Temple Sword

Chapter 60 Repayment
The fighting on the street has subsided, Archbishop Thomas entered the city together with Charles Robert, the priests of Buda were also herded together, their hands were tied, many people were praying with their eyes closed, among them Quite a few were not even dressed properly, in pajamas or shirtless, surrounded by soldiers, waiting for their fate.

Thomas dismounted from his stout horse and approached the group of priests and church servants, grinning.

"Father Louis!" He recognized one of the bald men with liver spots on his head, clapped his hands, walked up to him, pinched his chin with his velvet-gloved hand, and moved his eyes to him. "We haven't seen each other since you cursed the Pope six years ago. I wasn't an Archbishop then... It was a long time ago, man! Do you remember? Anyway, remember: It was you who led other people into the quagmire! It was your fault. But now you will know that you can't be rude to anyone, especially when that person is the head of the Roman Catholic Church.. You will have time to think This problem and countless others, believe me, years, decades, not even the sun will bother you!"

Father Louis looked up at Archbishop Thomas in horror, then at the king on his horse, to see if he would take pity on him.But Charlie ignored him, he raised his chin slightly, and stared straight ahead at the Kamokhov Palace.Louis knew very well that no one here could touch his heart, that the King was only interested in the city, and that the Archbishop had been given full power to punish the clergy, avenging the events of six years before.

Thomas let go of the man's jaw, then brushed the dust off his glove as if he'd touched something dirty.Werner's son Laszlo and Chuck's son Janos then rode into the square.Behind them dragged the twelve tied city judges (városbíró) of Buda, rich men who took part in the damnation of the pope and the dedication of the city to Wenceslas of the House of Przemysl.

"He's nowhere to be found," said former rector Laszlo, seeing the puzzled look on Archbishop Thomas' face. "He must have hid or run away."

"He must be punished!" said the king at last. "Find the bastard!"

"We will find him, Your Majesty!" A ruthless light flashed in Werner's son Laszlo's eyes. He just wanted to avenge the three years of slavery he was persecuted and dragged away. "Peturmann will pay the price, even if he is the new rector of the city, we will find him, even if it means turning the whole of Buda from top to bottom..."

"These people here must know where he is," Archbishop Thomas pointed to the priest who had previously participated in the plot. "Right, Louis? You dirty, evil, despicable heretics..."

The person named did not answer, but lowered his eyes again, and Thomas continued to grin.

"Tell me where he is, or else..."

"If you want to kill me, do it directly!" Louis finally said.

"Oh, you won't get rid of it so easily," the Archbishop's smile melted. "There are a lot of dogs here. If you don't ask, I don't mind sending a few to hell first. How about it, Peterman Parish Where did you grow up?"

"I will not be your executioner, Thomas."

"Maybe it's for your own good..." muttered Laszlo, Werner's son, before waving to his soldiers, "Nandor, my boy!"

The captain of the hussars of the ex-rector immediately appeared before him.

"Pick your two fastest riders!"

"Come on, my lord." The captain lowered his head, and with a whistle, he waved to two Sekay cavalrymen with ponytails and leather armor, "They are like the wind, no one is faster than them gone."

"Okay, okay," the man snorted, and then walked among the bound captives as if picking something from a stall. They were trembling like poplar leaves, and all lowered their heads, for fear of arousing the former rector's attention. Notice.

But that wasn't the case with the twelve city judges, who proudly bore the consequences of decisions made years ago.Lars, Werner's son, also turned his eyes to them, and quickly singled out the two most disrespectful and hateful people in his eyes: Markus Hermann and Markus Meister, who have always been Conspired against him, and also maintained a close relationship with Father Louis.

"Take them!" he shouted, and the soldiers dragged them out of the ranks, then tied their hands to the two horses, as the former rector had ordered.

The Sekai people frowned and looked at each other, but they dared not speak. An order is an order, and they must obey.

"Well, Louis?" asked Archbishop Thomas for the last time. "Now can you tell me where Peterman is? This is your last chance to redeem your soul, Rector, as you can see, not as gentle as I am." ..."

"No." Father Louis replied hoarsely.

"Okay then." Thomas sighed sadly, then nodded to the ex-rector.

"Take them for a ride!" Werner's son Laszlo ordered the riders, "Run as fast as you can, hurry up!"

The Sekey rider kicked his spurs, leaned on the mare's neck, and left the square like a gust of wind.The unlucky ones tied behind them screamed in pain, their bodies turned over by clods like fish out of water, and then disappeared.Their voices echoed in the street for a moment, and then a dull silence fell over the city.

Antal walked to Charlie Robert's side angrily, but before he had time to say anything, the king's look made him shut his mouth tightly.

"Stay out!" Charlie told him in a barely audible voice, and the knight reluctantly obeyed.

A few minutes later, the Sekai returned, panting, their chests heaving, sweat streaming down their brows.Their hands holding the reins trembled slightly in convulsions, and they sat motionless in the saddles, their backs straight, without saying a word or looking back.

Marcus Hermann and Marcus Meister's rope was cut, and they stopped shouting and begging for mercy, only a faint whimper from one of them's throats.They were dehumanized, reduced to trembling lumps of flesh, bloody from head to toe.Most looked away from them, but Werner's son Laszlo fixed them with burning eyes, and he still hated them for betraying him back then.Antal saw contentment in the man's face, but if he thought about it, there was nothing surprising.After all, who knows what the former rector went through during his three years of captivity in Bohemia.

Archbishop Thomas broke the silence. He squeezed Father Louis' jaw again.

"Look at them!" he cried, turning the old man's head sharply toward the two dying men. "Look what you've done! Where's the Rector Petermann?"

The priest did not answer, but closed his eyes and remained silent.Thomas waved to two soldiers, who grabbed Louis and dragged him to the mangled pair.There, on further instructions from the archbishop, he was to be beheaded.His head was on the face of one of them—God only knows who they are now—and they were beyond recognition beyond recognition.

"Look, look what you've done?" Thomas whispered in his ear, "tell me where that pig is hiding, and I promise they'll die like hell! But if you don't talk, so will everyone else Fate, city judges and priests, they're still alive, you see? But what a way to live, they've lost their minds in pain, and soon they'll gladly go to hell, just beg they don't suffer anymore Enough!"

"God is with you!" Father Louis suddenly sobbed, "God loves you!"

"God doesn't love you!" Thomas roared, grabbing the old man's hair and pulling it back. "You cursed the Pope, you made a deal with the enemy, and now you help a sinner escape the punishment he deserved! Speak!" Thomas said. Slapped him as hard as he could, "Where's the rector? Speak! Speak up, or you'll be next, and I'll make sure you don't die from these horrible wounds for years to come! Speak! You this Scoundrel!" The archbishop shot again, "Heretical Satanists, traitors! Speak!"

"He has escaped!" cried one of the priests. "The rector has escaped!"

Archbishop Thomas pulled Father Louis up from the ground, pushed him back into the line, and turned to look at the trembling middle-aged man. "When?" he asked in a very calm voice.

"He was the first of the existing soldiers to enter the castle," said the trembling man. "By the time we found out, he had fled. He left the city naked and naked, but I don't know where he went and ran."

"Fool!" the archbishop looked at Father Louis. "Is that why you have to play martyr?"

The man didn't answer this time either.

"Kill them."

Everyone in the square breathed a sigh of relief when the soldier finally ended the suffering of the two dying men with a precise blow.

"These men are your captives, Your Excellency," the king cried, pointing to the assembled priests, "and if you wish, you may spend the rest of their days in a dungeon without seeing the sun. Sloe!" He looked at the former rector, "You are free to decide the fate of the city judges. The property of these two men you dragged away today is yours in exchange for what you have suffered because of them. But Enough blood has been shed now!"

The king looked at the soldiers, "From this moment on, Buda will no longer be an enemy, its citizens are free, and you are all soldiers of Buda now! Whoever dares to plunder will be punished severely! From now on, I will be here Today we will reorganize the guards, city guards, clergy, and replace the current city administration. Buda will prosper again, and now," he rolled his eyes, looking firmly ahead, "we go to Kamokhov palace!"

(End of this chapter)