Blood tax

Chapter 407 Authority "Disqualification in the World"

The slain count, the wizard, and their wives, along with several other victims, spontaneously combusted and disappeared from the floor like ashes, leaving behind dark pools of blood.The fire in the fireplace rose, warming the drawing room.

Griffith came to his seat, holding a weapon, and looked at everyone silently.

Whether the dead before him were a false vision or a real person, there was nothing he could do.Moreover, he felt the fluctuation of psionic energy, but did not see signs of the disintegration of this space.He is not very sure about the mysterious field in front of him, not sure what will happen next.

With the power of a war knight, it might be possible to break through the rules here.However, it is not known whether the brute force breakthrough will affect ordinary people.

Who knows if there are other rules and dangers in this area... Griffith turned his head to look at the flames in the fireplace. He could feel something strange, but he couldn't tell why.

While Griffith hesitated, those who had just been murderers, whether rich or poor, felt a sense of anticipation and joy in panic fear, reassured that they would not be frozen to death or burned to death.

"Do you think this is over?" Griffith asked Mr Beble.

"I think so," the shareholder of the shipping company no longer had the pleading expression just now, "We have done a great thing, praise the courage!"

After finishing speaking, he sat down on the sofa that originally belonged to Earl Hill opposite Griffith, closed his eyes and meditated.

"Let's sit down and have a rest, warm our hands and feet!" someone said, "We should be able to get out of here soon."

His proposal was immediately followed.The standing people rushed over and sat down on the couches.Mr. Beble, the leader of the whole operation, took his wife to enjoy the original earl's seat exclusively, and others bypassed him one after another, not competing with him.

Mr. Ram and the gentlemen invited a few able-bodied men to join them in the middle seat.Two nuns and a few elders took the wizard's seat, which was a bit crowded, but they all seemed satisfied.

"It was a wonderful flame," said one nun. "I heard a sublime voice. It was a blessing."

"It is a revelation," said the elder seated at the same table. "My Lord is communicating His will through this flame. I feel the need to tell you these truths."

These people of different faiths communicated and told each other the oracles they had received from the flames.Some said that soon everyone can leave here safely, others said that the Lord will send a new test, and only the most pious can be rescued.

The group quickly quarreled as they received different revelations.

There were still many people who didn't grab the sofa seats near the fireplace, and could only be scattered here and there in disappointment.Tina was also among them. She glanced at Griffith, and still cautiously did not go to talk to him, but walked towards the door, trying to open the door leading to the outside.

The door remains locked and untouchable.

This was noticed by people both sitting and standing.

"Why is this?"

"What happened? (Why can't we still get out?)"

The doubtful inquiry turned into a crying voice in an instant, and the people who had just breathed a sigh of relief panicked again.Even the staunchest Mr Beble's eyes widened.

The cotton mill owner, Mr. Ram, who had been smiling all the time, gasped and stared at the door for a while: "What did the wizard say just now?"

"Burn a few people, and the rest can go out..." Someone replied hesitantly, "Isn't it enough to burn?"

"Yes! It must be so!" Mr. Ram yelled like a beaten boy. "It's not enough, it's not enough!"

Headed by the person sitting on the couch in the middle, many civilians who did not have a seat also joined in.They wiped the blood from their faces and gathered in a circle:
"It must be that we haven't burned enough, otherwise the door should be able to open."

"Yes, I feel cold again."

They all turned their heads away, patrolling like vultures hunting for food.

"We should burn her!" shouted a former commoner, pointing at Tina, "I know what she does! I know, she is the embodiment of blasphemy, and it must be because of her existence, us upright citizens You can't escape!"

As soon as the words fell, men and women gathered towards Tina.An old nun said: "I just noticed that there is a nun's black dress hidden in her package, but I can guarantee with my last few teeth that she is definitely not a nun, and I can smell the blasphemous smell from a long distance." .”

Mr. Ram rushed forward immediately, snatched Tina's package from her hand and tore it open.Among the piles of replacement clothes, they found a black dress worn by a nun.

"I knew it!" cried Mr. Ram. "Some people like it, I know it."

Immediately the old nun said in a deep and inscrutable tone: "We will sacrifice her to the flames, this is purification."

Several other believers of God who were sitting with the old nun also joined in.Their reasons vary, but the consensus is that sacrifices will now be made.

Just because you can read the flame?Even an extraordinary person like me can't understand it, who are you lying to!Griffith was taken aback.He was about to rescue Tina with sword and musket when a commotion broke out in the drawing room.

"I expose!" Someone without a seat shouted, pointing at a man who had just sat on the sofa, "He is a relative of the earl who was stabbed a thousand times, and it must be his evil intention to avenge the earl. locked up here."

"You bullshit!" shouted the accused man. "That guy and I are only distant relatives."

"Then you don't deny that you are a relative of the Earl?" the accuser said proudly, "I suspect that you want to kill the respected Mr. Beble, or you plan to go to the Bureau of Investigation to make a false accusation immediately after you leave here."

"Catch him!" The shipping tycoon who was irritated by a certain word immediately raised his finger, "We must eliminate all traitors. Those who are not with us are the culprits who trapped us here!"

Now, the people in the reception room are excited.They accused each other, exposed, and even got into fights.

In the confusion, someone pulled out a dagger and stabbed his accuser, and was immediately knocked down by others.The slain, like the dead before them, spontaneously combusts into ashes.

A few others jumped at Tina, punched her pretty face, knocked her to the ground, and then stomped her away.

"Bah!"

A loud bang overwhelmed the shouting, and a flash of catharsis startled the jostling crowd.Griffith rushed through the crowd aggressively like a team of armored cavalry, beating those who stood in his way and rolling them all over the ground.He came to Tina, grabbed her and held her behind him.

"Quiet." Griffith stood upright in front of the crowd.He had made up his mind, so he didn't hesitate anymore, he turned on the hammer, loaded gunpowder, and thrust a shiny golden bullet into the barrel, his movements were like flowing clouds and flowing water.

"Knight, don't hinder us," said Mr. Beble in a serious voice. "This is the only way to get out of here and save everyone. We must use violence. This is our right and our duty!"

"No, not yours."

Griffith finished loading, stood sideways, raised the flintlock, and lowered the muzzle in front of the shipping tycoon.

In the dark, everyone in the room heard the death knell echoing from the high tower, and the hideous, desperate and indescribable living creatures approached step by step from the void.This was an unseen terrifying aura that made Mr. Beble's legs move by themselves.

Griffith pulled the trigger, and the muzzle belched flames, smoke, and an overwhelming stream of adamantine pellets.The crowd who were clamoring for violence just now dispersed like a nest of little rabbits.

The loud noise echoed in the ears, and the eardrums were torn apart by the roar, leaving only the lingering hum.When the white smoke cleared, Griffith stared ahead with a flintlock gun in his hand.Mr. Beble and everyone lay on the ground with their heads in their hands, trembling violently, and a disgusting stench came out of their nostrils.

Griffith glanced overhead.He'd just fired a shot there, and the adamantine bullet had hit the ceiling, and bursts of shattered cracks were spreading from the smoking hole.

"Sit, ladies and gentlemen," Griffith returned to his main seat, "Now, please vote."

Shocked people asked: "Vot on what?"

"Vote on who should be thrown into the fire."

"But... aren't they already dead?"

Griffith has watched the farce from beginning to end, and now he understands something.He fetched paper and pen, and said to the people who were sitting on three couches:

"As the decision-making body in this room, you are requested to vote and confirm what has just happened - all citizens present holding seats, unanimously agreed with the decision to sacrifice the earl, wizard and others and acted together. This The decision will be recorded and signed by all of you."

After all, he looked around and found the embarrassed look on some people's faces, and then said: "I noticed that some people are very embarrassed. It doesn't matter. In this way, it will be very clear who is not in the same heart as everyone. . I'm going to sit here and watch everyone carry on with what they just did."

"Knight, you have to vote with us, you are a member of this room!" Mr. Ram responded quickly.

"No, this is your business. I don't make decisions," Griffith was prepared for this issue. He raised his reloaded musket and pointed it at the cotton mill owner's head.
"I am violence."

……

The vision of 233B Baker Street is fading.The domain that imprisoned a group of people for a long time was hit with a golden bullet, and the resolution was signed. Griffith got up and opened the door, and then collapsed.It is unknown which factor brought about its end. The only thing that is certain is that it is turning into a misty mist and gradually dissipating.

"Tina, come to me." Griffith said.But the hostess did not answer, she kept a distance from him as before, went away alone, and disappeared.

So the experience just now is a world created subconsciously by the people in this city?Or is it a dream?

Standing on the deserted street, Griffith watched the people who just staged a cruel farce disappear one by one, and the confusion that trapped him seemed to be dissipating.

Just as he was thinking, suddenly, he saw a person sitting on the steps of the street not far away.

Beside him was a young man with a drawing board, pens and paints.He was wearing loose cloth clothes with the left and right fronts overlapping up and down, and a black cloth belt was casually tied around his waist.On his feet were strange wooden shoes, made entirely of planks and bars, with the toes secured by thick cords.

The painter's face was thin and handsome, with neat short black hair and beautiful eyes, but there was endless decadence and melancholy.

Griffith's pupils shrank immediately.

He had met the painter on the island of Neopolis.Not long before the tragedy of Iloti.At that time, he was just curious, but such a person appeared on curfew night, near the domain that had just disappeared, which meant that he was far from simple.

The young painter first sketched a few strokes on the drawing board, and then looked at the knight: "Good evening, it's a pleasure to meet again. Do you have anything to gain from the world you see?"

"Was that just a dream?" Griffith asked.

"It's better to say that it's a profile of reality, the subconscious refinement of your life experience and thoughts, and the confession of the soul shown by my authority 'Disqualification in the World'," said the artist, "By this, we can face the most real reality of people. pain."

authority?Are you the hand of God like Naira! ?
Griffith was startled.Fortunately, the painter in front of him was not hostile.He breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"I saw chaos,
"Step by step towards the process of self-destruction and denial. Why are you showing me this?"

"As I said, I don't decide what to see. But, you did a good job, didn't you? If it were me, I wouldn't be so decisive. I'm afraid I'd be entangled in a situation that can't end," said the painter. , "Before tonight, I wasn't sure if you were the right choice and whether you were worthy of this fate. Now, I know, you are very suitable."

"What is suitable? Please explain in detail."

"When you are ready, I will come to you again and give you more enlightenment." The painter just shook his head, and even his figure disappeared after finishing speaking.

(End of this chapter)