Temple Sword

Chapter 141 The Sword of the Fearless

1321, Hallows' Month (October)
Eastern Dubica, Slavonia

-

Four days later, they reached the border in Dubica.

During this time they hardly rested, allowing themselves only three or four hours of sleep each night, and at dawn they ready their horses again and continued their hasty journey.

The people and horses were tired along the way, but they still followed the knight faithfully, hoping his family was safe.

"It's only a few hours' ride from here," said Antal in a hoarse voice as they crossed the Drava River. A stone's throw away!"

"We should take a break." Lakfee muttered, although he was exhausted from his continuous journey for a week, but he was mainly worried about the condition of the knight.

Antal Barto, tormented by doubts, was more weary than any of them.His eyes were sunken, his face was pale, and he was covered in cold sweat for days.

"Let's stop and take a break!" Simon, who had always been riding beside his master like a firm rock, begged at this time. "The horses are tired too..."

"No!" roared the knight, forcing his horse to accelerate again. "We are very close now, and we must get there as soon as possible!"

It was evening when they crossed the Sava, the farmstead stretched before them like two broad black arms, and they rushed through the crumbling gates, exhausted.

Antal didn't speak, nor did he get off his horse, he just sat on the saddle, watching everything that happened in his house under the dazzling moonlight.

He is paralyzed.

The autumn wind blew across the bitter barren land, blowing the ashes and dead leaves that were weeks old.The windows of the manor watched him darkly, and the heavy wooden doors that had been fastened there since Antar's childhood were gone.

He wondered if the door was also on the big dark mound beyond the yard, and he urged his horse feebly to get a closer look at the black knoll.But when he got close, his heart stopped beating, and the blood in his veins coagulated.

The black mound was a bonfire that had cooled down long ago, and black human remains protruded from it.Antar Barto fell from his saddle and lost consciousness.

-

When he woke up, his whole head was tugging at him rhythmically, every part of his body was aching.He was lying on his back, and in front of his eyes were some yellow-white things trembling in the cold wind.

Antal blinked, shaking off the dark and silent sleepiness inside, a light flashed in his mind, and found himself lying in his small tent.

He sat up slowly and climbed out of the tent.Lakfee, Simon and four other riders set up a small camp in the yard of the manor, built a fire in the middle, and surrounded it with canvas tents.

They were grilling bacon skewers, dripping their juices on sliced ​​bread.Mouth-watering aromas filled the air, but the knight grimaced and looked away from the food, as if it was a sacrilege to take the time to cook and eat.

"You're awake." Lakfee whispered cautiously, and at the same time handed Antal a wooden bowl, which contained two slices of bacon and half a loaf of bread.

"I don't want to eat anything now." The man refused with a bloodless expression and voice, but the Sekai didn't listen.

"You have to eat whatever you want, your body is about to collapse!" Lakfe said seriously. "You're exhausted, and it's past noon, and you won't have the energy to ride without eating.

We must find out what happened to your house, so hurry up, Lord Barto, as long as you eat these two slices of bacon and half a loaf of bread, and then have a lime wine, I will leave you alone. "

"I can just drink water."

"No, you need wine, trust me," Lakfe insisted, "I can mix it with half water if you want."

Antar was forced to back down, he had to admit that Lakfee was right, he sat in the ruins of his life's work, put the food in his mouth, then drank the watered down wine, and there was some strength in his body .

He stood up, but suddenly he didn't know where to go.He looked around hesitantly, seeing his attendants and other warriors working hard to tidy up the yard, he was a little moved.

Debris and debris were piled up in small piles, and most of the yellowed leaves were gone, which must have been burned in the campfire.

"I don't recommend you to go to that fire ruin again," Lakfey said to him, "It's full of disgusting sights, and you won't find what you're looking for there..."

Antal was a little confused. He didn't believe what the Sekai people said. This person had never seen his family members. How could he know whether their remains were in the burnt pyre?
At this time, Simon also came over. "Don't go there, my lord," he begged gently. "The sight will only disturb you, and your family is not there."

Antal nodded silently, he was convinced.Simon has been in the manor for many years and is familiar with the face, hands, and clothes of Agnes or Ire.

"Have you looked around?" he asked sadly. "Have you found anything?"

"We didn't go into the house without your permission," Lakfee replied, "but we looked elsewhere..."

"The loss is immeasurable," Simon said. "The pens, cages, and stables are all empty, and the warehouses have also been emptied. There are only a few overturned tables in the banquet hall, and even the decorative shields and weapons. Taken away... not even the peasants' huts left, my lord, these..."

Tears rolled in the eyes of the man who was as tall as a mountain. He had to pause for a moment before finding the strength to continue speaking. "Whoever these bastards were, they looted everything, they took everything that could be moved, and then killed everyone and burned them..."

"Cheer up, Simon!" Antal grabbed his squire's arm, though he himself was overwhelmed with unspeakable rage and pain, many dark thoughts churning through his mind, choking his throat with tears . "We can't be sure if everyone is dead yet, we have to keep hope!"

"Okay, my lord..."

"Go into the house and have a look!" He gave an order, and seven people walked into the house at the same time, looking around.

No sooner had they crossed the threshold than they immediately noticed signs of a violent struggle: tables, barrels, and boxes were scattered in the hall of the house, as if the occupants had tried to block the now-gone door with them.

"Bess, my child!" Lakfey beckoned, and the youngest-looking soldier immediately appeared beside him. "Your grandfather taught you to analyze clues in Sekai, I remember correctly?"

"Yes, captain... I mean, noble knight."

"Forget about titles and ranks now, my child," Esteban Lakfee nodded slightly, "Now we need your knowledge, not politeness, tell us what you can discover from these clues!"

"Okay, my lord," Bess scratched his head, "until I'm done, no one should step here, so as not to spoil the clue."

"No problem, my child," Antar waved the rest away, "do what you are good at!"

Bess nodded and got to work.He squatted down, carefully explored inside, talking to himself.

"Um...spearhead...gun handle...wood chip..."

Lakfi walked up and down impatiently in front of Antal, who calmed him down with a gesture. "Let this boy concentrate on his business, be patient, he needs enough time."

Bess finished checking the first floor, then went up the stairs and looked at all the rooms upstairs.Two hours later, he finally straightened up and came out of the house, standing in front of his officer with a serious face.

"They took everything here too, there's nothing left but the furniture," he said, pointing around.

Antal sighed in pain, "Tell us something we don't know..."

"Hmm..." Bess paused for a while, "It's certain that they tried to block the door, but it seems that instead of the attackers rushing in, the people inside rushed out..."

"What?" Lakfee opened his eyes wide, "If they can keep the house, why did they rush out?"

"I don't know, Captain, but these clues..."

"Look carefully again, my boy!"

"Beth is right," Antar raised his index finger thoughtfully, "Maybe they wanted to kill out of desperation, or..."

He did not finish his sentence, but strode into the room, and in the innermost room, there was a strange thing against the wall, a block of marble almost as high as a man.

At the foot of the stone is a huge isosceles cross, which is the symbol of the Knights Templar. It used to be a relief on this stone, but now it has been artificially cut.

"Help me!" Antar leaned on the stone, trying to push it away.

Simon and Lakfei came to him, and the three of them easily pushed the stone away, and there was a narrow tunnel below.

"Maybe a few people rushed out at the last minute," Antar said, "to buy time for others who got away."

He went straight in, and not long after, he came back with tears of joy.

"There are footprints!" Hope and vitality rekindled in the knight's voice. "It's all children's, of course, and maybe some bigger ones..."

"Those were probably left by the attackers." Simon said sullenly, but Antal shook his head.

"If that's the case, they won't hide the entrance anymore. These are the footprints of our people. My family is alive. They are alive. I am sure. Now that they are alive, I will find them. "

Antar Bator and Istvan Lakfi, torches in hand, entered the ransacked wine cellar while others waited for them outside.The tented camp has been dismantled and the horses are ready to go.

"What else are we doing here?" Lakfee turned around holding a torch. "This place has been ransacked, I don't think we can find anything of value down there..."

"Don't be so sure," the knight disappeared behind a large pillar, "here, I want to show you something!"

The cellar was bigger than Lakfee had imagined, every corner of it disappeared into the darkness in the distance, and it was much larger than the area occupied by the house on the ground.This extremely spacious, eerie and eerie cellar has now been emptied, gaping wide in the depths of the earth.

Lakfe frowned. He felt that this place was not built as a simple wine cellar, but he didn't mention this to the knight.

"Come!" Antal waved to him from a distance, "This is what I want to show you."

As soon as Lakfe came to the knight, Antal tapped the stone slab on the ground with the heel of his boot a few times.

"When I was a kid, I always played here as Akka's castle in the Holy Land, and it was my job to protect it," he said, stepping from stone slab to stone in a The stone slab that gave off a dull echo under his feet stopped.

"Of course, at the time I didn't know there was a hidden second layer. My uncle never mentioned it, maybe even he himself didn't know..."

He squatted down, touched the edge of the stone slab with his fingers, then reached down and opened it.A short ladder under the slab leads to the cellar on the next level.

"This manor is full of hidden corners and secret tunnels," Lakfee felt uncomfortable in the dark underground, "Can't we just go straight? Others must have been impatient."

"They'll be waiting for us, don't worry," Antar said, pointing to the ladder, "You go first."

The Sekay sighed and crawled into the abyss.It wasn't until his feet touched the ground again that he understood why Antal brought him here, and the sight in front of him made him hold his breath.

The torchlight was reflected by tall mirrors, illuminating the spacious circular room.The room was filled with Templar clothes, oriental weapons, saddles, old swords, cloaks with eccentric decorations, flags and shields, all of great value.

Scrolls, books, and manuscripts of all kinds stand on shelves, or are stacked together, in astonishing numbers.There was a fist-sized stone statue on the table next to the book, and Lakfey didn't dare to ask what it was.

It wasn't until Antal came to him that he realized that the ceiling above his head was a regular small dome, and the surface was studded with palm-sized roses.

"Where did you take me?" he asked in a low voice, but he already guessed the answer: he was standing in an underground vault of the Knights Templar, and people didn't know it existed.

"Almost everything you've heard about me is true," Antar said, "I didn't answer you directly when you asked me, so I'll tell you now: I was indeed a Templar.

I went through the most secret initiation ceremony, took three vows, and put on a white robe.But neither I nor my brethren are heretics of Sodom, though some of our doctrines do frighten people..."

He walked over to a shelf that held an ornate one-handed sword: the proud weapon of his ancestors.

The knight gently touched the tip of the sword with his hand, and stroked the blade engraved with Latin with his fingers. The ancient writings returned to him like a series of indelible pasts. Finally, he touched the silver-plated cross on the hilt stop.

"The Sword of the Fearless, the Sword of the Temple," he whispered. "I bring it here with everything else that reminds me of my previous life, maybe I want to forget it forever..."

Esteban Lakfi didn't speak, and Antal turned to the man with a startled expression, looking deeply into his eyes.

"I didn't realize until recently that I'd been lying to myself," he said earnestly, "that I wasn't a farmer or a planter, although I'd love to believe that was where I belonged...

But in fact, I am a warrior, I have picked up a sword since I was five years old, swordsmanship is my mother, and war is my father.I have never felt the embrace of my mother, but only the day-to-day training.

I was not taught how to sing and play chess, but how to kill enemies with maces and spears. I was killing people when I was 14, and it's certainly the best thing I've ever been good at.

Then I turned my back on myself, the real me, and wanted a life I could never have.I broke my oath, my most solemn oath to God, for which I now have to accept the cruelest punishment.

I coveted the joys of life, and now my son, my wife, and my adopted children are suffering with me.I can no longer lie to them or to myself, Istvan.

If they are alive, I must find them.And when I finally find them, I'm also going to find out all the reasons behind these things, why the manor was attacked and who was involved.

I will avenge them all, bloody vengeance, Isstvan!What happens after that...the Lord will decide, but I will not turn my back on my destiny again. "

Lakfe stood in the middle of this strange treasure room for a long time, staring at Antal without saying a word, knowing that he felt that he had almost digested what he heard, he put his hand on the knight's shoulder, Nodding his head, he said softly:
"Let's find your family together."

After a long time, they finally came out of the cellar, and the riders waiting outside frowned and looked at Antal Barto, who was wearing a strange cloak.

The cloak was sewn from snow-white wool, with the red cross of the Knights Templar running from left to right with a crossbar from neck to hem.In the middle of the cross is the coat of arms of Charles Anjou himself: the red and white stripes of Arpad and golden lilies on a blue background.

The four riders who accompanied Istvan Lakfi had never seen anything like this.

But Simon has.

He was well aware of the garment and all that it symbolized, which once held awe and fear throughout the kingdom.And he also knew very well what it meant for his master to put on this white robe after so many years.Excited, he subconsciously shouted:
"Welcome back, Lily Knight!"

(End of the third volume)
(End of this chapter)