Come to another world and become a lord

The central square of Rickburg was already crowded with people. Four innocent women were tied to a tall stake by witch hunters, surrounded by witch hunter soldiers. Their cries echoed in the square. The countless townspeople watching were sighing, cheering, and more people were confused, not understanding what was going on.

Judge Gregory stood in front of the stake with a slight smile on his face. He was too familiar with such scenes. This was not the first time he had done such a thing. This kind of thing was already commonplace. Beside him, Eleanor stood with her hands on her hips. A moment of uneasiness flashed across the nun's face, but it was only for a moment, and then she regained her composure.

Looking at the confused crowd below, Gregory took the lead and stepped forward, saying in a low voice:

"Dear townspeople, I know you are confused. You must be wondering what happened here and why these women were tied to the rack. Now I am here to tell you that a group of witches appeared in Rickburg!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a burst of shocked shouts:

"Witch?"

"This...how is this possible?"

Gregory raised his hand and made a downward motion, signaling everyone to be quiet, and continued:

"Yes, it sounds incredible, but this is the truth. They came to Rick Castle and tried to kill everyone to show their loyalty to their demon lover. The noble Sister Eleanor discovered their conspiracy and secretly notified me to come. After my fellow witch hunters and I fought tirelessly, we finally caught four of them!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand and pointed at the four women at the stake:

"They will pay for their evil deeds!"

"Burn them to death!" As soon as Gregory finished speaking, while most people were still sorting out their thoughts, someone in the crowd started shouting.

Then someone else shouted:

"Kill these witches."

While everyone was still confused, someone else followed suit:

"Let the flames purify their souls!"

Gradually, everyone was aroused by the passionate atmosphere amidst the shouts, and they shouted along with them:

"Kill them, burn them, they are the devil's mistresses!"

Gregory nodded with great satisfaction. This was an old trick. In the name of religion and the authority of the Inquisition, they only needed to tell them that they were hunting witches, and then arrange a few people to shout slogans at the right time to stir up the atmosphere, and these believers would believe it without a doubt. Of course, not everyone would believe it. There are exceptions to everything, such as the victims' families:

"Mr. Judge, this is just a misunderstanding. My wife is not a witch. She is just a medicine seller~"

"Let my mother go, she is innocent! You bastards!"

The relatives of those women squeezed in with tears in their eyes, trying to break through the human wall formed by the witch hunter soldiers, but they were quickly knocked to the ground and dragged away.

"Lost lambs, they don't know the true identity of their family members. They are just bewitched by the witch's deception. I sympathize with them."

Gregory did not forget to speak hypocritically. He was already standing next to the pillar of fire with a torch in his hand, but he was not in a hurry to light it. Instead, he looked around. He was waiting for someone, and not long after, he indeed waited for that person.

Soon, Karl arrived at the square with a group of soldiers. Seeing the scene in front of him, his face was quickly filled with anger. He walked quickly to the witch hunter team and said sternly:

"Release them immediately! I won't allow you to kill innocent people here!"

Gregory gave him a cold look, then smiled cruelly:

"They are all witches, we are just performing our duties as witch hunters."

"Witch? What evidence do you have?" Carl asked.

Gregory sneered:

"Evidence? The witch hunters themselves are the evidence! We have our own way to identify witches, and the church has given us this right!"

Hearing Gregory's words, Carl looked at him angrily. After staring at him for a while, he turned to the townspeople and shouted:

"Do you believe this nonsense? Do you just take their one-sided words?"

He raised his hand towards the four tied women:

"Look at their faces! They are your neighbors and friends! Most of you know them! You know them better than I do! Do you really think they are witches?"

As he spoke, the crowd gradually quieted down, and the previous frenzy gradually disappeared. Some people lowered their heads and thought about all these problems, with a trace of confusion on their faces. At this time, another voice sounded from the crowd:

"Witches are very good at bewitching people. Only professional witch hunters can see through their tricks!"

After hearing this, Karl suddenly turned his head and focused his eyes on the person who was speaking, then said:

"Who are you? I don't know you! I know everyone in this town, but I've never seen your face!"

Hearing Karl's scolding, the man immediately shrank his head.

At this moment, Gregory suddenly shouted:

"That's enough! Do you want to betray the Lord? Are you questioning the Lord's judgment? Lord Karl, based on what you just said, it wouldn't be an exaggeration for me to label you a heretic."

Then he looked around at the townspeople and said:

"Do you want to emulate him?"

They relied on faith and religion. After Carl's explanation, the doubts that the townspeople had finally raised were once again dispelled. They relied on their fear, the fear of being abandoned by God.

There is nothing more to say. It is difficult for people to remain rational when facing issues of faith, and it is even more impossible for people to betray their own beliefs.

Carl no longer hoped to persuade the townspeople, but shouted to the soldiers behind him:

"Everyone draw your swords! Save them!"

However, nothing happened, and the soldiers did not move. They just looked at Karl, their eyes full of hesitation and fear. Karl understood that this was a dead end, and these soldiers were also devout believers, so they naturally did not dare to attack the church members.

Gregory sneered smugly at this time:

"Lord Karl, it seems your soldiers are unwilling to disobey the orders of the church."

There was no other way. Since no one else was going to do it, I had to do it myself! Ignoring Gregory's ridicule, Carl took two steps forward with his sword and smashed a witch hunter soldier with the hilt of his sword. The soldier didn't react for a moment and was knocked to the ground. Then, when everyone reacted, they immediately surrounded Carl and fought with him.

As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands, not to mention that Carl doesn't have two fists. Not long after, he was kicked in the stomach, and then someone hit him in the face with the handle of a weapon. Blood spurted out of his nose instantly. He staggered back a few steps, then knelt on one knee, stuck his sword on the ground, and began to gasp.

Gregory's face was filled with rage at this moment. He had not expected that Karl would dare to take action directly in such a situation. This damn Viscount actually did not take the church seriously.

"It seems you don't understand anything!" He walked forward, raised the flail in his hand and wanted to teach the madman a lesson, but suddenly heard the sound of a sword being drawn.

In an instant, all the soldiers drew their weapons, and one of them shouted:

"Protect the lord!"

Then they quickly surrounded the witch hunters and formed a standoff. Gregory was stunned for a moment, but soon he realized that he had gone too far. These soldiers might not care how many innocent people he burned to death, but attacking their lord was another matter. I'm afraid that Carl also planned to do so, and wanted to force his men to fight by risking their lives.

He sneered, put away his flail, and stepped back:

"Don't be nervous. I have no intention of offending you, Lord Carl. You shouldn't be so impulsive. We are just hunting witches."

He continued to retreat until he reached the edge of the stake, and suddenly threw the torch in his other hand over, instantly igniting the pile of wood below. The flames spread rapidly, accompanied by shrill screams, and instantly devoured the bodies of four innocent women.

"What..." Eleanor next to her almost screamed, but quickly covered her mouth again. This scene was seen by Carl, but he still just knelt there, motionless, letting the blood on his face flow down.

After completing all this, Gregory simply clapped his hands in a relaxed manner, and then walked towards Carl:

"It's done, Lord Carl. I'm sorry for what happened just now. How about we shake hands and make peace?"

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to Karl. Seeing that he didn't move, he leaned down and whispered in his ear:

"Don't worry, Lord Carl. As long as you don't hand over the witch, I promise that more innocent people will be burned to death."

After saying this, he stood up and led the witch hunter troops away from the square, leaving only Carl and the four burning wooden stakes.

When Arya arrived with the Fire Rose Guard, the crowd had dispersed. The four women were completely burned to charcoal, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of burning. She saw Carl still kneeling on the ground, the blood on his face had dried.

"Karl..." Arya called softly, wanting to go forward to comfort him.

But suddenly, Karl stood up, wiped his face, looked surprisingly calm, and said to her calmly:

“Call Elsa. I need to tell her something. And Amira. She’s the one who caused this. She’ll have to help, too.”

Arya nodded and said nothing more, but followed him towards the castle. After taking a few steps, Carl looked back at the four charred corpses again. He had actually known the rules of this world for a long time. The power of religion was always particularly important in such a world, so much so that it could compete with secular rule. If one wanted to achieve absolute rule, he had to control this part as well.