Feng Yang accepted the pastor's suggestion and silently asked the Holy Spirit to pour faith into his heart. He snapped his fingers as he spoke, praying for good luck from the god of liars. After all, in such a business, the favor of the god of liars would not do any harm.

Five Janissaries and a priest. It's such a pitifully small, comical force that is trying to storm the Inquisition of the Empire. Two hundred armed petitioners have tried, and they have proved with their lives what a foolish thing it is. However, it is this impossible task that gives them the best chance of success.

At the same time, Xiao Guang, who was furious, ordered Xiao Huan to gather the Protector Army to attack Jiangdu. The city offended His Majesty the King of the South by cutting off all ties with the South - this was to prevent the risk of plague and pollution. Enraged by the recklessness of the governor of Jiangdu, Xiao Guang sent an army to forcibly reopen Jiangdu shipping, despite the logistical dangers of a winter march.

To summon a large enough army to besiege Jiangdu, it was necessary to recruit peasants, otherwise the garrison of the Southern Emperor would have to be weakened. That's why Feng Yang hopes that once they enter the courtroom, they will be able to successfully rescue Xue Ju. Although the army on the city walls looked strong, due to Xiao Guang's attack on Jiangdu, there would be far fewer guards inside.

Six men in dark robes walked towards the gatehouse. As the priest from the Lost Lands approached, the guards standing guard around the gate dispersed, and they turned uneasily to the fortified walls behind them, and the conversation faded away. A nervous-looking soldier wearing a sergeant's armband stepped forward to greet the priests who had arrived.

"What is your official business at the court?"

The priest bowed his head and spoke to the soldier in a hollow voice that was somewhere between a roar and a whisper. "Soldier, I'm afraid we have a lot of things to do in Nanyu, so there's no need to explain them to you one by one. The Black Death has struck many and disoriented many souls, and we are busy bringing peace to those restless souls. ”

The guard's expression became even more anxious, and his face turned pale at the mention of the Black Death and the ghosts of the victims roaming the Inquisition. He gestured to the soldiers in the upper gate, and the gates began to rise. The sergeant nervously waved to the priests, and the leading priest crossed his palms over his chest in a gesture of reverence for the ancient saints. The Praetorian soldiers who followed him also imitated this movement as they passed by the guards.

"They'll keep the generals in the towers." Feng Yang whispered to the pastor.

"Yes," replied the priest with a slight smile, "the dungeon is still crowded with those demonstrators outside, and even the plague can't kill them quickly. ”

As the intruder entered the inner courtyard and sneaked through the winding passages of the Inquisition, Feng Yang could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Everywhere there are stone statues of the Goddess of Judgment, her right hand held high and full of abundance for the innocent, and her left hand bowed and holding a grinning skull - the offender will surely die.

It's a formidable image, and the more the Janissaries encounter it, the more depressed they feel. Goosebumps formed on Feng Yang's skin, and a cold trickle oozed down his spine. It was as if the goddess herself glared at him from the stern face of her statue and assured him that his sins would be punished and that justice would often demand death.

It took a lot of perseverance for Feng Yang to free himself from the fear of superstition. Fortunately, they did not encounter the desired obstacles. The guards in the courtroom seemed to be as oblivious to the solemn procession of priests from foreign lands as the guards at the gates. It wasn't until they reached the barricaded entrance to the minaret that they were subjected to a rare interrogation. The sentry behind the door was more attentive than his companions, and desperately disciplined.

When Feng Yang realizes that morbid clichés don't open the door to conversation for them, he quickly takes control of the conversation. Feng Yang pushed the priest aside and lowered his voice, as if plotting.

"We were sent by the General." He said to the guards. "He wants us to get him to confess through the methods of the Lost Lands. Moreover, the general is not in a good mood now, after all, he has not received the slightest bit of useful information for so long. ”

The guard behind the door nodded in understanding, but he was still skeptical. "But you can only come in alone, I believe that your ears are all good, and there is no such thing as a bad memory, a pair of ears is enough."

As soon as the door opened, Feng Yang and the other forbidden soldiers jumped over the threshold and broke into the prison. For a moment, the guard's attention was distracted by the priest who was outside. Just when he was upset, Feng Yang made a move, grabbed the guard's neck, and broke the guard's neck with a sudden force, and then he held the guard's limp body and placed it on the ground smoothly.

The others burst into the tower, closed the door behind them, and dragged the guard's body behind the arc of the spiral staircase.

"Emir, take Karid and nail the trap that leads to the guardhouse." Feng Yang whispered, his voice changing back to his usual commanding tone. "The last thing we need is those archers to break in. The rest go to the general, subdue the guards who found yours, but kill only when absolutely necessary. ”

The forbidden army quickly parted and hurried to the steps of the tower. This resistance they encountered was quickly conquered. The emir flinched in every clash for fear that the sound would alarm the defenders, but here the bulky construction of the Inquisition building suited them well. Thick walls drown out all noise. It's so close to the royal palace that silence is essential. Because Xiao Guang found the cries of the captives unsettling.

Karid finds the cell where Xue Ju is being held, and when Karid goes to his captain instead of releasing their main general, Feng Yang knows that something is wrong.

"The general said he wasn't leaving," said Karid, with tears in the veteran's eyes. With sad despair, he took Feng Yang and the priest to the tower where Xue Ju was being held.

The commander of the Forbidden Army, who was in the prime of life, was now thin, like the pale shadow of a nobleman who had led the Forbidden Army through countless battles and dared to defy the tyrant because of a matter of conscience. He lay on a bed of grass with his limbs spread out, and the only clothing on his body was a shabby linen robe.

His cell stinks, and there are ugly black rats running around in dark corners. A jug of brown water sits on the floor next to the captive's bed, which looks like it has been dug out of the bottom of the sinkhole. The additional equipment is only a barrel. If it weren't for the wick lamp that Karid had stuffed between the latches of his cell's door, Xue Ju would have been left in complete darkness, for there wasn't even a window in the walls of his cell.

Feng Yang glanced at his leader and felt a cold anger burn in his heart. He grabbed the latch and smashed the door inside the door frame to pieces, testing how strong the door frame was. It was built strongly, but that didn't stop him from unleashing his master.

"Stop," Xue Ju's panting voice stopped his attack on the door. "That's useless, you have to leave me, it's the right choice for you to leave me."

The young knight peered out through the bar, wondering what hallucination had seized his commander. He couldn't imagine what kind of torture Xue Ju had endured under Han Cheng's hands.

Although Xue Ju was weak, he still had a keen eye. He could read the thoughts he saw on Feng Yang's face. "No, I'm not crazy. But you have more important things to worry about than protecting me. Xiao Guang has become a tyrant, and if he is not stopped, he will use greed to destroy the southern kingdom, and then the entire Great Liang. You must find someone else and gather an alliance to overthrow him. This is my last assignment for you!"

Feng Yang shook his head. "We'll do it all," he swore as he pressed his shoulder against the door. "You will lead us." He grunted, trying to break through the barrier.

Xue Ju smiled and said to Feng Yang, "As a martyr, I will be more valuable to your cause. I died so that the other nobles would retreat under Xiao Guang's obscenity. You have to give my death a different meaning, you have to teach them a lesson that they are all unsafe and that if he does execute me, then he will commit even greater atrocities. You must make all the powerful people understand that they will only be safe if they rise up against the tyrant!"

"Prince Gallo Vecchio is already with us," Feng Yang told Xue Ju, trying to make his lord understand that his sacrifice was unnecessary.

"You need more than just the alien prince."

"They have other allies," said the pastor, who had been silent. The nameless priest lifted the hood of his robes, revealing the face of Grand Imam Hartford Vicky. Emir and Kalid stood there dumbfounded, they had never imagined that the second most powerful person in the Temple would be their accomplice.

Hartford walked to the door and smiled kindly at Xue Ju. "You see, there's no reason to make that gesture. As a living soldier, you can contribute much more to this great cause. ”

An intermittent cough shook Xue Ju's weak body. "It's too late, Grand Imam. This option has been taken away. When Feng Yang tried to force the door open again, Xue Ju's eyes flashed with panic. Stop!" He commanded as usual. "Stay outside! Don't come near me!" Soon his voice dropped to a mournful whisper. "Death is sitting next to me, Black Death."

"You...... Are you sick?" Feng Yang asked in horror, and instinctively stepped back from the doorway.

Xue Ju smiled bitterly and nodded. "At first, Xiao Guang wanted to save my death sentence for his death on Victory Day. Now he was afraid that I would die before I cut off my head with my sword, but he was too worried, I would live that long, because I had to live that long. ”

Feng Yang turned away from the cell door and reached for the sword hidden under the priest's robes. He was slightly relieved to see Osmar and Helan Sheng rush into the hallway. The distressed expressions on their faces made it clear that there was no time left to debate the issue.

"The archers know what's wrong." Osmar reports. "We could hear them trying to break through the traps. It won't be long before one of them decides to shout for help to the yard. ”

Feng Yang turned back to his cell, a bitter taste in his mouth. He quickly stood up and gave a final military salute to the frail and sickly Xue. "The Lord will think it is in the best interest of our cause for him to remain here." Feng Yang said to the other knights. Osmar seemed ready to object, but the helpless sadness he saw on Feng Yang's face made him realize that he shouldn't talk too much at this time, making the rescue something meaningless.

"Call the others." Feng Yang commanded. "We can use the cellar under the tower to access the dungeon. The other Forbidden Army nodded. Before setting off, they carefully studied the floor plan of the courtroom building. The dungeons are connected to an ancient network of catacombs, which in turn lead to culverts built by the dwarves. The underground passage is too dangerous to access the tower, but the alarm has been sounded, and there is nothing to lose by escaping with it.

Xue Ju looked at these former brothers and shouted with the last of his strength: "Justice and the gods are with the forbidden army."

"We will not forget your sacrifice, Lord." Feng Yang swears.