Silent Crown

Thunder shook the earth. Lightning flashed in the dark clouds, like a whip lashing at the spire of the Westminster Abbey, evoking piercing flares. The torrential rain poured and covered the whole world.

In the abbey, an old man said, “I want to pee.” The Round Table knight looked at the old man in a wheelchair coldly. The old man repeated his words once more, “I want to pee.”

The knight frowned. “Didn’t you urinate just now?”

The old man with dementia just looked at the knight and repeated himself again, “Pee.”

“He’s old, and his prostate has some problems.” Shi Dong, who was pushing the wheelchair, smiled embarrassedly at the knight. “It’s normal for him to urinate up to seven or eight times a night. How about this, just let him do his business in the corridor…”

“Pee,” the old man in the wheelchair repeated the sentence once more in a timely manner, causing the knight to furrow his brow and cast Shi Dong a stern look. “He wants to pee, then what about you?”

“Help him with his pants, of course,” Shi Dong said matter-of-factly. “Or would you like to volunteer?”

“…” The knight ‘s expression became more and more disgusted. He waved at his comrade to notify him, then escorted them to the toilet. The Round Table knight was indeed responsible and dedicated to his duties. Worried that they would attempt to escape, he didn’t even wait outside the door, but stood in the toilet, holding his nose, and said flatly, “Five minutes, hurry up.”

“Can you unlock them?” Shi Dong pointed to shackles on the hands of the old man in the wheelchair and said, “He’s kind of nervous, and he can’t urinate properly when he’s nervous.”

The knight was expressionless. “No.”

“We can make a deal…” Shi Dong persisted.

“No.” The knight grew impatient. “Do you still want to pee? If you don’t, hold your bladder and go back.”

Shi Dong sighed in resignation. A long silence ensued in the toilet, followed by a brief patter, and the Round Table knight turned his head away.

In the silence, the knight heard a faint crisp sound of steel scraping against each other coming from behind him. Before he had time to turn back, he felt chains falling over his head and wrapping around his neck tightly.

The chains tightened!

Crack… Before he knew it, the old man in the wheelchair had gotten up and taken three steps, positioning himself behind the knight. The old man’s movement was deft and agile, completely unlike that of someone who required a wheelchair to get around. Like he was carrying something heavy, the chains on the old man’s hands wrapped around the knight’s neck, tightening and tugging, as if the old man was trying to lift the knight by his neck and carry the knight on his back. It was as if the old man was carrying the knight towards fury.

The knight struggled with all his might but failed to make any sound. In the silence, only Shi Dong stood in front of the toilet bowl, entirely relaxed, and whistled a melody.

After a good while, the struggling noise was no more.

The old man let go, and the knight fell to the ground, never to move again. Satisfied, Shi Dong shook out a few more drops of urine and lifted his trousers. He walked over and cast a glance at the knight’s body, shaking his head resignedly. “Be more prompt in your actions next time. You actually wasted three minutes strangling him to death, and he even lost control of his bladder… ”

“It’s been a long time since I last exercised.” The old man in the wheelchair sighed. “All it took was a minor slip of attention for me to go a bit too far.”

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 can’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.