I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 158 The Black Death (7)

The Duke of Orleans is a bold man, but he also has to admit that he probably cannot drive a group of inhuman creatures like his elder brother, as he drives his courtiers - he sits behind the desk, vaguely guarding, because now the room is almost full of vampires , Both men and women have outstanding looks, but the too pale face looks a bit gloomy, and what makes Fan Zhuo's blood clan a little commotion is that the Prince of Fan Zhuo Theodric really did as he said, rolled up his sleeves, He cut his arm with his nails and gave Amon a drop of blood.

The value of the prince's blood is even higher than those of the monks and wizards. This is naturally not a secret among the vampires. The Duke of Orleans can detect some clues in the eyes of those vampires who are no longer calm, but Amon seems, but As if there was still some reluctance, Theoderic glared at him, walked over and said to Philip: "If possible," he put down his sleeves, "Don't owe anything to the dark creatures, especially the vampires."

The Duke of Orleans knew Theoderic because the king and him described the appearance of the Prince Van Gogh. In addition, he also learned the name of Theoderic in history class, and the favoritism of Prince Van Gogh towards the French royal family was not the first. For example, some dark creatures transformed by humans can protect their families for a long time if they want to, and even leave a curse before they die - the king, also mentioned Amon, this Prince Zmish obviously wants to do whatever he wants Much more, Prince Condé is also frank that he and the Duke of Longueville were able to leave the Vampire Castle because of the blessing of this vampire, so even if he claimed that he came for the king, the Duke of Orleans would not believe it.

"Look at you," Amon sat on the chair that his attendants had brought for him. "Am I a man who always lies? I came for the king, not to say that I am under the king's orders. I just didn't want to make my little Louis sad," he looked at the Duke of Orleans, "but I didn't expect there to be a person who shines like a gem here." Unfortunately, the Duke of Orleans is like a piece of A beautiful ruby ​​is beautiful, but it can never be compared to another larger and more perfect diamond - to use him as a metaphor, Amon can only say that he is so pure, but as long as there is light, he Can burst out any gem, no, nothing can match the brilliant fire.

   For Amon, the best way is probably to ignore it, "Now you can leave here, your brother is eagerly waiting for your return in Paris, Your Highness." Theoderic said.

The Duke of Orleans should have been delighted, but he hesitated visibly. "Is there something wrong?" Theoderic said, "It's General Schumberg? Don't worry, we'll take them as well." The power of vampires And the speed of action is much faster than that of mortals. If it is not for them to be seen, humans cannot see how they attack themselves, and they can also swept away their targets like wolves or falcons, like a hurricane.

   The Duke of Orleans clenched his hands: "May I know where this plague came from?"

   "If you want to ask whether it is artificial," Amon said first: "Your Highness, yes, I must answer you like this."

   "Who is it?" Although he had almost guessed the answer, the Duke of Orleans wanted confirmation. "I don't think we need to go into this matter," Theoderic said in a warning tone. "That's what your brother has to face."

"My brother is only a mortal, but now someone is hitting him with extraordinary means." After the shadow of death was no longer so imminent, the Duke of Orleans was filled with waves of anger and frustration. He could imagine that when they returned In Paris, all that the prince and himself and others have done in Lorraine and Alsace will be in vain - those lords and bishops who are ill-conceived will declare that they have been punished and beaten by God , and brought disaster here, a new order will be re-established in this blank period, and they want to return here, the price I am afraid to pay is greater than when they first arrived, because those people are already familiar with and understand their means.

   "Who else is in the castle?"

"Wizards, craftsmen, and officials and some vassals here." The latter two are the greatest wealth that the Duke of Orleans has spent three years amassing. They own the territories of Lorraine and Alsace, and are willing to be loyal to the French king. Louis not the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, they were the nails that the Duke of Orleans planted here, and did everything possible to make them stronger, to drive out the dangerous people who would not submit to the rule - appeared here in the discovery After getting the seeds of the plague, the Duke of Orleans immediately returned to the castle and sent messengers to inform these people.

There are also some people who, out of fear of the plague, have transformed from neutral or erratic attitudes to staunch Francophiles, both of which, the Duke of Orleans could not drive them out, so now the number of people in the castle has reached 3,000 people, even if they are only direct descendants, are more than 500 people. This number can only be taken away by the descendants of the Vandrase or the Zmich family in France, but in that case... the church will not just stand by look.

"Also, such a large-scale operation also violates the covenant of escape, right?" Amon asked with a smile, the drop of blood Theoderic watched him drink just now, making him regret that he couldn't take it Do something to make Theoderic feel embarrassed to make him happy - the demons can do whatever they want, but the secret party has more rules to follow, they can appear before the king or the duke of Orleans, because all the world's There are always people who can be exempted from the provisions of the law, but the people here, most of them, do not have this qualification.

   They may be able to see vampires for what they are, but only if they are food or blood servants.

But they are also the puppets carefully cultivated by the Duke of Orleans. Without these people, the king's rule will also fail. Thinking of those craftsmen and farmers who died or fled because of the spread of the Black Death, the Duke of Orleans already has a heart in his heart. After a while, did he really want to leave Lorraine with empty hands like this? Like a defeated general? If Lorraine was just the original Lorraine where only forest trees and dairy products were produced, it would be fine, but now there is glass, ceramics, coal, and steel... It is a place that the king is not willing to give up no matter what.

   "I do have an idea," Amon said, "but our Royal Highness Prince Vanderbilt certainly doesn't agree."

   "As long as the covenant of escape is not violated," Theoderic said.

"But you also know that we are all quite happy to destroy them, I mean, dear Theo, all the restrictions, all the fixations, all the shackles, you follow the steps, follow the rules," Amon shook his head , "But what are we? We are blood races, we should not be bound by the so-called law, and the people of darkness are free." He spread his hands and feet on the chair, such a rude gesture He did it so gracefully and unrestrainedly that Zmish's vampires laughed softly and cheered for their prince.

However, Amon always stared at the only mortal in the room, the Duke of Orleans. He seemed to be waiting for the Duke of Orleans to cast a pleading look on him. Of course, he would satisfy all the Duke's expectations like a doting father. Use a powerful force to subdue him, before he can't get his brother... There is a saying, it's better than nothing.

"I can probably guess what this Mr. Amon means." The Duke of Orleans said suddenly, his eyes passed over Amon, and then stopped on Theoderic, "Brother has taught me a lot of things, Mr. Theoderic, he said, there are many times when the fog blocks your eyes and prevents you from seeing things that are even close at hand, but there is an easy way to find the source, because all things , there must be a beginning and an end, and when a human, or a vampire, or a wizard does something, there must be a reason, so..." He pointed to the firelight outside, without glass. Blocked, their heat seemed to come with the evening wind, and there was a creepy smell of grilled meat, and they were burning the dead: "Then why did those people come, because they were told that there are holy things here, That's why the people here are free from the plague, so if they want to live, they have to capture this castle."

   "Indeed," Theodoric guessed.

   "Then just let them know that there is something more terrifying than the Black Death."

"what?"

   "Monster, something that can take human life in a matter of seconds."

   "Your defenses are killing people, too," Theoderic said.

"They can understand that, boiling oil and boiling water will burn people to death, stones will smash people to death, crossbow arrows will penetrate their bodies, swords will separate their heads and bodies, but monsters are different, they are death and fear, As the priests say, those who are killed by monsters cannot ascend to heaven without a solemn Mass, nor can they be forgiven at the Last Judgment, and," said the Duke of Orleans, "a man full of How can there be holy objects in the monster's castle?"

  Theoderic pondered for a while: "Then how do you explain that you and these humans are safe and sound?"

"Are we here? No," said the Duke of Orleans nonchalantly, "did we run out of the underpass a few days ago and go to Thule." Thule is not far from Nancy, mainly there The people should have also run away, and no one has proved when they were there.

   "Then," Amon said, "Do you want to close your eyes, leader of the Secret Party, His Royal Highness Prince Vanderbilt, Mr. Theoderic?"

"Actually," Theoderic said, "if you want to talk about monsters, I know where there are." He looked at Amon, although he had only heard that there might be such a group of deformed pariahs in the Lorraine Plateau, but he always Unable to get out of the way to deal with them, now might be a good opportunity.

   "Oh, okay," Amon raised his hands: "I surrender.

  ———”

The people who besieged the castle were pleasantly surprised to find that the defense of the castle was gradually weakening, the arrows were no longer so dense, and the dung was not hot. When they knocked on the city gate before they could remove the branches, they felt that it was shaking weakly, and they followed the order of the priest and built a fire at the hinge of the city gate, burning the thick hinge to the point of deformation.

Finally, at dusk, the most vulnerable city gate collapsed amidst the cheers of the people. They rushed forward in ecstasy. Some people were pushed down and were trampled to death. When suddenly encountered obstacles, someone waved flails and pitchforks, screams and curses, insults intertwined, forming a chaotic movement - the people behind have no idea what happened in front of them, Still trying to squeeze in, and the people in front—those who were lucky enough to grab the front, they were not trampled or killed by their companions, but what did they see!

In the imagination of these people, there should be people in panic everywhere in the broken castle. They run around like a group of sheep being chased by wolves. Maybe some people are stubborn, but they can't hold on for long. Relics can be obtained - it is said that it is a ring of the Virgin, which can remove high fever, pustules and dark spots with a touch, and become strong and strong, and can obtain the women of the castle, money and jewelry, clothes and anything of value- But in the empty, dark plaza there were indeed things roaming, but they, or they, looked like dogs standing upright, their red eyes shining like jewels in the light of the torches , the fur is as smooth as silk, and the exposed snow-white fangs are like silver pearls in their fantasy.

   They bent their legs and seemed to move slowly, but with just one jump, they jumped onto a human being several dozen feet away.

The people who finally reacted finally shouted hysterically, turned around and ran frantically, and the people behind were still pushing forward, but those who saw the monster didn't even waste time threatening and pushing them away, but directly Climbed onto them, then stomped on knees, chests, shoulders, and heads all the way up and down, and some succeeded, others were pulled off, killed or trampled to death.

These monsters are the untouchables created by the vampires of Amon and Zmish. Vampires with bad nature sometimes do it like a prank. It is very simple to create untouchables, only a small amount of blood is needed - not enough to They transformed into the weight of the blood clan. This kind of monster not only has a strange shape, but also has a stupid mind. It does not even know what it means to be full. As long as the conditions allow, they will continue to kill and eat until the stomach bursts.

   (end of this chapter)