CH 44

The sharp pain spreading from Grundy's mouth gradually jolted him awake. When he barely opened his heavy eyelids, his vision was filled with the frenzied populace that spat and roared angrily at him. At that, Grundy quickly came to his senses. Only then did he realize his hands and feet were securely tied to some wooden sticks. He observed his surroundings and was taken aback to discover that he was tied to a wooden cross. Stacks of dry firewood piled beneath the soles of his feet.

The tidal wave of civilians that was surrounding him spat, threw garbage, and hurled curses at him. Furthermore, when some of Grundy’s close friends saw that he was awake, they immediately shouted angrily at him, "Grundy, I was wrong about you! You murdered the Prads to take their gold and ironworks! And to think you’d use such evil black sorcery! Ugh!"

"This old bastard, I've long suspected that he is not a good person. Everyone, no need to be merciful. Just throw whatever it is in your hands!"

The civilians quickly picked up stones from the ground and threw them hard towards Grundy's body. It then struck the latter's forehead, causing blood to flow. Only then did Grundy realize that he was in Nurba’s town square. Almost every Nurba resident had come. His old buddies, too, were here. Hiding in the corner, watching all this unfold with cold eyes. He tried to open his mouth to explain, but all he could manage was a whimper.

Grundy was immediately reminded of the horrible memory of Paladin stuffing a red-hot coal into his mouth. Chills immediately filled his heart. Even the bleeding wound on his forehead and the saliva spat on his body couldn’t mask the chill he felt from the bottom of his heart. He was being played. That priest even took away his ability to try to justify himself in the end.

Standing on a high platform in the town square, Paladin looked at Grundy’s desperate and hollow eyes. After a subtle smile, Paladin showed his holy, gentle, and dignified expression.

"Everyone, everyone! Please stop for a moment! Please listen to my words!" he shouted.

When the enraged folks at the bottom looked up and saw Paladin, they immediately dropped the stones in their hands.

“Ah, oh priest. Thank you for exposing this despicable bastard. If you have any requests, we will certainly try to assist you in fulfilling them," said some elderly people with great respect. The people around nodded in agreement and looked at Paladin with a friendly and affectionate gaze.

Paladin smiled and bowed to the crowd. In an emotional tone, he slowly said, "Grundy has lived in Nurba for far more years than I have. Although I am still young, I can see that Grundy is not a bad person at heart. He did open a factory, but he cared for the workers who worked hard every day. He loved his daughters, loved his wife, and helped the weak, which could even make me, a priest of the Holy See, feel ashamed."

People listened attentively to his words. An unmistakably depressing smile adorned his sad expression. Paladin then continued, "But even so, these can never conceal the fact that Grundy was blinded by the darkness, for he committed such a heartbreaking crime. Our good friends, good elders, the Prad family, and also the children who can not even speak, have returned to God because of Grundy's evil black sorcery and heartless soul. May we who are present here pray for them. Amen."

The people immediately clasped their hands reverently and prayed. There were also some heavy emotions, as the Prad family’s friends were silently in tears. Right now, Kaleqi, who was together with a few guards that were standing next to him, became more and more gloomy.

"This kid. He arrived here less than a month ago and is already ruling the people of Nurba?"

After a half-minute pause, Paladin pretended to wipe away the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes and said solemnly, "Grundy committed such a felony, what should we do?!"

"Burn him! Burn him! Burn him!" The people below waved their arms in agitation. Wanting to burn Grandy to death immediately. As for Grundy, who was listening to the words uttered, he was completely in despair. His eyes were blank. He still couldn't figure out how his past actions, which were purely to test and threaten the priest, to let the priest know how powerful he was, would develop into what it was now. In a corner far from the crowd, there stood several big local businessmen who had ordered Grundy to do that. They were Nari, Chira, and Dorren. While staring angrily at Paladin, they whispered to each other.

"This kid is so arrogant! Now he dares to execute one of ours in a non-dignified manner! He has no regard for us! Chira, don't you know the bishop of this diocese? Tell him to take care of this young man who doesn't know any better."

The old man with a golden beard, who was called Qila, sighed helplessly. "Nari, did you say I knew him? I can only talk about us being acquainted with each other. In reality, it is me who is trying to flatter him. He is completely uninterested in me. This Paladin is technically his subordinate. Going before him to request that he denounces his subordinate? I don't dare to go there."

Dorren, the oldest of the bunch who had a white hair, spoke up. "This kid is too arrogant. Tomorrow morning, I will go find Baron Fetter and send him to speak to the Count on our behalf. Let this kid taste our power."

The three old men plotted in secret while at this time, Paladin looked at Kaleqi and said, "Grundy committed a serious crime, but his wife and daughter are innocent."

After saying that, Paladin waved his hand. Consequently, Kaleqi winked and several guards immediately brought Grundy's dazed wife and his bewildered daughter. When he saw his family, Grundy, who was tied to the stake, struggled to say something, but to no avail. His tongue and throat were severely damaged. He couldn't speak a word at all. If one looked closely, one could see him repeating the words, "Run away!"

The crowd looked at the mother and daughter. Paladin turned to face the ordinary-looking redhead, who was Grundy's wife, and said, "Madam, you are also aware of what your husband has done. Do you have anything to say to him?"

The wife timidly raised her head, looked at Grundy with a tense expression, and then at the guard holding a long sword at his waist. She recalled what Paladin said to her in private not long ago.

"Your husband murdered and also attempted a murder. He attempted to murder me! If you want to survive, there is only one way, which is to completely separate yourself from Grundy! Otherwise, you will be burned together with your husband! Even your daughter won’t be spared!"

Thinking of Paladin’s words, the wife's desire to survive finally gained the upper hand. With tears of shame welling up in the corners of her eyes, she blurted out, "Grundy, I have nothing to do with you anymore! Your daughter will also never be yours any longer!"

At this moment, Grundy's heart was burnt to ashes. His previously slightly expectant gaze had vanished. Slowly, he lowered his head, tears streaming down his face. Seeing that the job had been completed, Paladin smiled gently and said, "You did a good job."

The wife did not dare to meet this young priest's gaze. The priest's eyes, in her opinion, were like a razor blade right now. Cutting open her husband over and over again. Paladin smiled indifferently before squatting down to ask the befuddled young girl in front of him. "What's your name?"

"I, my name is Fanny."

Paladin nodded cheerfully. He took out a candy from his pocket and gave it to Fanny.

"Brother will give you candy. So, you have to tell brother something, okay?"

Fanny seemed to think of something for a moment before she took the candy happily and nodded happily. At this point, the frightened wife suddenly felt that something was wrong. However, she couldn’t explain what felt wrong.

"Your father has done something bad, so he must be burned with fire. Do you want him to be burned?" Paladin inquired, his voice gentle.

In an instant, everyone in the square focused their attention, trying to listen with their ears. They did, however, see and hear the still young little girl nodding innocently and happily.

"Burn! Burn him! Quickly burn him!"