In the afternoon, the citizens of Caslant gathered around the execution platform one after another.
As the knight order's resident chatterbox, Shook had excellently completed the task Hyde had assigned him.
"Clank, clank."
The sound of clashing chains rang out as several shackled Black Mages were escorted over under the guard of the City Defense Knight Order.
"It's them! They're the ones who killed Uncle Raul's family!"
"Those demons! They even drained those people of their blood."
"Hanging them is far too good for them! They should be burned at the stake!"
From the moment the Black Mages were led onto the street, the curses and abuse from the citizens never ceased.
It was as if they wanted to vent all the shock and terror they had endured over the past few days all at once.
"Thud!"
No one knew who threw the first stone, but it drew an arc through the air and struck Cary squarely on the head.
With their black magic power completely destroyed, they were currently no stronger than ordinary people.
The stone cut a small wound on Cary's head, and fresh blood began to seep out continuously.
"Roar!"
As a stinging pain flared from his head, Cary's innate viciousness as a mage kept him from crying out in panic; instead, he roared furiously at the crowd.
However, to prevent them from causing any more trouble, the Black Mages' tongues had been ripped out after they were locked up the day before.
Thus, he could not speak at all now, only able to let out meaningless, guttural growls.
"Behave yourself!"
Seeing Cary's actions from the back of the line, Shook stepped forward and slammed the hilt of his sword hard against Cary's back.
The heavy blow sent Cary sprawling face-first onto the ground, a large pool of blood spilling from his chin.
And this action undoubtedly bolstered the courage of the surrounding citizens, and more and more people began to hurl stones at the Black Mages.
Of course, another factor was that the guards escorting the Black Mages this time were all commoner knights of the City Defense Knight Order.
Had it been the noble knights from Elys's era escorting them, no one would have dared to do such a thing.
After all, who knew what minor action might offend those noble lords and prompt them to draw a sword?
As for the current situation, the escorting knights of the City Defense Knight Order did nothing to stop it.
Slowly parading these Black Mages to the execution grounds was originally intended to let the citizens of Caslant vent their anger.
As long as they weren't beaten to death and could walk onto the gallows alive, it was fine.
A moment later, the bruised and battered Black Mages were escorted onto the gallows one by one.
Hyde, appearing by the gallows in his capacity as the commander of the knight order, held a parchment scroll in his hand.
On it were written the numerous crimes of these Black Mages, which Hyde had spent the entire morning racking his brains to draft.
Fortunately, Hyde had learned how to read and write due to his wealthy background; otherwise, he really might not have been able to handle this task.
After all, the remaining knights in the City Defense Knight Order were all of commoner origin, and literacy was an extreme luxury.
“Recently, a group of Black Mages sneaked into Caslant. Using cruel methods, they murdered several citizens of Caslant...”
Hyde infused his magic power into his voice, projecting his booming words all across the execution grounds.
During this process, the crowd voluntarily stopped throwing stones.
More than ten minutes later.
“These Black Mages were arrested yesterday by two esteemed lords of House Callis. Now, by the judgment of the City Defense Knight Order, these evil Black Mages shall be sentenced to death by hanging.”
"Good! Hang them!"
"Hang these demons!"
"Kill these monsters who endangered Caslant!"
As Hyde's voice fell, enthusiastic cheers immediately erupted all around the execution grounds.
Beside the gallows, the Black Mages reacted differently. Some were pale as death, their faces filled with sheer terror, while others remained arrogant, glaring fiercely at the surrounding crowd.
"Execute them!"
Finally, with a wave of Hyde's hand, the knights began shoving the Black Mages onto the gallows.
"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?"
Seeing some of the Black Mages resist, the knights stepped forward and kicked them, forcing them onto the gallows step by step.
Having long lost their magic power, these Black Mages were completely like helpless chicks in the hands of the knights.
"Ah... Ah... Ah, ah..."
On the gallows, some Black Mages still wanted to beg for mercy, but without their tongues, they could only make meaningless noises.
Yet, even if they could still speak, no one would have shown them any sympathy.
A rope was slipped over a Black Mage's head. Immediately after, a knight kicked the switch on the gallows, and the wooden trapdoor beneath the Black Mage's feet suddenly swung open.
His body suddenly suspended in midair, the rope tightening around his neck. The intense sensation of suffocation made his eyes roll back as his legs kicked wildly in the air.
Soon, a foul stench of urine and excrement wafted through the air; the severe asphyxiation had caused him to lose control of his bowels.
Before long, the Black Mage on the gallows stopped moving, turning completely into a corpse.
"Next."
Seeing that the Black Mage was dead, the knight on the platform simply released the rope, letting the corpse fall below. He then jumped down from the gallows, allowing the next knight to escort another Black Mage up.
The surrounding citizens of Caslant erupted into enthusiastic cheers every time they saw another Black Mage hanged.
After some time, all the Black Mages had been hanged one after another.
Just when the citizens thought the executions were over, Hyde's voice rang out again.
“Citizens, the executions are not over yet! While the evil Black Mages are indeed detestable, they also had an accomplice. Next, an esteemed lord from the temple will execute their accomplice!”
"Clank, clank."
Following Hyde's words, the sound of clanking chains echoed once more.
"That's Bishop Coos."
"Bishop Coos? Why is he bound up?"
"Why else? Didn't Knight Hyde just say so? He's the Black Mages' accomplice."
"But the holy water Bishop Coos sold us before was really effective. I only survived because of that holy water."
"Who knows? Maybe he was in cahoots with them from the start."
Soon, escorted by a member of the Temple Inquisition, Bishop Coos walked onto the execution grounds.
At this moment, the citizens of Caslant were still utterly bewildered. In their minds, Bishop Coos had been a decent man. How could he possibly be associated with being an accomplice to the Black Mages?
Although Bishop Coos looked down on commoners, his public facade had been highly successful.
“Coos, the Bishop of Caslant, has colluded with the Abyss demons and endangered the residents of Caslant, thereby violating the Temple Codex. By the judgment of the Inquisition, his lifelong sins shall be cleansed by holy fire!”
The words of the Inquisition member were powerful and resonant, falling upon the eyes of the astonished citizens.
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