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An iron boot stepped on the bones of a white rat covered in the ground, crushing the skull of a rat to pieces.

Jeanne frowned, rolled over and jumped on horseback, galloping away in the direction of Constantinople.

Along the way, she saw a number of fallen beasts, most of them belonging to the Royal Garden, but also a few of the animals raised in the homes of ordinary civilians, their skin wriggling, and the underneath was clearly crowded with rats eating.

When we reached the city gate, the surrounding scene became bustling again.

There were long lines of people waiting to enter the city, and many of them were talking with each other.

"The rats in my master's barn are simply insane, and not only are they not afraid of people, but they dare to bite me—the poor cat that Miss Ronya has raised has been bitten to death by mice."

"I've also encountered those crazy rats, and I was bitten by them, and it hurts!"

"Beware of those rats, they must be parasitized by the devil, and if they are bitten, they may be like being bitten by a rabid dog."

"Shut your crow's mouth!"

Rabies was a terminal disease in later generations, let alone in the Middle Ages, when it was still ignorant, and the only tenderness people had for a rabies patient was to help him get rid of it early.

"This year's harvest is not bad," murmured "that there is a rare thing left after the taxes and rations to be paid, and that I would have liked to present a sack of grain to Father Marganis so that he could officiate at the wedding of my boy—all ruined by those nasty rats." ”

People turned their heads to each other, and they didn't dare to make loud noises.

The citizens of Constantinople were much more emboldened than the tenant farmers who went to the city in search of work, and it is said that when the emperor had lost the battle, the citizens dared to kidnap the city officials and parade through the streets.

Jeanne listened for a moment to their conversation, and as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the arm of a grumbling tenant farmer.

"Sir, what are you?"

The tenant farmer was frightened and asked in a panic.

Jeanne didn't reply, just lifted his worn linen sleeve, revealing a black abscessed arm underneath.

Her expression was a little pale, and she subconsciously took two steps back.

"Black Black Death?"

The tenant farmer heard that it was a woman's voice, but still did not dare to forcibly pull out the arm that had been caught.

After all, it was a knight lord with a full set of exquisite silver armor and a divine horse, and it was most likely a nobleman.

Even a female knight is something that an ordinary tenant farmer like him would not dare to provoke.

"The knight is old... Miss, let go of poor old Barry, he has two poor children to feed, and I don't know how he offended you, but it must not have been of his own will. ”

"Please!"

The tenant farmer's companions came together and said good things.

Jeanne didn't know what to do for a while.

The man infected with the Black Death was hopeless, and these people in front of him didn't know how many people were carrying deadly germs.

And they're about to go into the city—into this big, densely populated city.

Maybe she should have stopped them, but she couldn't do it - and even if she did, it wouldn't make any sense, because there was no telling how many people had entered the city before.

Besides, if the walls of Theodosius could hold back thousands of troops, how could they stop burrowing rats and fleas that bouncing on them?

In her heart, she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of powerlessness.

Even if she is elitist, there is no way to resist in the face of this terrifying natural disaster.

"What's going on?"

A group of freshly dressed and angry horsemen were about to leave the city when they heard the movement and leaned over to this side.

"Crown Prince Henry?"

Jeanne spoke.

"Is that you?"

Crown Prince Henry's face was a little embarrassed, and he only learned afterwards that Jeanne was actually a female knight.

Losing at her hands in the arena can be said to have brought him into disrepute.

It's just that he doesn't know why, but he can't hold a grudge in his heart, and he sees a faint sense of expectation in her heart, just like when he saw the lovely nun in the convent when he was young.

"You're here just in time, I need help with something!"

Jeanne took off her helmet, her long golden hair spreading out like a waterfall: "I am Jeanne, the chief knight under the command of the Marquis of Lothar. ”

She let go of her grip on the tenant farmer and grabbed at Crown Prince Henry.

The crown prince subconsciously wanted to dodge, but where was Jeanne's opponent, she directly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"Stop, what are you going to do to my family?"

The knights behind him drew their swords and glared at Jeanne, who had no good impression of the female knight who had killed many of them in the arena and brought them great shame.

However, this woman is quite good-looking.

Some people's originally cold eyes couldn't help but soften a little.

"What are you going to do?"

Crown Prince Henry looked at Jeanne with a dull look in his eyes, and only swallowed for a long time before he whispered, "I mean, if you have anything you want me to help with, can you let go first?" ”

He only felt that Jeanna's hand on his shoulder was like an iron tong, and he couldn't break free at all.

"Inform Empress Lagaia at once, close the gates, watch out for the damned rats, a terrible plague is about to happen - hey, remember every word I say, I'm not kidding, it's definitely a disaster even more terrible than the great plague of Justinian!"

Jeanne saw that Crown Prince Henry's face was a little disapproving, and immediately increased her tone.

"I swear by the surname of Darch and the surname of my lord Lothar, that what I say is not a lie, and that this catastrophe is by no means confined to Constantinople, and once it spreads, your Germania, and more distant Gaul, the Apennines. The whole world will be plunged into a catastrophe. ”

Henry didn't know whether he was shocked by Jeanne's serious tone, or attracted by Jeanne's beauty, and did not reply for a long time.

Admittedly, in terms of beauty, she is still significantly inferior to Empress Lagaia.

But it was the first time Henry had seen such a heroic female knight.

He was not a short-sighted man, and after the establishment of the Witch's Tower, his father's command was not without female knights, but they were all the kind of people with big shoulders and round waists, strong bodies, and more savage and rude than men.

It's no match for Jeanne.

Jeanne frowned, and increased the strength of her hand: "I'm not kidding, go to Empress Lagaia at once, tell her what I said, I have to go to my lord." ”

"Yes, yes, yes."

Crown Prince Henry's shoulder hurt and hurriedly said.

Looking at Jeanne's distant back, Crown Prince Henry paused for a moment and sighed lightly.

He somewhat regretted why he had married so early, even though his wife had brought him a kingdom claim as a dowry.

"My lord, are we going to let her go like this?"

"Hmm..."

Henry was silent for a moment, then turned on his horse: "Everyone follow me back to the city, and we will go to meet the Empress." ”

In the dark dungeon.

Compared to Jeanne's Holy Flame, Anna's fire spell is much more straightforward.

The dark corridor was now covered with a layer of black ash, and it creaked when stepped on.

Although Lothar now has limited spells and knowledge, she is still a full-fledged wizard, but she can't see anything unusual in these rats.

It's just that the beast's instinct reminds him that these little things that inhabit the gutter are quite threatening.

Lothar frowned, "How could anyone study such a thing as a plague. ”

Is the plague something that humans can tame? He's not afraid of being backlashed?

"As it turns out, there is."

Anna's tone was solemn: "Moreover, there is a good chance that that person has truly tamed the plague and integrated magic into the plague - like a curse." ”

"Killing that person will really make the plague go away?"

Although Anna had said so before, he was still a little skeptical.

After all, this matter is too big.

Anna hesitated for a moment, shook her head, and said, "It doesn't have to be a person, it could be a thing—the source of the plague, no one has ever seen it before." I have only seen a similar idea in the collection of books in Constantinople. ”

"Maybe destroying the source of the plague works, or maybe it doesn't, we can only pray that it's the former."

The group continued to walk deeper into the corridor.

Along the way, a few more rat colonies were cleared.

Anna's footsteps suddenly stopped, her lips moving, and she didn't know what to say.

Following her vision, Lothar could see a few strands of broken red silk scattered on the ground, soaked in sewage.

It also had roses outlined in gold thread, and Lothar remembered that it was the same as the pattern on Liena's long red dress.

"It's the work of Master Dusen."

Anna gritted her teeth and said, "Liena should have just passed by, let's pay attention to the footprints in the mud, that guy is a lazy person who doesn't know how to float." ”

Lothar's mood was a little heavy, in fact, by now, everyone knew that Liena was probably dead.

Otherwise, there is no reason why she should not reply to the communication.

The double-headed eagle crest issued by Anna is not so easy to lose or damage.