"Amen!"

The neat prayer is holy and solemn, and all I see in their eyes is calm and newborn purity, this is the inner strength that religion brings to mortals, right?

Different from the extravagant atmosphere of the Vatican, and also different from the rules of the cathedral, Montibas has a dialogue that goes straight to the depths of the soul, putting aside the open-mindedness and freedom of the mundane, I think I understand their beliefs, and when I raised my head, the old abbot in the distance was looking at me kindly, with an approving smile on his face, and I confidently looked back at him with the same smile.

The praying priest then recited several passages from the Bible, which were done accurately as the morning sun rose to the level of the mountain, and the bell rang again through the valley to mark the end of the morning prayer and the beginning of breakfast, and the monks on duty today served a light meal, almost the same bread, water, vegetables and salt, as well as a hot soup specially prepared for the guests.

I touched my rumbling belly and resisted the urge to eat meat, and we had little time to waste complaining before the bell rang the second time, for the monks still had to pray for the afternoon.

"How's it going, do you hear the angel snoring?"

The old dean joked with a smile: "I heard the overwhelming snoring anyway, and I couldn't tell which one was an angel." ”

"Hehe, I'm smiling."

I scratched the back of my head embarrassedly, and the usually peaceful monastery came to a group of five big and three rough people, and the snoring must have been earth-shattering.

"However, I've found the answer, Dean, this is really the closest place to heaven."

"Your heart is, Lord Duke, and the rest is nothing but complicated appearances, the Vatican, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mount Sinai, which is closer to heaven and which is far from heaven? The pope, the king, the nobles and the commoners, who is near to God and who is far from God? Think about this, and you'll be invincible. ”

The old dean twisted the fine grains of salt and sprinkled them evenly on the broken bread, and I watched the combination of the salt grains and the bread, simple and complex, and I had not spoken for a long time.

After breakfast, the monks left to go about their business, and only the monk on duty who was cleaning up the plates, and me and the old abbot who were sitting still were left in the hall of the university.

"If there is anything, please hurry up and say it, I will give a lecture at the afternoon prayer." The abbot thumped his sore back and said.

"I've decided, I'll leave early tomorrow morning, there are so many of us, it's always unseemly to bother for too long."

Filling the glasses in front of the two men, I continued:

"Before leaving, there are still some non-specific requirements, I don't know whether to talk about it or not, you have the right to listen."

"My ability is only so great, how much can I help, you are a smart person, you know how to do things." The old dean raised his glass to moisten his throat and motioned for me to continue.

"The wounded ...... in Nijmegen"

"Stay here, let's take care of them, their physical condition is really not suitable for long journeys, that is tantamount to death step by step, if you don't say I'll take the initiative."

"Well, thank you very much."

I took a sip of wine, slowed down and said:

"We have a problem with supplies, and we came here not only to recuperate, but also to borrow some food from the monastery."

The old dean smiled and shook his head, like an elder who guessed the hearts of his children and grandchildren:

"I'll just say what you're doing when you move the people up the mountain, I see, well, I'll instruct the brother in charge of the treasury to prepare according to your requirements, but then in the future, wheat cakes, beans, vegetables, we have everything, meat, I'm afraid there is nothing we can do."

"I can't thank you enough just for providing supplies, how dare you have unreasonable thoughts."

I hurriedly waved my hand, my face red to the root of my ears: "As for the ...... I said yesterday"

"Out of your mouth, into my ears, just understand each other, don't bring it up again."

This time, it was the turn of the old dean to wave his hand and refuse, and the folds at the corners of his eyes were flattened and piled up, matching the change in his expression, which was quite convincing.

"Montius welcomes bosom friends and dislikes noisy lobbyists."

"The grace of today's dripping water will be repaid by a spring in the coming day."

I stood up, solemnly pressed my hand on my left chest and bent down:

"If God bless me and help me to turn evil into good fortune, I will definitely come back and fulfill my promise."

"Promise?" The old dean repeated suspiciously.

"That's right, a promise, a promise to perpetuate Montius' faith."

The next day, before the afternoon prayer, the old dean specially prepared a solemn mass for us, and everyone was flattered, and I took advantage of the time after breakfast to reorganize the team into detachments for the next action.

After several wars and arduous long-distance treks, in addition to the battle damage, flight, and wounded and sick attrition, there were more than 450 people who brought them up the mountain with them after a full battle, of which the veterans of Nijmegen accounted for the majority, and Martini and the peasants who collected along the way were almost all running away, and those who could insist on staying should have no love and were determined to follow us.

I led a team of more than 50 peasants to escort the grain and grass to the Chinese army, codenamed Violet, Serena's favorite flower, a symbol of eternal beauty and love, which grew everywhere in the gardens of Nijmegen.

The remaining 400 people are evenly divided into 400 teams, Owen is in charge of a team, codenamed Hyacinth, meaning life and remembrance, the story of the flower language is taken from the Greek mythology of the beautiful boy Jacintos favored by the sun god Apollo, he was jealous and calculating by Zephinus, the god of the west wind, was accidentally injured and died by the discus thrown by the sun god, in the pool of blood he fell, a beautiful flower grew, Apollo named Hyacinth after the boy.

Knowing this story, I had deep doubts about Owen's orientation, and the person concerned generously admitted: "That's right, I'm missing a good friend, what's wrong?" ”

The second hundred-man team was led by Gao De, who was also a Knight of the Sunflower in Nijmegen, who came from a noble family in Friesland and received an orthodox knightly education, and voluntarily renounced his hereditary title to become a ranger, determined to find a chaste lady and protect her for the rest of his life.

Gaud's hundred-man codename Iris was named after his family's blue iris insignia, which became almost a custom in traditional Frankish aristocratic families, and Clovis, the founder of the Frankish kingdom, was crowned with this flower.

But I also understand another explanation of Iris, secret silent admiration, Gao De is a reserved gentleman, but this does not mean that there is no love in his completely ascetic life, although I always find it strange.

Schneider, who commanded the third hundred, was the oldest of these people, and before he defected to Nijmegen, he spent half his life fighting for countless lords, but unfortunately he was not appreciated, and he was depressed, which made the whole person's temperament decadent and gloomy.

If Gaude's reticence stems from his introverted personality, Schneider is more frustrated and guarded, and he is too careful to contact people, for fear of leaving any bad impression.

So the relationship with everyone is like a separation, often not invited when drinking in private, quite embarrassed and lonely, the code name of the 300th is Pansy, a common early spring flower, its flower face obtained by the jealousy of Venus is its charm, representing silence, selflessness and please miss me, isn't this the inner monologue of old Schneider?

The last hundred-man team is under the jurisdiction of Devid, he is sweet-mouthed, good at observing words and feelings, and can do horsemanship, swordsmanship, and wrestling, but he is not proficient in any of them, a typical panacea, and his popularity is naturally too good to say, in stark contrast to the cautious Schneider.

His hundred-man team's code name is Cornflower, which means that it is durable and flattering, but the subtle and outlier descriptions in its flower language are far from Deved's personality, or is it not intrinsically true to Deved's style of doing things?

When the detachment was finished, the bell rang for the beginning of the afternoon prayers, and we entered the solemn Mass Hall under the guidance of the monks, which had been the dining hall where everyone had been drinking and chatting yesterday, and which had now been cleaned up.

Countless candles surround the statue of the Crucifixion, like the stars of the moon, and the precious incense burning in the corner spirals and rises to the high ceiling, which perfectly matches the formal atmosphere required by the Mass.

The funny thing is that Owen also took the trouble to tidy up his clothes and pretend to be serious, but he didn't know that his dirty coat didn't need to worry at all, and it was the oily hair that stole the scene!

The conditions of the monastery are simple, and the ritual of Mass is naturally complicated, but it is better that the monks do not show their own temperament, and they are not inferior to the ceremonies held in the most ornate churches of the Vatican.

The old dean entered from behind the door, winning the revered eyes of everyone all the way, and he smiled at everyone frequently, like the warm sunshine of an autumn afternoon, illuminating the darkest corners of his heart.

The abbot stood still, and several young friars sang melodious hymns, and their high-pitched voices instantly captured everyone's sensitive nerves, and the tired souls were relaxed and happy as if they had gone through a baptism like a bath.

"In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, may God's mercy and gifts be with you, Amen!" The old dean received the blessing after the singing, and elegantly marked the holy cross.

"Amen!" The audience responded in unison.

The old abbot chose the thirteenth chapter of Immanuel in the Bible to read, and everyone listened attentively, and some even wept in suppressed voices.

I sat steadily, listening to the cumbersome scriptures in my left ear and my right ear, I didn't care at all, but the whole person was in quite good condition, full of strength, full of confidence in the future journey, incense faintly scratched my nose, hooked I wanted to sneeze.

"May the Eucharist and Blood of Christ bless me with eternal life."

The old dean looked at me with a smile and did not blame the naughty boy for his rude in the important ceremony.

"Lord Duke, please come here." He kindly urged.

Holding my stomach, I pretended to be solemn and walked up to the altar, and although I had attended many Masses, I was still nervous.

"The Eucharist and Blood of Christ."

The old dean stuffed a small piece of dough into my mouth and dipped it in wine and wiped it to his lips, "May God be with you." ”

"Amen!" I got down on one knee and bowed deeply respectfully.

The ceremony of several hundred people lasted for a long time, and it did not end until the bell of lunch rang three times, and the old dean, who had long been exhausted, insisted on completing the communion of all by himself, and everyone was moved again.

"The end of the Mass is the beginning of life, and we are convinced that we gather together in the dispersion, because Christ is to be able to be more effectively dispersed in the world, to be the salt of the earth, to gather together, to listen to God, to draw the impetus for life in the Eucharist, and it is when God sent Christ into the world to bear witness to him."

His magnetic voice infects the faithful:

"You are about to embark on the road home, remember the power of the Holy Body and Blood, when you are in danger, do not panic, God is with you, when you are in despair, do not panic, God is with you, when you are cornered, do not panic, God is with you, the road is not only under your feet, but also in your heart, as long as you are pious, wherever you go and in which direction, you will go home!"

After lunch, the soldiers reluctantly bid farewell to their brothers in the monastery, the prepared supplies were reduced to pieces, and the Violet warriors marched in columns with bags full of food.

When I came, several other ziplines had been added to the zipline ferry, and the planks were paved to become an improvised suspension bridge to facilitate the passage of large troops.

"Dean, just send it here, please stay."

"Out of the Hasri valley to the east, there is a fairly flat path that leads to St. Galle, or you can go north, bypassing Uri Castle to Swabia, all roads lead to Rome, the choice is yours."

His long beard fluttered as he spoke, and he could barely see the opening and closing of his mouth.

"I'm old, I haven't gone down the mountain for too long, some roads can't be remembered, let alone can't tell, you look for them while walking, there are always people who know the way."

"People say that the old horse knows the way, but you know the heart, just like the boatman at the soul ferry, tirelessly ferrying us to the other side of happiness."

"Hehe, pagan legends."

The old dean laughed heartily: "My old horse is wasted, and I can't run far, so don't pass by!" ”

I nodded emotionally and waved away: "Thank you for your kindness, see you in the future!" ”

Tossing and turning out of the mountain, the solitary peaks of the spruce are nowhere to be found, they are hidden in the cascading mountains, as if they are there forever, and they never seem to exist.

"If this were a dream, I'd love to sleep a little longer."

I unfastened the strip of cloth that covered the horse's eye, and the little one snorted in surprise, not yet accustomed to the sudden light.

The barren Hasri River valley was long and narrow from east to west, and the further down we went, the more populated there were, and we had to rely on scouts to find our way, marching unusually slowly, and only a third of the valley before the sun went down.

"Presumably I can't get out today, order the whole army to camp on the spot, and the pansy behind the palace is responsible for the nightstay."

It was getting late, and it was easy to get lost in the dark in an unfamiliar place, so I simply wandered all night, and I got off the horseback and observed the surroundings by the faint light before the complete darkness.

This is a canyon between the two mountains, the dry river is covered with lush thatch, and a few small shrubs are scattered on the rocky mountainside, and the view is clear at a glance, and there is no hiding terrain from friend or foe.

"Over there, yes, there's a dark sentry on that hill, there, there, and here, and the warriors with good eyesight are worth watching, and their eyes are wide for me, and they are always vigilant."

I put my hands behind my back, followed by Owen, and they all thought that the Duke was making a little fuss, and that it was just a camp, and there was no need to make all the grass and trees.

"Grass and trees? Forgot our strengths? Sneak attack in the early morning, the enemy may not necessarily treat others in the same way, what? Where do you say the enemy came from? ”

I grinned exaggeratedly: "The enemy is enough in my heart!" ”

(End of chapter)