Great time travel

Chapter 34. The Kingdom of Death
In late April 1348, southern Italy, the capital of the Kingdom of Naples, outside the city gate of the Port of Naples.

If the port of Marseille and the city of Avignon, which I have seen before, have already been devastated by the plague; then when the traversers step through the [random door] and step into the port of Naples where the black death broke out earlier, the king Qiu and the others realized that they had truly seen hell on earth!
Here, what greeted them was not crying and asking for help, not even that kind of numb and sluggish desperate eyes, but a quiet silence!
There was an eerie silence.

There are no noisy human voices, no curling smoke, only a few low-pitched dogs barking and the crowing of crows can be heard occasionally...

Looking in from the open city gate, a thick layer of dust has fallen on the windows and doors of every house, and there are dense bones scattered on the empty streets.Those tenacious vegetation have quietly poked their heads out from under the stone slabs, and they are growing crazily, letting their roots penetrate into the cracks between the stone slabs, making the entangled vines climb up the window lattice of the mansion... a wave seems to come from The breath of death radiating from the depths of the Nine Layers of Netherworld is silently permeating every corner of the city at this moment, making the dead buildings on both sides of the street look extraordinarily desolate and strange.

This once bustling and bustling city seems to have been engulfed by the undead at this moment, and it no longer belongs to the living.

Faced with such a creepy scene, even though the sun was shining brightly above their heads, Wang Qiu and others still couldn't help feeling chills down their backs.

As for Queen Joanna, who specially put on a gorgeous long dress in order to show the grandeur of "the return of the king", she was leaning against the cold stone pillar with a pale face at this moment, vomiting continuously, as if she had vomited out all the gall , without even noticing the crown rolling off his head.

In the past year, during those days of fleeing in foreign countries, Queen Joanna had imagined countless times that she would return to her homeland.

Perhaps, it will be a grand celebration, if she can use the strength of the church and all supporters to resolve this crisis peacefully:

All the states in Italy sent envoys to congratulate her on her restoration. Colorful flags and lanterns were hung on both sides of the streets of Naples, and the voices of welcoming the return of the queen and ordering order resounded through the sky.The crowded square is filled with the smell of fine wine and barbecue. The blazing bonfires are kept burning all night long. Troubadours play cheerful melodies with harps and flutes. Country dance.

And she is holding a wine glass, wearing a golden crown, wearing the most luxurious dress, sitting on the throne of the palace, kneeling in front of a crowd of nobles and ministers, waiting for the queen to gently open her lips and reward the meritorious ministers, Forgive the repentant, punish the guilty...

Perhaps, it will be a burning battlefield, and this is probably a scene that is more suitable for the term "Return of the King":

Armies holding different flags rushed back and forth, and unkempt old and weak women and children cried and screamed.The mercenaries with grim smiles raised their knives to kill and plundered property wantonly.From time to time, sharp crossbow arrows flew out from the alley, causing viscous blood to flow on the ground, but the knights still marched forward bravely singing war songs.The stubborn rebel nobles tried their best to gather their troops, raised their spears, and launched a final charge against her royal banner.

And she was wearing solid armor, holding a golden scepter, riding a horse and standing in the middle of the most spacious road in the city, with her back facing the raging flames, and with a triumphant smile, she gave the military order to attack head-on.Knights loyal to the royal family rushed to the enemy line like a tide, crushing and crushing the last rebels...

Perhaps, that would be a gloomy end. After all, she still failed to fight those traitors and enemies, and became a prisoner from a noble king:
The leaden sky looked gloomy, just like her mood as a loser.Both sides of the streets of Naples city were filled with silent crowds, looking at the downcast Queen with complex eyes. The ancient and tall city gates of Naples city were full of heads of her cronies and subordinates.

And she, with disheveled hair, rough sackcloth, and clinking shackles on her hands and feet, sat in a rickety prison cart, swayed through the market like a trophy, and then was taken to a monastery or sent to the execution ground, Let a big and round executioner beheaded for public display...

Whether it is victory or defeat, war or peace, Queen Joanna has somewhat been psychologically prepared.

However, she never thought that she would stand in front of such a city of death with a luxurious guard of honor!
I haven't seen you for a year, and the scenery of the homeland in my memory has turned into such a scene of purgatory. Even the sea breeze that should be refreshing is filled with a strong smell of corpses!
Her enemies, her loyal subjects, her people, her capital, and her country have all been swallowed up by plague and death at this moment.

All power games have come to an end, and all grievances and hatreds have since come to nothing.

In front of the fair and ruthless god of death, the schemes and struggles she has immersed in half her life all seem so ridiculous and so insignificant.

After panting for a while, Queen Joanna finally raised her head from her memories and delusions, and once again looked at the city of Naples swallowed by death in front of her.A female officer with the same pale face came forward and asked the queen in a low voice if she needed to go back to rest, but the queen shook her head and refused.

"...No, let's go into the city and have a look. I want to see with my own eyes what my country has become?"

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Although this city swallowed by death looked terrifying at first glance, no matter what, after hesitating for a moment, everyone finally braved up their courage, put on masks, hats and gloves, and walked into the city carefully. In the city, I want to find out.

Then, the scene displayed in front of them outsiders is even more unbearable.

——At the base of the wall, at the corner of the street, under the eaves... Whether it is a low thatched hut or a gorgeous mansion, there are countless dead bodies lying here and there, men, women and children, but there is no living person who can breathe .Some of the corpses were lying on their backs, others were curled up and turned sideways, and some were lying on the ground, but the expressions fixed on their faces were without exception twisted and hideous in extreme pain, which could almost make bystanders Feel suffocated.As the weather was getting warmer at this time, some of the corpses were already highly decomposed, and even white maggots emerged.The air was filled with a disgusting rotten stench, which drifted away with the breeze, almost giving people the illusion of ignorance and confusion in a trance.

All in all, on the streets of Naples where the corpses are strewn all over the place, there is no living person at all, and even no trace of human activities can be felt, but wild dogs with red eyes can be seen running in and out everywhere. Roaring in a low voice, they scrambled and tore at the dead body.

And above the city of death, there are a large group of crows hovering all day long, like dark messengers announcing death to mortals, they fold their wings and float down from time to time, landing on a certain mutilated corpse , and then lowered his head to peck at the carrion and internal organs of the dead.

With their trembling legs, everyone walked silently through one silent street after another, but there was still only boundless silence around them, and there were only corpses in different shapes and crows pecking at the eyes of the dead, tearing at each other. Wild dogs looking at the broken corpses, white maggots wriggling... One after another, the visually impactful and miserable scenes almost destroyed their nerves, and the smell of corpses permeated every corner, The smoke made everyone's stomachs churn, forcing them to cover their noses and mouths tightly to avoid vomiting.

The terrifying aura that came with death permeated everyone's hearts invisible but truly, making them unable to move their legs... Finally, after hastily patrolling a few streets, the traverser They could no longer bear this pervasive and unspeakable fear, and no longer tried to find survivors who could not exist at all, but turned around and ran at the fastest speed, and escaped from this city of death that was completely lifeless .

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"...This... This is really terrifying... How did it become like this? The whole city is all dead? There is no one left?"

After rushing out of the city, Miss Ma Tong, who was relatively weak in spirit, leaned weakly next to a big rock, while gulping down the mineral water she carried with her, while pressing her chest that was jumping wildly, while He couldn't help muttering in such a low voice with lingering fear.

"...Who knows? But it has been several months since the Black Death spread in this place. Due to the chaotic political situation, it is estimated that no one can take care of organizing isolation and epidemic prevention. In addition, there is no It’s not uncommon for the whole city to die if there’s no medicine for it!”

After resting quietly for a while, Wang Qiu washed his hands and cheeks with mineral water, threw the used masks and gloves into the fire and burned them, and at the same time replied casually to Ma Tong, "...Of course Even in such a terrible situation, there will still be some people with particularly strong physique and very good resistance who can struggle to survive. However, even if they survive this plague, I am afraid they will not dare to live here. If you continue to stay in the dead city full of rotting corpses, you may have fled to the countryside or the wild while you still have strength..."

"...Well, from this point of view, if we want to raise funds in the Kingdom of Naples, I'm afraid it will be very troublesome-even the living people can't be found!"

Ma Tong said with a sigh, and glanced back at the same time——behind her, Queen Joanna seemed unable to accept the harsh reality of too much impact, she had rolled her eyes and fainted, and was being surrounded by several knights and maids. He hurriedly put it on a makeshift stretcher, and was about to be carried back to Avignon through the [random door] to recuperate.The Pope, who was used to seeing death before, was a little calmer, and was ordering his subordinates to display all kinds of magic weapons, as if he wanted to hold a ceremony for the dead in Naples...

"...No way, I can only learn from the adventurers of those RPG games, and make a fortune in the ruins of the abandoned city."

Wang Qiu shrugged, and replied coldly, without any sense of moral guilt for stealing the relics of the deceased, "...Fortunately, with [Random Door] this time, we can mobilize the entire city of Avignon Citizens are responsible for the burning and cleaning work, and even troublesome things like organizing manpower and assigning command can also be handled by the Holy See, we just need to sit and wait for them to hand over all kinds of property..."