When the sandstorm was about to completely destroy them, including their people and horses, they finally found a cave under the sand cliff and reluctantly took their horses and hid in it.
Outside the cave, wild sand blew up, tearing away the little light.
The three of them huddled in the depths of the cave, leaning on the prostrate horses.
Cold and hunger eroded them. The man stood up, threw down some firewood on his horse, and randomly pulled out plant branches and leaves outside the cave, built a bonfire, and then drank some of the few food and water.
He gave half a piece of bread to each of Bligh and John, and a quarter to himself.
"Archon..." John hesitated.
"Eat quickly, we can go out. The Lord protects us." The man forced a smile.
John nodded. He ate the bread, drank a little water, and then drank a little more water when he was finished.
But Bly didn't move, the bread stayed in his hand, his expression dull.
"There's not much food... Archon, there's not much water, the Lord has abandoned us." Bligh muttered.
The man looked at him.
"Consul, is this the Lord's will?" Brion started and asked absently.
"Bly, cheer up." John realized something was wrong and shouted.
"We failed, the battle was defeated, our legion was destroyed, it's all over, everyone died there, Aylan will die because of this,"
Bligh's face suddenly became excited,
"Tell me, our Archon, is this also the will of the Lord?!"
Confusion and despair have destroyed the will of this young cavalryman.
John beside him looked at Bligh in panic, and also at the man. He was equally confused, but he didn't dare to speak out.
"What are you talking about, Bly." After being questioned one after another, the man came to his senses and was about to continue talking.
"But you said that He is the Lord of salvation!"
Bly wailed.
His words thundered in the man's heart.
He is the Lord of salvation!
"Why don't you come and save us?"
he asked, weeping,
Bly hugged his body and huddled there.
The man pursed his lips and couldn't say a word.
Crazy sand was tearing outside the cave, blocking out the sky and the sun, and the entire cave was dark.
Bray squatted there and murmured:
"Consul,
We Shanbu people are destined to suffer.
No one can change it.
Even the Lord has abandoned us. "
Our entire nation will not be liberated.
Because the shackles are born on everyone's hands.
Bligh said no more, he had almost no energy left.
The man didn't know what to say.
Because he himself is wavering.
There was silence in the cave, the only sound was the sound of wind and sand hitting the wall.
A long time, a long time.
"Eat something, Bligh, let's go out first." The man said softly.
Bly nodded numbly, raised half a piece of bread in his hand, and started to bite it with trembling teeth.
He didn't touch the kettle.
The man closed his eyes silently, and John approached carefully.
"Archon, I think Bligh didn't mean it, he just..." After a pause, John hesitated for a while and asked: "Archon, will the Lord save us?"
"I don't know, I don't know...just give me a break." The man murmured.
The man didn't want to think about Bly's question, and he didn't dare to think about it.
Oh God,
Are the Shanbu people really destined to suffer? Do you really want to be enslaved forever?
The wind and sand were howling, and the noise showed no signs of stopping.
All those years of hard work were like a bubble.
In the blink of an eye, it was shattered by Bligh's questioning.
The man's mind was groggy, and he had no strength to raise his eyes in the dirty and dark cave.
Fatigue swept over him, and all the muscles in his body urged him to sleep.
The sandstorm is getting bigger and bigger. It originally only raged outside the cave, but now there is violent sand even deep in the cave.
The man was really too tired, too tired. He didn't think about Bligh and John's questions anymore, nor did he care about the rushing sand. He just wanted to have a good rest and sleep for a while.
The man fell asleep and gave himself a break.
.............................
After an unknown amount of time, the man was woken up by the violent wind and sand.
He opened his eyes suddenly and fell into a deep sleep, his fatigue relieved somewhat.
There was only a little faint light left in the cave, and the man felt that something was missing. He stood up and groped around. He glanced at the entire cave, including two horses, food, and water. John was sleeping soundly on the horse... ..
Where's Bligh?
Bligh is missing!
The man realized something was wrong, walked deeper into the cave, and walked out again, but encountered nothing.
"Bray! Bray!" The man shouted the name of the young cavalryman loudly.
John was awakened. He stood up in panic and faced the man.
"John, where did Bly go?" the man asked directly.
"Consul..." John's face was sad and his tone was hesitant, as if he knew the inside story.
"Tell me, where did Bly go?!" the man asked solemnly, his eyes red under the dim light.
John couldn't hold it back, he choked out a cry: "Bligh is gone, Consul, Bligh is gone!"
"Where did you go? Why did you go?!" The man was speechless.
"Last night, when I was about to fall asleep during my vigil, he suddenly stood up and wanted to go outside," John said truthfully, word for word: "I wanted to stop him, but he pushed me away."
"Then what?"
"I asked him where he was going, and he said that the sandstorm would last for a long time, and there was not enough food and water at all, water, especially water!" John said.
After the man heard it, his mind went blank.
"What else did he say? Did he say anything else?"
The man's voice couldn't help but tremble.
"He said that he heard his horse calling him and waiting for him." John paused and said with a cry: "He also said that if the Lord comes, he only hopes to save you.
You are our Archon. "
The man listened and caught a glimpse of an untouched kettle on the ground.
The corners of his eyes were sore.
Bly left, taking nothing with him, and walked straight into the sky full of yellow sand.
The man didn't say anything. He didn't talk much, and he was completely silent in the cave.
He clasped his hands together all day long, resting his forehead on his fingers, praying for an early end to the sandstorm and asking the Lord to bless him out of the desert. His candlestick was thousands of miles away and might have fallen into the hands of the enemy.
Perhaps... the entire Aylan must have fallen because of the city-state.
The new law was abolished and turned into a piece of paper. Those who cut off the shackles and were liberated may be oppressed and enslaved by others.
Man cannot be certain of this, just as he cannot see his Lord, the Lord who "I am, I am."
He wasn't even sure if the Lord was still watching him,
Or maybe she has already been disappointed with him and abandoned him.
"No...no..." The man suppressed his uneasiness and comforted himself feebly, "The Lord will remember our covenant."
Since Bligh left, John's spirit has slowly disintegrated in suffering.
John stayed in front of the cave all day, ignoring the sand that stung his eyes. He stared at the sandstorm and prayed for two days in a row, but after getting nothing, he gave up.
He started shouting and cheering sometimes when the sandstorm showed signs of stopping, and sometimes when he saw the sandstorm getting worse, he cursed this hell, himself, and everything.
Under the torture, John was already nervous, his face was yellow and his eyes were sunken. He once volunteered to stay vigil for two days in a row without closing his eyes for a quarter of an hour.
Every time he was given food, he would hold the bread tightly in his arms and stare greedily at the piece of bread in the man's hand, even though the piece of bread was half smaller than his own.
One night, it was the men's turn to keep watch over the bonfire they had finally built.
After many days of sandstorms and lack of food and water, the man was exhausted, and he was too tired that night. He used to pride himself on being firm, but now he couldn't bear the torture.
He was not able to watch the whole night, but fell asleep on the way.
The man was sleeping deeply.
During these days of sandstorms, in order to save energy, he slept deeply every day.
Only this time, when he woke up.
Of the two war horses, the strongest one had disappeared.
The only thing on the ground was the cut horse rope.
Also disappearing with the horse was John.
The man stood up hurriedly and called John's name just like he had called Bligh before.
This time no one answered.
A strong sense of crisis suddenly spread in his heart, and the man quickly groped for the only remaining thin war horse and checked the supplies on its back.
Most of the supplies have disappeared.
John betrayed him, fled with the supplies, and broke into the sandstorm alone.
All that was left for the man was two slices of bread and less than half a jug of water.
The fate of the people is unexpected.
For the first time, a man felt so helpless and desperate.
He couldn't even tremble anymore and fell to the ground.
"Lord, Lord!"
