On a dirt road carved out by armored vehicles in the dense forest, a squad of Phos soldiers escorted a group of prisoners forward.

The prisoners' hands and feet were tied with ropes, and their necks were also put in ropes. They were tied together in groups of three or five and led forward by the Phas soldiers behind them.

Because the prisoners were still tied together with ropes, if one person fell behind, it would affect the whole group. A Fass soldier was whipping a prisoner who had fallen behind.

"Ahhh—"

"Please, spare me—"

"It hurts so much—help—"

The prisoners, being whipped, rolled on the ground, begging for mercy in agony.

“Sir, he’s been wounded…” Some of the other prisoners couldn’t bear it and wanted to plead for him.

"Did I tell you to speak?" The Phos soldier slapped even the prisoner who pleaded for mercy. "I told you not to talk back!"

"Ahhh—"

The screams of the prisoners rose and fell, and the people around them huddled together like frightened lambs, but no one dared to speak. Some of the girls among the prisoners hugged each other and cried secretly.

Zhang Fan calmly observed the scene before him through the scope of his sniper rifle.

This is normal.

That's always been the case with war.

These things have nothing to do with me.

Zhang Fan almost laughed. He counted that the Fas soldiers escorting the prisoners were a standard squad of five, but there were over a hundred prisoners.

Judging from their clothing, the prisoners should be soldiers of the Ryan National Army, but they look more like students.

Zhang Fan recalled that ridiculous history of a single gun holding hundreds of prisoners at the gates.

It's ridiculous, but it's a real historical event.

Some might ask, with so few soldiers escorting the prisoners, why didn't the prisoners dare to resist? Even if you piled up human lives, you could crush them to death.

Actually, this issue isn't worth discussing. Have you ever seen a sheep kill a wolf? A single wolf can still chase a flock of sheep all over the mountain.

A person who has lost their fighting spirit is just a flock of sheep.

Logically speaking, this is the rear of the Fas Khan's army. Even if they resist and temporarily escape, there are still countless Fas Khan soldiers around, and they will most likely be captured and killed in the end.

Then, the prisoners will develop a sense of luck. If they were going to be killed, they would have been killed long ago. Now that they are being sent to another place, it proves that they are still useful. Maybe they will encounter a good opportunity to exchange prisoners? Or they can work on a resource planet for a few years and wait for their families to ransom them.

Based on this mentality, the next step was to deceive them. After being captured, the Phos soldiers would tell the prisoners that as long as they behaved well, they would definitely have a good future.

Since resistance ultimately leads to death, those who want to live will naturally choose to be obedient.

Finally, and most importantly: no one is willing to step forward as a leader and lead them in rebellion.

Few prisoners would be willing to be the first to step forward as leader, because if the enemy found out, even if the resistance succeeded, the others might live, but this person would most likely die.

This is the same principle as when no one wants to be the first soldier to charge into battle; if no one wants to be, then no one will charge.

Therefore, the pleader who had just pleaded for mercy was bound to be whipped. The Phasian soldiers wanted to keep the prisoners in a disorganized state and did not allow any "leaders" to stand out.

Zhang Fan watched as the Fass soldier finally stopped fighting, exhausted, and the two prisoners lay on the ground groaning.

The Phos soldier waved his hand, and the few male prisoners closest to him hesitated, not daring to step forward. The Phos soldier glared at them again and shouted a few words, and the prisoners hurriedly ran over, helped the two prisoners on the ground up, and led them to rest by the roadside woods.

A female student-looking prisoner ran over, tore off the hem of her skirt, and helped bandage the wounds of the two injured prisoners.

Judging from her movements and clothing, this female prisoner appears to be a female medic.

As night fell, the Phos soldiers began to set up camp.

All the prisoners were driven to a clearing in the forest. The temperature dropped rapidly at night in late autumn on Milan Star. Many prisoners were only wearing a single layer of clothing and were shivering from the cold. They could only huddle together to keep warm.

Zhang Fan leaned against a sloping hill, feeling somewhat irritated. The Phos soldiers weren't leaving, so he couldn't light a fire to keep warm tonight.

This is so troublesome.

Zhang Fan had no interest in rescuing the group of Ryan prisoners.

First of all, he is not a citizen of the Lane and has no sense of belonging to the Lane. If "Firebird 3" had landed on the territory of the Faz Khanate, he might be a Faz soldier now.

In this war, he was a third party, and helping either side was pointless. If the Phos people had been captured by the Ryan army, things might have turned out differently.

Since that's the case, why bother with other people's business? We already have enough points for citizenship anyway.

Zhang Fan took out two dried fish from his chest pocket and rested against a tree trunk next to the bushes.

The dried fish was food he had smoked the night before; he was prepared to stay here until the battle was over.

The sounds of Phos soldiers playing drinking games and laughing and cursing filled the air.

Five Phos soldiers sat around a fire, while only one Phos soldier sat with his back to them, holding an automatic rifle with the muzzle pointed at the group of prisoners in the forest.

The firelight illuminated the prisoners' terrified eyes; they trembled like frightened chicks under the intimidating gaze of the Phos soldiers.

Zhang Fan smiled.

You fucking dare to resist!

Five Fass soldiers, five automatic rifles, each with a magazine capacity of 30 rounds, for a total of 150 rounds of ammunition.

Are all the Phash soldiers sharpshooters? Can they take down an enemy with a single shot or something? Why are over a hundred of them afraid to move?

It makes me so angry!

Zhang Fan simply pulled down his helmet to cover his eyes, put a blade of grass in his mouth, leaned against the tree trunk, and closed his eyes to rest.

The prisoners were all young, looking to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, with the oldest appearing to be in his early twenties.

I had heard long ago that the Duchy of Ryan had taken all of this year's fourth-year military academy students into the Ryan National Army's recruit camp as reserves.

Judging from their eyes, the prisoners in front of me were all "student soldiers" who had never been on the battlefield.

The Ryan National Army is really bold, daring to send these harmless little lambs and kittens to the front line.

"Ah—no—"

"Hahaha!"

A girl screamed from the prisoner-of-war camp across the way.

Zhang Fan, who was resting with his eyes closed, pushed up his helmet with his fingers and took a look.

A Phos soldier grinned savagely as he grabbed a female prisoner with both arms and dragged her into the woods.

"No—let me go!"

"Brandon, help me—"

Zhang Fan recognized the female prisoner; she was the medic who tore her skirt to save the wounded prisoner.

See, karma's finally caught up with you! Serves you right for tearing your skirt and showing off your long legs.

And this seems to be a love story about life and death?

Zhang Fan saw a boy in the prisoner-of-war camp with bloodshot eyes, screaming wildly:

"Ahhh! Let me go!"

"Ruthia!"

However, the surrounding prisoners pulled on the ropes that were connected together, causing the man named "Brandon" to struggle in place.

"Waaaaah—"

The girls in the prisoner-of-war camp were sobbing softly, while the boys had red eyes and were biting their palms, silently shedding tears.

"Ruthia—"

"Hahaha!"

The four Fas soldiers laughed so hard they were doubled over. Although Brandon struggled desperately, the others who were tied together by ropes did not move. Even though his hands and feet were bleeding from the ropes, he could only struggle in place and watch helplessly as his girlfriend was dragged away.

cut!

Zhang Fan smiled.

What a coward! He can't even protect his own girlfriend.

And didn't the other guys ever think about the possibility that their girlfriends might be next? And did the girls ever think about the possibility that they might be next?

If you don't resist now, will you expect others to resist when it's your turn?

A bunch of spineless cowards!

The more I think about it, the angrier I get!

Zhang Fan simply pulled the helmet down completely and lay down on his face, out of sight, out of mind!

This has nothing to do with me!

"Oh no—"

A girl's piercing scream echoed from deep within the woods.

The girls in the prisoner-of-war camp cried even harder.

The boy named Brandon's voice was already hoarse.

"Hahaha!"

The Phasian soldiers were still laughing wildly.

"Hoo-ho-ho!"

Damn, that laughter is awful!

They're disturbing my sleep!

Pooh!

Zhang Fan spat out the grass root he was holding in his mouth, drew the dagger from his waist, and disappeared into the darkness of the woods...