I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 198 Bosch's Last Night

"I thought I would be the first to use wizards on the battlefield as soldiers." The king said, and this sentence made Elaius, who was next to him, feel a chill in his heart. "Obviously," Louis turned. The head smiled at him and said: "The emperor and the king are the third kind of people." No one could understand this joke at this time, Louis would not say more, he has such courage and courage, there is no reason to be similar to his age The Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire would have flinched, realizing that he had been deceived by the French king, and of course the Holy Roman Emperor would return with unscrupulous revenge—alliance with the nations and the Church of Rome was one of them, Yuri World - The Holy Roman Empire also has its own inner world. The wizards of Gayola Island will become vassals of the French king because Italy has never had a real king, and Bishop Richelieu and Bishop Mazarin have become one. A solid bridge - when Leopold I decided to draw that dangerous double-edged sword, no one could stop him.

As for the Roman church, don’t forget that the ancestors of the current Inquisition are just some converted wizards. In the church, apart from some ascetic monks far away in the mountains and isolated islands, there are fewer truly pious people than pearls in the sand. Maybe These Flemish wizards, and the church people are leading the way - this is really a joke, but this kind of joke is really hard to laugh at, even Erael, who is always smiling, frowned. Human beings are always easy to forget because of their short life, but the inner world—no, before that, extraordinary powers were involved in secular disputes, which would only bring more death and despair, even the monstrous Roman Empire was nothing but It collapsed for hundreds of years, and all the glorious exploits of King Arthur, known as the "Holy King", have become unbelievable legends, and the Crusaders Holy War... The bloodstains on the armor collected by many noble families have not been wiped clean. …

  Wizards escape into the inner world, which is a good thing for mortal kings and themselves, but wizards are also human, and they also have all the weaknesses of human beings.

   "The Bohemian witches are also at Waterloo," said a Gayola wizard who rode forward.

   Now everyone is watching the king, waiting for his decision.

   "Viscount Turenne!" cried the king, "I will not abandon my people."

"Yes! Your Majesty." Viscount Turenne immediately leaned over and obeyed. He was a mortal. He was as bleak as dust in the ranks of wizards and priests before. He just didn't want to endure the king's danger when he was safe. Comfortable place, I didn't expect him to be useful in just an hour or two - the wizards looked at him with mixed emotions. Although this mortal's courage was admired by them, when facing the dark wizard, he pulled out the The posture of the sword still made them feel contemptuous - but as soon as the king's order came out, this general with frosty temples and even a squat back was like a gem that had been dusted off, under the sun's rays It emits a dazzling light.

"Take my artillery team," said the king, "take my rangefinders and spotters, take my guards, and it doesn't matter if the whole of Waterloo Plain is set on fire, I promise, dare to hurt my soldiers , none of my people can escape!"

Viscount Turena took the lead, and the king looked at the wizards in Gayola Island. Speaking of which, the original mission of these wizards was to try to kill the members of the witch order after the war. Without the mastermind, those Bohemians Only the sub-witches can really be used by the king - even if they are not used on the battlefield, the king's academy and factories need a lot of wizards - but I didn't expect that the Flanders black wizards led by Bosch would think of attacking Waterloo, but There is nothing surprising, first: there are only wounded French soldiers and a small number of local residents here. If their tragic deaths are exposed in front of the army, it will undoubtedly be a big blow to the morale of the French; second, there are also The women and children of Brussels, although they were all Flemish, Bosch wouldn't mind a little mortal sacrifice - to be able to humiliate and slander a king, even if he was dead, would be a shame. Pleasant thing.

It's just that no one thought that things would turn out like this - the king used himself as a bait to draw out the dark wizard Bosi, who had always been hidden deeply, but Bosi, for the first time, did not stay in his seclusion, but In place of his own disciple Rubens, he recruited dark wizards and sniped the unsuspecting Waterloo - and Rubens also left behind. The king and priest uncovered Bosch's plans.

   "You should have a way to stop the wizard from escaping," the king asked.

The wizards of Gayola Island hesitated for a moment. Of course they have. Although there are not many wizards walking through flames, water and mud, but in the inner world, the major families have been fighting for so long, so there must be such targeted spells. And even if he doesn't do it, then the monks in the Inquisition must have them. After all, they have completed almost all the magic defense of the palace and the king's residence. The wizards can only assist from one side - the king boldly left them in Beside them, let them compete with each other, and also let them lose the capital to threaten the king.

"And," said the king, "if those witches...if they are helping my soldiers, then please don't be stingy with your kindness." When Mrs. Milady reported back to him, the king was not very convinced, because These bohemian witches are picky by nature and hate being restrained. What does a joke-like engagement show? The king just wanted to prove to the soldiers, the generals, and all the world the necessity and importance of medical care - but if they can really stay with their "husbands", then the king is willing to admit that they are also his own people .

The wizards of Gayola bowed to the king, and as the monks watched, they summoned giant owls, these cooing feathered fellows, their hairs standing on end when they saw the monks , but under the appeasement of the wizard, they finally stopped their threatening calls and took the wizards to the sky.

   "We will **** you back to Brussels," Elarius had been waiting quietly, and now asked aloud: "Or, Waterloo?"

If the Viscount Turenne, or Vauban, or Condé, would never have said the second choice, the king smiled, "Waterloo, of course." He said, "What about this man?" asked slightly.

   "You said just now that he is also a dark wizard," said the king.

   "Well," Elaly nodded: "At least seventeen lives will fall on him, although some of them can't be said to be completely innocent."

   "Then there are innocent people," said the king. There was obvious guilt on Rubens' face. He was very young at that time, and he was suffering from the death of his always loving father. He was not very clear about the consequences of his own curse. All the grief and sorrow were poured on the drawing board. After losing the original owner, these paintings did not lose their effectiveness. After destroying three families in a row, they were retrieved and burned by Rubens. This is what Bosch can firmly grasp. One of the reasons for him—if his identity is revealed, not only him, but also his father, mother and sister, as well as his wife and children, will suffer great shame for it, and even be exposed by others Revenge, he admits that he is cowardly and shameless, but today is probably the time for him to pay the long-delayed price.

"Please," he said with difficulty, "please, you can execute me as you please, but don't tell anyone that Rubens is already dead, his body is rotting in the deep soil, and he souls wailing in hell."

   "I can't find a reason to forgive you," said the king, glancing at the triptych. "You were still cursing a king with your teacher."

"Believe me, it's not my will," Rubens gave the young king a mixed look. It wasn't him who said that the king dared to confront a notorious dark wizard. His will To be firmer and more tenacious than any king he had ever seen, and to listen to the priest, this king used himself as bait to hunt down Bosch—for his father, and for his country, For the sake of his people, "You wouldn't allow any dark wizard to stay in Flanders, would you?"

"As a king, he has to give up a lot of things," the king said, as if he would complain to the queen mother that the ministers were too concerned about his bed curtains, but he would still try to appease them: "But some bottom line, It's something that can't be lost as a human being." He'd been to Gayola, and he'd seen the beauty of the world, the absurd and the cruel, but for dark wizards—sometimes not even for spellcasting, for Become powerful or seek money, just kill and torture others at will... "Beast", the king will never forgive.

Not to mention these dark wizards, even the Colosseum is gradually sparsely populated on the current island of Gayola. The king's conscription took away most of the young wizards, who have been imprisoned on this island since childhood - even if Under the influence of magic, the island appears to be much larger than it actually exists, but as the population grows, the island does not return to its original richness and tranquility - they can only use the most basic gifts bestowed by the major families. Survival space, bread and **** gladiatorial fights, and wine to numb oneself, um, perhaps with contempt for the outside world—people feel pain when they see someone who is better than themselves, and they feel pain when they see someone who is lower than themselves. To be happy is an indisputable fact, it is also nature, and there is nothing to refute.

But since Cayola Island was semi-forced to open by Louis, they have seen the prosperous side of the world that they have not seen before. There are no tyrannical lords, no dull and dirty farmers, no cunning and despicable merchants, spacious Cozy mansions, clean drinking water, warm baths, plentiful fresh food, dazzling goods, and as long as they are willing to put in some meager labor (although some of them don't know what they are doing). Get them easily.

In the past few years, more and more wizards have moved to Calais, and while Cayola Island has received a respite, the major families have also found sadly that it is no longer possible for them to be with the Mancini family, the king's agent. The king's decree from the little Duke of Colonna was finally able to come true - as the king had seen, the kind of tragedy that Claylan and his companions had encountered, rarely in the open. Happened, and while werewolves would still be discriminated against—but it didn’t have to be a life-and-death situation.

The werewolf is like this, not to mention the mortals, although some families who are skilled in potions are complaining, because they are now going to compete with the mortals for the body of the death row, Merlin, this is something that the king can't stop, people now believe that , the human body can be used as medicine, and the executioner's biggest income comes from the fact that he can harvest the most valuable parts of the death row prisoner, such as the head, heart, etc., and those who are willing to pay the price can take away the liver, skin and Muscles, the commoners can only wait for the leftovers... Even Bishop Mazaran has been recommended as a "medicine" for red-haired death row prisoners.

This is the case for Gayola, and for Flanders, which is about to become a French province, the king will only tighten it up, not a point and a half. Here it is like Lorraine and Alsace. During the year, it will be the most important and most dangerous place in France. He will set up a permanent army here and a credible governor. If he allows those dark wizards to continue to stay in Flanders, he will undoubtedly be in his own hands. A poisonous snake was placed on his chest.

"In that case," Rubens said, "Your Majesty, please give me a chance to atone for my sins." As he spoke, the wound that had congealed at the beginning of the time split open, making the originally beautiful and quiet face look like a A devil who just crawled out of a crack in hell, "Let me go to Waterloo with your... clergy, I've been with Bosch the longest," Bosch always finds ways to To torture this extremely gifted but always rebellious student: "I know his methods better than anyone else." Even better than Borugel, maybe that's why people say, your enemy Always know you better than your friends.

  The king glanced at Elarius silently, "Yes, Your Majesty." Elalius said: "I will watch him."

   "The drawing board can't be burned." A monk came to report at this time.

"Because the curse is not over yet." Rubens said, and sure enough, Saint-Denis, with the three pairs of eyes in the drawing board, was still staring at the king, "What if Bosch dies?" Elarius asked, " I'm afraid it's worse, this is his last work, his soul will be attached to it, and the magic on the picture will take longer to dissipate completely," Rubens rubbed his neck with difficulty: " It was Saint-Denis that Bosch blasphemed." He did not go on, but everyone present knew that Saint-Denis was the patron saint of France, he protected France, and Bosch's black mass even stole millions of them One part of the power is also extremely tricky.

"Should it be said that there is only one Bosch?" said the king, "isn't there any way?" He didn't necessarily have to give up his bed every day, as well as Amon's blood puppet, which belonged to the Zmish patriarch. Favors are not so bad, not to mention, if the curse of Saint-Denis follows him back to France, what kind of rumors will be in the court - just like the cause of Louis XIII's death has not been made public yet.

"I can't bring it back to the church either," Elari was very calm, and the church would be ecstatic and make a big fuss: "I will bring it back," which is the inner world, "I will seal it up and pray And holy water will constantly consume the magic power on it."

"You can also chop off my head when it's over," Rubens added calmly. "Let my blood splatter on this painting, which I did with Bosch," he said. Glancing at the king: "Although I tried my best to make up for it, it seems to be his disguise, but it doesn't matter, once my soul enters the painting, I can kill each other with him, so that this curse will last longer. short."

"Perhaps a good ending for you," said Elarius, glancing at the king, in fact, this was Rubens' disguised plea to them, seeking after his death with his soul that would never rest. Peace of mind, his name will not be stained, and his descendants will not be ashamed by it.

  Although this is not very fair to the innocent victims: "I promise you." The king said: "But you will leave another will to compensate the descendants of those victims."

   "I've already done this, but it may not be enough." Rubens said: "But I know Bosch and the collection of his disciples, and I'll tell you all about it."

   "I hope so," said the king.

   As they left, the king looked up and saw a ray of light in the sky: "That's Waterloo," he said.

   "Yes," said Elarius.

  ——

  Waterloo, this little-known town was on fire.

The fire blocked the overwhelming number of flying insects and mice, and separated by this scorching wall, there were witches, soldiers and residents here, as well as the women and children of Brussels. Did they hold a trace of luck and secret joy, who knew that they did not come to a safe Garden of Eden, but came to the mouth of the devil?

  Look, what did they encounter? Rats, flying insects, wizards, fires... Even if an angel came down from the sky with a trumpet and declared the end of the day, they would not be more shocked.

The witches held the casting materials tightly, and Manit and others at the head held the staff. These were given to them by the Duchess of Colonna after they surrendered to the king. At that time, they felt humiliated, but now they feel extremely lucky. There is no such thing. Staff, they simply can't afford such a fire.

   (end of this chapter)