Chapter 597 The Somme

"Come with me."

Before Nelson could express his opinion, Pythia waved his sleeves. The unique material of flax undulated a stream-like ripple in the air. The stream rose rapidly like a sea tide and submerged Nelson's ankle in the blink of an eye. The surrounding soldiers and The figure of the priest dissipated in the water, as if they were phantoms of the water waves. The stream got deeper and deeper, and Nelson only had time to hold the thorn in his hand. After a few breaths, the rising stream swallowed his figure.

He tried hard to open his eyes in the water, but the rushing stream rushed his eyes up, and he even felt the pain of being scratched by the sharp glass. Under the sparkling water waves, he saw the radiance like a mirror. world.

Nelson's feet were empty, and the feeling of falling out of control swallowed him.

"call--"

I don't know how long it took before the tide finally ushered in the water. Nelson's mouth and nose finally protruded. He breathed in the air, and the underwater waves reflected shadows with different expressions. Nelson seemed to see countless Himself, he tried to resist, but this Pythia is more like him than him - she has mastered all the magic that Nelson knows, understands all his habits, and can even do magic that is still under development, In front of her, Nelson seemed to be facing a stronger self, his whole body seemed to be restrained, unable to perform at the slightest level.

It's useless to be anxious, it seems that he won't be able to return to Berlin for a while, and it is easier to fall into the rhythm of Pythia if he is anxious, but he doesn't know how the situation there is, he is concerned about those who are fighting hard Muggles, care about the out-of-control Barry, care about everyone who should care.

After his shriveled lungs became full again, Nelson ignored the burning pain in his throat and opened his eyes. The stream dripped from his eyelashes. After blinking vigorously, his vision gradually faded away. He regained his clarity and his body was clean, as if he hadn’t soaked in the water at all just now. He looked around his surroundings. On the sentry tower in the distance, bright spotlights were scanning the field covered with barbed wire. The modern battlefield, just looking at the furnishings, is earlier than the era that Nelson lived in. The bomb craters all over the battlefield are not as shocking and destructive as modern weapons, and the neighing of horses can even be heard in the distance.

The flag of France was inserted obliquely on the top of the sentry tower. The flag was covered with burn scars, and even the basic color and structure were hard to see. It might be the flag of other countries. Its two corners were roughly tied together. On a bent gun shaft, struggling stubbornly in the evening wind.

There are several iron nails nailed to the post of the sentry tower, and an ancient carbine is hung on one of the iron nails. A dagger wrapped in gauze.

There is still a meandering stream flowing at Nelson's feet, but this stream is no longer as clear as it used to be, it has become dark, exuding the smell of gunpowder smoke, and broken pieces of cloth and wood drift by from time to time Every piece of rubbish left the vicissitudes and dilapidation brought about by the war.

"Is this still Troy?"

Nelson had a rare joke.

"How could it be? There are streams everywhere in the world, and we are just drifting along the streams. Weildening by the stream, isn't this your family motto?" Pythia's response came from the darkness, "This The stream is a tributary of the Somme, and its main stem is much murkier than what we see now."

"You seem to be very familiar with these things," Nelson observed the surrounding environment, and then he realized that during the struggle of choking on the water, the thorns in his hand had pierced deeply through the skin and inserted into his palm, " Is it necessary for the prophets of ancient Greece to predict such a distant era? Your strategic vision is really far-reaching."

Pythia smiled and said nothing, as if Nelson should know the answer to this question.

Nelson didn't ask further. Not far from the sentry tower, a lighted barracks was singing in the night. The folk song in a minor key unique to France seemed to praise grapes. Nelson didn't pay attention to the specific content of the lyrics. , just a little amazed, looking at the surrounding environment, it seems that this place has experienced tragic tremors for a long time, and they can also sing such a song in a battle with heavy casualties like the Somme.

"So what do you want to prove to me here?"

Nelson looked in the direction of Pythia's voice. The spotlight of the sentry tower shone at this time. The clean figure of the priestess seemed out of place in the chaotic battlefield. The distant place passed by, the light didn't include him, and it quickly captured other places.

"What are you going to do here?" Pythia asked back, the light just now seemed to stay on her body, the priestess glowed even in the dark night, like a striking light bulb, her milky white There was nothing in his eyes, but Nelson knew that there was his reflection, "Like—"

"Since fate is hard to defy, I choose not to do anything," Nelson said, spreading his hands and shrugging, "I have fulfilled your wish, are you happy?"

"There's nothing to be happy about, it's your choice and fate's choice."

Pythia looked at the thorn in Nelson's hand, it was inserted so deep that it seemed to grow together with Nelson's hand, Nelson noticed her gaze, looked at the wand in his hand, lost in thought, searchlight Didn't notice Pythia, she doesn't exist in this time and space, but it doesn't shine on him, which doesn't prove that he doesn't exist either, and with the tree man in the Trojan War, Nelson has a consideration in his mind, could it be Have you really traveled through time? In order to test his conjecture, he picked up a piece of wood on the ground. Under the effect of magic, it quickly turned into a World War II rifle. Nelson raised the gun, walked to the side mound, and closed his eyes. With only one eye, he noticed that there was also a light on in the distance in the direction of the guard tower, which seemed to be the enemy's camp.

He glanced back at Pythia, she still had that expression of nothing to do with him, he curled his lips, aimed at the light in the distance, and mocked: "No matter what I do, is this the choice of fate?"

Close your eyes, aim, hold your breath, and pull the trigger.

In the sound of a loud gunshot, the flames of the gunpowder explosion illuminated the night sky, and the lights of the nearby watchtower immediately turned around. The shouts of the sentinels were drowned out by the gunshots and Pythia's words that sounded at the same time.

"No, fate can't control you. Your choice forms part of fate. It's just that it has happened, but the ending is doomed."

Pythia closed his eyes, and the spotlight from the sentry tower hit Nelson almost at the same time. His shadow was as clear as the stars in the night sky. Nelson looked in the direction of the spotlight, staring directly at the dazzling light. The sentry was stretching out his hand He went to reach for the gun hanging on the pillar, but his movements, terrified expression, and even the saliva that was spraying from his mouth were all frozen in this moment, and the gunfire triggered by Nelson also stopped in the air.

When Nelson looked at Pythia again, her eyes opened, and the mist in her eyes seemed to freeze and she stopped moving. She turned around expressionlessly, and walked in the direction of Nelson's shooting. Nelson shrugged his shoulders and threw the rifle aside. The transformation technique performed by thorns is not long-lasting. After two hours, the rifle and the bullets will return to its original plank. He took a step and looked at Pete. Ya's back, followed.

The pace of the two was not fast, but they quickly found the bullet fired by Nelson. The gunfire brought by its advanced structure was extremely dazzling. The remaining gunpowder at the end of the bullet was still burning, and the rotating bullet distorted the surrounding air. , making the fire look as dazzling as a shooting star.

Pythia blinked her eyes, the mist in her pupils began to continue its slow surge, and the bullet began to move steadily towards the previous target at her pace, and the two walked on both sides of the bullet one after the other, behind The whistle of the sentry tower came, but after the cross talk that should have been hurried and anxious was infinitely stretched, it sounded like a distant and drowsy ancient ballad.

After an unknown amount of time, when Pythia walked to the center of the battlefield, her tense expression suddenly relaxed. Immediately afterwards, Nelson heard the sound of bullets leaving in the air, and he turned his head. , On the hill next to the sentry tower of the French army position, a vague figure and the gunfire that had just spread could still be seen.

The next second, the lights in the German camp in front suddenly went out, and Nelson was silent for a moment in the darkness. The loud gunshots and the crisp sound of glass shattering came to his ears almost simultaneously.

Not long after, in less than a few minutes, the tents of both sides were lit up one after another at the same time. The lights were brightly lit, turning the twilight into a bright day.

The mist in Pythia's eyes began to surge crazily. In the blink of an eye, soldiers from both sides had already arrived at the front of the formation like a fast-moving movie. Their faces were tired, but their spirits were highly excited. The dense gunfire It began to resound over the plain. Nelson, who was in the center of the battlefield, watched the lightning-like bullets pass by his side and even his body. Under the dense barrage, soldiers fell one by one like wheat, and could only sporadic In the gunfire, I saw the last faces they left in this world, young or old faces.

"The bullet that didn't belong to this era caught the attention of the commander in the opposing camp. He believed that France had developed an epoch-making weapon. He couldn't let the gun that could hit that far take the initiative in this war. For that A rifle he had never seen before, in order to win the war, he deviated from the plan and launched a general attack on the French army," Pythia stood in the middle of the fast-moving battlefield, and the charging soldiers and the two overlapped and rushed past and fell , one position after another had just been occupied and quickly lost, the bullets became more and more sparse, the moon behind the clouds sprinted towards the mountain at a speed of 100 meters, and the Somme plain in the night was raised by a layer, she Said softly, "Under the reckless and crazy attack, driven by hatred, and under the influence of the battlefield atmosphere, the two sides started a death fight in the dark of night."

Nelson stared into Pythia's eyes expressionlessly, and squeezed the thorny palm tightly.

"Transfiguration will expire after two hours, but what does it matter?" Pythia said in a story-telling tone, "It takes less than two hours for this kind of war from start to finish."

The gunshots became more and more shrill and sparse, and the raging fire burned in the camps of both sides, and the flames expanded rapidly, even the land and even the creek just now were engulfed by the flames.

"The Battle of the Somme is known as one of the most tragic battles of the Muggles in the First World War. The battlefield here is just the tip of the iceberg in the endless massacres, and of course, it is also a clear reflection of it," Pythia continued. , "The commander over there saw the bullet, but the sentry just picked up the gun on the ground. His beloved shotgun is a Bethiere carbine. It is too old and has jammed due to improper maintenance, but this not young soldier But he was an excellent hunter. For the sake of his two daughters and his wife who died in the German bombing, he picked up this rifle that did not belong to this era. Every shot of the gun takes away an enemy—”

"enough."

Nelson stretched out his hand to hold the thorn, and the crimson blood dripped from the wound, seeped into the parched ground, and flowed into the dry stream.

"You don't have to blame yourself for this, even if you don't show up here, the German army will launch a surprise attack at two o'clock tomorrow night as planned," Pythia said, "This is just an inconspicuous microcosm in the world war. From the point of view of this time, the encounter where both sides lacked preparation is actually the most acceptable ending, the one named—"

"I said, enough."

Nelson's expression became incomparably stern. Huge magic power gushed out from the thorns, tearing off the sharp thorns one by one. The slender thorns with the thorns removed looked like ugly knotted thorns. A stick that looks like an elderberry.

The extremely compressed flame rushed out of Nelson's palm, engulfing everything around him, and the accelerated time returned to normal, but there were not a few gunshots left on the battlefield.

"For you now, the past is immutable. You may think that Harry Potter used your invention to save his friends from dementors as his bravery against fate, but have you noticed that as early as When the dementor appeared, he had already seen the stag leaping from the forest?"

Pythia's voice became fragmented, making it difficult to hear clearly.

The sound of shattering mirrors came from all directions, the battlefield collapsed piece by piece like a dismantled movie set, the stream rose up, only the farther sky had not had time to shatter, and in the last chill of the bleak twilight, the moon The sun was setting, the sun was rising, and the sky was getting brighter. There were only two people standing on this small plain in the Somme River Basin. It was exactly two hours since the first gunshot.