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Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Fantasy -> Butterfly in the storm Text Chapter 2 To Separate Light from Darkness (3)
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- ix
***求求***求求***求求***求求***
The morning of August 8, 1666 (mday+129)
Lenny
***求求***求求***求求***求求***
The curfew is over. Normally, church bells all over the city would announce the time, but now there is only the rumble of cannon.
Captain Neiman Soleton came out of the headquarters and walked along the northern edge of the second city wall, carefully avoiding the shelling zone, and exchanged commands with each patrol that passed by.
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 city wall in Lunni divides a district, and the entire city is divided into different administrative divisions according to the four directions of east, west, south, and north and the five city walls. The area from the first wall to the second wall is called the second area, the area from the second wall to the third wall is called the third area, the area from the third wall to the fourth wall is called the fourth area, and so on. The southern foothills of the city are close to the Metebish River, so the southern district only reaches the southern third district at most, and the fourth and fifth walls only reach the river.
St. Grace＊s Welfare Home is still located in the East Third District, but there are many more barricades made of sandbags and bricks on the nearby streets. The shooting holes and traps on the walls of all residential buildings have been opened, and the magic traps have been re-set up.
He still remembered that the last time he came back in a cab with Anne Seifer; now, even if he searched the whole Lennie, he could not find even a cab. All horses were requisitioned by the military to provide transportation capacity for the fierce defense of the city.
As he approached the orphanage, his pace became slower and slower: the surrounding streets seemed familiar yet unfamiliar, most of the shops and mansions had changed their signs and nameplates, and many had "For Sale" or "Relocation" hanging on their doors. brand. It was still Lennie here, but it was no longer the Lennie he knew. There seemed to be more changes in the past few months since the war began than in all the changes he could remember in more than ten years combined.
He stood at the door, not knocking on the door for a long time. It was quiet all around, probably because the children hadn't gotten up yet.
"I'm back." Naimen said to himself in a low voice that no one could hear.
This is his home. Home is a place you can come back to anytime. However, when a man is wandering outside and accomplishing nothing, he usually does not want to return to his hometown. Silent nostalgia is like frost, entangled yet easy to melt.
He scratched his head, trying to search for a poem that suited the occasion from his memory; unfortunately, he was just a bad magician, not a poet.
"I'm back," the captain finally stretched out his hand, knocked on the door nail, and said loudly, "Is anyone here?"
No one answered the door, which didn't surprise him. It's wartime now, and the Empire's artillery is set up outside the fourth city wall, and cannonballs without eyes may fall around you at any time. Besides, the orphanage does not need to be locked, and no thieves are ever interested in visiting such a place - except for the amateur thieves who live here. Thinking this, he couldn't help but rub his fingers a few times.
The chapel is still the same as before, Sister Willen will only wipe the places she can reach, and everything above the eyes is covered with a thick layer of dust. Soledon walked in the door just in time to hear the nuns saying morning prayers. He silently put down his luggage on the last row of benches and listened to Sister Valentina's prayer.
"I believe that the gods coexist, understand each other, perform righteousness by faith, and share an agreement. I believe that people have free will, and everyone is the interpreter and executor of the will of the gods. May the gods bless us to win peace."
The nun＊s back looks so thin - why didn＊t he notice it before?
"May the gods bless Zarte Folan's safe return. May the gods bless the children who go to Intre to grow up safely. May the gods bless Denika's journey and find a good man who is worthy of her. Man. Andmay the gods bless Solayton and his wife to retire as soon as possible."
Hearing the last prayer, Naimen fell off his chair.
"Wife, what's going on with my wife, nun!"
Sister Viren turned around, looked at Solayton without surprise, walked over and picked up his luggage - as casually as if he just went out to buy some things in the morning and carried it back.
Naimen took a deep breath, dusted off the dirt on his uniform, lowered his head and replied: "I'm back, nun."
※Welcome back,§ the nun said. ※What do you want for breakfast?§
The young man recalled the unpalatable porridge and multigrain bread, and nodded: "Just the same."
"It's not the same as usual. There are too few people living here these days, so I'm too lazy to use the stove. But we went out to eat last night, and there are some packed things back. Do you want to eat?"
"Then you're welcome." Naimen added, "Since you've already ordered the leftovers, there's no need to ask!"
Sister Willen laughed out loud: "Having said that, I used to ask you every night. No one has asked you these days. I'm really not used to it."
The nun dropped his luggage on the altar, whistled softly a hymn, and walked toward the kitchen, with Naimen following behind her. Yesterday's leftovers were packed in wooden boxes and placed on two large pieces of ice. Lennie can't buy ice now, but Sister Valentina has a good magician beside her. She has always directly used the magic power of Zalt Foran to preserve the uneaten food. The nun took the dish out of the wooden box. It was half a pork knuckle and two and a half steaks - even by the standards of a captain in the Free Army, it was an outrageously gorgeous meal.
Seeing the exquisite wooden box, Naimen clenched his fists. He knew he had a winning bet: Denica was a person who would run home just like him. He asked nonchalantly: "This hotel looks good. Were there any guests yesterday?"
Sister Valentina glanced over with disdain. "Your Annie came to my place for dinner last night and left in a hurry. Even if it was a war, it was too hasty, right? Are you two getting along well?"
"Hmmahthat's probably no problem."
Naimen dealt with the nun casually, thinking. It was already obvious: Denica used disguise magic to pretend to be Annie and came back.
Disguise magic is difficult to completely turn a magician into another real person, and usually they don't dare to use it, because it is too easy to be exposed. But things were different with Denika and Annie. They are friends to begin with and can make no mistakes in basic responses. Of course they also have sufficient magic materials. Female mages often exchange hair as a token of friendship. It is simply a fashion - well, let alone them, even he himself secretly hides it in the magic material bag. Their hair is ready for emergencies. His collection of women's hair is not as large as that of men's, but it is still quite impressive
Thinking of this, Naimen suddenly found himself distracted, shook his head vigorously, and started analyzing again.
"Last night, she was already ten hours ahead of me. Moreover, she is now the hero of the Free Army, 'Lieutenant Anne Seifer'. Apart from me, even my closest colleagues cannot see through her. She also has Once you have a full set of pass identification codes, you can go anywhere except not leaving the city. If I were her, which way would I take?"
He was too focused on thinking and didn't pay attention to the nun's more chatter.
"I gave her the brooch I had made four years ago, the one made of turquoise and red crystal. She was very polite at first and pushed her away, but in the end she had no choice but to accept it. Take it. After coming down, she became restless and left in a hurry after a quarter of an hour. There really is no problem between you and her, right? I still hope that this good girl can be your wife. "
"It's nothing, nun, please stop guessing."
Naimen dealt with it, glancing at the nun's movements from the corner of his eye. Sister Valentina divided the roasted pork knuckle into three portions and placed them on three plates.
Three plates. He thought that the first way was to mix with the Free Army and go out of the city to carry out a counterattack, the second way was to cooperate with the imperial offensive forces inside and outside, and the third way was to find a secret passage to sneak out of the city. If it were him, he would probably choose the third way. This way there is no burden of conscience and the risk is relatively small
Sister Willen started to cut the steak into small pieces again and put it in the pan to fry: "By the way, you go and wake up Denika. This girl is so old and she is still lying in bed. I really don't know how to live outside. What a life.§
Naimen fell off the chair again.
"D-Dinika is back, what's going on, nun!"
"Ah, didn't I just say that? Less than an hour after your Anne left, Denika came back. Just in time, I packed up her room. I originally wanted to give it to Anne to live by herself. It＊s just right.§
The thought of "Is Anne really back?" flashed through Solayton's mind, but he immediately denied this possibility. One hour is too short, and only Sister Willen can believe this kind of thing.
"Then let me call her."
Naimen ate his share of food in three mouthfuls, secretly picked up the pistol and spell material bag placed aside, and walked out. As he loaded bullets into the gun, he reconstructed Denica's actions last night in his mind.
"It's understandable to rest for a night, and it's important to regain strength. But, why did she have to come back with her own identity? First she turned into Annie and returned home, and then she was warmly received by the nuns. Then she accepted He took off the brooch and left uneasily.?. She probably wandered outside for a while, then released the transformation magic, came back with her true identity to find the nun again, and moved into the room that was originally prepared for herself"
He stopped in front of Denika's room and gently opened the door with his left hand, revealing a crack. The room was dark, and there seemed to be someone on the bed.
"Isn't this completely illogical? It's really incomprehensible!"
He kicked the door open, rushed in, and hit the bed with the stun spell prepared in his right hand.
The empty quilt collapsed on the bed. Naimen turned around suddenly, drew his gun and pointed it in the opposite direction. Likewise no one. He shrugged, muttered "Sure enough," and lifted the quilt.
There was only a red lieutenant uniform of the Free Army Intre Army inside.
"She no longer needs to be an officer? It's really incomprehensible."
Naimen picked up the military uniform and shook his pocket. A small black box jumped out of his coat pocket and fell onto the bed. He guessed that it was the brooch that the nun wanted to give to Anne. For some reason, Dinica didn't take it away.
"Are you sorry, or"
He picked up the box and opened it. To his surprise, the box was empty, with only a gap where the jewelry should have been. Denika left the box and uniform, but took the brooch.
A small ball of paper slipped from between his fingers. Opening it up, it says "For Anne Seifer" written on it. It is a nun's handwriting, and the ink smell is still very new. There are traces of fingernail scratches on the paper. He looked around the room, seeing that there seemed to be no more traces of her.
"Damn, it's really neat." Naimen lay down on Denika's bed, thinking irritably, "She won't sneak into the Free Army. But will she choose to wait for the opportunity, or take a secret route?"
Sister Willen's voice came from the door of the room: "If you want to find someone to help you chase Denika, Zalt is also in the army now. He is a volunteer mage in the Third National Division and is on duty at the East Second Wall during the day. ."
Naimen pushed the military uniform aside in a panic and jumped up from the bed.
"I know she and you are not in the same camp. You must feel that you are the only one who can stop her, and you are the only one who can save her from the inevitable tragic ending, right?"
Naimen heard the irony in this sentence, but nodded anyway. "The war is coming to an end. She's still there and might be affected."
The nun smiled, "But that's just her escapingforget it, men all think so. Go ahead and chase her back."
"Then I'm leaving. The Third National Guard Division, a 'double-edged sword', right?"
"Bon voyage. If you find that things are different from what you thought, you have to learn to give up at the right time; once the time comes when you have to make a choice, you must understand which one you want to choose"
Sister Willen originally wanted to continue preaching, but Naimen had already taken her luggage and left in a hurry. She looked at the boy's back, smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"And women are sometimes very stubborn. Forget it, it's useless to say it. Let the young people handle it by themselves."
*********
"Dinika should have left in the morning, and I am still three hours behind her."
After coming out of the orphanage, Captain Naimen Solayton did not rush to find the teacher, but returned to the second city wall to survey the current battle situation. The Medal of Distinguished Contribution he just received is his best pass.
After the siege of the Imperial City began, two regular divisions and nine militia divisions were recruited in Lunni alone, and a total of more than 100,000 troops were concentrated inside and outside these five city walls. If we don't consider quality, but only in terms of quantity, there are more Free Army troops in the city than there are imperial troops attacking outside the city.
His teacher, Zalt Foran, as a mid-level mage with formal qualifications from the Magician Association and a naturalized person who fled from the north to the south, naturally received an order to recruit mages to accompany the army.
The 3rd "Double-edged Sword" National Guard Division was originally the reserve force of the Interreif Army, the most powerful combat force among the republican forces. Being able to receive the invitation from this militia division also indirectly proved Zart's strength.
"I am Captain Neimen Soleton, a member of the Western General Army, combat staff officer of the Jena Army. I would like to meet a volunteer mage from your division named Zalt Foran."
"It's an honor to accept your order, Captain. Commander Folan will be here shortly."
While waiting for the notification, the overly young captain stood on the second highest wall, looking at his battle map and overlooking three-quarters of Lenny's scenery.
Lenny, the capital of the free nations, his hometown, the third most populous city in the world, Mattby.The iron wall on the north bank of the river does not fall.
For those who are not familiar with the art of city building, it is difficult to see where the dividing line between the two walls is. Unlike the clearly separated rings or moats on later modern city maps, Lenny's second and third walls were integrated into one. This is not so much two city walls, but a large semicircular fortification area mixed with a large number of fortified residential buildings.
The War of Freedom between the North and the South has been going on for more than a hundred years. Over these more than a hundred years, people built staggered city walls in a zigzag pattern on this fertile land, forming the necessary scenery for the grand narrative.
The first and second walls were built during the Holy Empire era, while the third wall 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. Between the two walls are not ordinary streets and houses, but a complex defense system composed of several moats, aqueducts, bastions and bunkers. The renovation and construction of almost every house must be approved by the Free Army's fortification experts. Every design improvement in the barricade defense system was purchased with blood. After the four freedom wars, more than 700,000 named Lunni citizens alone died, and three martyrs' monuments commemorating them were piled up. A cathedral.
Naimen took out a Lenny map that only staff officers were entitled to hold, and compared it with the actual scenery. At least four hundred hidden fortification magics are marked on the map, and every lieutenant in the Free Army can activate these magics. In order to prevent leaks, the defensive magic tables on each map are different. The actual total number of magic hidden in the streets may be more than two thousand. Now all these magics and traps have entered a state of preparation and can be put into actual combat at any time.
"That thick book is a second secret map, right? We volunteers don't have such a thing. The Logistics Department is only good at taking care of the food. For the rest, it simply intends to use us civilian mages as cannon fodder."
Zalt Forlan＊s familiar baritone voice came from behind him.
Thoraton turned around and saw his teacher. To his surprise, in the past few weeks of the siege, Zalt Foran's face seemed to have gotten better. He didn't look like the kind store manager he used to be, but he looked more like a real businessman than Naimen himself. Follow the military mage. The unruly middle-aged man waved his wrist in front of his forehead as a military salute. Seeing that the middle-aged man only had the lieutenant badge on his shoulder, Naimen just bowed slightly in return.
"Long time no see, teacher."
Zalt stared at Neimen's epaulettes and joked: "Your military rank is higher than mine, Captain Soleton. Under the order of Marshal Fox, the entire Lenny Army is learning from your brave deeds." God, that is a genuine Medal of Excellence, and we haven＊t even given out a few pieces in total during this war.§
Naimen looked around. No one else was nearby, but he still lowered his voice: "Teacher, that herois actually not me. I have no memory of it."
Zart frowned, found a clean place to sit on the parapet of the city wall, and asked in a low voice, "What? Is there any secret in this matter?"
Naimen sorted out everything and his thoughts became clear: "Denika gave me the credit. In order to destroy the communication between Lenny and Jena, she blew up the teleportation point. In order to ensure that the Free Army does not People will be sent to hunt her down, and she threw this credit on me Now, even I can't give up this medal. This is not only a matter of my honor, but also involves the entire freedom. It＊s a matter of army morale and face. And as long as I don＊t tell the truth, it＊s impossible to mobilize the army to stop her.§
Although the description was very brief, Zalt quickly grasped the key: "So you come to me. In this case, it is not convenient for you to mobilize any troops, but I should have some troops on hand to help you."
Naimen nodded: "Yes. Denika is very accurate. She used that chain called honor to immobilize the entire Free Army. I can only rely on my own strength to track her traces. Now she Still about three hours ahead of me.§
Zalt thought for a while and then asked: "You are working so hard because you want to rescue her before the end of the war. So, the Jena army is doing very well."
"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 again in the next twenty years."
"I can really help you on this issue. In fact, you are less than three hours behind her, and she just left here two hours ago." Zart stretched out his hand, "Lend me your map."
Naimen hurriedly handed over the map. Zalt turned to the page of Lenny's complete picture and saw that there was no mark on the situation since the siege broke out, so he took out his pen and updated the marks on it while explaining.
"First let's see which road she might take out of the city. On the afternoon of the 6th, the North Fifth District fell. From the night of the 7th to the early morning, the Imperial Defense Forces expanded their results and suddenlyPo East District 5, in the morning, the headquarters was unexpectedly attacked by imperial agents. Afterwards, it was decided to withdraw the defense line of the West Fifth District and burn the entire Fifth District. "
The fire has been burning all day and has not been extinguished yet. The glaring diagonal gray shadows on the map were replaced by burning ruins in reality. But even such a cruel and decisive act could not stop the main army of the empire, which had already ignored casualties.
"There were only sporadic battles on the afternoon of the 7th. On the evening of the 7th, the Soma Principality Engineer Team carried explosives and blew up the water gate on the East Fourth Wall, breaking into the East Fourth District from the southeastern side. At midnight, after six hours of fighting and armed cover, the After the civilians were evacuated, the Free Army withdrew from the East Fourth District and only ensured the safety of the riverbank fortress in the area along the river. Today, in the early morning of the 8th, a full-scale artillery battle broke out, and fierce fighting broke out in the outer barricade area."
Naimen is imagining a moving defense map in his mind, which is an essential skill for combat staff. However, this picture is not optimistic. He asked in surprise: "In just two days of general attack, two of the city walls in the northeast have been captured?!"
"This is all because the large detection network was damaged. If the large detection network was still intact, we wouldn't have lost so miserably. The big shots above"
Naimen＊s face turned red. As someone who personally destroyed a large detection network with a fragmentation bomb, he did not want to continue this topic. If he is seriously investigated, he bears great responsibility for this current situation.
"Then which path do you think she will take?"
"Even if she doesn't know all of these things, she knows most of them." Zalt compared the map, "The West, North and East Districts have issued a comprehensive ban on movement, and Dinika went east this morning. Later, if you turn back to look for me, you will probably be stopped. The two best regular divisions are concentrated in the North Fourth District and the East Third District, ready to attack the siege forces assembled by the emperor at any time. "
Naimen thought for a while and asked: "Where is the underground waterway?"
"In the underground waterway leading to the fourth district, explosives and detection nets were urgently deployed last night and can be detonated at any time. The moat near the city wall has sufficient water, and all entrances and exits are guarded by troops. She is not wearing a military uniform now, and it is a magic item The identity of the supplier cannot be blended in.§
Naimen glanced sideways at his teacher: "Could this identity be you"
Zart waved his hand and defended: "I didn't know that she was thinking about escaping from the city. She followed me out this morning and said that she had figured it out and got your and father's understanding. I just I asked her to help me transport the potion. After transporting it, she went into the city."
"How many orders have you taken?"
"I have a quarter of the order for Berserker Potion. The demand for Explosive Potion is relatively large, and I have a contract for 3,000 bottles."
Zart didn't seem to want to talk anymore and brought the topic back: "I can probably guess which path she will choose in the end. Do you remember, I told you, Lenny has a set of underground passage structures and sewers It＊s different, there are no controllable entrances and exits from which you can escape if in danger.§
Naimen immediately remembered: "A tunnel without controllable entrances and exitsyou mean, the Imperial Gold Tunnel? But no one knows all the entrances and exits of the Gold Hidden Tunnel."
The Imperial Gold Tunnel is a famous joke in the history of the Republic＊s government. At the end of the Second Freedom War, in order to repay the high war debt, the ruling party and the opposition party had huge policy differences. The ruling party proposes to raise taxes to solve the public debt problem, while the opposition party proposes to discover "hidden gold buried by the nobles during the Great Revolution" to solve the fiscal deficit. Surprisingly, the opposition party won a resounding victory in the general election, and the vigorous "Imperial Gold Mining Plan" was launched. The excavation lasted three years, doubling the area of ??sewers beneath Rennie, but ultimately found nothing. This dark history disintegrated the opposition parties and shattered the first two-party system, ushering federal politics into its first period of chaos.
Zart drew a big circle on the map with his finger: "Yes, these tunnels have been idle for seventy or eighty years, and the exits have almost collapsed and cannot be used. The Free Army also felt that both ordinary people and large enemy forces It's impossible for them to use these tunnels - but I don't remember that I taught you two to be such useless people."
There is another question that Naimen hasn＊t figured out: ※But, so many tunnels were dug back then, which entrance should I choose〞〞§
※Think about their motivations for digging these tunnels. Where is the best chance of finding a buried entrance?§
Naimen hit himself hard on the head: "I was stupid. If we want to dig out the empire's gold, we naturally start from the residence of the Grand Duke Lenny. The Lenny Library."
He is still two hours behind. This little time is not enough for Denika to clear the tunnel.
The young man stood hurriedlyStanding up, he nodded his thanks, "Thank you very much for your opinion. I'm going."
Teacher Zart raised his hand and stopped him: "Wait a moment. Can you lend me your medal of excellence?"
Naimen took off the medal and handed it to the teacher. Zalt Foran took out the monocle from his pocket, looked at the circuits and structure on it, and praised in his mouth: "The materials are generous and the structure is exquisite. It is really an amazing masterpiece. For an ordinary mage like you, To be honest, it＊s a bit of a pity, I might as well give it to a brave soldier.§
Naimen＊s face turned red again: ※Teacher!§
"Oh, I just said that this medal is for your use, but it cannot exert its full effect. Let me give it a try." Zalt said, taking off his iron badge from his chest and pressing it on the Medal of Excellence with his finger. On a groove on the back, a spell was chanted in his mouth. After a moment, the iron emblem emitted a burst of white light and actually dissolved into the medal.
"I often think that if I were really a legendary magician, I might be more helpful to you and Denika. However, this iron badge should also play some role." Zalt put the medal back on his youth again On the captain's chest, "It's strange, there are so many brats in this orphanage, but you two seem to be the only ones with magic talents."
"What is the function of this badge?" Naimen asked, "The effect of the Excellence Badge is to activate extremely strong speed or extremely strong defense. This iron badge of yours is"
"Don't you always ask me why I keep the Iron Emblem and don't replace it with a more advanced magician certificate? That's because all my research results are on it. My major when I was in the empire was enchanter. If you are really affected by It can be fatal to attacks. This badge can activate an absolute isolation effect for a period of time. No attack can penetrate your protective circle. I originally made it to escape from the empire, and it's time to give it to you. "
Naimen＊s eyes were a little wet: ※Thank you, teacher.§
Zalt Foran patted him on the shoulder: "Then go ahead, my apprentice. Go and prove that you are worthy of the medal on your chest."
He saluted his apprentice again. This time it's serious.
Naimen Solayton left from the stairs on the other side and returned to the second city wall. Further on is Lenny's Center. He was still two hours behind.
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