Crimson Servant

Chapter 1 Wiltis Warlock

Louis Jim was the last member of Parliament to sit on the jury. When he passed by the distinguished Mr. Elledge Buckthorn, he leaned back to avoid the pair of dragon horns with gold rings. He sat down and put away his stomach. , put his head over to say hello to the pastor, Ms. Hardy Elshah, who was sitting on the other side of Mr. Elledge. Ms. Hardy smiled and nodded, the brown feathers on her temples like ears trembling lightly, like a happy bird.

"Welcome to Sullivan, Congressman Jim. Thank you for your hard work."

Louis laughed, his booming voice making his beer belly shiver.

"It's not hard, ma'am. The horses pulling my cart are the hardest. I have rewarded them well before coming here."

The noble Elledge Buckthorn coughed twice and stroked the spine of the thick Sullivan Codex with his slender fingers. The lizard man's standard long mouth turned to the left and right sides and tapped lightly, making a slow and low sound.

"Mr. Jim, Ms. Aishah, the greetings can be left after the meeting. If you are ready, I think the review can begin."

"Okay, Mr. Buckthorn."

"It couldn't be better, noble Elder Scales."

Elledge raised his head and gave the order to the guard.

"Bring in the prisoners!"

The guard holding an ax gun took the lead, and four guards brought up a prisoner wearing a burlap robe.

His skin was pale, his face was bloodless, and his eyes were sunken into the sockets. You could barely see a hint of youthfulness from the dirty face. There seemed to be a gloomy, cunning soul imprisoned in those dark blue eyes. His thin figure was covered by a cloth robe, and a pair of magic-suppressing gold shackles shone slightly at his wrists.

The prisoner looked at the judges, saluted slightly within the scope allowed by the guards, and showed a weak smile to the three members who were deciding his fate, a smile that was only polite but not heartfelt.

Louis puffed up his chest, Hardy tightened his lips, and the noble Elledge's expression remained unchanged, saying coldly that he was used to it. There are many criminals in Sullivan Prison, and all kinds of villains with different personalities cannot sway this reviewer. He will not be afraid of a prisoner's cruelty, nor will he pity their disguised misery.

Elledge Buckthorn picked up the prisoner's personal file and looked over it on the parchment.

"John Camp, you are, a warlock..." Elledge raised his head and looked at John carefully.

"You and your accomplices participated in the riots in Nolitdam. Your gang killed Lord Edron and more than a dozen guards, causing double-digit casualties. If it hadn't been for the kind-hearted anonymous guest who reported and stopped your The atrocities, the chaos of Noritedam will further expand, causing the city-state alliance to suffer more losses. John, because you showed a moderate attitude during the arrest and did not resist the detention, we gave you a chance to repent, not with your The leader [Cold-Blooded] Martin Connelly directly executed him. Now, in front of the Eight Holy Spirits, under the scope of Shadwin's law, as long as you reveal the identities of the remaining escaped gangs and the stolen secret treasure [Nolittan Horn] ]’s whereabouts, we will slow down your sentence and, depending on your level of cooperation, you may seek release..."

John listened to Elledge read every word. During this process, he was extremely focused. The pair of amber beast eyes stared at him. Under his gaze, John felt that the noble Elledge was extremely tall, like a boulder pressing on his head. . The pale warlock's body trembled, his teeth chattered unconsciously, and he opened his lips in a hazy state of consciousness.

"I... don't know." When he looked at John again, his expression had returned to a downcast expression, as if the previous trance was just a performance.

Elledge sighed. He was not surprised that a warlock could resist his [deterrence], but the criminal's lack of cooperation still caused dissatisfaction among the judges.

"You made a wrong decision." Elledge closed the code, and the parchment that determined the fate of the criminal was placed in his hand, together with the seal of the verdict and release in court.

"Young man, you don't have to be like this." Hardy Elshah persuaded with kindness in his eyes while combing the feathers on his hands, "You were controlled by a magic trap in the treasure room of Nolitdam. You have no stolen goods. Your Your accomplices have obviously abandoned you. One more thing, I want to thank you personally for staying with me. There are no traces of sorcery left on the bodies of the dead and wounded guards. The recovery work is progressing gratifyingly. Their souls have not been fatally damaged. . I believe you still have some bottom lines as a human being. Stealing property is a shameful act, but it is still different from those killings caused by malicious intentions. We want to avoid more harm, regarding those betrayers, regardless of legal principles Whether it is moral or moral, there is no reason worthy of your protection. Mr. Elledge has the power of execution, which cannot be reversed, but I am still willing to pray for you and pray that the Holy Spirit will forgive your sins." Ms. Hardy's wings spread slightly in time, and the priesthood The author's gentleness was like a warm fire, spreading in the gray brick hall, making the criminal under the burlap robe feel better.

"I don't know." John's eyes were as calm as ice.

Ms. Hardy's light dimmed, she lowered her head and said no more.

The table shook, and Louis stroked his offended belly with a smile. He leaned forward, pressed his arms on the files on the table, and winked at John.

"Hey, sir, I won't deal with those who have nothing. I am a businessman, from the Merchant Alliance, Louis Jim. Maybe you have heard of my name. I also have business dealings with some black businessmen in Dark City. Nolitte I don't care how many people Dan has died or how many lords have died, but the stolen secret treasure, the Warlock, is something guaranteed by the Merchant Alliance. As far as the current situation is concerned, you have no chance of it. It's even worse. The thing is, John, you've lost the vote of Mr. Elledge and Ms. Hardy, which means you've lost your physical freedom and your ability to be forgiven by the Holy Spirit. That's too bad, but just tell me a little bit about the Secret Treasure. There are clues, things you missed before, and there is a chance to come back. I will pay your bail, which will obviously not exceed one-tenth of the value of [Nolitdam Horn], and you will be released in court, It’s as easy as Lord Seabuckthorn’s hand shaking to seal it. Before you leave Sullivan Prison, I am willing to give you ten gold coins as mental compensation. Thank you for supporting the work of the Merchant Alliance. The Merchant Alliance believes that nothing is off the table. , John.”

Louis' eyes sparkled, and he rubbed his fingers bluntly to indicate. His vulgar behavior aroused the dissatisfaction of the judges. Elledge's expression remained unchanged, and Hardy frowned, but Louis did not care about this.

John answered faster than last time. "I have no idea."

Louis Jim leaned back against the chair again and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Okay, that's okay. I'm still willing to sponsor you with ten gold coins as the cost of your coffin."

The distinguished Elledge Seabuckthorn then raised his hand, held his forehead, and signaled for the process to continue when the three judges were no longer interested. Next is the prisoner's self-narration session, which is used to impress members of parliament with personal stories and win votes. They usually start with their unfortunate childhood experiences and elaborate on the reasons why they went astray, shirk responsibility to their deceased parents or those who bullied them in childhood. Children, the level of vulgarity is no less than some third-rate novels. The ending of John Camp has been determined in the minds of the three judges. They are not interested in his experience, but the rules set need to be followed. With the mentality of killing time, everyone at the judging meeting is waiting for John Camp 's self-report.

"I come from a remote mountain village near Licheska. I don't remember what my parents did, but I remember the circumstances of their death. The Wiltis cultists ransacked our village and kidnapped everyone, including me... …”

The three judges straightened their backs at this. The name Wiltis elicited a reaction from them. A group of truly vicious cult followers, the Wiltis cultists often perform human sacrifices and cast strange and powerful evil spells. They worship a heretical existence other than the Eight Holy Spirits, which is nothing in itself. Beliefs other than the Eight Holy Spirits abound. But the scary thing is that the alien being responded to them seriously, and his honorable name was spread amidst the horrific disaster.

The Crimson God, the Eternal Red Mist, the Corruptor, Veltis.

The judges looked at John Camp with a complete change in their eyes, especially Pastor Hardy Elshah. Her eyes were particularly sharp and she silently recited the name of the Holy Spirit in her mouth.

"...We were sacrificed one by one, and I should have followed in the footsteps of others, but just before the Wiltis cultists killed me, that existence responded to me lying on the altar... Those cultists had a deep hatred for the Wiltis cultists. Tis is extremely fanatical and accepted me regardless of my position. The fanatics trained me to be one of their kind, learning sacrificial rituals, Veltis teachings, and spellcasting. Forced to survive, I became a servant of Veltis. I consider myself just like Ms. Hardy, my profession should be a priest serving God..."

"Stop your slander! Warlock! How dare you put evil spirits and the Holy Spirit side by side!" Hardy's feathers stood up, her nails dug into the wooden table, her eyes were filled with fire, and she was completely without the gentleness before. She would be ready at any time. The look of jumping down.

"Quiet!" The noble Ellich Seabuckthorn shouted in a low voice, stopping the commotion with powerful intimidation.

"Elledge, he is a warlock! Or a Wiltis warlock! He should be executed immediately! Burned or buried alive!" Hardy was still screaming.

"Calm down, Hardy. The Wiltis cult is gone. You and I both know that during the [Rotten Red Disaster] five years ago, hundreds of thousands of lunatics gathered together and held a ceremony to dedicate themselves to their demon god, Zhu Anke. The Rite Plateau is still a hell where no one survives. So he can't be the Viltis magician..." Elledge said, but even he couldn't convince himself.

He might have just found the relevant fragments of the Veltis cultists and learned some magic knowledge, Elledge thought.

Louis' head was pressed against the back of the chair, looking at the tall and thin John Kemp in the audience.

"As Mr. Elledge said, the followers of Wiltis should be dead by now. If you are, why did you escape the [Rotten Red Disaster] and did you not participate in that ceremony? Are you unfaithful to your faith? Is that evil...evil god so easy to talk to?"

John Kemp lowered his head, closed his eyes tightly, and seemed to recall the horror of yesterday. He spoke slowly, as if he was telling a ghost story.

"I went through that ritual too, but miraculously I survived."

"Why?" Their eyes expressed their meaning directly.

John Kemp returned to silence and spoke coldly.

"Because I'm special."

The judges remembered what John had said about being chosen by God. The devil seemed to favor him particularly. They were shocked, but they couldn't help but feel curious.

"What's so special about you?"

John Kemp crossed his fingers and answered expressionlessly.

"I'm extremely ungrateful."

(End of this chapter)