Sylvester got on his horse and headed towards the Inquisitor's camp. Though on his way, his mind went into an overdrive of thoughts. Thankfully, Frost, the horse, was an intelligent boy and knew the path.
'After doing this, I should not have to worry about a rogue Saint Seer. I can rest slightly easier for mum now. As for the Pope, this is even better. The more guilty he feels, the more he will have to do to appease me. This means more olive branches, which I really need right now.'
Of course, Sylvester planned things to turn to his advantage if he was taking a risk big enough to expose Saint Seer. But he had to do it quickly as he didn't want to take any chances with Xavia's life.
'As long as this investigation does well, I should be able to get at least two seats in the Supreme Council. But sadly, out of thirty-two, a big twenty had rejected me. So I will either have to kill them or intimidate them.'
"Maxy, we're here!" Miraj notified Sylvester as the fluffy boy steered the horse near the Inquisitor Camp.
Sylvester quickly got off and walked straight in. He didn't waste any time talking with the sentries at the entrance, nor did he smile much. Instead, he let the people know that something serious was happening.
Without any resistance, he arrived outside Lord Inquisitor's spot and asked the guards outside to announce his arrival as per the protocol.
After that, he entered and saluted the two overpowered entities. "May the Holy Light enlighten us, Lord Inquisitor and Lord Second?"
Bloodrain was there too, and Sylvester had asked Aurora to find the man and bring him. Why? Well, he reckoned that having another Guardian who hated corruption and hersey as much as Inquisitor High Lord could help a lot—To win brownie points. After all, he was going to arrest two Cardinals, and he knew that the two men had a lot of clout. So, the best way to avoid confrontation was to break the other's will to fight.
After all, no sane man would see both Lord Inquisitor and Bloodrain side by side and decide to raise his sword.
"Aurora briefed us about what transpired. Did you meet the Holy Father, young bard?" Lord Inquisitor questioned him.
"I did, and he has given me complete freedom to arrest the two cardinals and get them to speak out all the names that were either involved with them or those they served. Holy Father has also ordered a special Judge to be assigned to us so he may pass quick judgement and put the heathens on death row." Sylvester briefed everyone.
Bloodrain's visor appeared to start bleeding once again from the eyes. Sylvester also smelled the scent of utter sadness. Of course, Bloodrain was known for this, the man who cries tears of blood for the sins of others.
"Right inside the house of Solis, from the men supposed to be the purest—Such blasphemy—Such audacity!" Bloodrain committed.
Inquisitor High Lord agreed. "Let today be a lesson for the generations to come in the Holy Land. To sin while chanting the name of the lord is a mistake that shall never be ignored. Let their blood write the letter of their apology today, for, in public, their heads will decay!
"Hans, call for the song of Inquisition. Today, the purge shall begin from within!"
Orders were given, and folks started to move. The Inquisitors were already prepared for urgent departure.
Soon, the judge also arrived, and it was none other than one old man who believed in Sylvester before anybody else.
"Old man Noah! You're the judge?" Sylvester gave the man a good hug. Archbishop Noah was a religious scholar, among the best of the best and wise.
"It's good to see you again, God's Favoured. I am a well-known scholar, after all. So I also know all the religious laws." Archbishop warmly said.
Sylvester honestly liked the man as he helped him initially with the whole vision thing. "It's good that you're coming with us. We are surely going to need to judge a lot of heathens within."
♫Marching through the heathen land.
We are the mighty Lord's men.
Second son and orphans, men of such brand.
We sing to the Lord. All say Amen…♫
Just then, the marching song of the Inquisitors began echoing. The long, ten-thousand-man-strong army of Inquisitors kicked the ground together to create an epic blood-pumping rhythm.
Sylvester quickened his pace, walked to the front, and helped Archbishop Noah sit inside the Inquisitor High Lord's carriage. Then he mounted his horse and started moving.
Beside him were Bloodrain, Lady Aurora, Elyon, Bishop Lazark and Felix. Unfortunately, Gabriel didn't come as he was supposed to lead a small team to keep an eye on the Cardinal's palace.
Thud! Thud!
The clergymen on the way moved aside, and the Pilgrims immediately kneeled and started praying, chanting some hymn.
The marching army soon made its way into the district reserved for the high clergymen. As the Inquisitors had already been briefed, they quickly surrounded the castle from all directions. Heck, even ships had been brought to cover from the seaside.
Sylvester was in the lead as the Pope permitted him, so nobody tried to come in his way.
He trotted his horse closer to the palace's gates and ordered the sentries to open it. "By the order of His Holiness, we are here to arrest Cardinal Cohn and Cardinal Kenny for the heresy of the highest order. Therefore, open the gates or be considered in cahoots with them."
The sentries only had to take one look at Bloodrain to start moving. They instantly started sweating and clumsily ran around to open the palace gates.
Sylvester marched in with a small unit of one hundred Inquisitors, with Lord Inquisitors and Bloodrain walking behind him, towering over him easily. Beside him was Lady Aurora, meanwhile. It was madness as three Guardians of Light surrounded him.
Luckily, seeing the firepower of Sylvester's side, nobody dared to raise their weapons and attack Sylvester. So they easily arrived at the Palace's interior.
Of course, since the Cardinal brothers were proud of themselves as they were higher clergymen, they didn't run away and instead confronted the crowd in their house.
"What is the meaning of this?" Cardinal Cohn roared.
"This is disrespectful and uncalled for. How can you enter the premise of a Car–"
Sylvester raised his hand and stopped them. "You two are under arrest for high hersey. For kidnapping poor pilgrims and selling them as slaves or forcing them into prostitution. Surrender yourselves, or you'll be made to."
Lady Aurora didn't waste time, though. She knew that they were going to try and fight. So she walked closer to them.
Bam!
Bam!
She punched both of them in the face, letting them fall unconscious. "There, problem solved. No need to hear their blabbering."
Sylvester had nothing to say. "Let's take them to the Inquisitor's camp. We shall interrogate them there and get them to speak. But first, let's search the palace thoroughly. It's best if we can find some money stashed here."
Soon, the entire palace was swarmed with inquisitors, searching every nook and cranny of the building. Everything they could knock on, they did. Everything they could topple, they did.
But, even after an hour, they found nothing. However, it was impossible that there was nothing. Nobody has a cheat like Miraj with them as their personal bank.
Sylvester was also searching around and trying to notice anything unusual. Eventually, he went to the backyard garden and looked at the palace from a distance, and that's where he noticed.
"Wait a minute! Why is there an extra pillar?"
He returned to the building and created a rune combining air and earth to throw a projectile at the pillar.
Boom!
Ting!
Ting!
"I can hear it!" Sylvester didn't even need to have the dust cleared to see what it was. The clanking of metallic things.
Ting!
"So much gold!" Felix exclaimed as he arrived.
The pillar in question was about fifteen metres high and two metres in diameter. It was entirely filled with gold coins, artefacts, or anything that could be made of gold.
"Try the same with other pillars!" Sylvester ordered.
Sadly, they only ended up destroying the palace, and nothing else was found. But still, from a single pillar, they had received nearly a million gold coins. It was an astronomical amount that only a few higher nobles could muster to gather in normal cases.
So, a clergyman having it was more serious since they don't really hold vast lands or businesses. How much slavery, how many sins the two Cardinals had committed, it was already terrifying to think. But it was Sylvester's job to make them speak.
…
Soon, night shrouded the sky in darkness. But the Inquisitor camp was full of energy as the screams of the two Cardinals resonated with the songs many Inquisitors sang. For them, it was a night of the feast, for they purged the evil—To an inquisitor, it was a good day.
At the same time, Inside a concrete building meant to hold prisoners, the two cardinals were chained, naked in different cells. Their arms and legs were held apart, while their heads were shaved completely.
By now, their bodies contained many wounds, some bleeding and some bruises.
"W-We didn't do anything! Why are you doing this to us?" They were repeating the same words.
Sylvester sighed and looked at the butcher beside him. "Chop his cock."
"Understood, my lord."
No mercy, no second thoughts. This was not even a percentage of the brutality the Inquisitors could cause.
Slash!
"Aaaaargh! Fuck! You fucking fuck!"
Bam!
Sylvester kicked him in the missing, bleeding groin. "Speak, or I will chop the balls too. How about I feed them to your brother? No? You won't say anything? Fine, I will feed it to him. Butcher, cut them."
"Aye, my lord!"
"Fuck! S-Stay away!" Cardinal Cohn tried to fight back, but he was tightly kept locked.
Slash!
"Aaaargh…!" This time there was just pain. No more words were spoken.
Sylvester knew he wouldn't get anything from the man anytime soon. So, he picked the chopped cock and balls with a cloth and walked into the adjacent chamber where Cardinal Kenny was kept. The screams had reached him as he looked terrified.
Sylvester then placed the chopped materials in front of the man. "If only he had opened his mouth earlier, he could've kept these. But, sadly, since he spoke first, you'll be killed instantly."
"What? No, I can tell you more. I swear I know more than him. He has his personal secret stash and client list too! Please, hear me out!"
But Sylvester only kept his spear ready and brought it near the man's throat. "Any last words?"
"Cardinal Fellon, Cardinal McCarthy, and Cardinal Bitwit are also involved in this! I swear… I can tell you more. There are in total nine hundred and twenty members in our organisation, including the lowest level. What did my brother tell you? I can tell you more!"
Sylvester didn't move the spear. "Then keep talking. Any name that appears in your mind, I want them all. If any of them mismatch your brother's, I will stab!"
"Yes… Archbishop Walker, Archbishop Urik…"
As everyone had guessed, a purge was coming, and finally, it had arrived. Eight Cardinals, twenty-six Archbishops, sixty-nine Bishops, five hundred Archpriests, and many more priests. The list was made, and arrests were not delayed.
But this time, no pyre was set, for they were heathens. So instead, they were to get publicly executed and shamed like a demon.
And one name was ensured to echo throughout the Holy Land, the bard of the lord—Sylvester Maximilian.
500 GT = 1 Bonus chapter.
1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.
Ape Together Strong
