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Chapter Twelve: Royal Mercy

Steve stumbled to the river, his legs weakened and he knelt down. His face was reflected in the water. His hair was messy, half blackened by smoke, and the other half stained with blood. He held up the water, washed his face, and rubbed it off

Dried blood and soot. Cold river water dripped onto the wound on his head, and he twitched.

After the knight finished cleaning, he took the water bag from his belt and put it into the river. A man floated from upstream, wearing a red smock with an arrow stuck in his left eye. A crow stood on his face and pecked at his intact right hand.

Eye. Steve threw out the water bag and drove away the scavenging birds. His throat seemed to be split into several pieces due to thirst, but he did not dare to drink the contaminated water.

When he was about to leave, the flow of the river accelerated, bringing more corpses. The originally clear water also became turbid. He tried to find a familiar face among these corpses.

The armor on which a corpse was affected was blocked by a tree trunk extending into the water. The rapids and branches fought for control, causing the corpse to flip in the water and reveal its face. Although it was swollen by the water, Steve

The husband still recognized Sir Davis's big nose.

He stepped into the water and took hold of Sir Davis's stiff arm, "At least, Sir must get rid of the fate of feeding fish." Steve tried his best to drag the body to the shore, and the slippery river bed made him unsteady.

, he sat down and the water was above his head. This action saved him. A group of orcs were walking along the river.

There were as many as twenty orcs. They pointed at the corpses in the river and laughed wildly. Steve hid in the water below Sir Davis, not daring to move. Some orcs noticed the corpses by the river.

It shouted to its companions, and the orcs gathered together and had a heated discussion, seemingly arguing about who should go into the water. They searched back and forth on the river, and several orcs took off the crossbows they were carrying. Steve felt that his

The lungs are about to explode.

A sharp horn sounded in the distance, and the patrol stopped searching and ran away in the direction of the horn sound.

Steve suddenly stood up from the water and climbed ashore on hands and feet. The river water dripped down his chin and armor. He raised his head and looked around, but there was no trace of the orcs or goblins. The horn was probably urging Green

His skin was gathered together. He lay on the muddy ground by the river, panting desperately. Thanks to him, the dead jazz broke free from the shackles of the tree trunk and floated away along the river.

He raised his hand and then lowered it. After hiding here and there all day and night, he had no extra strength. He lay down in the mud by the river, his limbs as heavy as lead, and he couldn't breathe under the weight of his armor. Steve

He felt the buckle of the breastplate, but could not untie it. He took out the dagger from the scabbard and placed it on the joint of the breastplate.

The sound of gold and iron was heard not far away. He stopped and listened carefully. In addition to the roars of the orcs, there were also human shouts. Steve stood up with his hands on his body, and the dizziness came one after another.

His eyes darkened and he almost fell over. He checked his weapon and found that the sword was still where it was.

Without the shield and helmet, he could only make do. Steve shook his wrist and rotated the sword to speed up the blood circulation. 'Rather than hiding around and living in vain. It is better to hold the steel and fight.' The knight tightened his grip on the sword.

Hold your chest high and move towards the direction of the battle.

The enemy appeared. A goblin covered his injured arm and ran towards Steve. It was panicked and didn't notice the knight at all. Steve scratched its remaining arm. The goblin glared at him bitterly and changed.

He continued to run away. He had no time to chase, as hordes of goblins rushed over.

The goblins ignored the presence of humans and ran around him. Steve aimed at a short man passing by and swung his weapon. The other person absentmindedly blocked it with his shield and ran away without looking back. Because of the cover of the woods,

He couldn't see clearly what was happening in front of him. But judging from the way the goblins were running desperately, reinforcements should be coming.

'Father and the main force of the Knights are finally here.' Steve ran forward with tears in his eyes. He collided with the oncoming orcs and fell to the ground. Strict training prevented him from landing on the back of his head, but this was

It just didn't make him pass out on the spot.

The orc was wearing brown leather armor, and the helmet was missing, revealing its dark green bald head. The orc snorted angrily, like a provoked animal, and it picked up a thick wooden stick with a crooked stick on it.

Stick some spikes on it.

The wooden stick smashed down, and Steve rolled to the left to avoid the blow. The splashed mud hurt his ears. The beast yelled angrily. The savage creature changed its strategy. It used a weapon that was not commensurate with its size.

With such agility, he stepped on the knight's chest. If it weren't for the breastplate, Steve's ribs would have been broken.

The beast exposed its sharp canines and laughed at the human beings writhing under its feet. It raised the mace again. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in its feet. It dropped the stick and saw a dagger stuck in its boots.

While the orc was lifting his feet, Steve broke free. He stood up, picked up the sword, and held it with both hands. "Are you proud of me? Father." Steve waited for the orc to pull out the sword from his leg.

Dagger, picked up the heavy stick again. 'Mom, pray for me.'

The knight stepped forward quickly, and the orc stared at him, with his stick half raised. He rushed to a place two steps away from the orc, and thrust out his sword. The orc's stick hit the sword, and Steve relaxed the hilt of the sword and let it go.

The weapon was knocked down by the orc. The knight turned sideways and slammed into the orc's waist with his shoulder. The greenskin wanted to stand firm and catch the human, but forgot that one of his feet was injured. The tall orc fell to the ground.

Steve picked up the dagger on the ground and stabbed it in the face, once, twice, three times... The green skin stopped moving. Steve let go of the dagger and lay down next to the green skin's body.

, blood gushed out from the horrific wounds on the greenskin's face, pooled under his neck, and flowed towards the knight who was close at hand.

He didn't have the strength to move even a little bit, so he had to let the green-skinned blood dye his back red. The ground shook, and he knew that a cavalry was approaching his position without raising his head. The cavalry stopped not far away, and the leader

He got off his horse and walked to him.

Steve worked hard to straighten his upper body. The person coming was a tall knight with his face hidden in his helmet. Steve's eyes swept over the knight's waist and crotch, and down his legs. Tailor-made armor has always been

Unable to hide his graceful figure, the knight lifted his visor and stretched out his hand.

For a moment, Steve thought he was dead, and Terra sent her angels to pick him up.

"This gentleman?" Christina stretched out her hand and asked dryly.

The wounded soldier withdrew his gaze and held the elf's hand in embarrassment. The paladin pulled him up. Not even half an inch of the lying orc's face was left intact. He could no longer die. The young man's armor was full of

There are scratches and dents, the hair is tangled in one place on the head, and the golden hair has been dyed brown.

The elf closed his eyes and silently recited a prayer with his small lips.

Emily saw a blue flash of light on the elf. In fact, the wound on the young man's head could be treated with ointment, but everyone wanted to see Christina perform her medical miracle. Some soldiers in the team, holding on to

The statue of the Virgin hanging around her neck was chanting something. Unfortunately, the mage was not a devout believer. She just thought the blue light at this moment was very beautiful.

William Hamilton has a well-known title, called "Master Hamilton". Just like the famous Dandelion among poets, Flint, the dwarf blacksmith who is regarded as an important member of the Armorer's Guild, also has impressive skills, such as,

Carry out beheading, hanging, torture, whipping and any other punishment written in the law. The executioner William, or Master Hamilton, has fifteen years of experience in the industry. With his superb skills and devout faith, he is not exempted from punishment here.

He has won a good reputation and income in the popular industry.

He performed his duties conscientiously, and in his long career, he only missed once, and it was because the other party was too drunk. Even though he was tied to a chair, the eldest son of a little noble family in the country still looked back and forth as much as possible.

, smelling of alcohol and scolding the onlookers in the audience. His obscene language angered the priests present. Pastor Gonza rarely gave up his duty of salvation and angrily complained about the crimes of the evil young man. The priest mentioned that the death row prisoner had kidnapped a ten-year-old boy.

After ravaging the two-year-old girl for a whole day, he threw her into the uninhabited jungle to fend for herself. Gonza roared at him and asked him to repent, and the ladies in the audience cried bitterly.

'Pete,' the master remembered his name. The past was like a smoke, and Hamilton's memory was also fading a bit. Master Peter laughed back at the priest and scolded him even more vigorously. He couldn't get enough of it, so he brought Mother Earth with him.

Already.

"Blasphemy!" Hamilton recalled Gonzan's red face. It was at this moment that he raised his ancestral two-handed sword. A public execution was turned into a farce by the evil young man. He had to end it as soon as possible.

Due to the prisoner's lack of cooperation, the first blow only made a shallow cut on the back of his neck. Peter screamed exaggeratedly, and the audience widened their eyes in excitement. The second blow was on the shoulder, and blood flowed out.

Half of Pete's body was dyed red. He screamed even more miserably, cursing everyone present to go to hell. Gonza frowned at the executioner. The priest would not appreciate torture of prisoners, and this was not the executioner's intention, even though everyone was crazy.

of applause.

That day, the master used three blows to execute Peter. The executioner walked down the beheading platform in despair, forgetting to lift the prisoner's head to show the public. Fortunately, the crowd was satisfied with the bloody execution process, and no one paid attention to the last details.

.

For fifteen years, the master tortured hundreds of people without any hesitation, because they all deserved their punishment. Today's prisoner was a fifteen-year-old boy. He was stripped of his shirt and tied to an erected wooden pole.

, in the late autumn morning, the sun was just a cold yellow gold plate. The young man turned his back to the executioner and all the guards, and could not restrain himself from shaking.

After the judge read out the verdict, he sat back in the courtroom. He was wrapped in a bearskin coat and had a warm brazier under his feet. Hamilton bowed to the judge, turned around and walked to the execution position. Every rib on the boy's thin back was

It was clearly visible. He raised his hand and raised the slender whip.

The first lash left a light red streak on the boy's pale skin. The crowds on both sides of the street whistled, and the cheers were mixed with shouts and curses. He heard a woman let out a suppressed cry. Hamilton swept over quickly.

Among the crowd around, there was a middle-aged woman in the front row. She had the same red hair as the boy and the same dirty and worn clothes. She covered her mouth with one hand and held a small child in her other arm.

Girl, the girl grabbed the clothes on her chest with both hands and buried her face in her chest.

The prisoner shook a little during the second whipping and almost fell down. The master sighed and decided to reduce the intensity. There were still eighteen strokes left.

The third whip made a loud noise, but Hamilton cleverly let the whip pass the boy's back.

The fourth whipping was still the same. Someone coughed loudly in the trial seat, the executioner turned his head, and the royal steward Logan put his handkerchief to his mouth, his eyes narrowed into slits.

The fifth whip, the sixth, the seventh, the eighth... the crowd became silent, and the woman's crying became more and more sudden.

On the thirteenth lash, the young man tilted his head and knelt on his knees. His tied hands prevented him from falling. His back no longer looked that sickly pale.

The master put down his whip and turned around. The judge winked at him, but Hamilton pretended not to notice. The royal steward stood up, strolled down the court, and stood between the executioner and the prisoner with his arms folded.

Hamilton gritted his teeth and raised his whip again. The woman shouted with a cry: "Mercy! Show mercy!" The crowd was in a commotion, and many people shouted. The judge stood up and banged the silver hammer on the table that symbolized authority:

"Silence! Silence!" had no effect. Someone pushed the guards and tried to rush in. The guards held their spears horizontally and tried to stop the angry crowd. The archers in the inner circle took off the longbows from behind and nervously

Mounted the feather arrow.

At this time, Logan spoke. He had spent many years reciting complicated and difficult-to-pronounce titles of various people in the palace, and he had developed a very penetrating voice: "I am Logan Norman, the royal steward, here.

Speak on behalf of the respected Emperor!" The noisy crowd fell silent. The crowd pushed the guards, insulted the executioners, and even disobeyed the judge, but no one dared to challenge the imperial power.

"This man stole royal property, attacked the prince, was treasonous, and should have been executed. Fortunately, your majesty is kind-hearted and reduced his punishment." Logan looked around at the people around him, satisfied with their silence. "Your Majesty, the judge sentenced him to be whipped.

Twenty times, expelled from the city." The crowd showed signs of commotion again. Logan raised his hand and made a downward movement. He continued: "Before coming, Her Majesty the Queen told me to be kind. So,

In the name of the emperor, I will give you fifteen lashes." The crowd of onlookers fell silent, and even the woman stopped crying. Logan gestured to the executioner, asking him to continue.

The last two whippings were done in a perfunctory manner, and the steward's cough miraculously healed on its own.

After the flogging was over, the woman rushed in and hugged the boy, calling his name. The little girl stood aside, trembling, not sure whether it was because of the miserable appearance of her brother or the thin skirt on her body. The executioner cut the bundle

The prisoner immediately fell into his mother's arms. The master took out a jar of ointment from his bag.

"Use this to rub him, it will heal faster." Hamilton gave a brief explanation and handed it to the woman.

"Um... uh." The steward's throat felt uncomfortable again. The mother tried to pick up the boy several times without success, and the little girl came to help. Her thin arms were exposed under her wide sleeves, and the master noticed that the girl was naked.

Put your feet on.

The executioner knew that the next words were extremely difficult, but due to his duty, he had to do so: "Prisoner Jack Reed must report to the west gate guards before sunset today, leave the city, and never return."

The woman raised her head, her chapped lips moved, but she didn't say anything in the end. She picked up her son, and her little daughter followed behind her, looking back at the master from time to time. The steward stepped forward and called the family. Hamilton saw him

He took out a small bag embroidered with the royal crest. Manager Logan handed the bag to the little girl and patted her head.

"We have a kind-hearted queen." Logan made eye contact with the executioner, raised his hand and touched the brim of his wide-brimmed hat, "Good day, Master Hamilton." The royal steward got into the long-awaited carriage and left.

"When the royal family travels, they are always escorted by knights in shining armor, so don't you know that within ten miles of the city, there is a world of bandits? Those desperadoes will kill the boy for this bag of money." Master William Hamilton, chief executioner of the capital

, handed the whip in his hand to the apprentice, and told him to clean it well. There was another execution in the afternoon, and the master of a family caught two maids who were stealing. The master looked up at the carpenter working on the ladder, and the gallows was about to

After it was completed, the rope set with a slip knot was hung on the beam, swinging back and forth with the wind.
Chapter completed!
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