The City of Marronligar

When Adrian and Louis led the mercenaries into the barracks, Cynthia happened to come out of the confinement room in the corner of the camp, the sword in her hand was still dripping blood.

Just now, she personally executed several speculators who maliciously raised food prices, monopolized ships, and demanded huge shipping fees from civilians.In order to seize the opportunity to extract the last bit of wealth from Marenliga, they tried to gamble before the army came to the city, but they also paid the price of their lives.

While wiping the blood-stained long sword, Cynthia ordered the adjutants beside her: "Confiscate all their property, put the confiscated grain into the public treasury, and distribute it according to the usual practice. Their family members will be directly expelled from the city."

The old and new nobles and merchants who used to hold the power and resources of the city-state have left.Compared with grassland tribes or pirates, their plundering of city-state civilians is "moderate" and "decent", but also more thorough.The damage they had done to Marenliga was irretrievable, leaving the garrison an untenable mess.

The few people who used blood-stained money and power to create the "glory of the city-state" betrayed Marunliga, the civilians who lived here, and the warriors who would fight and die for it.

What the late General Lucien was unable to do, on the contrary, has obtained the premise of practice in the present.However, under the boundless shadow of this war, the businessmen Cynthia punished were nothing more than speculators from the middle and lower classes of the old ruling class, and they were hardly comparable to the dignitaries of the year.

But even if it's a dead end, the last guardian of Maren Riga must do so.

It is not forced by duty, nor can it be said that it is "as a last resort".They knew what was waiting for them ahead—before burying the city with a tragic and magnificent death, they had to fight for even a moment of life for the innocent people in the city.

Seeing Adrian who had returned to the city, Cynthia squeezed out a wry smile on her frowning face——Among the several forces that had been active in Marenlica, except for the garrison, only the Torreso family was still holding on .

Adrian told her that he brought back a group of mercenaries from Kirov.Although there are not many people, at least they can help a little before the city is breached, and strive to send as many civilians away safely as possible.

In order to dispel Cynthia's concerns about the mercenaries' position, he added: "They are either from the south, or they are northerners who were driven away from their hometown by Kullman's iron cavalry. They will never join forces with our enemies. Moreover, as long as there are This person is here, and their combat effectiveness can also be trusted."

As he spoke, Adrian deliberately led the accompanying mercenary captain to the female officer.

Cynthia looked at the mercenary leader who was about 50 years old, with hoarfrost on his beard and hair, but no less capable than a young and middle-aged man.The moment she recognized the other party, she couldn't help taking a half step back in shock: "You, could it be—"

The other party bowed slightly and revealed his identity frankly: "It's me, Louis Cormac."

Cynthia took a deep breath and said with a wry smile, "Master Cormac, I never expected to see you again." She looked at Adrian, and was also happy for this young Torresso who had tried his best to rescue Luis. "The case in the Governor's Mansion back then was indeed not done by you."

Louis no longer needs to lie: "It's really not me."

The person who most wanted to send him to the execution ground was no longer alive, and those who had conspired with Chu De either died or left Marunliga.Today, no one will pursue Louis's status as a "fugitive", and no one will even pursue who killed Governor Morgis.

In this endgame with no future in sight, the unjust case 16 years ago just turned into a wisp of smoke, like the thick moisture in the dungeon, the thick noose on the execution platform, and the heavy rain that blocked the sky They have all become misty rumors that are not worth recalling.

"It's a pity we don't have time to catch up on the old days." Cynthia sighed.

She put the cleaned long sword back into its sheath, looked at the mercenaries brought by Louis, and quickly thought about what tasks could be arranged: "For the sake of convenience, there has never been a complete city wall between the urban area and the southeast fishing village, and now it can be repaired." It was too late. Fortunately, the terrain was more complicated, and we dug a deep ditch. Neither the cavalry nor the siege equipment could get through. You guys can help me with this."

Cynthia knew that she couldn't force the mercenaries to fight with the garrison until the end, or even put their lives in order to complete the commission, otherwise she would be sorry for Adrian's dedication.She quickly added: "Just hold on till the last boat leaves...please."

Louis met Cynthia's downcast eyes and solemnly replied, "We will accept this commission."

Adrian took over the words: "I will pay the entrustment fee."

Cynthia looked at the two gratefully—the current garrison is really stretched, and the assets confiscated from the merchants are too late to be repaid to the mercenary group.

"I still have to ask your sergeant to lead my men and tell them where to set up their defenses," Louis said again. "Adrian and I are going to Silver Bay Tower first."

Cynthia nodded: "Okay. Speaking of which, the old curator of Silver Bay Tower seems to be dying..."

"Come on, let me move the pillow. Does this make you more comfortable?" Liz leaned against her grandfather's bed, gently holding that old and feeble hand, and talking to him softly.

His students and friends stood aside and had to think about cruel and practical issues such as funeral arrangements in advance.Seamus, who left Silver Bay Tower when he was young, is also one of them.

The elderly curator was already suffering from illness, and his strong worries about the current situation made the situation worse. On the eve of the fall, Marenlica was short of medical care and medicine, and now he has more energy than energy.

The curator struggled to open his mouth, but he could only make a hoarse breath, and the hand that was holding Liz tightened suddenly.Liz quickly leaned close to his head, trying to hear his broken words when he was dying: "The ship...our ship..."

"Don't worry, the most precious documents have already been moved onto the ship, and now there is only the last batch of books left."

Liz did not dare to tell her grandfather that the beast-like Kullman army was less than a day away from Marenliga, and the guards on the tower could already see the banners of their vanguard cavalry from a distance. But a few days.

In order to preserve as much as possible the fire of knowledge that has been burning for hundreds of years in Marunliga, Silver Bay Tower rented a light sailboat to transport part of the collection of books and cultural relics collected in the tower.The collection of Silver Bay Tower is too large to be transported away, and people have to make difficult choices: which will be sent to foreign countries, and which will be left to the flames lit by the Kurmans.

At the same time, because the critically ill old curator urgently needs the care of Liz and others, the ship has not set off for a long time.

In other words, when the old curator passes away, the Yinwan Tower Library will officially withdraw from the stage of history.

The old man's cloudy eyes could no longer provide a vision clear enough to see faces.He could only raise his other hand and tremblingly stretched out to the blurred color block not far away: "Seamus...you come here."

With his head down, Seamus walked quickly to the old curator's bed, with his bent knees touching the floor.

"Teacher, I'm here." He held the old man's hand, with a guilty expression like the student who made a mistake decades ago.

Liz knew that her grandfather wanted to say something to Seamus alone, so she avoided it temporarily knowingly.

As soon as she walked out of the room, Liz's slender shoulders collapsed feebly.

The only family member may leave her at any time, but she still has to forcefully handle the urgent affairs calmly, without even a chance to cry—not only the funeral of the old curator, but also the burden of the Silver Bay Tower falls on Liz On her shoulders, she must pass on the fire that her grandfather guarded for most of her life.

Adrian and Louis came up to meet her and asked her softly, "How is the curator doing now?"

In Liz's eyes, the bounty hunter's face is already a bit unfamiliar, but she can still read a little familiar feeling from those eyes after stripping off the 16 years of vicissitudes on the surface.

She rubbed her frown with her pale and slender fingers, and shook her head helplessly: "I'm afraid he won't last tonight. He hasn't been able to eat or drink water for several days. I tremble every time he falls asleep." Yes, I'm really afraid that when he sleeps..."

The words she didn't dare to finish and the strong nasal voice exposed Liz's fragility at the moment.She folded her arms, her shoulders touching the wall were still trembling slightly with her breathing.

"Seamus...you have finally returned to Silver Bay Tower."

The old curator was using his last bit of strength to make a weak voice.

During the time when he was sick in bed, the old curator's thinking declined severely, and he repeatedly combined the people in front of him with the faces in his memory. children have died of the plague.

With the help of the "reflection" at the end of life, those blurred pictures and texts become a little bit clearer, and the consciousness is also rarely clear. It seems that at any time, it may transcend this old and frail body and soar to another world of consciousness.

The old curator remembered everything.What he got, what he got and lost, and what he never had.

Seamus was once his most promising student, and Seamus leaving Silver Bay Tower has become one of his most regrettable things.The rebellious student is no longer young and has experienced enough joys and sufferings to make one doubt one's very existence.The old curator still believes that the current Seamus can understand and inherit his will.

Compared with the history of a city or a civilization, a person's life cannot be considered "long" anyway.But it is the short and pitiful life of human beings who truly appreciate the importance of history and can comment on it.

To build a bridge between finite life and infinite knowledge, this is the significance of Silver Bay Tower.But if we really wanted to protect this bridge, the Silver Bay Tower had to return to the real world.

Back then Seamus was forced to leave Silver Bay Tower because of "worldly" reasons.

"Seamus... I remember your article. On slavery and Maren Riga..."

"On Slavery and the True Origin of Maren Riga." Seamus reported the topic for his dying mentor. "Teacher, you taught me how to think like a historian, but because of my childishness and impulsiveness, I almost caused the Silver Bay Tower to be blamed. It's really..."

The head of the old curator shook slightly on the pillow twice: "No...you are right, Seamus, it's just Maren Liga...it is not a perfect Utopia, and it cannot tolerate all the truth without any scruples. What you write involves the... legitimacy of the city-state."

Unlike the "innate freedom" advertised in the city-state's official history, the first brick laid by Marunliga here was also stained with the blood of slaves, but the stains of the early days of the city's construction were quickly concealed deliberately, and even the Silver Bay Tower could not be destroyed. There is no compromise on this.

Seamus had wanted to unravel the fog over the essence of Marenliga, but in order to protect the Silver Bay Tower from the attack of the city hall, he had to burn the manuscript and left this temple of knowledge sadly.And at the last moment of Marunliga and Silver Bay Tower, Seamus seems to have returned to the past, regaining the mentality of fighting to defend knowledge.

Holding the mentor's hand, he felt that the old man's life was passing by little by little, just like the Silver Bay Tower they were in at the moment.

"Silver Bay Tower... I will leave it to you and Liz..." The old curator's breath was as weak as a candle in the wind, but his thin fingers like dead branches were still tightly grasping Seamus, as if grasping Time from the Pearl River to the sea. "Seamus, help me up, let me take another look at it—"

His breathing became more and more rapid and weak, but a strange light flashed in his cloudy eyes.So bright, so eager, like a star high in the sky, like a lighthouse guarding Silver Bay.

If the mentor and classmates of the old curator were still alive, they would be able to recognize the source of this light—sixty years ago, when he first stepped into the gate of the Silver Bay Tower, the same light was shining in his eyes.

The hand that was holding Seamus suddenly stiffened and then slowly loosened, and the flames that lived in the old body burned to the end.

The old curator half closed his eyes and fell into a long sleep that could not be awakened by the sound of bells or cannons.

"Liz——Miss Liz!" The servants accompanying the left and right were crying, eagerly calling the name of the successor of the Silver Bay Tower.

Liz pushed open the door when she heard the sound, and rushed straight to the bed of the old curator. She stumbled upon her grandfather's pulse that was no longer beating.

The body of the old curator was placed in the coffin prepared in advance in the Silver Bay Tower, but the light cavalry of the Kurmans had been stationed in the outer suburbs of Marunliga, and it was impossible to go to the cemetery outside the city.Fortunately, when the Yinwan Tower was built, there were some secret doors hidden. At first, it was to preserve a small number of extremely valuable books and cultural relics, and now it has come in handy.

So, everyone left the coffin in the empty library under the Yinwan Tower.Just above is the statue of the god in the center of the library, which will be covered with sunlight from the dome during the day.

This also fulfilled the last wish of the old curator, to let his soul and body stay forever in the place he loved with all his life.

After a simple and hasty funeral, the servants who have not yet left the Silver Bay Tower are preparing to transfer the last batch of books to the ship.The collection of books in the Silver Bay Tower should not be underestimated. The remaining dozen or so carriages in the city finally gathered in front of the steps, waiting for an order from Liz to load dozens of heavy wooden boxes to the pier.

After sunset, the north wind blew harder, and the orange afterglow was swallowed inch by inch by the night in the cold new wind.Rolling dark clouds began to gather, and the snow probably only happened in the past two days.

Citizens with bags on their backs are still flocking to the pier, and the approaching flames of war have burned their heads.There were crying children and old people who were unwilling to leave home, and there were also devout prayers that once disappeared with the religious order.

And in this tide-like chaos, the bell ringing specially for the old curator is so sacred and solemn.

Liz and Seamus stood in front of the Silver Bay Tower, watching Louis and Adrian leave together.Except for the few who would rather stay at home until they die, most of the existing population of Marenliga has gathered in the harbor area, trying to squeeze onto the departing ships.The Flying Lion Mansion and the remaining underground gangs are assisting the City Watch to maintain law and order at the pier.

"Uncle Seamus," Liz hugged her arms tightly, the tears that had soaked her eyes red had dried up in the wind. "I've changed my mind."

Seamus turned his head and asked her softly, "What's wrong?"

Liz bit her lower lip lightly, and clenched her clothes tightly with her fingers: "I heard from people at the dock that there are not enough boats here to evacuate all the citizens—even if there are a few more boats, I'm afraid it won't work."

"I know the situation." Seamus sighed deeply.

"So... so, there is no need to transport this batch of books. The Varina we rented still has more than half of the space, which can be reserved for other citizens. I know it can't hold many people, but it can save a little bit. "

To make such a decision, she obviously made a lot of determination.

Seamus was taken aback for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Let's do it like this."

He turned around and looked devoutly at the statue standing in the center of the library: "Yes, knowledge is supreme, but if there are no people, what is the meaning of this knowledge? As long as they survive, the life of Silver Bay Tower It will live on in them."

Liz looked at Seamus and asked, "What about you, do you want to go with us?"

Seamus replied firmly: "No, I will stay."

Liz's eyes widened in astonishment—she knew exactly what was waiting for Maren Liga.

And Seamus is already ready to "guard the tomb" for the Silver Bay Tower: "You know the mechanism of the side tower, right? That was my favorite place when I was young. Although not all books can escape, but Our efforts will not be in vain if only a part, even a book or two, is saved."

Standing under the eaves of the Silver Bay Tower for a long time, like a half-life wanderer finally returning to his hometown, Seamus felt unprecedentedly calm: "'It's a little bit that can be saved', right? Like a soldier in the garrison, Liz , you and I are fighting for Maren Liga, I believe this is what the teacher wants to see."

The author has something to say: Refrain-SENS