Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 161 Heavy Rain Red Alert
Collins-Margaret was convicted.

The charge was that she had secretly read cult books and studied forbidden knowledge. The prisoner voluntarily admitted her crime. According to the imperial law, Collins-Margaret would be burned at the stake.

On this day, everyone in the imperial capital was waiting for the result of the trial. Although they were mentally prepared, when the news spread, the entire capital was in an uproar.

Margaret is an ancient family that existed at the beginning of the establishment of the empire. It is not an exaggeration to describe them as founding fathers. They created the Sword of Darklimo. This golden fleet helped the first king end the war and became a symbol of the empire's power in the next few hundred years.

And today, the Holy See will execute the descendants of Margaret's family for believing in evil gods!

The entertainment-watching faction who were afraid of chaos in the world were very satisfied. In just two days, countless major events happened that were overwhelming. Since the Fallen War, the empire has never been so lively as it is now. It looks like a storm is about to come. Even those who don't pay attention to current affairs can feel that the world is about to be turned upside down.

The nobles who attended the banquet immediately understood that Ivy and the Second Prince had a breakdown in their talks, and most likely parted on bad terms. In a rage, the Second Prince wanted to use the Vatican to execute her father to establish his authority. However, they did not expect that Miss Ivy had such a fierce temper, exactly like Collins back then!
He was very curious about the future relationship between the royal family and Margaret's family after the execution of Collins.

The execution is scheduled for that evening. After tonight, all questions will be answered.

But in fact, when Damian came out of the Vatican, he was still dizzy.

His conversation with Ivy did not end in unpleasantness as the outside world imagined, but some strange situations occurred that he could not understand, which seemed to change the positions of him and Ivy.

He tried every means to persuade Ivy, hinting that he had a way to pardon Collins, but Ivy had made up her mind and was even impatient to see her father being sent to the stake.

Could it be that... the relationship between father and daughter in Margaret's family is extremely bad, and Ivy has actually disliked her father for a long time?

This completely disrupted their plans, and the Pope's attitude became even tougher. He directly set the execution date for tonight, leaving no room for maneuver.

The Pope said that even without Collins, their church could use the Holy Word to completely erase Ivy's mind and turn her into a puppet who obeyed the orders of the Vatican.

Damian was in mixed emotions, this was not the result he wanted. He especially didn't want his future queen to become a stupid breeding machine.

What attracted him to Ivy was precisely her calmness and intellectual charm. Erasing her thoughts would destroy all the beauty.

For the first time in his life, Damian disobeyed the Pope's order. He ordered the royal guards to inquire about Ivy's whereabouts, and finally found her in a hotel in the imperial capital.

"Ivy, there is still a chance to save the situation."

This time Damian was really anxious. The moment he saw Ivy, he ignored the aristocratic etiquette and stepped forward to grab her wrist.

Of course, he was thrown away by her. "Your Highness, please pay attention to your image."

"Do you know what the Church is going to do to you? They will use the Holy Word to erase your will and turn you into a puppet. At that time, you will still have to marry me, and Uncle Collins will have died in vain!"

Logically, Damian should never reveal the Vatican's plan to Ivy himself, especially at this critical time when he is about to ascend the throne.

He knew very well that everything he had obtained today was due to the power of the Holy See, and what the Pope saw was his weakness and incompetence. As long as he remained as indecisive as he was now, this hedonistic game could continue.

But deep down in Damian's heart, he didn't want things to develop in the worst possible direction.

So he compromised, "How about this, we can make an engagement first, and when you have figured it out, you can marry me?"

This was the maximum concession Damian could imagine.

"Your Highness, don't you understand? When the court made its final judgment, the matter was irreversible."

Ivy understood why the Church chose Damian. She could hardly imagine that the crown prince, who was at the center of power in the empire, could say such naive words. "The news that my father is a follower of the evil god has spread throughout the imperial capital. If I pardon him, wouldn't that be trampling on the face of the entire Church?"

For a long time, believing in evil gods has been the most unforgivable crime created by the Holy See, and no one can escape it.

When the Inquisition convicted her, Ivy could also imagine the means the Church had prepared to deal with her.

Damian clenched his fists, "But you clearly had a chance to redeem yourself before. I don't understand."

"My father once said that everyone has to pay a price for the path they choose. I think he has already realized this. So have I."

Ivy said, "I hope so for you, and the Pope...it's getting late, you should prepare for your execution tonight."

After that, she glanced outside the door of the hotel.

The "secret operation" in Damian's eyes was not secretive from the beginning. The knights of the kingdom's army had surrounded the place. The leader of this knight group was Abaddon. The imperial knight commander who was scheduled to be the knight commander seemed to have walked out of the haze, and his face became radiant again.

The other side of resurrection from the dead was like a flash in the pan, and people's discussion about Abaddon's cowardly behavior was also diluted a lot. Facts have proved that time can always heal everything.

Maybe the other side does not intend to return to the Empire.

Then, he is still the best candidate for the position of Knight Commander.

Abaddon's hope was rekindled, so he needed to perform well in front of the Pope.

"Who asked you to come?"

Damian glared at Abaddon fiercely.

"As knights of the Empire, our first priority is to ensure your safety."

Abaddon answered forcefully, he knew Damian's background very well.

The kingdom's knights once served only the crown, but with Higan's death and the departure of the Royal Knights, this tradition changed.

From now on, they will be loyal to the church and the nobles. As for Henry VII, it will be enough to save face. Abaddon stepped forward and reminded Damian, who had a gloomy face, "Recently, we have received reports that followers of the evil god are appearing in the imperial capital. I think the respected Pope would not want you to appear here at such a critical time."

Damian's teeth were about to break. If Higan was still the Knight Commander, how could he allow such a clown...

The clenched fist finally loosened dejectedly.

His voice dropped, "Let's go."

Ivy is right, everyone has to pay the price for their own path.

Giving the other side the order to go to the border of the empire to wipe out the followers of the evil god was the last step for him to ascend the throne, and he had made the choice several months ago.

……

As night fell, the entire imperial capital became bustling. This was perhaps the most lively night in the imperial capital. Not only the residents, adventurers and hunters who heard the news, but also the nobles of all sizes put down all their affairs and gathered here.

But compared to the bigwigs who will be attending the execution, their status is insignificant.

Prince Freeman, Chief Inquisitor Gunness, Pope Julius, and the second prince of the empire, the "popularly desired" next king, Damian Henry.

Three members of the Council of Seven have arrived, and these people are the symbols of the future power of the empire.

Unlike Henry VI who adopted a conciliatory strategy towards his meritorious officials, they will use this execution to tell everyone the fate of rebels.

An hour before the execution, the execution platform was packed with people. Those who arrived a little later would be squeezed a block away. However, the people in the first row took the initiative to leave some space for them - no one approached Ivy Margaret who was standing in the first row.

It was hard for them to imagine what Ivy was feeling at the moment.

But everything is irreversible.

The four seats on the podium all welcomed their owners.

Time passed by minute by minute, and after an unknown amount of time, the people in the front row heard a commotion. Under the escort of the Kingdom Army Knights, the sinner Collins Margaret was sent to the execution platform. The person responsible for tying him to the Martian Pillar was a high-ranking priest of the Church. They tied the former nobleman to the stake and completed the final prayer.

The crowd did not hear the unwilling curses and roars. Even at the end of his life, Collins looked extremely indifferent, as if he was not the one to be executed.

He stared at Ivy in the crowd and gave her a smile as best he could.

Strictly speaking, this is not a smile at all, it's just a stiff pull at the corners of the mouth.

The art of divine word endowed Collins with absolute rationality, and he simply rationally thought that it would be more honorable to leave in this way.

What reassured him was that Ivy, who was also under the spell of the Holy Word, would not do anything impulsive or excessive. She would not rush to the execution platform like those desperate "rebels", nor would she shout and scream from below.

For people like them, even witnessing the death of their loved ones does not cause them to feel sad.

Life lost in the flames was all the information Ivy would intellectually receive.

Ivy, you have to carry on the knowledge of Margaret's family.

Collins moved his lips.

If there was anything else he needed to explain, this was the only thing he could think of. The future was uncertain, and although he was an elder, it was difficult for him to give any advice to his daughter. Perhaps the biggest regret in his life was that he could not let Ivy be born in a good era.

The priest of the church will pour holy oil on him, and his crimes will be read out by the chief judge Gunness himself. To some extent, this can be regarded as "royal-level" treatment. Perhaps only the number one sinner in the empire can receive this honor.

Search for cult texts and touch upon forbidden knowledge.

They are even used to disintegrate the blessing of the Goddess of Life.

Either one is an unforgivable crime.

Amid the accusation of Chief Judge Gunness, the priest lit the torch, the silver-white holy fire that symbolized the authority of the Holy See. It would burn the flesh and souls of the sinners and purify them of all the sins they had committed.

"Sinner Collins, do you have anything else to say in defense of the crime you committed?"

After recounting Collins' crimes, the presiding judge asked majestically.

"No."

The presiding judge nodded with satisfaction and returned to his seat.

The high-ranking priest holding a torch walked towards the sinner tied to the stake step by step, "May the goddess cleanse you of the sins you have committed."

Everyone held their breath and witnessed the end of the execution.

The same is true for Damian on the podium. His heart went from anxiety to struggle, and then to the calmness at this moment. He decided to accept the guidance of fate and must compromise with fate.

Because the person who controls the fate of the empire is sitting next to him at this moment.

This execution has far-reaching implications.

When the people in the square looked up, they could see the Pope's majestic yet indifferent eyes, as if silently announcing the end of the old era and that the empire would usher in a new era belonging to theocracy and to him.

Until the roar of lightning shattered the silence of the square.

The vertically falling lightning shattered the stake. What made everyone unbelievable was that Collins actually survived this huge lightning strike. In fact, there was no wound on his body. Even he himself was stunned by this sudden change.

Before anyone could react, heavy rain poured down, obscuring everyone's vision.

The sacred flame that symbolized the majesty of the Holy See flickered for a few times before going out in the heavy rain. An unprecedented chill followed, and this soul-touching chill made the people in the square instinctively want to escape.

It was a very heavy rain, and the raindrops pressed on their shoulders, making them unable to stand up straight and forcing them to bend over. They had never encountered such a rainstorm before, and in the vicious cycle, people could not see the road ahead at all and held their heads.

Screams rang out and the crowd in the square suddenly became chaotic.

Leave or die.

The four people on the high platform, representing the pinnacle of the empire's power, heard such a voice at the same time. The voice seemed to come from the sky. Driven by instinct, they hurriedly returned to their fortress in the heavy rain under the escort of the guards.

The rain was unusual, and so was the lightning.

This gave them a strong premonition that if they stayed on the execution platform for a moment longer, they would be struck by lightning.

The people watching in the square screamed and fled in all directions.

The heavy rain covered everything, as if the whole city was about to be submerged in the water curtain.

Ivy stood motionless in the center of the rainstorm. Her clothes were not stained by the rain at all. The raindrops seemed to recognize her presence and formed a vacuum area beside her. She stood under the execution platform and looked into the eyes of her father on the execution platform.

Collins soon realized that something unusual was happening to him.

The lightning avoided him, and so did the raindrops.

He also saw his daughter holding out a strange device that looked like an energy storage crystal, and she was saying something to the crystal.

"This is Ivy. The Pope should be leaving soon. You have about ten minutes to retreat."

Then, a response came from that strange device.

"Got it, we've got it done here."

But the rain was so heavy, the sound was intermittent, and Collins couldn't hear the complete conversation accurately.

Ivy gave the other person a last deep look. She still had a lot of things waiting for her to deal with.

Ethan has a plan.

Or in other words, everything that has happened so far can be called part of the plan.

When this grand execution began, someone sneaked into the Church, the Inquisition and Prince Freeman's mansion. This plan was never to kill someone to vent anger like terrorists. Even if Freeman, Gunnis and Julius were dead, there would be people to replace them soon.

Their power is like roots, entrenched in the soil of the empire.

At the end of the crowd, a young man wearing a black cloak with half his face hidden by the hood witnessed this execution that seemed to herald the arrival of a new era. After most people dispersed, he walked towards the alley at the side of the street.

The square is located in the civilian area, where almost all the houses are crowded together, forming countless intricate alleys. A figure in knight armor followed.

Abaddon saw the young man passing by a shop. On the wall were wanted posters that they had spent a whole night pasting all over the imperial capital. They were all portraits of the same person, a D-level investigator from the Confinement Bureau. He also saw the strong winds blow the wanted posters away, and one of them somehow flew into his hands.

Once discovered, kill on the spot.

Abaddon swallowed.

Reason told him that he should not stay in this square for too long, but another voice in his heart tempted him.

After the failure in the North, he urgently needed to prove himself.

He gritted his teeth, crumpled the wanted poster into a ball, and followed the young man.

"Yes, I'm almost done here. I'll be right back."

Abaddon followed the intermittent sound, which led him to the deepest part of one of the alleys. It was a dead end, and a cloaked figure stopped there, holding a strange object in his hand, which looked like an energy crystal.

The moment their eyes met, Abaddon immediately drew his sword, and with the blessing of the holy seal, the blade emitted a dazzling silver light.

"I am Abaddon, a high-ranking knight in the Kingdom Army. Do not act rashly!"

It was obvious that the young man had no intention of listening to his advice.

After being warned, the figure walked straight towards him.

Abaddon's pupils shrank at the strange scene that came into his eyes. His hands holding the sword could not help but tremble. He wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

He clearly saw that all the raindrops avoided the young man and did not leave any trace on the black cloak!
Abaddon felt that he must have been under a spell of immobilization, and he even lost the courage to swing his sword in front of the opponent.

"Sir Knight, are you going to arrest me?"

The young man's hand rested gently on his shoulder, and beneath the hood of his cloak was the face that Abaddon had expected.

However, what Abaddon saw was no longer an opportunity to prove himself, but the approaching death.

He had arrested many people who were accused of being followers of evil gods by the Vatican, but this time... he seemed to have encountered the real deal!
He was speechless and could only shake his head desperately. He loosened his hand and dropped the long sword that symbolized the knight's glory to the ground.

"Thank you for letting me off the hook."

The young man thanked him and said, "This way, I don't have to fight back."

It was not until the sound of the young man's footsteps disappeared for a long time that the chill that overwhelmed Abaddon gradually subsided. He fell to his knees exhausted and fell into the rain.

Abaddon rolled over and lay on the ground gasping for breath.

Wherever his eyes reached, a red mark was left on the silver-white knight's shoulder armor.

That was the source of all the cold, a layer of blood-colored ice.

(End of this chapter)