Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 242 The Night of the Red Dragon's Dance (Prologue)

Summer night, drizzle.

The black limousine stopped in front of Canterbury Castle. César got out of the car, opened a black umbrella, held the bronze sword case, and nodded to the driver, indicating that he could just drop him off there.

He strolled alone through the garden. The roses that Adele loved were in full bloom, filling the branches like a colorful storm of butterflies, blooming with unspeakable charm in the wind and rain.

He took out the key and opened the door. The living room was quiet and there was no light in the house. It was already late at night, and his mother and sister should be asleep by now.

Cesare took off his military cloak and hung it on the hanger, put the bronze sword case on the dining table, sat down with a sense of relief, and listened to the sound of rain in silence.

He had just returned from the Minerva Agency. After finishing his heavy military duties and studies, he still had to take time out to go to the Minerva Agency to study the Seven Deadly Sins, so he rarely went home during this period, and every time he went home it was very late.

He got up and walked towards his sister's bedroom. It was too late and he didn't want to disturb his mother's sleep, so he decided to go and see Adele. Anyway, Adele was basically impossible to wake up when she was sleeping soundly, like a little pig.

Adele's bedroom door was ajar, and César was slightly startled. Although the head maid, Beau, was young, she was very cautious and would check around every night. With her in the bedroom, it was impossible that the door was not closed. Could it be that Adele had sneaked out to play?

Xizel gently pulled aside the silk curtains on Adele's bed, and Adele was indeed not in bed. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and touched the bed sheet. The bed was still slightly warm, so she must have just left.

He stood up calmly and went to his mother's bedroom. As expected, his mother was not there either. Every bedroom in Canterbury Castle was empty. Beau, the maids, the cook, the gardener... all were gone!

Most importantly, the third most important figure of the Seraph Knights, [Silver Holy Sword] Jose Torres is also not here!

Their beds all showed signs of someone having slept in them, but without exception, there was almost no residual heat left in the quilts.

Cesare checked the kitchen stove one last time and saw that the charcoal fire had been extinguished by water.

He returned to the living room, sat down at the end of the dining table, opened the bronze sword case, and tightly grasped [Lust] and [Taotie] in his hands. After a long period of training, he was already able to draw out three of the [Seven Deadly Sins].

"Come out, which organization are you from?"

The black owl-like soldiers flashed from behind the curtain. They were sturdy and sharp-eyed. Their uniforms were obviously different from those of the Cross Guards, and they looked like armor. Their collars flashed with cold silver light, but their military emblems were pure black. If you looked closely, you could see that they were a pair of black wings wrapped in black flames.

"From the Inquisition, Lieutenant Colonel César."

The leading soldier with the rank of lieutenant colonel bowed slightly in front of César.

Xizel frowned. Of course he recognized the Black Angels' emblem. Only the executive officers of the Inquisition would wear that kind of emblem. Besides, they had dealt with each other during Operation Relic.

The Inquisition is a very mysterious and high-level military organization. Although it has very few members, its rank is equal to the Praetorian Guards, which is the central army of the Papal States.

The Inquisition is under the leadership of the Cardinals and does not accept orders from others, and the orders of the Pope have no effect on them.

It is an internal agency of the Vatican, specializing in combating heresy crimes. Heretics refer to pagans who believe in extreme religions. Some of them believe in demons, some gather together to take drugs and commit promiscuity, and some even perform blood sacrifices. All such cases are handled by the Inquisition.

The Inquisition had its own court, the Inquisition, and those tried by them could be executed directly. Moreover, the Inquisition's executive officers were truly elite, and they could handle matters that the army and police could not resolve in a few days. By the time the higher-ups remembered to ask about the progress, the criminals might have already been shot and the case closed.

Such a fierce and dark department is simply a terrorist organization in the eyes of most people in Florence, but Cesare doesn't feel that way. The Seraph Knights are also an independent organization, and the darkness of the Inquisition has no effect in front of the flames of the Seraph Knights.

After realizing that Canterbury Castle was an empty house, César understood why he had felt a thorn in his back since he entered the house, as if someone was staring at him in the dark. His intuition was always right, there really was someone there, but he didn't expect it to be the executive officers of the Inquisition.

"How are my mother and sister?"

Xizel asked coldly, and the [Lust] in his right palm began to vibrate at a very small high frequency.

"As of this time, they are all fine, as are the rest of your family, and they are being properly protected."

The lieutenant colonel also noticed the wakizashi in César's hand and hurriedly tried to appease him. He didn't want to be chopped into pieces by the alchemical weapons of the old era. "But there are some minor troubles that may require you to deal with them. If you don't mind, come with us to the Inquisition?"

Xizel looked at him coldly without saying a word, while the Atkan sword in his other hand began to glow with a faint dark green luster.

"There's nothing to worry about, right? No matter how bold the Inquisition is, it won't dare harm the national hero, the Red Dragon that shines so brightly in the Treasure. If that happens, the Seraph Knights might crush the Inquisition."

The lieutenant colonel smiled friendly and signaled the executive officer behind him to put down his rifle.

"That's hard to say. You all dared to attack Brother Jose, so what else would you not dare to do?"

Xizel said softly, and the poison in the pores of the [Taotie] blade splashed out and silently seeped into the bodies of several executives.

Thump thump~
The Black Owls fell to the ground, and César pressed [Lust] against the lieutenant colonel's neck with an expressionless face.

"I am the only one who can cure the poison in this knife. With the amount you have taken now, you will die suddenly in a minute. Before that, I need to know the address of my family and the mastermind behind you, otherwise..."

As time passed, blood flowed out of their seven orifices, and their skin and flesh were quickly turning from a vibrant red to a deadly purple.

"Sistine Chapel, Cardinal Opportunity"

The lieutenant colonel of the Inquisition saw that César really didn't care about their lives, and immediately struggled to spit out a few words from between his teeth.

Xizel lightly waved his long sword, and [Taotie] released another kind of poison, neutralizing the toxicity of these night owls.

Without bothering to pay attention to the executive officer who was limp on the ground, he immediately walked quickly to the door and made a call directly to the Pope's Office.

"Director Spencer, why would the Cardinal suddenly kidnap my family and Brother Jose?!"

There was a surge of anger in Cesar's words, as if he was sure that Spencer knew the whole story of tonight.

"You shouldn't have made this call."

Director Spencer sighed. He really knew everything.

"Give him the phone!"

The boy raised his sword and roared in a low voice, his purple pupils glowing with heat. "There is an extremely important meeting in the Pope's Palace tonight, and many important people are present. Not only can I not get into the office on this phone call, but even my communication with you is strictly limited in time."

Director Spencer sighed again, his voice low: "Cesare, you are a person we have invested a lot of resources to train. You understand the structure of this country better than most children of your age. You should know that the Inquisition is a religious inquisition agency and is only responsible to the cardinals. If the Vatican could help, nothing would happen tonight and I would have been dispatched a long time ago, but the situation tonight is very special, so special that the Vatican cannot intervene. What do you expect to get from the Vatican?"

"I want a team of Seraphs!"

Xizel gritted his teeth, his face grim: "Since he can't fight the cardinal and can't save my family, then I will go by myself!"

Silence, long silence.

Cesare was well aware of the status and capabilities of the cardinals. Those united cardinals were more powerful than the Pope. Under that invisible pressure, the Papal Palace could not move at all.

But does that mean I have to give up my mother? Damn, why do men need power? Isn't the reason a man needs power to protect the people you love and strangle the people you hate?

If power cannot do something, then use violence!

Power, status, honor and even life can all be given up in front of family!

"Ah~"

Director Spencer finally made a sound, and it was a very long sigh.

"The Vatican cannot give you what you want. But your father said that if you are stubborn to the point of going crazy, he will provide you with all the help except political means. This is all he can give you."

Xizel was stunned for a few seconds, but soon understood something. He took a deep breath and hung up the phone.

He took the cloak off the hanger and put it on his back, then stepped into the drizzle. The Stein Heavy Machine roared, and the sharp water line cut through the rain curtain. The city lights in the distance were like the sea, and the young knight rushed into the sea without hesitation! ——
The night in Florence is as hard as iron, and the spires stand in rows under the night sky, like a forest made of granite.

It sits on layers of stone steps, as if suspended in mid-air, so majestic and solemn that it blocks out half of the night sky.

Hundreds of fully armed executives surrounded it, holding five-barreled heavy muskets in their hands. There were also armored knights mixed in the team. Although they were not Seraphim, they were also burly and majestic. The armor plates forged from a mixture of various metals reflected the light of the gas lamps.

This group of elite troops, who were supposed to "protect" the safety of the Tang Dynasty delegation, were unknowingly transferred here tonight.

The roar of a wild beast came from far away at an extremely fast speed. The Stein heavy motorcycle, spewing thick white smoke from the tail pipe, pierced the rain curtain at an extremely fast speed and drove along the muddy road beside the railway track. When it was close to the church, the boy pulled the handlebars suddenly, and the steel Pegasus driven by red mercury roared and jumped onto the steps, spinning and clearing the accumulated water.

César jumped off the Stein Heavy Machine with the bronze sword case in hand, ignoring the guards who wanted him to disarm.

[Seven Deadly Sins] only listen to him, and no one can remove the sword box from his wrist without permission.

The young man walked up the stairs, followed closely by a large number of elite soldiers.

"Let him in."

Only after hearing the order from the temple did this group of elite soldiers slowly retreat and stop harassing Xizel.

The steam engine roared softly, the shaft made a slight friction sound, and the door of the church slowly opened.

Hundreds of candles were lit in the church, forming a sea of ​​light, leaving only a passageway wide enough for one person to walk in. At the end of the passageway was a table, and the man across from the table wore an iron mask and a black robe that reached down to his feet.

When he saw César, the mysterious man stood up, pulled out a chair and motioned for him to sit down.

"Where are my mom and sister? How did they end up with you filthy fellows?"

Xizel said coldly, having already sentenced this man to death in his heart.

"Anything related to the Inquisition is, of course, a heretical crime."

The judge opened the case file in front of César and said in a rare clear and pleasant voice: "I'm sorry, your mother may be in big trouble."

Xizel suppressed his mixed emotions of palpitations and murderous intent and quickly read the case file. According to the case file, because he didn't spend much time at home every day, Mrs. Linlang was deceived by the cult and performed cult sacrifices at home. The sacrifice turned out to be her own daughter Adele. Fortunately, the Inquisition received the news and arrived in time to save Adele.

The case file included many freshly-released photos, showing Adele nearly naked and unconscious, with strange spells written all over her body in blood. The basement of Canterbury Castle was decorated like a church, with Adele tied to an inverted cross and a copper basin ready to collect her blood.

Madam Linlang was wearing a blood-red robe, holding a blood-stained knife, and wearing an evil-looking necklace. She was still so beautiful, but she exuded the evil spirit that only belonged to a witch.

Below is also Mrs. Linlang's personal signature, admitting that she believed in the heretical religion of Satanism and felt that only by dedicating her two children to Satan, the lord of hell, could she obtain the power of witchcraft.

"Her blood sacrifice also targets you, but..."

The Inquisitor said softly, trying to persuade César to believe this.

He observed César's expression, trying to find a flaw in it, but César just glanced through the case file and rudely interrupted him.

"Knight Torres has been living in Canterbury Castle. You mean that the Satanists dare to seduce my mother under the nose of the Silver Holy Sword?!"

Xizel closed the case file and looked directly into the Inquisitor's eyes, the Seraph emblem on his collar burning like a flame.

The Inquisitor's eyes were pure black in the candlelight, like a starless and moonless night. He was not frightened by César's words at all, but spoke calmly about the Cardinal's verdict on Madame Linlang.

"Knight Torres is very busy, so it is normal for him to be careless occasionally. According to religious law, Madam Linlang's crime should be punished by burning at the stake. Only fire can purify her sins and expose the devil in her body."

"You want to burn her to death?"

Xizel spoke each word clearly, and the [Seven Deadly Sins] in his hand began to tremble violently.

There will be more in the evening, and then it will enter a period of indefinite duration, with two chapters of 4000 words every day. I will try to speed up the finishing, and hope to be satisfied with the result.

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(End of this chapter)