Crack——
An iron boot stepped on the ground covered with white rat bones, crushing a rat’s skull to pieces.
Jeanne frowned tightly, flipped onto her horse, and galloped towards Constantinople.
Along the way, she saw many fallen beasts, most of which belonged to the Royal Garden, and a few were livestock raised in ordinary civilian hos.
As she neared the city gate, the area beca bustling again.
The long queue of people waiting to enter the city were talking with lingering fear.
"The rats in my master’s granary went completely mad; they not only aren’t afraid of people but even dared to bite —Ronia’s poor cat was bitten to death by those rats."
"I also encountered those crazy rats and got bitten by them. It really hurts!"
Soone complained in a low voice, "This year’s harvest wasn’t bad, and after taxes and food were set aside, there was rarely a little left. I was planning to offer a bag of grain to Father Malgannis so he could officiate my son’s wedding—now those damn rats destroyed everything."
People whispered to each other, not daring to stir up much noise.
Citizens of Constantinople had more confidence than these tenant farrs looking for work in the city. It was said that when the Emperor lost a battle before, those citizens even had the courage to tie up municipal officials and parade them through the streets in protest.
Jeanne looked nervously at a tenant farr, suddenly stepped forward quickly, and grabbed his arm.
"Lord, what are you doing?"
The tenant farr was terrified out of his wits and asked in a panic.
Jeanne didn’t respond but rolled up his tattered linen sleeve, revealing an arm full of black sores.
She paled slightly and instinctively stepped back two steps.
"Bl...Black Death?"
The tenant farr heard a female voice and still dared not forcibly withdraw his grabbed arm.
After all, it was likely a noble Knight in a complete set of exquisite silver armor and a majestic warhorse.
Even a Female Knight was soone a common tenant farr like him dared not provoke.
"Lord... Miss Knight, please let poor Barry go; he still has two poor children to feed."
The tenant farr’s companions ca over speaking good words.
Jeanne didn’t know what to do for a mont.
This man infected with the Black Death was beyond saving, and no one knew how many among these people were carrying the deadly bacteria.
Besides, they were about to enter the city—a densely populated city.
Perhaps she should stop them, but it was aningless because who knew how many people had entered the city before them.
Moreover, the Theodosius Wall could stop an army, but how could it stop burrowing rats and fleas jumping onto humans?
A strong sense of powerlessness rose in her heart.
Even though she was an Elite, she had no ans to resist such a terrifying natural disaster.
"What happened?"
A group of knights in bright clothing and gallant deanor were about to leave the city and ca toward the commotion.
"Crown Prince Henry?"
Jeanne spoke.
"Is it you?"
Crown Prince Henry’s face was a bit awkward; he had only found out later that Jeanne was actually a Female Knight.
Losing to her in the Great Arena had tarnished his reputation.
However, for so unknown reason, he couldn’t muster any resentnt; instead, seeing her filled him with a faint sense of anticipation.
"You’re just in ti; I need your help with sothing!"
Jeanne removed her helt, and her golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall: "I am Jeanne, the Chief Knight under Marquis Losa."
She let go of the tenant farr’s hand and grabbed Crown Prince Henry.
The Crown Prince instinctively tried to dodge, but he was no match for Jeanne and was directly pulled close by her gripping his shoulder.
"Stop, what do you want with our lord?"
The knights behind him all drew their swords, glaring at Jeanne. They had no fondness for this Female Knight, who had killed many of them in the Great Arena and brought them great humiliation.
However, this woman was quite beautiful.
So of them couldn’t help but soften their originally stern gazes.
"What do you want?"
Crown Prince Henry looked at Jeanne with a dull expression, gulped after a long ti, and asked softly: "I an, what do you need my help with? Can you let go first?"
He only felt that Jeanne’s hand gripping his shoulder was like an iron clamp, completely unyielding.
"Imdiately inform Empress Ragaya to close the city gates, be wary of those damn rats; a terrible plague is about to happen. Believe , I’m not joking, this will be a disaster more terrifying than the Justinian Plague!"
Seeing the skepticism on Crown Prince Henry’s face, Jeanne intensified her tone.
"I swear by the na of Dark and the na of my lord, Losa, that I speak the truth. This disaster is not limited to Constantinople; once it spreads, your Germania, the distant Gaul, Apennines... the whole world will be engulfed in disaster."
Henry was unsure if he was intimidated by Jeanne’s serious tone or attracted by her beauty, as he remained silent for a long ti.
Indeed, if talking about beauty, she was slightly inferior to Empress Ragaya.
But a Female Knight as valiant and spirited as Jeanne was a first for Henry.
He wasn’t one with a narrow perspective; after the establishnt of the Witch Tower, his father’s forces included Female Knights, but they were crude and more brutish than n.
There was no comparison to Jeanne.
Jeanne furrowed her brow, increasing her grip strength: "I’m not joking; go see Empress Ragaya imdiately and tell her what I said. I need to find my lord."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Crown Prince Henry, feeling the pain in his shoulder, quickly replied.
Watching Jeanne’s departing figure, Crown Prince Henry paused montarily, sighed lightly.
He regretted marrying so early, even though his wife brought him a kingdom’s claim as a dowry.
"Lord, are we just letting her go?"
"Hmm..."
Henry remained silent for a mont, then mounted his horse: "Everyone, follow back into the city; we’re going to see the Empress."
...
In the dark underground palace.
Compared to Jeanne’s Holy Fla, Anna’s Fla Magic was much more straightforward.
In the dark corridors, now covered with a layer of black ash, every step on it produced a creaking sound.
Although Losa’s mastery of magic and knowledge was very limited, he was officially a Wizard now, yet he couldn’t detect anything unusual from these rats.
It was just his Beast Intuition warning him that these little creatures inhabiting the sewers were quite dangerous.
Losa frowned and said, "Why would soone research sothing like a plague."
Can such a thing as a plague be tad by humans? Aren’t they afraid of backlash?
"The fact is, soone has,"
Anna’s tone was very grave: "Moreover, that person likely has truly tad the plague and infused Magic Power into it, and that’s our opportunity."
"Killing that person, will it truly make the plague disappear?"
Although Anna said so before, he still had doubts.
After all, this matter was imnsely significant.
Anna hesitated for a mont and shook her head: "It might not be a person; it could also be an object—the Source of the Plague. No one has ever seen it before. In Constantinople’s archives, I’ve only seen similar suppositions."
"We’ll have to hope it’s the forr that proves true."
The group continued down the corridor.
Following her gaze, Losa could see a few remaining wisps that looked precisely like the pattern on Li Yena’s red dress.
Although Losa’s knowledge and skills in magic were still limited, he was formally a Wizard.
Losa frowned and said: "How could soone research the Source of the Plague?"
Plague bearing creatures could burrow tunnels and hop onto people.
Inside, she couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of helplessness.
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