When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#511 - Stop breathing

On the avenue in the suburbs of Rapid Falls City, a sturdy carriage, reinforced with crossbow-proof straw mats and netting, was slowly moving, guarded by three teams of cavalry and armed monks both in front and behind.

This was naturally Ludwig and Jean Brohl's party, except they had left Martin at Jeanne Fort as a contact person.

They had just left Rapid Falls City and needed to reach the docks before sunset to take a boat to Little Pool City.

Ludwig planned to hold a monastery conference there to resolve the dispute between Jean Brohl and himself.

The two who were at odds had argued all the way from Jeanne Fort to Rapid Falls City, and were still arguing even now.

"We've already fallen out with the Papacy, and the Papacy's army could attack at any moment."

"We haven't fallen out. The Brago Monastery has never been at war with the Papacy from beginning to end. Little Pool City was a spontaneous act by the people."

"We need the Salvation Army's troops! Aren't you afraid Prince Condé will attack?"

"The Papacy attacking the monastic orders? Are they crazy?" Jean Brohl retorted, "Aren't they afraid that so many monastic orders and monasteries in the empire will turn against the Papacy?"

There had been precedents for this in the previous history of the Papacy.

During the Second War to Reclaim the Old Territory, which was also when the Cushites migrated to Thousand River Valley, a great schism erupted in the Papacy of Holy See City.

Monasteries and churches in various regions acted independently, monks and priests mingled, and bishops and abbots acted almost entirely independently of the Pope and the King.

They allied with lower-level warlords, possessed vast standing armies, and could even declare war and make peace on their own.

This chaos lasted for a full sixty years and intensified. If vampires hadn't crossed the sea, it would have been another dark period comparable to a major civil war.

Although the Papacy is currently split into two, north and south, the monastic orders and monks are still a unified entity.

Restricting the struggle to the upper levels and trying to avoid a complete breakdown is a precious political consensus that priests have maintained for thousands of years.

Jean Brohl was confident that Prince Condé would never dare to act against him, risking the wrath of the monastic orders. Even if he had the intention, the bishops and monasteries would dissuade him.

As long as there were no cracks in the Brago Monastery egg, Prince Condé would not reach out to them.

In his opinion, Ludwig's behavior was openly creating a crack in the egg.

"How dare they not? They even dared to burn Juan Nuo to death. Did they receive any punishment?"

"How could there be no punishment? Constance has not been able to obtain the position of cardinal to this day because of the monks' obstruction, and he can forget about ever getting it," Jean Brohl raised his head. "How about it?"

"How about what? Juan Nuo lost his life, but all that was lost was a cardinal's position," Ludwig retorted with a frown.

"I said from the beginning not to get involved with the Secret Party. He didn't listen to me." Jean Brohl was equally annoyed when he thought of Juan Nuo, "Besides, he can come out whenever he wants. He just insists on coming out legally."

"That's different," Ludwig sighed. "Anyway, I will forcibly promote cooperation with the Salvation Army. What's the use of your doing this?"

"It's useful."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want to use my truth to persuade you and the other abbots." Jean Brohl looked at the dim evening sky outside and straightened his back.

Ludwig sighed helplessly, "Say what you want."

Jean Brohl got his wish and couldn't help but cough lightly, "Saint Lord is above... Just from the perspective of doctrine... Some things are yes or no..."

Ludwig leaned his head against the side of the carriage, yawning and looking out the window.

In Jean Brohl's chanting, Ludwig's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Just as he was about to fall asleep, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Stop the car, stop the car immediately!"

Jean Brohl was still rambling on, but was startled by Ludwig's shout.

But when he turned his head, he found that Ludwig was not listening to him at all, but was craning his neck and looking out of the carriage.

Jean Brohl moved closer and saw a group of boys in their early teens surrounding a dirty little girl outside the carriage.

The little girl's apron was empty, with only a right leg. A crutch was being tossed around by these little boys, causing her to sob in grievance.

"What are you going to do?"

Seeing Ludwig call to stop the carriage, he pushed open the car door and wanted to get out. Jean Brohl grabbed the hem of Ludwig's clothes.

He recognized at a glance that Ludwig's old problem had flared up.

Ludwig held the door frame of the car door, "I'm going to see the child with the broken leg and drive these little bastards away."

"Then why are you going yourself?" Jean Brohl was still pulling on Ludwig's clothes, "Just call the coachman and armed monks to go. Don't waste time."

"Is upholding justice also a waste of time?"

"Okay, you're just, I'm despicable, okay?" Jean Brohl snorted angrily and withdrew his hand holding Ludwig's clothes.

Ludwig jumped out of the carriage, picked up a branch, and rushed towards the boys, "Get out, get out, you little bastards!"

The armed monks vigilantly gripped their short-handled flails and followed closely behind.

Seeing an adult coming, the boys cried out and immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Only the little girl with hair as messy as a bird's nest was left in place. She slumped on the ground, with her back to Ludwig, still covering her face and crying.

A look of pity and tenderness flashed across Ludwig's usually stern face. He showed a kind smile, squatted down, and stroked the little girl's hair.

"It's okay, it's okay, the bad guys have been driven away."

It would have been better not to comfort her. As soon as he comforted her, the girl immediately changed from sobbing to wailing.

Quickly wrapping his arms around the girl's thin body, Ludwig hugged her into his arms, "Okay, okay, don't cry, Grandpa will take you to eat..."

Ludwig's comforting words came to an abrupt halt.

A cold sensation came from his chest. The setting sun behind the distant mountains appeared as a double image, and the edges of everything—trees, rocks, and the earth—began to blur.

He looked down, and a dagger with a green glint was inserted into his chest, accurately piercing his heart.

"You, you're not..."

The girl released her hands covering her face, and Ludwig finally saw clearly.

It was not a childish face at all. Instead, it was the face of an adult woman.

This was not a little girl at all, but clearly an adult female gnome!

A hideous and cunning smile appeared on her withered face, and she was still twisting the dagger in her hand with force.

"Get out, you despicable lackey of the Papacy!" Grabbing her slender wrist, Ludwig roared and threw her out with a backhand.

The female gnome was smashed heavily on the rock, even bouncing up from the impact, spraying a blood arrow into the air before falling softly to the ground.

Ludwig wanted to pursue, but his legs began to weaken and his breathing became rapid and heavy. He only took one step before falling to the ground with a thud.

"Ludwig! Hey!" Jean Brohl crashed out of the carriage, even knocking the car door off.

He was too anxious and didn't pay attention when getting out of the car, so he accidentally fell face down on the ground.

But Jean Brohl didn't seem to feel the pain. He picked up his robe and ran to Ludwig's side.

He looked at the little girl, looked at the dagger in Ludwig's chest, and tears fell down his face, "I told you not to get out of the car, not to get out of the car, but you insisted on getting out. What did I say? Huh? Was I right?"

Ludwig wanted to shout and struggle, but the strength was rapidly flowing out of his strong body.

The poison blackened his blood vessels. Two monks frantically smeared holy oil on his forehead, and rays of divine magic and blessing fell on Ludwig.

But the assassin had prepared in advance. This poison would congeal the blood vessels and blood. The poison could be cleared, but the damage done was irreversible.

"Ludwig, Ludwig, open your eyes. Use divine magic, you, you, you can't die... Ludwig? You, you and Juan Nuo are both dead. What am I going to do?"

Looking at everything dyed red by the setting sun, Ludwig opened his mouth wide, wanting to answer him, but couldn't speak.

Using his last bit of strength to sit up, he pointed violently towards the north, as if stabbing out this angry sword into someone's chest.

His whole body was dyed golden by the setting sun. For a moment, Jean Brohl's eyes deceived him into thinking he was a golden statue.

Maintaining this posture for about two or three seconds, Ludwig suddenly seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant, and collapsed heavily on the grass.

"It's not necessarily the Papacy, they wouldn't dare... Ludwig? Ludwig!"

Jean Brohl's body trembled. He bit his teeth and reached out to Ludwig's nose to feel for breath.

After a few seconds, he jumped up as if electrocuted, and then knelt weakly on the ground.

Ludwig, with his eyes wide open, gazed at the gold and blue sky.

He had stopped breathing.