"Door?"
Following Sun Fei's gaze, Oleg immediately understood and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the Iron Prison Dungeon is not the entirety of this underground grotto labyrinth. Behind that gate lies a bottomless passageway, the destination of which remains unknown. People have ventured into this passageway before, but none have returned; it is extremely dangerous. Some say it leads to a labyrinth of interconnected paths, while others claim terrifying, man-eating Hell beasts lurk within. In any case, terrifying howls and roars would emanate from within at certain times each day, and the passageway would sometimes unleash tremendous suction, pulling people in alive... Later, to prevent loss of life, the previous King ordered the construction of an iron gate, sealing off the passageway and prohibiting anyone from entering."
As Oleg spoke, his gaze towards the black steel gate held a hint of unease.
Sun Fei nodded calmly on the surface, but he was inwardly shocked beyond measure. According to Oleg, this massive Iron Prison Dungeon was very likely only a part of the underground cavern, and possibly only a small part at that.
This is absolutely insane! Who built this underground grotto? Sun Fei connected the scale of this incredible grotto labyrinth with the magnificent architecture of the entire Chambord City, and an idea suddenly popped into his head: Could it be that the ancient people who built Chambord City were the ones who created this incredible Underground Grotto Labyrinth City?
Sun Fei had a vague feeling that Chambord City, like this Underground Grotto Labyrinth City, had only revealed the tip of the iceberg. It was like a huge, mysterious treasure unknown to anyone, with many mysterious and magical places silently submerged in the dust of history, waiting to be discovered by him.
At that moment, Sun Fei's curiosity was completely captivated.
He made up his mind that he would definitely find time to cross that huge iron gate and enter the mysterious passage behind it to find out what secrets this mysterious Underground Grotto Labyrinth City held.
As they spoke, Oleg led Sun Fei to a spacious stone chamber on the first level of the enormous mountain interior. Inside, various utensils were placed, and the bright lights brought a touch of warmth. Sun Fei in and sat on a soft stone chair covered with black animal hide behind a black nanmu wood table, pondering some questions he had previously overlooked.
Just then, a series of clanging sounds came from outside, along with the clattering of chains dragging on the ground. Brook had finally returned, bringing someone with him.
"Your Majesty, Petr Čech has arrived," Brook said, bowing.
Sun Fei looked closely and saw that the former captain of the King's Guard, whom Brook cared about and respected so much, was a tall man over 1.9 meters. His clothes were tattered, and he was barefoot. Perhaps because he had been imprisoned for a long time, his messy hair was covered with straw and was tangled up like three or four dirty mops. He was somewhat thin, and his hands and feet were chained with thick iron chains. Thick scars had been worn from the iron rings where they touched his hands and feet. He looked extremely destitute, like a beggar.
But this utterly destitute man's eyes, hidden beneath his disheveled hair, gave Sun Fei a jolt—their eyes were unusually bright, their brown pupils radiating a strange light, giving the impression of a divine dragon lurking in a mountain stream, or a fierce tiger lying on its side on a plain. There was an indescribable composure and confidence in his gaze. Looking solely at those eyes, no one would likely associate him with a prisoner convicted of a serious crime.
" Petr Čech greets His Majesty the King!"
After entering the stone chamber, Čech carefully scanned everyone before finally fixing his gaze on Sun Fei. Without saying a word, he promptly knelt on the ground, the chains binding him rattling as he bowed to Sun Fei.
"Get up quickly! Someone, remove Captain Čech's chains and bring him a chair."
As Sun Fei spoke, he got up and walked over from behind the nanmu wood table. He personally came to the front and helped Čech, who was kneeling on the ground, to his feet. When the warden Oleg saw this, he immediately knew that the former captain of the King's Guard's return to power was an unstoppable fact. Despite carrying the heinous crime of treason, this was not something that His King could resolve with a single word. The warden, observing the situation, quickly and eagerly brought over a stone chair padded with soft animal hides. Then, he took the Key from the jailer and personally unlocked the iron chains binding Čech's hands and feet.
Sun Fei reached out and moved the entire large black nanmu table in front of Čech, displaying the immense strength of a level 16 Barbarian. Pointing to the exquisite food prepared by Oleg on the table, he said with a smile, " Petr, eat your fill first, then we can talk about other things."
A look of astonishment flashed in Čech's eyes. He glanced at Sun Fei, remained silent for a moment, and then, without any ceremony, grabbed a piece of roasted pork leg with both hands and began to devour it. He occasionally sipped some fine wine, eating with relish, as if the food before him were the most delicious in the world. He quickly finished off the food—enough for four or five strong men—in a whirlwind. Finally, he gulped down the wine in the silver jug, stood up, let out a satisfied burp, and then abruptly turned and knelt before Sun Fei, bowing his head and loudly swearing. "I, Petr Čech, hereby swear allegiance to you, and am willing to give you everything, including my life!"
Sun Fei was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Čech to eat so much, and then immediately swear allegiance without saying a word. Many of the boastful things he had prepared were left unsaid... A surge of smugness rose in his heart, and he thought to himself: Could it be that he had already acquired the domineering aura to subdue heroes without them even realizing it?
However, little did Sun Fei know that the legendary deeds of His Majesty Alexander, after returning to normal, displaying his divine might on the battlefield and slaying powerful enemies, and then, in a fit of rage at the victory banquet, beheading Zenit Empire knights, had already spread far and wide in Chambord City. Even the jailers in the Iron Prison Dungeon would talk about it animatedly during their leisure time. These stories had already reached Čech's ears through the jailers' mouths. Furthermore, Brook had given Čech a lot of advice along the way, and this former captain of the King's Guard was a shrewd man. He knew that his chance had come, and that the King, now back to normal, was indeed worthy of his service, so he immediately swore allegiance.
"Good, excellent! Petr, I've wronged you these past few days... Brook, immediately issue my order to announce throughout the city that, after a thorough investigation by the King, the charge of treason against former King's Guard Commander Petr Čech has been proven false. He was framed by former messenger Bazel. From today onwards, he is exonerated, reinstated, and will continue to serve as King's Guard Commander!"
Brook was overjoyed; he hadn't expected things to go so easily. He quickly pulled Čech to kneel down and thank him.
Meanwhile, the jailer, Oleg, repeatedly congratulated Čech. From a prisoner whose life hung in the balance to the high-ranking captain of the King's Guard, Čech had risen rapidly in a short time, returning to the center of power in the kingdom. Although Oleg was no saint, this Bootlicker was extremely adept at reading people. He could clearly see from the King's words that he valued Čech highly and had already categorized Čech as someone who needed to be befriended.
After thanking Sun Fei, Čech stood up and, surprisingly, turned to the warden Oleg to express his gratitude. "Thank you so much for your special care these past few days. Otherwise, I would have been tortured to death in this dark and Iron Prison Dungeon long ago. Petr Čech, will never forget your life-saving grace and will repay you handsomely!"
This sudden turn of events left Sun Fei and Brook looking at each other in bewilderment.
Especially Brook, who is now one of the two major military and political figures in Chambord City, knows Čech's character well. Čech used to look down on sycophants like Oleg, but today he was bowing his head and thanking him, and his surprise was beyond words. Sun Fei was also puzzled, looking Oleg, the Bootlicker, up and down several times, as if he had discovered a new continent.
After thanking them, Čech seemed to notice the difference in everyone's expressions and explained. It turned out that after he was framed and imprisoned, his former messenger, Bazel, had instructed him to secretly torture this obstacle to death before the public execution date, fearing complications. There were countless ways to kill a prisoner in the dark, Iron Prison Dungeon. However, Oleg, the warden who had always obeyed Bazel, inexplicably had a change of heart this time. For the first time in his life, he outwardly obeyed Bazel's orders but inwardly defied them, refraining from torturing Čech and instead showing him considerable care. This allowed the captain of the King's Guard to live until the day of his exoneration; otherwise, Čech would likely be a corpse by now.
This was something no one had expected.
What surprised Sun Fei and Brook even more was that Oleg was probably rarely thanked by a 'positive figure' like Čech, so much so that this Bootlicker actually seemed a little embarrassed, just scratching his shiny bald head and smiling sheepishly.
Sun Fei found it amusing and burst into laughter.
Then Brook took Čech out of the Iron Prison Dungeon first. Although the captain of the King's Guard had escaped torture in the prison these days, his body had become very weak from living in such an environment for a long time. If it weren't for his strength as Two-Star-Rank Warrior, he would probably be bedridden long ago. So it would be better for him to go out and get some sunshine to recuperate.
Sun Fei himself remained in the Iron Prison Dungeon for the time being.
" Oleg, what happens to the bodies of prisoners who suddenly die of illness or are executed according to the law in the Iron Prison Dungeon?" Sun Fei sat on the stone chair, closed his eyes, and pondered for a while. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked.
"According to tradition, they should be burned, but burning them in this underground cave would cause poor air circulation. Therefore, after execution, if no relatives claim them, they are usually thrown into the underground river and washed away by the water." Warden Oleg, unaware of the King's question, answered cautiously with a bow.
"Oh..." Sun Fei was a little disappointed, then asked, "Are there any dismembered bodies left in the prison?"
Oleg was puzzled, still wondering why the King was asking this, and could only cautiously reply, "Your Majesty, this morning Lord Brook said that you were coming to personally oversee the Iron Prison, so... so I have already ordered the jailers to dispose of all the corpses."
"Huh? What a coincidence. Are there any death row inmates who have committed serious crimes and need to be executed soon?"
Hearing this, Oleg roughly understood His King's meaning. After thinking it over carefully, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he replied, "Your Majesty, three wandering mercenaries were arrested by Lord Brook himself half a month ago for killing people in the city and sent to prison. They haven't been executed yet and are currently being held in the water dungeon. Besides that, the body of the silver-masked man that you brought back the day before yesterday and asked to be carefully preserved is still there."
Sun Fei laughed.
"Great! Send someone to bring those three mercenaries over immediately... and also bring the silver-masked man's corpse over. Prepare a well-sealed stone chamber... Oh, by the way, is that black-clad mage still alive? How is he now?"
"Your Majesty, as per your previous orders, as soon as that magician shows any signs of waking up, the jailers are to immediately break his bones and make him unconscious. That guy is still lying unconscious in the high-security prison cell!" Oleg felt a chill run down his spine when he thought of the perverted and vicious order given by Sun Fei.
"Haha, that's great! Send someone to bring that black-clad mage to the sealed stone chamber as well. I have important business to attend to."
Upon hearing this, Oleg quickly turned around and went out to personally retrieve the prisoner and arrange for a secret chamber.
A dozen minutes later, Oleg returned and led the way, bringing Sun Fei to a spacious stone chamber on the sixth level of the mountain's interior. On the right side of this chamber, a hidden small stone room, about twenty square meters in size, had been carved out. It was very well sealed. The corpses of the three mercenaries sentenced to death and the Silver-Masked Man had already been brought inside. The unfortunate Four-Star Class black-cloaked mage was also dragged into the secret room like a dead dog.
"You and the jailer stand guard at the door, and don't let anyone in... Remember, no matter what happens later, don't come in!" Sun Fei nodded in satisfaction and gave the order.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
With a puzzled look, Oleg and a dozen jailers turned and went out, standing obediently at the entrance of the outer stone chamber. Although the Iron Prison Dungeon was extremely safe, Oleg was still cautious and vigilant. He could tell from the King's expression that he was probably doing something very important.
I've updated twice today, totaling over 8000 words. Please add this to your favorites. I know you guys might be tired of saying the same thing every day, but adding this to your favorites is really important!
Happy National Day holiday everyone! I hope none of my classmates or friends are getting married during the holiday, otherwise it'll be like being stabbed in the Daozi.