Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  Shi Dong did not continue the conversation topic for any longer, but simply asked, “How are the others faring?”

  The old man in the wheelchair took out a portable aether ball from one of the compartments of his wheelchair, closed his eyes and meditated for a moment before replying, “The men in both the east and west wings have been taken care of. The situation in the nave is a bit troublesome, they slipped up.”

  “After recuperating for so many years, how is it that each of you is more of a disgrace than the last? Where has the experience accumulated over the past years gone, to the dogs?” Shi Dong sighed. “Forget it, I’ll go take care of it.”

  …

  Half an hour later, the last corpse was dragged into the confessional, to continue confessing to God alongside his comrades in life.

  “Given that so much time has elapsed, the people outside have probably realized that something’s wrong.” Shi Dong looked at the pocket watch. “How much longer can the enchantment last?”

  “The Westminster Abbey has a unique status. Usually, we have no need to activate the enchantment. The instrument of harmonious melody has not been used for many years. It’s only good for looks and is one generation behind current technology, so I’m afraid it won’t last long.” Mephistopheles thought for a moment and replied, “About an hour.”

  Before he even finished his words, a loud roar sounded.

  Fiery glows lit up from outside the window.

  The earth shook and the raindrops reversed their course.

  The fluorescent glow of the enchantment flickered and fissures spread everywhere.

  Mephistopheles’ expression remained the same as he nodded slightly. “Okay, now we only have half an hour left.”

  “Half an hour, eh… It’ll suffice.” Shi Dong nodded slightly and looked at Carol. “Have the kids gotten up?”

  The nominal person in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Carol, was wiping the blood off his hands with a rag at the moment — After Ye Qingxuan became the Grand Inquisitor, Carol was officially appointed as the commander of the Witch Hammer, making him responsible for the only armed chivalric order under the Religious Court of Inquiry.

  “More or less yes.” Carol replied, “The kids are all young lads. Being locked up for a few days without proper meals won’t hurt them much. Although the armors have been stripped of their aether furnaces and locked into the warehouse, the engineers are repairing them urgently now, so it shouldn’t cause us any major problems. The biggest trouble we face now is that the Knights of the Round Table took away all the weapons that the armors have been equipped with. Now the enemies outside are fully armed, but our knights are bare-handed except for iron shells of armor.”

  Shi Dong asked helplessly, “Can’t you think of a way?”

  “No,” Carol replied.

  “No substitutes available?” Shi Dong prompted.

  “Can tables and chairs be counted?” Carol questioned.

  “… I doubt it?” Shi Dong sighed. “Damn, we miscalculated. In other words, our ambitious plan to breakthrough is going to fail?”

  Carol nodded.

  Shi Dong was silent for a moment, then asked, “Is it too late for us to surrender now? Even the Holy Bible said that it is not shameful to bow temporarily to heretics in light of long-run gains in the future. We are doing so to numb them out, then wait for a good opportunity to make our move, surely God will understand and forgive us?”

  “Not necessarily,” Carol replied, expressionless. “Furthermore, the Knights of the Round Table probably won’t accept our surrender, I’m afraid. The grand knight whom you have just beheaded in the nave was the nephew of Tristan, the commander of the Knights of the Round Table Knights. The one you killed was Tristan’s only successor… “

  “Oh, sh*t.” Shi Dong cursed and looked at Mephistopheles, who was looking up at the stained glass ceiling above with his full concentration. As for what a blind man with late-stage cataracts like Mephistopheles could still see, it was anybody’s guess.

  Shi Dong looked at him.

  Mephistopheles stayed put as if he felt nothing, but simply scratched his face self-consciously. Finally, he could no longer sit still after a good while. He sighed in resignation. “Fine, I can resolve the dilemma.”

  Soon, the ground of the nave began to sink. Countless bricks contracted and moved toward the sides, revealing a passage leading downwards. Mephistopheles grabbed a lantern in his hand and gestured to Shi Dong, inviting him to enter.

  Shi Dong stood at the entrance of the passageway and took a deep breath, a smile appearing on his face. “The scent of oil used for iron maintenance? Not bad indeed…” But when the lantern illuminated the collections stored in the underground warehouse, he still couldn’t help but inhale deeply.

  The cold gleam of steel was everywhere in sight. The weapons on the display racks ranged from ordinary swords, knives, armor, to small hand crossbows which were contrabands of war, and to countless heavy weapons, which were several times a person’s height and had been designed specifically for knights in power armor, namely submachine guns, battle axes, and chainswords…

  Weapons sufficient to arm two infantry brigades and an entire company of knights in power armor lay quietly in the dark, covered in maintenance grease, and exuded a pungent smell that was almost seductive.

  Shi Dong was silent for a long time, and turned back to ask, “In Anglo, isn’t unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance a crime punishable by hanging?”

  Mephistopheles smiled and stepped on a switch, activating the gears, which caused the wall behind him to open slowly. Behind the wall, the huge underground workshop hiding ten meters underneath the Westminster Abbey was revealed. It contained assembly lines tens of meters long, lathes weighing dozens of tons, various tools, steel furnaces embedded in walls, and even an entire 100-ton machine press powered by aether.

  Dozens of old priests in robes were also inside, their bulging muscles almost causing their robes to burst. Their hands were covered in callouses, with scars from burn injuries sustained from molten metals.

  “Unlawful possession?” Mephistopheles shook his head disdainfully. “You mean manufacture!” As he spoke, he reached out and took a black hand crossbow, examined the parts deftly, nocked arrows, and shot it three times to test it out.

  Satisfied, he nodded. “The priests who can stay here are all part of the technical backbone of the Church. For them, such items are just handiwork they do to relieve themselves of boredom when they’re free. Otherwise, where did you think that the ordnance flowing out of Anglo for the past years came from? “

  “…” In the silence, the look in Shi Dong’s eyes turned weirder and weirder. “If the lambs who have come to you to confess their sins find out that the great and benevolent bishop is actually Anglo’s biggest warmonger, how sad will they be?”

  “It is not easy to spread the gospel of God in a foreign country. What use are the meager funds that the Church allocates every year? To generate income, one must always find one’s own way…” Mephistopheles said nonchalantly, “At least, I will give the believers a 20% discount.” Having said so, he proceeded with an excerpt from a well-known speech made by the first-generation Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry. “Let those who have been fighting fiercely against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the heretics in the name of God. Let those who for a long time, have been robbers, now fight for God and become God’s knights. This is a battle worthy of participation, a battle that will eventually result in victory. This is God’s will.”

  Shi Dong couldn’t help but spit up thick phlegm.

  “What are you all waiting for?” Mephistopheles spread his hands and asked, “Waiting for me to give you the bill? Go follow the orders of your Grand Inquisitor and stir up trouble freely according to your plan. I hope that you all can save this country. “

  “Rest assured, we will.” Shi Dong cast him a final look. “Even if we c
an’t save it, we won’t let it fall into the hands of the demons…”

  …

  In the storm, on the streets of downtown.

  “The most important repository of materials is just over there.” Watson, handcuffed and sitting in his wheelchair, pointed ahead with his chin. “The things you want are all in there. After all, the country is going through times of stress. We usually dump the crap that we couldn’t manage to sell in it.”

  After going through property transfers for the whole day, the head spy of the military was already feeling dizzy. Although Watson had been unusually cooperative throughout, even handing over crucial items such as name lists of subordinates, sleeper cells, and informants, not to mention a full disclosure of crucial bank accounts, and showed no traces of rebellion, the head spy could still sense something off.

  This cripple in a wheelchair must be hiding something from me. Most definitely…

  In this regard, he was utterly convinced.

  592 Banquet Part 2

  As director of the intelligence department in the headquarter of the army, he

  was responsible for internal inspection as the prosecutor at the secret court

  against any traitor inside the army. He was instinctively suspicious of

  everything. And, he didn’t believe that Watson would really think he would be

  all right after handing over.

  He knew too much secrets about the government. Once losing their power,

  the best ending for people like Watson was to stay in the secret jail for the rest

  of their lives or to do the dirty work for the government secretively with a bomb

  implanted in his body. They didn’t dare to get out of the cell even if they were

  granted freedom as there were too many people who wanted them dead.

  There must be something wrong. He just hadn’t figured it out yet.

  “Well, the rain is heavier.” Wiping the rain water off his face, Watson said, “can

  you hold this umbrella for me, sir? A hot meal of steak would be perfect after

  we do this. I am so cooperative, you should treat me better. Right?”

  The secret agent showed no emotion on his face, “hope you are not playing

  tricks.” Then he stared at the building far away which was so quiet – the third

  shipyard.

  As sailboats became outdated due to their primitive technology, the shipyard

  went bankrupt and thus was abandoned. No one would come to this place,

  except those members of the sailboat club who are rich and love old things

  when they use the channels for boat racing.

  He could even recite the name list of the managers of the sailboat club. But

  now, he understood that they were only the scapegoat for the real criminals.

  The director of secret agents looked at Watson coldly, “why this warehouse

  was not in the catalogue?”

  “What is the brain for if a catalogue could do all the work?” Watson shrugged.

  “what’s more, technically, this place was not in my charge. It’s a secret

  meeting place of the higher-level departments.”

  “Higher-level departments?” The director sneered, “you have no higher-level

  departments now. From the moment of the assassination by Maxwell, the Fifth

  Department had ceased to exist.”

  “Ok, ok. It’s your call.” Watson heaved a sigh. “Whatever you say, as long as

  you give me the umbrella back.”

  The director waved, and someone held an umbrella over Watson. But the rain

  still dropped onto the blanket on Watson’s knee and the blanket was soaked

  quickly. Watson wiped the rain water off his face and heaved another sigh.

  “It is my favorite blanket.”

  Their search didn’t stop at all. They pushed open the gate and went further in

  the warehouse. Along the way, the accountants quickly checked the inventory

  in each room of the warehouse. A lot of precious supplies were found during

  the inventory taking, the huge amount of which was shocking even to the ear

  of the agent head.

  It was the private collection of Shaman! It was almost huge enough to be a

  warehouse of strategic war supplies.

  So much weapons and power armors! What is he up to? Or, how long had he

  been planning for the riot?”

  Two hours later, the director got the inventory result from his secretary. He

  showed no emotion on his face, yet he lit a cigarette, his hands shaking

  slightly.

  “Hey, my friend. Can I have a cigarette?” Watson asked.

  The director looked at him coldly for a long while. Then, he suddenly raised

  his feet and kicked Watson on to the ground. Watson rolled on the ground and

  bumped his forehead onto the leg of the table. His forehead was injured and

  began to bleed immediately.

  “Don’t you play any trick on me!” Stepping on Watson’s face and watching him

  suffering all the insults, the director felt more and more worried. Watson let

  him without any resistance.

  “I want only a cigarette. Or, if you don’t believe me, you can just kill me now.”

  Watson spread out his hands. “I’m useless now. right?”

  One of the agents came nearer, hand on the hilt of his saber. The agent head,

  however, didn’t nod his head. He snorted and said, “take him away from here.

  This son of bitch! There must be something else he had not told us yet.”

  “This is not we agreed!”

  “Listen, Mr. Watson. You do whatever I tell you. You understand?” The director

  tossed his pack of cigarettes to Watson. “Your job here is done. Now take the

  cigarettes to the army jail and enjoy your holiday there. The country will need

  you in the future.”

  “All right. Whatever you say.” Watson let them grab him and stuffed him into

  the wheelchair. He only frowned when someone stepped on his blanket. “This

  is my favorite blanket! You be careful! This is the best from India. You guys

  can never afford one of this for your whole life.”

  “Your blanket?” The guy was so angry that he laughed. Then, he stamped on

  the blanket and rubbed the blanket on the ground with his foot, leaving a dirty

  footprint on it. He then stared at Watson provokingly. “You were saying?”

  Watson took a deep breath and heaved a long sigh. Then, he closed his eyes.

  “You mistook me. I was not talking to you just now.”

  He didn’t look at the guy any more. He took out a cigarette from the silver

  cigarette box. Then, he rubbed a match on the back of his wheelchair. The

  match was lit up, giving faint yellow light.

  A click was heard from the closed warehouse.

  Bang!

  The guy stepping on Watson’s blanket fell on the ground, his brain and blood

  all over the place and staining the blanket.

  The cigarette was lit, showing a red spot in the darkness. More people fell

  without a sound but blood spurting out.

  At last, there was only Watson sitting in his wheelchair. He smoked the

  cigarette deeply and puffed out wisps of smoke into the air.

  There was no longer any one who was able to move in the warehouse.

  Boom!

  Hearing the whistling sound, the director had a bad feeling and turned around

  immediately. He saw something silver dashing to him and the next moment,

  he was nailed onto the wall by an arrow that was as thick as his arm.

  There was a big hole in his chest and blood oozed out.

  He stared at Watson unbelievably, muttered something und
istinguishable in

  an almost inaudible voice, “Hehe…hehe…”

  Nothing was heard in the silence, except Watson’s breath and his impressable

  groan.

  Until then, some indistinct figures appeared from the inside of the warehouse

  and from the rain outside the warehouse.

  “I told you to be careful.” Looking at the blanket stained with brains, Watson

  shook his head. “This is my favorite blanket.”

  Lola emerged from the air and shot an indifferent glance at him. “I’ll take care

  next time, Mr. Watson.”

  “Is this your revenge?” Watson said, helplessly.

  “If you say so.” Lola shrugged.

  Pretty soon, a thin figure wearing a white raincoat came out of the darkness

  and nodded to Lola. “Madam, it’s all settled.” In the man’s hand, a dog-leg

  shaped saber was covered in blood, which the rain had not washed it off the

  blade.

  “Who are you…” The director unbelievably looked at those people. He could

  not believe that all the men he had positioned around were taken out. It was

  done in just several seconds!

  Staring at Watson, he said, using all his remaining strength, “who are those

  people?”

  “Who else can they be?” Watson blew out a mouthful of smoke and said

  coldly, “they are the Fifth Department. You denied its existence, remember? I

  told you, this place is not in my charge. It is the premise of higher-level

  departments. But you don’t believe me.”

  He smoked the cigarette. Then, he flipped the rest of the cigarette into the

  blood shed by the agent head. Blue fire burst out, as if the cigarette was

  tossed into a pool of burning oil.

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” Watson waved his hand. “Thank you for your cigarette.”

  The flame devoured the body of the agent head, which was burned into

  nothing in a few seconds. There was only the arrow and a man-shaped mark

  on the wall.

  Watson turned back. The warehouse was almost full of people, of whom some

  wore peasants’ clothes, some wore expensive clothes and a lot more wore