musicians of old

Chapter 683 Shepherd

The time goes back nearly two hours ago, to a moment before the premiere of "The Rite of Spring" officially began.

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

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

The barbed wire and high-voltage wires seemed endless. Under the martial law of airships and countless strict checkpoints, one military ferry after another was constantly handling supplies for the operation of this huge war machine.

Somewhere near the unloading area of ​​the dock.

"boom!!"

A Janus prisoner of war carried a mountain of fuel and smashed it hard onto the back of a transport pickup truck.

In an instant, the black soot and dust devoured him like a monster with bared fangs and claws.

The dirty clothes the man was wearing could barely be seen to be made of cotton, but the thickness of the material was too thin to suit 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, his body had to break down a large amount of muscle and fat in order to maintain vital signs.

"cough cough"

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

It was finally the last unloading trip of the day. After 12 hours of heavy physical labor, a cold river breeze blew, and all parts of the body that were originally unable to tell whether they were sweating hot or cold sweat, all became uniformly cold to the bone.

However, this does not mean that today's work is completely over. After dinner, they will be dragged to the Lydian war preparedness factory to do 4 hours of light manual work. They can lie down to rest only after about midnight. At 6 o'clock the next day, they will 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 forty prisoners were already waiting for dinner.

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

The prisoners looked at the "dinner" in their bowls, which was so sticky that the names of the ingredients could not be distinguished. Although they were hungry, they did not pick up the spoons immediately.

".When I have entered that land, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine, for it is written, 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; and you will all be offended because of me until the day when I drink it new with you in his kingdom.'"

One after another, they began to recite and pray before the meal.

The same was true of the man who was carrying the coal just now.

He looked at the river surface where the dusk was deepening. Across the river was the direction of Janus' hometown, and the outlines of the bombed shelters, gas stations and factory ruins were vaguely visible.

I'm afraid it will be difficult to survive the coming winter.

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

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

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

The hoarse voice was reciting a selection of poems composed for the Gospel by Cardinal Richelieu of the Western Continent.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; he leads me in paths of righteousness in his name's 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 lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life. I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." "Look, what is that!?"

"Why does it seem like there's someone there?"

Suddenly, a scream from a prisoner of war broke the peaceful atmosphere of the prayer before the meal.

"Isn't that on the river surface?!"

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

Everyone looked in the direction the speaker was pointing.

At dusk, in the direction of the upstream of the Hedgewell River, the skyline, which had been gradually darkening, suddenly parted the clouds for some reason, and the blood-red afterglow of the sunset burst out!

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

"A miracle! A miracle!"

"The 'Unfallen Fire' has answered our prayers!"

"It's Saint Lavoisier! Master Lavoisier has returned! He has come to rescue us!"

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The prisoners who had just finished reciting the psalms suddenly became ecstatic from their peaceful mood. They ignored their physical pains and directly 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 leave these prisoners alone. They soon realized this and blew sharp warning whistles.

But what they noticed the next moment was an even more strange scene on the surface of the river!
In fact, the airships patrolling high above had discovered the movement on the water earlier than these supervisors. Several steam-powered boats, under the cover of two fighter planes, had surrounded and blocked it!

Moreover, the sentries on duty in the high watchtowers in the camp could clearly see from afar that the soldiers in the steamboat and the two fighter planes had already fired at the intruders!
But I 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 became that the warships and fighter planes surrounded the few people from a distance, daring not to get closer or farther away. They just came back and continued to approach the camp!

The commander of the camp had already climbed up one of the watchtowers. He was confused and alarmed, because he clearly saw the signal lights flashing on the two fighter planes. The flashing frequency of one was a reminder of "do not fire", while the flashing frequency of the other was a warning of "enemy attack"!

"Hurry, something is wrong! Report to our superiors!" The man took off his telescope and yelled back.

Unlike the panicked Lydians
The only thought left in the mind of Father Alexis and one of his deacons at this moment was whether they were dreaming.

These two men were newly appointed clergymen who had been assigned to the Apelle war zone—the same place where Father Lavoisier had publicly performed the sacrament of confession before his departure—and they were dining in the church this afternoon, and just as they raised their forks, Lavoisier suddenly appeared!

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

Of course, although 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 this moment, in front of them, Father Lavoisier's back was stepping on the water. He was still wearing that old-fashioned suit with mud on his trouser legs. He was of medium build, not tall, but his back was very straight. With every step he took, the jumping spots of sunset light condensed into lumps like ice and glass, allowing the two of them to follow safely behind him as if walking on flat ground.

"Master Lavoisier, we are about to dock. Should we say something to these Lydians first? Otherwise, what will happen?"

Father Alexis choked and asked cautiously.

Unlike the group of soldiers on the other side who were watching and "didn't know what the two sides negotiated about", in fact, there is currently no communication between the two sides at all!
It is true that the guns fired and then "nothing happened"
Fanning shook his head when he heard this: "When I first came, wasn't there anyone waiting for me? When I called, wasn't there anyone who answered? The days of man are short and filled with troubles. I have returned today and will go to the other side to visit those whom I should visit and to give those whom I should give. There is no need to explain the rest."

What a joke! I'm about to go to the other side to perform "The Rite of Spring". Why would I waste my time talking to these people who are surrounding me? Fan Ning secretly complained in his heart.

After being free for a while, my schedule suddenly seems to be a bit full.

Just like that, under the aim of countless black gun muzzles and artillery fire, the three of them crossed the river and landed on the shore in a dignified manner, and then stepped into a gap in the barbed wire that had twisted and fallen off on its own!