Angel on earth

Episode 1 Wandering Stars

Note: The title is taken from Le Clézio's "The Wandering Star", which has no meaning of touching porcelain and is only used for the title.And these characters in the extra episode have more or less mental problems. After all, they are all crab-legged pictures. Don't look at them with the standards of our proletarian atheists.

A dead body hangs from a branch, creaking and shaking.

Not far away, a church was burning, and the tongue of fire was licking the iron sun cross on the high place, like the radiance of the steel sun.

It was an old priest who had no time—or rather, did not escape.

Due to differences in climate and local culture, the clothing style of the Siegfried Federal Archdiocese is very different from that of Canaan.Here is close to the central valley, surrounded by mountains, and the climate is humid. People have light golden and warm golden curly hair like the sunshine at the turn of spring and summer, and the clothes on their bodies are not as complicated and formal as those in the area north of the Principality of Rhine.

The old priest committed suicide.He was dressed in old black clothes, and the sun cross embroidered with gold thread on the hem of the clothes was broken and faded, but there was still a strong majesty on his face sticking out his tongue, as if sacred.

Reinforcements poured in from behind the dilapidated church.

People wore thin leather armor and incomplete heavy armor, held high the iron tools with mud and flesh left, and let out angry roars and cheers of victory, and slowly pushed forward here.

Micah gasped for breath twice, and knelt down on the ground while propping up the long sword.

He originally wanted to lean against the tree to rest for a while, but in a trance, he rubbed against the tree trunk and fell down, "Blood Dawn" disappeared into the air immediately.

The church fire dried up the blood on the ground and spread towards him.

Under the skinny old priest, before the idol of the sun god, corpses piled up like a mountain.

The nuns and monks who were trampled by horseshoes were thin and broken, and the entrails of the rebels slaughtered by the government forces flew around. They mixed with the men and horses split by Micah, and they gave off a ritual in the smoke and fire of cedar wood. Wonderful fragrance.

Micah turned around.

Long, long ago, before he had endured the trials of such a long life, he had worn it too.

A black robe with a huge sun cross embroidered with gold thread on the front and back hem. There is no shoulder jacket, and the starched collar will rub against the chin of a warrior who is not used to light clothing, making a weird clicking sound.

—The city was called Mikhailovka, and it was located two hundred miles away from where Siegfried slayed the dragon and where Joshua took the dragon spear, long before Mikhail Kupala was born Even by that name, Mikhail Kupala did not share in his glory after his birth.

Mikhailovka did not survive the war that engulfed the world.

Micah no longer knew which city this was.The king wanted to share the power of the gods, the commoners wanted to share the power of the king, Norn, Aerys, and Abaddon wanted to share the power of the land.There is war everywhere, and all the colors are the colors of the battle flags.The federal army raped his nuns, killed his priests, and set fire to his residence; the rebellious peasants melted metal idols and crosses into crude weapons, set up soup pots in dilapidated chapels, and imagined freedom and dignity.

Only he, running and running, from sunup to sundown, and from sundown to new sundown, without riding a horse or—he could summon a dragon, but it didn't occur to him to do so.He just runs, and kills, and no one recognizes...remember it's Micah.

Sometimes, he himself forgets.How relaxed, happy, and joyful that is, isn't that what they are looking for?Forsaking all thought, kneeling at His throne, offering hymns of love day and night, needing nothing more.

The federal army spilled precious balms and oils that could not be taken away on the church and the nearby grass. The balm flowed over, and the flames also meandered, roasting the grass farther away to wither and turn yellow.

Micah leaned closer to the clump of burning dry grass, as if he saw a candle.He heard footsteps vaguely, a woman calling him—or someone, he didn't want to think about it.

The flames of dead grass reflected the iron sun cross high above, and reflected his face.For a moment, perhaps only for a moment, he saw that it was the face of Sihekiah and Aaron, their white hair turned red by the flames.

So he closed his eyes and fell asleep happily.

This day is Christmas Eve in the twelfth month of the sacred calendar.It has been 20 years since the sun god fell completely.

·

Micah is an orphan.

The orphans 500 years ago were much more miserable than this era, especially those legal illegitimate children whose wives had to try their best to get rid of them after the lord exercised his right of first night.Micah was not such an illegitimate child, but he was born with devil's red hair, and if his mother hadn't secretly sent him to a group of Jebusites, his father's expensive exorcist would have drowned him In the highly poisonous "holy water".

He was born in the land of the current Mithra dynasty, but according to the territorial division of that era, he was a Noren.Indeed, in the centuries following the Second Holy War, many Norren loved the cruel saint.

The Jebusites were expelled from Lieyang City thousands of years ago, and they are unwilling to settle in other places ever since.The Jebusites have their own ancient language and worship the god of the sun, the moon, the gods of water, the god of the sky, the god of fire and many other gods; they love Micah's red hair, and take 30 silver coins from his mother He bought him and spoke ancient Sinai with him, but did not teach him to write, and rarely fed him.

They've been trying to get him to eat less, convinced that he'll get used to it, as if one day that flaming red hair will burn for them.

When Micah was very young, when he walked and fell easily, the high priest of the tribe gave him a dagger and told him to kill a man who was tied to a stake.That was actually a young man who committed adultery with a member of the Church of the Sun God. His father killed the girl, but he did not have the right to execute his son.It was a very cold winter, and they didn't have enough fuel to complete the purification ceremony, so everyone hoped that Micah could burn it for them.

Micah also had very little clothing.Humans need to dress thickly, but gods are always plain. The gods of the Jebusites have no human form and are not afraid of any environment.When the boy's blood flowed out, Micah put his hand into his wound and felt very warm.

Seeing the happy smile on his face, the high priest let out a long breath, looking gentle and kind like a kind grandfather.

Micah began to learn to fight.The Jebusites believed that the wars of the gods did not end until the final victor had all power in his pocket.Micah has nowhere else to go but this group of people who want his protection.He is barefoot in winter, hungry in summer, and often beaten, but they treat him well, show him warm smiles, and invite him to live in their own tent.At the same time, he often saw the scrawny body whose age could not be distinguished fell to death by the roadside, the earl's hound chased and bit the wrong maid, and the others cheered and cheered.

When he was about nine years old, the high priest thought it was a special number and asked the strongest assassin in the clan to take him to "purify". ——Assassinate Sihija, who was then the regional bishop of the Church of the Sun God, and his son Aaron.The Jebusites believed that it was a blasphemy for the clergy to marry wives and have children, and Micah had reached the age where he should "justify himself".

Micah and the assassin prepared together, packed their bags, scouted the terrain, and didn't eat for a whole day.This state is the best.A slightly prickling stomach kept him alert, but not so hungry that his hands and feet went limp and his mind was dizzy.If hit by someone, food and offal won't mix and there's no risk of choking on vomit.

It was Christmas Eve.Homeless people in the city enjoy the best dinner of the year at home, and since the Xixi family took over the area, there are fewer and fewer poor people who need to beg for a bowl of gruel.They didn't want to disturb the Xixi family, and gathered in the chapel to warm up the fire; the monks and nuns were chanting scriptures and praying for blessings, and the singing of children echoed in the candlelight.

The assassin silently cleared the way ahead and made way in front of the kitchen door.Micah stepped forward, dagger in hand, feeling a strange calmness.Just like before each murder, the warmth of the body and the aroma of the food became incomparably stronger, and he knew he could get them next, but he had no desire.

The Xixi family was the only one in the kitchen.The regional bishop was wearing a whitish black robe, with a strand of white hair hanging from his forehead. His eyes were as warm as coal fire and as beautiful as gems.Seeing Micah, he wiped his hands, picked up the cloak hanging on the closet, knelt down on one knee, shook off the cloak and put it on his shoulders, stroked the top of his head, and said with a gentle smile:

"Are you hungry, boy? Wait a little longer, the bread and soup will be ready, and more salt will be added today. You can rest by the fire, and it will be ready soon."

Micah kept holding the dagger in his hand.However, those red eyes that were as warm as charcoal fire and as beautiful as jewels looked at him sadly, and the sword in his hand passed through the opponent's chest easily.

The priest's voice was as warm as coal fire.He stroked Micah's hair and said, "I'm sorry, my brother."

Micah looked at Sihejia blankly, not understanding why he was not dead yet.According to his experience, the warmer the wound, the more deadly it was, as if the dead had lost everything to him, and the blood of Xixi's family was already warm enough to make him drowsy.

Xixijia pulled out the short sword, wiped it with a napkin and put it on the stove.Micah turned around in a daze, and the assassin who brought him here fell dead as silently as when he came, as if God made a will, his life was cut off in an instant.

A white-haired boy in a loose black robe came out of the darkness.His appearance is similar to Xi Xijia's, but the red eyes are not as chaotic and warm as Xi Xijia's, and they are as clear and emotionless as the candlelight in a windless room.

Aaron handed him a glass of warm water mixed with honey.His hands were still stained with Sihejia's blood, and when he took the clay cup, his fingertips touched Aaron's.

Micah had never eaten honey, nor drank such clean water.He almost felt guilty.

Xi Xijia washed his hands, squatted down again, and asked him with a smile like before:

"I think you must be hungry. The bread will be ready soon, do you want butter or jam? It won't be much, but—"

"I'll give you my bacon." Aaron said calmly, as if he had nothing to do with it, "I've had lunch. I'll look for it later, maybe there are still children's clothes in the warehouse. "

Micah could not understand Sinai, but he understood what they were saying.

That night, Micah was baptized and became a follower of the sun god.

He had never heard any scriptures, and did not understand any teachings, but he knew, and so did Sihekiah and Aaron, that when he looked up at the Holy See, what burned in his heart was faith, enthusiasm, and love.He is more sincere than any literate rabbi, because he knows nothing and has nothing, and what he can dedicate to God is all he has, from the humble body to the ignorant soul.

Mithra, the sun god, loved him so much that he sent Sihekiah and Aaron down for him, and he rewarded him with everything he had and everything he would have in the future.

Not long after, one morning after worship, they finished praying at the table, and Sihekiah said to him and Aaron:

"The war is about to begin."

Aaron looked up in astonishment, then nodded expressionlessly.Micah was buttering bread, preferring the smooth texture of butter to jam, which goes best with baked bread; he used to eat matzo.Bread was baked with coarse mixed grain, unleavened cake of the finest wheat flour a Jebusite could give, but the bread was hot, with butter and jam.

Hearing this, he said earnestly: "The war has never stopped, Xixijia."

His Sinai is not yet very fluent.As usual, Aaron gave him half of his bacon, bowed his head and silently ate the bread and the tea with the crumbs floating in it.

Sihekiah did not take them away, but told Aaron to take good care of Micah and left them behind.

It was Aaron who participated in the battle first, with no expression on his serious and rigid face, he swung his sword and killed a Noren soldier who broke through the line of defense.But Micah vomited out, and Aaron stood beside him, allowing him to hold his hand, just like Sihekiah let him hold his hand when he took money from the donation box and went out to play and was punished Like cheating.

"The war will end." Aaron said after Micah finished crying, "People will be fed and clothed, just like us."

"When?"

Aaron was silent for a moment, and replied: "When we win this war."

"How can we win?" Micah asked blankly, "We started the war, right?"

Aaron thought for a while and shook his head: "Maybe so. But Micah, if the world is full of good people, Noren and Iris are willing to treat the people of God the Father kindly, and everyone is sincere and kind, and they will not persecute His priest and Sister, even Lieyang City can be handed over to us."

Micah asked weakly: "So, are we protecting priests like Sihekiah?"

Aaron smiled, touched his head, and whispered, "It's to protect a fool like you."

Micah pouted, without protesting.Aaron took his hand and went to ask Dr. Arnold for a piece of candy.Aaron gave him half of his share as usual, and at night lay motionless on the board beside him like a saint's corpse.

There is a little nun named Isabella in the camp, who is thin and small due to long-term malnutrition like Micah, and looks about the same age.She always stays with Dr. Arnold, smiling cutely and full of longing, but one time, Micah went with her to collect firewood in the forest. cut off his neck as he fell.She bathed in the creek downriver where the camp drew its water; Micah stood guard with her lance and his short sword, and the firewood for tonight's cooking.

As the battle line continued to advance, they gradually grew up.Aaron had a copper snake on his left arm, and Micah pulled out the flaming sword at a critical moment; Isabella hid the sickle in their tent, and sometimes it was too late to get it, and she was unwilling Ask Arnold to find out.Isabella's swordsmanship was poor, and once she was injured because of it, Aaron said with a straight face: I will tell Arnold.If he hates you because of a weapon, he's a bad guy.

Micah stopped Isabella.Later, Isabella started to act with a scythe, and Arnold Edwards did not change his attitude towards her. It should have been better if he had to say it.Isabella was a cruel fighter like Micah and Aaron on the front line, but Micah knew that the melancholy and fear she showed when she had nothing to do had nothing to do with killing people, but he really didn't know why.

It was a crazy era in which the gods showed their signs in front of people through games between humans.If there is not enough food to go around the mountains, cut off the mountains.If there are not enough ships to cross the ocean, split the ocean.If there are 1000 people standing in front, kill 1000 of them.If there are 1 people blocking it, the heads of 1 people will be cut off.After that, there is laid up for him the crown of righteousness.Every time they reunited on different battlefields, Xi Xijia would kiss his forehead in pain, and he would happily jump up and hang on Xi Xijia's neck and kiss his cheek.

Sihekiah loves him, Aaron loves him, and Isabella loves him too. He also met Joshua, David, Maria and Yana, and the one who loves him most is the sun god who brought him back to the church Mithra.Therefore, when He called to him for help, He answered without hesitation.

Gregory is a dirty vessel that once betrayed the sun god, and Micah is new from the inside out after being baptized. God the Father gave him a brand new soul and powerful power. He is His bravest, strongest, Devout Templar.

He sneaked into the secret room while the others were preparing for Gregory's descent ceremony, and stood on the altar.He felt neither pain nor fear as he cut himself open with the dagger, but was surrounded by a peaceful joy, as if sinking into warm water and returning to his mother's womb.

The gates of heaven are open.After a moment of dazzling white light, the dirty, turbid, screaming and babbling divine power poured out like sewage, unquestionably embracing the body on the altar with a pressure that almost crushed people inch by inch.

Full of fanaticism and joy in his eyes, he shouted to the sky:

"Father! Father! My Father! I am Your Chosen Vessel, and Micah is Your Name! My Father, I hereby give my all, which You have given; you are foolish I beseech you, ignorant child, for this glory to come upon me! This tent of flesh shall stand here for all eternity, and slay your enemies, from the kingdom of the living to the world of the dead; till the dawn of blood shall I am burned, and I shall be born again in your light; then, let me prostrate at your seat, and hear the hymns of my brothers and sisters for your triumph!"

A bright red flame rose from his blood, directly igniting the minds that swelled wildly in the secret room, and then opened his mouth to devour the wreckage of the minds.His strength and magic power climbed straight up, straightened up and spread his arms to the ceiling, but bowed his head reverently.The gods roared in fear one after another, pulling the sun god to leave this crazy believer.At that moment, they almost saw a more fanatical flame burning on this thin boy than the sun god himself. Every god screamed and mourned for the unprecedented burning pain, and felt the omen of death for the first time.

At that moment, Micah also saw the Lord whom he swore to serve for the only time.

It was just an indescribable brilliance, but he thought he saw His smile.That smile was so close and gentle, like Sisi, Aaron, Isabella and everyone else, like a father and mother he didn't remember.

Then, the door slammed shut, and everything returned to silence.

In the dust-free room, Micah sat on the spot in a daze.He didn't open his mouth until the saints headed by Sihiki held the candlesticks and pushed open the door, but he couldn't make any sound.

Tears of shame and regret welled up in my eyes.No one blamed him, and no one else knew what he had done.Only his sworn oath was fulfilled—his saints and human friends departed from him, and for hundreds of years after that he was the only being denied entry by the narrow gate; Eligible to see my father.

And during these hundreds of years, like an illusion in the wilderness, he took away another Aaron from Lieyang City.

Both were badly wounded and soon fell between the trees in the Garden of Nations.A dim sun hangs in the cloudless sky, Micah's body surface is covered with magma-like burn marks, and Aaron Edwards looks like a fossil that has just been mined from the rock formation, encased in the bones of a dark age beast.

He shifted his knees and shoulders, and with a whoo-ho air in his throat, he crawled towards Edwards with his bloodshot eyes wide open, towards the familiar call.

Finally, his side face leaned against the thin and hard rock, and he heard his father's heartbeat coming from underneath, stroking his burning cheek one by one.

He closed his eyes and fell into a blissful sleep.

·

Micah opened his eyes.

What caught my eye was the distant tent roof.

A furry head leaned over, and it was a middle-aged woman with a lovely appearance and plain clothes.Her chin was round, her brown curly hair covered her back like a thick woolen felt, her two strong arms stretched out from the elbow sleeves, and her waist under the apron showed a strong and capable imposing manner.

Seeing that Micah was awake, she said:

"My name is Catherine Chicherin, doctor of the Second Regiment. You are badly wounded, please hold still—do you need some water?"

Micah didn't wake up very much, his eyes were straight, and he sat up slowly. The wound on his body seemed to be flowing with molten gold, slowly healing.

"You—are you Micah?" Catherine was not frightened at all, she rolled her round green eyes, lowered her voice happily, and suddenly remembered that they were still on their own land, cleared her throat, and resumed The original volume was lost, but a blush appeared on his face, "Do you know Arnold? Arnold Edwards."

"His name is Aaron." After a moment of silence, Micah remembered who she was referring to, and replied slowly, "Aaron Young Edwards."

"Oh, so his name is Aaron." Catherine nodded, turned her head and answered loudly, then turned back, looking at Micah with bright eyes, "How is Arnold doing now?"

It was only then that Micah realized that this not-so-huge tent was full of wounded people either sitting or lying down.Not far away, a young man was staring blankly at the nurse who was feeding him water. A flea jumped from a hole in his clothes to the nurse.

He stood up, dropped a cleansing spell, and Catherine followed him out of the tent.

Outside is the city that has quieted down.In the afternoon, the sun was quiet and dazzling, and everything seemed to be in deep sleep. Only occasionally, different people came over with buckets to deliver hot water, and the air was filled with the smell of cooking smoke and spoiled food.

Micah said, "I haven't seen him for a long time."

His voice was hoarse, but his eyes were as blank as a newborn baby.Catherine looked at him worriedly, hesitated to speak.

When he regained his senses, Micah returned to his previous appearance, turned around with a smile, and raised his tone several times: "I saved you in the Ognessica Forest, didn't I, Catherine? "

"Do you still remember that time?" Catherine couldn't help touching the tip of her nose.

"Yes, I still have a good memory.—But now you have saved me. There is reward for a good man, isn't it, Catherine?"

Just as Catherine was about to say something, a tall man in an invisible military uniform called her name and emerged from the edge of the tent.She breathed a sigh of relief and reprimanded: "Desnel!"

Denier's gray face, curly hair and stubbled cheeks are as colorless as his clothes, as if he just survived the trenches.Catherine took out a handkerchief, and he knelt down to wipe her face, saying angrily, "What...! Catherine Lvovna, I will never let him go! Well—how dare he threaten Nat, It wasn't that I went in time...! He should have been killed, a bastard like Bergush is our captain, what's the use of winning, Catherine?"

Catherine stopped and asked slowly, "Why did he threaten Nat?"

"You don't know well."

"Then I see. Where is Nat now?"

"At Little Terekin's."

Catherine stopped asking, and her eyebrows were furrowed fiercely.

Only then did Micah have a chance to interject: "Desnel?"

Catherine slapped her head: "Oh, I'm so sorry, Micah, I almost forgot about you! ——This is my husband, just call him Denier."

"It's all right, Catherine. — Hello, Denier Nikolayevich. I'm Mitya."

Micah stretched out his hand, Denier asked in surprise, "Do you know my father?"

Micah smiled cheerfully: "No, I know you."

"He knows Dr. Arnold." Catherine introduced.

Denier was taken aback, the way he looked at Micah was different, and there seemed to be a little youthful agility on that dull and honest face: "Is this so? Nice to meet you, Mr. Micah .Is Dr. Arnold all right now?"

"I think it should be good." Micah shrugged his shoulders, and mentioned it with some mischief, "He is with Mikhail, just like you and Catherine."

The two people in front of them opened their eyes wide, apparently also very surprised.After a long while, Catherine laughed boldly: "It's still different. We also have a daughter, Natalia just mentioned."

So Micah smiled and said, "Do you need my help?"

The middle-aged couple looked at him together, then shook their heads.

Catherine said seriously: "It's not easy for everyone. It is our responsibility to protect Natalia, and there is always a way."

Denier seemed reluctant, but he didn't refute. Instead, he looked at Micah with a sympathetic look, which made Micah a little puzzled:

"But you can't kill that Bergush, can you? I can. No one can stop me, and no one can find me."

"Can't!"

The two on the opposite side spoke in unison, Catherine slowed down her tone, and said softly: "Don't think so much, Micah. Did you use a spell just now? Please help us with this matter, and some wounded need it. This is considered Help Natalia! Bergush is the only magician we have here."

"I'm not good at magic," Micah said.Catherine touched his head and said with a smile: "It's better not to be good at it than not at all! What's more, your 'not good at' is much better than ordinary people's 'good at'."

So Micah followed her to help, but Denier disappeared again at some point.

The sun gradually went down, and the camp became lively.The officers who took a nap in the nearby houses that were still in good condition also came out to get some fresh air, and the women and children buried pots and cooked on the spot.Catherine took Micah to wash his face by the river, and told him to find her later, and she took him to dinner.

He slapped two handfuls of water on his face indiscriminately, and Micah stared blankly at the young man in the water.His hair was as red as blood and flames, his eyes were as blue as the sea in the sun, and when he wasn't smiling he looked dazed; as if time had stopped forever just before he grew up.

He washed his face and went to Catherine.

Behind a clump of bushes, Catherine lowered her voice and roared:

"Denier! Don't be impulsive!"

"Do you want me to sit and watch Nat being bullied?!" Denier held a musket, and the terrible Potosian dialect came out smoothly, "Who am I? Let's die together! If Nat... ...what face do I have to live?"

"If you do this, Nat will have no way out." Catherine bit her nails and looked anxiously at her shoe upper. "There must be another way..."

The two fell silent.

A wave of unspeakable shame suddenly overwhelmed Micah.He thought of the young man in the water who was so pure that he could accept divine descent at any time. The middle-aged couple was unwilling to let that young man who was not much older than their daughter kill someone.They were exhausted. Catherine, whom he had rescued once, had two waists as thick as his, with a drunken blush and tiny wrinkles on her round face; Denier, who had escaped with Catherine, was a head taller than him, thin The flesh on his cheeks hung loose at his sides even when he was so angry; there were children younger than him in this army with the same confusion and gnashing of teeth on their faces.

He won't do anything but kill people, find out the "bad guys" and eliminate them.

Micah stood on the spot, gently pulling a cross sword on the earring of his left ear.

I only heard Catherine say: "The smallest fire can light the largest forest. [1]" Then Denier didn't say anything, just bent down and kissed his wife's cheek and lips.

Micah didn't understand even that.Long, long ago, Zehekiah and Aaron and other saints would have kissed him like that, but very differently.He knew it was two kinds of love, but he had never experienced this.

After waiting for a while, he walked in the other direction.Soon, Catherine "discovered" him with a smile and took him to queue for dinner.Dinner was a bland broth with potatoes, which, Micah said, was better than what he had eaten during the war.However, at that time there were still many forests, and there were many wild animals in the forests.

After dinner, he followed Catherine to help in the tent.The air in the tent was cloudy and stuffy, the rotten wound and the sour smell of the clothes were suffocating, but Catherine didn't react at all to this.

After a while, someone was singing outside:

"Always on our hearts, there is an ordinary wish;

May my dear hometown be beautiful, and may our motherland live forever...[2]”

When they came out of the tent, the people outside had already sung the last verse.Someone got an accordion from nowhere with a few parts missing, and some young people were competing to see who could blow the leaves louder.

Catherine took a deep breath, blushed, picked up the hem of her skirt, tied a knot, and jumped onto a big rock.Denier was holding a half bottle of wine, humming a song and looking up at her.She waved her arms and sang like a girl: "Listen to the noise of the wind and snow, and watch the shooting stars fly; my heart calls to me, to the turbulent distance—"

The second song picked up quickly, and Catherine slid off the stone, took a sip from Denier's bottle, and kissed him on the cheek.Micah sat down on the other side of her, and said amidst the hustle and bustle of voices: "Aaron's mother is also named Catherine, and you look very similar to his sister."

As he spoke, he looked at the campfire, which was almost completely obscured by the dancing crowd.Catherine touched his head with a smile, and said, "Oh, then it's not like I didn't do anything for him."

Micah turned around and blinked in confusion: "When do you think the war will end, Catherine? As far as I can remember, there never seems to be a day when it stops."

"It will end." Catherine shrugged her shoulders. "At that time, everyone will be fed and clothed like a king."

"When?"

Catherine was silent for a moment, and replied: "When we win this war."

"How can we win?" Micah asked blankly, "We started the war, right?"

"No, the war was initiated by our enemies." Catherine stood up, "You should know better than any of us: this war has been going on for thousands of years. Since the children of God spread all over the earth, Our enemies are slaughtering our fellow men - flogging sick old men, raping pregnant women, disemboweling scrawny children and sticking their feet in them for warmth; we're just beheading them."

"Then, if... if Mikhail stays for you, and there is a god sitting in the city of Riding Sun to judge the wicked," Mika asked, "will there still be this war?"

"Mikhail Ivanovich is the saint with the most murders in the history of the church. The inventor of the guns in our hands has not surpassed his achievements so far." Catherine shrugged.

"I thought it was still me." Mika pulled the cross sword in his left ear, making a clanging sound.

The singing and roaring of men and women boiled over the sweet fragrance of the campfires.Catherine took another sip of the wine and handed the bottle to Denier, who drank and then extended his hand to Micah.

Micah took it, looking a little frustrated.

After a while, he said sullenly:

"He chose to self-destruct, not to keep us fighting."

"Once upon a time in the name of the gods, now for ourselves," Denier said.Micah asked: "Is it really for us? What about Natalia?"

Denelton lived.Micah didn't have the slightest joy of victory, like the joy he felt when he took advantage of Aaron's loopholes and made fun of him a long time ago.He unconsciously bit his thumb joint, and asked after a moment of silence:

"Does Natalia have a godfather?"

"No, sir." Denier was a little embarrassed. "We here...no one is as religious as before. Of course, believers are the majority, but...in fact, after so many years, in this land, you are very Hard to find..."

Micah smiled and said, "Then, let me be her godfather. She doesn't need anyone to believe in, let alone be baptized, just let me be her godfather."

"That's strange," Denier pointed out. "What kind of godfather is that?"

"No wonder, I'm a saint after my apostasy