Alien Knights

The capital of the Pope, the First Inquisition, and the underground prison.

"Mr. Terrence, I brought the ale you asked for." The old jailer in a gray robe looked at the emaciated old man in the damp and dilapidated cell, and tremblingly handed over a paper package through the gap between the wooden bars.

This old professor who used to be the Royal Academy of the Pope has been arrested and imprisoned for several months because of the "disaster of truth". He stood in front of the wall and carefully carved something with a stone. His silver whiskers dragged from his chin to the ground, and his back had been bent into an "arch bridge". From time to time, the harsh friction of stones and his coughing could be heard in the small room.

Seeing that there was no response from the prisoner, the old jailer couldn't help but raise his voice: "Mr. Terrence, why don't you take a sip before the wine goes bad?"

Terrence turned around, with a face full of blood and filth, a momentary loss of consciousness appeared: "Ah... ale... yes, the ale I want."

Terrence reached out to take the paper package, sat down cross-legged, looked back at the wall, and said to the old jailer: "A few days ago, someone told me something very interesting. Suppose there is a force under the ground that firmly attracts us. They call this force gravity..."

The old jailer seemed to have long been accustomed to these bible-like words spoken by the other party, and his eyes were a little helpless, but more of a lament.

"Mr. Terrence, don't you remember what day it is?"

Terrence, who was interrupted by the old jailer, was stunned for a moment and asked, "Today?"

"Yes, today."

"Could it be... today?"

"That's right, it's today..."

Terrence seemed to have been drained of all his strength, and leaned his back against the wall, looked at the ale in his hand, and laughed self-deprecatingly: "How much time do I have?"

The old jailer glanced at the "Water Sand Clock" at the end of the corridor, and said in a low voice, "Two hours..."

The old man uncorked the bottle of ale, took a sip, and raised the bottle to greet the outside of the prison: "Old man, thank you for everything you have done for me, I can... well, I have nothing to give you..."

The old jailer shook his head: "Someone told me to take good care of you."

Before Terrence had time to ask who it was, heavy footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

A moment later, four court deacons in black robes stood at the door of the cell, and one of them said, "Terrence, come with us."

The old jailer stood up tremblingly, and retorted in a low voice: "But, it's not time yet."

The deacon rudely pushed the old jailer away, opened the door, and stretched out his hand to grab Terrence's arm.

The old man broke free from the shackles and shouted: "Let go!"

After drinking the people from the church, Terrence grabbed the wine bottle, raised his neck and poured the whole bottle of ale down his throat, and threw the wine bottle on the ground. He wiped the wine stains on his beard, straightened his messy robe, and calmly said to everyone: "My students, they have already died in the battlefield of truth. Now, it's my turn to be the teacher! Lead the way!"

The deacons looked at each other in blank dismay, and no one touched the stubborn old man again.

Terrence was in front, and the four people from the court were behind. They walked out of the underground prison, walked through the long corridor, and finally stopped in a hidden side hall.

Terrence looked at the surrounding environment, frowned and said to others: "Is this the torture platform? What is this place?"

No one answered his question, and the black-robed deacons left the hall one after another. After a while, an old man in a cardinal's robe came out from the shadow of the side hall.

"Arborough..." Terrence opened his eyes wide: "How could it be you?"

Cardinal Yarborough walked up to Terrence and looked at him with a smile.

Two old people, one white and one red, one represents the camp of truth, and the other comes from the core of the church.

Terrence stared at the dazzling golden cross on the opponent's clothes, and his words gradually became cold: "What are you doing here?!"

"Come and meet my old friend..." Abel found a clean stone platform and sat down.

Terrence put his hands into his sleeves, and said angrily: "Thirty years ago, when we parted ways, I never recognized you as my friend again!"

Abel smiled.

"Damn, what are you laughing at?!" Terrence stared at the other party and said, "I'm very busy, I'll be on the stake later, I hope you can find a good place to watch!"

Abel stopped smiling and sighed: "I think back then, the four of us didn't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the world, and the dangers of the world. When we were still young, we traveled to many kingdoms on the mainland with our enthusiasm and impulsiveness. Do you remember the San Sidro Monastery? We built a laboratory in the catacombs together, and wrote many books..."

"What's the point of bringing up the past?!" Terrence clenched his fists: "The four of us have different ideas and goals in the end. I pursue the ultimate truth, Theodore is obsessed with heterogeneous research, Iliad is going to the mysterious darkness, and you...you chose the church!"

"There are some things you don't understand." Yarborough glanced at the sun outside, and said to Terrence: "I never thought that the four of us chose different paths. Continue to walk along our respective paths. Sooner or later, you will find that we stay at the same end point."

Terrence, who could no longer listen to it, raised his arms and looked angry: "It's nonsense! Theodore and Iliad, the two of them are in a special situation, and I can understand it. But you! As my best friend, the old seeker of the truth, you betrayed your own beliefs, became blinded by power, and walked into the church!"

Abel sighed, stood up, and said in a low voice, "Perhaps, perhaps you will understand my painstaking efforts in the future."

After saying this, Abel turned his head behind him and said, "Come out."

Tristan came out from the end of the side hall with two black-robed deacons.

Seeing these people approaching him with "bad intentions", Terrence took two steps back and shouted, "What are you going to do?!"

"Teacher Terrence, it may hurt a little." Tristan put on a harmless appearance.

A moment later, a dull sound of falling to the ground came from the side hall.

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"Today's execution is a bit boring."

Pope Alexander, who was wearing a white holy robe, sat on his seat, watching the fire that was burning in the distance, smelling the pungent smell, and said displeasedly.

Sitting next to him, a cardinal with a face that looked a bit like a falcon echoed: "When those students were burned before, there were scolding, begging for mercy, and wailing. It was indeed much more exciting than today. Bishop Abel, what do you think?"

Abel glanced at the hostile smile on the other side, and said indifferently: "Bishop Jacob, a man of his age, lived in a cell for a few months, and half his life was long gone. When he was executed at the stake, he was naturally different from a young man."

Having said this, Abel turned his head to Alexander and said, "My lord, I heard that before the execution, many kingdoms sent missions, and even the kings or crown princes of some countries personally asked you to pardon Terrence's crimes?"

The Pope touched his chin and said with a headache: "When Terrence was in the academy, he taught members of the royal family in too many countries, whether they were nobles or royal families, they all obeyed this guy. But this is also one of the reasons why I insist on burning at the stake."

Abel nodded as he listened. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tristan quietly appearing in the crowd and gestured to him that everything was well. A big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.