THE RISE OF THE KNIGHTS OF SINNERS
#11# THE CASE IS EXPOSED
At the end of winter, Valdia began to return to normal. Especially the pilgrim route. After the complete mastery by Valdia's marquess, the pilgrims from the eastern continent increased 3-fold. Even the inns in the temple area to the city of Valdia itself are always full of pilgrims. This condition is clearly a big advantage for Valdia's marquee.
Under the direction of Thalia and Leo, Valdia began trading with foreign traders and the most profitable was trading cooperation with one of the wealthy merchants of the Singaraja kingdom. With the help of the merchant, Valdia was able to sign a trade agreement with the Singaraja kingdom. The treaty included the exchange of goods in which Valdia produced wheat, corn, stone, and iron in exchange for a variety of spices produced by the Singaraja kingdom.
Obviously the cooperation that was established was very beneficial to Valdia because the spices themselves were rare and very expensive ingredients in the western and eastern continental markets. Thanks to the efforts of Thalia and Leo, Valdia's financial marquisition in the coming months is predicted to return to stable even expected to increase 3 to 6 times.
But there is a big problem that is still the homework for Valdia's marquee which is the kidnapping case. Although Leo had sent many troops to investigate the secret door that Yurei's forces had found, but no one had been able to unseal the door. Even Sely himself ran out of magic energy while trying to open his door. On the other hand, kidnapping cases are still rife and abductees are not only children and women but also teenage boys who are victims of kidnapping.
In the conditions of the city of Valdia which was beginning to be crowded with pilgrims and traders made the process of patrolling the police division a little difficult. Because the dense streets in the city will clearly make it difficult for police officers to distinguish criminals and civilians. The surge of visitors in Valdia forced Leo to divide the Yurei army into 2 groups. The first group searched for clues and the location of the kidnapping while the second group patrolled from above the houses of the residents.
***
This morning the sky was covered in thick white clouds that indicated that it would snow again. Inside the palace, Leo and Thalia were preoccupied with the report papers they had to sign. And the sound of the door knocking was heard from outside the room for a moment stopping the work of the two of them.
...Geck! Geck! Toks!...
" Come in, the door is unlocked, " said Thalia continuing her work again.
The door was opened from the outside, it turned out that Boris was with marquis Aiden who came to visit the two of them. Thalia immediately stood up while Leo was indifferent to the arrival of his father.he continued to sign reports that were still piling up on the table.
" You two rest. You've been here 2 days. The task of signing was to leave it to me, " said marquis Aiden. He walked over to the table and took out a piece of report paper.
" Dad just recovered. It's better that the father goes back to rest, let me and Thalia finish this, " Leo said, still not stopping his work.
Marquis Aiden took the stamp next to Leo's left hand. " Hmm you guys are good kids. But this is my duty as a marquis. As long as the marquis' office is still attached to me, there's no way I'm going to have to hand it over to my children. Now rest, this is the order of marquis Aiden, "
Leo put down the report paper he was holding and left his seat, "Alright, but I don't push myself. "
" Look down, I won't worry you. Now you two come out let me and Boris continue this, " said the iron masked man passionately while applying hot ink on the report paper. Leo and Thalia go out and decide to drive around the city to relieve stress.
***
In the middle of the road while walking around, Leo and Thalia saw a crowd of people surrounded the store owned by a wealthy merchant from Singaraja. The crowd made the two of them curious and pulled their steps into the shop.
Seeing two of Aiden's marquis children approaching the store, the crowd greeted as they gave way for the two of them.
Leo entered the store and saw the middle-aged man with his wife arranging bottles of various colors of powder on the store shelf. " Just this time I saw a lot of people crowding your uncle Aji's shop, "
" Leo!? Thalia!? I didn't think you guys were coming here. Is your work done? " sahut jovial shop owner named Aji.
" Dad forced us to take over the job and told us to take a break. Well it just so happened that when we went around to see a crowded uncle's shop, "Thalia replied.
" Ahahaha.., Yes they are waiting for a new product from us, "between Aji's wife named Ranti.
" New product? You mean the powder in the bottle? " Leo pointed at the bottles on the store shelf. Because Aji's shop is a spice shop and Leo feels a little strange when he sees that on the shelf is not a spice plant but a bottle.
" In fact the delivery of raw spices from our kingdom here is very troublesome because of the hundreds or even thousands of materials we carry must be a lot of rotting. So, we make the spice into a powder because it can be durable, " explained Aji.
" So those powders are spices? Whoa...! Why didn't uncle market it long ago? " Thalia was very excited to hear Aji's explanation. At first glance in his brain began to think of the business field about the spice powder.
" It was actually a year ago that we turned the spices into powder. But because the frequent occurrence of storms in the southern sea makes the delivery delayed for months, "interview Ranti.
" I heard a storm there almost every week" muttered Leo holding his chin.
Aji nodded, "Yes, that's why the delivery was so long. Actually we could have been to the eastern ocean and anchored in Hanaria. But a road trip from there to this city can take months or even a year more. "
" It is only natural that there is no connecting road between the kingdom and there are still many forests and swamps, "reply Leo.
" Hhhhhh because that's why every time we send goods, we have to wait until the storm subsides. Oh yeah, this is for you guys. " Aji gave me a small sack of bottles containing various spices powder.
" Eh!? Uncle sure? It's too many tablets, " said Thalia.
" It's okay. I've considered you part of my family so giving something to family members doesn't need to count a little or a lot. I heard that Miss Melina has been studying cooking lately, right? Maybe these ingredients can help to delish the cuisine, "return Aji who directly gave the sack to Thalia.
" Ahahaha uncle knows it turns out. Well he's been spending time in the kitchen with Sely lately. And our food every day he cooks it, " said Leo scratching his back head.
The two of them talked long enough with the store owner to forget that the buyers began to swarm more and more outside the store. Not wanting to disturb Aji and Ranti's activities for longer, they both say goodbye and continue to tour the city until Afternoon.
When the sun was about to set, Leo and Thalia who were drinking warm tea in a tavern not far from the city gate were visited by 4 members of the Yurei team. They whisper to Leo that the seal on the secret door in the canal can be opened.
Hearing the news, Leo and Thalia headed straight for the canal. And right there the door was opened.
" Have you opened it? " then Thalia asked the 50 yurei troops who were also there.
" No miss. It seems like the seal on this door is not a permanent seal and it just so happens that tonight seems like the last day this seal is active. The number of patrols in the canal makes the sealing agent unable to renew his seal, "said Kiran (Chairman of the 6th division of the yurei forces as well as the leader of group two in this mission ).
Leo glanced towards the door. As far as the eye could see, he only saw a dark narrow passageway.
" All right, we go forward together. And if there is a new forked road we spread out" Leo said as he plucked the dagger from its sheath at the waist.
The Yurei troops nodded their heads. They began to enter the dark hall without a sound coming out of their mouths. Who would have thought for 30 minutes they continued walking and only found a narrow passage without end.
" I'm sorry sir, does it seem like there's something awkward here? " said Keanu (head of the 7th division of Yurei ) troops who realized something.
" What's up Keanu? " ask Leo.
" It seems we are trapped in an illusionary magic. We've been walking here a long time and there's no end at all" Keanu continued.
Keanu's words surprised everyone there. They still do not believe if exposed to illusion magic because illusion magic itself is a rare non-elemental magic and almost no human can use it because the activation of illusion magic can drain the entire magic energy if only one person activates it.
" Everyone release your magic energy! If this is indeed illusion magic, with our large amount of magic energy it can definitely drive the richness of its magic illusion, "Leo touched the wall of the passageway. He began to close his eyes and channel magic energy into the wall.
Similar things were done by Thalia and the Yurei army. The magic energy that went into the sidelines of the hallway wall gave off a yellow light and then a small bang was heard. The bang turned out to be an illusion magic symbol that was broken down successfully and sure enough, the passageway they passed was actually short and there was a large room at the end of the hall. They all entered the room. However, the room was just an empty room and there were only a few second-hand dishes scattered in the corner of the room.
" We are too late– "unfinished Thalia said, Leo found a magic seal on the right side of the room.
" This seal? It seems to be just a temporary seal. They try to fool us with dusty plates" Leo said.
Thalia touched her magic seal ring. Only slightly channeling magic energy, the seal shattered then opened the secret door again. Behind the door is a hallway that is illuminated by torchlight every meter.
" How can you unseal her? " ask Leo.
" This seal is not a holy seal and can be opened with ordinary magic energy, " replied Thalia.
" Okay then you all get ready! " Leo raised his dagger and stepped forward into the hallway followed by Thalia and Yurei's troops.
As he was nearing the end of the hallway, a faint groan sounded for help. Leo ran straight to the end of the hall. Unexpectedly at the end of the hall was an even larger room and there were several prisons containing women and teenage boys. They were all completely naked and had been suffocated in the prison cell.
While Thalia furiously saw what happened, instead of saving the captives, she ran alone after the perpetrators who had fled through a new hallway in the room. Not wanting to let his brother go alone, Leo ordered half of Yurei's men to go after Thalia.
" Keanu go upstairs and call the police force and the healers. Command them to bring water, food, clothing, and medicine! " leo's orders were directly carried out by Keanu.
Leo also ordered his troops to open all prisons and give their robes to the captives because they did not wear a single cloth to cover the body. Aiden's second child marquis saw one by one the prison that had been opened and his steps stopped when he saw a young blue-haired woman the age of Thalia wearing white clothes hugging her son with a look of fear.
Leo slowly approached him and squatted down. " Hey a-I'm not a bad guy. I'm here to save you and your son, "
" I've heard those words a hundred times. They always said they wanted to save us but it was the same in the end. We continue to suffer, "he sizzle the woman.
" I'm Leonard von Valdius would never do anything like that. I will free you from this prison and live outside, "said tenderly Leo trying to touch the woman's shoulder.
The woman hugged her child. He was terrified when Leo would touch him. " The Le-Leonard? A-are you Mr Aiden's son? "
" Yes, so don't be afraid. I'm here to help you, "
The woman began to melt and then released her child's embrace. " My son, we're safe. The man we have always been waiting for finally came, " whispered the woman to the child cheerfully.
Leo picked up a piece of bread that he happened to carry in a small bag behind his waist. " This is eat. You two wait here. The doctors will be coming soon. "
The woman immediately took her bread and split it in half with the child. They ate the bread crazily while shedding tears. Leo, who was powerless to see, finally left them and went after the older brother.
Not long after, Keanu with the doctors and police forces brought a variety of food, drinks, clothes, and drugs. The captives who were the abductees cried happily. They are grateful to be out of the pit of suffering.
***
Leo walked down the hallway that Thalia had previously entered. He ran down the hall until he arrived at a room bigger than before. As he was about to enter the room, Leo saw blood splotches on the walls of the room. When he stepped in, dozens of bodies of the kidnappers were already lying in terrible condition. However, he did not see the whereabouts of Thalia and the troops. He just saw another hallway. His footsteps began to break through the hallway.
In the passageway, he saw a faint light at the end of the passage that was slightly uphill. " Is this a way out? " leo murmured inwardly as he continued running towards the dim light.
True as Leo suspected, it turned out that the dim light was the exit of the canal made by the abductors. When she came out, Thalia and Yurei's forces arrested 60 abductees, 2 of whom were former priests. To Leo's surprise, one of the priests was the pastor who had previously abused Melina.
Seeing the depraved priest, Leo went straight up. He grabbed the sword of one of the members of the Yurei army and walked up to the priest.
" Lo the pela– "Unfinished Thalia said, Leo suddenly drew his sword into the neck of the priest. The sword stuck right in the priest's neck.
...Yoda...!...
" Stand! " leo's orders to the priest. Groaning in pain and bleeding neck, the pastor tried to stand up.
" I've forgiven you before, but you've done something no less heinous than before. Now there is no more forgiveness for you. "siss Leo with a sharp look full of hatred.he turned the sword and pulled it from the priest's neck.
Blood spurted from the priest's neck and made him die instantly. Thalia was very surprised by Leo's actions, she did not expect Leo to dare to kill people. Thalia still thinks Leo's trauma hasn't gone away but in reality Leo proved himself before his eyes.
" The Le-Leo? What the hell are you doing? " ask Thalia.
" I have a personal grudge against this priest. His death was thanks to his own mistakes no need to ask brother. "the young man answered cold blonde while giving the sword he brought to the owner.
" What are you going to do with these kidnappers? " continued Leo.
" In fact, the master who killed him was their leader and Miss Thalia was about to interrogate him, "
Thalia replies her hand and grabs the hair of one of the perpetrators. " They are the kidnappers of a human trafficking syndicate from another kingdom. They sold abductees to wealthy nobles and merchants. Female victims as well as adolescent boys were made sexual slaves, "
" I'm sorry I killed him" said Leo.
" What will you do with them? Are we just executing? "
" The death penalty is too light for them. I want these perpetrators to be castrated and sent to Isihogo prison" Thalia replied.
When he heard Isihogo Leo and the Yurei troops were slightly goosebumps. Isihogo Prison itself is a prison on the island of Isihogo count territory of Kania to the west of Valdia. Isihogo Prison is a nereka prison where the perpetrators of sexual harassment and kidnapping are the lowest caste there. Abusers are usually treated inhumanely and tend to be treated cruelly by guards and other prisoners.
The abductees who heard Thalia's proposal many tried to revolt and fled. But all in vain because around them is not an ordinary army is a special army capable of above average.
" We miss the existence of this secret door that leads directly to the west of the city. For some reason I was unthinkable if the underground canal could become the headquarters of the criminals, "roily Leo looked at the exit he had previously passed through.
" We must increase the number of patrols inside the canal. Then we should return soon, " said Thalia.
" We're going through the canal, brother. If the front of the city seems too conspicuous and afraid it can create unnecessary excitement, "
" You're right. All right, you guys take those perpetrators! We're back on the channel, "the order of Thalia.
They took the perpetrators through the canal and left only a few Yurei troops to stand guard. While passing through the room where the victims of the previous kidnappers were imprisoned. The victims vent their anger by beating the perpetrators. There was even one perpetrator who eventually died because he was stabbed in the neck by one of the victims. Neither Leo nor Thalia can ban it because the crimes of the perpetrators on the victims are more heinous.
The abductees of women and men are sold and almost every day they are forced by depraved people. They are only given stale food every day and the more virulent victims of teenage boys are told to drink their own urine.
" Mamaa...! Mamaa...! " the cry of a little boy stopped the steps of Leo and Thalia. The two of them returned to the room and saw a blue-haired girl crying over her mother who was sprawled with blood coming out soaking her thighs.
Thalia ran over to the woman Leo had helped. He took his handkerchief and cleaned the blood on the woman's thigh. " Healer! Stop the plunder immediately! " call Thalia.
3 Physicians came straight. They used healing magic and ingested certain medicinal herbs to heal the woman. But destiny says something else. Because the amount of blood that came out finally made the woman die from blood loss. While his son immediately cried hysterically to see the mother was gone. Thalia herself closed her eyes. In his heart he was very angry with the perpetrators and if not restrain himself maybe Thalia had killed the perpetrators from now on.
Seeing the child of the woman who kept crying, Thalia's motherly nature appeared. She hugged and tried to calm the child down like her own. But the boy could not calm down. Thalia uses sleep magic to calm her down. While the woman's body along with the other victims were immediately taken out after their condition began to improve. While the perpetrators were temporarily imprisoned under Valdia's palace with very strict escorts so that when they came out of the canal, the residents did not dare to approach and make a crowd.
After several hours of release, many of the women were bleeding and one by one they eventually died. Not wanting to lure the crowd into the city, Thalia decided to bury the victims in the palace garden.
***
The next day, Boris announces that the abductee has been arrested and the victims are in the palace. Boris also said that residents who felt members of his family were kidnapped to immediately pick them up at the palace.
After the announcement, one by one the families of the victims came to pick them up at the palace. Families of the dead can only cry for their children. The families of the victims also demanded a commensurate punishment for the perpetrators and they wanted to witness the punishment that would be given to the families of the victims, due to the coercion of the victims, Thalia, who initially wanted to do the punishment secretly, was finally forced to do the punishment in the palace courtyard and witnessed by the families of the abductees.
Dozens of stripped offenders lined up lined up with hands and feet tied to a prepared pole. They all received a sentence of 100 lashes and a sentence of genital mutilation.
At noon, the punishment began. In the hot afternoon sun, screams, cries, and moans were heard alternately in the palace. The perpetrators were truly subjected to fierce torment by the executors. They were whipped to blood plus their genitals were cut off consciously. Obviously they felt tremendous pain and it was comparable to what they did. The victim and his family were even allowed to flog for their revenge.
The punishment was completed when the sun sank. The perpetrators were immediately treated by the healers but not a few of the perpetrators died of blood loss. The remains of the perpetrators were transported by horse-drawn carriage and taken to Isihogo prison. Yes, after getting sentenced in Valdia, they'll get another sentence in that prison.
This was the first time Valdia's marquis had carried out such a cruel punishment. Valdia's marquess has its own laws for rape and kidnapping offenders. This is inseparable from Thalia's proposal for the safety of women in Valdia. Marquis Aiden himself agreed to his proposal because with a cruel punishment for perpetrators of rape and kidnapping can make them deterred and who want to do so undo the intention.
News of the abduction cases that have been resolved is directly spread throughout the Valdia region. They were very happy and strongly supported the cruel punishment of the perpetrators despite the protests of the ministers of the Gerelia kingdom. The revelation of this case at the same time raised the confidence of the population in marquisition.
^^^To be Continue.^^^
