IX

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On the morning of August 8, 1666 (MDay+129).

Lennie

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The curfew is over. In normal times, church bells throughout the city would announce the time, but now only the rumbling of cannons remains.

Captain Namen Soleton came out of headquarters and walked along the northern edge of the second wall, carefully avoiding the shelling zone, and confronting each passing patrol.

After passing through a quarter of the city, he left the second district through the east gate and returned to the familiar east third district.

Each of Lenni's walls was divided into a district, and the city was divided into different administrative divisions according to the four directions of east, west, south, and north and the five walls. The area from wall 1 to wall 2 is called zone 2, the area from wall 2 to wall 3 is called zone 3, the area from wall 3 to wall 4 is called zone 4, and so on. The southern foot of the city is close to the river Metbysi, so that the southern district is up to the southern third district, and the fourth and fifth walls are only as far as the river.

St. Grace's Welfare House is still located in the same location in the East 3rd District, but the nearby streets are lined with sandbags and bricks. The shooting holes and traps on the walls of all the houses have been opened, and the magic traps have been re-erected.

He remembered that he had returned with Anne Seffel in a cab last time, and that now, even if he searched all over Lennie, he couldn't find a single cab. All the horses were requisitioned by the military to provide transportation for the fierce defense of the city.

As he approached the home, his pace became slower and slower: the surrounding streets seemed familiar and unfamiliar, most of the shops and mansions had changed signs and name plates, and many of the doors had signs reading "For Sale" or "Relocation". It's still Lennie, but it's not the Lennie he knows. The months since the war began, it seemed that more had changed than all the changes in his memory of more than a decade combined.

He stood at the door, and did not knock on the door. It was quiet, probably because the children hadn't gotten up yet.

“...... I am back. Naimon said to himself in a deep voice that no one could hear.

This is his home. Home is a place you can come back to at any time. It's just that when a man wanders outside and accomplishes nothing, he usually doesn't want to return to his hometown. Silent nostalgia is like frost, entwined and easy to dissolve.

He scratched his head, trying to find a poem from memory, but unfortunately he was only a lame magician, not a poet yet.

"I'm back," said the captain at last, reaching out, knocking on the nail, and raising his voice, "is anyone there?"

He wasn't surprised that no one answered. It's wartime, and the Empire's artillery is set up just outside the fourth wall, and cannonballs that don't have long eyes can fall on them at any time. Besides, the orphanage was not to be locked, and no thief had ever been interested in visiting such a place—except for the amateur thieves who lived there. Thinking so, he couldn't help but rub his fingers a few times.

The chapel was still the same as before, and Sister Viren would only wipe what she could reach, and the places above her eyes were covered with a thick layer of dust. Soleton walked through the door and heard the nun praying in the morning. He silently laid down his bags on the last row of benches and listened to Sister Vilentina's prayers.

"I believe in the coexistence of the gods, in understanding one another, and in the covenant of faith and righteousness. I believe that man has free will, and that everyone is the interpreter and executor of the will of the gods. May the gods bless us that we may win peace. ”

The nun's back looked so thin - how could he not have noticed it before?

"May the gods bless Zart Fran on his safe return. May the gods bless the children who go to Interlite to grow up safely. May the gods bless Danika on a smooth journey and find a good man worthy of her. And also...... May the gods bless Soleton to be discharged from the army with his wife. ”

Hearing the last prayer, Naimon fell from his chair.

"Wife, wife, what's the matter, nun!"

Sister Viren turned, looked at Soleton unsurprised, and walked over to pick up his bag—as casually as if he had just gone out in the morning to buy something to carry back.

Namen took a deep breath, dusted off the dirt from his uniform, and bowed his head and replied, "I'm back, nun." ”

"Welcome back. The nun said, "What do you want for breakfast?"

The boy recalled the unpalatable porridge and multigrain bread, and nodded: "It's the same." ”

"It's not the same, there are too few people living these days, too lazy to use the stove. But I went out to eat last night, and I came back from packing, do you want to eat?"

"You're welcome. Naimon added, "Since you've already ordered leftovers, there's no need to ask!"

Sister Viren laughed, "That being said, I've been asking you every night before. No one has asked these days, and I'm really not used to it. ”

The nun threw his bag on the altar and, whistling softly, made her way to the kitchen, with Naimon following her. Yesterday's leftovers were packed in wooden boxes and placed on two large pieces of ice. Lenny can't buy ice now, but Sister Vilentina has a nice magician by her side, and she's always used Zalt Fran's magic to save the food she can't eat. The nun took the dish out of the wooden box, half a pork knuckle and two and a half steaks—a meal outrageously gorgeous by the standards of a Free Army captain.

Seeing the very elaborate wooden box, Naimon's fists clenched. He knew he had hit the mark: Danika was someone who, like him, would run home. He asked casually, "This restaurant looks good, did you have any guests yesterday?"

Sister Vilentina's gaze glanced at her with disdain. "Your Anne came to my dinner last night and left in a hurry. Even if it's a war, it's too rushed, isn't it? You two get along well, right?"

"Hmm...... Yes...... Probably fine. ”

Naimon casually dealt with the nun, thinking. It's already obvious: Danika uses disguise magic to disguise herself as Annie and comes back.

It is very difficult to completely turn a mage into a different person, and usually they don't dare to use it, it is too easy to debunk. But the situation of Danika and Anne is different. They are friends and can't go wrong in basic responses. Of course, they also had plenty of magic materials, and it was a fashion for female mages to often swap hair as a souvenir of their friendship - well, let alone them, even he himself secretly hid their hair in the spell material bag, ready for the emergency. His collection of women's hair is not as large as that of men, but it is also very significant in quantity......

Thinking of this, Naimon suddenly found himself distracted, shook his head vigorously, and began to analyze again.

"Last night, she was ten hours ahead of me. Moreover, she is now the hero of the Free Army, 'Lieutenant Anne Sefir,' and even my closest colleagues will not be able to see through her except me. She also got a full set of access codes and could go anywhere except that she couldn't go out of town. If I were her, which way would I go?"

He was too focused on his thoughts, and he didn't pay attention to the nun's rambling.

"I gave her the brooch I had made four years ago, the one with turquoise and red crystal. She was very polite at first, pushing and procrastinating in every possible way, and finally she had to accept it. After taking it, she fidgeted, and after a quarter of an hour she hurriedly took her leave. There's really nothing wrong with you and her, do you? I still expect this good girl to be your wife. ”

"What the hell, nun, don't guess. ”

Naimon coped, glancing at the nun's movements out of the corner of his eye. Sister Villatina divides the pork knuckle into three portions and places them on three plates.

Three plates. He thought that the first way was to go out of the city in the free army to carry out a counteroffensive, the second way was to cooperate with the Imperial attacking forces, and the third way was to find a secret passage to sneak out of the city......

Sister Viren began to cut the steak into small pieces again and fry them in the pan: "By the way, you go and wake up Danica." This girl is so old, she is still in bed, I really don't know what kind of life she lives outside. ”

Naimon fell from his chair again.

"What's the matter with Dai, Danica coming back, nun!"

"Ah, didn't I just say that? Your Annie was gone for less than an hour, and she came back in a hurry. It just so happened that I cleaned up her room, which I wanted for Anne to live in, and it was just right for her to live for herself. ”

The thought of "is Anne really back" flashed through Soleton's mind, but he immediately dismissed the possibility. An hour was too short for Sister Viren to believe such a thing.

"Then I'll call her. ”

Naimon ate his share of food in two bites, secretly picked up the pistol and spell material bag that was placed aside, and walked out the door. He reloaded his gun with bullets as he mentally reconstructed Danica's actions from the previous night.

"It's understandable to have a night's rest, and it's important to recuperate. But why did she have to come back in her own capacity? first she returned home in the form of Anne, and then she was warmly received by the nun. Then she took the brooch and took her leave. She probably wandered outside for a while, then dissolved the transformation magic, and returned to the nun with her true identity, and lived in the room that was originally prepared for herself......"

He stopped in front of Danica's room and gently pushed the door open with his left hand, revealing a crack. It was dark in the room, and there seemed to be someone on the bed.

"Isn't that completely illogical. It's incomprehensible!"

He kicked the door open and rushed in, slamming the vertigo technique he had prepared with his right hand on the bed.

The empty quilt collapsed. Naimon jerked around, drew his gun, and pointed it in the opposite direction. Again, no one. He shrugged his shoulders, muttered "so it was," and lifted the covers.

There was only a red lieutenant's uniform of the Free Army Interre.

"She doesn't need to be an officer anymore? ”

Naimon picked up the uniform and shook his pockets. A small black box jumped out of the jacket pocket and fell on the bed. He guessed it was the brooch that the nun wanted to give Anne, but for some reason, Danika didn't take it.

"Excuse me, or ......"

He picked up the box and opened it. To his surprise, the box was empty, and there was only a gap where the ornaments were supposed to be inserted.

"Danika left the box and military uniform, but took the brooch with her...... Great, she hasn't completely given up on her memories. ”

Naimon was rejoicing when a small ball of paper suddenly slipped from between his fingers.

Curious, he picked it up, and the brooch was wrapped in a ball of paper. The paper reads "For Anne Seffir", which is the nun's handwriting, and the ink is still very new. There were marks of fingernails on the paper, and the brooch was pinned to it. He looked around the room, as if there were no more traces of her.

This is a very clear statement. Naimon could imagine Danika taking the brooch out of the house and running back with her teeth gritted.

"Damn. Is she going to be completely cut off from her past?" Naimon thought to herself as she lay down on Denica's bed, "she's not going to be in the Free Army." But will she choose to wait for her chance, or go the secret route?"

Sister Viren's voice came from the door of the room, "If you want someone to help you chase Danica, Zart is also in the army now. He worked as a volunteer mage in the Third National Division, and was on duty at the East Second Wall during the day. ”

Naimon panicked and pushed the uniform to the side and bounced off the bed.

"I know she's not on the same side as you. You must think that you alone can stop her, and you alone can save her from the inevitable tragic end, right?"

Naimon heard the sarcasm in the remark, but nodded anyway. "The war is coming to an end. She's still there, and she could be affected. ”

The nun smiled, "But that's what she's running away from herself...... Forget it, men think so. Go, go chase her back. ”

"Then I'm leaving. Third National Guard Division, 'double-edged sword', right?"

"Have a nice trip. If you find that things are different from what you think, you have to learn to give up when the time is right, and when the time comes when you have to make a choice, you must know which ...... you want to choose."

Sister Viren wanted to preach further, but Naimon had already taken her bags and hurried away. She looked at the young man's back, smiled wryly and shook her head.

“...... And women are sometimes very stubborn. Forget it, it's useless to say it. Let the young people handle it themselves. ”

"Danika was supposed to leave in the morning, and I was three hours behind her. ”

Coming out of the welfare home, Captain Naymen Soleton did not rush to find his teacher, but returned to the second wall to survey the current battle situation. The medal for outstanding contribution that he just received is his best pass.

After the siege of the Imperial Army began, Lenny alone recruited two regular divisions and nine militia divisions, concentrating a huge force of more than 100,000 men in and around these five walls. If you don't consider the quality, in terms of quantity, there are more Free Army in the city than the Imperial Army attacking outside the city.

His teacher, Zalt Fran, a mid-level mage with official qualifications for the Mage's Guild, and a naturalized man who had fled south from the north, naturally received an order to recruit mages to join the army.

The Third "Double-edged Sword" National Guard Division was originally the reserve unit of the Interland Army, which had the strongest combat effectiveness among the armies of the republics. Being able to receive an invitation from this militia division also indirectly proves Zart's strength.

"I am Captain Namen Soleton, a member of the Western General Army, and an operational staff officer of the Jena Army. I would like to meet one of your division's volunteer mages named Zart Fran. ”

"It is an honor to take your orders, Captain. Chief Fran then arrived. ”

While waiting for the notice, the overly young captain stood on the second highest wall, looking at his battle map, overlooking three-quarters of Lennie.

Lenny, the capital of the Free Nations, his homeland, the third most populous city in the world, is an impregnable wall on the north bank of the Metrebisi River.

For those who are not familiar with the art of fortification, it is difficult to see where the dividing line between these two walls is. Unlike the ring roads or moats that are clearly separated on modern city maps of later generations, the second and third walls of Lenny are a single unit. Rather than two walls, it is a semicircular area with a large number of fortified houses.

The war of freedom between the North and the South has been going on for more than a hundred years. Over the course of more than a hundred years, zigzag-shaped, staggered walls have been built on this fertile land, constituting the landscapes necessary for grand narratives.

The first and second walls were built during the Holy Empire era, while the third was built in the early days of the Freedom War. The second wall is tall and steep, and the third wall is heavy and thick. Rather than ordinary streets and houses, there was a complex defensive system of moats, aqueducts, bastions, and bunkers, and almost every house was renovated and built with the approval of the Free Army's construction specialists. Every improvement in the design of the barricade defense system was bought back with blood, and after four wars of freedom, more than 700,000 citizens of Lennie alone died, and monuments to their martyrs were piled up in three cathedrals.

Naimon pulled out a map of Lenny, which only staff officers had the right to hold, and compared it with the actual scene. At least 400 hidden fortification spells are marked on the map, which can be activated by every Free Army lieutenant. In order to prevent leaks, the defensive magic table on each map is different, and the total number of magic hidden in the streets may exceed two thousand. Now these spells and traps are all ready to go.

"That thick book is a second-level map, right? We volunteers don't have such a thing. The logistics department only does a good job of managing food, and the rest is simply planning to use us folk mages as cannon fodder. ”

Zart Fran's familiar baritone voice came from behind him.

Soleton turned around and saw his teacher. To his surprise, in the weeks of the siege, Zalte Fran's face seemed to be better, and he didn't look like the kind store manager he used to be, but more like a real mage than Naimon himself. The unruly middle-aged man waved his wrist in front of his forehead, and the right was a military salute. Seeing that the middle-aged man only had a lieutenant medal on his shoulder, Naimen just bowed slightly and returned the salute.

"Long time no see, teacher. ”

Zalte stared at Namen's epaulettes and quipped, "Your rank is higher than mine, Your Excellency Captain Soleton." Under the orders of Field Marshal Fawkes, the entire Lenny Army is learning from your brave deeds. Gods, that's a real chapter of excellence, and there are still a few pieces of this war that haven't been sent out yet. ”

Namon looked around. No one else was around, but he still lowered his voice: "Teacher, that hero...... Actually, it's not me. I don't have any memory of it. ”

Zart frowned, found a clean place to sit on the parapet of the wall, and asked in the same low voice, "What?

Naimon combed through everything and became clearer: "It's Danica who pushed me to credit." In order to disrupt the communication between Lenny and Jena, she blew up the teleportation location. In order to ensure that the Free Army would not send men to hunt her down, she threw this credit on my head...... Now, even I can't push this medal myself. This is not only a matter of my honor, but also a matter of morale and face of the entire Free Army. And as long as I don't tell the truth, it's impossible to mobilize an army to stop her. ”

Although the narrative is very brief, Zart quickly grasps the key point: "So you come to me. In this case, it is not convenient for you to mobilize any troops, but I should have some troops at my disposal to help you. ”

Naimon nodded: "Yes." Danica: She's right. She used the chain of honor to immobilize the entire Free Army. I could only follow her on my own, and now she was about three hours ahead of me. ”

Zalte thought for a moment and asked, "You are working so hard because you want to save her before the war is over." In this way, the battle situation of the Jena army is very good. ”

"Yes. If the current situation continues, as long as Lenny can hold on for a week, the empire will not dare to invade the south for the next twenty years. ”

"I can really help you with this. Actually, you're less than three hours behind her, and she only left here two hours ago. Zart held out his hand, "Lend me your map." ”

Naimon hurriedly handed over the map. Zalte turned to the page of Lenni's full map, and saw that there was no mark on the battle since the beginning of the siege, so he took out his pen and updated the mark on it as he explained.

"First of all, see which road she might take to get out of town. On the afternoon of the 6th, the North 5th District fell. From the night of the seventh day to the early hours of the morning, the Imperial Wehrmacht expanded its gains and broke through the Eastern Fifth Sector, and in the morning, the General Headquarters was attacked by Imperial agents. After that, it was decided to withdraw from the defensive line of the Western Fifth District and burn the entire Fifth District. ”

The fire has been burning all day and has not been extinguished. The slashed gray shadow on the map has been replaced by a burning ruin in reality. But even such a brutal and decisive act could not stop the main army of the Empire, which had already counted casualties.

"There were only sporadic battles on the afternoon of the 7th. On the evening of the 7th, the engineering corps of the Principality of Soma blew up the water gate of the East Fourth Wall with ZHA medicine and broke through into the East Fourth District from the far southeast. At midnight, after six hours of fighting and armed cover, the civilian population was evacuated, and the Free Army withdrew from the eastern 4th sector, ensuring the safety of the riverbank fortress only in the area along the river. Today, that is, in the early morning of the 8th, a full-scale artillery battle broke out, and the outlying barricade area entered a fierce battle. ”

Naimon conceived in his mind a map of the arming of the movement, an essential skill for a combat staff officer. However, the picture is less rosy. He asked in surprise: "In just two days of general attack, the city wall in the northeast has already been captured twice?!"

"It's all due to the damage to the big detection net. If the big detection network was still complete, we wouldn't have lost so badly. The big guys up there......"

Naimon's face turned red. As the person who personally used the cracking bomb to defeat the large detection network, he didn't want to continue the topic. If it is seriously investigated, he bears great responsibility for this situation.

"And which way do you think she'll go?"

She knew most, if not all, of these things. Zalte looked at the map, "The West, North 4 and East 3 districts have all issued a total ban, and Danika should have been stopped when she turned back to me after going east in the morning." The two best regular divisions were concentrated in the North 4th and East 3rd Sectors, ready to strike at the siege forces assembled by the Imperial Army. ”

Naimon thought for a moment and asked again, "What about the underground sewers?"

"The underground waterway leading to the direction of the fourth district has been urgently laid last night with ZHA medicine and detection nets, which can be detonated at any time. The moat near the city walls was well-watered, and all entrances and exits were guarded by troops. She's not wearing a military uniform now, she's a supplier of magical items, and she can't get in. ”

Naimon glanced at his teacher: "Could this identity be your ......?"

Zart waved his hand and argued, "I didn't know she was so bent on escaping from the city." She came out with me this morning, saying that she had figured it out, and that she had been forgiven by you and my father, so I asked her to help me carry the potion. When she was done, she went into town. ”

"How many orders have you taken?"

"I have a quarter of the order for the Berserker Potion. The demand for explosive potions is relatively high, and I have a contract of 3,000 bottles. ”

Zart didn't seem to want to talk too much and pulled the topic back: "I can probably guess which path she'll choose in the end." As you remember, I told you that Lenny has a set of underground passageways that are not the same structure as sewers, and there are no controlled entrances and exits that can be used to escape if there is danger. ”

Naimon immediately remembered: "There is no tunnel with controlled entrances and exits...... You mean, the Imperial Gold Tunnel, but no one knows all the entrances and exits of the Gold Tunnel. ”

The Imperial Gold Tunnel is a well-known joke in the history of the government of the Republic. At the end of the Second Freedom War, there were huge differences in policy between the ruling and opposition parties in order to repay the high war debt. The ruling party has proposed raising taxes to solve the public debt problem, while the opposition parties have proposed to solve the fiscal deficit by unearthing "the hidden gold buried by the aristocracy during the Revolution." Surprisingly, the opposition party won a resounding victory in the general election, and the vigorous "Imperial Gold Excavation Project" was launched. The excavation, which lasted three years and doubled the area of sewers beneath Lenny, ultimately yielded nothing. This black history dismantled the opposition parties and shattered the first two-party system, thus bringing federal politics into its first period of chaos.

Zart drew a large circle on the map with his finger: "That's right, after seventy or eighty years of idleness, these tunnels have almost collapsed and the exits are unusable, and the Free Army also thinks that neither ordinary people nor large enemy forces can use these tunnels - but I don't remember that I have taught you two to be so useless." ”

Naimon still has a question that he hasn't figured out: "But, after digging so many tunnels back then, which entrance should I choose-"

"Think about their motivation for digging these tunnels. Where are the best chances of finding a buried entrance?"

Naimon slapped himself on the head: "I was stupid. If you want to dig up the imperial gold, you will naturally start from the Grand Duke Lunny's mansion. Lenny Grand Library. ”

He was still two hours behind. That's not enough time for Danika to clear the tunnel.

The boy hurriedly stood up and nodded in gratitude, "Thank you very much for your opinion. I set off. ”

Teacher Zalt raised his hand and stopped him: "Wait a minute. Can you lend me your medal of excellence?"

Naimon took off the medal and handed it to the teacher. Zalt Fran took out his monocle from his pocket, examined the circuits and construction, and exclaimed: "The generosity of the materials and the finesse of the structure are truly a masterpiece." It's a shame to be honest that you use it for an ordinary mage like you, but it's better to give it to a brave soldier. ”

Naimon's face turned red again: "Teacher!"

"Oh, I'm just saying that this medal is for you, and it doesn't work in its entirety. Let me try it. Zart said, plucking his iron badge from his chest, pressing his finger to a groove behind the Medal of Excellence, and chanting a spell in his mouth. A moment later, the iron emblem emitted a burst of white light, and it had already dissolved into the medal.

"I've often thought that if I were a legendary great magician, I might have been more helpful to you and Danica. However, this iron emblem should also have some role to play. Zart hung the medal back on the young captain's chest, "Strange to say, there are so many imps in this orphanage, it seems that only the two of you have a talent for magic. ”

"What is the purpose of this badge?" asked Naimon, "the effect of the Medal of Excellence is to activate extreme speed or strong defense, and this iron emblem of yours is ......"

"Don't you keep asking me why I keep the Iron Emblem and don't replace it with a more advanced magician certificate? When I was in the Empire, I was an enchanter. If you do take a fatal attack, this badge can activate absolute isolation for a period of time, and no attack can penetrate your armor. I made it for the escape from the Empire, and it's time to give it to you. ”

Naimon's eyes moistened a little: "Thank you, teacher. ”

Zalt Fran patted him on the shoulder, "Then you can go, my apprentice." Prove that you are worthy of the medal on your chest. ”

He saluted his apprentice again. This time it's serious.

Naimon Soleton exited the staircase on the other side and returned to the second wall. Further on, there is the center of Lennie. He was still two hours behind.

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