Chapter 155: No one crosses the river, but the public crosses the river! [4k5 -in-]

"You mean, the Imperial Order Company has already breached three fortresses. How could it be so fast?"

Horn didn't have time to sort out his confused thoughts about Jeanne and asked impatiently.

"How should I know?" The witch in black who came to contact spread her hands, "It can only be that the Imperial Order Company is too strong."

Horn took two steps back and fell to the ground. Could it be so fast?

According to common sense, even the three outermost fortresses could be attacked in ten days, half a month, or even one or two months.

A castle guarded by dozens of extraordinary knights should be able to resist tens of thousands of ordinary people or thousands of extraordinary knights.

At the current speed, they will reach Jeanne d'Arc in three or four days at most. How is this possible?
Taking a deep breath and suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Horn said to the witch in black: "I understand."

"You are lucky. If it was four or five days later, you probably wouldn't have been able to leave." The witch in black sighed casually and went to the river to wait for the boat.

Horn sat under the lime tree, looking at the winding river, but he didn't know what to say.

But what does this have to do with me? Sooner or later, Horn will have to go.

Horn's chest was rising and falling violently. Why should he care so much?

"Your Majesty, do you have time now?" Armand came over from the side and said hesitantly, "I have something to report to you. It is something very important."

Horn rubbed his cheeks, took a deep breath and said slowly: "You say."

"We found that of the twelve anomalous bills from 1425, four were perfect matches for blue-blood orphans."

Armand's voice was not loud, but when he spoke it was earth-shattering.

"You see, the place where the fur is produced is the birthplace of the blue-blooded orphan, the year is the age, and the time of storage is..."

"Is someone in Jeanne d'Arc manipulating and selling blue blood wine?" Horn seemed to be hit by a heavy hammer, and for a moment he was a little confused. "Are those wrong accounts money laundering?"

The Blue Blood Orphanage is indeed close to Fort Joan of Arc, and next to Fort Joan of Arc, there is actually a canal!

The most important thing is, into whose hands did the money get laundered?

Then whoever can reach this level... no, no, no, it may not be Dane, maybe it is the local church?
But Burwif from the local church is clearly Darnay’s dog?

Armand is still talking:

“Then after our verification, we found that the income from these four transactions was exactly lost in futures.

But we found that the chamber of commerce that hedged their futures was the same one, called Ruger Chamber of Commerce.

Although we did not find out the specific situation of the Ruger Chamber of Commerce, we found out that one of the controlling shareholders of the Ruger Chamber of Commerce is Mr. G. "

At this point, Armand suddenly changed the subject: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the locksmith thief named Hemordine?"

"Remember? Why are you asking this?"

"She was there when I was talking to Bonard about this, and she told me that she might know who Mr. G is."

"How did she know?"

"She tried to escape from the Chateau Jeanne not for any other reason, but because when she was stealing things under the guise of a riot, she saw Castiel, who was escaping from the yard, being killed by several robbers, who shouted that Castiel was Mr. G."

At this time, Duvalon poked his head out and said, "Your Majesty, I laughed at Casti's obituary because his middle name was [Gee]."

"So, we speculate that there is a high probability that Casti is the controlling shareholder of the Ruger Chamber of Commerce. As for the actual controlling shareholder of the Chamber of Commerce..."

Armand dared not say any more.

As if struck by lightning, Horn seemed to connect everything.

With Casti's position, it is impossible for him to manipulate these things.

In 1425, Darnay succeeded to the throne. However, Pope John VIII always favored the North. How could he possibly help Darnay?
Is there a possibility that Danai was young and hot-tempered and threatened to break up with the church by using the blue blood wine?

Otherwise, why did they close the canal and the land checkpoints with such fanfare? Wasn't it because they were afraid that the Blue Blood Orphanage would be secretly relocated?

But why wasn't he afraid of the explosion at that time?
Wait, could it be that this has been going on since the time of Duke Kush’s father?

He has just ascended the throne and his hands are not dirty yet, so he has nothing to be afraid of!
No no no, there is no real evidence, it's all just chance.

But what if, what if, it's true?

Horn sat there in a daze. As the former king of the Thousand River Valley people, he was actually using his own people to make wine and selling it for profit.

Wait, if the Duke already knew about the blue blood wine, why did he act like that earlier that day?

Thinking back on his expression now, it was more of fear than surprise.

Based on this, if he helped the church sell alcohol, which was so deeply tied to the matter, would Dane dare to revolt?

If the Duke revolts, and the church reveals this, even though the local church in Thousand River Valley collapses, won't the Duke also lose his position?

Horn had an idea and took out the ring from his pocket. Could this be the "S" ring that the Duke was missing?

The Duke's family ring is [Kiabs], and that day the Duke only had [Kiabs] in his hand.

No wonder the villager who was guarding the stream left as soon as he saw the ring in the afternoon.

He recognized it as the Duke's ring.

According to Halkin, the Earl of Jibashan inherited a large fortune from his ancestors and wanted to immigrate from Norn to Fran, and he is still transferring his wealth.

If you think about it this way, if you change the order of the rings, wouldn't it be Kipa?
The Earl of Jibashan is most likely the Duke of Kush.

In other words, the Duke was most likely preparing to escape and had no intention of revolting at all, and the church was most likely aware of this.

Knowing that the Duke would not rebel, you still sent imperial edicts to him. Aren't you afraid of forcing him to rebel?
Were the Imperial Order Companies able to capture the castle so quickly because they were too strong?

Then there is only one possibility.

Horn's brain was like a rusty and stuck gear. The idea was about to come out, but he just couldn't think of it.

Or rather, he didn't want to think about it.

Perhaps, the Duke had already colluded with the Church and the Empire, and those tens of thousands of "short-haired" refugees were his gift to the Empire, an admission ticket to the Empire's aristocratic society.

Horn immediately stood up from the ground, but his body froze again.

Should I go back? But what's the point of going back? Should I inform them to escape?
It was not until then that Horn realized that the river was blocked and the 20,000 people could not leave by water.

The castles and checkpoints leading to the mountains in the northeast were all blocked, while the southwest was a plain of hills. In such a terrain, their two legs could not outrun the four legs of the Knights of the Order.

Not to mention that there are more than a hundred extraordinary knights and thousands of well-equipped mercenaries, as well as vassal troops in Joan of Arc Castle.

The Duke's secret army was said to be stationed nearby, so where could they escape to?

On the other hand, the only way out of the deadlock at Joan of Arc lies on this ship.

Unknowingly, the Duke had laid a tight net.

Leaving, this is the only way.

Standing under the lime tree, Horn looked at the slowly approaching boat. The sound of the river was so harsh.

"Your Majesty, the ship is coming."

Looking at the small paddle boat, he suddenly felt extremely calm.

Look, the smooth road is right in front of him. As long as he sets foot on this ship and is given five years, he will be a top leader of the largest secret party in Black Snake Bay.

Clockwork technology has not been further studied.

Chizhuan Town has not yet developed.

He should be able to complete the original industrialization of alchemy in five years as envisioned, engage in light industry to absorb sufficient funds in five to ten years, complete the development of heavy industry in five years, and finally pave the way for the entire empire with a sea of ​​clockwork guns.

Take a step forward, board the boat and head to Black Snake Bay, where there is a brilliant future and an empire that belongs to him alone.

Staying in the Thousand River Valley means only an endless quagmire of war.

It’s time to go, it’s time to go…is it time to go?
Horn took a difficult step forward, but the half-sword at his waist fell off his belt.

He subconsciously bent down to pick it up, and just as his hand touched the scabbard, a voice came from a distant place.

But the voice was so clear that it seemed to be right next to my ear.

"Our country no longer needs knights to protect the weak." Horn lowered his head, and the scabbard lay quietly in his hand.

After throwing the scabbard to Horn, Danji charged at 2700 extraordinary knights and asked Horn to build a country that did not need knights.

"Don't let the children die in front of us old guys."

Horn gripped the hilt of the sword, stroking its rough texture.

After tucking the hilt of the sword into his waist, Frick raised his spear and stabbed at the 2000 well-equipped mercenaries.

He begged Horn not to let their children die before their old people.

"I have a body full of dirty blood, I just want to shed it to get justice."

Horn pulled out half of the sword in his hand. He shattered the Snow in the Clouds and erected a tombstone for thousands of blue-blooded orphans.

The unknown thief monk handed him the list and begged him to send the children home.

"What kind of time traveler am I..." Horn muttered in a dreamy voice as he stared at the sword in his hand. He seemed to be able to see three tombstones.

"What kind of time traveler am I?" Horn growled in his chest, gritting his teeth.

Under the moonlight, the half-sword made of red steel was emitting a faint red light. Horn narrowed his eyes suddenly, lowered his head, and looked at the sword carefully.

Since Brock didn't know Alvin, when he reforged the sword, although he tried his best to engrave the same inscription, he still engraved two wrong letters.

But it was precisely because of these two letters that the inscription on the sword was no longer the noble "Snow in the Clouds", but "Blood Covering the Clouds".

"What kind of a time traveler am I?"

Horn's voice was steady and calm, like a whisper in sleep, and no one knew who was listening.

"I should have run away earlier and become a small workshop owner or a small manor owner. Such noble professions as the Pope or the Savior are really not suitable for me."

"Your Majesty?" René Doillon, who was standing next to Horn, looked at him blankly with questioning eyes. It wasn't just these two people.

Everyone present was looking at Horn. Rather than waiting for Horn to board the ship, it would be more accurate to say that they were waiting for Horn to make a decision.

Combining Armand's conclusion with the witch's news, everyone had some idea, but they still had to wait for Horn to make a decision.

Make the final decision.

Horn always laughed at the irrationality of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, and thought that the Chuang Army and the Western Army were not smart.

Why didn't you build a rear base? Why did you wander around? Why didn't you build high walls and store up food to slowly become king?
why?

"Until I die, I will always be that paranoid small town test-taker."

Laughing at himself, Horn expressed his feelings in his native language.

He can't be righteous, nor can he do whatever it takes. He can't be either a hero or a tyrant.

He is just an ordinary person, both in his hometown and here.

But Horn thought, there were too many heroes and great men in history books, one more or one less would not make much difference.

But there are very few ordinary people in history books.

Everyone will die, but sometimes, how you die is more important than how you live.

"Life is like a dream, how much joy can one have? Is there anyone who can live forever?"

In such a situation, Horn should have wanted to recite a few lines of suicide poetry, like "I laugh at the sky with my sword in hand" or "Life is fifty years".

But he didn't have the talent. His knightly poetry was just doggerel. He could only recite, but that was enough.

With a soft hum, he pulled the Blood Cloud in his hand out of the scabbard. The sharp red light seemed to be able to cut off the moonlight.

"You didn't cross the river, but you did cross it, and you laughed and turned the sad song into a triumphant song!"

The blood-covered cloud emitted a strange red light and vibrated buzzingly, as if it was roaring.

With a sudden chuckle, Horn sheathed his sword and looked around at everyone present, his eyes gleaming terribly:
"Sissi, Grampven, I have something to do and need to go back to Jeanne d'Arc. You go first."

The air suddenly became quiet for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the children's soldiers who were originally carrying luggage onto the ship immediately gathered around.

"Papa, we'll go with you."

"Do you know what I'm going to do?"

"I know." Du Valon nodded vigorously.

"I'm going to die, do you want to follow me too?" Holding the Blood-Covering Cloud with its scabbard on his shoulder, Horn looked more like a farmer carrying a hoe than a swordsman.

"You have your reasons for going back, and so do I," René replied.

Horn smiled and ruffled René's hair.

Xixi sighed and jumped off the boat: "It would be fine if you didn't mention it, but now that you mentioned it, I also remembered that I forgot to do something."

"You, you guys..." the witch asked in disbelief, "Do you know that this place will soon be massacred by the Imperial Order?"

At the same time, Cosse walked past her. He still couldn't speak, but dragged his heavy and agile body and jumped from the deck to the shore.

Then, one by one, those who followed Horn, even Cece, jumped off the boat.

"That's my hometown." Ceci said, trembling.

Grampven held Dia's hand and looked towards Horn.

"Go ahead." Dia touched Grampven's face lovingly.

"But……"

"The person I marry will not stay on the ship at this time. Don't worry, we will meet again."

After taking a last deep look at Dia's face, Grampven jumped over the river and walked behind Horn.

Looking at the old, weak, sick and stunned witches on the boat, Horn said to them, "I'll trouble you to send the rest of them to Black Snake Bay."

"Are you really going back to Chateau Jeanne?"

"Goodbye." Without answering, Horn just smiled and waved to the witch, then turned and left.

"This, this..." The witch turned her head and saw the crowd gradually walking away. She asked the majestic old man in the cabin, "Great Wizard Pasrick, what should we do now?"

"I just wanted to see what he is like." In the shadows, the old man named Pasrick stepped out of the cabin, "Meliyati chose the successor for me, I..."

"Hey!" Horn showed his head from the hillside, and the old man instantly shrank back into the cabin, even losing one of his shoes.

"I almost forgot to tell Carrie..." Horn shouted towards the river, "Don't come looking for my body. The place where I am buried is my hometown. Its name is -"

"Free Thousand Valleys!"

After saying these final farewell words, Horn did not look back and walked towards Chateau Joan of Arc.

Behind him, Grampven, Jeshka, Kosei… everyone was there.

Under the starlight at night, everything is quiet and beautiful. Under the starlight, Horn and his companions are moving forward against the cold wind.

"Eighty acres of good farmland..."

Horn suddenly began to sing, more cheerfully than at any other time.

"And a gentle and kind in-law..."

Djeszka took up Horn's singing.

"If the child can grow up smoothly, he can build a house when he grows up..."

At the end, everyone started singing, and the cheerful voices sounded as if they were on an autumn outing.

"I grow my own food. The more I work, the more I gain..."

In front of them was the Chateau Jeanne d'Arc hidden in the shadows in the distance.

It looks like a giant beast with its bloody mouth wide open.

(End of this chapter)