This winter in Beyeland is extremely cold. The white snow on the spiers of the houses reminds people of the undulating snow peaks, which is somewhat similar to the East in oil paintings.
Sonia pulled her soft wool cloak, glanced at the heater in the carriage, and breathed into the palm of her hand.
The servant of the Larmour family was particularly out of shape today. He did not turn on the heater in the carriage in advance, and the omelette for breakfast was a bit too salty.
"What's the news?" Sonia leaned her head against the cold car window and asked Fiona sitting opposite.
"A lot~" said the little newspaper reader while flipping the newspaper in his hand, "His Majesty the King expressed his condolences to the victims of the Flower Moon Memorial Ceremony on Neopolis Island. The wise Senate sent a fleet to implement quarantine and blockade, food and
Other commodity futures prices continue to rise rapidly, and the Veterans Committee proposal has been defeated again...Which one do you want to hear?"
"I always feel~" Sonia quietly listened to her best friend's words, "There are some subtle differences today."
"Rana, is there any subtle difference between today and usual?" Fiona was in a particularly good mood. She rolled down the car window and asked Shutoral who was riding a horse outside the car.
The tall hussar was wearing heavy armor, and the swords hanging on both sides of the saddle were faintly exposed under the thick cloak. His sharp eyes passed through the iron helmet and swept over the nearby sidewalks and rooftops like a sharp blade, but he did not answer the girl's question.
.
"Rana!" Fiona said in a long tone, stretched out her hand and snapped her fingers in the hussar's ear, "Hey! You're ignoring me again!"
"How could I ignore you?" Lana looked away and said gently.
"You're just ignoring me!"
How could the conversation between these two people be so sweet... Sonia raised the corners of her mouth slightly and looked in the direction where Lana was looking.
The streets are very crowded today.
Many people in shabby clothes stood in the snowdrifts, staring at the passing carriages with a look that Sonia had never seen before. There were also people standing on the balconies and roofs, many of them holding rolled up red cloth and
The wooden stick whispered from time to time, and then cast its gaze into the distance.
Sonia's eyes met someone.
This man was wearing a gray coat, with a sloppy beard, and his resolute eyes were a bit like those of Griffith and Lana when they first came to Beyeland. The moment her eyes met with his, Sonia had a very strange and strange feeling.
An uncomfortable feeling, like being violated in some way.
At this time, a majestic hussar passed by nearby. Lana glanced at the man and immediately pushed back the uncomfortable feeling.
"Maybe it's because your Griffith will return today~" Fiona didn't notice anything, and sat down in her seat with a bright face, "Let's take a look at the show waiting for us, ah~ today is going to be
What is happening is a tragedy!”
…
The carriage passed through the city and came to the steps of the magnificent Coliseum.
Celebrities in Beyeland are coming from all over to support the new play of the most prestigious Arydrov Grand Opera Company. In the next seven days, the troupe will perform twelve times in a row, and each performance will be
It's hard to get a vote.
Hot braziers were lit on both sides of the marble steps, driving away the cold and moisture. Sonia and Fiona took off their warm cloaks and handed them to the waiters, then walked into the theater wearing only long skirts as light as colorful clouds.
Fiona suddenly remembered something, turned around and said to Lana: "We need two hours, if you go to eat nearby, bring me some of that!"
The one Fiona was talking about was the grilled lamb on thin wooden sticks at the barbecue stall in the alley, but some people said maliciously that it was grilled with stray cats. The greasy meat skewers were grilled to brown.
, and sprinkle with cumin and spices? Take a bite and it is so delicious that it will melt your bones.
Is it really inappropriate for an earl’s daughter to eat this kind of food? It would be too ugly if oil stains dripped on her long skirt. However, the guards on duty would sneak into the alleys and eat as much as they could when they had free time, and would only give them to them when they were full.
The master brought back two bunches of cold ones.
Rana ignored her.
Sonia grabbed Fiona, who was about to jump in anger. She smiled and comforted her. Her eyes accidentally passed by the bottom of the steps. She suddenly noticed that the dismounted guards all seemed to be looking absentmindedly in the opposite direction, facing the people who were walking.
The emperor who entered the theater didn't care much.
These young men wearing strong armor and hanging sharp swords were faintly lined up in a row, forming a silent human wall under the steps of the theater. The guards who had just arrived did not dismount immediately, but were slowing down near the human wall like a knight.
Walking slowly? Each one holds the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Something is wrong!
Sonia's whole body trembled slightly involuntarily. Although she didn't understand what was happening, she instinctively felt strange and uneasy like never before, and she held her friend's arm tightly.
"Fiona, something's wrong."
Across the snow-covered Beyeland Theater boulevard, a gray wave suddenly surged over the roofs, streets and park lawns, as if the sea had finally broken through Beyeland's embankments and walls.
They were surging gray figures. They were very eye-catching on the pure white snow, like moving logs. They looked incompatible with the beautiful city.
These silent people were wrapped in all kinds of mismatched cotton and linen. They looked at the famous nobles in light clothes on the steps, but their eyes were unusually silent and calm. It reminded Sonia of the Goreme volcano she had seen when she was a child.
The crowds of people are so quiet that people don't know what will happen next moment. However, they instinctively want to escape and be afraid.
At this time, the streets in the distance seemed to be in commotion. Waves of slogan-like shouts formed a strange sound. Some spectators who were entering the venue were attracted by the strange shouts. They thought it was a carefully arranged warm-up.
A gorgeously decorated carriage drove up from the end of the street, with noble family crests carved on the door.
"It's General MacDonald." Fiona hummed. "He's always the last one to arrive? It's like everyone is waiting for him. Last dance? He insisted on inviting me to dance with him..."
Fiona's words suddenly got stuck in her throat.
Amidst the exclamations, several young men holding red flags jumped from the roof and landed on the roof of the general's carriage.
The scene immediately became chaotic, and people who looked like homeless people ran towards the carriage. They appeared on the sidewalk, on big trees and near garbage dumps, unfurling flags as they ran.
"Fiona, go to the theater!" Lana's thunderous roar exploded like thunder that had been brewing for a long time.
The guards who had been watching in vigilance just now jumped off their horses at lightning speed, drove the horses behind, filled the queue in a tacit understanding, and formed an airtight double-row human wall at the foot of the steps.
General Macdonald, who was at the end of the street, felt as if his carriage had fallen into a hail storm. The two guards in fine armor who were sitting in front driving the carriage were dizzy from the sudden attack.
"Get me out of here, you idiot!" the general roared.
The guard shook off the attacking attacker, gritted his teeth, waved his horsewhip, and rushed out. However, the carriages passing by were all frightened by the sudden storm. They bumped into each other in fear or slowed down, and were blocked for a while.
Seize the opportunity to escape.
"Sir, we are blocked!" the guard shouted anxiously.
General MacDonald, the defender of the kingdom, president of the Army Academy, and military theorist, waved his hand and shouted at the crowded sidewalk: "Isn't it very spacious over there?!"
…
Over the past few days, Griffith carefully reviewed the events. Gradually, he realized that the seven mysteries of Heura Town that he had previously treated as a joke were not simple. Neopolis Island hid something unknown.
The secrets, even Alandel's family need investigation and suspicion.
However, with his resources and time, he could not complete more investigations. Shortly after the tragic battle, the Earl's Palace sent him a new order. The order was simple.
"Return immediately."
He immediately boarded a warship and returned to the port of Beyeland. Carrying his luggage, he squeezed past strange passengers to get to the public carriage station.
The scene became increasingly noisy, mixed with shouts and curses. A group of military policemen came over waving sticks and drove away the passengers carrying large and small bags.
"Line up along this line!" shouted a police officer. "Anyone who disobeys will be given a taste of the stick."
Before Griffith could figure out the situation, two patrolmen noticed him, pushed aside the crowds on both sides, and shouted to the slovenly trainee knight who had lived in the cargo hold of the warship for three days:
"You, soldier, come here!"
"Your ID."
Griffith handed over his ID badge very politely and asked kindly: "What happened?"
The patrolman snorted expressionlessly and did not answer the question. While he was checking his ID, another patrolman stared into Griffith's eyes and kept tapping the baton in his hand.
"Hand over your weapons and follow us." The patrolman pointed to the distance, "Go over there!"
Griffith followed them to an isolated area outside the port area. In a small open space, many men who looked like soldiers were squatting or standing gathered there.
"I am a trainee knight of the Larmore family and a second-level squad leader." Griffith protested to the police officer in charge of the quarantine area and showed his identity card. "I am performing the count's mission."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Trainee Knight, please forgive my previous offense," the police officer hurriedly saluted Griffith, "You can leave. Please go to your family immediately to accept the mission."
"Task? Who issued the task?"
"The Senate," replied the sergeant, "recruits all the knights and novitiates of the nobles gathered at Beyeland to be immediately armed and put under martial law."
Martial law?!
Two police officers had already brought Griffith the weapons they had just confiscated, along with a pass.
"Several blocks have been put under martial law. I think you need to hurry up." The police officer said hastily, "The order from above is,
"Defend the King and the Senate at all costs."
…
The public carriages had stopped running. Griffith could only run across the wide streets on foot, fully armed, towards the uptown area.
He only wore mail under his coat, and wore a long sword and a short sword. When he walked through the narrow streets and tried to take a shortcut, there seemed to be many eyes watching him in the dark corners.
It's not like Griffith has never been to Lower City. But the atmosphere here today is different from the past, becoming more depressing and gloomy.
The tramps and paupers huddled in the corner looked at him with emotionless eyes. The family crest of the Larmore family was engraved on the scabbard. Even if you didn't recognize the crest, you could tell that he belonged to a great noble.
warrior.
From the corner of Griffith's sight, he caught a glimpse of several people standing up and approaching him seemingly casually, holding something unknown in their hands.
He immediately changed his mind, quickly left the dark alley, and took a detour to Larmore House.
Roadblocks have been set up at the intersection leading to the upper city, and a large group of heavily armed soldiers are on guard behind Juma and Muzha.
"Stop and show your identity!" an officer shouted to Griffith from behind the roadblock, and then he seemed to see the coat of arms on the hilt of the sword clearly, "The guards of the Larmore family? Very good, please tell me from the Earl's Palace.
You, go to the Beyeland Opera House immediately, where the countess and others are."
Griffith responded, turned around and ran towards the opera house.
The cold winter wind blew past his ears. Griffith, who had traveled half the city without eating breakfast, was out of breath. The cold wind that poured into his throat made him feel uncomfortable all over. Fortunately,
The towering dome of the Opera House has appeared in front.
Thousands of civilians gathered here. They held stones, sticks and flags in their hands, occupying the rooftops of several buildings and nearby streets. In front of them, a group of foot soldiers wearing t-shirts were blocking the
On the steps in front of the Opera House.
Griffith saw a familiar figure named Lana from a distance. He stood like a sculpture at the main entrance of the theater holding a two-handed sword, and his fierce eyes were like a tiger that chooses people to eat.
Griffith tried hard to squeeze through the crowd. Suddenly, his feet went soft, as if he had stepped on something strange. He lowered his head and saw broken intestines and severed limbs scattered among the snow, a ball of red
His intestines were at his feet.
At this moment, someone beside me shouted.
"There's a noble's lackey here!"
Lackey! Are you talking about me?
The shout startled Griffith. Before he could say something bad in his mind, a stick was swung down at the back of his head.
Griffith, who was wearing a newly purchased helmet, was staggered by the blow, and the anger in his heart immediately surged up. But before he could get angry, more fists and sticks hit him like a rainstorm.
"kill him!"
"Kill the noble's lackey!"
Wearing mail and armor, Griffith stood tall and mighty like a rag doll and was beaten to pieces by the crowd. There were sticks, fists and curses from all directions, making it difficult for him to tell who was the attacker.
Or maybe everyone around you is an attacker.
He grabbed the sword at his waist and tried not to be snatched away, but his helmet was knocked off. A brick hit him in the forehead, almost knocking him to the ground.
"Drive them away!" Lana's earth-shattering roar covered up the continuous curses and beatings for two seconds. Immediately afterwards, four or five fully armed heavy infantry rushed over and grabbed Griffi who was almost beaten to death.
Si dragged him up the steps of the opera house.
A soldier helped him to the majestic columns of the Opera House and let him lie down, then turned around and ran back to his post. Lana and other guards were using human walls to resist the incoming crowd, and beating them with sword scabbards and backs.
.There were shouts and curses everywhere.
"Griffith!"
Sonia ran out of the theater. With a handkerchief and a small bottle of medicine in her hand, she knelt beside Griffith to check his injury.
"I'm fine, um," Griffith recovered from his state of confusion and found several beaten young guards lying on the ground near him. Some of them had lost their helmets, and some had lost their helmets.
He lost his sword, his face was covered with bruises and bleeding wounds, and he looked like he had been beaten violently.
Sonia was wearing a beautiful pink dress with complicated crystal pendants sparkling in the sun. The open collar revealed her fair and tender shoulders, which made Griffith immediately worry that she would catch a cold in this cold weather.
"Sonia, it's very dangerous outside, ah! Griffith, how could you be beaten like this!" Fiona ran out of the hall holding up her skirt, and was startled by Griffith, who was bruised and swollen.
"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." Griffith waved his hands and stood up. The injuries on his face and body were just some bruises and abrasions, nothing serious.
At this moment, drums were beating loudly at the end of the street, and the earth-shaking sound of horse hooves rolled in. The huge crowd crowded there began to retreat.
A group of neatly dressed dragoons drove over from a nearby street. They held flying flags and were the mounted heavy infantry of the "Aurelius Antony Guards" stationed in the capital. This group of dragoons were all well-dressed
breastplate, and a strong bow and heavy arrows hung on the saddle, as if he was about to attack a fortress.
The noisy crowd roared in front of this group of dragoons.
"Disperse! Otherwise we will disperse you!" the dragoons shouted sternly.
The crowd stopped retreating and began to throw stones at them like raindrops. They even knocked two dragoons off their horses.
"Disperse! Otherwise we will disperse you!"
The dragoon commander turned his head and waved back.
"Grenadiers, come forward!"
The soldiers in the back row immediately jumped off their horses and took out porcelain bottles from the saddle pockets.
"Do it!"
The grenadiers threw the porcelain bottles into the crowd. With crisp crackling sounds, large clouds of smoke filled the air.
The smoke had a strong pungent smell. Immediately there was a cough and cry from the crowd. Immediately afterwards, the crowd that had been crowded at the intersection just now receded like the ebbing sea water.
The dragoons covered their mouths and noses and rode straight to the steps of the opera house. As soon as they surrounded the steps of the opera house, an officer jumped down and ran quickly to the main entrance.
The noble guests who had heard the news came out one after another, watching the officer under the protection of their guards.
"The Senate has ordered that the whole city is under martial law. My dragoons will escort ladies and gentlemen home," the officer paused. "All families must provide a fully armed cavalry and war horses to report to General MacDonald.
Save the King and the Senate from the mob. The above orders must be carried out immediately."
…
Griffith, Lannes, Murat, and many other young guards who knew or did not know each other were herded into a square.
"Young Guardsmen, come here!"
Almost every young non-commissioned officer in the capital knew the shouting Longbottom. He was wearing a full stiff uniform, waving his horsewhip and shouting, "Eat quickly. When we are full, we will kick the butts of those gangsters!"
Steaming white bread and sausages were placed in a frame and thrown in front of Griffith and other family guards. The wooden frame was also labeled with the bakery's morning shipping schedule, which was scrounged from nowhere.
The quartermaster brought milk, put it in small bottles and threw it into the arms of Griffith and other soldiers.
"Hurry up! Eat it in five minutes!"
It didn't take five minutes. Griffith had only taken two bites before he was pulled up by the officer and pushed to the roadside to stand. There, servants with different family crests embroidered on their clothes were taking off brand-new plate armor from the carriage.
Helmet and sword.
"Little guards, stand in line and go get your armor and horses!"
Longbottom, holding a riding crop, whipped the street lamp and gave orders in a thunderous voice.
Griffith was pushed around by the team and was finally pushed to the front of the carriage. A quartermaster picked up the breastplate and threw it on his head, and cursed viciously: "Go forward, go forward, you guys."
Fat puppy, move forward!"
The team continued to move, and several soldiers came up to help Griffith put on his plate armor, put on the coat and ribbon embroidered with the coat of arms of the Larmore family, and the officer patted the items wrapped in paper into their hands one by one.
Griffith tore open the package curiously, and a sweet smell immediately caught his taste buds.
This was a sweet made from a large piece of cocoa fruit. Galadia had given it to him. It was delicious and easy to fill up.
"I'll eat the chocolate later. You pigs who can't get enough to eat, move on, move on!"
Hundreds of young people wearing sharp clothes were pushed forward again. At the intersection, they saw the retainers sent by their lord's family.
"Mount your horse and follow Lord George Longbottom!" the orderly called in the cold wind, "Follow George Longbottom, fulfill your duties, and don't forget your oath!"
"Complete the mission, each person will receive two points of merit and two hundred silver coins!"
"Shu Toral, our honor is loyalty!"
The count's secretary, Armance Sauron, was also waiting there with a few servants. They also led a majestic war horse, which had already been covered with armor, and its ferocious horns were like a monster in the abyss. They saw
Griffith immediately pushed him onto his horse.
"Will you do it?" Sauron handed over the saber, his tone was strange and hoarse.
"What?" Griffith asked subconsciously.
"Will you do anything to them?" Sauron raised his head and looked at the trainee knight angrily. His eye circles were red and there were tears in the corners of his eyes.
"Are you going to take action against our fellow soldiers?"
…
Sonia was with many gentlemen and ladies from noble families. Most of their bodyguards had been drafted, and now they could only move slowly under the protection of dragoons.
They set out from Theater Square and passed by Senate Square, where they found the situation even more critical.
The crowd had occupied the square in front of the Senate Chamber, shouting slogans at the soldiers monitoring them. There were so many of them that they almost filled the field of vision.
The infantry and light cavalry who maintained order had hesitated and wavered, and were pushed back a little bit.
A crowd with firm eyes was gathering at the steps of the Senate, waving flags. The Senate guards were blocked at the entrance of the meeting hall and did not dare to move. More people occupied nearby parks and streets, setting up tattered flags there.
Tent, the formerly tidy and beautiful Upper Beyeland district looked like a rotten potato.
"These people are veterans who have retired from the Eastern Front! They come from the Verona region in the west and want compensation!"
"Didn't the Senate give the money? Why don't these gangsters go to their lord!?"
"They asked the Senate to accept the veterans' committee's proposal for compensation."
"Those shameless city defense troops didn't dare to attack them! Have they forgotten who usually takes care of them?"
The nobles who had grasped the situation began to send messages to each other. Now, they were blocked on the streets by a sea of veterans and civilians from the Western Region, and could not return to their warm and safe homes for a while.
Not far away, veterans formed a tight human wall, as if they were still on the battlefield at the end of the world. They were unarmed and covered their mouths and noses with thick cotton cloths, leaving only a pair of eyes glaring.
"Hurry up, Arthur!" A big noble shouted to General Macdonald Arthur who was present. Several of the youngest and most loyal members of his bodyguard had been removed, and there was no sense of security at all.
"Use tear gas!" Another count said sternly, "disperse them quickly!"
"Tear gas is useless against these hooligans, we have already tried it," General MacDonald raised the riding crop in his hand, turned around and said calmly to the nobles behind him: