Seeing this scene, another prisoner turned and fled backward, which made Jie Luo a little disappointed.
She transformed into a wisp of faint light, darting into the prisoner's body. The prisoner stopped immediately, his eyes rolled back, and then his body underwent a bizarre transformation—Meien had seen this scene more than once, but no matter how many times he saw it, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
Dim light burst forth from the prisoner's body, and his body twisted and deformed, eventually turning into the appearance of a Pure.
He knew that this was not a simple substitution or killing, but what exactly happened during the transformation, probably only the Pope and the person involved would understand.
Jie Luo took a deep breath and walked back to the last prisoner.
He was the youngest of the three captured scouts, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, his slightly green eyes filled with shock and fear, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened.
"Now, only you are left," she said softly, "Aier."
Hearing this, the boy, who had been trembling and wanting to pick up his scimitar, was stunned. "W-why..."
"The gods have told me everything. You were originally just a farmer's child in the suburbs, but because of the Wolf King's orders, the people of your entire village were forcibly moved into the city to undertake labor such as repairing city walls, building military supplies, and transporting food and grass. They didn't let you off just because you were young, but instead conscripted you into the reconnaissance team, but in reality, they just let you fend for yourselves," she reached out and stroked his cheek. "The best evidence is that the first time you delivered intelligence about the huijiào army's actions, the guard captain didn't even let you into the city gate, but after listening to your report, he let you continue to track us, right?"
"I..." Aier opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.
"Of course they wouldn't let you in, because your family is already gone. Your parents and brothers are just consumables of the Wolf King, just like you. If they let you go back, wouldn't it cause everyone in the reconnaissance team to know?" Jie Luo continued, "Your father accidentally fell to his death while filling a gap in the city wall, and your mother was whipped by the foreman when she went to the construction team, and is currently in critical condition. Without the gods examining all of this, the xié è of the human world always flows freely like sewage. Are you sure you want to serve such a ruler?"
He couldn't help but widen his eyes, his face showing uncontrollable grief. "This...impossible, you're lying to me!"
"The gods never lie," the Pure shook his head. "You also know in your heart that what I said is true. The root cause of all this is that the nobles have never regarded you as true equals, but merely as livestock to be exploited. What we must do is to end all this xié è and injustice, and establish a new world under the supervision and watch of the gods."
Aier knelt down with a thud and buried his head in his hands, crying bitterly, "W-what should I do?"
"Follow your heart, only the gods can make a judgment."
He choked and said, "I was wrong, I am willing to tell you everything I know, as long as I can save my mother, I am willing to do anything."
"Good boy," Jie Luo patted his head, took out a plant covered with slender leaves from his pocket, and handed it to him. "Eat this and get a good night's sleep. It can help you stabilize your emotions," she tore off half a leaf, put it in her mouth, and chewed it. "Just like me. When Wolfheart City is breached tomorrow, maybe you will be able to see your mother again."
Meien frowned. That plant was the Sleeping Fern used to make Dreamwater. Eating it raw had no effect on witches, but it was an extremely violent poison for ordinary people, and its toxicity had to be neutralized with Winter Flowers. Sure enough, not long after the prisoner ate it, his face turned ashen. He choked his throat, looking at Jie Luo with a smile on her face in disbelief, a hoarse gasp coming from his throat. Soon his fingernails broke through his skin and blood vessels, and the blood that splattered dyed his neck bright red. After struggling painfully for half a quarter of an hour, his body gradually softened and he stopped breathing.
"It's a pity, the gods did not forgive your sins." Jie Luo curled up her lips, walked to the Archbishop, and bowed. "Your Excellency, what do you think of this trial? Does it have the charm of Heather?"
"Why did you trick
him into eating the Sleeping Fern?" Meien asked in a deep voice, "If it were Heather, we would only gain a devout believer, instead of causing him to stray and then putting him to death."
"If the prisoner's relatives were really as I said, they could naturally be recruited as believers, but unfortunately I don't know the true situation of his parents, those were all lies I made up on the spot." She shrugged indifferently. "Once he discovers that these are all lies, it will obviously be detrimental to the church. Believe me, I am wholeheartedly for the church."
If you were wholeheartedly, you should stay in the tent and wait for orders. Meien turned his head impatiently. "The attack is about to begin, you prepare immediately. According to the plan, the Wolf King and the Azurewater Queen—"
"Must die, Your Excellency," the Pure smiled. "If it were just me alone, I might not be able to do it, but since even Isabella is here, they will definitely not be able to escape Wolfheart."
*******************
Woo———————Woo———————
The horns of attack rolled across the sky. Amidst the oppressive dark clouds and rustling autumn wind, the second siege began.
Two miles away, the brackets used by the siege beast to launch iron spears bloomed with magical light. When this light was as bright as the sun, the iron spears, as if thrown by the hand of a giant, instantly erupted with a deafening roar, and shot out at a speed that was difficult to discern with the naked eye, flying straight towards the city wall.
Crossing such a long distance, its power did not diminish at all. The city wall made of snow stone could not stop it at all—it easily smashed the stones blocking its path into powder, and the militia team squatting behind the city wall also suffered. After only three rounds of fire, not only was the city gate completely shattered, but the nearby walls were also dilapidated.
The siege weapons from the devils fired at about the same speed as trebuchets, but their range was several times greater. Under such an offensive, the defending forces were unable to fight back at all. Because they could not see the launch trajectory, they did not even know where the next attack would land. The outer defense line was already in a precarious state before the church army even moved.
At this moment, a earth-shattering roar suddenly came from behind the city wall!
A huge fireball soared into the sky, and everyone felt the ground shaking under their feet. Accompanied by flames and black smoke, this section of the stone wall collapsed suddenly, and a gap finally appeared in the mottled Wolf Tooth.
The urgent horns sounded again, and the mixed team composed of the Judgment Army and the God's Punishment Army began to charge towards the city wall. From a distance, it looked like a flowing ocean of gold and red, and anyone who dared to block it would be mercilessly swallowed by them.
Now, the Wolfheart defenders had to use their own flesh and blood to fight against these warriors who did not belong to the mortal world.