Old-time musicians

Time goes back nearly two hours, to a moment before the official premiere of The Rite of Spring.

The battlefield of Apel, the enemy-occupied area on the north bank of the Hedgewell River.

In this land area that connects several important docks, the Lydians built several large prisoner-of-war camps.

The barbed wire and high-voltage wires are endless. Under the martial law of airships and countless strict sentries, one military ferry after another is constantly handling and supplying the necessary materials for the operation of this huge war machine.

Somewhere near the dock, the unloading operation area.

"Bang!!"

A Janus prisoner of war, carrying a mountain of fuel cargo, smashed it heavily on the back of the transport pickup truck.

The black soot and dust instantly devoured him like a monster with bared fangs and claws.

The dirty clothes the man wore could barely be seen to be made of cotton, but in terms of the thickness of the material, it was too thin to match this season.

He was also very thin, but judging from his open chest and abdomen, he must have had a good figure in the past. It was just that due to the extreme imbalance between energy intake and consumption for a long time, the body had to decompose a large amount of muscle and fat in order to maintain vital signs.

"Cough cough cough"

The man coughed violently, but with a sense of relief.

Finally, it was the last unloading of the day. After 12 hours of heavy physical labor, a cold river wind blew, and the parts of the body that were originally indistinguishable from hot sweat or cold sweat all became cold to the bone.

However, this did not mean that today's work was completely over. After dinner, they would be dragged to the Lydian war preparation factory to do 4 hours of light manual work. They could lie down and rest until about midnight. At 6 o'clock the next day, they would continue to return to the 12-hour heavy physical labor cycle.

The man walked back to the shed without saying a word, where more than 40 prisoners of war were waiting for dinner.

During the short break, when the alarm bell rang throughout the camp at 18:00, the soldiers and supervisors who were watching around also temporarily retreated to a farther place.

The prisoners looked at the "dinner" in their bowls, which was too sticky to distinguish the names of the ingredients. Although they were hungry, they did not eat it immediately.

"After entering that area, I will no longer drink this grape juice, because it is written in the Scripture that the shepherd should be struck, and the sheep will be scattered. You will all fall for my sake until the day when I drink it new with you in His kingdom."

They began to recite and pray before the meal one after another.

The man who was carrying coal just now did the same.

He looked at the river surface where the dusk was getting thicker. Across the river was the direction of Janus' hometown. The outlines of the bombed shelter, gas station and factory ruins were vaguely visible.

This coming winter, I am afraid it will be difficult to survive.

After pinching the photo of his wife and children in his inner pocket, he coughed violently again and wiped off the red and black blood with his sleeve.

His mood suddenly became calm and calm, and he slowly lowered his head:

"Lavoisier is my shepherd, I shall not want."

The hoarse voice recited a selection of poems written by Cardinal Richelieu of the Western Continent for the Gospel.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside quiet waters. He awakens my spirit and guides me in the path of righteousness in his name."

The captured soldier couldn't help but close his eyes, and two lines of hot tears flowed out, washing away the dirty coal dust on his face.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for he is with me; his rod and his staff, they comfort me."

"He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. He anoints my head with oil; my cup overflows. His goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

"Look, what is that!?"

"Why does it look like there is a person there?"

Suddenly, a prisoner's exclamation broke the quiet atmosphere of the pre-meal prayer.

"Isn't that on the river?!"

"No, there seem to be three people, one in the lead and two behind."

Everyone looked in the direction pointed by the speaker.

At dusk, the upper reaches of the Hedgewell River, the skyline that had been gradually darkening, for some reason, suddenly parted the clouds, and the afterglow of the blood-red sunset burst out!

A figure bathed in golden light, with two followers behind him, walked directly on the water and stepped towards the direction of the prisoner-of-war camp!

"Miracle! Miracle!"

"The 'Eternal Fire' responded to our prayers!"

"It's Saint Lavoisier! Master Lavoisier is back! He's here to save us!"

The prisoners who had just finished reciting the psalms suddenly became ecstatic. They ignored their physical pain and climbed over the railings of the shed and ran towards the barbed wire on the shore!

"What are you doing!?"

"Violators will be punished with double labor for a week!"

Although the Lydian soldiers and supervisors retreated temporarily, they could not completely let these prisoners go, so they soon noticed it and blew sharp warning whistles.

But what they noticed the next moment was a more strange scene on the water in the river!

In fact, earlier than these supervisors, the airship patrolling at high altitudes discovered the movement on the water. Several steam-powered boats, with the cover and cooperation of two fighter planes, surrounded it!

Moreover, the sentries on duty at the high towers in the camp could clearly see from a distance that the soldiers in the steamboat and the two fighter planes had already fired at the intruders!

But I just don’t know why. After the fire was turned on, it didn’t seem to have any effect, and there was no follow-up.

I don’t know what the two sides negotiated. After a few minutes of confrontation, the situation turned into a situation where warships and fighter planes surrounded a few people from a distance. They neither dared to get closer nor farther away. They just came all the way back and continued towards the camp. The direction is approaching!

The commander of the camp had already boarded one of the guard towers. He was confused because his eyes clearly saw the flashing signal lights on the two fighter planes. The flashing frequency of one was a reminder of "Don't fire", while the flashing frequency of the other was a warning. The warning frequency of "enemy attack" is displayed again!

"Quick, something is wrong! Report it to your superiors!" The man took off his binoculars and shouted back.

Unlike the panicked Lydians,

Priest Alexius and one of his deacons had only one thought at the moment, which was to wonder if they were dreaming.

These two people are newly appointed clergy in the Apel war zone - that is, the place where Father Lavoisier publicly presided over the sacrament of confession before leaving - this afternoon, the two were still dining in the church, and they just raised the Fork, Lavoisier suddenly appeared!

And now, he wants the two of them to take him directly across the war zone, across the river, and towards the camp where the Lydians are stationed!

Of course, although Priest Alexis suspected that he was dreaming, he was not confused. Before leaving, he quickly asked another confidant to take the news to the Holy City! !

At the moment, in front of you, Father Lavoisier's back is walking on the water. He is still wearing that old-fashioned suit, with mud on his trouser legs. He has a moderate build, not too tall, but his back is very straight. Every time he took a step, those jumping sunset spots condensed into a lump that looked like solid ice and glass, allowing the two of them to follow safely as if they were walking on flat ground.

"Master Lalavousi, we are about to dock. Do we still have to say something to these Lydians? Otherwise, will this happen?"

Priest Alexius choked and asked cautiously.

What is different from the group of waiting soldiers on the other side who "don't know what the two sides negotiated" is that in fact, there is no communication at all between the two sides!

It's true that the guns were fired and then "nothing happened"

Fan Ning shook his head when he heard this: "When I first came, no one was waiting for me. When I called, no one answered. Human life is short and full of troubles. When I come back today, I will go to the other side. , just visit what you need to see and command what you need to command, and there is no need to talk about the rest.”

Are you kidding me? I was rushing to the other side to perform "The Rite of Spring" soon. I was talking nonsense to these people who gathered around me, but Fan Ning cursed in his heart.

After being idle for a while, the schedule suddenly seemed to be somewhat full.

Just like that, under the aim of countless dark guns and artillery, the three people majestically crossed the river and landed on the shore, and then stepped in through a gap in the barbed wire that twisted and fell off on its own!