xi

December 25 is the main feast of the Orthodox and new churches, Advent. The festival was established to commemorate the Second Catholic Council of Taranto.

It was on the night of December 24, 322 in the standard calendar.

After another day of chaotic agenda, the Doges returned to their denominations to rest, discuss doctrines, and engage in metaphysical speculation. During the daytime council, thanks to the mediation of Emperor Cleon Theodestam, the Eastern Doles were finally ready to accept the terms of Hunrinasti and banish the separatist factions as heretics, and decided to formally sign the decision of the council the next day.

It was that night. While the various factions had finished praying for dinner, twelve overarches and archbishops rose from their tables and walked in unison to the middle of the empty temple of Taranto.

People called their names in disbelief, but received no response.

As if enchanted, these clergy came to the center of the main temple, walked up to one of the auxiliary gods, and knelt down solemnly.

Waiting for them there were twelve new sets of red robes, all with purple divine light flashing at the edges. Hundreds of bishops and priests followed them, and they all heard the voice of God.

"Mortals, you have reached the time to choose! Do you submit again and expel your companions, or do you choose to rise up and fight with righteousness?!"

The next day, all the Eastern Exarchs chose to refuse to sign the "Resolution of the Second Catholic Council of Taranto" and declared a break with the Ecumenical Church.

On this day, the twelve bishops who heard the divine grace wrote the "Draft Contract of the Gods" in accordance with God's will, and thus gave rise to the Orthodox Covenant Church, which has an endless influence on the history of future generations. For the rest of history, this church will make the earth tremble......

Of course, this incident was later questioned by many historians, and it is also an undeniable fact.

*** ***

"But when did they decide to start eating firebirds? No, in the age of the Covenant, was there really such an animal as a firebird?"

Recalling the knowledge about Advent, the young lieutenant, who was standing at the gate of the fortress and counting the number of firebirds, thought indignantly. At what age did this large, fatty, round poultry become a regular food at Advent......ism? Why is this thing called a "firebrid"? even though it does breathe fire......

"Lieutenant Soleton, here are the one hundred and fifty collected by the Eleventh Fortress Company, and the count has been completed, please post it!"

Firebirds filled with hundreds of iron and bamboo cages were moving in front of his eyes, round and round, exuding a faint smell of sulfur. Firebirds no longer breathe fire like their distant cousin, the phoenix, but they do have fire sacs. The soldiers carried these khaki and gray fowl in and out of the fortified roads, and distributed the fowl to the various defense areas.

"It's only one hundred and fifty, isn't it two hundred and thirty, and the average price?" asked Naimon, a little surprised, glancing at the money figure.

"Ah, we went to four or five villages and got that. The villagers said that this year's harvest in North Feates was poor, and the Pyro people came a few days ago to buy a large number for the Advent feast, and we came late. ”

"Okay, I'll write it into the report. I'll now go to the South Bank Fortress to see what the southern garrison has gained, and if possible, transfer some. ”

Soleton signed the piece of paper, stamped it with the seal of the adjutant of logistics at the General Staff Headquarters, and instructed: "I'll go to the south bank first, and you can leave a few soldiers here." If anyone else comes back, inform them to send the Firebird to the Outer Fort first, so that it will be easier for those from the south bank to be deployed. ”

"Yes, sir!" the second lieutenant gave him a military salute. Naimon just nodded slightly, then turned around and hurried towards the river pier.

Today is obviously the first day of the New Year's holiday...... He has been busy since he got up. The logistics are already heavy, and this "Advent special supply" is even worse. There was supposed to be a logistics department under the staff, but this logistics department was all lost to Lennie, and the fortress also had a logistics department, but this logistics department was not intended for a free division of 12,000 men, and he had to send ten fortified companies to collect these extra fodder and luxuries......

"If only there were millions of troops that didn't need supplies...... Is the 'direct lieutenant' in charge of collecting the firebirds?"

The ships responsible for the traffic between the south and north shores have not yet returned. He sighed and sat down in his lounge chair, looking at the ghostly armies of war history and legends. However, intellectually, he knew that no amount of troops would get out of the logistical nightmare.

"Lieutenant, next time you complain about work, you'd better find a secluded place. As the saying goes, 'A soldier who doesn't complain about his work and his boss is not a good soldier', but neither is it that the boss hears. Is the work going well?"

The icy silence of his voice gave goosebumps to the young lieutenant's back, and he could not be mistaken. How could he not have noticed this man just now? There was only one man in the fortress of Fortiburg who could frighten everyone: the captain of the gendarmerie, Thane, and Major Constan, whose armband with the insignia of "whip and blade" always made both the enemy and the enemy fearful.

"It's okay. I'm busy with tonight's Firebird dinner, and there's still a bit of a difference in quantity......"

"I don't care about your firebird, that thing has nothing to do with the gendarmerie. "I've been thinking about your report last night. Did that man really do nothing? The Empire has a lot of magic that we don't know about yet, has he ever done anything suspicious or said something strange?"

Naimon's heart tightened: It's still here. It seems that the "bastard" Viscount Rasta did not do anything after that, but this only aroused the suspicion of Sain, a veteran of counterintelligence.

"Let me think about it...... From my point of view, he doesn't seem to be acting out of any way, and he doesn't react to probing magic. And ......"

"What else?"

Do you want to ask about the "fog eagle"? The young man hesitated, but still didn't dare to speak. It was too easy for this topic to attract the suspicions of Sain and Constan.

“...... He had repeatedly mentioned that he wanted to pay homage to Marshal Govar as soon as possible so that he could complete his mission. I remember at least three times in it. Maybe he's really just an envoy who doesn't want to get into trouble?"

Hearing the lieutenant's judgment, Major Thane actually sneered coldly: "Impossible. I had been a gendarmerie adjutant at the headquarters for thirteen years, and my intuition told me that this man must have a special mission. When you and Captain Edith are on duty tonight, you can deliberately give him a little freedom to see if he will show his feet. ”

Trapping?Naimon gasped. To say trapping...... It's probably himself who should be trapped, right?

"Is this an order?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"Verbal orders, I will remember, but will not be responsible. Be careful. Constance got up from his chair, "The ferry is coming, go and do your own thing." ”

Namen; Soleton was stunned. Major Thorn had come to him on purpose, and there seemed to be something wrong with that...... He suddenly understood the deeper meaning of this order.

"Does this order mean that you want to quietly find a way to send him back? This is Marshal Goval's order?"

The captain of the gendarmerie stopped and threw down a sentence: "Carry out this order according to your own understanding and for the good of the country." The same order would be sent to Captain Edith, top secret. ”

The meaning of the phrase translates to "acquiescence" - but he did not say whose order it was. If something goes wrong, it's clear that he and Edith are responsible......

"In my judgment...... trouble. Soleton scratched at his hair, and he was torn between the complexities of the situation. He knew that for any big man, he was just a card that could be sacrificed at any time...... After all, there are only a few magicians that can be used.

But he also has a few cards to choose from - because no one knows exactly how many people he is under command of, and no one knows which side he will choose.

Even he didn't know.

*** ***

The Firebird is all in place and is only the first step. The planned 1,100 Firebirds, thanks to the efforts of the logistics companies of the southern flank fortress, had finally been put together, and there was still a slight surplus—but it was already evening.

Seeing that the count was correct, Naimon followed the last group of firebirds back to the north shore by boat, ready to go to the central venue to report the results. The river flotilla that had gone out to patrol had already docked at the port, and now the capacity on the north and south banks was much more sufficient.

Of the 12,000 garrisons of Fort Fort, more than half of them were in the fortress on the north bank. The large training ground in the center of the fortress on the north shore was set up as a central hall for 3,000 people, and the remnants of the 10th Division and the officers and men of the garrison fleet who had arrived here from Teresa would spend the eve of Advent here. In charge of the 3,000-strong meeting was the Second Staff Officer, Major Peter Cussen. Everyone in the staff knew that the business could not be done by the supreme superintendent of Eggar, and Lieutenant Colonel Eugen -- it was enough to imagine the sight of the white gum wreckage in the room.

"Be careful, don't loosen the strip of cloth that binds their mouths!"

"Class 6, Class 7, and Class 8 will each send fifty to the venue of the three defense zones!"

"Herald, go to the South Wing Command and ask for another fortress company to come over, and if the table is not enough, move the staff!"

"Move those tables out of the way to make room for the shooting competition!"

Major Cussen commanded three companies of nearly 400 men to set up the venue, and at the same time, he also remotely controlled the layout of the other three defense areas of the North Shore Fortress. His figure shuttled through all corners of the venue, controlling everything in an orderly manner, as if even several times more affairs could not keep him busy. Naimon gave a slight envious sigh of admiration before walking over to hand him the report.

"Major Cussen, all the firebirds, hams, and sausages for tonight's dinner are in place, and here is the final report. ”

Peter Cussen took the report, glanced at it, and threw it back to him: "The number of firebirds does not match the accounting. Check the final total quantity, the difference is twenty. There are also problems with the number of distributions, and this morning all four forts on the north flank have reinforced an infantry company, which you didn't count. ”

Naimon was stunned for a moment, immediately took back the report and hid aside, and listed the calculation for three minutes before reluctantly admitting that he had miscalculated. He handed the revised report back to the Commander, glancing unnaturally to the side, staring at the few poles that stood on the training ground not far away. Those poles stood there eye-catching, looking like they had just been installed today.

"Well, it's the right number this time. Major Cussen signed the report, "Hand it over to the General Staff." By the way, you're going to have to sign up for the Firebird contest tonight, right? ”

"Firebird Tournament?" asked Naimon reflexively.

"Ah, haven't you fought before?" the major looked rather surprised, "isn't this a must-have every Advent?

"Well, I've just enlisted in the army for more than a year, and I took a leave of absence to go home last year...... "Naimen said perfunctorily, hoping that the major wouldn't be suspicious.

Fortunately, Major Cussen really didn't get suspicious, but lifted his glasses and began to explain to him in earnest about this traditional pastime.

"Do you know why the firebird is popular with the military? Or do you know the history of the fowl like the firebird?"

Seeing that Soleton shook his head vigorously, Cussen continued, "Because this magical poultry doesn't need a special fire to cook. Their distant relatives are said to be some kind of dangerous birds that breathe fire and come back to life, and were originally intended to be tamed as aerial force...... Unexpectedly, it was domesticated into a meat-eating animal in the end. Although most firebirds are no longer as fire-breathing as their distant ancestors, the fire-sacs are still there, and if they find a way to ignite the fire-sacs on their chests, the flames will spread inside the firebird's digestive tract and eventually roast themselves. Firebirds are the most important way to hit their fire sacs with fire magic, rockets, or anything that produces high heat from a great distance...... Got it?"

"Oh...... Is there any danger then? Like, is the fire going to erupt?"

The Major chuckled, "Of course, otherwise how will we score?" In the Firebird Tournament, the first person to hit the fire bag and make these guys breathe fire wins. We have prepared a lot of projects, but traditionally, all the troops directly under the General Staff have to be sent to participate. We have swept more than half of the events in the competition at the Lenny headquarters all year round!"

"Project?" Soleton was interested. Boys at this age are very competitive, and they get excited when they hear about it.

"Well, according to tradition, there should be six events: men's fighting score competition, women's fighting score competition, physical sniper competition, unlimited sniping competition, throwing sniper competition, and firebird guard team competition. Which one do you want to participate in? I booked the sniper throwing tournament first, and the guard team tournament was for everyone. ”

Naimon simply continued to ask: "Score match, sniper match, guard match?"

The major held his glasses: "Ah, the score competition is when the contestants use the designated weapons to light the firebird within the field, and the person with the largest number of lights wins. In the sniper competition, all the contestants ignite the firebird tied to the pillar from a certain distance. As for the Guardian Team Competition, five firebirds will be allocated to each participating team, and the one who ignites all the opponent's firebirds first wins......"

"Wait a minute, I have a question. When the firebirds were struck, the firebirds ...... "Namen paused," ...... Are we still alive? Are we shooting live firebirds?"

"Of course. How can you compete with those who are killed?" Major Cussen glanced at him.

The young lieutenant gasped, his lips squirmed, and he whispered to himself, "What a barbarism......"

A cold light swept across Major Cussen's lenses. "Wait a minute, you're saying it's a long-standing tradition of barbarism? You're insulting a great tradition, Lieutenant! Didn't you take a history lesson about the Firebird at the military school? How did you get to it?!Let me make it up to you in order to learn about the glorious traditions of the Free Army......"

Neckendon: Soleton's head immediately grew like a fight. He now understood the essence of Peter Cussen: he was a serious man who was a good teacher. His barrage of historical narratives can be summed up as follows:

On a Advent night more than 100 years ago, an army of rebels collected the only supplies they could get was a firebird. Their planned sneak attack made them afraid to stop and set up camp, so they used the Firebird's "self-cooking" properties to survive the night – and successfully captured the important town of Kengrad. They succeeded in cutting off the reinforcements and logistics of the Imperial Army, and left none of the Imperial interventionists back - so they decided to make the Firebird Tournament a tradition in the Free Army from now on.

“...... And you dare to say that this tradition is barbaric?!" the major casually picked up a glass of water from the table next to him and drank it down.

"Yes, yes, I don't dare anymore...... I'm ready to sign up for the men's wrestling score tournament. Naimon made a quick decision: the best decision now was to divert the Major's serious attention, "I'm going to hand in the report first, I'm out of company." ”

Major Cussen frowned: "The current graduates...... Alas. Times are really different. ”

Soleton pretended not to hear the chief's complaints—he didn't want to add more flaws. In retrospect, in his eighteen years of life, he didn't even know that a firebird could cook directly by striking a fire bag......

That's because both nuns and Danica are vehemently opposed to this "barbarian" approach. Every year on Advent Day, even if the financial situation of the welfare home allows, they can only eat the firebird that is roasted according to the usual practice.

Thinking of this, a strong sense of homesickness came to the boy's heart.

He wanted to go home.

I don't know how my family is doing, maybe I should send a letter back...... What else would they do if they thought he was dead?

"If it's true, I wonder if Danika will shed tears for me?"

For some reason, when he thought of this section, his mood was actually better.

*** ***

At this time, Danica, Viren and her tired friends—

He was driving his mount, which was about to foam at the mouth.

There are still one hundred and five kilometers left, and it is estimated that there will definitely be no roasted firebird for dinner.