Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Chapter 202 The Secret Revealed

Chapter 203 The Secret Revealed

Peter and Chris helped Mueller, who was weak from long imprisonment and malnutrition, carefully navigating the complex and dangerous tunnels back to the wooden ladder leading to the surface.

After a difficult climb, the three of them finally felt that the air outside was as fresh as paradise compared to the suffocating pollution at the bottom of the mine.

When Peter's figure appeared first at the mine entrance, Father Marian and the villagers, who had been waiting anxiously outside, burst into a warm cheer, their hearts finally at ease.

However, when the eccentric Taras Muller followed closely behind, shakily crawling out of the cave, all the cheers abruptly ceased.

Muller reeked of an indescribable stench, a mixture of sulfur, sweat, filth, and despair.

His withered body was covered by that rotten, rusted armor, a bizarre and horrifying sight;

Especially the filthy, rusty dog ​​helmet, which completely obscured his face, leaving only two dark eye sockets that reflected an eerie light in the sunlight.

The villagers retreated in terror, as if they had witnessed a real demon descend upon the world.

"May the Lord have mercy!" Father Marian made the sign of the cross on his chest and prayed softly.

"Look! That—that really is a demon! He's afraid of sunlight!"

A villager pointed at Muller, who was covering his eyes tightly with his arms and dared not open them, and said in a trembling voice.

"Yeah, he looked terrifying, and he smelled awful!"

"I don't think so—this was personally brought out by His Highness the Prince—"

"Could it be—could it be that the person we've been devoutly worshipping all these years was actually a living person?"

"Impossible! Father Richard is such a kind and upright man, why would he deceive all of us?"

The villagers' discussions surged like a tide, filled with fear, doubt, and incomprehension.

Muller had clearly not been exposed to such intense light for many years. He covered his eyes, groaning in pain, and it took him a long time to adjust.

"Last night—last night I crawled out—and only saw the soft moonlight—this sun—it's too dazzling—"

"Everyone, please be quiet!"

Peter raised his voice, drowning out the noise of the crowd, "This is Ser Taras Muller, a knight who has stood alone at the gates of Hell for six long years!"

He took out the crucial parchment contract again and showed it to everyone. "This contract, signed by Sir Taras and the late Father Richard, explains everything!"

According to the contract, Sir Taras volunteered to guard the so-called Gates of Hell, and the village was obligated to provide him with the necessary food supplies until he atoned for his sins, or—until a new, willing knight replaced him. Father Marian?

The young priest whose name was called immediately stepped forward. Although his face was still a little pale, his eyes were firm. He loudly affirmed, "His Highness is absolutely right!"

We all witnessed this firsthand, and this parchment contract found among Father Richard's belongings also proves it!

This Sir Mueller is not a demon, but a guardian knight sent to the underworld on a difficult journey of redemption!

"How could this happen?!"

"That's impossible!"

"We—we've actually been treating a guardian knight like a bloodthirsty demon, fearing and worshipping him?!"

"But why has Father Richard never mentioned this contract to anyone?"

He told us that food must be provided regularly to quell the wrath of the hell pit and maintain the peace of the village!

The villagers were utterly shocked, as the truth clashed violently with the legends they had so firmly believed in.

Even Müller himself was incredibly surprised and confused. Through his mask, he asked in bewilderment, "Why? Why would the priest do this?"

Didn't he explain my true identity and this contract to you?

"Perhaps," Peter explained, glancing at each villager present, "Father Richard was out of concern."

He worried that if your true sins were revealed to the public, the villagers might find it difficult to forgive you, and it could even cause greater chaos. After all, some wounds are hard to heal easily.

Müller fell silent, seemingly understanding the old priest's good intentions.

"But so many years have passed," Peter continued, his voice clear and strong, "and you have already paid an extremely heavy price for it."

The old priest kept your secret until the end of his life. Now, it's time for the truth of what happened back then to see the light of day. Everyone, come with me.

Peter led the complex-looking and hesitant Mueller, along with the others who were both skeptical and curious, back to the edge of the village, to the ruins of Mary's house that had been burned down.

He pointed to the three clearly visible skeletons amidst the ruins and said to Mueller, "Sir Mueller, please take a close look here. Do you remember this family of three—?"

"I—I—this—"

Muller's gaze fell upon the horrific scene on the bed, where the mother remained in a protective posture, holding the baby in her arms, until her death.

At the doorway, a skeleton kneels on the ground, its hand bones raised, seemingly desperately pounding on the door in its final moments—

The bloody memories, buried for six years, burst forth like a flood, breaching the dam he had built with madness and violently attacking his already fragile nerves.

"Ouch—! My head! My head hurts so much!!"

Muller let out a piercing scream, clutching his head as if it were about to split open, shaking his body in agony, and uncontrollably streaming tears from the gaps in his helmet down his dirty neck.

"Isn't this—isn't this a demonic illusion? Could it be—could all of this have actually happened?"

"It was me—I did it?!"

"Talas Müller!"

Upon seeing this, Peter suddenly let out a loud, thunderous shout.

The voice seemed to possess some kind of magic, forcefully bringing Müller back to reality just as he was about to fall into another bout of delusional madness.

"Your six years of asceticism and perseverance, weren't they all for the sake of this opportunity to face the past and sincerely repent today?!"

Before God, and before everyone you have hurt, whether directly or indirectly, tell the truth about what happened back then!

"I—I—Yes! I remember now! My name is Taras Muller! I am a nobleman from the West!"

A—a shameful sinner!

Startled awake by Peter's questioning, Müller collapsed to his knees and began, in a trembling voice, to recall the past that had dragged him into the abyss—

In 1396, the devout Taras Müller left his hometown to join the Thousand Army, an expeditionary force composed of legions and individuals from Hungary, France, the Knights Hospitaller, the Republic of Venice, and other parts of Europe, to fight against the Ottoman infidels.

The Crusades aimed to expel the Ottomans from the Balkans and rescue Constantinople, then cross the Dardanelles to invade Turkey and Syria, liberate Palestine and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and finally return to Europe by sea.

The goal was ambitious, but the reality was harsh. The Crusaders were blocked by the Ottomans as soon as they arrived in Nicopolis, the capital of Bulgaria.

16000 Crusaders fought a decisive battle against 20000 Ottoman troops.

Because the Crusades lacked unified leadership, figures such as King Angeylan VII of Burgundy, King Sigismund of Hungary, and Philippe Léaker, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, fought independently and without coordination.

Coupled with the Crusaders' dissolute and blasphemous behavior, the knights spent their days drinking and whoring, and their lack of discipline on the battlefield led to a major defeat and almost complete annihilation of the army.

After the war, the Ottoman Sultan swiftly conscripted all Crusader prisoners of war under the age of 20 and forced them into labor.

The remaining thousands of prisoners of war were bound together in groups of three or four, their hands tied, and forced to stand naked before the Sultan. The executioners executed them one by one, and the captured nobles were forced to stand beside the Sultan to watch the executions.

The executions continued from morning until evening, only ending when the Sultan, perhaps weary of the bloodshed, brought them to a halt. By then, more than 3000 prisoners had been executed.

Only a few of the crusaders who fled the battlefield survived. Many tried to swim to boats on the Danube, but several boats sank under their weight.

Later, the people on the boat pushed away those who tried to board, and many drowned halfway.

Sigismund was also among the fugitives. Sir Herman of Cairne kindly took him aboard and later rewarded him handsomely.

The Crusader soldiers fleeing the battlefield had no choice but to traverse the wilderness in tattered clothes, scavenging for any available supplies. Many perished along the way. The few survivors who managed to return home were as wretched as beggars.

Taras Müller was fortunate, as he escaped to Kutenberg in 1397 after several months on the run;

But he was also unfortunate; on the night of the mine explosion, he stayed overnight with the kind Mary family.

Mary's husband was a miner, and Mary was a weaving apprentice. They had a one-year-old son and lived happily.

They greatly admired Sir John Mueller, the crusader who fought against infidels, and kindly prepared a dinner for him.

After he had a good meal and slept soundly, Mary comforted the children while her husband went to work the night shift in the mine.

In the middle of the night, a sudden explosion reminded Muller of the Ottoman cannons, plunging him into post-traumatic stress disorder. He believed that he had been betrayed to the Ottomans by Mary's family.

Enraged, he killed the mother and child with his sword, then locked the door and set the house on fire.

When the husband, who had escaped from the mine at night, returned home, he found his wife and child burned to death inside the house. In despair, he pounded on the door until he was burned alive.

By the time Muller realized it was a misunderstanding, it was too late.

He has made an irreparable mistake.