Across the Bosphorus, Constantinople, Hagia Sophia

Wang Qiu and his colleagues wore military uniforms modeled after the former Soviet Union, holding long-handled battle axes and shining red stars on their caps.

In the slightly dark cathedral, the scythe, hammer, red flag, and red star on the military hat brought by the Russian werewolves, which are now contrasting with Jesus on the cross and the Virgin Mary on the mosaic mosaic frescoes, showing a bit of abruptness and a touch of weirdness.

Because, in this iconic holy place of the Orthodox Church, you former communist fighters with sickles and hammers are about to be canonized as paladins......

- According to the citizens of Constantinople, at this time their identity was "Tatar crusaders from the northern steppes".

“…… O warriors from Rus and Jochi Ulus! On behalf of the Church, I bestow upon you the title of Paladin, as well as these holy swords, and I hope that with this sword, you will uphold all the good in the world and drive out all the evil in the world......"

Patriarch Gregory, dressed in a gold-threaded robe, said to the traversers, and on the long table behind him was a row of red silk crossed swords, "...... O brave and merciful knights! Please come to the front and accept your title and your holy sword! ”

Although all the Russian Maozi and Chinese chengguan present were embarrassed, it must be admitted that this title was very useful for action among the Christians of Asia Minor...... Of course, it is also very in line with the bad taste of a group of otaku girls such as Xiaotori You Zhenbai, Cai Rong and Senior Sister Ma Tong.

So, they still stepped forward in turn. Received the crusader that appeared to be an anime figure.,And then according to the previous jihua.,Sworn by one of the most fluent in Greek.。 "I, on behalf of all the knights, hereby accept the holy sword, and will use it to uphold the justice, goodness, and love of the world!"

“…… Very good, my kids! From this moment on, you are paladins who fight for the Lord, and I hope you will never forget the teachings of God and fight for the eradication of all evil! Right now. Let me bless your banners and bless you with victory......"

Seeing that these "Tatars and Rus'" had accepted the holy sword, Patriarch Gregory continued to speak with a smile on his face. Then they took up the cross, the Bible, and the holy water bottle, walked up to their red flag, and marched with a face of reverence to bless.

- If it is in the 20th century, this pattern of a sickle and hammer. It will definitely be regarded as a flood beast by all professional gods. But in this day and age. But no one recognized the meaning of the sickle and hammer banner, and only regarded it as an ordinary noble coat of arms......

“…… Alas, what a madness today...... We, the communist fighters, never dreamed that one day we would be awarded the title of Paladin by the Orthodox Church...... In the era of the Soviet Union, we atheists and the Orthodox Church were mortal enemies......"

With a scar on her face and a cigarette in her mouth, she is a perennial sister in Southeast Asia. Weighing the "holy sword" in his hand—a certain Arthurian sword "Victory of the Oath" suspected to be from the Akihabara figure store—he said to Wang Qiu in a very strange Cantonese with a face full of embarrassment:

“…… But...... Varangian Praetorian Guard? This identity is a little subtly in contrast to us! ”

She looked at a wolf head badge that had just been embroidered on her chest, and muttered something in a low voice.

- For the sake of these traversers who have Russian Maozi as their main combat power. To be able to have a reasonable reputation in the establishment of the Eastern Roman Empire, so as not to be regarded as outsiders by the subjects of the empire, Constantine XI gave them a wolf's head badge and named them the Varangian Guard, that is, the famous Nordic Guard in the late history of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Varangian Guard, also known as the Norse Guard, was a Byzantine Empire's Royal Guards hoplite unit, consisting mainly of the peoples of the Ukrainian steppes of Southern Russia. Originally sent by the Grand Duke of Rus' to Emperor Basil II in the late 10th century, this alien army made its home in the Eastern Roman Empire and became the most fearsome blade under the banner of the double-headed eagle. They often claim to be descendants of Vikings, and they are armed with the Vikings' iconic weapon, the battle axe. However, in the history books of later generations, they are generally regarded as the ancestors of the Russian Maozi.

In short, this is an extremely fierce and warlike army, often wielding a double axe in the enemy formation to wave the sky full of blood, has made countless outstanding military exploits, and is also very favored by the emperors of the past dynasties, has always been favored, rewarded. However, as the Eastern Roman Empire weakened and the empire's finances dried up, the size of the Varangian Janissaries was shrinking. By the beginning of the 15th century, when Emperor Constantine XI was born, there was only a few dozen Varangian guards left in the Eastern Roman Empire, which could only be used as a guard of honor. And when Emperor Constantine XI ascended the throne, even this symbolic Varangian Janissary army collapsed and disappeared due to long-term non-payment.

So, the arrival of these Russian Parapowers now fills this void - so Constantine XI got each of them an axe, and from then on, he was transformed from a communist fighter to a Varangian army under the double-headed eagle...... By the way, the Russian Tsar, overthrown by the Red Army, always claimed to be the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the coat of arms was also a double-headed eagle......

Honestly speaking, except for the clergy who stood on the stage to preside over the ceremony, everyone who stood on the stage and was ordained felt embarrassed.

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Although the whole canonization ceremony feels quite embarrassing, being able to hold such a grand ceremony in Hagia Sophia still makes the travelers feel very face-standing in this magnificent church, looking at the unattainable dome and the magnificent marble columns, everyone's strongest first feeling is emptiness, and it is so small to stay alone in this huge space.

Magnificent megastructures like this were often an essential part of many ancient civilizations. These buildings not only meet the practical needs of human beings, can provide shelter for human beings, but also affect people's instinctive psychological feelings on the spiritual level, causing spiritual resonance, so they are also called "frozen music". From ancient times to the present, in almost all ancient civilizations, magnificent mega buildings are regarded as permanent monuments to the expression of human beings, in the Egyptian pyramids, ancient Greek temples, medieval churches and other famous buildings that have survived to this day, not only contain the specific cultural colors of different periods and different regions, but also represent the long journey of human beings in the vast universe to find the meaning of their own existence.

To a certain extent, the building records the development and change of society and culture, carries the footprints of the development of human civilization, and is known as the "history book of stone".

Historically, grand megastructures have always been associated with power. The reason why the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the emperors of ancient Rome and the kings of ancient Europe always liked to build palaces, temples, churches and other giant buildings was because these shocking mega buildings could be used as a very effective means of propaganda, through which they recorded the great achievements of the builders and showed off their glory and greatness to the world.

Hagia Sophia, a medieval architectural wonder of Europe, also has great political significance.

The Eastern Roman emperor, who presided over the construction of Hagia Sophia, once boasted not without ostentation: "...... Even a thousand years later, when the world came to Constantinople, they would still look up at this great building! (To be continued.) )