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8 August 1666 (MDay+129)

Lenny Central District 1

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Lenny's central division is not divided into east, west, north and south. It has only one shining name, and that is District 1. On top of its decorative walls, battle flags with large swords fluttered.

As soon as Captain Namen Soleton saw the flag, he ran to their commander and asked for three companies and a pile of magical items and supplies for underground warfare from an acquaintance, General McCash. The Seventh National Division was a reserve force that had been pulled up temporarily, but all three companies had participated in underground waterway sweeping operations in the previous weeks and were relatively experienced.

He gathered the three companies together and a company from the 3rd Division, where Teacher Zalter was located, and assigned the task.

"I hope you will be able to guard the area around the Central Library and the Federal Museum, and if anything happens to them, you will be able to support them as soon as possible. This area is dotted with abandoned tunnels, and while the odds are low, we can't underestimate the enemy's capabilities. Each company set up a platoon to guard the entrances and exits of the library and the museum, and explained to the librarians that if there was any anomaly – any anomaly, any anomaly – any abnormality – would be investigated with the security teams of the two museums. ”

Sounds a very reasonable command.

"All carry out the order. I myself will seek permission from the top management of the two museums to investigate the defense of the rare book vault deep underground. You go to the museum, and if you find that the defensive magic has been broken, don't act, come and let me know. ”

After giving the order, Naimon turned and walked into the Central Library. The former Grand Duke of Lenny ruled the southern part of the empire for hundreds of years, and successive generations of nobles built their most luxurious mansions here. All the buildings near the central square in the 1st arrondissement of Lenny were once the royal gardens of the Duke's family, and the central library is also full of extravagant reliefs and frescoes. The flames of the revolution burned the main building of the Duke's mansion to the ground, and the burned remains were transformed into a square for free citizens, leaving only a few annexes to proclaim the glory of the aristocratic era.

He raised his head and stared at the elven-style fantasy paintings on the ceiling, waiting for the librarian to deliver the cellar key and the highest privilege badge.

He was familiar with the building, where he had spent almost his entire teenage years. Here he and Danica read voraciously, studied, studied, studied science and magic, studied history and literature. Both he and she believe in their own talents, both believe that they will one day win a scholarship with their own strength, and both believe that they can get a license from the Mage Guild with their hard work, become a real Mage of the Guild, and live in this country on their own.

Depending on his abilities, he may not have the opportunity to own his own research room or mage tower, nor will he get a waiver or a seat on the council, but he should be able to get a VIP pass to enter the Rare Book Library......

"This is your VIP badge, Your Excellency. ”

Naimon took the keychain and VIP badge from the female librarian and hung it on his armed belt. The reading card in his hand is an inconspicuous black color, but it symbolizes the right to enter the rare book library. Normally, it would take more than twenty years of hard work to get this badge, and even Zalt Fran failed to pass the test, but today Naimon was able to get it by virtue of his rank.

He had been here many, many times, but he had rarely seen a female librarian. With a population of only 500,000, Lenni had mobilized more than ten divisions for the war, and the librarians had been requisitioned. In this day and age, real librarians are people who have gone through many years of further education and are deeply educated. Most of them were magicians, and it was not easy to fool them by fighting to preserve their knowledge, but it was not difficult to fool the girls who temporarily replaced them.

"They're not real librarians after all...... If I can get in, Danika should be able to. ”

Naimon walked up the spiral staircase to the deepest part of the ground. The basement floor, mostly used as a servant's room and is now the office of the library staff. The second basement floor was a normal storage room, and it still is. He went to the third basement level, and in the dungeon of the former duke, the crystallization of six hundred years of civilization was now buried. Buildings used to defend against prisoners can of course also be used to protect property.

Standing in front of the sealed door, he held up his VIP card and read out the starting words: "As a VIP of the Great Library, I order this door to be opened for me." ”

No response. Sensing something was wrong, he quickly stepped forward and pushed it, and the door opened as if there was no magic protection, and the original protective magic had been forcibly dispersed.

Naimon snapped his fingers and pressed his hand to the gun at his waist: "It seems that this is it." We seem to think about the same thing, Danica?"

Instead of rushing into the depths, he stopped, ran his fingers across his chest, and began to chant incantations that would allow his eyes to recognize the presence of magic. The sixth, seventh, and eighth rare books, he discerned the extent to which defensive magic had been destroyed. Although it was disguised, there were still traces of damage to more than one iron gate. Obviously, the intruder doesn't have enough mana to restore all the defensive magic, and she doesn't need to cover up all the crime scenes.

"Later rare book repositories were not in use during the First Party system, when they were just empty cells. Very accurate judgment. All the way up to the thirteenth rare library, her defensive magic was destroyed, and according to the usual logic, she could only advance as far as the thirteenth library—"

Naimon stopped in front of the 10th Rare Book Library.

"But if it were me, I'd go one step further and destroy the defensive magic of two or three more stacks. So, the correct answer is either ten or eleven. ”

He stepped inside. The shelves are filled with rare books, about half of which are magic books of all kinds. Resisting the urge to flip through the pages, Naimon began to knock on the floor piece by piece, pulling the books on the shelves and pressing the lighting magic stones around him.

But this time he miscalculated. He spent an entire hour, knocking on the floors and wall panels of the 10th and 11th stacks, one by one, but found nothing out of the ordeal. He refused to admit defeat, did not even eat lunch, and spent another three hours, knocking on all the floors from the sixth to the thirteenth rare book library, and there was no unusual response.

"It can't be. I've knocked on all eight rooms, and there's no response, no secret passages. All the floors reverberate, they sound just as ...... as the others."

The sound of artillery outside was getting tighter and closer. He sat feebly against the wall, wondering what had gone wrong. Denika was only two hours ahead of him, and there was no way she would have had time to set a false goal here and then move elsewhere.

"It must be here!But where the hell is the entrance? Where am I worse than her? Something I haven't noticed-"

Yes. He snapped back to the fact that there was a hole in his reasoning that he hadn't noticed.

"Take the soil. Large-scale excavation of the soil. There's no way they're digging tunnels out of these narrow rare book vaults, so the actual tunnel opening is—"

Naimon hurried out of the rare book library and into the hallway. He stomped the floor of the hallway, and the echo was the same as that of the floor in the rare book inventory.

"It was impossible for them to dig the floor under those cells to make it easier to get the soil. The excavation started directly from the corridor! Underneath the corridor was the Imperial Gold Tunnel! She found this when she drove to the thirteenth vault, and I was misled by her and wasted four hours here!"

Naimon briskly ran to the end of the hallway, blasting the floor tiles open with his magic. Below is a slope made of mud, which continues downwards and extends deeper than the sewers. Eighty years of soil and cracks made the tunnels look dangerous, but he noticed that someone had turned up new soil with fresh footprints on it.

The rancid smell came from the depths, and he pulled out a bottle of free-breathing potion and drank it. The illuminated crystal rods are attached to the outside of the arms and the outside of the ankles, so that in the event of a sneak attack, the head can be safeguarded on the one hand, and on the other hand, all light sources will not be lost due to a single attack. Then he began to think about which path he should take.

Unlike Lennie's underground waterways, the tunnels dug to dig for the gold were very chaotic. The tunnels are of different widths, the bends are not at right angles, and the pits are not supported and cannot communicate with each other. For Danica, it's simple, she just needs to choose a direction and keep digging, but for Naimon, who is tracking, he has to guess the direction Danika chooses to have a chance to catch up with the six-hour gap.

The glimmer of the light rod reflected the undulating pit beneath his feet. He paused and pondered carefully, which path would she choose?

At that moment, he suddenly felt a wind sweeping by his side. The gust of wind flickered, and the air in the tunnel returned to its usual solemnity. If he hadn't stopped, he wouldn't have felt this subtle gust of wind.

"Is it a delusion?"

Naymen Soleton waited patiently. After about ten seconds, another gust of wind passed him.

"Not a delusion. The air inside the pit is moving. There's only one thing that makes the air flow...... Magic. ”

He walked briskly to the next fork in the road, paused and waited for the wind to show him the way. He drew arrows on the ground with phosphor to prevent himself from getting lost in the passage.

Northward. Northward. East. Northward. Northward. to the northwest.

The tunnels around it are getting wider and wider, and the remains of decayed wooden tracks can be seen.

Northward. Northward. to the northeast. East.

The tunnel is skewed downwards and gets deeper and deeper.

The wind seemed to get stronger and stronger. He hid two light sticks.

Northward. Northward. Northward.

The pit was raised, quickly lifted, and the collapsing slope blocked the way.

Naimon took out the digging shovel he brought, dug a foothold on the slope, and climbed up the slope. With the glimmer of light, he found more places to stay, and it certainly took no more than two hours to dig out.

Then he finds himself in a ridiculously large cavern that looks like an underground camp for laborers during the excavation. The dim light of the sky was falling from above, and the roar of artillery shelling outside could be heard, but it was not as dense as before. It was already evening.

Under the twilight of dusk, a lonely figure stood there.

Beneath her feet were crumbling rocks and debris of dirt, which had been piled up into a mountain of dirt. The top of the hill is flat and has obviously been artificially reinforced.

Her boots rhythmically stepped on a circle of light blue light at the top of the garbage mountain, as if dancing on it. Every time she stepped into the magic circle, the wind would blow past her, alternately renewing the air in the tunnel.

She hummed softly as she manipulated the magic array. The song seems to be improvised, and the rhythm is wonderfully in tune with her steps.

"Danica?"

Naimon called out to her.

"You came at last. Danika Viren jumped down from the circle, "You're late, Soleton, I thought you'd be sooner." You're alone?"

Naimon nodded: "Alone." I'm not here to kill you. ”

"Do you have anything to say? I thought you had all you had to say, Soleton. Danica shrugged, "Say, what new reason did you think of to persuade me?"

"The war is coming to an end......"

Before Nemen could continue, Danica interjected impatiently, "If you're going to suggest that I go back to the orphanage to avoid Klad's bastard's wanted warrant until the war is over, save it." I—never—will not—agree! I will never accept this mercy, it is the reward I deserve for what I have done! Not to mention that the victory is still not decided, even if the real Imperial army is defeated, I would rather flee to the New World and become a free mage like Miss Helmont than go back to the bastard's wing and beg in agony!"

This series of bead-spewed magical words hit Namen's entire persuasion plan completely, and he almost bit his tongue off. Just as he knew Denika very, very well, Denika knew him very, very well. This kind of persuasive rhetoric cannot be effective. He had to change his approach.

Then he said:

"Let's elope, Danica. ”

It's like dropping a big stone into a calm pond—

That's how it works.

"Let's elope, Danica. Let's elope. Let's elope. Elope. ”

The words echoed in Denica's ears like a mantra. The hand that was playing with his gun shook, the trigger flashed, and a silver bullet shot out, crashing into the ruins of the mountain.

Her breath became short: "You say it again?"

Naimon lowered his head and repeated it intermittently: "I say...... Let's elope, Danica. ”

"When you say elopement, you're talking about 'men and women fleeing together for love', right?"

"Hmm. ”

"Don't you think you're missing something before you speak?"

"What's missing? Is there any special ritual needed for the elopement of the Empire, Duchess von Figota? I don't think I've seen any of that......"

Danika put the gun back on her belt, took two steps forward angrily, grabbed the collar of Naymen Soleton's military uniform, and pulled down hard: "Love, stupid!

Naimon was confused again: "What kind of ...... do you want for love?"

His eyes met hers. Danica's gaze was sharp and sharp—she was anxiously waiting. There is only one answer.

"I like you—"

"That's enough. Danika reached out her other hand, grabbed the other half of his collar, pulled it down, looked up and kissed it, and broke him with her tongue.

Naimon's arms stiffened. He reacted awkwardly, waving his arms blindly for almost half a minute before mechanically taking the opposite sex in front of him into his arms. Thankfully, the kiss continued.

That deep kiss was long, long, like it was going to last until the end of the war.

All the shelling fell silent, leaving him and her to kiss passionately.

Of course, it's all the fault of free breathing magic and potions. Both he and she can breathe through their skin, and it doesn't matter how long this deep kiss is. Ordinary people would have been suffocated to death, but magicians could keep the kiss going on and on until both minds went blank.

Neither Danika nor Naimon knew when the kiss ended. When he and she regained consciousness, Naimon found that the collar of his uniform had been ripped off, and Danika found herself clutching half of the epaulette in her right hand. Her face turned red and she hurriedly handed the epaulettes back to Naimen.

Naimon took the epaulettes, but did not rush to put them on, but silently held her hand.

Danika's shoulders shook a little, but she didn't break away.

He said, "Let's go, get out of the city." ”

She retorted, "Now, are you really so free-spirited, 'Excellence Chapter'?"

"I didn't earn that medal in the first place. Naimon touched the large medal on his chest with his other hand, "In the beginning, I was not a real free soldier in the first place, and you were not a real imperial nobleman, this is not our war, it doesn't matter who wins or loses. Like you said, we can escape to the New World, become plantation owners, become free mages, and bring civilization to the barbarians and dwarves there. Let's go. ”

Danica chuckled softly, "Oh no, I don't want to start a plantation. Picking cotton or something, it's not something I want to do. ”

Naimon raised his head and looked at the top of the cave: "We don't have to go to the New World, either. We can go to Interre, we can go to Murrayman, and do the Oriental trade. We can also go to the distant eastern empires, be explorers, and venture out in strange lands. The world is big, really big. ”

"You haven't figured it out. What you think is good, good, right, right is not necessarily what others want. You want a peaceful life, but I don't. Here's our essential difference, Soleton. ”

"Where's the peace? Aren't we going to take the risk of eloping, Danica?"

"Who said we were going to elope?"

Naimon was stunned: "But, that kiss ......"

"That's just a confession to you, and a reward for saving my life before. One of the Figota family's mottos is to repay kindness. Miss Duchess von Figota laughed, "And, I know you're sincere, but not the only one. If, I mean, it was Anne Seffier in this case, you'd confess the same. ”

"I won't. Naimon hurriedly denied it. But he couldn't help himself with the thought of Anne's face.

"You said you were going to leave everything behind and get out of here with me. But if you run into Anne under siege by Imperial forces on the road, do you dare say you won't save her?"

Naimon was speechless for a while. He'll go, even if his combat power is meaningless. He defended weakly, "Anne is a magician who is not weaker than you. She's not going to be trapped. ”

"Enough, don't argue. You like me, but you like her too. You know, I was in the welfare home last night. Danika lowered her tone, "Teacher Fran can see it, Sister can see it, I can see it, I guess Anne she can see it too." You like her, don't deny it. Although I don't know yet if she really likes you, at least she doesn't hate you. ”

"Do you hate me?"

"I like you, but I hate injustice. If I elope with you here, it's an injustice. I don't want to be that kind of woman. ”

Danika slowly turned around and slowly withdrew her hand from his palm.

"I'll get straight to the point. I like you. You like me too. However, I will not choose to elope with you now. My answer was, 'I'm sorry.'" At least, it's 'sorry' for now. ”

Naimon grabbed her hand back hard: "But the war is coming to an end! Maybe it will be a long time before we have the chance to meet again! Do you think when I will get a different answer?"

Denika's tone became a little melancholy: "When you know what you want to do, I may choose you." I know that maybe then you won't need my answer...... However, for now the answer can only be 'I'm sorry'. ”

This time, she withdrew her hand firmly and decisively.

"I'm not one of those women who talk about a sense of security or something, I don't need a false sense of security, or a false escape. ”

"I'm not running away. ”

"Really? Do you really know what you want, Soleton? What you think is good, good, right, right, is just something that someone else has instilled in you. That's the life that Lennie wants, the life that nuns and teachers want. But do you really know what you want?"

Naimon's tone grew weaker and weaker: "I know ......"

"You don't know. You don't really want to take the risk, you only say that because I said I want to get out of here. You can blend in with the Free Army, you can blend in with merit, and you'll continue to blend in with the city after the war is over. Ninety-nine percent of people will live like this. But I won't. ”

Danika raised her head. Naimon could feel the magic surging in her.

"What Danika López can do, Danica Soleton can't. What Danika Viren von Figota could do, Danica Soleton couldn't do. You are inviting me to be a much more pathetic person than I am now, please forgive me for refusing...... Ah, Soleton, I'm not belittling you, I just don't think you've found your purpose yet......"

The more you smear, the darker it gets. Namen Soleton's face had turned blue.

What is more terrible than debasement is the truth. He didn't even know how to continue talking.

Fortunately, the shelling resumed at this time. However, the shelling may sound a little too close......

Hearing this low roar, Danica's face changed: "It's too late to get out of here!"

"What did you say?" Naimon was stunned, "I'm leaving? no! I'm not going to give up yours!"

"Do you think I'm here to dig a secret tunnel? Do you know why the artillery fire was so dense yesterday and today? What do you think I'm doing here all the time?"

Naimon is not stupid. Hearing such a prompt, he immediately understood, and his face turned pale.

"Do you have someone answered?!"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw another ruined mountain at the end of the cave shaking slightly.

"And it's not just about answering. Danica shook off the other's hand and lowered her voice, "Fortification magic! It's less than fifty meters! Run, right now!"

Soleton gritted his teeth and ventured to ask, "Is this the real reason?"

Danika turned her face to the side, not wanting him to see it, "I don't know either." Let's go. ”

He didn't say anything more, turned around and ran. He ran all the way around the corner, up the slope he had left on, when he suddenly stopped and began to walk in place, consciously getting lighter and lighter. After that, he crept back and hid in the shadows in the corner.

He is not in a hurry to leave, because the trump card in his hand has not yet been turned over.

Each of the four companies on standby near the library was involved in a groundwater sweeping operation last month. In this narrow passage, even if there were dozens of Imperial knights and magicians on the enemy side, they might not be the opponents of these soldiers who were familiar with sewer warfare.

He tore open the magic scroll he had with him, and released an invisible probing eye that spied on the hall where Danika was.

"How many people will Duke Figota put in to pick her up......"

With the last magic of the fortifications, the earthen wall shattered.

"Miss Duchess von Figota!

In an instant, in the entire tunnel, the family crests of the major nobles shone brightly, illuminating this dark passage as if it were day. The crowd poured through the narrow tunnel, rushed into the hall, and then clamored against the wall in two rows, flashing a path for those behind. Almost everyone is adorned with their own family coat of arms and coats of arms.

"The Five Dukes' Family...... Sixteen Marquises...... Twelve bishoprics...... Eight Association Chapters...... Hero of the Order of the Empire...... Medal of Merit of the First Class...... Royal Guard Knights ......"

The more he recognized, the more frightened he became. He had only counted to one hundred and fifty, and almost all of the identifying symbols representing the empire had appeared. Who is qualified to lead such an army, and who can make way for such a receiving detachment?

"Her titular father, Duke von Figota, won't come personally, will he?"

Immediately afterward, he saw the answer. Passing through the procession was a tall and strong old man with a majestic appearance. His armor looked very old, and it was engraved with the coat of arms of the Figota family.

Naimon held his breath completely.

"O gods. That man...... That guy really ...... It can only be ......"

Danicka Viren von Figota's stepfather, Duke Loren von Figota.

"The Imperial Minister of War......"

What surprised him even more was yet to come. The old Duke of Loren walked past the queue of nearly two hundred people, but stopped at the end of the queue and turned sideways.

Who told the Minister of War to give way too? So, the cripple who followed him was—

"The Cripple Emperor of the Holy Empire, Gustavus Hugh Kerman. ”

Naimon subconsciously repeated the name, carefully looking at the person who might be the emperor.

The man was not very old, with deep lines on his face and a cold and resolute expression. The scepter he held in his hand was long, and as he advanced, it struck the ground with a rhythmic snapping sound. For some reason, when he stared at the figure of the emperor, he gradually ignored the lame leg. To this man, lameness seemed like an unimportant feature. The emperor's firm will gave the impression of being far above his lame leg.

It was a man worthy of the title of "Emperor".

Emperor Gustav stopped in front of Danica. He got down on one knee and kissed her hand.

Through the Eye of Probing, Naimon could hear the Emperor's speech.

His Majesty Gustav said: "On behalf of the Empire, I thank you for your contribution to the Empire, Miss Duchess von Figota. ”

He should have thought of it a long time ago. How could the Emperor be content to fill the walls with his own lives? Lenny's defenses were so strong, and the defenders were so numerous! If the Imperial Army had a steady stream of backups, they could have besieged the city without attacking, but now......

"The emperor wants to smash the country from within. What a ruthless determination, such a terrible courage!"

This is the direction of the Empire's general attack. In this ironically named "Imperial Gold Tunnel", for the first time in history, the Imperials came.

Everyone knows that the Imperial Army is at the end of its rope. In the vast sea where the Free Army has mobilized again and again, the Imperial Army, which is running out of food and grass, has no way out. And here, it was the last gamble of the Imperial Army, and the shelling outside was just a trick.

"I can't take the shells with me anyway", someone in the Imperial General Staff must have said so.

Then, Denika gives them the way from within.

That's why the Imperial Army organized such a large-scale siege battle to disperse the defenses of the Free Army. So, they organized such a massive artillery bombardment to drown out the sound of the progress of the magic of the underground fortifications.

Nearly 100,000 troops were scattered across the third and fourth walls, while in the first and second districts there was only one multi-militia division. This is exactly their best prey.

Although the first batch of attackers was only more than 200 people, with the elite level of more than 200 people, they had a chance of winning. Except for the detachment sent to Jena, almost all the elite of the besieging force are here.

That's the real reason why Danica didn't want to leave: from the beginning, she had no way back. But ......"

Naimon didn't want to look any further. He spun around lightly, leaving the path he had come from, erasing everything that looked like a waymarker. Danika probably kept a copy as well, and he found some of them.

This is a truly worthy merit of the Order of Excellence.

Thinking of this, his legs began to tremble. Although shivering, he ran faster.

"Lennie's Savior", no, "Savior of a Free Nation".

"It's not bad to make that title real, right? yes, that's what I want to do. ”

He had four companies. If necessary, he can mobilize one or two militia divisions.

"Go outside the library. Set up a formation in the square. I can't risk burning down the library, but even in the open space, I have a chance to ......"

The pace picked up again. He struggled to run over the pit, over the slopes, and over the ruins. It's not time for a clean-up operation.

To the south. To the south. To the south. To the south!

He was able to kill the Emperor on Freedom Square. He can separate the light from the dark, and he can end this war.

On this fateful night.

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