Blood tax

Chapter 320 All Staff Sanity Check

"No letter from William."

Countess Elena de La Mole looked at the bright red sunset outside the window, tapped the thick report, and complained in a low voice.

William was away, Sonia and Griffith were also on the expedition, and the big house was really empty.The whole family is left with only me, so lonely... Oh, wait a minute, isn't Griffith, am I missing someone?
The countess thought about it for a while, and realized that she had missed the eldest son, Nolan.

Don't blame me, don't blame me, who made him play with his friends from morning till night and never go home!The countess stuck out her tongue a little, and prepared a divination ceremony on the silver tray at hand without any expectations.While waiting for the results, she rang the bell.

Mr. Ashford came in at once with some servants.The countess said to them:
"Please give me another update on the situation on the front line."

It's all bad news all this time.Society was gloomy.

The noble Duke Hermann Meyer defected, and his territory has become an independent principality under the protection of the clan alliance. This is absurd and unimaginable.The Bayerland army, which was flanked, lost nearly half of its strength, Teutoburg was surrounded, and the remaining troops almost lost their combat effectiveness.With the defeat of the Teutonic group, other border guards deployed on the border also retreated, and large areas fell into the hands of the enemy.

The fiasco spread like a disease from the Neck to the interior of the Odessa region.The refugees abandoned their homes and fled south, lacking food and clothing, and blocked the roads of retreat and counterattack.

Bayerland and Odessa blame each other, and both believe that the other side should bear the main responsibility for the current situation.

The Odessa front is at risk of total collapse!

The Church of the Gods headed by the Holy See of Light is absorbing believers at an unprecedented speed...

The butler of the Earl's Mansion took out the notepad at his waist, clamped the lenses on his eye sockets, and flipped through it: "Madam, I regret that I have not received today's battle report. The action of the Earl has not been made public; The left flank, which outflanks the Teutonic cluster, will have an encounter with Mademoiselle's troops. The maidens of Anjou are also with Mademoiselle.

"Miss's army is composed of scattered and defeated troops. She has the support of the Urenas family, but there are no senior officers and other high-ranking nobles. The current actual commander of the army is Griffith."

"Pay attention to the prince's movements. I want to know what he ate every day, how long he slept, and what he was thinking," the countess said, and suddenly, she stopped and made a quiet gesture with her fingers, "Wait a minute, what's the sound? "

Like a bell, mixed with the sound of a salute, it came from the direction of the Senate.The first cannon salute rang through the city, alerting citizens to an important event, followed by a second.

"It's the Senate's salute, ma'am," Mr. Ashford pricked up his ears. "Twice the whole town is under martial law."

Elena immediately tapped the crystal beside the table: "Echo Hub, connect to the Senate."

At this time, the third salute sounded.The expressions of Mr. Ashford and the servants suddenly brightened.Then, a communiqué from the Senate came from the echo crystal:
"Central News Agency, Bayeran News Agency, here is the instant communiqué of the Senate:

"On October 10th, the brave and fearless Byelan army achieved a brilliant victory in Berrimion. After today's fierce fighting during the day, Mangulus Bloodaxe, who commanded the Tierne Front Army, and the army under his command was a complete failure.

"The brutal orc butcher died in the chaos, and his army was resolutely pursued by our army. He was either killed or drowned in the river!

"The number of enemies killed and captured exceeded 8000."

After hearing the announcement from the Senate, the Countess let out a long sigh of relief.She nodded to the servants, and when they left, she contacted a very high-ranking friend.

"Mrs. Mordres, good evening, I am Elena, and I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Your Excellency the General and his victory... Well, Sonia only made some small contributions.

"Yes, yes, this is exactly what I want to know urgently. My daughter is on the front line. I am really worried. Please tell me in detail!"

At this moment, out of the corner of the countess' eyes, she caught a glimpse of her own divination disk.

The mess of information since the start of the war is becoming clear as divination gives its results for the first time.Mercury outlines a row of complicated patterns.

Elena happily examined the omens on the silver plate, and talked to the general's wife absent-mindedly.After a while, she found that she couldn't read, couldn't understand what the divination was talking about.

She considered herself a good occultist, but she could only comprehend sporadic fragments of omens.Among a large number of incomprehensible patterns, only a small segment can be identified——

"Mysterious, enhanced".

……

Griffith felt sick.

There is no longer an organized enemy army on the battlefield.The cavalry dropped their breastplates and began to pursue the fleeing enemy.

The troops of many clan alliances rushed to the east, and the corpses chopped up by the light cavalry were scattered all over the field. Countless soldiers could not run, and simply dropped their weapons and lay on the ground waiting to die.

At dusk, the Bayeran army killed more than 500 Clan Alliance troops in the battles at Shiqiao and at the foot of the mountain, and captured nearly [-] prisoners.In addition to the battles at the ferry and Kazika village a few days ago, the Tirne front army lost a quarter of its troops under Griffith's command. The chief general and a large number of officers were either killed or captured.

Groups of captives captured from various places were driven back across the stone bridge.The confiscated weapons, luggage and carriages piled up like mountains.

The news of the victory is being passed to the Teutonic Centralized Command and the Senate in the fastest way.

The entire army was cheering for Griffith.The members of the Auxiliary Legion who had just lost their souls after a big defeat a few days ago were in extreme excitement.Even Alyosha, who had nothing to do with the war, jumped up and down.Different voices repeat the same title, paying homage to the commander and leader of this decisive battle.

"The Eagle of Berrimion!"

"Eagle of Berrimion—Long live!"

There were bursts of cheers like a billowing tide.Griffith felt very uncomfortable for some reason.He was dizzy, acid water regurgitated in his stomach, and his mouth was bitter.He wanted Sonia to accept the applause of the army, but the Countess and Galadia, hoarse in a twilight joy, refused to listen to him, and pushed him on the saddle instead. He patrols the battlefield like a famous general in a story.

Severe discomfort filled Griffith's whole body, and he even found it difficult to move his fingers.

"Geffe, what's wrong with you?" Krista asked softly, sensing his discomfort.In the pieces of cheers dedicated to Griffith, she seemed to have completely shed her identity as a saint, relaxed and comfortable, and her beautiful smile overshadowed the sunset.

Griffith was almost lying on the horse's back. He couldn't straighten his back, and he didn't know how to explain to everyone that there was something wrong with his body, so he could only touch his feet.

"Enemy, the enemy shot me in the toe, it hurts like hell."

"En." Krista took off the iron gauntlet, concentrated her healing power on her fist and punched him.The divine healing extended along the spinal cord and meridians, and Griffith experienced the feeling of being blown up for the first time in his life.

He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, scaring Krista and the people around her back two steps.The girl looked at her fist, feeling incomprehensible, and gave him two more blows.

Griffith, who vomited blood, somehow felt better.He wiped the corners of his mouth, straightened his body, and accepted the cheers from the soldiers.

When he raised Hanguang high, all the cannons of the 603 Test Squadron fired at the same time, rumbling guns and tidal cheers swept across the entire battlefield.

Griffith was surrounded by cheers from mountains and tsunamis.At this time, he seems to be the center of the world, and with his army, he can have the power to change the world.

He vaguely heard the sound of the door opening, and the surging tide of psionic energy rushed towards him, making him stronger every second.

Surprised by his own strength, Griffith gained amazing knowledge of the occult.Immediately afterwards, he saw the phantoms of the four knights approaching.The knights galloped on their horses.The terrible disaster came with their iron hoofs, everything in the world was out of balance, the sun and the moon changed color, and then the world collapsed.

Witnessing an astonishing vision, Griffith's eyes went black and he fell off his horse.

……

The violent reverberation hit the brain, and the incomprehensible ravings that were close at hand lingered in my ears.

who am I?
Try to open your eyes and see the lightly decorated bedroom with crisp white sheets and soft bedding.A girl was lying on the side of the bed, her head was buried in her white arms, and her light blond hair was hanging down.She was sitting on a chair by the bed, wearing a light blue dress, the round curve of her chest and slender waist were pleasing to the eye.A hand flicked the tip of her hanging hair, making the girl move.Well, this is my hand...

where am I?
Vision becomes clear.Newspapers were scattered on the small table by the bed.The large headline reads "Heroic prince and impregnable army march to the Neck."Next to the newspaper is a small velvet box, in which there are shining medals.There is also a letter next to the medal, the wax seal has been removed, and a long list of titles are written on the letter paper:

"To Sir Griffith de Ravenelle, Knight of the Eagle with Two Swords and Silver Oakleaves, Eagle of Bellimion, Commander of the Second Class Assault Squadron:

"The awarding and canonization ceremony is planned to be held... You can choose the fiefdom or annuity in Verona... Count Lamor will hold a celebration banquet for you in Bayeran, and your vacation will start from the date of receipt of this letter... "

Oh, I have a headache.Griffith rubbed his eyes, then pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.After realizing that he didn't wake up from the dream, he tried to sit up and pinched himself again.

What am I doing?
The noisy raving in the brain gradually subsided.Griffith once again came into contact with power that he had never experienced before and a lot of mystical knowledge, and a huge amount of information poured into his brain and put him down on the bed again.

Griffith lay there humming for a while, and finally calmed down again.He struggled to get up again, flipped through a stack of newspapers on the table to get a clue.

The headline on the front page of this stack of newspapers is interesting.What I just saw was a newspaper before the war started, which was printed and distributed by a local newspaper in Odessa.The titles get more and more terrifying as the fight goes on.

"Betrayal, shameless betrayal! Meyer, who is as shameless as a goblin, betrayed us!"

"The army turns into Flint Town, and everything will be fine."

"Our army was wiped out in Flint Town, Commodus, give us back the Second Odessa Auxiliary Army!"

Some newspapers were carefully cut out and pasted on notepads, and there were comments in delicate handwriting beside them, which seemed to be made by Sonia.

From the newspapers these days, it is not difficult to find that after learning the news that the army was defeated and the orcs invaded the interior, an atmosphere of panic pervaded Odessa all day long.Most people didn't expect to lose so suddenly and so quickly.Soon, refugees from the north fled, tragic stories filled the newspapers, and the atmosphere of despair became more dignified.

A full-page death list, a series of annihilated troop numbers... Cruel siege battles and city massacres are almost inevitable.

"Griffith, are you awake?" the Countess rubbed her eyes and sat up.She probably fell asleep when she was giving a briefing by her knight, and red marks appeared on her beautiful face, and she began to mutter in a daze, congratulating Griffith on becoming a knight, and saying to him The squadron got a few days off and replenishment.

While listening, Griffith flipped through the newspaper below, and found that the content became unsightly.

"Poor unreligious cowards go on hysterical orgy."

"Crazy without a bottom line breaks through the bottom line of human beings. Where is the rationality?!"

"A large number of cultists spread false news, and the city defense army has been dispatched."

Galadia once said that human beings have only a little reason, and it is not uncommon for them to be destroyed by the unknown and fear, and become believers and puppets of evil gods.

Now, it seems so.

Under the ravages of panic and mass sacrifice, part of the Odessa population collapsed.Their naked orgies, spiraling into eerie and all kinds of hysterical madness, are sickening just to witness.According to the newspaper description, the men "squirmed like a swarm of worms."

"What's the matter wriggling like a bug?" The countess leaned over, looked at the newspaper, and asked her knight curiously, "Is it some kind of terrible transfiguration?"

"You don't want to know." Griffith patted the girl on the head, crumpled up the newspaper and threw it away.

The following newspapers suddenly changed their pen, and in the midst of utter desperation and grief, the army was victorious again.Thousands of enemies were wiped out, and the general who commanded the army was also killed.The reversal of the situation was as sudden as the original tragedy, making it impossible to believe that it was done by human beings.

The crying face was suddenly twisted into a smiling face.

Newspaper headlines have completely changed.

"Such an absurd script must be the will of the gods. It is a test of our faith!"

"All this is due to the Anjou girl!"

"The holy maiden commanded the army and completed an impossible counterattack after a series of defeats."

"Only the spokesperson of the Holy Light can make the impossible possible."

"The supreme saint will arrive today in her pious Odessa!"

Griffith trembled in horror.He found that he was negligent.He made a fatal mistake.Holding his last hope, he asked Sonia: "Where are we?"

"In Odessa, in the rooms of the Summer Palace!"

"Krista, where is Krista!?" Griffith jumped out of bed, desperately grabbed the breastplate and Hanguang, condemned, and shouted, "Where is Galadia, where is my army? where!"

Sonia was terrified by his expression, and stammered: "Krista is in the square, blessing everyone. Galadia and the rangers are outside the city."

Griffith Knight almost stumbled out of the room.It startled Karen and the maid outside the door.

"Karen, take Sonia out of the city!" Griffith ran wildly while wearing his clothes, assembling the troops heart-piercingly, "Storm, 603, assemble!"

Officers and sergeants immediately responded to him in the echo crystal.The echo was very clear, and everyone's tone was very peaceful.

"Yes, sir," Rein replied, "but we are receiving new recruits in the barracks outside the city. Ace, Joshua, and Lanzada, the clergymen, are participating in the rally in the square, and the 603 artillery battery is still there. On the way, a day's journey."

Griffith was desperate.He frantically searched for the body, but found nothing.Soon, he rushed out of the corridor and came to the balcony of the Summer Palace facing the square.

He saw hundreds of thousands of people kneeling on the ground piously, looking up at the balcony of the Holy Light Cathedral, like the undulating waves of the sea.The sun is warm and warm, a scene of peace and tranquility.

Fortunately, there is still time!Griffith jumped down from the balcony, jumped on a group of horses, and ran towards the girl.There are people of their own.

……

Bishop Clariant raised his hands solemnly: "Please pray for the protection of the Holy Light for us, the maidens of Anjou."

A warrior who lost his right leg came to Krista, accompanied by priests.The noble and extraordinary wizard Seydlitz was moved and wept bitterly, like a child with a lollipop.Lord Punisher Korvalen looked at Christa on the balcony lovingly, as if he was looking at his little daughter who was about to get married.

Bishop Horus Osiris, the Word Bearer from other provinces, and several Transcendents from Odessa trembled with excitement, their faces full of blissful joy.They knelt among soldiers, petty merchants, commoners, and vagabonds, as if all were equal brothers.

Lansada was also in the crowd.She was surrounded by Ace and Joshua, two boys who were happier and more godly than she was.Hundreds of thousands of believers and citizens who suffered from panic and lost their loved ones watched the saint expectantly, waiting for her blessing.

Amid the sound of prayers, she seemed to hear the captain's call.

"Stop the blessing, stop Krista!"

Krista?Who is Krista?Lansada looked around blankly, not understanding what the captain meant.She looked up and saw the Anjou girl who had just appeared on the terrace, and was immediately attracted by the pure beauty.

The purest frankincense exudes a pleasant aroma, pouring out from the second-floor terrace of the Holy Light Cathedral.Maidens of Anjou wore pure white robes trimmed with gold thread.She was surrounded by twelve pure and beautiful maidens from noble Odessa families.

Everything is silent, extremely deep, only the distant bells are heard from afar.

what--!She is so beautiful, so beautiful that people feel that it is a sin to look directly at her. How happy I would be if I could kneel in front of her.Gilles de Ace burst into tears, one of which fell on Lansada's hand.The little bit of vigilance left by the young lady apprentice nun was completely lost, and she forgot all other thoughts.

The disabled warrior had already come to the saint, knelt down on one knee, and the Anjou girl raised her hand, solemnly doing a blessing gesture.

Her words were short and touching.

"Never forget, my brothers and sisters, that you have seen with your own eyes the greatest kingdom on earth saved by the Lord. Just as you have seen enemies as evil as the abyss defeated and destroyed. We are weak and tortured on earth and kill, yet we have the victory in heaven. My brothers and sisters, you will remember this day forever, will you not? Hate the blasphemers of the Lord.

"You shall remain faithful forever to a Lord so great, so terrible, yet so merciful."

The Anjou girl has an awe-inspiring attitude, beautiful and divine beyond human beings.

She stretched out her white arms, as if inspired by the gods, and asked, "Do you promise me?"

"We promise." The girls said, tears streaming down their faces.

Hundreds of thousands of believers wept and swore again and again.

"In the name of the terrible Lord, I accept your answer!" Bishop Clariant's voice was thunderous.Lord Seydlitz was crying so much that he was about to pass out.

The disabled soldier felt his body heating up, and his lost right leg seemed to be healing.Filled with ecstasy, he lost his composure from the shock of joy brought by the blessing, and stood up wanting to cheer.

However, after a while, he felt that his body was becoming stiff and dry.The faces of those brothers and sisters who watched him eagerly were covered with a dark cloud of haze and horror.

Beside the saint, two girls who were closer to him fainted to the ground.

"What's wrong with you guys? Is there something on my face?"

The veteran felt his face itchy, so he stretched out his hand to touch it. When he looked down, he saw that his palm was covered with flesh and human skin.There was a rustling sound next to his ears, and his flesh and blood peeled off like snowflakes, forming squirming granulation and dead gray tentacles.The tentacles lifted up like snakes, spun, towards hundreds of thousands of believers, slowly split open, and a viscous blood-colored liquid flowed out.

Eyeballs appeared one after another at the cracks that were bleeding like scars, wriggling, and staring at the believers.

The devout believers stared at this scene without warning in dumbfounded.Lansada in the crowd was originally wrapped in joy and blessings, but suddenly fell into extremely cold despair and fear.

Everyone's first reaction was that they had a nightmare.

Krista woke up suddenly.The countless voices and thoughts that had been haunting her dissipated, and she regained her consciousness from the haze and illusion, and looked at the large group of wriggling tentacles in front of her in horror.Terrified, she stepped back and looked around.Terrified worshipers looked up at her, and everyone who met her eyes began to crack, mutate, sprout granules, tentacles, and eyeballs.

Pieces of tentacles bloomed among the crowd like flowers on the meadow.Bloody, sticky tentacles covered with dense hair and pieces of flesh surged up in the crowd.They grabbed the nearest living person and began to fuse and devour them.

Bishop Clariant, Bishop Horus Osiris, Lord Seydlitz and other extraordinary people have already fled like rabbits.

The terrified screams were deafening.The Holy Light believers and clerics who stayed at the scene saw the terrifying monsters appearing around them one after another, and they ran away in panic or shouted incoherently.

"That woman, she brought monsters, she's a monster and a liar!"

"She's a devil!"

This is not the end.Amidst the hysterical screams, behind the "Holy Maiden" appeared a shadow that could not even appear in nightmares and could not be described in words.

The real replaces the false.A certain existence has long been waiting for everyone, waiting for the moment when faith reaches its climax.

Somehow, Lansada and his companions heard the sound of the dice falling to the ground.Everyone felt as if there was a gap in their heads, and the fear, anger and despair born of betrayal and deception poured out.

They seem to have seen a dice, the weirdness is indescribable, the weirdness should not exist in this world.The dice have one hundred sides with numbers 1-100 written on them.

Everyone gets their numbers and their wills crumble.

Immediately afterwards, the second dice fell.

The citizens of Odessa witnessed spectacle of insanity, the most wicked deceit.They knew at this moment that their sanity was being lost, and they were slipping into madness——

"1-100"

(End of this chapter)