Steel Chang'an

Chapter 91

not long ago.

Xiao Yuan stood on the coastal defense wall.He wrapped the knight's cloak tightly around his body, still feeling the chill through his bones.His attendant, a rather quick-witted young man, brought him a cup of hot honey syrup.He took a sip of this cloyingly sweet drink before he felt a little warmth in his body.He held the steaming cup of drink in his palm and looked up at the gray sky.This bloody ghost place.he thought.It's spring, and the East China Sea is still so cold.Only a knight like him who was in a marginal position in the Xiao family would be sent to such a remote territory to guard the most marginal coastal defense wall.

"All ground entrances have been checked, sir," a soldier reported to him.Xiao Yuan nodded seriously.Despite the complaints in his heart, Xiao Yuan did not dare to take the job of guarding the coastal defense wall lightly.There are frequent tsunamis these days, and I heard that even sea bitches have come ashore. If one of these things enters the city, it will be enough for him to drink a pot.Fortunately, the coastal defense wall around this crown city is strong enough that it has not been flooded for hundreds of years.Even so, Xiao Yuan still has to patrol along this [-]-mile-long coastal defense wall every day, and he usually chooses to start the day's patrol before the sun rises in the morning.It was the time of day when the soldiers on night duty were looking forward to their shift and the soldiers on the early shift were yawning, and it was the time of day when they were most lethargic, and he could kick their butts all the way around to cheer them up.

"When was the sealing ring of No. 60 No. [-] safety valve replaced?" He kicked up a sleepy-eyed soldier and asked seemingly casually.In fact he just passed over that safety valve, he had seen the inspection records of that valve, the safety valve was in good condition, the seal was just replaced three days ago.He just wanted to use this tricky question to wake up the soldiers and keep them vigilant at all times.

The soldier stared at him dumbfounded. "Don't you know anything about the coastal defense wall that you are guarding, soldier?" Xiao Yuan raised his voice and reprimanded, "There will be a tsunami at any time these days, and you know what the consequences will be if a safety valve fails Is it?" The soldier still looked at him in shock, opening his mouth like an idiot. "Answer the question, soldier, your officer is talking to you!" Xiao Yuan shouted a little annoyed.At this moment, his squire, the clever young man, whispered in his ear: "Look there, sir."

Xiao Yuan turned around, only to realize that the soldier was not looking at him just now, but the abandoned city behind him.Under the gray sky, he vaguely saw black shadows pouring out of the abandoned city.Has the tsunami already started?Xiao Yuan grabbed the lookout mirror from his attendant's hand.

That's people.Only then did he see clearly.The black shadows that he took as waves just now were black crowds.Countless people emerged from the ground, and they were all running as if something was chasing them.It turned out that these sea people usually hide underground in this abandoned city, right under their noses.Xiao Yuan thought with some surprise.These guys are just like mice, and their sense of smell is as sensitive as mice. Every time he goes to catch them, he hides without a trace... He thought, and suddenly became vigilant: the mice suddenly left their lair, this means--

He raised the binoculars, adjusted the focus and looked into the distance, taking a deep breath.The sea was glowing with red blood, and huge waves up to tens of meters were advancing heavily. When he zoomed in, he could clearly see ferocious sea beasts wrapped in the huge waves, just like A red devil gushing from the gates of hell.

It's not just a tsunami, it's a red tide.Xiao Yuan put down the looking glass and thought in shock.He still remembered that he had seen records about red tides a long time ago.These beasts are natural hunters, with extremely high IQs, and sharp claws that can tear alloy armor.They hunt everything that can be hunted, including humans.When they are hungry on land, they will try their best to climb the sea defense wall and enter the human city...

"Everyone is on alert!" he shouted loudly, "Immediately lock all ground entrances! Turn on the power grid! The moat guns are ready!"

His squire immediately ran to deliver his order.The soldier who was questioned by him before was still standing in front of him in a daze. "You heard what I said, soldier," Xiao Yuan didn't have the heart to reprimand him, "Hurry back to your post!"

"What about those people, sir?" The soldier stretched out a finger timidly, pointing at the groups of sea folk who were swarming towards the coastal defense wall below them.

Oh, now you're talking.Xiao Yuan glanced at him, "Your responsibility is to guard this coastal defense wall, soldier, and other things have nothing to do with you. Always remember that behind this wall, there are hundreds of thousands of lives that need you Guardian." He said solemnly, patted the soldier's shoulder, and without waiting for him to say anything, he turned around and strode forward.

In fact, he thought as he walked, he hoped there were enough sea folk down there to feed the monsters, and maybe they'd spare the city.

Gran realized he might have made a mistake.He didn't accept Madden's suggestion to let the sea dwellers continue to hide underground in the abandoned city, but led them to the coastal defense wall with a closed entrance.Madden believed in the young man named Mu Yun.He and his band of followers believed that the young man was the embodiment of the Knight of Light.Gran didn't know what Madden was thinking.There are many disciples among the sea people, they believe that the storm of annihilation will come again, the Knights of Light will be regrouped, and the real knights will stand up to that set of illusory things.But Marden was one of the first disciples to give up his faith. When Gran was going to seek the help of the noble knights to eliminate the sea bitch, Marden even expressed his opposition.He didn't know when Madden's faith suddenly came back.Maybe it has something to do with the guy who visited the sea folk gathering place not long ago.Perhaps Madden is just like most sea people, their lives are too hopeless, so they want to hold on to the last illusory hope.

But Gran couldn't do that.He couldn't pin his hopes on something so absurd as the incarnation of the Knight of Light.His father is not here, and he must shoulder the responsibility of leading the Sea People.He cannot entrust the lives of 10 people on one person.Compared with the illusory legends, he is more willing to believe in something that actually exists, such as the coastal defense wall.

He was wrong.Gran thought.He shouldn't have pinned his hopes on the nobles' coastal defenses.Madden is right.Instead of believing in the conscience of the noble lord, he might as well believe in the illusory prophecies of his disciples.He looked up at the towering and stretching copper wall and iron wall.When they had just arrived under the wall, they found that all the ground entrances had been locked.The defense officer in charge of guarding the coastal defense wall, the knight lord named Xiao Yuan, refused to talk to them at all at first.It wasn't until more and more sea people swarmed in, and the sea people who were trapped under the wall and had nowhere to go started desperately trying to break open the safety gate of the ground entrance, then Master Xiao Yuan came forward to assure them, He is urging the city lord to let them pass, as long as he gets the permission of the city lord, he will immediately open the ground entrance.Gran took him at his word, and he persuaded the Sea Folk who were attempting to breach the security gate to stop and wait for the result.

They fell for it.Gran saw the blue arcs of electric light spread straight down from the top of the city wall in a dense grid, and realized that Xiao Yuan's promise to them to obtain the permission of the city lord just now was just a delaying tactic, he was buying time to open the city wall Protect the grid.It was even possible that Xiao Yuan had already ordered the power grid to be turned on when they had just arrived at the coastal defense wall.It's just that the area of ​​the city wall is too large, and it takes time for the power grid to pass from the top of the city wall to the ground.And they found out too late.Now they can no longer threaten Xiao Yuan to open the ground entrance by destroying the safety valve.The grid strength of the coastal defense wall is used to intercept huge sea beasts weighing dozens of tons, and humans cannot approach them at all.But even so, when people saw the huge bloody waves getting closer and closer, their desire for survival made them still desperately squeeze towards the coastal defense wall. Pushing and hitting the power grid, they suddenly turned into rows of charred corpses.The coastal defense wall that could have brought them vitality has completely become a wall of death.The people in front began to cry out in fear, but the unknown people behind continued to squeeze forward.Gran tried to get up high, shouting and waving his hands, trying to keep the crowd in place, but the situation was completely out of control.Desperate cries and groans drowned out his voice, and there were crowds of heads all around him, crackling electric sparks and a strong smell of burning in the air.There are more than [-] people here.Gran thought in a daze.It was I who led these people to a dead end.His feet were pushed off the ground, Black Fang roared anxiously beside him, his strong muscles bulged, trying to support the crowd behind him, but he was still pushed forward.They were deeply trapped in the crowd, surrounded and pushed by the surrounding crowd, and they approached the wall of death little by little.

Xiao Yuan put his hands behind his back and looked down at the chaotic scene.Looking down from the height he was standing, those swarming human heads were no bigger than insects.They crashed into the Shanghai defense wall, and the behavior of sparking a burst of electric sparks was no different from that of moths jumping into a flame. "Is it really okay if you don't report this to the city lord and the family lord, sir?" the clever attendant whispered in his ear.

"The city lord is thousands of miles away at this moment. His old man and the patriarch are preparing nervously for entering the Yin Ruins. It is a major event related to the fate of the Xiao family and even the entire Donglin. How can we, as subordinates, bother with such a trivial matter? They." Xiao Yuan replied lightly.

The attendant bowed silently, indicating that he was educated.He poked his head out to look down, and after a while, he said again: "These sea people are looking for their own death. It's just that there are so many of them, and batch after batch of them hit the power grid one after another. Cause loss to the grid, isn't it..."

Xiao Yuan sighed in his heart, thinking that this attendant usually looks clever, but in fact he is still confused in major matters. "Do you think my order to close the entrance, open the power grid, and prevent these sea people from passing is too cruel?"

"What about you?" He turned around, glanced at the silent soldiers, and asked in a raised voice, "Look at what is happening under this wall, listen to the screams of those sea people, and answer me loudly, are you Don't you think I'm holding these hundreds of thousands of people under the wall, relentless and ruthless?"

No one dared to answer his question.Xiao Yuan spent enough time building up his prestige on them, and the effect he received was very good.These well-trained soldiers lowered their heads, even though they had expressions of dissatisfaction on their faces, they never dared to let Xiao Yuan see them, but their stiff postures that could not bear to look down the wall still betrayed their current state of mind. Feeling.Xiao Yuan took a deep breath, pointed to one of the soldiers and asked, "What about the ground entrance of the coastal defense wall? How long will it take for the power grid to be turned on and the entire vertical wall to be energized?"

The soldier didn't understand what he meant, but still instinctively recited aloud: "There is an entrance every mile on the coastal defense wall, and there are four gates. Each gate takes six seconds to open and close, and at most four people can pass through at the same time. It takes eight minutes and 20 seconds to charge the grid to fully open."

"Very good, do you understand what these numbers mean?" Xiao Yuan said loudly, "The red tide is right in front of you, look at the more than [-] people here, look at the chaotic situation, do the math yourself, let them all pass How much time will it take? If these people pass halfway through, but the red tide arrives, will those who have not passed in time retreat obediently to the gate and wait to die? At that time, the gate will not be able to be closed, and the power grid will not be opened in time. What will happen? Do you have any thoughts? ever?

"Ten thousand steps back, even if all these hundreds of thousands of people pass the coastal defense wall before the red tide arrives, have you ever thought about how to deal with these people at that time? These people need to eat, drink and live, and where do they get supplies? Come? If their needs are not met and a riot breaks out in the city, with our current strength in the city, can we stop them?
"Your wives, children, parents, loved ones, are all behind this wall. It is you and their grandparents who have worked hard and paid taxes for generations to build this wall, maintain this wall, and make this wall It has been standing for hundreds of years until now. These lowly sea people in front of you, who have never made any contribution to this wall, just want to sit back and enjoy the shelter of this wall. Are you going to do it for this group of pariahs? , put the lives and properties of your wives, children, and elders in danger?"

He was satisfied to see the suddenly enlightened look on the faces of the soldiers.The soldier who had lowered his head in shame gradually straightened his back.Very well, he thought, they now realize that what they have done is not something to be ashamed of. "Remember," he said loudly, "our duty is to guard this coastal defense wall. What we want to protect is the people behind this wall. We must put our duty first at all times, and all issues must be considered This is the starting point. We swear not to let a drop of sea water or a sea beast cross this wall, and no matter what happens outside the wall, we will never be shaken!"

"Yes!" The soldiers puffed out their chests and replied in unison.Xiao Yuan was very satisfied with the effect of his words.He turned around and patted the attendant on the shoulder, "You are still young, it is a good thing to have sympathy, but cheap sympathy can only be a bad thing." He said kindly, "Although you are only my attendant now , but you are also an apprentice knight. One day, you will become a knight, take charge of your own affairs, and even take over my position and give orders. At that time, you will understand that every order you make will determine the fate of people, not only It is your own, the fate of your soldiers, and the fate of more people. So you must figure out your position and who you should protect."

"However, shouldn't a real knight try his best to protect everyone, regardless of his or her relatives..." Perhaps encouraged by Xiao Yuan's kind attitude, the young attendant boldly said cautiously, "Those sea people, Could it be that we really have no choice but to watch them die?"

"The kind of real knight you mentioned only exists in legends." Xiao Yuan tried his best to restrain the disgust in his heart for the childishness of this young man suddenly revealed by his always clever attendant, and said lightly , "Let's face it, kid, in this situation, unless a miracle happens, the Knight of Light will come again, split the earth, and the sea will flow back, saving the lives of these sea people."

At this moment, several soldiers suddenly exclaimed at the same time.Xiao Yuan turned around and found that all the soldiers were pointing to the distant sea.There, a ray of light rushed out of the sea, like a star rising from the sea, lifted high by the huge waves, and dragging its white light up to the sky.Xiao Yuan grabbed the lookout mirror and chased after the trail of the light.The moment he finally focused, he couldn't believe what his eyes saw—the object wrapped in that white light turned out to be a battle armor!
It was only a very short moment, and the light rushed towards the sea like a falling star, plunged into the huge waves, and disappeared, only the dazzling light remained on people's retinas.

About two or three seconds later, they all heard a loud noise, like the sound of the earth cracking, and a violent shock shook the coastal defense wall that had stood for hundreds of years, and many soldiers fell to the ground unexpectedly .Xiao Yuan held on to the guardrail in front of him, and still held onto the observation mirror tightly with one hand. He saw a thrilling scene: the huge bloody waves tens of meters high suddenly slowed down, as if the bottom of the sea suddenly stretched out. It was as if a pair of huge invisible hands were pulling it hard; the wall of death composed of sea water and red devils moved slower and slower towards the shore, and the bright red red tide rushed through the old incomplete coastal defense wall and flooded the flat ground , rolled over a wheat field, and rushed to the hillside in front of the wheat field——

Then step back.

Gran got up from the ground.He didn't know what happened just now.After a loud noise, his surroundings suddenly became quiet, the crowd seemed to stop moving forward, and more and more people turned their heads and looked towards the direction of the sea.All kinds of news came to Gran from the end of the crowd. He heard all kinds of absurd nonsense. Some people just saw a shooting star rising into the sky from the huge waves. Throw a huge white lightsaber down from the sky and into the sea.In all the words, a name was repeatedly mentioned, and people kept repeating that name and the four words "Knight of Light". Around him, some people began to kneel down and touch the ground with their foreheads, and then more and more people Kneeling down, there was a cry from the crowd, it was the joyful cry of the rest of the life after the catastrophe.

Gran was still standing there, he didn't believe in miracles, he didn't believe in the prophecies of his disciples, and he didn't believe that the young knight was the incarnation of the Knight of Light.But the kneeling crowd around him cleared his field of vision, allowing him to finally see the distant scene clearly: the red tide did not push forward any further, and the huge wave was blocked by the hillside.So the young man really did.Gran thought in shock.Like Madden said, miracles did happen.They are saved.

(End of this chapter)