In the muddy trenches of Dukar, Su Yue and Gregory were forced to drink yellow muddy water.
Gregory said, "Sir, the position is just ahead."
"...How do I get back?"
A fierce battle is breaking out, and trouble and danger are constantly approaching. What frightens the three even more is that the enemy is constantly breaking through the enemy's lines in Dukar, the city in the clouds.
"...I don't know, it seems we're in trouble now."
The moon had turned from black to blood red, but this wasn't because the moon had turned red; rather, it was because Su Yue's pupils had become bloodshot.
Gregory's condition also deteriorated, and Abraham developed a high fever due to a festering wound on his abdomen.
The three of them dragged their weary bodies—no one knew how they got back here.
Everyone thought they were dead.
And they didn't take it seriously, thinking that it's normal and reasonable for someone to die on the battlefield.
Helmets, guns, and boneless people, their bodies blown to pieces and lying to one side like plants planted in the ground, dealt a tremendous blow to the human spirit.
A sergeant major looked at them and said, "Your unit designation has been wiped out."
"..."
Su Yue remained silent.
"Next, you will be assigned to new units and brigades." Su Yue looked at the officer in front of him and noticed that his arm was also in a sling and his face was pale, obviously he had also suffered a minor injury.
"Where are the reserve forces? Where are our support troops?"
Logically speaking, with so many people dying on the front lines, and even a large-scale rout, leaving behind so many corpses, the reserve troops should have been sent to replenish the ranks... But Su Yue couldn't figure out what had happened here; the reserve troops had disappeared.
The number has been revoked.
Ordinary soldiers became sergeants, sergeants became captains, and captains became commanders who directed operations. General Lillard disappeared without a trace. In the shell craters and in the mud churned by artillery shells, the number of living people dwindled, and corpses filled the air.
How many people are left in our company?
"Sir, there are only six of you left."
Silence, a deathly silence.
As evening approached and the sun began to set, Su Yue finally spotted a number of field motorcycle mechanized brigades transporting large quantities of supplies from the rear.
Outside the kitchen, Abraham asked in bewilderment, "Why are you here?"
Su Yue said, "Abraham, I should be the one asking you why you are here?"
"..."
An endless silence.
His injuries, Su Yue's mental state, and Gregory's lethargy and exhaustion all made them want to collapse into bed and sleep. However, when they woke up, they were greeted by soreness and pain in their bodies. It seemed that sleep could not restore their energy at all, and instead made them even more tired and uneasy.
The reserve troops finally arrived, and conflicts and contradictions broke out on the front line again. It was easy to get a full meal: just open a can, heat it up in the microwave in the camp, and you could have a hot meal.
The postman came and went, and Su Yue looked at the letters his children and wife had sent him, tears streaming down his face.
Abraham, on the other hand, was interested in academic writing.
Gregory was also concerned about how his family was doing.
Su Yue vaguely sensed that Gregory's face was somewhat dark, and wondered how he was doing.
If Gregory's account is true, and the war is to continue for another two to three years, Su Yue is not sure if he can hold out here any longer.
In fact, he felt that he was on the verge of a mental and physical breakdown.
"I can't get used to it, my body can't take it anymore..."
Su Yue never imagined that a person, an ordinary person, could become so tormented and shrouded in darkness by spending so much time on the battlefield.
Yes, he felt a wave of despair and darkness.
An endless darkness enveloped him, like ravens covering the mountains and valleys with the sun and moonlight; his soul was covered by a black, charred coal.
Suppression,
fear,
despair,
But a completely opposite emotion arose within him: a longing to go home. He wanted to go home, back to Dukarne, the city in the clouds behind the front lines. Homesickness and longing are often one of the key factors that lead to mutinies among soldiers.
Su Yue used to not understand why veterans on the battlefield would mutini.
Now he understands.
It's not just saying I understand; I truly understand it, and I comprehend it thoroughly...
"Dad...Dad, when are you coming back?"
The child's voice echoed in my ears.
Su Yue wanted to forget that voice, but a stunningly beautiful and elegant woman leaned against the side of the corridor, seemingly waiting expectantly for him.
In January, cannons danced on a heart as transparent as glass.
In February, Su Yue and Dukar were fiercely fighting for control of the territory.
He went from being an ordinary combat engineer to a frontline sniper.
In March, pale yellow flowers bloomed amidst the corpses and compost. The plague began to break out, and many people died from the virus and its spread. Su Yue's emotions were numb, like a dried-up river, devoid of any intention to express his inner thoughts or actions.
In mid-March, Su Yue, carrying her belongings, leaned against the edge of her bed and began to sleep. No one knew how much longer they would be able to evacuate.
Military officers would tally military achievements and convert them into rewards. Su Yue had a problem with killing, but he didn't know how many he had killed—he preferred not to know.
Smoking, drinking, and strong rum being poured down the throat from the steel jug—discipline is completely lost. An old rogue doesn't care whether the liquor is for disinfection or enjoyment. And the military police, who often understand their plight, frequently turn a blind eye, or even aid and abet it, staying behind for a couple of drinks.
Abraham was still busy in the field hospital, Gregory kept sending letters to his family, Su Yue's dysentery kept getting better and then recurring, and the beautiful Duval prostitutes always welcomed Li Ye to join them.
Helmets and medals bearing the numbers of enemy troops became increasingly common.
Su Yue rose from a regular third-class soldier to a corporal, and then from a fresh-faced ordinary person to a veteran. He could hear the sounds around him and judge the distance and depth of artillery fire.
When the enemy attacks the trenches, locate their weak points.
He could even keep his shirt clean amidst flying dirt, thus judging the intensity of a battle in progress.
numbness……
The battlefield may initially instill fear in others, but as time passes, as three to five months go by, and as an ordinary person is promoted to veteran, everything about war begins to become numb.
They became callous and indifferent to killing.
The act of loading the gun became mechanical, seemingly requiring no instruction or thought from others. Life hidden in trenches and fortifications seemed to have become more pleasant. The trenches that once needed to be dug by oneself could now be completed by a large number of conscripts acting as trench fillers, simply by speaking.
Su Yue always had the feeling of looking at his past self, and also felt as if his future self was commanding his past self. Those new recruits got trench leg, and their feet ulcerated in the mud.
Some people couldn't stand the toxic fumes and miasma pollution in the area, coughing all night long, and some even coughed up blood.
A scene of a poison gas bomb being detonated.
Lacking gas masks, they were forced to use cloth and willow branches to wrap around their necks as makeshift shelters. All the surrounding residents evacuated, and those who remained became reserve soldiers. They vowed to defend their homeland to the death, but often met a tragic end.
When Su Yue was bored, he would even study how many stars were in the night sky.
The quality of my sleep is getting better and better.
The amount of money he sent home increased, and because of Su Yue's excellent officer awareness, he often captured a lot of spoils of war. When he once again led his new recruits to attack the enemy's Duval base with the cooperation of Gregory, Henry and others, more than 150 prisoners of war were taken along the trenches to the POW camp in the rear. They were extorted by Gregory and Su Yue.
They fought each other over a piece of black bread.
Gregory picked up a louse from his arm and crushed it in his hand.
"You have 14 days of leave, you can go back now."
"This is your leave certificate. If you encounter a high-ranking military officer, do not offend him, otherwise he has the right to terminate your leave early."
"yes."
The recorder's words filled Su Yue with ecstasy, and Henry, standing beside him, was equally overjoyed, laughing, "Finally, we can leave this damned place!"
Abraham drank his heated canned soup without saying a word.
Gregory, who was standing next to him, was the quiet type. Su Yue asked, "Aren't you two happy?"
Gregory looked at the burning campfire and said, "What can we do back there?"
Abraham said, “I need to go to the Imperial Hospital to see if the mailed human specimens are still there.”
"Henry, what about you?"
Henry said, “My family is too large. Going back would likely mean being coerced, manipulated, and scheming again. My aunt last claimed in a letter that she wanted to sleep with me. That promiscuous woman is just trying to complete a promotion ritual within our family. I can’t see any other reason for her to stay. Ambition, greed, and the desire for advancement are the only games these damned politicians and officials play; they send thousands of soldiers to the front lines to die, completely disregarding our lives.”
"Perhaps in their eyes, the territory of an enemy country is far more important than the lives of ordinary people in our country... even if Dukar opposes war."
Is Europa still around?
"...They're gone, aren't they?"
"It's been too long."
Su Yue asked, "Have you all lived for over seven hundred years?"
Gregory said, "No, I don't know how long I've lived either. A muddled, confused life has swallowed us up."
"..."
"The train has arrived, gentlemen."
Let's go.
Su Yue looked at Abraham, who was not speaking, wondering what he was thinking.
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