in2ebook Chapter 108: Horseshoe Temple (End)
Chapter 108: Horseshoe Temple (End)
Seeing his men's rigorous approach, Liu Yuan couldn't help but feel very satisfied. He nodded slightly, saying in approval, "Well done, you all worked hard." Then, he turned to look at Glenn and asked, "Sir Glenn, did you hear that too?"
Grant quickly replied, "Yes, Lord Marquis."
Liu Yuan thought for a moment, then speculated: "Well... I think Ser Loras should be fine, but the premise is that the church has not had time to take action against him. Let's go over and take a look at the situation now." After that, he led everyone towards the marble square.
When they returned to the marble square, they found that the bodies that were originally scattered all over the ground had been cleared. At this time, a group of women wearing gray robes, hoods covering their mouths and noses, and an eye pattern printed on the hoods were helping the soldiers carry the bodies. These women are the Silent Sisters, a female organization dedicated to serving the Stranger (the god of death among the Seven Gods). They vowed abstinence and silence. Unlike the nuns of the church, once the Silent Sisters join this organization, they are not allowed to speak for life. Therefore, they are usually not regarded as nuns, and are sometimes even called "Stranger's Wives."
The Silent Sisters shuttled between battlefields, silently burying or burning unclaimed bodies to avoid potential risks such as plague caused by the decay of the bodies. In some large towns, the Silent Sisters were responsible for preparing funerals for the dead, just like the undertakers of later generations. These sisters mastered the exquisite skills of corpse preservation, which included removing intestines and organs, draining blood, and other steps. Not only that, they also skillfully used various herbs and salts to fill the inside of the body to cover up the stench of corruption and make full preparations for the proper preservation of the body. Therefore, on the continent of Westeros, no one would hurt these Silent Sisters, but people would not take the initiative to approach them.
At the edge of the square, there was another group of people, all of whom were prisoners who had just been released from the dungeon. At this moment, these prisoners were being interrogated by the soldiers, and once their identities were confirmed, they would be quickly sent away.
"Oh! Damn it! Can't you see that I'm injured? I can walk by myself and don't need your support!" A burly bald man was carried out of the dungeon by the soldiers. He had splints on his arms and kept cursing.
Lyanna sat quietly on the statue's pedestal, wearing the iconic blue cloak with the hammer cross emblem of the Lake family, holding a glass of juice in her hand, enjoying a moment of rest. She stood there quietly, witnessing everything that happened around her. Renfrey wanted to take her away from this place, but Lyanna firmly refused. She wanted to witness the destruction of the church with her own eyes.
Hearing the noise coming from afar, Lyanna turned her head and happened to meet the eyes of Rorge, whose hands she had broken. The other party also noticed her. The emotional Rorge pushed the soldiers around him away and shouted insults at Lyanna: "You vicious woman, you dare to break my arm. I will never let you go after my injury heals... @**!&..." He has been in the underground arena for a long time and has countless swear words.
The soldier he pushed away angrily hit his abdomen with the hilt of his sword, but even under such an attack, Rorge's mouth did not stop. At this moment, a foot wearing heavy armor suddenly kicked from the side and kicked Rorge's face hard, interrupting his curse.
Rorge's tongue was almost cut by the broken teeth. In the arena, such thugs who can fight and swear are very popular. He has always had a bad mouth, but he has never suffered much. Now he was beaten up for just swearing at a woman. At this time, he saw that the person who came was a noble man wearing gorgeous armor. He panicked and begged for mercy. However, before he could finish his words, a sword flashed. An ugly head flew up and blood splattered all over the ground.
This man was Becot. He had just left to find food and was going to bring it back to Lyanna. Unexpectedly, when he came back, he ran into this scene. When he saw a dirty and disgusting guy dared to insult his sister, his anger instantly burned up. He swung the sword in his hand without hesitation, slashed at the hateful guy fiercely, and chopped off the other's head directly. Even so, he still felt unsatisfied, and kicked the head away with a flying kick.
The head fell to the ground and was picked up by a silent sister. She held the head in both hands and walked carefully towards the place where the bodies were collected. The originally noisy and noisy group of prisoners immediately became silent, and no one dared to speak loudly. When the soldiers began to question these people, they behaved very well and their attitudes were extremely good.
At this time, Loras was hiding in the crowd. This once brave warrior on the battlefield was now tortured to the point of being haggard and dazed. He was exhausted and extremely weak both mentally and physically. When he was dragged out by two soldiers, he was completely powerless and could only stand with their strength. After not seeing the sun for a long time, his eyes could not adapt to the light outside. The strong stimulation forced him to squint his eyes and try to open them.
Finally, a tall figure appeared in front of him. The man looked down at him and asked in a serious tone: "What is your name? Who are you? Why were you arrested by the church?"
Loras replied in a hoarse voice: "I am Loras Tyrell..."
The soldier who was asking the question paused after hearing the name, then turned around, waved and shouted into the distance: "Here, he is the man your Excellency is looking for!"
After hearing this, Liu Yuan, Lyanna and several others immediately quickened their pace and walked over. When they saw the haggard Loras in front of them, they couldn't help but feel pity for him.
Liu Yuan quickly ordered the soldiers beside him: "Go and ask the doctor to come over and give him proper treatment."
Lyanna also came forward and looked at Loras carefully. Although he looked very embarrassed now, he still looked handsome. As the Knight of Flowers, his name was well-known among the noble ladies. And his unique private life had long been in the top five of the gossip list.
Loras looked at Liu Yuan and Lyanna gratefully, tears blurring his eyes. With trembling lips, he spoke with difficulty: "Thank you...you..."
Liu Yuan: "You're welcome, Ser Loras. The Church is our common enemy, and saving you is just a side effect. From now on, you just need to rest and recuperate. The Red Keep has sent someone to pick you up, and you will be able to go home soon." I originally wanted to pat his shoulder, but he couldn't do it because he was covered in stains.
Ser Grant came over immediately after receiving the news, and quickly called the soldiers who followed him to help Loras onto the sedan chair. He said respectfully to Liu Yuan: "Thank you very much, Lord Marquis. Now that Ser Loras has been found, I will take him back to report."
After all the outsiders left, the infantry commander in charge of the scene, Muto, strode over and said respectfully: "Sir, according to your previous order, including the Baelor Cathedral, the entire Visenya Hills has been cleared, and all the people related to the church..." He made a gesture of wiping his neck with his hand, and then said: "After investigation, those innocent people and ordinary believers were released as long as they did not carry weapons. The rest are there..." As he said that, he pointed to the main hall.
"Oh?" Liu Yuan raised his eyebrows with interest and asked, "There are still remaining enemies, and you actually let them retreat to the main hall. This is not like your usual style at all!"
Muto bowed his head and admitted his mistake quickly, saying, "I'm very sorry, sir, I acted on my own. When you were away, I learned from the captured soldiers that under the altar of the Seven Gods in the main hall is the crypt where the kings of all generations are buried. In addition, the church's treasury is also located here, which contains the huge wealth that the Church of the Seven Gods has plundered over the years. Therefore, I did not order the use of fire attack, and I was also worried that it would cause damage to the main structure of the building, so I didn't even demolish the walls. I don't think it is necessary to send troops to attack by force. After all, there is neither food nor water in the main hall, and the people trapped inside will definitely not be able to hold out for too long."
Liu Yuan nodded, approving of his actions. In fact, he knew very well that the MUTOs did this on purpose. As the biggest spoils of this fierce battle, it should be left to the Lord to pick it up personally. From this, it can be seen that this commander who was promoted from an Unsullied has now understood some of the ways of the world. He was very happy about this. In this way, the Unsullied are getting closer to ordinary people and more human.
At this moment, the gate of the temple was smashed open by the soldiers, and the timing was just right. The copper-covered oak door instantly shattered to the ground, and through the flying dust, the nervous expressions of the people inside could be clearly seen.
Two teams of black-armored soldiers quickly deployed in front of the gate, with heavy tower shields standing firmly on the ground and four-meter-long spears pointing straight forward.
"Listen, everyone inside, put down your weapons and surrender! Otherwise we will kill you all!" the officer shouted.
After a brief silence, an old voice came from inside: "Is Marquis Garlon here?"
Liu Yuan stood outside the door and responded loudly: "I'm here, Big Sparrow. Have you decided how you want to die?"
"I am the Archbishop of the Church of the Seven Gods, the spokesperson of the gods in the world! You will suffer retribution for wantonly slaughtering the people of God! The people of the entire Westeros continent will not let you go for such atrocities!" The High Sparrow, supported by the Holy Sword Knight, walked out slowly and staggeringly. Behind him were a dozen clergymen.
Liu Yuan raised his lips slightly, revealing a faint smile, but his eyes were full of mockery and disdain, as if the High Sparrow in front of him was just a lamb to be slaughtered. He said coldly: "High Sparrow, are you still stubborn now? You should know that our Celtigar family is the remnant of Valyria, and we do not believe in the Seven Gods. And you actually want to punish me with the Seven Gods' teachings, which is simply courting death. It seems that you plan to resist to the end?"
Hearing this, the High Sparrow turned pale, but he still pretended to be calm, trying to face Liu Yuan with his last dignity. He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and said, "Marquis Garlon, there is no winner in this war. We have all paid too much. If we continue, more people will be killed and blood will be shed. So, I hope you can put aside your prejudice and negotiate with us. In this way, not only can more casualties be avoided, but both sides can also get a satisfactory result."
However, Liu Yuan laughed loudly after hearing this, his laughter full of ridicule and contempt. He sneered and said, "Peace talks? Have you forgotten? It was your church that first provoked the incident, smashed my Chamber of Commerce, violated my interests as a great lord, and finally kidnapped my sister. This war was initiated by you, not me. Now that you see the situation is not right, you want to make peace, how can it be so easy!"
The High Sparrow was choked by Liu Yuan's words and was speechless, but he still gritted his teeth and insisted: "Marquis Garlon, no matter what, we are all for peace and stability within the kingdom. The dispute between faith and the secular world will only bring greater turmoil and chaos to the entire kingdom. Therefore, I hope you can put the overall situation first, put aside personal grudges, and negotiate with us. As long as you agree, I can make some concessions on behalf of the church."
After hearing this, Liu Yuan's smile became even more intense. He shook his head slightly and said, "High Sparrow, you are too naive. I will not let you go easily, especially since so many people have died! Today, I will let the entire Westeros know that anyone who dares to provoke me will pay the price!"
"I feel sorry for those who died. But war always brings casualties, this is unavoidable." The High Sparrow said with an unsightly expression as he looked at the corpses all over the ground.
He paused, then continued: "Now that you have achieved your goal, why do you need to continue causing bloodshed?"
Hearing this, Liu Yuan's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said in a stern tone: "Humph, you have violated my interests, and you don't allow me to resist? What a joke! To tell you the truth, High Sparrow, you will definitely die today, and all the warriors of the cult inside will not survive. As for those ordinary monks and nuns, I can show leniency and let them live."