Detective mystery novel "Vampire Bat" under

Sadly

Paul couldn't wait to see Eliza's diary, because he might be able to find out Eliza's whereabouts.

Paul and Bernard sat under the tree where they had rested a few days earlier, studying Eliza's diary together.

The first diary is about the day Paul ran away from home to defend his homeland. The diary was written alternately with a pen and pencil, and the handwriting was messy. Some of the handwriting written on the pen is scribbled and blurry, with tear stains, and then dried up after wet, crumpled and large. Maybe at that time Eliza was in tears and trembling as she wrote it. The string of beaded tears intertwined with her vows and melted together.

Eliza and her husband Paul were newly married and separated from each other, and the old couple was once married to Gilromon. Rosalyn lived alone in the spacious castle, alone and lonely, every word and every sentence in her diary was a true expression of her anxiety and melancholy mood.

Part of the diary had been torn off, and perhaps Eliza had recorded something important in it, which she had destroyed in case a second party found out. The so-called third party may refer to german soldiers.

"It must have been the German soldiers who captured Volkon Castle, and Eliza tore off this part of the diary..."

Paul looked at the diary as he thought about Eliza's difficult situation, and his heart was troubled.

Bernard on the side couldn't help but boo.

The two read silently. Sunlight seeps down from the gaps between the branches and projects on their faces, glittering with speckled light and shadows, and the refreshing wind blows, making people's hearts feel refreshed.

The date indicated in the diary is about a month ago, and the content is mostly about the important events of many days and Eliza's mood. Because many pages were destroyed, and the rest were tear-stained and the handwriting blurred, Paul and Bernard could not figure out the exact meaning.

But Paul and Bernard continued to read intently and consistently.

Saturday, August 8

Bursts of gunfire came from afar, and it was the French team that was engaged in a difficult war with the enemy. Looking down the hill, German soldiers roamed back and forth in the secluded valley.

At dusk, the French troops came to the castle, and the captain ordered the barracks to be stationed in the courtyard of the castle, and I agreed, and I invited the officers and the captain to move inside the castle.

The captain did not want to disturb my life, so they only used the house of The Couple of Giromon and Rosalyn, where they rested and ate.

Sunday, August 9

Paul had not written back since his expedition, and I had never written a letter to him, and I was prepared to prove that the woman in black in the portrait was not my mother, and then to write a letter to explain everything to Paul.

The painting was so chilling that I asked Giromon to keep it in the warehouse. I rummaged through the corners of the castle, but I still couldn't find anything to prove that the woman in black was not my mother, because 17 years had passed, and no matter how carefully I searched and searched, I could not find strong evidence.

Monday, August 10

The deafening sound of gunfire was heard, and according to the captain of the French team, the Germans would not attack the place at all.

Tuesday, August 11

In the afternoon, the body of a French soldier was found in the forest behind. I heard that the dagger plunged into his heart, and he was killed on the spot.

Hearing the captain, the soldier spotted a suspicious man about to leave the castle through the back door, so he went up to interrogate him, only to be killed by the man with a knife. But who is the murderer? No one can figure it out.

The next few pages of the diary were torn off.

Saturday, August 15

Last night, the captain locked the two captured German officials in the laundry factory in the village of Volkon and locked them firmly from the outside. However, early this morning, the two German officers disappeared, leaving only a clump of military uniforms to take off.

Someone may have opened the lock on the door, but later heard that the two captives had escaped in French uniforms. The French patrol had encountered them in the forest.

The patrol leader saw them, found them suspicious, and went forward to ask:

"Where are you two going?" Can I help you? ”

Two German officers disguised as French warriors replied:

"We just went to the castle to find the captain and pass on to him the orders issued by the command. Now that the mission is complete, we are about to go back to headquarters. ”

"What command?"

The patrol leader asked.

"The command issued an order that the brigade must be withdrawn from Volcan Castle at once due to the needs of the strategic war..."

"It's so strange that this order was sent to the brigade headquarters a few days ago, and the retreat is underway, and you say that the command has given the order."

"Because the command changed the time of the retreat, it ordered us to give a notice, and it was supposed to be a retreat tomorrow, but the order given to you by the command is to start the emergency retreat from today."

Maybe it was because of their firm and confident tone, or maybe it was because both of them spoke fluent French and couldn't help but be unconvinced by the patrol leader, so they were let go by the patrol leader.

Who in the end sent the Fa to the German officials? Why did even they know that the French team was going to withdraw from the castle? Could it be that the German spies were already lurking in the castle?

It is said that in these days a strange peasant woman often appeared in the French camp, and she sold them eggs and milk, but today it is this time, and she has not yet appeared.

The peasant woman was neatly dressed, her skin delicate and white, and her face beautiful and beautiful, not at all like a weathered countryman.

The captain was also suspicious of the scheming peasant woman, but he did not associate her with the German spy.

Sunday, August 16

Early this morning, the captain of the brigade said to me: "We are surrounded by enemy troops, and the two German officers who escaped yesterday are also there."

"The castle is now under the close surveillance of the enemy, and it is too dangerous to stay here. We have too few warriors, and once attacked by the enemy, we may be defeated.

"The command has ordered us to retreat, and I think it's safer for you to get out of here." We can protect you and escort you to another village. ”

But I didn't want to leave the castle, I stayed here until I found out that the mysterious woman in black was not evidence of my mother.

I was grateful to the captain for his kindness, and I told the captain of my decision, and he understood that I was determined and stopped trying to persuade me.

The next few pages of the diary were gone, the content was intermittently coherent, and the following pages were not marked with the correct date.

In the middle of the night, the silent window was pitch black, and the forest and the valley were shrouded in a cold, lonely atmosphere.

In the darkness, I faintly heard the barking of dogs in the distance. Intermittent and creepy to hear.

I couldn't help but listen sideways, surrounded by a terrible silence, the silence of the forests and valleys. In such a silent night, the distant roar of guns almost pierced people's ears. I was held back by a nameless terror.

A few more pages of the diary were torn off...

The day before yesterday, the French team left the castle. Now there were only the elderly Gilromons and I left in the whole castle.

The barking of the wild dogs stopped. The forest and the valley seem to have sunk to sleep, and in this vast castle, I am the only one awake...

The east had gradually revealed the white of the fish's belly, and I stood by the window looking up at the morning sky. Suddenly, a figure covered in black stepped out of the jungle and was walking toward the lawn.

I began to think that the French team had returned to the castle, and perhaps the amiable captain had returned here to persuade me to leave, and a wave of gratitude suddenly welled up in my heart.

But in the faint darkness, I saw a woman walking under the window, I thought it was Rosalyn, and I was trying to stop her, and I couldn't help but be shocked.

She was not old Rosalyn, but a slender, well-paced middle-aged woman.

I immediately ran downstairs to wake up Giromon and told him to be on guard. But it was too late, and the woman who had acted in a mysterious manner had already crossed the window and walked briskly toward the balcony, and was gone in a moment.

Suddenly, a bird call came over, and it was a terrible sound that had never been heard before. At the same time, an electric light streaked sharply across the nether sky, neither a meteor nor a firework, which I thought might be a signal.

After the electric light disappeared, the surrounding area sank into silence and darkness... The earth fell into a cold and terrible atmosphere.

I quickly returned to my bedroom, and the loss and panic in my heart made me sleepless...

The pages of the diary were torn apart again, and during that time the Germans probably entered the castle.

The following pages do not have a date written.

Eliza may have encountered something unexpected, so she could not write quietly, but she still took time to record the events of the past few days, but the second half of the diary was already short enough to become a memorandum.

My fever finally subsided. I lay in my hospital bed, and I heard savage and rude German soldiers walking around in The Castle of Volkon, who would aggravate my illness and heat me up.

German soldiers were stationed in the forest, and only the officers stayed in the castle. A thin-skinned, short, fat, blond-haired officer occupied my room, and I had to live temporarily in a house downstairs.

I don't know who the officer was, but I had seen me before lieutenant colonel Aman, the son of the German emperor, Prince Quinrat. The lieutenant colonel even warned me to obey all the wills of Prince Quinrat and not to disobey his orders.

When I first saw Prince Quinrat, his face showed a vicious and terrifying smile, and he stared at me with strange eyes, and said coldly in his mouth:

"Madame, on the western front, the French team has been defeated in a row, so they have moved their capital to Bordeaux in the south. The days of French freedom will not be long away, the French will soon become our captives, the land will be owned by us, and you, the young lady, will be reduced to a slave for my arbitrary drive. ”

Hearing this, I was indignant and couldn't help but scold him:

"You beast, despicable and shameless!"

At this moment, two or three German officers immediately drew their sabers, but Prince Quinrat gestured for them to stop moving, and smiled at me:

"You are so brave! Pretty Parisian woman, I like you like this..."

When he finished, he put his hand on my shoulder, and I threw his hand away hard, and I tried my best to restrain myself and look at him with angry eyes. Prince Quinrat was bored, so he touched his nose in embarrassment and left my bedroom with his subordinates.

Eliza wrote in her memo:

I decided not to leave the house and not leave this room one step. When night comes, I close the door and lock it firmly. There was an occasional knock at the door in the middle of the night, but I would never open it.

From the next night on, I asked Rosalynn to spend the night with me in the room and eat.

The two of us were in a cramped room, deaf to the window. All three of our meals were given to Giromon to cook and he was asked to serve them to us. The castle was a mess, and the lawn was ruined by the German soldiers. They kept walking up and down the corridor with sharp footsteps.

In this way, not only did they damage the lawn, but even the corridors were a mess.

German trucks or armored vehicles were constantly coming in and out of the gates.

Today, I saw from the window that a car had stopped near the entrance and three women had stepped out of it.

The black shawl, the golden yellow snake-shaped, I rubbed my eyes, and when I looked at it, I couldn't help but scream.

The dreaded cacosper was exactly the same as the snake-shaped bust worn by the young woman in the portrait.

Because they were so far away, I couldn't see exactly what they looked like. However, I can be sure that it is a gorgeous chest ornament with a snake-like pattern.

So the black shawl is the uniform of a German female spy? And, is that mysterious Kamie brooch the badge of a female spy?

It seems that the female spies sent by the German emperor are not just one person, but many. The woman in black on the portrait may be the leader of the female spy organization.

The night I discovered this fact, after Rosalyn came to my bedroom, I told her what I really thought. Rosalyn listened and nodded silently, until there was no movement outside the door, and then Rosalyn said slowly:

"Miss, until now, I have been hiding one thing from you, and I feel very guilty. Frankly... About a year and three months ago, German spy groups had infiltrated the castle.

"They knew that the owner of this castle was Count Dandoby, and that he had not lived here for more than ten years, and that the castle was taken care of by me and Giromon, so they set up the Spy Command in the castle.

"It was only in recent days that we learned that Germany was invading our France and ordered a spy organization to lurk in the castle to investigate the readiness of the French forces in the region.

"They lied to the people of the Village of Volkon and the people of the nearby villages that the castle was going to become a playground for the park.

"Most of the people who come in and out of the castle are young and beautiful women, and only a few men with long hair or long beards, who are very much like artists. They often carry boxes containing musical instruments. Nearby villagers were kept in the dark by these people and believed their lies.

"When they are free during the day, they play or sing songs. However, as soon as it was dark, they secretly left the castle, and even after dawn, none of them returned.

"When Giromon and I discovered their true colors, we shuddered. On several occasions, we couldn't resist going to the police station to report the crime. But they hid in a dark corner and quietly watched us, and when we were ready to go out, they jumped out and threatened us with swords and pistols, so we didn't dare to walk out of the castle for half a step.

"They're all women cooking food, and the work of going out to buy is done by men."

"Among those spies, did you find a figure like a leader?"

I asked.

"Yes, it was a beautiful woman of about 40 years old, and she not only manipulated all the female spies, but even the men obeyed her."

"Did the woman wear a golden snake-shaped ornament on her chest?"

"Yes... Yes, the other female spies in this organization also wear such a corset on their chests, which may be the badge of the spy organization!

"The middle-aged woman, who was the same as the chief, lived in the room of the Countess (Eliza's mother, Emena).

"There's a portrait of my mother hanging in that room, you know?"

"I know. It was the Count (Count of Dandoby, Eliza's father) who had invited the famous painter from Paris to paint it for madame.

"When the Countess was alive, my bedroom was cleaned up by me. At that time, every day I would stop by and look at that portrait, it was so similar! It's exactly like Madame!

Later, the countess and madame moved together to the house of Charmaine on the nice waterfront. The next year, the lady passed away. So the count instructed us to take care of the bedroom and to bring the key to the room, and I have not been to the room since, and of course I have not seen the painting. ”

"Then why was the German spy able to enter my mother's room?"

"Naturally they have a way to unlock the lock. I heard that the spies had a master key that opened any door freely, so they opened the countess's room and entered and exited the house freely. ”

"When did they leave the castle?"

"After you get married, the spy organization is ready to leave the first three days after you want to go back to live in the castle. However, they didn't withdraw from the castle until the day before you and your aunt Paul returned to the castle.

"But something very strange happened.

"That day, they were hurrying to pack their bags and wait for the car to come, but the female leader of the spy organization kept holding her room and refusing to come out. I went in to help her carry a large wooden box, and I saw that the wooden box was full of oil paint, and the smell of turpentine (the oil that dissolves the oil paint) came to my nose. The woman's hands were also stained with many green oil paints, which showed that she had been staying in that house to paint...

"At that time, I was very strange, everyone was rushing to pack up their things and leave, but why was she hiding in the room to paint?"

I was also very surprised, and then I went to ask Rosalyn:

"Did you go to that room later?"

"Nothing... Because the Count once forbade us to enter the ,...... The next day, when you and your uncle came to the castle, I led you and your aunt to Madame's bedroom, and in between, Giromon and I did not enter that room..."

"Didn't you notice anything weird about the portrait that day?"

"Nothing... I was in a hurry to tidy up my room that day, and I didn't even think to look at the painting. ”

I was unusually disappointed by Rosalyn's answer. When Paul and I arrived at the castle, I couldn't wait to go into my mother's bedroom. I was so excited and in tears that I looked up at my mother's face, but I never figured out her appearance and clothing, and of course, I didn't see the charmer she was wearing on her chest.

Later, when I stared at the portrait of my mother in my mother's room every day, I always thought that my mother had a fondness for black clothes, and the golden snake-shaped chest ornament may also be the decoration that my mother liked, so I always looked at the portrait with a nostalgic mood.

But after my father went to my mother's bedroom, he said that the young woman in the portrait was not my mother. So from then on, I confessed to Giromonte's portrait of his fake mother to be stored in the warehouse.

To confirm my guess, I went with Rosalyn to the warehouse again this evening to look at the portrait.

Rosalyn opened the door of the warehouse, and I went in first and knelt down in front of the portrait. I stared at the painting for a long time and touched it with my fingers.

Sure enough, in my expectation, the portrait has been manipulated, only the face is still the same, the body below the neck is covered with new oil paint, and the content has been greatly improved.

In the original portrait, only the face belonged to the mother, and the rest were repainted. The black shawl, the golden yellow snake-shaped cymbals, etc., were all recently altered.

yes! My dear mother was dressed in a black female spy costume and had a terrifying snake-like ornament painted on her chest!

Why did the female leader of the mysterious spy organization do this? It was amazing that she had painted such a delicate portrait under such pressing circumstances.

"Why didn't you tell me something so important sooner?"

I couldn't help but blame Rosalyn.

"I'm sorry, Miss, I shudder at the thought of spies threatening us with knives and guns. I'm afraid they're going to blackmail me and Giro, so I'm hiding something from you, please forgive me, Miss. ”

Rosalyn lay on the ground and pleaded with me bitterly, tears streaming down her face, and I couldn't say a word, and left the warehouse in silence.

This evening, Rosalyn came late. From the first to 6 p.m., she would show up in my bedroom on time, have dinner with me, and then stay here and stay with me until the next morning.

However, it was already past 6 o'clock, and I had not seen her shadow yet. I waited anxiously. After half a day, Rosalyn finally came, pale and short of breath, unable to say a word.

"What's wrong? Rosalyn, what happened? ”

With that, I immediately stepped forward to hold Rosalyn, who had stumbled. She stood in the doorway, looking left and right, until she was sure there was no one in the corridor, and then she gasped and said:

"Miss, just now I heard a strange sound!"

"Where did you hear that?"

I asked in surprise.

"It's like a guy coming out of the ground... Just now I thought of going to the basement underground to get my old yarn, so..."

"Why would you go to the basement and get those old woolen threads?"

"Because every night, we locked the door so early, so I wanted to brush the wool to pass the time."

At this point, I really felt the disturbing mood caused by Rosalind's hard work, and after a while, she suddenly lowered her voice and said:

"When I went to the basement to get out the wool box, I suddenly heard a very strange sound. So I listened sideways, and I heard that it was coming from underground, and I was so frightened that I quickly ran up. ”

Then I went to the basement with Rosalyn, but there was no sound there. I listened patiently in the basement, and after a moment, sure enough, a boom came over.

It was like the sound of the wind blowing on the branches of the trees, and it was also like the sound of the waves crashing on the coast, and after a while, it would ring out. Rosalyn and I were so frightened that our whole bodies trembled, and the two of us hurried out of the basement.

Early the next morning, I went to the basement by myself. However, there was no sound there at all, and there was silence in the cold, damp basement. I called Giromon, and he said nothing.

"Maybe it's the sound of moles digging holes, but because it's quieter in the middle of the night, even a tiny noise can sound frighteningly loud."

Maybe Giromon said this to appease me, but his expression was dignified.

Tonight, I heard that strange sound again, so what was it? It was horrible! How nice it would be if Paul were by my side now! That way I can sit back and relax. Alas, when will I be able to get together with Paul again?

Seeing this, Bernard couldn't help but interject and asked me:

"Brother-in-law! What is that sound? ”

"I don't know, we have to investigate carefully to determine what kind of noise it is."

Paul said solemnly.

His heart ached when he thought of the helpless and lonely Eliza and Gilmond who had once lived in the castle surrounded by enemy troops.

"Brother-in-law, I want to search the field again."

Paul didn't answer, Eliza was always in the door of his heart, and he couldn't calm down to consider Berner's suggestion.

In the lonely and silent night, what is the strange sound that comes out from under the ground? Even the basement was a strange and mysterious place, and Paul and Berner couldn't help but fall into a deep confusion.

They went on looking:

At 9 o'clock yesterday morning, Lieutenant Colonel Homan came to my bedroom and suddenly said to me:

"Madam, I'm going to arrest you!"

With that, he immediately stepped forward and grabbed my hand, and I wrestled him away, got up from my chair, and let him out with a loud voice.

However, Homan ignored me, and he forced me into the corner of the room, grabbed my hands roughly, and prepared to take me away.

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Prince Quinrat rushed in, his eyes bloodshot red, his face livid, and furious.

"Lieutenant Colonel, what are you going to do?"

The prince's loud voice.

"I'm going to imprison her."

"Oh? Why? ”

"Because this beautiful lady is suspected of colluding with the castle keepers in a vain attempt to report the military secrets of our army to the French team."

"What evidence do you have?"

"Yes! Every night after midnight, they all sent signals outward from the towers in the four corners of the castle. ”

"Why? We've never done that. ”

I pleaded sternly.

"Who found out they were firing signals?"

The prince asked rhetorically.

"My men, and we got the news from the female spies."

"But I haven't seen it, and my subordinates haven't reported it to me."

Prince Quinrat defended me.

"You and your subordinates go to bed early and get up late, of course, you can't find out what they do at night."

Lieutenant Colonel Homan looked at Prince Quinrat with disdain and let out a mocking laugh.

"Stop, Lieutenant Colonel Homan, you're insulting me!"

The prince stomped his feet in anger.

"It's not insulting, I'm telling the truth!"

"Is it true that you slander me and my subordinates for going to bed early and getting up late every day?"

"Isn't it? Don't you go to bed every night at 9 o'clock? Didn't you get up until 10 o'clock the next morning?

"Your eight subordinates, like you, go to bed early and get up late every day, completely disobeying military rules and discipline.

"Since I am an aide-de-camp of the brigade, I must supervise all the people in the brigade to observe military discipline, and this is my responsibility."

"I'll say it again. In order to preserve the dignity of the whole brigade, I have worked day and night, and the fruits of my labor will never be allowed to be destroyed..."

"Remember that I am a prince, a Son of the German Emperor, Quinrat!"

The prince looked directly at Lieutenant Colonel Heman with an angry gaze.

"I am a Lieutenant Colonel in the German Army, loyal to the German Emperor, and I was specially appointed by the German Emperor as the head of the spy organization, and it is my right to do so."

Lieutenant Colonel Homan, undaunted by the prince's threat, retorted unwillingly.

The two glared. After a moment, the prince's dignified face finally relaxed, gradually revealing blood color.

But Lieutenant Colonel He man's pale, paper-like face did not soften, and his grim expression was as cold as ever, as if it were a marble statue.

Under the forced gaze of Lieutenant Colonel He Man's sharp eyes, the prince's body could not help but tremble continuously, and he seemed to be very weak and cowering, and he turned his eyes away, and even the tone of his speech was much gentler than before.

"Lieutenant Colonel, what are you going to do with that young and beautiful lady?"

"Didn't I already say that?" I'm going to imprison her in a room in the castle, and the old couple will be locked up, and then they'll be interrogated, and if it is found out that they have indeed reported a letter to the French team..."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to kill them."

Lieutenant Colonel Homan's voice was cold, and his eyes were as sharp as a sword.

"What? Shoot them... Don't you think that's cruel? ”

The prince was taken aback.

"Military regulations say that anyone who commits espionage must be punished with capital punishment."

The lieutenant colonel said resolutely.

"But... Shouldn't women and the elderly enjoy preferential treatment with commutation of sentences? ”

"No way! Men, women and children, cannot forgive them, and our German military rules have always been known for their strictness! ”

The lieutenant colonel did not care about the prince's pleading, and his expression was heavy, and Prince Quinrat, whose face was distorted by irritation, was now in deep thought.

Moments later, Prince Quinrat came to the Lieutenant Colonel's side and whispered to him.

The lieutenant colonel shook his head in silence, and Prince Quinrat had to whisper in his ear again and again.

The lieutenant colonel was puzzled, and he stared down at the ground with his head down, his expression deep and dignified. After a while, Lieutenant Colonel Heman finally spoke:

"I see, Prince, I cannot disobey your will!"

Hearing the lieutenant colonel's words, the prince breathed a long sigh of relief, and unassuredly gave the lieutenant colonel's ear a few words.

The prince turned and left, and the lieutenant colonel looked at the prince's back, spat out his tongue in disdain, and said to himself:

"What a wandering sex ghost, who only knows how to sleep in the willow all day long..."

However, when he immediately noticed that I had been listening to their conversation, he threatened me:

"Madam, you must not tell anyone about this, if you can't keep your mouth shut, your life may be in danger."

Eliza's diary and memo are finished here, and although the next few pages are not torn away, they are blank and not a word.

Bernard and Paul looked at the blank diary in despair, and their hearts were also white.

"Why didn't Eliza write it?"

Paul spoke slowly and closed the diary.

"My sister may also not have time to write, and maybe her energy will not allow it."

"What do you mean by that?"

Paul turned his face to Bernard and asked Him as if in a dream:

"Brother-in-law! You don't have to be nervous, I think that soon after my sister wrote down the conversation between the prince and Lieutenant Colonel Homan, the German soldiers may have been executed. ”

"Yes, Giromon and Rosalyn were shot and killed by the German soldiers, while Eliza was locked up in the room by Prince Quinrat..."

Paul muttered to himself.

"Yes! The situation is so urgent, where does my sister have time and emotions to write a diary? ”

"Is that so?"

Paul sat under the towering tree, his hands on his shoulders, frowning heavily in thought, and suddenly said:

"Hey, Bernard, that German soldier just now... That is, the German soldier who was captured by Lieutenant Colonel Doctor..."

"Well, is it the man named Franz?"

"Yes! If you think about what he just said, he said that before the execution, a gunman must first fire a bullet and hit the other person near the head..."

"Yes, he said that before the other party dies, let him taste the taste of death, and then release the second shot to send him to the western sky."

"Yes, that's what they did to Eliza, so her blond hair gets shot into the brick wall, that's it..."

Paul took out a few strands of hair wrapped in white paper from his pocket and said very sentimentally:

"I now understand the meaning of these hairs."

"What does this mean?"

Franz said that the shot before the execution was to intimidate the prisoners, which is not necessarily correct. I think this may be a big conspiracy secretly set up by Lieutenant Colonel Homan and Prince Quinrat.

"Eliza wrote in the memorandum that the prince had repeatedly turned his head to the lieutenant colonel, and out of the blue, I thought maybe they might be negotiating a deal..."

"Deal? What kind of deal will it be? ”

Berner was puzzled.

"I can't think of a specific scenario either, but I think they might have such a conspiracy...

First, the prince whispered to the lieutenant colonel:

"'I want this young woman, she is such a beautiful French woman, I want to marry her, you give her to me, I will reward you greatly.'"

However, the prince was rejected by the lieutenant colonel, because Lieutenant Colonel Homan wanted to kill Eliza, so under the prince's coercion and inducement, he categorically refused and was not moved.

But Prince Quinrat repeatedly pleaded, and he finally gave in, because the other party was Prince Quinrat.

Although Prince Quinrat had rescued Eliza from the tiger's mouth, he understood that this matter alone would not be of much success, because Eliza was extremely disgusted with him.

In order to succeed in marrying Illissa, the prince must make Illisa owe him a favor, and he may whisper to Lieutenant Colonel Homan:

"'If you order the execution of the castle caretaker couple, you will surely frighten Eliza out of the sky.' If the first bullet had passed over her head, she would have fainted on the spot.

"'At that point, I rushed up to rescue the young woman, and then hid her in a house.'

"'Next, I will propose to her, I will save her life, and as soon as I hear my courtship, she will immediately promise me to become my wife.'" ”

"I think Prince Quinrat must have said these things to Lieutenant Colonel Homan, Bernard, what do you think?"

"Your conjecture is remarkable. Brother-in-law, not only can you be a great detective star, but you can also be a writer with a rich imagination. ”

Bernard joked that he admired Paul's cleverness and bravery, and he secretly thought:

"The brother-in-law's words may be true, and there is nothing wrong with his ideas..."

"Brother-in-law..."

Bernard thought for a moment before he said:

"They say that my sister secretly communicated with the French team in the middle of the night, is this true?"

"Of course it can't be true. How could your sister Eliza do that? And, you think, even if Eliza had delivered the message from the tower of the castle, the officers of the French brigade would not have understood the actual meaning of the signals.

"The castle is surrounded by lush forests, and the French camp is in the woodlands of the trough, and the signal cannot be transmitted at all."

"If that's the case, why did they slander their sister for secretly reporting to the French team?"

"Not looking for an opportunity to kill Eliza..."

"What is the purpose of their fabricating the fact that their sister is leaking the news?"

"I don't know about that... Why would he frame an innocent French woman? Why was she sentenced to death? I don't understand the lieutenant colonel's true intentions..."

The sun was setting, the night shrouded the green woods, and there was a secluded atmosphere all around. Paul and Bernard crouched in the shadow of the tree, motionless, like two rooted stones.

There was a rustle in the grass, and a wild rabbit came out of the grass, its head bare, staring motionless at Paul and Berner, who were stiff, without the slightest sense of panic, and did not want to run away, because the two were like two statues...

Robin played a big role

Ignoring the sacred international treaties, the Germans invaded the neutral country of Belgium and attacked the French interior from the border areas of Belgium and France.

Marshal Geoff, chief of the French General Staff, immediately ordered the whole army to retreat south of the Marne River to await the fighters.

The Marne is a tributary of the Seine that runs through northeastern France. The Chaman area on the banks of the Marne is where Eliza's father, Count Dandall, lived. Its upper reaches are partly groundwater, and there are many springs in the downstream areas that spew out of the surface, and the trickling water and the dense forests of the peaks are reflected in the painting.

On September 5, 1914, the Battle of the Marne River officially broke out, and the front of the battle stretched for more than 280 kilometers.

Marshal Joff fought skillfully and defeated the German army in one fell swoop. The Germans ran out of ammunition and had no choice but to retreat to the north.

Commanded by General Karuk, the defeated Germans retreated to the vicinity of the Marne River, and between Verson and Faulxen, they set up incomparably strong trenches (in order to resist enemy attacks, trenches were dug around the castle and in camps on the steppe, the excavated soil was built high, and the soldiers hid behind mounds and shot at the enemy).

In addition, the French team also built a strong and solid trench. The two armies came and went, tit-for-tat, and opened a large-scale war.

In this battle, both sides threw into battle weapons such as tanks, poison gas, spaceships, fighter jets, and anti-aircraft guns that could shoot down aircraft.

Among them, the tank is the most powerful, and the country that invented this weapon and applied it to the battlefield is britain.

Britain, an ally of France, also launched a fierce attack on Germany, commanded by Marshal Gagina.

Tanks were a powerful weapon secretly developed by the British. At that time, tanks were loaded on transport ships and sent to the battlefield. In order to prevent the enemy from obtaining this military secret, they falsely called it "tank" (tank), that is, tank car, and the name continued.

In fact, this sink is not used to hold water, but to carry warriors and guns. The tank was equipped with tracks under the wheel, so that no matter how bumpy the road, it could pass smoothly. It can also cross trenches, and even walk freely on slopes with a large slope, or drive into the enemy's camp, destroy machine guns, rifles, and throw away armor and panic soldiers who are likely to be crushed by it.

Because the tank is wrapped in iron, not only can the knife and gun not enter, but even the shells can not help it, it is really worthy of the big monster on the killing field.

The German Crown Prince, as commander-in-chief of the German brigade, carried out a fierce bombardment of Verdun.

This is a great battle unprecedented in history, and it is also the most tragic and cruel battle. The battle was bloody and dark.

In addition to shells and bullets made of iron, lead and other metals, the hand-to-hand combat in this war is also terrifyingly fierce!

In this battle, there is a world-famous bayonet trench that has forever remained in people's hearts, it symbolizes the bravery and indomitable patriotism of the French soldiers, and has become a war relic that will never be recorded in history.

Take a look at the record below:

On 9 June 1916, the 1st Brigade of the French 137th Company set out from the Verdun position to arrive at the forward position on the night of the 10th, and to change shifts with the 337th Company and enter the trenches.

On the morning of the 11th, the enemy launched a fierce bombardment until late at night.

It was a meteor-like explosion, rumbling thunder in the air, and dust and smoke coming from the trenches like a spring.

The soldier could not open his eyes between the dust, and even if he shot, it would be in vain, because the bullets could not reach the opposing artillery position.

All the French soldiers clutched their guns and waited for the password to go out.

"Get on the bayonet!"

With a loud command, the squadrons immediately drew their bayonets and mounted them on the top of their guns. In the darkness, only the click of the iron sheet colliding with the iron sheet could be heard.

The soldiers were all armed and ready to bravely rush into the enemy's position.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust blindfolded their eyes, and then the thick sand was thrown high and slammed into the top of their heads.

The fragments of the bomb burst were blown down by the wind, knocking down several soldiers, some never stood up again, a few climbed up, and those soldiers who were knocked down at the bottom of the battlefield with weapons in their hands were all killed.

Groans came from all directions, and the number of warriors who were seriously wounded was innumerable. But there was no time left to bandage their wounds, and all the men clutched their guns and waited for orders to strike.

Suddenly, a burst of cracking cannons came over, raising a large piece of sand and dust, and in an instant, the waterfall poured down from mid-air like water.

There was a moment of silence all around, and the officer's orders and the soldiers' cries were gone. The next morning, the trenches were found flat.

The trench was completely buried by sand, densely exposed in the soil with bayonets, like a forest of bayonets that could not be depicted.

The heroic soldiers who were ready to go out were unfortunately buried alive.

The martyrs lying under the dust were dead, still clutching their guns, their eyes staring straight in the direction of the enemy's position.

After the end of the war, the French government decided to exhumate the remains of all the soldiers buried in the trenches and bury them thickly. However, at the discussion meeting, some people objected and said:

"Because the task was not completed, they were unwilling to die, and even at the moment of death, their hearts still burned with patriotic fire.

"They were waiting for the order to attack and were unfortunately buried alive in the sand. To this day, they still cling to their guns and look directly at the enemy; they will remain there forever to defend their homeland.

"Although every French people wants to bury them in a grave, can we give their souls a paradise of rest?

"They will always be there, forever as angels guarding the land."

The people in attendance all bowed their heads and listened intently, and finally they clapped with excitement and decided to keep the battlefield as it was.

Among the bayonet bushes that jutted out of the land, they erected many white crosses and solemnly named them bayonet trenches.

The French who went to verdun would look at the bayonet trenches and then kneel there, praying reverently and silently, shedding tears of pity.

Parents tell their children about the origins of the bayonet trenches, inspiring their patriotism and tenacious character. Some of the girls were crying with red eyes, and some of the boys were gritting their teeth and staring at the bayonets.

This is a sacred place that symbolizes the French Patriotic Exercise Festival. They will keep this place forever and pass on this generous and tragic story to their descendants, and they will forever make this land an immortal war site.

The Battle of the Marne was a crucial battle that would determine the fate of France and Germany.

Both Germany and France mobilized strong forces to attack, and both mobilized a large number of soldiers from the eastern front, gathering around the Marne River.

The Germans who had withdrawn from the Castle of Volcan were also for the Battle of the Marne. Paul and Bernard were also sent with their brigades to the Marne front to duel the Germans.

Near the Marne River, they worked day and night with the enemy. Driven by strong patriotism, they grew into heroic and warlike soldiers. At that time, Paul was the captain of the third squad, and Berner was the squad leader.

The captain gave the third squad a new detective task to investigate the enemy's situation.

Each time, Paul led his subordinates to lurk in the forest or cottage, and then each of them crawled forward, after walking to the woods or embankment, using the telescope to observe the enemy's movements, while Bernard followed behind the team.

One day, Paul and Bernard were lying on their stomachs in the waist-deep grass and slowly moving forward. The few trees ahead that survived German artillery fire had white wounds.

The two men hid behind the tree, holding binoculars in their hands to watch the enemy's positions in the distance. Suddenly, a "whizzing" sound came and the bullet penetrated the towering tree in front of Paul.

Suddenly, Paul quickly prostrated himself, and after a while looked up at the top. Only to see that the bark of the trunk above his head had been scraped off, revealing the white heart of the tree.

Bernard, who was hiding behind a large tree, cried.

"Bullets ... You see...... Bullets that penetrated the bark of the trunk in front of me..."

With that, Bernard gestured with his chin above his head. I saw that the outer bark of the trunk, which was five or six centimeters away from the top of my head, was also broken, and the bullet marks were exposed.

"The bullet came from behind..."

Paul turned his head and said, but there was no figure behind him. His subordinates were lurking in the forest on the right, and the bullets could not have been fired by them.

The two of them moved gently through the grass, and in a moment they came together.

"Did you hear the gunshots?"

"Nothing. I have been single-mindedly watching the enemy's movements. ”

The two listened sideways. The vast prairie is tranquil. The fiery sunlight shone directly above the heads of the two of them, annoying and irritable.

Paul and Bernard waited for a long time on the prairie, and from time to time the cries of insects, crickets that had crawled to the grass dam to bathe in the sun, were transmitted to the ears.

The big green locusts that flapped their wings quickly also flew around the grassland. For them, the battlefield of flesh and blood is like heaven.

The two returned to the forest, first investigating, and then asking their subordinates about the shooting, but their subordinates said they did not shoot.

"However, just now we all heard the sound of gunfire over there, as if it had been fired twice in a row..."

One soldier recalled.

"From where?"

Paul asked.

"There..."

The warrior pointed in the direction in which the bullet was coming from.

"We thought the Germans had discovered our whereabouts and shot us..."

Paul did not doubt the words of his subordinates, for they were sincere lads who obeyed his orders. Crucially, the bullets did not come from their hidden direction.

"Who is that?" Neither the shadow of the enemy nor any anomalies was found... But the bullet hit the trunk of a tree above both of us. Does this mean that the enemy's intention is to kill both of us? ”

"So... Brother-in-law, was someone shooting us from behind? ”

Bernard asked.

"Well, there's a possibility. But we don't know who this man really is..."

"It's her! Brother-in-law, the woman in black! ”

Berner roared with excitement.

"I guess so too, but will she chase her to the western battlefield?"

Paul said thoughtfully.

"She has always had ill intentions toward both of us, and maybe she will smell the wind..."

"But why did she do that?" This time, even you were almost killed. ”

"Well, that woman is so mysterious!"

Thinking back on the danger just now, Paul and Bernard couldn't help but look at each other.

"This German spy may have bribed our fighters and is ready to kill you. No, it's not necessarily our warriors, maybe it's the nearby villagers or bad people who have been bribed by her and have been trailing behind us, ready to act when the opportunity arises..."

Bernard thinks from different angles, and he can't figure out a clear line of thought in any way. Ten days later, while the two of them were on a reconnaissance mission in the forest, someone shot at them from behind.

Paul was fortunately not injured, but Bernard was shot in the arm by a bullet, which was fired from behind.

Bernard was immediately admitted to a hospital in the city of Verdun for treatment. Fortunately, his injuries were not serious, and after bandages were tied, Bernard still fought with his wounds. But several thorough searches were carried out, but not a single trace was found...

At this time, the French army won the Battle of the Masi River, and the defeated German army retreated to the north. In order to meet the needs of the war, Paul's brigade was transferred back to the Eastern Front.

Many days later, many days later, the wound on Bernard's arm suddenly worsened, perhaps because the disinfection work was not done thoroughly while receiving treatment and caused the wound to become infected. And during the war, countless people were injured, doctors were too busy, so cases of incomplete treatment were not new.

The war continued, and Bernard's wounds had no time to be disinfected and medicated every day, so they were invaded by bacteria.

"If the wound is suppurative, then you have to cut off this arm!"

Paul warned him sternly, so Bernard hurried to the field hospital to receive treatment and treatment.

The field hospital was housed in an old castle known as the town of Bronni, where Paul's brigade had its headquarters headquarters. The field hospital has two departments, internal medicine and surgery.

Bernard entered the surgical ward alone, only to see many soldiers with bruised arms or bandaged heads waiting in the waiting room. The bandages wrapped around each soldier's wound were faintly oozing blood, which made people's hearts beat, and the smell of choking disinfectant water rippled throughout the waiting room.

It was finally time to go to Bernard, and he was walking into the diagnostic room when suddenly a line above the entrance came into view.

"Ah...

Bernard couldn't help but scream and lose his voice.

I saw a black horizontal board with white paint written in several large characters:

Chief of Surgery – Lieutenant Colonel Yasen Robin Military Medical Officer

"Arthur -- Robin... Could it be robin the weird thief? ...... Disguised as a lieutenant colonel, he even wrote out his name with open fire..."

Berner talked to himself, as if in a dream, and had to rub his eyes and look at it a few more times, but the horizontal plate was impressively printed with the name of Arthur Robin.

Timidly, he opened the door of the examination room, only to see that the house was full of medicines and surgical tools, the strong smell of disinfectant water was filled, and the nurses and medical soldiers dressed in white were hurrying back and forth.

At the large table in the room, a doctor dressed in white was sitting, looking through the medical records of the soldiers who had just been treated, and he buried his head and said:

"Okay, next!"

So Bernard sat down in a small round chair in front of the doctor.

At this point, the doctor put the medical record on the table, only to look up at Bernard and say with deep surprise:

"Oh? It's you..."

It turned out that the doctor in front of him was the lieutenant colonel that Bernard had seen on the forest path not long ago.

The medic untied the bandage on Bernard's arm and examined it before saying slowly:

"The wound is suppurative, fortunately you didn't come late, and if you delay it for a few more days, you may have to undergo major surgery and amputate your entire arm..."

Immediately afterward, the military doctor's command assistant began a small operation, and then changed the clean bandage for Bernard himself, and said with a smile:

"Long time gone, Bernard..."

As he spoke, the medic put his hands around his head, stretched out his loins, and said lazily:

"I'm so tired! From seeing patients in the morning to now... Well, I'm going to take a break too. ”

He reached into a brown flat cigarette box with a gold rim on the table, took out a Havana cigar, cut off the suction part with scissors, held it in his mouth, and rubbed a match.

"Were you wounded when you were sent to the Western Battlefield by the Captain?"

The medic spat out a beautiful smoke ring from his mouth.

"Yes."

"Your brother-in-law, Mr. Paul-Brother Rhodes, how has he been lately?" He's fine, right? ”

"Yes, he's fine."

Bernard answered with doubt in his heart, not only the brother-in-law's name, but also his last name.

"Medic, may I ask you if you are..."

When Bernard was about to ask about the identity of the military doctor, the other party diverted the topic:

"I was so happy to hear that our army had won a decisive victory on the western battlefield, and I couldn't sleep all night.

"At this moment, the German Emperor had a clear understanding of the potential of the French army, so in a panic, he had to order Marshal Khuy to lead the Crown Prince's army to retreat to the north, then..."

The lieutenant colonel of the military doctor was triumphant and refreshed. Although Bernard had always wanted to ask if the military doctor was Yassen Robin himself, he could not find the opportunity to interject, and the lieutenant colonel had been talking smugly.

The medic finally stopped and took a deep breath of his cigarette, and Berner seized the opportunity to interject:

"May I ask, Mr. Medic, are you really the rogue Yassen Robin?"

"Yeah, what's wrong! Any questions? ”

The military doctor said with a faint smile.

"Is Robin really a thief?"

Bernard looked hesitantly at the medic's face, but the medic said gently:

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm really the weird thief Yassen Robin."

"But how did you become a doctor?" And you dare to blatantly write your own name..."

Bernard was suspicious.

"Mr. Bernard Dandoby, I have received a systematic and in-depth education in science, literature, medicine and other aspects, especially in surgical treatment, I have specialized in this, I have obtained a degree in this area!

"In the past, I have always used what I have learned in improper places, even doing bad things. But now, I felt that I had to contribute to my country, so I volunteered to heal the wounds of the soldiers. At present, our great motherland is in a matter of life and death, and all French people must dedicate everything they have to our country.

"When the war broke out, I had this idea. I then submitted an application to Marshal Joff, the commander-in-chief of the French brigade, to serve as a military doctor.

At first, Marshal Joff did not trust me very much, but after several conversations he finally understood a piece of my loyalty.

"Later, he appointed me as a military doctor to operate on the soldiers of this division, and I became the chief of surgery of this field hospital."

"Ah, that's the way it is... But will the officers and men of this division accept you? ”

"Of course, they can. Because they understand my patriotic zeal. In the past, although I was the strange thief Yassen Robin, now I am a military doctor.

"Many of my Fellow Frenchmen have abandoned their families and jobs to fight on the battlefield and fight against the enemy, so I have since bid farewell to the identity of a strange thief and become a diligent and ordinary forensic doctor."

"So, I'm no longer a strange thief, I'm a doctor, why don't I dare to use my real name?"

"If you write out your real name, aren't you afraid that the police will arrest you?"

"Catch me? No! I didn't do anything bad! ”

Robin said confidently.

"But you have a previous conviction!" They will not let you go. ”

Bernard disagreed with Robin.

"Today, our country is at a critical juncture of life and death, and it is not useful to uncover the sins of my past, the most important thing is to use my medical skills to heal wounded soldiers." Maybe the police think that it doesn't matter if I am arrested now, it is better for me to make some contribution to the country.

"But as soon as the war is over, they'll arrest me immediately. Now, I am mentally prepared, and if they arrest me, I will flee.

"You should know that I am a master at escaping from prison!"

Robin squeezed his eyes slyly at Bernard, took a sip of his cigar, and slowly spat out the smoke ring.

"On the other hand, I was a doctor recommended by Marshal Joff, the commander-in-chief of the French army, and even the police did not dare to attack me easily, so that I could concentrate on my own work.

"Although I am a strange thief and a member of the French, like any fellow Frenchman, I love my mother deeply. When the motherland is facing a critical juncture, all the people must concentrate their strength and dedicate everything to the motherland. I also want to do my part here.

"Now, I am no longer a thief, but a loyal patriot, and I want to contribute all my strength to the motherland."

"Who dares to arrest me? I am a surgeon, and I want to heal the wounds of the French soldiers and stop the patriotic blood..."

Robin's face was flushed with excitement, his eyes shone with strange brilliance, and his heart was burning with patriotic fire. But after a moment, he muttered to himself:

"But, Bernard, as soon as the war is over, I will immediately become Robin the Rogue, this is a secret, you must not tell anyone else!"

Robin smoked his cigar leisurely, a mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth.

After Bernard was treated in a field hospital for some time, Paul immediately received an urgent order to call the company.

He rode all the way to the town of Brony and reported to the elderly captain and company commander.

The captain introduced Paul to the company commander.

"This is Second Lieutenant Paul-Brother Rhodes (paul was promoted to lieutenant at the time),"

"Lieutenant Di Rhodes, I heard that you were the master of Volcon Castle, didn't you?"

The company commander with a large beard said.

"No, my father-in-law, Count Dandobi, is the owner of Volcon Castle, where I lived for some time after I married her daughter Eliza."

"According to the captain, your wife Eliza is now missing, and you're worried about her, aren't you?"

"Well, thank you Captain."

"Now we intend to send you to Volcon Castle to investigate the situation there, where your brother-in-law Bernard Dandobiu is said to be the eldest son of the Count, and he is the younger brother of Eliza."

"He lived in the castle for a while when he was a child, and he must be quite familiar with the surroundings there, so I am ready to send you with your brother-in-law."

At this time, the captain of the brigade, who was standing silently on the side, suddenly said:

"Yes, yes. The Count's family moved to Shamann, on the southern nice riviera, at the age of two. Later, Bernard also returned to the castle. During his time at university, he returned to the castle for a holiday every year, and he was all too familiar with the environment. ”

"Then our task is..."

The company commander led Paul to the front of the large map on the wall, pointed to an area and said:

"This is the town of Bronni, this is the village of Volcan, this is the border of Germany and France. To the west, from here, is French territory, but in recent times German partisans have been frequenting here. They are waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the rear of our army, or set fire to villages and towns, kill fighters, and install time bombs in buildings.

"I heard that there were four or five in this guerrilla group, but sometimes there were as many people as a squad."

"Although we did everything in our power to arrest the German partisans, the results were not good, they came and went without a trace, like ghosts, which was very alarming.

"The company headquarters often held meetings to discuss strategies for dealing with enemy guerrillas infiltrating into the rear of our army, and some people thought that those guerrillas were parachutes. However, the planes that fly the continent's borders, only small fighters or reconnaissance aircraft, have not been found to carry more than ten people.

"In addition, some people think that the guerrillas invaded the mainland from underground tunnels. However, judging from the distance between the German occupation and here, it was absolutely impossible for Germany to dig a passage that could be used to transport soldiers in such a short period of time, so the company command decided to send reconnaissance personnel to Volcan Castle to reconnoiter.

"It was not too far from the front line of our army, and it had been occupied by the Germans, so it is very likely that they invaded the mainland from there and established the castle as a base and established guerrillas.

You and Captain Bernard are familiar with the interior and exterior of The Castle of Volcan, so I am ready to send you two to investigate. ”

"Yes!"

Paul tightened his legs and stood motionless to salute the captain.

The company commander nodded with satisfaction and smiled.

The captain took out two sets of military uniforms, two military hats, and two sabers from the suitcase in the corner of the room, all of which were necessary for the German team.

"This is what was left behind after the escape of the two German prisoners a few days ago, who may have been the commanders of the guerrillas.

"You and Bernard put this on, disguised themselves as Germans, and sneaked into Volcan Castle."

With that, the captain handed the clothes to Paul and the two of them.

Paul tucked the clothes of the German captives into the saddle and rode back to the squad.

When he arrived at the squad, Bernard was standing anxiously in front of the team headquarters waiting for him to return.

"Brother-in-law, I have an important situation for you."

Bernard stepped forward and said.

"What?"

Paul asked, and he jumped off his horse.

"Don't be too surprised, this is earth-shattering news!"

Bernard pursed his lips and pretended to be mysterious.

Bernard served Robin the Rogue as a military doctor and told Paul in detail about treating him for his arm wound. Unsurprisingly, Paul was stunned to hear this.

However, they had no time to talk about it at all, for they had been given a major mission to disguise themselves at Wolcon Castle to scout for the underground passage there.

Upon hearing this command, Bernard was greatly touched, but with a cheerful nature and a broad heart, he immediately said happily:

"Oh? That's great! Perhaps at this time Germany also potential castles. It is a supreme honor that we have been given such a task. And to take risks, we just got a taste of excitement! ”

Bernard talked to himself excitedly, and as he spoke, he put the Deca on his body. Fortunately, the top fits perfectly, but the pants are slightly shorter, because Bernard's figure is more slender.

"Okay, I'll just put it on."

With that, Bernard put a pair of red boots on his legs and walked around the house, radiant. Paul couldn't help but smile when he looked at Berner, and he quickly changed into this outfit.

Paul and Bernard disguised themselves as German commanders, explained the situation in the squad to their stunned subordinates, and immediately headed for the castle.

The farmers they met on the way thought that the German team had returned, and immediately hid in the jungle next to the road.

Paul and Bernard walked for more than two hours and finally reached Volcan Castle. The inside and outside of the castle were deserted, vines crawled all over the doors, windows and walls, and even the cobblestone road inside the gate was overgrown with weeds, and there was not a single sign of the Germans invading the castle again.

The two searched the castle inside and out, and there was nothing unusual, except for the rusty iron wheels and chains on the brick walls of the backyard.

They carefully walked into the basement.

"It was once said in Eliza's diary that there was a strange sound in the basement of the castle. It is likely that the Germans were digging tunnels. ”

Paul looked around at the basement and said in a low voice.

"Maybe! They might take the guerrillas in a car, pass through the underground passages, and send them here. ”

Bernard speculated.

However, they did not find the entrance to the tunnel in the end, knocking on the floor and walls, nor did they hear any empty noise.

"Isn't that weird?"

Paul thought to himself. Suddenly, he remembered the past seventeen or eighteen years ago. When he was the age of *, the situation of riding with his father,brother Baron Rhodes to the old church in the forest to shelter from the rain was once again revealed.

It was there that Paul and his father met for the first time with the German Emperor and the mysterious woman in black; it was also there that his father's brother Baron Rhodes was unfortunately killed by the woman in black in the middle of the night.

"Why did the Emperor of Germany go to that old cathedral?"

The doubts in his mind as a teenager are now in Paul's mind again.

So Paul took Bernard to the old church.

The church is hidden deep in the forest, and it takes three hours to get there from the castle. The appearance of the church still retains the old appearance of seventeen or eight years ago, but it is more desolate and dilapidated, the roof and walls have been peeled off, and the surrounding woods are more severe than seventeen or eight years ago.

The big tree that Baron Lodz had been killed in the forest was still thriving, but the scene was not there, and Paul's heart could not help but twitch.

The door of the church was wide open, and Paul and Berner walked in side by side, with dense cobwebs wrapped around their bodies and heads. The two men brushed the cobwebs in front of them with their hands and walked straight to the depths of the church. On the altar, the portrait of Christ the Shame and the virgin Mary are still intact, but the statue of St. Joseph is lying on the side, and it may be that the pedestal of the statue has corroded, so the statue has sunk.

Bernard went up to the altar to explore the caves on the altar walls.

"Brother-in-law, this hole seems to be quite deep..."

At this time, Paul also came to the altar. Berner swept the hole with a flashlight, only to see a row of narrow stone steps appear in front of him, and Berner went into the cave, and Paul followed him.

"Brother-in-law... You see..."

Berner said. I saw that under the illumination of the flashlight, two thick lines twisted together like snakes.

Those were two tracks under the light.

The two silently walked down the steps, which is the so-called underground passage. The upper and lower sides of the walls on both sides are coated with cement, and between the circular stone pillars and the stone pillars, two long, green and white tracks extend infinitely forward, and the orderly stone columns can be seen in the distance.

"The Germans did carry the guerrillas, guns and ammunition in trolleys and sent them to the French interior."

Paul was indignant.

"Where did this passage begin?" In this way, the tunnel will not be too short. In two or three years, such a huge project cannot be completed. ”

"This project may have been planned ten years ago... No, maybe more than a decade..."

Paul vividly recalls the German emperor coming out of the church. At that time, the German emperor may have come to inspect the progress of the underground tunnel project and observe the french landscape from the church spire.

"It turned out that the great project that Germany had planned to carry out from seventeen or eighteen years earlier was actually aimed at invading and conquering France, and that this huge project was personally commanded by the German Emperor himself.

"Well, I can't imagine that the German Emperor is so sinister and despicable, that he has always been eyeing the French lead, and that he has spent so long drawing up this plan of aggression.

It turned out that he had been spying on France with the ferocious eyes of a snake, waiting for the opportunity to swallow it in one bite. Germany invaded Belgium in violation of the sacrosanct international treaties, which at that time was nothing more than a despicable means of attacking the west.

"The German Emperor's real intention was to defeat France on the eastern battlefield with lightning speed and attack Paris in one fell swoop, so that the German Emperor took pains to run a huge tunnel project for seventeen or eight years, and how meticulous their plans were!"

Paul's meticulous analysis of the German team's battle plan, his colorful thinking and calm reasoning, made Berner marvel.

The impression of the German emperor as a teenager flashed back into Paul's mind, and the special sword-like dagger and the sharp eyes of the inverted triangle made people tremble.

"A peace-loving monarch would never have such a strange beard, it was a face more ferocious than a beast...

Moreover, his eyes shone with a cold light like solid ice, and there was no tender, considerate, or kind look on them, like a poisonous snake,...... No, that's the gaze of a beast..."

Paul's heart swelled with rage, and suddenly Berner whispered:

"Shhh..."

Paul also lowered his voice.

Berner reached out to his lips and turned off the light in the flashlight, and Paul hurried to turn off the flashlight.

In the darkness, the two held their breath and crouched silently by the tunnel.

At this moment, a faint sound of footsteps came, and I don't know where the man came from, and the sound gradually approached them in the darkness.

Between the cement walls and the ceiling, footsteps caused a loud echo that spread in all directions. Paul and Bernard had been holding their breath, motionless like statues, and both faintly heard their own heartbeats.

Suddenly, a blinding light shot into the pitch-black tunnel, the light of a flashlight. The bright and shining light gradually approached, and stopped beside Paul and Berner.

At this time, they both lifted their heads in unison.

"You guys... Who is it? ”

A deep German sentence came over.

At the moment, Paul suddenly remembered a section of the German national anthem.

"Germany is the crown of the world..."

The voice was impassioned.

"Oh? Is it German? Please stand up! ”

"Ah, it turned out to be our officer... Me too..."

The man pointed the flashlight at his face, it was the face of an old general with a white inverted beard, and the two gold stars on his epaulettes were shining, which was really an arrogant and calm lieutenant general.

Paul and Bernard stood up and saluted the old general, who also slowly put his hand on the brim of his military hat, saluted both of them, and said in a stern tone:

"What are you two doing?"

"Report General, we are carrying out an internal overhaul of the tunnel."

Paul answered calmly.

"You've worked hard! Which unit do you belong to? ”

"Well, Report General, we belong to the first brigade of the Army of Brandenburg."

Paul was talking nonsense.

"What? The Army of Brondenburg... Strangely, the color of your armbands is clearly from the Legion of Franks..."

The old general talked to himself.

"Oops! The lie was debunked. ”

Paul and Berner were shocked, and cold sweat oozed from their foreheads.

The two of them did not know that the color of the armbands of the German team was different due to the difference in stationing, and moreover, this situation had not been heard of before the war.

"What to do? Dew filling! ”

"Your boots are also french!"

The old general's insight was so subtle that Paul and Berner finally couldn't hold on.

"Oops, we can't escape."

Bernard was secretly bitter in his heart, and he quietly put his hand behind his waist, ready to draw his gun.

However, the old general's sharp eyes immediately recognized Bernard's intention to draw his gun.

"Are you confident you're right?"

The old general said dismissively.

"Huh?"

Berner stared at the old man in panic.

"The gunshot wound on your right hand joint hasn't fully recovered, and you'll still be in pain!"

Paul and Bernard were speechless.

Looking at their overwhelmed looks, the old general couldn't help but smile and said heartily:

"Didn't you?" Paul. Bernard, don't you know me? ”

As he spoke, the old general slowly tore off the white whiskers on his lips, and then rubbed his face from top to bottom, and in a few moments, a thin layer of skin faded.

"Huh? It's Robin..."

Paul and Bernard couldn't help but scream and lose their voices.

"Ha! Ha! ”

Robin laughed.

"That's who I really am. By the way, Paul, your German national song is so good, almost exactly the same as the German pronunciation. Even if you are mixed in the German army, no one will recognize you, not to mention that you are still wearing a German suit, and others will not be suspicious of you at all.

"However, we didn't know that the German team had changed the color of the armband."

Paul felt guilty for his negligence.

"Oh? You're talking about armbands? That's what I'm talking about, to scare you. In fact, all the regiments in the German team used armbands of the same color. ”

After saying that, Robin laughed heartily for a while, and Ji'er said:

"What are you doing here?"

So Paul told Robin what had happened.

"Oh? I'm also here to explore this passage... I heard that the German Emperor had been planning to dig this tunnel since 20 years ago, so I rushed to investigate...

"I know exactly where this tunnel originated in Germany and ended in France..."

"So, what is the place?"

"The tunnel starts in the forest near Westrington Castle and ends in a forest about 50 kilometres northeast of the town of Bloni between our company command headquarters and the field hospital.

"It took my subordinates a lot of time and effort to find those places. The enemy's activity has been rampant for some time now, so I plan to blow it up.

"Immediately after I had healed Bernard's wounds, I applied to the company to blow up the tunnel, but the company commander told me that he had sent the two of you to the village of Volkon to investigate. I think you will definitely find this tunnel, so I have been waiting for you here.

"Oh, that's the way it is... We thought we had really been discovered by the old German general, and your joke made us really nervous. ”

Paul couldn't help but let out a long breath.

"That's it! Also lied to us that the color of the arms and shoulders was wrong, and said that what was worn was the boots of the French team... Let's sweat in the palms of our hands, you're overdoing it! ”

Bernard grumbled unhappily, while Robin smiled and squinted:

"Sorry, sorry! I just want to make a joke with you, I'm so sorry! What do you think? Now, let's go! ”

The three men walked along the passage in the direction of Germany.

The three of them walked along the tracks for more than two hours, but they didn't see a single cart coming by, and perhaps the German team had stopped transporting soldiers and bullets.

Every two or three meters, a ventilation hole will appear in the ceiling. However, perhaps the hole was too small, and the air in the tunnel was unusually turbid and boring, making me feel very uneasy.

The dripping water from the ceiling stained the faces and shoulders of several of them, cool. The concrete walls illuminated by the flashlight also slightly seeped out of the water droplets, damp and muddy, and the ground between the tracks was also full of water.

The three men continued to walk in the dark and wet underground tunnel. Robin, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped, and he looked around the surrounding walls with a flashlight and found a long row of narrow stone steps in front of him.

"Maybe it's up to the ground..."

With that, Robin walked briskly up the stone steps, and Paul and Berner followed him up.

The stone steps are only five or six stories, so the top is not connected to the ground, only a narrow hole is exposed there, although the two can not pass side by side, but fortunately because the top is very high, they can walk upright.

The hole intersects with the underground passage below in the shape of a cross, and a faint sunlight can be faintly seen from the slope that gradually falls down from the other side.

They continued to walk forward, and in a few moments they came to the ground, a vast prairie through which gray and shiny asphalt roads ran through it.

On the forest side of the road, a black convertible was parked there, but there was no one around. In order not to let others find them, the three of them quickly entered another cave next to them.

A thick wall unexpectedly blocked in front of them, and there was a wooden gate in the middle, and with a gentle push, the door opened. Robin watched carefully with a flashlight for half a day, but there were no German sentries or gatekeepers there.

"This is the basement. Although there is no one for the time being, it is better for you to be cautious..."

Robin said in a low voice.

The three of them stayed in the basement for a while and searched carefully again. When they listened carefully, a faint sound of conversation came over, and the content of the conversation was not real, but it could be known from the pronunciation method that the person talking was speaking a german Chinese.

Robin looked down and pondered, then walked slowly forward, with Paul and Berner following him in the darkness. After a while, they came across a wooden door again, and through the gaps and keyholes of the wooden door, they could see a faint light coming through.

Robin leaned in as John watched, and Paul and Berner watched through the crack in the wooden door.

Inside is a spacious basement with low ceilings. The decorations in the house are extremely ornate and noble, with dark red carpets on the floor and oil paintings of different styles hanging on the walls around them.

On the white ceiling hangs delicate and luxurious art lamps.

On the left and right are leather sofa chairs and benches, and next to the tall bookshelves is a piano.

In the center of the room is a large rectangular table lined with neatly arranged bottles and glasses. A flower basket is placed in the middle of the table, which is full of beautiful colorful flowers, and a rich and fresh floral fragrance ripples throughout the room.

There hadn't been a single figure yet, but just as Robin was snooping, the door was suddenly pushed open, and twelve or three men and women quietly walked in and sat down around the rectangular table in turn.

The men were all German officers in military uniforms, about six people, and the other six were young, beautiful, and graceful women.

The last to enter the house was a white-skinned, stocky young officer.

"Huh? Prince Quinrat..."

Robin whispered. The proud prince walked in with a beautiful lady in his arms. When Paul looked at the woman, he almost screamed and lost his voice...

"Eliza!"

Paul cried out in his heart.

Suddenly, the blood all over his body rushed to Paul's head, the blood vessels in his temples "fluttered" and beat, and the surprise and indignation made him almost faint to the ground, but he clenched his teeth and tried to restrain himself. His body trembled, and he continued to probe through the crack in the door panel without squinting.

However, the surprise was not only that, but paul was even more surprised by the person who came in with the prince and Eliza, who was the woman in black!

"Huh? It's her..."

Paul couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, and his face immediately turned pale, as did Berner. They pressed their noses against the planks and felt pain because they had been too long. By this time, Prince Quinrat and Eliza were already sitting in the opposite chair, and the woman in black sat down next to Eliza. She still wears a gold snake-shaped charm ornament on her chest, which shines with dazzling brilliance from time to time.

Eliza's face was unusually pale and haggard, her eyes sunken, surrounded by a circle of dark circles, and her expression was very lonely and lost. She seemed to be trying to suppress the fear and sadness in her heart, and there was a strong sense of grief and indignation, and her eyes stared straight out of nowhere.

Prince Quinrat looked around and spoke to the German officials present. Because the door and distance in the middle were so far away, Robin, Paul, and Bernard did not hear what he had said clearly.

All the young Germans immediately applauded enthusiastically, as if celebrating success, and only Eliza and the other six beauties bowed their heads and fell silent.

"Those ladies were authentic French women, but unfortunately they became the playthings of Prince Quinrat..."

Robin shook his head and said with an infinite sigh.

The German officials began to raise a glass to celebrate the victory, drinking a cocktail of wine, brandy and other wines, and each German official was drunk.

They danced with great excitement and repeatedly sang a passage from the German national anthem:

The impassioned emotions made them blush and even their voices hoarse.

Prince Quinrat triumphantly watched the officers singing and arrogantly drank the wine in his hand.

Eliza and the six French beauties sat stiffly in their chairs, their eyelids low and their faces sad.

At this moment, the woman in black suddenly turned her body and whispered something to Eliza, but the sad Elisha did not answer.

The prince stared greedily and despicablely at Eliza's wonderful silhouette, and then poured her full of wine, handed it to the cold and frosty Eliza, and whispered to her with a lewd smile.

Neither Paul nor Bernard could hear what the prince was saying, but Robin was still staring intently at the prince's lips. After a while he said to paul and the two of them:

The prince said to Eliza:

"'This is our finest Rhine wine in Germany, for your beauty and our upcoming wedding, let's toast!' ”

"Wedding? What the? Prince Quinrat wants to marry Eliza..."

Paul's lips trembled as he couldn't go on. This astonishing news horrified him, and his heart sank suddenly...

"But Robin, how can you hear what the prince says?" Please don't talk nonsense, my brother-in-law is very sad..."

Bernard was furious.

"No, I'm definitely not talking nonsense. I've learned lip reading, and just by looking at the shape of the person's mouth when he speaks, I can see what he's talking about. ”

Robin defended himself as he continued to stare at the prince's lips. The prince placed a glass of wine in front of Eliza, but Eliza twisted her face away in disdain.

Once again, the prince put the wine glass to Eliza's lips and said in a commanding tone:

"Well, you drink!"

But Eliza resolutely pushed the wine glass around her lips with her right hand, and the fragrant wine spilled on the ground in an instant, and even Eliza's dress was wet.

Prince Quinrat immediately lowered his face, and he roared madly. Because his face was facing Eliza, Robin couldn't see the shape of his lips, and of course, couldn't hear what he was saying.

Then Prince Quinrat roared again, and Eliza, who had been silent, suddenly slapped him hard. The prince covered his red face with his hands in a daze, annoyed and ashamed. He stumbled to his feet, and the chair behind him slammed to the ground.

Several German officials stood up eagerly, drunk and suddenly sobered up a lot. The prince grabbed Eliza's shoulder rudely, a blood-red flush pouring from his pale face, and Ji'er pulled the seated Eliza out of his chair.

At this moment, the woman in black also stood up and grabbed the prince's arm, and did not know what to say to him, as if she was persuading the angry prince to calm his anger. However, the prince pushed the woman in black away and pulled Eliza closer to him.

The woman in black still walked unwillingly to the prince, and the two quarreled endlessly.

The German officials on the side were stunned and overwhelmed. After the woman in black and prince Quinrat argued for a moment, the prince finally compromised, let go of Eliza's hand, and sat back in his chair, his hands clenched into fists, pounding the table in front of him fiercely.

The woman in black bent down to whisper to the prince, her expression seeming to be trying to reconcile. The prince finally calmed down and gestured with his chin to the wooden door, meaning that Eliza could go.

So the woman in black nodded to a German official, and then the two of them raised Eliza's arm together and walked involuntarily to the door.

"Oops! The woman wanted to assassinate Eliza. Paul, Bernard, you two go after them..."

Robin cried out in a low voice.

Paul and Bernard immediately ran from the underground tunnel to the surface, and there was a vast prairie in front of them. Far away, in front of the road, three figures were striding forward. The woman in black grabbed Eliza's arm, and another German officer followed her.

It turned out that there was also an entrance and exit in the basement from where it was directly accessible to the ground.

The three of them got into an open-top car parked next to the forest and quickly left. The car flew away like the wind, leaving only an empty gray dust.

There was not a single vehicle around to take, and Paul and Berner could not catch up, but were anxious. The two were at a loss for words, so they watched the car go away in frustration.

"Huh? Elisa...... Where did she let people go? Will she be killed by the Woman in Black? ”

Paul gritted his teeth in disbelief, and he stared in the direction of the forest with confused eyes, but the other party's car had disappeared from view, and the dust was wafting in front of his eyes, and even the wide woods had become empty in his eyes.

After Paul and Bernard came out of the underground tunnel, Robin opened the wooden door and entered the house.

All the German officials turned their heads in response, and under the gaze of the crowd, Robin still stepped forward with a steady and healthy step. The venus (rank of lieutenant general) he wears on his shoulders shines with gold in the flickering light.

All the German officials saw Robin disguised as an old general, and they invariably straightened their legs and saluted in an upright posture.

Robin was naturally old enough to salute one by one, and then went straight to Prince Quinrat's side and politely saluted the prince.

"Who are you?" What's the matter? ”

The prince seemed reluctant to let people see his swollen face, so he deliberately twisted his face to the side.

"I'm here to report an important message to the prince... I am Lieutenant General Otto-Maktibao. ”

"Otto-Marktipa... I've never heard of that name..."

The prince talked to himself.

"Although you don't know me, you probably should know this, right?"

When Robin had finished speaking, he immediately pulled out a pistol and held it against the prince's chest.

The prince was so frightened by Robin's surprise move that his face was trembling, and he could not speak for a moment. And the six French beauties were all frightened and screamed. The officers were also helpless, some wanted to draw their pistols, and some went to draw their swords.

"You'd better not move obediently, and don't move around, or all 12 bullets will go into the prince's chest, you know?"

Hearing Robin's reminder, all the Germans could only raise their hands.

"Prince Quinrat, you have now been captured by me. You obediently obey my commands, and I will keep you safe,...... Will you listen to me? ”

Robin threatened him.

"Of course I do..."

The prince's voice was hoarse and low.

"Please speak out loud so that all your subordinates can hear..."

Robin slammed the gun into the prince's heart.

"Yes!"

The prince trembled, still speaking Robin's command clearly and accurately.

"Well, Prince Quinrat, now you have ordered the release of these six ladies, and you will swear to keep Illissa safe. And the woman in black, where did she take Eliza? ”

"West... Lynton Castle..."

The prince answered in a trembling voice.

"Did you lie?" If I'm cheated on, then your life is gone. Now, you immediately call the woman in black and tell her never to hurt Eliza... What about phone calls? ”

Robin looked around alertly.

"Next door."

So Robin took the prince hostage and went inside. It was perhaps Prince Quinrat's bedroom, furnished with sumptuous furniture and beds, and on the other side there was a row of bright, clean windows and a narrow wooden door.

"Oh, there's another entrance here..."

Robin suddenly realized that the woman in black had taken Eliza from here.

"Prince, now please call a bus here... However, the bus I am talking about is not military, you want to call a civilian bus from a nearby town, you know? Now, please call! ”

Robin urged him.

Prince Quinrat did not know the telephone number of the bus company, so he assigned an officer to call.

Robin said to the officer:

"Wait a minute, as soon as the bus comes, let the six women sit on it... The prince must also go with them. ”

"The prince is leaving too?"

The young German official's face was confused, and even his throat was hoarse.

"That's natural, and the prince is now my hostage. Until Eliza returns safely, I will temporarily imprison her. If you shoot, I'll kill him immediately. On the other hand, if Eliza were in danger of dying... I will also kill the prince immediately..."

"Therefore you must constantly contact the people of Westrington Castle by phone and tell them not to hurt Eliza..."

When Robin returned to the conference hall, he told the six French women the news. They rejoiced that they had been set free, and a few even couldn't help but weep and thank God, while the other moral officials and princes bowed their heads.

At this time, Paul and Bernard happened to return to the basement and said breathlessly:

"The car is gone, and there's no way for the two of us to catch up with them..."

"It's okay, it's okay... I already know where they went... It's called Westrington Castle. ”

Robin said without hesitation.

"But when they arrive, they will surely kill Eliza..."

Every time he thought of his wife's precarious situation, Paul's heart felt heavy.

"No, rest assured. I have taken hostages. ”

Robin triumphantly pointed his chin at the prince, then continued:

"I'm going to exchange Prince Quinrat for Eliza."

"But how do you do that?"

Although Robin's plan was ingenious, Paul was skeptical.

"Don't worry! I've completely arranged it... Look at me, that's right! ”

Robin patted his chest confidently and squeezed his eyes slyly. At this time, there was a sudden doorbell in the next room, and the bus had arrived.

Roan arranged for the six ladies to board the bus with Paul and Bernard before taking Prince Quinrat hostage to get into the bus and tell the driver where he was going, and the bus sped away in the direction of the forest.

The German officials clenched their teeth one by one, with sadness on their faces, and some even wept.

Six freed ladies cheered in the bus, and the captured Prince Quinrat kept his head down, motionless like a statue.

A distraught Paul kept asking Robin for a specific way to exchange hostages, but Robin always gave him a single word.

"Don't worry, look at me!"

Paul knew that even if he asked any more questions, there would be no clear answer, so he held his head with both hands, propped his elbows on his knees, and closed his eyes to think about his thoughts.

The road was bumpy and bumpy, so the car shook violently, as if it were jumping forward.

The bus sped along the vast prairie, and the dry road rolled up a gray dust.

At dusk on this day, Batu arrived at The Castle of Volcan.

Several men opened the front door and dressed in the clothes of a farmer or woodcutter, all of whom were Robin's subordinates, including ragged old men and skinny villagers.

Robin and his party entered the castle. A man of muscular stature, like a wrestler, came up to Robin and said to him:

"Boss, after you told us to assemble here yesterday, we waited here, what's the matter?"

"Ah, very good, there is a very important thing now. You first take these people to the restaurant and ask the chef to prepare dinner for them... Also, the ladies are exhausted, so don't forget to prepare a glass of wine for each of them. ”

Robin methodically made things clear.

All six ladies drank only one glass of wine and did not eat anything. Because after regaining their freedom, their mood was so excited that some people could not even believe what was in front of them, so they had no appetite at all, and the sad Prince Quinrat did not even take a sip of wine.

Robin then asks Paul and Bernard to take the bus back to the village of Bronni.

"You should go back and report to the company commander first, and wait for my news by the way." I swear, that will make you happy and satisfied... Also, please send these ladies home by the way, who were lured by Prince Quinrat, who instructed the guerrillas to do it,...... The parents and brothers of the six young ladies probably thought they were all gone. If they return home, their families will cry with joy... All right, let's go! ”

"Eliza... What to do? ”

"Don't worry anymore, didn't I just say that?" Soon, you will definitely get an exciting and satisfied news, rest assured! It's all up to me! ”

Robin said confidently.

Paul got into the car in silence. After a while, the bus left Volcan Castle. Then Robin introduced the physically strong, wrestler-like man to Prince Quinrat:

"This is the son of the German Emperor, Prince Quinrat, and he is a man of high status. You must serve him carefully, do not neglect the moon, he is a very important hostage, and never let him run away.

"On the other hand, you have to be careful and try to keep him safe from being murdered in secret.

"However, as far as I know, this person will never commit suicide, and I can guarantee that." But he may try to escape, and those German officials may take advantage of the silence of the night to save him, so you must not relax for half a minute. ”

Robin repeatedly ordered his subordinates.

After imprisoning Prince Quinrat in the original Eliza's room and under strict control from his subordinates, he left Volcan Castle that night. When he left, he was already disguised as a German officer, and the rank on his shoulder was replaced by a lieutenant colonel.

Three days later, a handsome, thin German officer with nose-piercing glasses arrived at the main entrance of the General Headquarters of the Western German Army in Seden (on the border between northern France and Belgium) in a new open-top car, and he was the rogue Yasen Robin.

"I want to meet His Majesty the Emperor!"

Robin said lightly as he sorted out his clothes.

The guard standing at the door heard him say this and opened his eyes wide in surprise. It is absurd that such an unidentified person should pay homage to the emperor.

An officer on duty came up to Robin and said:

"Is that you?" You're going to see Your Majesty, aren't you? ”

"Yes, I have something important to report."

"Hmmm... (The other party observed Robin's eyes and expression, and thought slightly), Then, your name is..."

"I am..."

Robin respectfully handed over his business card.

When he saw the business card, the duty officer was dumbfounded, because the business card was impressively printed with the four big characters of Arthur-Robin, and there was nothing else.

"Yassen Robin, huh?" Strange thief? ”

The officer on duty said in a hesitant manner.

"Yes, I'm Robin. I did not come to see His Majesty as a thief, but as an old friend. ”

"What? Your Majesty's old friend..."

The duty officer stared at Robin's face with a startled look.

Robin kept kicking the stones on the ground with his feet, his face agitated, and he said solemnly:

"Hurry up and report it!" The matter was so serious that it could not be delayed any longer, there was only an hour left, and if it were delayed any longer, Prince Quinrat would be in danger of his life. ”

"What? Prince Quinrat..."

The officer's face suddenly changed, and he couldn't help but think to himself:

"This is so important! However, this person's expression and gaze are the same as those of ordinary people, not like insanity, so his words should not be wrong, right? ...... And he called himself Arthur Robin, a man as terrible as he was, not knowing what was going to happen, and perhaps His Majesty knew him. ”

After thinking about it for a while, the officer hurried inside and handed the business card to the commander's office.

The officer on duty was also taken aback when he saw the business card, and immediately knocked on the door of the commander's office.

"Come in!"

A deep German voice came over.

The door was gently opened, and at the large conference table in the middle of the hall, the German Emperor sat majestically, flanked by Commander-in-Chief Karut and the Crown Prince, and the three men were discussing the battle plan as they watched.

When the German Emperor saw the name on the business card, he suddenly said happily:

"Oh, Yassen-Robin, what a rarity, hurry up and invite him in!"

The officer on duty was shocked to see the German Emperor so excited, so he took Robin into the commander's office.

"Your Majesty, I haven't seen you for a long time!" I am so glad that you are in good health and full of energy, and I am very happy to see you. ”

Robin speaks fluent German, and it is easy to think of him as a German rather than a Frenchman.

"Oh, Robin, we're meeting again."

The German emperor sat down in his chair and slowly extended his right hand, and Robin immediately stepped forward and shook his hand respectfully.

"Go ahead!"

The German emperor said lightly.

So General Karut and the Crown Prince rolled up the large map spread out on the table, then raised their hands to salute the German Emperor and turned away.

"Robin, sit here!"

The German emperor pointed his chin at the chair next to him again, and Robin nodded in greeting to the German emperor, and then sat down slowly.

(If the reader is surprised by such a close relationship between the German emperor and Robin, see 8-1. 3 Mysteries" can be known)

"Robin, we haven't seen each other in a long time, have you been okay lately?"

The voice of the German emperor was suddenly full of tenderness and kindness, and the special eight-character beard and the cold inverted triangular eyes also emitted a faint light of kindness at this moment.

"Thanks to the blessings of His Majesty the Emperor, I am very good. It is a great honor to see you again today. ”

Robin flattered him.

The two talked, and the surrounding atmosphere was unusually warm and quiet.

"Robin, do you have any intentions in dressing up as a Lieutenant Colonel in the German Army?"

The German emperor joked.

"I have an important question for your majesty, but Germany and France are in constant war and have not had the opportunity to meet your majesty, so I have dressed up as a German official."

"Your outfit is so wonderful, if I don't see your business card, I may not recognize you, and it is even more strange that the guards at the door can't recognize you."

As he spoke, the German emperor laughed heartily. Next he asked:

"What is your so-called important problem?"

"It's about a young French lady."

"Is she a female spy captured by the Germans?"

The German emperor stroked the beard on his lips.

"No, she is not a spy, but an innocent, young and beautiful lady."

"So why did our army arrest her?"

The German emperor said doubtfully.

"The lady was not arrested by His Majesty's army, but by the prince..."

Robin stared at the emperor's face and said.

"Captured by the prince ... Why did he arrest the young innocent young lady? Which prince is it? ”

"Prince Quinrat..."

Robin hesitated slightly.

"What? Quinnlat..."

The German Emperor frowned, his beard trembling slightly.

"Your Majesty, in fact, I am not good at talking about this... In fact, the prince had his own basis for doing so. But I'll tell you frankly! In order to satisfy his a**, the prince collected many beautiful women and imprisoned them. ”

"It's so arrogant!"

The German Emperor roared with a flushed face, ashamed and indignant in his heart, and his sharp, inverted triangle eyes shone with a soul-crushing light.

"How could there be such a humble and shameless descendant among the royal family and nobles of Germany!" He threw away all the honor of the German royal family, it was like throwing a handful of mud in my face, leaving me faceless...

"Robin, you know what? Quinrat was the least successful of my sons. Since I was a child, he has been disobedient, mischievous, and often heartbroken. ”

Thinking of the evil deeds of Prince Quinrat, the German emperor could not help but burst into tears and was in pain.

"Even if France is my enemy, he must not imprison innocent French women ... I would never allow him to make such a fool of myself, and I immediately called him and taught him a hard lesson. ”

The German emperor slammed the table.

"Your Majesty, you cannot do this... Because Prince Quinrat has now become a prisoner of the enemy army. ”

"What? Became a prisoner...

The German Emperor's face turned pale, and even his lips trembled.

"It is so faceless that a prince of the hall has become a prisoner, and he dares to imprison an innocent woman." If this matter were to spread, not only Prince Quinrat would be punished, but even the honor of the royal family... No, all German nationals will be humiliated by this..."

Thinking of this, the German emperor fidgeted, and he stood up anxiously.

Robin, however, pressed his large hand on the German emperor's shoulder, suggesting that he sit down and calm down.

"Your Majesty, don't worry! Prince Quinrat was captured by me..."

"What? It's you..."

The German emperor couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Robin then took the ring and military manual from Prince Quinrat's hand from his pocket and placed them all on the table.

"You see, this is what the prince carries with him, and my purpose is to use the prince as a hostage in exchange for the woman he is imprisoning."

However, the other six women had all been freed from the palm of the prince's hand and had been sent back to their homes. Now, only one is imprisoned in Westrington Castle. I wanted to rescue her, but I couldn't do it alone, so I thought of your majesty...

"In this way, the prince's actions will not be revealed, and we can solve the problem of negotiation privately."

Robin's words dispelled the doubts in the german emperor's heart.

"Okay! Robin, it was so good that you saved my life on the island of Capri (in the Gulf of Naples, Italy), and now you are defending the reputation of the German royal family for me..."

The German Emperor stood up slowly and clasped Robin's hands tightly, his eyes moistened...

Robin stared intently into the face of the German Emperor, thinking to himself:

"Alas, the father's heart is pitiful! A cold person like him is like a parent in the world, with a heart of love for his son. Although he knew that Prince Quinrat was an unscrupulous descendant, he also looked forward to his safe return in his heart all the time. ”

"Robin, what's the name of the French woman you're trying to rescue?"

The German emperor calmed down.

"Her name is Eliza, and she is the eldest daughter of count Dandoby, the owner of Volcan Castle. Ever since she married Paul, the son of Baron Rhodes, she had been living in the castle in seclusion, and she could not imagine..."

"Was she captured by Quinrat after my **** team captured Volkon Castle?"

"Yes, but she is now imprisoned in Silington Castle, under the supervision of a female spy in black."

"What? The female spy in black... The person you're talking about is Princess Hemini, right? ”

The German emperor's eyes lit up.

"Yes, and the woman in black who followed you to the old church next to The Castle of Volkon 20 years ago.

"Your Majesty, do you remember the day when a French father and son stood at the door of a church to shelter from the rain and met your Majesty?"

"Oh yes, yes! That day I thought I really shouldn't have been seen by them. ”

The German emperor said as he recalled.

"The woman in black is none other than Princess Homini, as Her Majesty said, and she may have poisoned her brother Baron Rhodes for this reason. The little boy was also knocked unconscious by your entourage of officers, and was later rescued by the villagers.

"The middle-aged man who was killed was baron Lodz, and the little boy was the baron's only son, Paul, who is now Eliza's husband."

"Oh, that's right. So, Paul's father was assassinated by Princess Hamini? And now she's imprisoning Paul's beloved wife, Eliza,...... For Paul, Princess Hemini is really cruel! ”

The German emperor said thoughtfully.

"It's like this... Your Majesty, who is Princess Hemini? Since you are a princess, then she must be the gold of a certain German royal nobleman? ”

Robin chased after him.

"Robin, you and I are using troops, so I can't tell you the true identity of Princess Hemini, I can only let you know that she is the eldest daughter of a certain duke, her father was martyred in the Franco-Prussian War, and the following year, her mother died of hatred. Since then, she and her brother have been dependent on each other and have become orphans.

"Now, her brother is an army officer with a brilliant record, and she herself is working as a guard for me, because she is determined and courageous, responsive, and extraordinary, so she has become my personal spy."

"I think my deduction is correct, although she is now over the age of the dish, she is still very sharp in her work, commanding several female spies to complete many tasks well, and the spy organization she leads is still very active."

"Princess Hermini is indeed an extraordinary lady, Your Majesty, and I would like your next royal letter to Princess Hermini of Sirlington Castle."

"What royal book?"

"Of course it was ordered that she let Eliza go immediately. You have written the imperial letter and handed it to me, and I will send it directly to Silington Castle, and then take Eliza back to Wolcon Castle, and then bring Prince Quinrat here. In other words, the exchange of hostages. ”

Driven by the heart of his beloved son, the German emperor silently picked up the pen, wrote the order, and signed his name.

"Thank you... Dear Majesty, I would also like to trouble you with one thing, and ask you to call Princess Humini and tell her that she must ensure Elisha's safety, and then ask her to return Eliza to the person holding the royal book. ”

Robin said as he put away the royal letter that the German emperor had just written.

"Robin, you are so shrewd and capable, you are truly worthy of a well-known strange thief!"

The German Emperor was sincerely amazed, and with a smile he picked up the telephone on his desk to contact the spies at Westrington Castle. Immediately afterward, he summoned the commander-in-chief, General Karut, and the Crown Prince, and gave them orders.

Fifteen minutes later, a small plane took off from the gate of the headquarters of the Western German Regiment, with Robin the Strange Thief and The Luftwaffe officers sitting inside.

The plane flew straight toward West Linton Castle to the east.

Silington Castle is an ancient building built in the feudal period, surrounded by a vast moat, a tattered suspension bridge on the river, usually without the suspension bridge or enemy army to attack, you can put the suspension bridge away.

The plane landed on a small hill overlooking Westrington Castle. The grass on the hill was yellow and dilapidated.

Robin got out of the plane and walked in the direction of Westrington Castle.

After reaching the gates of the castle, he asked the duty officer to see Princess Hamini.

Soon Robin was taken into the wide, dark living room, and he immediately handed Princess Humini the handwritten letter of the German Emperor.

As soon as Princess Hemini saw the Yushu, her face turned pale, her bright red lips tightened, her eyes were wide open, and she stared at Robin's face as if in challenge.

"Even if it is the hand of His Majesty the Emperor, I can only obey the order."

Princess Hormini could not hide her indignation.

With that, she rang the doorbell softly. After a while, a duty officer brought Eliza into the living room.

"Well, I'll give her to you."

Princess Hermini coldly dropped the words and left the living room straight away, never to come out again.

Robin and Eliza got on the plane together, and a moment later the plane set off, heading in the direction of France.

About an hour later, the plane landed on the spacious lawn of Volkon Castle.

Robin's subordinates immediately greeted him out of the gate. Robin took Eliza to the room on the second floor, which was originally Eliza's bedroom. Robin also injected Eliza with a sleeping pill.

Eliza fell asleep before Robin gently walked downstairs and ordered his subordinates to bring Prince Quinrat into the room.

Prince Quinrat's face was filled with displeasure, and seeing that Robin did not open his mouth, he was very proud and dismissive.

"Eliza has returned safely, and now you're a free man."

Hearing Robin's words, the prince neither spoke nor rejoiced.

"Prince, Your Majesty is waiting for you to return, we are here to pick you up, and the plane is parked outside."

The Luftwaffe officer who came with Robin said respectfully.

Prince Quinrat's face was suddenly clouded with sorrow, because he knew that if he returned, he would be severely reprimanded by the German Emperor.

"No, I don't go back... I am the supreme commander of the German command in this region, and I cannot leave here casually..."

The prince said firmly.

"But... Prince, Your Majesty has sent you specifically to the headquarters of General Karut in the western region, where His Majesty's Royal Letter is. ”

With that, the Air Force officer immediately presented the order.

Prince Quinrat's face was even more gloomy, and his thick black eyebrows were tightly wrinkled. The German Emperor's orders, he did not dare to disobey, so he reluctantly was held by the Air Force officers and left from The Castle of Volcan.

Moments later, the plane took off, and a large shadow reflected on the lawn. As Robin watched the plane fade away from the courtyard, he immediately called the company headquarters in the town of Bronni and asked the company commander to answer.

"Hello? Is it a company commander? I'm Dr. Robin, and I ask you to approve Paul and Bernard's one-week leave and let them return to Wolcon Castle immediately...

"As for the reason, I'll explain it to you later." Well, please! ”

Robin hung up the phone and couldn't help but smile, he could think of the company commander who must have been frowning and saying impatiently when he received the call:

"Robin, this guy doesn't know what kind of ghost trick he's playing?"

In fact, the company commander was kind and kind-hearted, and although Robin often made unreasonable demands to him, he could not refuse Robin.

"Ah! It's finally over. ”

Robin lay down in the easy chair, raised his hands over his head, yawned wearily, and slowly lit a Havana cigar.

At this moment, the telephone on the desk suddenly rang. Robin woke up and picked up the phone, which was from the German emperor.

"Robin, Prince Quinrat, thank you..."

The German Emperor's voice was firm and forceful, and suddenly, with a sharp turn, his voice became hoarse.

"Robin, Princess Hermini... Committed suicide. ”

"What? Committed suicide? Why? ”

Robin jumped up from his easy chair in a panic, and the news was really unexpected!

"After she handed Eliza to you, she went back to her living room and committed suicide by taking poison..."

The Words of the German Emperor were full of sorrow.

"Take poison?"

"Yes... She drank potassium cyanate... Her small snake-shaped breastplate, and the poison potassium was housed in a small box underneath the breastplate.

The female spies under her command wore the same ornaments, and if they became prisoners of the enemy, they would surely drink potassium cyanate and commit suicide by taking poison.

"She and her subordinates have sworn to be loyal to the country and dedicate their lives, and now she..."

Then nothing could be heard. Robin stuck the microphone to his ear. However, after waiting for a long time, he still could not hear the voice of the German emperor, so he had to gently put down the telephone handset.

Patriotic Robin

That night, Paul and Bernard immediately rode to Volcon Castle.

"Robin, the company commander asked us to come to the castle at once to find you, is there anything wrong?"

Paul was puzzled.

"There is indeed something important..."

Robin's face was full of mystery, and he was secretly snickering in his heart.

"What's the matter?"

Paul said anxiously.

"Guaranteed to surprise you."

Robin still pretended to be a ghost, so he was mysterious, blinking his eyes from time to time, unwilling to reveal a point.

"What the hell is going on?" Don't hang on to other people's appetites anymore..."

Bernard said unhappily on the side.

"Ah! Well, I'll let you see it with your own eyes and hear it with your own ears, come on, come with me! ”

With that, Robin immediately took Paul and Berner to the door of Eliza's room on the second floor.

Paul had a vague sense of foreboding in his heart, his face as white as paper, and his breathing was short. Robin glanced at Paul with the afterglow of the corner of his eye and said:

"Let's go in!"

Paul turned the handle with a trembling hand, and the door opened in response.

"Tap!"

Robin whispered.

Paul and Bernard walked into the room lightly, suddenly stunned by the scene in front of them. The long-lost Eliza lay impressively on the bed, her beautiful face glowing with holiness.

The two immediately rushed to the edge of the bed, looking at Eliza's sleeping face left and right, thinking only to wake her up.

"Don't wake her up, I just got a shot at her, she's so tired, she needs a good rest."

Robin said softly, still with a smile on his lips.

"Oh... My poor Eliza..."

Paul cried out eagerly in his heart. He longed to tell his beloved wife about his parting thoughts at once, but he tried his best to restrain himself, staring intently at Eliza's face with a loving gaze.

"What a pale and haggard face!" What she suffered was deep pain and physical and mental fatigue, and she didn't look like a person at all! ”

Thinking of this, Paul couldn't help but shed tears of pain.

He slowly extended his right hand and gently stroked Eliza's pale forehead. Eliza's slightly hot body heated up his body, and his heart beat violently like an electric current.

Paul gently stroked Elizabeth's long blond hair, and there was a soft coolness at the ends of her hair scattered over the white pillowcase. Paul stroked his beloved wife's hair with his right hand, rested his left hand on her heart, and stared at her thin cheeks with his eyes.

Suddenly, Eliza's thick long eyelashes moved slightly, slowly opening her dream-like empty eyes, looking at everything in front of her in confusion, and suddenly, as if in a dream, she opened her deep eyes, which were full of sadness and joy.

"Paul..."

"Eliza..."

Both husband and wife exhaled each other's names at the same time, and their voices were full of unspoken longing.

Eliza struggled to stretch out her hands, and the two hugged each other tightly and kissed each other deeply.

Robin threw a glance at Bernard, and the two walked out of the room silently, leaving Paul and Eliza, who were talking to each other.

The next day, Robin, Paul, Bernard, and Eliza got into a small truck carrying crops bought by his subordinates from a nearby village, then drove off Volkon Castle on their own.

The road is bumpy. As the fighting continued, German and French shells exploded the flat ground, creating many craters, so that the trucks were bumping up and down.

Paul, Bernard, and Eliza, who were sitting in the back of the truck, their bodies swaying with the truck, the strong vibrations made them dizzy, and their hands clutched the armrests or railings of the car.

"Don't talk, the car shakes badly, and if you open your mouth, you may bite off your tongue!"

Robin turned the steering wheel hurriedly and said in a joking tone.

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at Wan'er, and then fell silent.

On the blue sky, white clouds flowed softly, and the mood of several of them was extremely cheerful and cheerful, just like the clear blue sky.

The bridge over the river was dilapidated by artillery bombardment. When small trucks drive through the shoals, splashing water droplets fall on their faces and bodies like silver waterfalls. The water was sparkling, and even the small pebbles on the bank of the river shone with gray light.

After the truck had passed through the shoal, Robin stopped the car, took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and said to himself:

"It's almost time..."

As he spoke, he leaned out of the driver's seat and looked behind him, along with Paul, Berner, and Eliza.

Behind the wide riverbank is a dark forest.

"On the other side of the forest is the village of Volcon."

Paul gently wrapped his arms around his wife's thin waist.

"Can you still see our castle?"

Eliza tiptoed and looked desperately in the direction of her home.

"How do you see it?" The castle is too far away from here, sister. ”

Bernard approached Eliza's side, his eyes looking off into the distance.

"What's going on?" Not yet... The time has come! ”

Robin muttered as he looked at his pocket watch.

"What do you say?"

Paul asked him doubtfully, but Robin didn't answer his question.

"It's already too late... What are they doing? Is it bad wire contact..."

Robin was still talking to himself.

Suddenly, a raging fire burned above the forest. Then came the sound of an explosion.

"Finally blown up..."

Robin couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"What's that sound?" Is it from the direction of the castle? ”

Paul said worriedly.

"Yeah, it's the castle... I asked my subordinates to blow it up..."

Eliza's face immediately turned livid, and crystal tears swirled in her eyes.

"Why blow it up?" That's our home! ”

A nameless anger rose in Berner's heart.

"Yes. It was the happy home where your brother and sister had lived together, and it was the private property of your father, Count Dandoby.

"There are still the memories and thoughts of your mother that you two have left." When you were a child, you played in the rooms, corridors, halls, and emerald green lawns, all of which you will never forget!

"But there may be a sad memory for you... The bereavement of your father, the portrait of the mysterious woman, the murder of the loyal Giromon and Rosalynn... Now, the castle has become a place full of sin and pain.

"Paul, you and Eliza returned to Volcon Castle on their wedding day, where you may have intended to begin your sweet life, but you never expected that in the countess's bedroom, the portrait of the woman in black was hanging there, and your dream was finally shattered.

"It is not a place to create a new life, but an old castle full of gloom and fear, so you had better go to a warm and clear place to live."

"I have ordered my men to plant a large amount of explosives in the basement and have them turn on the power as soon as we cross the shoal, so you will be a little surprised!"

Then, another explosion sounded, and suddenly a huge pillar of fire burst out of the forest, like a volcanic eruption, slamming into the clouds, and then another black smoke slowly rose into the sky.

"Now, the underground tunnels of the castle are being blown up. As a result, the underground military tunnels that the German army spent 20 years and invested heavily in were finally completely paralyzed.

The German Emperor had been looking forward to the early completion of the underground tunnels in order to launch a general offensive against France. Now, his plot was too successful, and the Germans could no longer transport the guerrillas and bullets from the east.

"In the Battle of the Marne in the west, the Germans defeated Verdun, and the underground tunnels here were like a figment.

In this way, not only could Germany not win the war, but France could also recover the Alsace and Lorraine regions lost in the Franco-Prussian War.

"From this point of view, although your beloved castle has become a victim, it is a great thing for the country, and you will be proud of it, will you?"

"Yes, Robin, thank you so much for not only saving our motherland, but also bringing us a happy, bright new life!"

Paul looked at Robin's face with grateful eyes and said with great emotion.

"Do you really think so?"

A teasing smile rose to the corner of Robin's mouth, and he held out his hands from the driver's seat, and Paul immediately stepped forward to hold his hand, and Berner and Eliza shook his hand in greeting.

On that windless winter day, billowing black smoke rolled up in the forest with pillars of fire.

The outcome of the battle did not come as a surprise to Robin.

The outbreak of World War I in July 1914 was first drawn to Germany. Turkey, Austria, Bulgaria and france, Serbia (a country located in the Balkans), Belgium, Russia, Britain and other nine countries, and later with the deepening of the war, the First World War continued to escalate.

By 1917, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Romania, the United States and other countries had successively entered the war, forming an unprecedented world war in which 19 countries participated in the war.

On battlefields around the world, the Allies were defeated by the Allies, and the trend of allied defeat became more and more obvious as the war continued.

As a result, there was a lot of resentment in Germany, and all german compatriots blamed all the responsibility for the defeat on the German emperor and accused him of the strategic mistakes in the use of troops in France, and this public opinion swept through the german country. Immediately afterward, the public opinion demanding the abdication of the German Emperor was also higher than the wave.

But the self-absorbed German emperor remained stubborn, and he categorically refused to hand over the throne, believing himself to be a monarch ordained by his destiny.

The civil war in Germany finally broke out, and the new revolutionary government constantly demanded that the German emperor cede imperial power. Desperate, the German Emperor reluctantly abdicated and went into exile in the Netherlands, which happened in November 1918.

The Dutch authorities provided the German emperor with a castle called Jameron as his home. The castle is located in the village of Jameron, and its original owner was the Count of Bentink.

The Castle of Jameron is a four-storey, delicate and dexterous white building, and behind the castle is a large forest with lush foliage, and the environment is quiet and comfortable.

Peace is back in the world. The revolutionary government engaged in peace talks with the Allies, and soon the First World War ended.

The Alsace and Lorraine regions were taken back by the French, and all the French compatriots rejoiced and celebrated the good news fanatically.

On the contrary, the German people were plunged into the abyss of post-war suffering. The post-war economic decay left the German people feeling disappointed and anxious, and unemployment increased considerably.

Due to the rapid rise in prices, severe inflation has occurred in Germany. German banknotes lost their monetary value like scrap paper. If you only have one mark or two marks, you can't buy anything. Women go to the market to buy goods, often with baskets of banknotes so that they can consume enough. A cigarette alone often costs tens of thousands of marks.

This has been going on for about five years. Thereafter, new currencies began to be issued in Germany, exchanging one trillion old currency for a new one-mark banknote. In other words, in Germany, what used to be purchased with a trillion marks is now enough for just one mark.

With the circulation of new money, prices have gradually stabilized, and the people's living standards have also been greatly improved. Because before the abdication of the German Emperor, the German people had been under the oppression and exploitation of the German Emperor, and their living conditions were deteriorating day by day.

New money was issued, prices stabilized, and the revolutionary government of Germany returned the private property of the German emperor to him. It was a great fortune, and the German emperor lived in great wealth and comfort in the Netherlands. In Jameron's sumptuous study, he worked every day as he busied himself with writing his memoirs.

It was a memoir worth reading, in which the German emperor wrote about his first defeat at the age of 19 and his future activities in politics.

Once tired of writing, the German emperor would go to the woods behind him, take off his tops, and cut down the thick and short timber that was piled up like a hill. The German Emperor's entourage ordered the woodcutters to cut the fallen trees into small pieces of wooden stakes, and the German Emperor erected them piece by piece on the cutting board, raised the axe in his hand high, and cut it down vigorously, and when the wood split in half, a faint fragrance drifted around.

After cutting down several pieces of wood, he would often take out a handkerchief made of linen to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead. Chopping wood and writing was the life of a German emperor for a day.

After the war, all the volunteers were discharged, and Paul and Bernard returned from the battlefield. Count Dandoby and Eliza eagerly awaited their return to their homeland.

Father and son, wife and husband are reunited. Everyone was extremely excited, and a happy and quiet life unfolded before them.

One day two years later, there was a loud noise outside the gate. When Berner heard this, he immediately went outside the main door to look out, only to see the servants scolding an old man with a disability.

Berner stepped forward and asked.

"Young master, this man is sneaking around the door, and we asked him to hide away." He asked us if this was the residence of the Earl of Dandoby, and we said yes, so he said he was going to see you and Paul, the standmaster, and to visit our Miss Elisa.

"Seeing that he was dressed in sills and asked to see you, and even your names could be called, we thought he had a problem with his brain, so we did not dare to let him in, but he never wanted to leave.

Unexpectedly, he rushed in at once, and we immediately rushed up to grab him, but the old man's strength was really great, although he was blind in one eye, broke an arm, and was still limping, but he was as strong as an ox. After he pushed me down, he hit me with his cane, so I called a few people to try to subdue him..."

"Is that so?" Let him go! ”

Berner ordered.

"It's him..."

The servants pushed the old man before Bernard, an old beggar with one hand supporting a cane, dressed in tatters and covered with an old stained hat over his head. One sleeve swung in the wind. Under the hat hung a pile of dirty gray and yellow hair, and even the shoes on his feet were full of mud. Not only was the heel of the shoe worn, but even the tip of the shoe was broken by a hole.

"You... Who are you? ”

Berner asked with a frown.

The old beggar looked up at Bernard, his face full of tears.

"Ah... You're Bernard Dando than Captain, right? ”

The old beggar said with a trembling voice.

"You know me? Who are you? ”

"Even if I tell you my name, I'm afraid you've forgotten it. I am a soldier in the squad led by Lieutenant Paul-Brother Rhodes, and I am also a former subordinate of Captain Bernard. ”

Bernard stared in amazement at the mysterious old beggar, but never remembered who he was. Although many of the French soldiers were already old, Bernard still couldn't think of a name.

"This person was probably seriously injured in the war, so he became disabled... Maybe there is no means of making a living, and they have to live by begging, and even their faces are not distinguishable..."

When Bernard thought about it, a wave of sympathy rose from the bottom of his heart.

"Okay! You come..."

At this moment, the old beggar's sorrow was swept away, replaced by a face full of joy, and after paying homage to Bernard repeatedly, he limped and followed Himner to the house.

Bernard led him to the small parlor inside the gate, pointed to the bench and said:

"Sit down!"

"I don't dare sit... I was just a soldier. I don't deserve to sit in front of the captain. ”

The old beggar said in a huff.

"Stop saying stupid things, there is no war now, and we are also discharged from the army, so you don't call me Captain Wu anymore, and you are injured again... Please sit down! ”

"Thank you!"

The old beggar bowed deeply again, but still did not sit down, but just held his crutches and stood still.

"Where were you injured?"

Bernard asked with concern as he poured tea.

"In Verdun..."

"Oh, Verdun... The fighting there is fierce! ”

Bernard suddenly recalled the danger of himself and his brother-in-law being shot from behind by the stalker.

"Well, yes. Enemy bombs exploded in front of us, and five people were killed on the spot. I was so lucky I was only seriously injured... However, the arm was blown off..."

Remembering the old things, the old beggar could not help but sigh a long and short sigh.

"But you're lucky..."

"Yes. Later, I went to the field hospital for treatment and healed my arm injury. The doctor was a great man, and his name was Yasen Robin. ”

"What? Yassen Robin..."

Bernard was taken aback and raised his voice a lot. However, he still had doubts.

"Strange... At the beginning of the Verdun War, Dr. Robin was still on the Eastern Front! When I went to Verdun to participate in the battle, I was seriously injured in the arm and went to the field hospital for surgery, but it was not a skilled doctor. When I returned to the Eastern Theater, my arm wound worsened and I nearly had my leg amputated.

"Later, I met Dr. Yassen Robin, who was very capable but he was not in Verdun!"

Bernard was half-convinced by the old beggar in front of him, and looked at the old man with sharp eyes, and the other party suddenly broke out into a hearty laugh.

"Ha! Ha...... I'm finally out of the woods..."

As he spoke, the old beggar immediately threw away his crutches and then took off his tattered coat. It turned out that his right arm was intact, just leaning against the side of his body and hiding it. Immediately after, the old beggar stretched out his arm, yawned, and said:

"I'm so tired!"

When he finished, he used his hands to pull on his head, threw the stray wig on his head on the floor, and rubbed his face from the bottom up with his hands, resulting in a layer of film peeling off, and a delicate white face was exposed.

"Ah..."

Bernard yelled.

Standing in front of him, with a sly smile on the corner of his mouth, was Arthur Robin.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm just kidding..."

Robin laughed and apologized to Berner.

"I've always liked people who love to joke. I think we haven't seen each other for a long time, and it's so boring to come and see you! So I wanted to dress up as a beggar and surprise you. ”

After saying this, Robin immediately sat down, and then took a cigar cigarette from the cigar box on the table, put it in front of his nose and closed it for a moment, and said with satisfaction:

"This is really premium Havana cigar smoke."

He used his neat white front teeth to bite off the cigar's suction and repeatedly rubbed the pipe with his hand.

"I want to meet Paul."

Robin lit a cigar smoke.

"Call Eliza too, okay?"

"No, just call Paul."

After Paul came, he was overjoyed to see Robin, who had been missing for a long time, and immediately went forward to shake Robin's warm hand.

"I'm here today to tell you something very important, and that's something that has always haunted you about the woman in black."

"Well, do you already know her true identity?"

Paul asked nervously, for this was already a long-cherished wish that existed in his heart.

"Yes, I know it all. Immediately after the end of the war, I ordered my men to investigate in the Alsace and Lorraine regions. On the other hand, I myself went to the french army headquarters to investigate the information on the Franco-Prussian War, and at the same time I also interviewed the veteran soldiers who participated in the war at that time and listened to their views on the war.

"I have clearly investigated the true identity of the woman in black, and the reason for the assassination of your father's brother Baron Rhodes, and the originally mysterious case has finally come to light."

Robin spat out a beautiful smoke ring and continued:

"I have found out all sorts of mysterious and complicated things, such as the bizarre murder and the reason why the portrait of your mother, Countess Dandoby, was replaced, and whether the Woman in Black and Lieutenant Colonel Homan were one and the same.

"The reason is ... Baron D-Lodz shot a pigeon when he was young..."

This unexpected news surprised both Bernard and Paul.

"You were surprised, weren't you?" You may not believe it, but this is true news. Just one pigeon has led to a series of mysterious killings.

"In addition, I also know why Eliza was imprisoned and nearly killed."

Robin said slowly, as if hanging on to a man's appetite:

"Hurry up and say why my father killed a pigeon..."

Paul urged him anxiously.

"Calm down and listen to me tell you slowly that this matter must go back to the Franco-Prussian War many years ago. Although the beginning and end of the war, we can know from the school textbook, there is no need for me to repeat the narrative again. However, in order to put this course in order, the general events still need to be emphasized.

"The so-called Franco-Prussian War refers to the war between Prussia and France for power. At that time, Germany was divided into several kingdoms, one of which, the Prussian Emperor Wilhelm I, succeeded in unifying the 21 kingdoms in northern Germany with the help of the great statesman Bismarck and the famous general Motke, forming the North German Confederation. Thus, William I became the great leader of the North German Confederation.

"At that time, the Emperor of France was Napoleon III.

"These two countries have been fighting for power and expanding their territory for years. It was 1870.

"France was defeated by Germany because of the superior diplomatic skills of the great statesman Bismarck and the remarkable achievements of the famous general Motkai. Napoleon III was surrounded by heroic and tenacious German troops in the city of Sedan and finally surrendered.

For France, the Franco-Prussian War was a turning point in the rise and fall of the country, and it can also be said that it was a national disaster for France.

At that time, all the young French people took up the barrel of their guns and resolutely threw themselves into the sacred mission of defending the country.

Baron Di Roz was also one of the patriotic youths. Like you, he immediately joined the army as soon as he heard of the country's difficulties, and gave full play to his brave and loyal patriotism.

The war lasted for more than two years, and France finally lost. However, during the war, there were also cases of defeat of the Prussian army, so the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war.

"The French team has won successive victories, the most significant of which was the war related to Paul's father's brother Baron Rhodes. No...... It was he who made a great contribution to this unprecedented battle.

"Paul, your father was only 17 years old at the time, and he was famous for archery.

"At that time, the sport of archery was very popular among young people in France, so whenever they had free time, young people competed in archery on the wide grass.

"Once, a few young men were shooting arrows to score points, and suddenly a beautiful pigeon flew over the blue sky, and it was a day in autumn.

"The sight of white pigeons fluttering their wings in the blue sky is very moving.

"'Hey! Can you shoot that pigeon in the sky? ’

One of them asked.

"'If someone can shoot, that person can get the gold medal.'"

The other man said with a smile.

Suddenly a sharp arrow flew into the blue sky, and when everyone was amazed, the arrow stuck tightly to the pigeon as if attracted by a pigeon. The pigeon flapped its wings with great effort and fell to the ground.

"A young man ran over and picked up the dead pigeon and found an arrow that had penetrated the heart of the pigeon impartially. At one end of the arrow is engraved a d, which is the abbreviation of the surname of Di Rhodes.

While everyone was praising Baron Brother Rhodes for his archery skills, Baron Brother Rhodes held the pigeon in the palm of his hand, stroked the back of the pigeon, and said to himself:

"'Although I can get the gold medal, this pigeon has fallen prey, which is really pitiful.'"

"But the pigeon is dead, but he keeps an eye on his brother Baron Rhodes. The Baron's heart was filled with chagrin, and a wave of pity rose in his heart. So he wiped the eyes of the pigeon with his fingers, and with a feeling of grief, buried the pigeon that he had shot with his own hands.

Suddenly, he saw a small metal ring on the pigeon's foot.

"'Ah... This is a carrier pigeon,...... Oops! Maybe our army sent out to deliver the news, maybe the French team was surrounded by German troops and wanted to ask for help, so they sent this pigeon...

"But it was shot by me, what should I do?' Maybe the court-martial will punish me. I have to report this to the captain...'

Thinking of this, Baron Lodz was stunned and no longer had the mood to continue playing. So Baron Lodz immediately went to the army and told the captain about the whole incident.

The captain was taken aback and rushed to deliver the metal ring to headquarters, but unexpectedly found that the barrel contained important German intelligence, where the Germans reported a detailed battle plan to the headquarters.

"As a result of this important piece of information, the French team knew the German battle plan very well. Thus, after the battle began, the Germans were easily defeated and suffered heavy losses.

After that battle, a German division was completely destroyed, and the French were victorious. It was the credit of Baron Di Lodz who shot the carrier pigeon to death, so Baron Di Lodz was awarded the Medal of Honor by the French government.

The news was immediately widely circulated among the French team. At the age of 17, his brother Baron Lodz became the focus of attention for a while, and his Medal of Honor was also affectionately known as the Order of the Pigeon.

"Paul, this is the story of your father shooting a pigeon. From there he became a very active soldier, but later that incident brought him an unfortunate change. ”

Robin paused and rekindled the cigarette he had just extinguished.

"In that battle, the duke of Otto-Horumy, the commander of the German division, who had been defeated by the French, was also martyred for the country.

"The Duchess, having received the exact news of her husband's death before the battle, fell ill due to excessive mourning. A year later, she died of illness, leaving a pair of twin siblings to live with.

"Because the brothers and sisters are twins, not only are their bodies and faces the same, but even the red moles on their lips are similar." At a young age, their servants would also mistake the siblings.

The younger brother inherited his father's title and grew up to be known as the Duke of Herman, while the older sister was called Princess Hermine.

When the sister and brother were fifteen or sixteen years old, in order to understand their father's great deeds, they began to investigate the relevant information of the Franco-Prussian War.

In addition, they investigated the records of the war in France and found that the father's death was caused by the failure of the carrier pigeons to deliver information.

At the same time, they also investigated that the person who shot the carrier pigeon was Baron Lodz, and he was awarded the Order of the Pigeon by the French government.

"Fifteen or sixteen-year-olds have always believed that his father died at the hands of his brother Baron Rhodes. They thought that if Baron Rhodes had not shot the carrier pigeon from the sky, their father would not have died on the battlefield. As a result, their hatred for Baron Rhodes turned into a strong revenge**. Among them, her sister Princess Hemini was the most determined, and she vowed to avenge her father.

In fact, this kind of thinking is extremely wrong, and if you think about it calmly, you will realize that this kind of thinking should not arise. But Princess Homini is a stubborn and affectionate person, and once her desire to avenge her father has been decided, no one can change it. Princess Homini's sense of revenge grew stronger with the passage of time, and her hatred for the French team that killed her father grew stronger.

In order to avenge her father, Princess Homini was determined to become a female spy directly under the German Emperor, and at that time, her twin brother Homan had been promoted to lieutenant in the army.

Princess Hermini was a shrewd and capable female spy, so it was not long before she was deeply trusted by the German Emperor and became the head of the female spy organization.

Princess Hormini accompanied the German Emperor on a reconnaissance tour of Volcan Castle, and that night they unexpectedly met their brother Baron Rhodes father and son, who were traveling by bicycle.

"At first, Princess Hermini did not know that it was Baron Lodz who was standing in front of her, but when she was instructed by the German Emperor to investigate the identity of Baron Lodz, she found out that he was the enemy of her father, so she did not hesitate to stab the Baron with a dagger."

At the thought of his father's murder, Paul couldn't help but be indignant.

"Paul, that's how your father was killed. At the same time, she wants to kill you. Your so-called blood-eating bat, the woman in black, is None other than Princess Hermini, who has also killed many young officers of your age.

"Bernard, the mysterious peasant woman you met was also disguised by Princess Humini, and the person who sneaked up on you both from behind was the French soldier she bribed with money."

Robin took a deep breath of his cigarette, flicked the soot into the ashtray, and went on:

"Then you will know the true face of the woman in black."

"But why did she remove my mother's portrait?"

Berner asked doubtfully.

"No, it wasn't a replacement, it was a repaint by her... Didn't Eliza write in her diary that the portrait was full of undried oil paint? ”

"Why is she doing this?"

Paul interjected.

"The purpose is to separate the conjugal feelings between you and Eliza.

After the Germans captured The Castle of Volkon, Princess Hemini built the castle as the command headquarters of the female spies. When she overheard the news that Paul and Eliza would be on their honeymoon at the castle, she immediately re-depicted the portrait of the Countess, leaving only the image of her face, changing the Countess's costume to a black shawl and painting a polonaire-encrusted serpentine bust.

She thought that by doing so, Paul would have believed that Eliza's mother was his own paternal killer.

Coincidentally, the countess Hermina's name is very similar to that of Princess Hermine. The handle of the dagger Paul picked up was engraved with the abbreviation h-e-r-m, so it's no wonder you mistake the countess for the woman in black.

At the same time, she deliberately dropped a dagger engraved with the h-e-r-m initials and insignia in that old church, and her purpose was to mislead you. In fact, the motif on the dagger is the family crest of the Duke of Homini family. ”

Robin flicked the soot on the cigarette with his finger and said:

"So, you all know, right?" Later, Princess Homini committed suicide. She originally wanted to harm Eliza, but because the German Emperor ordered Eliza to be exchanged for Prince Quinrat, she had to release Eliza, but she was extremely unwilling for this failure, so she resolutely drank potassium cyanate and fought to the death.

"Princess Homini's character is really stubborn, and she has to end in tragedy in the end. Her life was a real mystery, and her brother, Lieutenant Colonel Ho Man, heard that he was later killed on the Western Front.

"Well, my report and explanation are over, now, let's say goodbye."

With that, Robin stood up.

"Hey, wait a minute, I'll ask my father-in-law and Eliza to thank you, please wait..."

As Robin turned to go, Paul stopped him at the right time.

"No, no, I can't wear such tattered, dirty clothes to meet the Count and Eliza, it's too impolite. Okay, I'm leaving. ”

With that, Robin immediately put on his tattered coat, put on a gray-yellow wig, and limped out the door on crutches.

Since then, the Earl of Dandobi's family has never seen Yassen Robin again.

France reclaimed the territories of the Alsace and Lorraine regions, and the statues of the goddess representing these two regions were removed from the black mourning clothes of shame.

The steps of the statue are decorated with flowers of all kinds, which are gifts from the citizens of Paris to celebrate.

A tall, dignified gentleman with single spectacle lenses and a top hat was staring at the statue, his eyes damp. It was a day of great anticipation, the result of a bloody battle by the French compatriots, and finally the recapture of the lands of Alsace and Lorraine from the Germans.

The citizens who removed the black mourning clothes for the two goddess statues could not help but wipe their tears with handkerchiefs, and then walked around the goddess statue two or three times, and stared at the goddess statue with admiration and reverence.

The east has gradually become bright, and the morning light has a unique light color, which is not due to the sun's illumination, but a light gray skylight. The white mist embraced the trees in the square, and the whole city of Paris was still quietly sleeping. The gentleman sat alone in a chair, holding his golden cane in his hands, looking up at the statue of the goddess, standing motionless.

In the faint morning light, the crosses on the church minaret reflected the golden glow, cars and carriages began to travel to and from the streets of Paris, and people began a new day of life.

At this time, three or two figures suddenly appeared at the gate of the square, probably the attentive citizens of Paris who had come to pay tribute to the gods!

After seeing someone gradually walking towards here, the gentleman slowly stood up and walked out through the other exit of the square.

In the ornate study of the Castle of Jameron in the Netherlands, the German emperor who wrote his memoirs looked up at the golden bell on the fireplace, then put down the pen and tapped his hand on the shoulder to relieve the fatigue of writing.

It has been more than three years since the abdication of the German Emperor. He was very old, about 60 years old, and his distinctive figure-eight beard had gradually turned gray. The long-term stable life has made his mentality relatively stable and unfazed.

The ambitious and youthful German emperor of his youth has now become an ordinary and simple commoner. His cold inverted triangular eyes now radiate a loving, kind light, and in addition to writing his memoirs, he also goes to the woods every day to chop wood and loosen his bones. The days were very comfortable and quiet.

One day, as usual, he got up, took off his top, and walked to the forest opposite, when suddenly he heard the sound of chopping wood.

"Who will it be?"

The German emperor talked to himself and went to the place where he chopped wood every day.

He saw a middle-aged man with a bare body struggling to cut down wood, and the man heard footsteps behind him and hurried back.

"Ah... Yarin Robin..."

The German emperor cried out and was overjoyed.

"Your Majesty..."

Robin dropped his axe and saluted the German emperor politely.

"Stop calling me Your Majesty, I am no longer the monarch of Germany, I am only one of the thousands of commoners in Germany."

"Yes, Your Majesty, we have not seen each other for a long time, are you okay now?"

"It was ok... Any questions? ”

"It's all right... Just come and say hello to you. ”

"Thank you for your concern!" I have now fallen in love with this peaceful and peaceful way of life. ”

"That's great, Your Majesty, your spirit is very good, and your body is as strong as ever."

Robin complimented him.

"Probably related to chopping wood, it's really a pretty good activity."

"Do you chop wood every day?"

"Yes! Wielding a large axe to split the thick and large wood in half was a great feeling. ”

The German emperor said with great interest.

"Really? Let me feel it too! ”

Robin rubbed his hands passionately.

"Okay, you try it!" The feeling of sweating hot and blowing the cold wind in the woods is so wonderful..."

So the two began chopping firewood.

There was a crackling sound in the forest, and a faint fragrance of firewood wafted over, followed by many flies and flying insects.

It was a late autumn afternoon, with the occasional fallen yellow leaf falling down. The two chatted easily while chopping wood.

"How's Elisa doing?"

Thanks to The Help of Her Majesty, she has now lived a quiet and idyllic life with Paul and her father in the Castle of the Earl of Dandoby.

"Really? That's great. ”

The German emperor said happily, a knowing smile appeared on his face, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes deepened.

Seeing this, Robin thought to himself:

"This emperor is no longer a cunning and vicious monarch, but a kind and kind old man."

"Your Majesty, is Prince Quinrat all right now?"

Robin suddenly remembered the white, stocky prince.

That kid is really heartbroken...

The German emperor said with a bitter smile.

"He went to the United States and now he doesn't know what to do."

The German emperor said helplessly, his thick eyebrows furrowed tightly.

In order to dispel the sorrow in his chest, he raised his axe high and cut it down vigorously, and in an instant, the wood split in two, and the fine white pattern was exposed.

The woods were silent, without the hustle and bustle of cars. Both men's hearts were filled with peace, just single-mindedly chopping wood. The sunlight coming in from between the branches floated on their shoulders like living elves.

At this time, the two men were no longer notorious freaks and militaristic monarchs, but just two ordinary people who worked hard in the bright sun.