In the dim dungeon, the flickering firelight cast the shadow of a figure hanging from above onto the wall, resembling a forked tree branch.
There was no struggling, no pained cries or pleas for mercy, only a slight, almost imperceptible tremor whenever the whip made contact, accompanied by a low moan.
But even this moan was quickly swallowed by the next strike of the whip.
“Crack!”
“Crack!”
The swaying figure and the flickering firelight merged, the dull thud of the whip the only sound in the silent dungeon.
After more than ten lashes, Count Lorenzo finally spoke, “Enough, stop for now!”
“Yes,” the executioner retreated quickly.
The woman hanging on the rack had a back that was a scarlet mess, the crisscrossing welts both new and old, clearly not the first time she had been subjected to such torture. Judging from the fine beads of sweat on her nose and arms, the pain was not without effect, but she was suppressing all cries into the depths of her heart through sheer willpower.
“What, still not going to reveal the whereabouts of the Holy Codex?” He walked up to the woman, grabbed her chin, and forcefully lifted her face—it was the rare beautiful face among the Judgment Army, and even imprisonment and torment had not diminished her looks much. Or rather, in the flickering firelight, her sweat-covered skin and the flickering eyes, in contrast, added a touch of exoticism. “The Church is finished, Farina, how long do you want to fight me? Even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about your captured comrades, right?”
These damn strays, Lorenzo thought bitterly, the Wolfheart Clan was already so big, why did they have to go against Grand Duke Island? Wasn't his attitude of executing those messengers clear enough? He had a team of God's Punishment Warriors, as long as they didn't provoke Graycastle, they could live a carefree life anywhere, but they dared to try to assassinate him? If he hadn't been careful and asked His Majesty Meyen for a few more people, his head would probably be hanging on the city walls by now.
Thinking of this, his missing left ear throbbed again.
The sword that almost cut off his neck during the mixed battle between the two God's Punishment Armies that day was wielded by Farina. Fortunately, she was close to exhaustion at the time, and her sword momentum was disturbed by her subordinates, and in the end, it only shaved off half of his ear.
If it was just a minor injury, it would be fine, but what made Lorenzo even more angry was that the twenty or so God's Punishment Warriors he had managed to save, now only two or three were still able to move, and the rest were either killed in the fierce battle or were missing arms and legs, making it almost impossible to use them for combat again.
This was his capital to occupy Grand Duke Island!
The Wolfheart nobles didn't hold him accountable because he had changed his identity from a bishop to a nobleman, but because of their limited strength, they dared not act rashly in front of the God's Punishment Warriors. If the news got out, he was afraid that his title of Count would be difficult to maintain.
Lorenzo couldn't wait to tear her into pieces to vent his hatred.
But he couldn't do that.
—Not before knowing the whereabouts of the Holy Codex.
“I don’t know if the Church is finished, but you are definitely finished… Count Lorenzo, no, I should call you a traitor.” After a long while, Farina said in a low voice, “It was my mistake to underestimate the number of God's Punishment Warriors you have, but you don’t have many left that you can use, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so eager to ask where the Holy Codex is. You want to know the secrets of the Pope’s inheritance—the method of manufacturing the God's Punishment Army, to maintain your pitiful status—"
“Slap!”
A crisp slap interrupted her sarcasm.
“Since you know what I want, you better tell me honestly!” Lorenzo gritted his teeth. “I’ll ask you one more time, where is the Holy Codex?”
A trace of blood trickled from the corner of Farina’s mouth. “I don’t know…”
“That’s a real pity,” the Count looked at the executioner, “Cut off a leg for me, anyone’s will do, I want this bitch’s companions…”
“Stop acting,” Farina, despite her weakness, was full of sarcasm, “Do you still remember the fingers you sent back? The blood has congealed and changed color, and you still want to use it to threaten me? It seems that the bishop’s life has been too comfortable, you’ve forgotten the difference between the living and the dead—that was cut off from a corpse, right? You killed them long ago, traitor!”
Lorenzo's face darkened.
“Besides, I’m not even the Acting Pope, so how could I have access to the Holy Codex? Tak.Torr-adult may know, but he never mentioned it to me, so no one in this world will ever know how to cultivate the God's Punishment Army.”
“You’re lying!” he said with a grimace, “Tak.Torr-adult sent you to Wolfheart, didn’t he, to rebuild the Church and avenge Hermes? Without the Holy Codex, what can the Church use to fight Graycastle?”
“Heh…” Farina actually laughed, “Even with the God's Punishment Army, you can’t fight Graycastle. The Acting Pope just wanted to save everyone’s lives and let the rest live in peace.”
“Absurd! Do you think I’ll believe it?” the Count roared, “Since it’s living in peace, why attack Grand Duke Island? Isn’t it for the coins, food, armor, and weapons stockpiled here! Tak gave the God's Punishment Warriors to you, but you say he just wanted you to live well? That’s ridiculous!”
“You can’t help it if you don’t believe it, that’s the fact,” Farina said indifferently, “I also want to tell you one thing—if you hadn’t killed those messengers at the beginning, but refused politely, we wouldn’t have needed Grand Duke Island. But you made the worst choice, you know, what I hate the most are two-faced traitors!”
“You…”
“You betrayed His Majesty Oberlain’s trust, and you are not worthy of enjoying the rest of your life that Tak.Torr-adult sacrificed himself to obtain.” She said decisively, “It’s a pity that I couldn’t kill you with my own hands, but the nobles of Wolfheart will eventually discover your bluff—even if you take off the outer shell of the Holy City, you will never become one of them! You are just a traitor, and the end is not far away!”
Lorenzo took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger in his heart. “You are deliberately provoking me, wanting me to kill you to prevent the news of the Holy Codex from leaking out, right? Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to fool. You know, not only are there supplies accumulated from sweeping Wolfheart stored here, but there’s also a pile of torture instruments—used to interrogate witches. I don’t know how much better you will perform than those fallen people?”
He glanced at her bare feet hanging in the air, “I think it’s best to start with the toenails… I hope you can still stick to your previous answer when they are pulled off one by one.”
……
Back in the castle hall, the Count could no longer restrain the rising anger and swept the tea set on the table to the ground!
Damn, damn, damn Farina!
Although he looked confident, God knew how long she, who came from the Judgment Army, could last. These tin cans were usually impervious to persuasion, and it probably wouldn't be easy to pry open her mouth.
Grand Duke Island couldn't suddenly close the sea lanes and ban trade, which would only arouse the suspicion of various forces, and maintaining the status quo meant that those merchants were the best informants of the nobles. He urgently needed a force that could fill the gap in the God's Punishment Army, before everything became too bad to salvage!
But the key clue was in the hands of someone who couldn't wait to get rid of him.
It was extremely hateful!
At this moment, one of his butlers walked in, “My lord, I recently heard an interesting piece of news—”
“I don’t want to hear it, I’m not in the mood!” Lorenzo rudely interrupted.
The butler glanced at the fragments of utensils on the ground and said patiently, “It may be helpful to the troubles you are currently encountering.”
“What?” He suddenly raised his head, “Tell me?”
Since he crowned himself Count and took Grand Duke Island as his territory, the followers and church members who followed him had also become members of the "family". The butler named Haig was one of his confidants, who had served as the managing priest and did have some good ideas. "The Dawn Border seems to be uneasy recently, as if they are planning to advance into the Long Mountain depths again."
“What does that have to do with us?” Lorenzo frowned, “No matter which lord occupies Long Mountain, Grand Duke Island won’t get any benefit.”
“What’s interesting is not the event itself, but the leader of the event…” Haig
paused, “My lord, I heard that the person who wants to enter Long Mountain is someone from the King of Graycastle.”