Chapter 79 Close at hand
The setting sun was shining brightly, and the canyon sandwiched between two mountains was crowded with slowly moving villagers.
After walking for a day, their legs were already numb. As the slope became increasingly steep, there was almost no support except the crutches in their hands.
However, both the villagers and the senior leaders of the Papal State were in a good mood.
On this trip, except for a few people who caught colds and broke their legs, there were almost no problems that affected the progress.
This made Horn a little suspicious, checking everywhere for fear that something might go wrong at the critical moment.
But now, they have arrived at the scheduled crossing point on time.
After walking through the rope bridge not far ahead, you can enter the mountains in the center of the Thousand River Valley.
At that time, the knights would not be able to pursue them on horseback on the mountain road.
Yes, these villagers will soon be able to get rid of the threat of the church army.
Danji sat cross-legged on the top of the hillside, leaning his head on Black William's horse's legs, quietly looking at the setting sun.
Twenty years ago, as a fledgling, he would never have imagined that he would mix with these villagers and escape while being chased by other knights.
Is he still a knight now?
The long sword, which represents the knight's identity, is hung on the saddle.
But Danji couldn't get it because he couldn't lift it.
I don't know when he started to lose his grip on the knight's sword.
Every time he wanted to pull out the long sword, his hands shook like a sieve.
Dangi thought of Horn, who was shaking just as hard as the Holy Father when he got on top of him.
He had mixed feelings about Horne. He thought he was a liar at first, and then thought he was a cultist.
Later, he no longer knew what Horn was.
"Brother Danji, I caught a hare and come to eat it tonight."
"Okay, I will definitely come."
When the villagers passed by, Danji took it back The smile on his face gradually faded away again as he held his hand in greeting.
How happy these people are. In the past twenty years, Danji has never seen such happy villagers.
Maybe they will still be stingy, still take advantage, and still make trouble unreasonably.
But they were different from before. What exactly was different, Danji couldn't tell.
The Gulag Monastery is such a great place.
If the Gulag Monastery were an isolated island, Danji might be willing to live there for the rest of his life.
But the knights came, the church came.
They left that paradise-like island.
"Danji, what are you doing sitting here?"
Holding a bowl in his hand, drinking rotten bread soaked in rice cereal, the Pope squatted on the ground with his crown, like a peasant uncle squatting on the threshold to eat. .
He had to tell stories to the villagers during dinner time and plan tomorrow's route and march, so he simply had dinner in advance.
“If you are tired, take a rest.”
“I don’t feel tired even if you do the one-stage breathing method. Are you still tired after the four-stage breathing method?”
Without answering Horn's question, Danji asked softly: "Your Majesty, when you went to see my lord Myrcella, did she say that those guilty knights would go to hell?"
"䱱What's the crime? It's okay. I'll tell my mother that if you behave well in the future, you can be exempted from the penalty."
"Will I go to hell?"
"Most likely not. "Horn took a sip of rice cereal and said, "First, you are a high-ranking member of our Papal State. Second, you are a good person, better than many knights."
Danji did not reply, but spoke softly. He caressed the horse's legs next to Black William.
"If you are really afraid." Horn put the spoon in his mouth, took a sip, wiped off the rice cereal on it, and handed it to Danji.
"Come, holy relic."
Danji took the spoon in confusion.
"I am my mother's son. I can basically be regarded as my mother's holy relic. Then my things, according to the principle of transitivity, are also holy relics." Horn stretched out five fingers, "This spoon, It can atone for the sins of five hundred thousand years."
Holding the spoon in his hand, Danji's serious face suddenly lost his composure, and he couldn't help laughing. Horn was sipping the rice cereal in circles, with a smile on his face as well.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Before Danji's laughter stopped, a child soldier rushed out of the bushes while crawling.
"What's the matter?" Patting Danji on the shoulder, Horn quickly stood up and came forward.
“Those knights, they are coming, I saw them, many people, many, many.”
Time suddenly became quiet.
“The knights are here, how come it’s so fast?” Regardless of the heat, Horn swallowed the rice porridge and monster meat in one gulp and asked inarticulately.
The face of the boy soldier was covered with small wounds separated by bushes: "I don't know, but they did come."
"The goats today, all the messengers are here" Call!"
Handing the sacred relic of the pottery bowl to the boy soldier, Horn wiped his hands on his pants and began to issue orders quickly.
"Abandon the irrelevant baggage... Those broken pottery bowls are irrelevant!" ”
“Let the ten households, one team at a time, speed up and pass the rope bridge, and no jostling is allowed! "
The boy army rushed down the hillside to convey the new news to the ten households, and the team that was originally advancing slowly increased its speed visibly.
Horn's As soon as Bian gave the order, Sissi rushed over at a trot from the other side of the hillside: "Your Majesty, do you know that the knights are catching up? ”
"Already know." Horn looked into the distance. He didn't know how long those knights were left, but at least they couldn't see clearly yet.
"This is a three-day journey. We are three full days away. They only set off at noon yesterday and arrived this evening?"
"Maybe the infantry and baggage were all Throw it away?" Sissi wiped the sweat from her forehead: "Besides, you walked a total of 50 miles in three days. If the road was not too muddy and you had to look for our traces, they would have arrived long ago."
< br> Jeanne climbed up the hillside from the other side at this moment: "What's going on? Why did the team suddenly speed up? There are many people nearby scouting and collecting potato roots."
"Blow the whistle and call them. Come back, the knight is catching up.”
Before Horn finished speaking, the villagers below began to run and yell.
“Shameless things, they agreed to walk, but they actually rode horses?”
“Don’t we also use horse-drawn carts?”
“That’s different. , we are from the same priesthood, we are either young generals or veterans. How dare those stinky knights cheat?"
"Hey, understand, is it possible that people without feet are not allowed to use crutches?"
They were laughing and cursing, but the villagers still moved their sore calves neatly and stepped faster.
"How long will it take for them to arrive?" Horn looked to the west. Among the mountains, he could only see black swallows flying in the red sun.
"Maybe five small hourglasses (5 minutes)."
"Then how long will it take us to walk there?"
"At least until the sun is blocked by the mountain Live.”
"That's the time of eight small hourglasses."
Sissi glanced at the crowd below: "At least two hundred to three hundred people will not be able to cross the bridge in time..."
"To Abandon them?"
"Is it too late to let them throw away all their luggage?"
Horn and Sissi were discussing fiercely behind them, but Danji made no move. No more laughing.
He raised his head and saw the rolling hills. The evening glow penetrated the clouds and cut through the mountains and green land.
It has been cloudy all day, but now in the evening, the sun shines.
Raising his head, Danji closed his eyes. The wind was filled with the sound of laughter and footsteps, the crunch of wheels running over the ground, and the rustle of leaves caressing the evening breeze.
Opening his eyes again, Danji took out the knight's sword from the saddle.
The sword no longer shakes.
(End of this chapter)