In a trance, Weiss felt that he was in a familiar river beach, and there were two boys in front of him: the eldest was fifteen or sixteen years old, which was the year of his studies, he had brown hair and white skin, handsome facial features, and his demeanor and demeanor were like those of little adults; The youngest is only seven or eight years old, and he is just a yellow-mouthed child, with black hair and yellow skin, and his appearance is mediocre, seemingly ignorant, but stubborn. Follow? Dream?. The big boy was holding an old-fashioned musket and explaining and demonstrating with a serious face, and the little boy listened carefully and studied carefully, but he was the same size as this musket, and it was quite difficult to use, and he fired the first shot alone, because he could not bear the recoil of the musket and fell. Instead of gloating or sneering, the older boy pulled him up with a look of relief and patted him on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement......

In the midst of the whirlpool of senses, Weiss then found himself in another scene, on the platform of the train station, the big boy had grown into a handsome young man with a personable demeanor, dressed in a modest dress, holding a gentleman's hat in one hand and a suitcase in the other, with a determined and ambitious expression. In the crowd, there was a black-haired and yellow-skinned young man, who seemed so familiar to Weiss, dressed in clothes of similar style and of the same material, looked at the young man with admiration, watched him wave goodbye to everyone, and boarded the car to leave......

In the next scene, the handsome young man is wearing a white shirt and black pants, with fluffy hair and an open neckline, busy on a workbench specially used to draw drawings, his fingers blackened by pen shavings, and his facial skin looks dry and rough, but in his bright eyes, there is a clear brightness of talent. In this picture, the little boy, who has grown taller, stands by the door in full clothes, quietly watching him work, and his raunchy appearance not only makes the little boy's reverence less than half a point, but leaves a deep impression on his ignorant consciousness......

The next scene is in the hall of the Château Clumber-Heisen—the décor has remained largely unchanged, except that everything is newer than Weiss had seen later, the Lord and several men in gowns are sitting on the sofas, all with gloomy faces, the Madame is sitting by the window and weeping alone, and the little boy is holding a little girl who is a head shorter than him, looking at the adults in the living room behind the railing on the second floor, and his eyes are full of bewilderment......

In a trance, Weiss seemed to see the young man again, the originally handsome face was engraved with the traces of the vicissitudes of time, the clear eyes became deep, and all the flamboyant and wild temperament became introverted into mature and wise cultivation.

Is that you...... Brother......

A voice from the bottom of his heart made Weiss wake up from that deep, endless dream in an instant like a drowning man receiving CPR rescue. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, and after a few moments, his senses readjusted to the environment, and he found himself still in a dimly lit and noisy environment.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

This series of questions made Weiss break out in a cold sweat, but fortunately, his thinking quickly returned to normal, he remembered his previous experience, remembered the huge explosion, and remembered the situation at this time. He struggled to get up, but found that he had no strength in his body, and that his limbs and torso were barely sensational. Rub, it can't be that he was seriously injured and paralyzed in the explosion, right?

Weiss took two deep breaths and said with all his strength, "Hey, anyone?" ”

When no one responded at first, Weiss was in a better mood when he found that he could still speak, and he shouted again, and soon heard someone say in Ulster, "It seems that there are our people in here!" ”

After a while, several figures appeared in Weiss's sight, and they moved away from the broken and collapsed pipe, and rescued the lucky guy. After the on-site examination by the medical staff, he had multiple scratches and abrasions on his body, and his head and organs were subjected to strong impact and concussion, and there may be internal bleeding, but there will be no big problems overall, and he should be able to heal after a period of rest.

Recuperate for a while? How long is a period of time? Should we be glad to be away from the front lines, away from killing and dying?

Weiss thought wildly as he waited for the stretcher to arrive. The violent explosion that had caused him to faint before was indeed caused by the explosion carried out by the federal officers and soldiers from the outside of the battleship, and the blasting point they chose was still more than ten meters away from the previous position of Weiss and Keys, if it was closer, even if he had the tenacious vitality of a mouse, it would be difficult for him to survive.

Thinking of Keith, Weiss struggled to sit up, looked around, there was no trace, asked the Union soldiers to help search, and found nothing in the vicinity. Could it be that he dodged the explosion and went directly after the friendly soldiers who broke through the wall and went into the attack? If that's the case, he's too unhappy to leave himself here? Or maybe he was blown unconscious, worse than himself, and was found and carried out by the Union soldiers for treatment, so it seems more logical to speculate?

The battlefield is chaotic, and it is commonplace to be separated from his comrades, life and death are all up to luck, and Weiss simply doesn't think about it so much. After a while, several Union soldiers carried the three wounded down, either on their backs or on their backs. Taking advantage of the medical guards' efforts to bandage and treat them, Weiss inquired about the battle on the ship from one of the soldiers who was wounded in the leg, and learned that the Union troops who entered the battleship from the stern had reached the second floor, but the Norman resistance was fierce, and the Federation troops had to pay a lot of price for every fork in the road or up and down the stairs.

In addition to the overall battle situation and the safety of his comrades, Weiss was most concerned about the artificial star stone making machine on this Norman battleship. Following the path he had taken, the chamber was on the second floor from the bottom up, where the Federation and the Normans were in a fierce battle.

The Union soldier was unaware of what Weiss said was housing dozens of machines. As soon as he finished speaking, a series of explosions suddenly broke out on the ship, and the entire battleship trembled violently. However, this situation is not a wild beast that is almost trying to break free from its chains, but a beast that has been fatally struck, desperately struggling knowing that its death is near.

On such a Norman battleship, there should still be a large amount of ammunition stored in the ammunition depots, and an explosion inside the battleship could affect the entire ship at any time. Ignoring the pain and soreness in his body, Weiss followed the medics and the wounded through the passage that had exploded in the outer wall of the battleship and came to the trench outside the ship.

The explosion came suddenly and was short-lived. After a few moments, black smoke poured out from the holes and wounds in the battleship and from the open gun emplacements on the side of the ship, and after this experience, although the exterior of the hull had not changed significantly, the internal situation was certainly not much better. In Weiss's view, the explosion was most likely caused by the Normans who detonated the explosives that had been buried under the artificial star source stone making machine, and the reason why they temporarily wired it was probably because they were worried that the accidental explosion would occur due to wiring problems. With this bombing, all the machines that were worth a thousand dollars to the Union Army have been destroyed, and the Normans' secret technology for making artificial star stones will continue to be "insulated" from the outside world. This scene made Weiss, who had been in it, feel extremely regretful, knowing that there would be such an "accident", he would adjust the battle plan, even if it costs two, three times or even more, to seize and keep those machines. It's a pity that he is not a prophet, and he does not have the secret skill of penetrating time, so he can only watch the opportunity slip through his fingers.

Compared with the beginning of the battle, the intensity and density of the Norman battleship's external fire had been significantly weakened, and the rumbling artillery fire on the battlefield had also thinned out correspondingly. The stretcher team was delayed, so Weiss had to sit in the trench and watch the battle up close with the wounded soldiers. As time passed, the number of wounds withdrawn from the ship increased, and they brought news that the Federation troops on board the ship had made smooth progress after the explosion in front of them, and they soon captured the second and third floors of the battleship from the bottom up, and began to attack the fourth and upper decks.

Weiss was only half an hour away from the ship, and the main guns on the Norman battleship were completely silent, which meant that the Federation troops on board the ship had approached or arrived at the main gun tunnel. This progress is gratifying, but the battle around the Norman battleship has also reached an extremely delicate juncture - if the two sides fight around the main gun channel, whether the Normans intentionally or accidentally, there is a possibility that the main ammunition depot will explode in an extreme situation, so that not only will the entire battleship be blown into the sky, but the federal officers and soldiers who attack the battleship and the people who are still stranded in the surrounding trenches will become the martyrs of the battleship!

It is fate to survive, and it is also fate to be blown to slag, Wei Si calmly stayed in the trench, waiting for the final verdict of fate. After a while, he saw that Captain Hartbauer was also being helped down, and hurriedly beckoned: "Hey, Joao, look who I am!" I didn't think we'd meet here! ”

The right side of Hartbauer's head was scooped, his right arm was wrapped in a hemostatic bandage, and his leg was also beaten, and it looked like the right half was basically scrapped. Seeing Weiss sitting in the trench like an uncle, he shouted, "Hey, dragon, you're still alive!" Hey, it's great to see you here! After this battle, as long as we live, the Gold Medal of Freedom will definitely not have to run! If you're lucky, you'll go straight from acting to official, and I'm not a problem to be promoted to a major! ”

Once the half-crippled creature sat down beside him, Weiss hurriedly asked him if he knew what had happened to the previous explosion, and if it had happened in a cabin on the penultimate floor.

"Hmm...... It seems to be so! Hartbauer replied, "We were forced back to the port by the Normans, and the explosion occurred in the lower compartment, which is probably the penultimate floor you are talking about, and then we joined up with the friendly troops, and they told us that it was the Normans who had detonated the explosives, as if to blow up some important installation, so that they would not fall into our hands." ”

The real hammer fell to the ground, and Weiss sighed helplessly: "It's a pity! ”

"What a pity?" Hartbauer was puzzled.

Weiss turned his head to look at his ignorant face, and squeezed out a bitter expression: "If I told you that the Normans blew up the artificial Star Source Stone Machine, would you go crazy?" ”

Hartbauer glared and opened his mouth, but his expression moved, and he pulled at the wound, which made him grin in pain.

"That's it!" Weiss waved his hand and said, "I'm lucky to have it, but I've lost my life." ”

In terms of the current war situation, the value of an artificial star stone making machine far exceeds that of an old Norman warship. Passing by the opportunity to become a war hero, Hartbauer could only beat his chest even if he was unwilling in every way.

So, the two frustrated men sat side by side in the trench, waiting for their comrades to complete the battle for the capture of the ship that they had initiated. As the minutes ticked by, and after about a quarter of an hour, the gunfire and explosions on board the ship died down, and just as Weiss and Hartbauer were about to high-five each other, another group of wounded was sent down, and one of the non-commissioned officers revealed that it was only a pause in the exchange of fire - the Normans on board the ship asked for a cease-fire negotiation.

"They're definitely stalling for time!" A middle-aged officer, whose neck, shoulders, and waist and abdomen were almost mummified, shouted, "Don't trust the Normans!" Absolutely can't trust them! ”

"We won't trust the Normans!" The non-commissioned officer said heartily, "We will order them to disarm and surrender within ten minutes, otherwise they will all be killed, and there will be no mercy." ”

"And what are their conditions?" The middle-aged officer asked.

The non-commissioned officer replied, "I'm sorry, sir, if I hadn't been like this, I would have followed our battalion commander to negotiate with the Normans." ”

Weiss and Hartbauer looked at each other, the Normans were known to be shrewd and cunning in terms of scheming and strategy, and their demand for an armistice was naturally relied upon, and would never be so easily settled.

Ten minutes passed, and since there was no news of the Normans disarming the ship, and there was no news of the resumption of the exchange of fire after the negotiations broke down, the number of federal officers and men who surrounded the Norman warship through the battlefield increased considerably. According to Weiss's estimates, by this time, there were more than 1,000 Federation troops entering the battleship, and there was a regiment outside, which was much stronger than the surviving Normans on the ship. The Normans were bound to lose the battle, and the reason why they proposed armistice negotiations was nothing more than to save the lives of the surviving officers and soldiers, and what could be used as a bargaining chip for armistice negotiations was undoubtedly the battleship itself.

After another seven or eight minutes, a herald suddenly appeared in the gun's side gun emplacement, and he shouted: "Attention all! No shots without an order! Turn off the insurance to avoid misfire! ”

Immediately afterwards, several heralds left the ship through the breach in the stern of the ship and conveyed instructions to the various units surrounding the battleship.

This startling order was eventually passed on to the wounded soldiers: a ceasefire was agreed, and the Normans left safely in a disarmed state on the condition that they would not detonate the ammunition depot.

In other words, the Normans controlled the ship's ammunition depot and had the ability to detonate it at any time, and they would hand over the battleship as long as the Federation let them out safely.

Logically, it's a logical deal. It's just that with the consistent thinking of the Normans, the lives of a few hundred officers and soldiers are really worth such a battleship? Weiss's eyelids jumped, and he felt that this was not very reliable.

Now that the agreement has been reached and the order has been delivered, the Federation seems to be serious. After a short time, several federal soldiers withdrew from the breach in the stern, and immediately after, the Norman soldiers also came out of this gap. As soon as they saw the Normans, the nearby Federation soldiers raised their rifles one after another, and many of them subconsciously pushed their bullets to load, and the sound of gunfire suddenly made the atmosphere tense. The Norman soldiers either supported each other, or carried the wounded uninjured, and after leaving the ship, they silently marched westward, that is, in the direction of the Norman Empire. Seeing this, the Union officers neither drank nor gave orders, but just stared coldly at the Normans, beware of any misdeeds.

In this almost frozen atmosphere, hundreds of Normans left the ship one after another, judging by their attire, the vast majority of them were crews, and there were very few marines. Looking at the loose ranks of the Normans, a bold idea suddenly popped into Weiss's head: the military discipline of the Norman army has always been very strict, if these Normans abandon their warships in order to survive, even if they can return to the Norman Empire alive, what is the point of waiting for them will be a harsh or even cruel punishment? Thinking about it the other way, the Normans must have abandoned the warship in order to protect people or things that were more important than the warship. Since they are leaving in a state of disarmament, the object of protection should be people—such as experts, engineers, technicians who have mastered the technology of artificial star source stones, or members of the royal family and army generals who cannot afford to be missed.

Which one will be the truth?

"Hey, man, help me up!" Weiss asked for help from a Union soldier not far away, and the young soldier came to look at his epaulettes and came to his aid. With his support, Weiss staggered to the stern breach. A federal officer and his soldiers stood there, maintaining order and counting the number of people by the way.

"Hey man, I'm the operational staff officer of the 11th Defense Division......"

Weiss greeted the officer, and when he turned his head, hey, the words of self-introduction can be omitted, because this person is a captain battalion deputy of the 19th Regiment, and he also recognized Weiss at the first time, and hurriedly echoed: "Acting Captain Clumber Heisen, you are ......"

"There's a problem here, and ...... must be stopped"

At this point, Weiss was suddenly stunned, because at the breach in the stern, he saw a face, a face that had emerged from the depths of his memory. Although it was a memory that belonged to the host, and he had never seen this person with his own eyes, in the light of the searchlight, he was sure that this was the person!

As if there was a strange telepathy, the man suddenly stood still, his gaze crossed over the officers and soldiers on both sides, and fell on Weiss's face. Their eyes met, each for a moment of hesitation, and then Weiss winked at himself as he raised the corners of his mouth.

"What do you say? Acting Captain, what did you mean just now......" The captain battalion deputy on the side was puzzled by Weiss's abrupt words, and he asked again and again, but Weiss stood stunned, confused in his thinking, and when he came back to his senses, the captain's battalion deputy had already returned his attention to those Normans.

Weiss almost opened his mouth, but the blinking expression was like a drug, and he was so confused that he didn't know what to do.