Tang Qi Tan

Chapter 508 The Sinner
Soon, Giovanni, Archbishop of the Northwest, surrounded by a group of clergy, came to the square of the Cathedral of Notre Dame; and the place was already crowded with citizens who had heard the news; It was the blackness that crushed people's heads, but was blocked by soldiers maintaining order.

As the subject of trial, a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance and disheveled hair was already wearing special shackles; he was forced to kneel on the steps that attracted everyone's attention.It's just that after being interrogated by the church, he seemed to have difficulty even standing still, let alone wearing a torture device.

Although the heresy trials in the Kingdom have been extinct for many years, and the Inquisition has long been abolished; but private torture methods against some heretics and heretics have never been put down.So there are ways to cause enough pain without affecting appearance.

Therefore, anyone who is close to this spy can smell a strong smell of blood and decay.Under the large outer shirt, there are slices of tortured blood and flesh; medicines are also applied externally and taken internally.Just to allow him to persist until the moment of public trial.

However, Archbishop Giovanni had no mercy for this, and he had no waves in his heart; as the saying goes, heretics of the same faith are more hateful than heretics.What's more, the other party is still a monk.That's right, the captured spy came from a local clergyman.

His name was Giordano, and he was originally the second son of a minor nobleman in the country near Reims; he was sent to the Church according to some custom.Then he graduated from the church school affiliated to the Saint Remy Abbey; and as a trainee priest, he was assigned to the city of Marseille in the south.

As a result, he was not only effective in the local church hospital, but also came into contact with many heresies from overseas; and became impure in his cognition of the church.Even later in the Great Schism, became a Sworn Sect; that's all there is to it.

However, when he returned to his hometown in the name of pilgrimage, he was accused of witchcraft and adultery.And the informer was his own younger brother. After the death of the elder brother who inherited the family business, he was afraid that he would return to secular life to fight for the family property, so he instigated his wife to come forward and inform the other party.

If this is the case, then the matter will not be out of hand; among the church and the nobles, there are some more bloody disputes than this; there is also some private focus and research, such as astronomy, medical related fields that are explicitly prohibited; Citizenship or exile.

After all, there is really no way to delve into this kind of thing; if you really want to be serious, most nobles who are patrons of the church can't stay out of it.However, Giordano, a returning monk, possesses good medical skills; especially in surgical treatment, he has made some achievements.

However, the city defense team, which was originally just a routine, inadvertently confiscated some manuscripts in his mattress class, and things suddenly changed completely.Because those are the commentary pages of the Gospel called "Liberation Theology," which is exactly the heresy popular in the South.

Then, during the continuous interrogation and torture, he always refused to admit the crimes and mistakes accused; instead, he vowed to try to prove to the priests present that there was actually a saint who came to save the world; his words were so firm that Someone was shaken on the spot.

After all, no matter how much the church whitewashes and downplays the panic, the number of rumors and witnesses about the endless variety is actually increasing day by day.Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that there is a powerful person who awakens the ancient bloodline and possesses extraordinary means.

However, the walking saint he insisted on made the nature of the problem even more serious.Since ancient times, apart from those saints who performed miracles with the Son of God walking in the world during the Christmas era, the universal church has not never conferred saints of all kinds.

But unlike these various saints who pursued saints after death with personal deeds, the existence of saints in history only existed with scales and horns.Apart from the influence of other sects, the only saint recognized by the universal church is the first generation of paladins, Roland, the patriarch of the Holy Kingdom.

What's more, for the Northwest Region, where it was so easy to unite and maintain the status of the church amidst the turmoil and division of the kingdom; outside the cognition of the traditional church system, it has the means to manifest in front of people. The trend of the great division of priests and believers.

Therefore, considering the pros and cons, Giordano must not die alone in the secret trial in the dungeon of the church; that will only become a means for his accomplices and potential sympathizers to create various conspiracy theories to take the opportunity to attack the reputation of the church reason.A public trial is required.

Since he cannot be allowed to convict, let alone give him the opportunity to spread heresy at the last moment of his life; therefore, during the entire smooth trial process, Giordano has been paralyzed by drugs, and only Salivating in the face of accusations.

The verdict read out to the public said: "Because the sinner has lived in a group of heretics for a long time, and he himself has lived a lawless and devil-like life", so he is not only an ordinary "heretic", but has become a common criminal. The leader of the "heretic".

Thus "gentle exhortation" has no effect on the "heretic", who is "dishonest" and "stubborn" as a devil.Now only to hand him over to the secular regime.Therefore, it is suggested to the court: "Punish the heresy as mildly as possible, and do not shed blood."

He has read out the alleged crimes of abuse of witchcraft, adultery, collusion with heresy and rebels, and defamation of the church; he has also been publicly testified by many witnesses; under the judgment of the religious court composed of local high judges and church representatives, Jordan Not surprisingly, Nuo was tied to the stake.

Compared with the strong religious atmosphere, the Holy See is used to roasting living people in Rome's Campo de' Fiori to resolve differences in doctrine and belief; this is also a rare serious sentence for the Kingdom Church for many years.It represents that sinners have degenerated to the point where they need to be burned to cleanse.

However, immediately under the feet of Giordano, who was piled on the high stakes, were bundles of wet firewood with an obvious fresh smell.This also made Archbishop Giovanni, who had been silent throughout the trial, frown slightly; this meant a longer time of roasting and torture.

With the arrival of rebels outside the city one after another, this is not a good thing for the church that wants a quick trial.Although, dissatisfied with the people below adding to the drama, Giovanni, with a solemn face, still got up and walked to the steps aimed at sinners, saying the last prayer.

For a moment, the Archbishop's fine attire and the ragged and ragged sinner who couldn't lift his head; the misty incense in the hand of the servant boy, and the huge firewood that was being poured with grease and about to be ignited; formed a certain contrast between cruelty and sanctity. control.Until the brief last prayer is over.

However, in the reverent and solemn admiration at the scene.But the other party suddenly raised his head, and with his hoarse and vague vocal cords after being severely paralyzed, he squeezed out these words intermittently: "I think, when you pronounce the sentence, you have more fear than when I heard the sentence."

Archbishop Giovanni's expression couldn't help but calm down, and then he nodded calmly, and several soldiers below lit the firewood pile at the opponent's feet, and it spread into a flame that soared into the sky in a blink of an eye.And Giovanni also drew the cross and said: "The original owner forgives your soul!"

"You are not worthy!" An abrupt voice pierced through the priests and believers present, and the more fanatical atmosphere and clamorous voices continued to reverberate and resound in the large square of Notre Dame Cathedral.It also stopped the clamor of those unrepentant sinners who scolded and cursed from the crowd.

However, Archbishop Giovanni's heart was moved when he heard the words. This is the envoy and protector who stands behind the sinner. Are you going to stand up and argue with him?But no matter how the doctrine is debated, as long as the opponent dares to stand up, he has already suffered a de facto defeat.

Because this is a city with a strong religious atmosphere and deep beliefs, it also gathers a large number of devout believers and the armed forces who swore to protect the church; not to mention the proficiency and mastery of the teachings, which is enough for him to face any challenge with confidence , but why should he accept it?

"Heresy?" Archbishop Giovanni faintly pointed in the direction of the voice: "It turns out that behind the sinner, there is an even bigger heresy."Hearing these words, all the armed warriors and city guards present clamored to gather and outflank them; while the soldiers and civilians referred to hurriedly retreated.

Immediately, a small group of figures surrounded by the same place appeared, all of them were wearing the hoods of ascetic monks, and they stood silently on the spot; guarding the voice, they continued: "The corrupt and degenerate old church has been destroyed. Abandoned by the people, what qualifications do you have to judge others?"

But Giovanni was unmoved and wanted to order to arrest and torture the group of heretics who appeared in public immediately; but the next moment, the sinners who were about to be set ablaze on the stake were struggling, laughing and crying hoarse.Thousands of people present also let out a horrifying howl.

Because, the raging flames that had already burned to the feet of the sinner were suddenly blocked by an invisible force, and there was no way to continue to spread; it was like opening a holy shield to protect him from harm around the sinner; The extremely suppressed flames bloom like flower petals.

The raging flames rose suddenly and spread in all directions, engulfing the officials, soldiers, and armed priests guarding the criminals in a blink of an eye, burning all their clothes, and rolling on the ground screaming and screaming.But the criminal was in the fireworks, Xu Xufei got up and let go of the restraint.

Just like a legendary saint, he was gently placed on the porch of Notre Dame by an invisible force; and Archbishop Giovanni, who escaped the raging flames with the help and drag of his attendants, was full of indignation With a desperate hiss, he shouted: "Demon, how dare you!"

However, his voice was quickly drowned out by the violent reactions and shouts of thousands of people on the spot like a tsunami.The court and city officials present, as well as some generals of the city guard, had already been knocked to the ground by the armed men who rushed out of the crowd.

As they lifted off their cloaks one after another, they revealed the free army soldiers wearing blue armed uniforms and two-piece plate chain armor, with a smiling face embroidered on their chests.And in front of these people who were terrified and kneeling on the ground in prayer, another subversive trial kicked off.

(End of this chapter)