Driven by Carol, the gryphon flew toward the north of Muxi City, the main camp of the Crusaders, at lightning speed.
Different from the main city of Muxi City, the Crusader camp looks like a huge military camp mixed with various buildings.
The long wooden house where the orcs live, the low house made of stones by the werewolf, the tall spire temple repaired by the elven craftsmen...
Before Carol could get close to the gate of the camp, a sharp warning sound came from the distance. Two Valkyries armed with spears and carrying bows and arrows, riding griffons, approached the orc from the left and right, ordering him to land immediately.
Seeing the Valkyrie reaching for the quiver, Carol gritted his teeth and slowly descended towards the square of the Crusader camp.
Stopping the griffon at the foot of a black dragon statue that was tens of meters high, Carol jumped off the back of the mount and opened his arms to indicate that he did not carry any weapons.
"You made a mistake."
A Valkyrie pointed the tip of a spear at Carol's nose and shouted loudly: "Leave your post without permission, rush into the market, and snatch the gryphon! Any of these will punish you severely!"
Carroll put down his arms and said in a deep voice: "I heard that some people in the Crusaders arrested my partners...Barbara and Randall..."
The Valkyrie who spoke earlier was stunned, then exchanged a look with her companion, then looked at Carol and asked: "Is this the purpose of your coming here?"
"That's right."
The two Valkyries looked at each other.
One of them said: "You can return to your companions now, but your crimes will be judged later!"
Carol nodded nonchalantly and strode towards the temple in the camp.
Stepping into the Temple of the Dragon God in the center of the Crusader camp, the first thing Carol saw was a huge crowd of foreigners.
Orcs, werewolves, elves, dwarves, tauren... members of many races gathered bustlingly in the hall of the temple, talking carefully about something.
"I have always felt strange before, why would the Crusaders tolerate the existence of a human being?"
"The blood of the members of the Crusaders has all gone through purification rituals, and old species like humans should not be left among us."
"I heard that an elf woman fell in love with that human crusader."
"Falling in love with humans? Can't those stupid elves still wake up? Isn't the previous elf named Jacqueline the best example?"
"Watch your words! If you dare to insult our race again, I will initiate a complaint and arbitration with the assembly!"
Listening to the gossip in his ears, Carol clenched his fists, and the veins on his forehead were rising and falling, and his whole body was like a powder keg that was about to explode at any time.
Through the crowded crowd, Carol arrived at the front of the temple hall.
The five shamans, including Minnie, sat at the bottom of the dragon statue, looking at the audience with solemn faces and silence.
Between the shaman and the crowd was a specially cleared area, where the two groups were lined up to confront each other.
The group on the left has a large number of people. At a rough count, there are twenty or thirty people, most of whom are elves, and there are also a few tauren and dwarves.
On the right, there were only two lonely people, Randall and Barbara.
Because of her anger, the light blue markings all over Barbara's body were flashing like streams of light, and her two pointed ears were folded back. Whether it was her movements or her expression, she looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Who you fall in love with and who you want to be with is my business!" Barbara waved her arms, with little firelights dancing on her fingertips. She shouted angrily: "I don't understand at all. What happened today?"
What’s the point of a trial?!”
From the back of the crowd of elves on the left, a woman walked out, slowly came to the middle, and looked at Barbara with eyes filled with endless sorrow and lamentation.
Seeing this woman, Barbara opened her eyes wide and said softly: "You are Jacqueline, the one who was deceived by humans..."
Compared to the past, Jacqueline looked thinner and paler, and the blue marks on her body were dull. She said to Barbara: "My sister, the same look, the same words, in your body I
Seeing your past self, you are making all the mistakes I made..."
Barbara frowned and said, "I'm different from you..."
"I said the same thing back then. I am different from those of my own race, and my lover is different from those humans. Our love is pure and noble, and should not be slandered or questioned... But in the end, it is
How?"
Jacqueline's face lost all color and her whole body was shaky. She relied on the support of a fellow elf behind her to prevent her from falling to the ground.
"The evil thoughts of selfishness, cruelty, and deception of human beings who have not undergone the purification ceremony are buried in their blood and souls and cannot disappear at all! This is their innate flaw! It is also a nature that can never be changed!"
Jacqueline stretched out her hand to Barbara: "My sister, look at me, look at how miserable I am now... wake up, it's not too late..."
Barbara took a step back, shook her head and said, "I'm different from you..."
Randall walked forward, protected Barbara with his body, and said in a deep voice: "This dispute started with me, you should not target her."
Hearing the first human voice, the elves were furious and yelled at Randall.
An old elf shaman sitting at the top of the table slowly stood up, stretched out his hand to stop the censure of his fellow tribesmen, and slowly said to Randall: "There is a rumor among the Crusaders. It is said that before the transformation ceremony,
, there is a group of children who were first chosen by God, including Barbara, is there such a thing?"
Recalling Wayne Dunlop's human experiments back then, Randall nodded and said, "Yes, there were three earliest Crusaders, and one of them was Barbara."
The old elf shaman closed his eyes and nodded: "So the rumors are true. I heard that although you are a human, you are very close to these three holy warriors. This should be true, right?"
"Yes, these three Crusaders, including Barbara, are my companions, my best friends, and my life and death friends."
The old elf shaman suddenly opened his eyes and growled at Randall: "Then, why don't you participate in the purification ceremony and join the ranks of the Crusaders?!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone present was stunned.
Even Barbara turned her head and looked at Randall, waiting for his answer.
Randall closed his eyes in pain, and the dream in the fog appeared in his mind again.
On the crooked old tree, feet were dangling in the air, and the rope holding the body made a harsh creaking sound.
The mother who committed suicide in despair opened her blood-red eyes, stared at her child, and screamed: "Why? Why did I give birth to you, a monster?! Why are you not a normal person?!"
Parricide!
The sense of guilt that emerged from the depths of his soul made Randall tremble all over and became unsteady. He said in a trembling voice: "I can't do it."
After hearing this answer, Barbara slumped down and sat on the ground, as if all her strength had been taken away.
The old elf shaman turned around and returned to his seat: "Afraid of failure of the ritual? Afraid of body change? Forget it, the reason is not important. You refuse God's gift and refuse to purify your soul. This is your sin."
Barbara struggled to get up, stood in front of Randall, stared at him and said: "You have been avoiding our feelings. Whenever I talk about the future, you always change the subject with a smile... Actually
, you don’t want to be with me at all, you think I’m weird? You think I’m like a monster?”
Randall shook his head painfully: "No, it's not what you think... I love you, but I'm guilty. I'm not worthy of such a perfect you..."
The old elf shaman looked at each other for a moment and said: "The matter is already very clear. A coward who is afraid of approaching God is not worth our trouble and effort to judge him..."
Before he finished speaking, a huge green figure quickly rushed onto the platform and walked straight in front of Randall. Unexpectedly, he gave the frustrated human a heavy punch!