shadow striker

When Yue Yihuang woke up the next day and went downstairs, his stepfather was already up.This time, he was preparing breakfast for the family.

The TV in the living room was on, but the volume was not turned up too loudly.Juan was preparing breakfast in the kitchen and watching the news on TV from time to time.When he saw Yue Yihuang coming downstairs, he greeted Yue Yihuang in a good mood.

However, after that, when Juan cooked a cheese and bacon omelet for Yue Yihuang, a piece of current news shocked both of them.

[The following inserts a piece of current news. At around 12:27 am yesterday, a shooting occurred in St. Petersburg Cathedral in Rome, Italy.At that time, the Pope of Rome was presiding over the Christmas Eve Mass commemorating the birth of Jesus.Five gunmen used special methods to escape the security check in front of the church and caused a bloody shooting in the church.Several Vatican Guardsmen were wounded, several seriously.This is the most vicious attack on Catholicism in a century.No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack in this episode, and the case is still under investigation...]

"Oh, God, what kind of madman would do such a thing..."

Seeing this news, Yue Yihuang's stepfather expressed emotion.But Yue Yihuang himself became completely nervous when he saw the picture broadcast in the news.

Yes, he saw Lancer's figure appearing in the picture.His right arm was completely soaked in blood, but he was still in command of the Vatican Pope's Guard, and the guard soldiers who received Yue Yihuang when he went to the Vatican to play a friendly match with Rome last time were carried into the ambulance on a stretcher. It looks awful...

Seeing this, Yue Yihuang quickly put down the knife and fork, rushed upstairs to pick up his mobile phone, and called Lancer.He was anxious in his heart. He thought that the other party's mobile phone would not be dialed, but unexpectedly... the other party's mobile phone was picked up after a few rings.It's just that... the person who answered the phone was not Lancer.

"Hello, who are you?"

The voice on the other end of the phone seemed very cold, and even carried an inquiry.That made Yue Yihuang stunned, and then answered the other party truthfully.

"I'm a Torino player, Yue. I, I'm spending Christmas with my family right now, and I woke up in the morning and saw the news on the TV. The thing about the Christmas Eve mass made me feel...shocked, I saw a lot All the soldiers in the guard were injured, and so was Lancer. So I wanted to ask how he is doing now."

"He's fine now, but he's still receiving treatment, so it's inconvenient to answer your call. I'm sorry."

"No, no, I should be sorry for causing you trouble at such a time. Thank you very much for answering the phone, goodbye."

After hanging up the phone, Yue Yihuang went back downstairs, smiled embarrassedly at Juan, who was more than ten years older than himself, and then ate his breakfast, but he was still in an inexplicable state of mind. rather.

Three days later, Yue Yihuang returned to Turin from Barcelona.

In Turin, Italy, the Christmas spirit was apparently dampened by the recent Christmas Eve shooting at St. Petersburg Cathedral.Almost as long as you are on the street, you can hear people talking about the shooting.

What made Yue Yihuang feel that something was wrong was that he called Lanser after he returned to Turin, but he still answered the call with a very cold voice.And this person... is obviously not the same person who answered the phone last time.Yue Yihuang couldn't let go of that weird feeling.

"what happened?"

After Yue Yihuang came back, he has been relying on him to study the teams that achieved the first result in the UEFA Champions League group stage this season, watching Barcelona, ​​Juventus, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern, Manchester City, and Arsenal. UEFA Champions League.But it was discovered that he had been restless these days.

"It's Lancer. I saw on the news that he was shot in the arm. I called him on Christmas morning. The person who answered the phone told me he was under medical treatment and couldn't answer the phone. But as of today, That's what they told me anyway. A gunshot wound to the arm, could it be that serious?"

Hearing such an answer, Francisco immediately picked up the remote control panel of the TV, and pressed the pause of the game he was watching, the match between Real Madrid and Werder Bremen, and there was even alertness in his eyes.

"Did you tell them who you are?"

"Yes, they asked who I was."

"You'd better not bother with this matter, and don't call Lancer again. I'm worried that this matter is not as simple as we know. Although since the outbreak of the World War, the influence of the Holy See can no longer be compared with It has been compared before, but it is still the Holy See, and its complexity...is beyond what you can imagine. Do you understand?"

Listening to Francisco's persuasion, doubt appeared in Yue Yihuang's eyes.That made Francisco helplessly stand up from the sofa and walk in front of the other party.

"Look, you're not even an Italian and shouldn't be involved in this. As for Lancer. If he's all right, he'll show up again. If he's all right, I don't think you can help him either."

…………

In Rome, Italy, it should be the place where you can enjoy the warm winter sun in the whole of Italy, but in this winter, it is no longer warm.Almost the entire city was reeling from the fallout from the Christmas Eve shooting at St. Petersburg Cathedral.

The Vatican is closed to the public, and rarely has a reopening date been announced.

In the smallest city-state in the world, there were originally only 136 guards, and now because of the shooting, there are only 136 guards who continue to abide by their duties in the Vatican. named.

But even at such a time, new fears shrouded the walls of the Vatican.

"My personal bodyguard has confirmed to me that it is the descendants of the Knights Templar who created this vicious case."

In a palatial room, the Pope sits at the head of a long table.The truth of the matter was told to bishops in various Catholic countries in Europe.

In that vicious incident, the French bishop was unfortunately attacked and killed.This has caused bishops from all over the world to demand that the Pope of Rome give a truth that satisfies them.But they got a more serious answer than they imagined.

"Oh my god...these lunatics!! How dare they...how dare!!"

The Knights Templar is the most legendary among the three famous knights in history.At the end of the eleventh century, the holy city of Jerusalem was captured by the Crusaders.Many Europeans went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem one after another, and pilgrims were often attacked by robbers on the road and died as a result.

It was under such circumstances that the French nobleman Huguens de Payns and eight other knights established the Knights Templar to protect pilgrims from Europe, opening the most brilliant chapter of the three major knights.

Compared with the other two knight orders, the combat power of the Knights Templar is astonishingly terrifying, and they have fought in many battles of great significance.

Boduan IV, King of Jerusalem, once led 3 cavalry and 2 Templars to cooperate with infantry to attack Saladin's [-] troops. As a result, Saladin's most elite Mamluk cavalry was almost wiped out. Casualties reached [-], and in the end less than one-tenth of the troops fled back to Egypt.

During the Crusade period, they were considered to be the true masters of the East and participated in all the battles surrounding the holy city. They could be described as the true guardians of the holy city and the most reliable combat force of the Holy See.

And they had amazing wealth. Until the end of the 12th century, they owned more than 9000 properties throughout Europe, including many famous churches and castles, and even the entire island of Cyprus.

The privileges of the Holy See made them rich and envied.

At the Battle of Harding, too many victories made the Knights Templar careless and contemptuous, which eventually led to irreparable defeat.The fall of the holy city made the Knights Templar go to the status of the guardian of the holy city, and they lost the meaning of existence.

From the moment they returned to France, the downfall of the Knights Templar began.

On October 1307, 10, a Black Friday, without warning, Philip IV sent a secret letter to the affairs officials all over France, asking them to open it at the same time. The content of the secret letter was to arrest St. Member of the Knights Templar.

None of the top knights of the Knights Templar survived that arrest.Countless members of the Knights died during the torture.The rest went to the stake.

Some people may ask why the Holy See allowed the King of France to treat the Knights Templar in this way.

But the answer may never have been a secret.The popes at the time, Pope Clement V and Philip IV, were simply complicit.Under the threat of the Pope, although the countries were dissatisfied, they had no choice but to obey, accelerating the destruction of the once glorious Knights Templar.

The Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Moraith, left a curse when he was sent to the stake for execution, saying that Philip IV and Pope Clement V would face eternal judgment within a year.Then, his curse was fulfilled...

It is conceivable that the descendants of the Knights Templar have a bloody hatred for the Pope.

They are also the most devout believers in Catholicism, but they regard the Pope and the Holy See as heresies abandoned by God.

Therefore, the attacker who made the Christmas Eve shooting said such words before he died:

[Evil, demons...you have already abandoned the Lord!Evil Catholic traitors! !After you die, there will be endless hell waiting for you! ! 】

As early as two months ago, the Vatican had already discovered some changes.But they didn't expect that they were the descendants of the Knights Templar, but thought that they were just some branches of Catholicism in Spain... and their understanding of God was very different, and they sent people to Spain to investigate.

The wrong direction of investigation eventually led to the results that should not have happened.

In any case, the Holy See suffered heavy losses. Although the Pope himself was only a little frightened under the protection of his bodyguards and guards, the French bishop was killed in this shooting, and many other priests were injured by stray bullets, not to mention ...the Vatican guards responsible for killing the five attackers in the chaos.

Faced with this unexpected retaliatory attack by the descendants of the Knights Templar, the Holy See will of course make them pay the price.

It's just that the Knights Templar today is not the same as it was in 1307.They are no longer revered guardians of the Holy Land, and not everyone will know of their existence.How can it be so easy to find them who are hidden deep in the dark, and even look no different from ordinary people on weekdays?

No matter how powerful the Holy See is, it would be very difficult to find the descendants of the Knights Templar.

"Investigate those killers. Try to dig out something from them. Before they made this operation, who did they contact with each other?"

After a long silence from all, the bishop of Luxembourg said this, and his opinion was supported by others present.

On the other side, in the confinement room of the Vatican, the great hero who saved the Pope in the attack was locked up.

Lancer is the highest-ranking of the four personal bodyguards of the Pope.

"Have you thought it through? About the answer you gave?"

"Yes."

"Listen, Lancer, if you lied before, tell us the truth now, before it's too late."

"What I said has always been true."

"Okay, then we'll use the lie detector now to restore your innocence."

"I've been waiting a long time for this test."

It was a priest who spoke to Lancer.The pastor was already very old, with a head of white hair. He fixed his eyes on Lanser. After a while, he asked the non-commissioned officer beside him to take out a whole set of lie detectors and put them on Lanser. And signaled another non-commissioned officer to turn on the recorder.After the polygraph test was completed, the pastor began to ask Lancer the questions they had already listed.

Priest: "During that chaos, what did you say to the dying killer?"

Lancer: "Yes."

Pastor: "Tell me what you talked about."

Lancer: "When I was close to him, he said to me [Devil, you have already turned your back on the Lord. You are evil Catholic traitors. After you die, there will be endless hell waiting for you.] So I asked He, who are you, what is the purpose of spreading terror on Christmas Eve. He replied to me, [The Templars came to avenge the evil Pope. Although we failed, our will will not die. You will live in fear. For, the brave Templars will not forget their will.]”

Lanser spoke in an extremely calm tone. When he uttered those cold and crazy curses in such a calm tone in the confinement room, it actually made people feel a sense of neurotic fear.

The guard soldiers guarding outside couldn't help swallowing nervously, and then continued with their duties.

Hearing this answer, the pastor glanced at the polygraph and found that the green light was always on, and there was no sharp lie alarm, so he continued to ask.

Pastor: "And then? What did you do? Someone said they saw you take something from the killer. Does this mean that this group of people... has something to do with you?"

Lancer: "I did take something from that killer, but that doesn't mean I have anything to do with that group of people. In fact, what I took away was a golden necklace pendant."

Priest: "Tell me why you did it."

Lancer: "I thought there might be some secrets related to this group of people hidden in this necklace pendant. I can't let it be taken away by the police"

Priest: "And then?"

Lancer: "After I opened the golden necklace pendant, I found that there was nothing inside."

When asked here, the pastor looked at the lie detector placed on the table beside him with an inquiring gaze.The green light, which is on at this time, is still a green light.So the pastor continued the interrogation between them after he breathed a sigh of relief.

Pastor: "Are you sure?"

Lancer: "Yes, there's nothing in it."

Pastor: "Didn't you take something out of it?"

Lancer: "No, I didn't."

Pastor: "Then why... there are your fingerprints in it."

Lancer: "I thought it wouldn't be weird to have my fingerprints on it when I opened it in a hurry."

Pastor: "But why did you open it?"

Lancer: "I thought that, as the personal bodyguard of His Highness the Pope, I was qualified and responsible to see if there were any clues on it. You know, I was the one who was sent to Spain to investigate the incident. It's just a pity that we The investigation went in the wrong direction..."

The interrogation lasted an hour and took place in a small, stone-block confinement room.

The green light on the lie detector remained on until the pastor finished asking the last question.This made the pastor return to a friendly and even kindly attitude towards Lancer.

"Son, you have recovered your innocence. Before that, I am really sorry to let you stay here. Now, all your belongings can be returned to you."

The pastor who said this gave Lancer a hug, and then reached out to take off the polygraph test equipment for Lancer. At this moment, the pastor asked seemingly inadvertently:

"Is the gunshot wound on your arm better?"

"As good as it gets, Mr. Reverend."

"It will be very cold in the confinement room."

"No, the winter in Rome is actually not cold."

It was in these two short sentences that the polygraph issued sharp lie alarms one after another, and even the small green light suddenly turned bright red.Seeing that, the pastor laughed, and lost even the last trace of wariness in his eyes.He smiled and took off those complicated equipment for Lancer, and then said in an apologetic and friendly tone:

"I'm sorry that we made such a reckless decision at an extraordinary time. I hope you can forgive me."

"Yes, I understand that."

"Then, hurry up and heal your wounds, His Royal Highness still needs you to protect him! You did a good job this time!"

"Thank you, Mr. Reverend."

After saying this, Lancer picked up his personal belongings in a transparent file bag with his uninjured left hand, and walked out of the dimly lit confinement room, far away.

When he once again breathed the fresh air in the Vatican, and felt the sunlight that was too harsh for him now, he heard a familiar voice.That was his...companion who had trained with him and became the Pope's personal bodyguard together.The personal bodyguard next to the Pope has black curly shoulder-length hair.

The young Swiss gave him a hesitant and struggling look: "You passed the test."

"Yes."

After an abrupt silence, the man took a sudden step forward, grabbed Lancer by the collar and said in a low voice, "But the lie detector is useless to you! If you want it to turn on the green light, it will turn on the green light." ! I'm training with you, of course I understand!"

"So?" Facing the companion's low growl, Lancer asked very calmly: "You want to tell Mr. Pastor that everything I said in the interrogation before was a lie?"

Apparently his companion was struggling with this question.After a long time, the Swiss with black curly hair said: "Please swear to God, swear that you are still loyal to the Holy See and to the Pope."

"I swear. I swear to God that I will be loyal to the Holy See, and to the Pope. Whether in the past, in the present, or in the future."

Hearing Lancer's very affirmative answer, the Swiss let go of him, and then said in a very deep tone: "You have never let us down. I think it must be the case this time. In addition, I want to say , on Christmas Eve, you did really well."

After saying this, the companion who was the Swiss bodyguard beside the Pope, like Lancer, left and returned to his own post.Lancer, who still had a gunshot wound on his arm, got a short vacation and returned to his room.A guard of the Vatican's Swiss Guard brought him a sumptuous dinner and a doctor who changed his medicine.Of course, the guard also brought him a message.

"Several members of the Roma team are returning to the Vatican tomorrow."

When he heard this sentence, Lancer was checking the records on his mobile phone.The guard who was in charge of his personal belongings answered the phone for him and read the text messages on his mobile phone, but did not delete those records.Therefore, he saw the call records of Yue Yihuang's multiple calls.

When he saw those, he realized what the guard had said to him.

"Sorry, just can you repeat what you just said?"

"Of course! The players of the Roman team have always been very grateful for the support of His Highness the Pope. This time they heard that the Pope was shot on Christmas Eve, and many players will come to the Vatican to visit His Highness the Pope. His Highness is very happy to agree , plan to receive them tomorrow.”

Hearing this sentence, Lancer was silently thinking about something...