Chapter 386 John and Clark
“Private John, what are you doing?”
A slightly tired and hoarse voice sounded on the communication channel, and John who was called subconsciously straightened up. , looking behind him.
When he saw that it was his squad leader, he immediately raised his hands and saluted:
"Sergeant! I am cleaning the battlefield according to the order."
"Take a break."
John's squad leader glanced at him, and he could even feel the opponent's eyes hidden behind the tactical visor scanning him up and down, and finally stayed on his left hand for a moment.
However, the squad leader said nothing in the end, and turned and left after confirming that there was nothing abnormal.
"There may be hidden enemies in this area. Don't take it lightly. After cleaning this room, go downstairs and return to the team immediately. We will follow the large army to attack the core area of the city."
" Yes, Sergeant, I'll be right down!"
Seeing the sergeant disappearing at the top of the stairs, this 'country boy' from the empire's border planet quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
In this period, "countryside" does not only refer to rural areas, but in certain contexts also refers to remote colonies that are not in the core galaxy circle.
John believes that it may be because of his identity that his squad leader, Sergeant Banner, often stares at him. Perhaps he is afraid that he, a 'country boy', will cause trouble for the team.
After all, their current location is still the center of the battlefield where the enemy and we are fighting, and they may encounter the federal army entrenched here at any time.
As a mobile infantry under a new medium-sized combined brigade of the Imperial Army, not long after John joined the Royal Army due to the general mobilization order, he followed the army to the planet that the Empire had just recovered during the great counterattack.
According to his comrades, this is an important industrial planet, much higher than the remote agricultural colonial planet where John grew up.
It is for this reason that the Federation deployed a large number of troops after taking over the planet. Not only did it send a large number of ground troops, it also arranged three main fleets in the orbit of the planet for defense.
Before the empire launched its counterattack, this was actually one of the most intense points on the battle line. Fleets from both sides were grinding meat in orbit near the planet almost every day.
This is used to cover the orbital assault ships and close-air assault ships to provide fire support to the ground, or to release ground combat troops.
However, after the empire launched a large-scale counterattack, the federal navy began to retreat without warning, and even only had time to take away some of the ground troops.
John's mission after following the troops to the ground was to clear the remaining federal soldiers on the ground with superior force.
At this time, he and his medium-sized combined brigade were cooperating with other troops to attack a large industrial city. According to the few words revealed by his superiors and the enemies and friendly forces John and the others had encountered these days, this large industrial city There may be more than 10 brigades from both sides gathered in the city
And John is lucky to have survived until now in this fierce urban battle.
And in this process, I developed a habit - that is, every time after defeating the enemy, if there is a chance, I would take a closer look to see what kind of federation I killed. people.
The reason why Sergeant Banner's eyes stopped on his left hand just now is also very simple. In his hand was a photo that had just been taken out from the corpse of a federal soldier behind him.
At this moment, after the always serious Sergeant Banner went down the corridor full of bullet holes and charred black, John also picked up the photo in his hand that he had just found from the Union soldier.
This is a photo that has been partially stained with blood. It is also a relatively rare physical photo paper in the empire.
In John’s impression, the price of this kind of photo paper is not cheap, so most families will choose the digital version after taking photos. Even if they want to display them, they will use cheaper digital photo frames or Small holographic projection device.
John, who is just a 'country boy', has no idea why such a thin piece of photo paper is so expensive. At least it is not as cost-effective as those with more colorful colors and can be stored once. Digital photo frames for tons of photos.
But he knew that this photo should be very important to this federal soldier, otherwise he would not carry it with him.
This is a photo of a little boy and a woman. The little boy is not very old and looks sunny and cute. The woman's appearance is stained with blood, but she can tell that she is the little boy's mother.
Although the federal soldier who fell to the ground at this time, his tactical mask had been smashed to pieces by the piercing rod of the electromagnetic rifle in the indoor firefight, so his face could not be distinguished at all.
However, John guessed that the people in the photo should be the wife and children of the federal soldier.
He turned over the photo and looked at the back, only to see a line of words written in rough and somewhat blurry handwriting - 'Martha, little Dior, my true love' "So why did you come here? It's also because of General Mobilization Order?”
John shook his head and sighed.
Whenever he defeats an enemy and observes them up close while cleaning the battlefield, he realizes more deeply that the enemies he is fighting are also real people.
They have families, friends, and lives of their own, but for various reasons they came here either actively or by force, and ultimately left their lives on this planet.
During this process, John did not show mercy to the enemy. He knew that the enemy was the enemy. He would only show mercy to the enemy on the battlefield unless he did not want to live anymore.
But he kept thinking, what is the meaning of this war?
Why did they suddenly start a war with the Federation?
Why is it that the federation is knocking on your door just as you are trying to hit me?
Why was he farming well in his hometown, but suddenly he was dragged to fight on this planet that he had never heard of?
Of course, such a question cannot be thought out in a short while, it is just planted in my heart like a seed.
John knelt down again and stuffed the photo back into the federal soldier's pocket, while wiping the blood from the 'dog tag' on his neck with his hand.
"Clark?"
John muttered the name, then put down the 'dog tag' and pulled out the few remaining plasma grenades and several high-energy batteries on Clark's combat exoskeleton. Come down - it's the only thing on this body that's useful.
The rod model of the federal electromagnetic rifle is still different from that of the empire, so it cannot be used directly.
As for the tactical bag containing food and medical supplies, it had been torn to pieces in the previous firefight, and nothing useful could be found.
"Have a good rest, it will have nothing to do with you after this war"
After picking up the available items, John walked to the door, took one last look at the Union soldier who seemed to him a little pitiful, and then walked downstairs.
Compared to the second floor, which is still intact, the situation on the first floor of this building is much more miserable. Half of the wall where the door is located has been blown down. John can even see the people passing by outside. of a Pacifier heavy multi-legged tank, and infantry nearby.
"Come down, John~ Did you find anything good?"
The comrades resting on the first floor took the initiative to say hello after seeing John. They were not good at words but serious on the battlefield. Serious and meticulous comrades, they still trust them very much.
"Just a few plasma grenades and high-energy batteries, take them, I still have enough."
"What happened to the heavy baggage troops that they were ambushed by the federal army."
"Who knows, but why don't the higher-ups think of other ways to supply supplies? Even if they drop some emergency airdrops?"< br>
“I heard that above our heads, there is now a joint fleet of nobles. Maybe these nobles are reluctant to part with it. After all, whether it is orbital attacks or airdrops of supplies, all they spend is their money.”
"TMD, these stupid nobles, we are working hard on the ground, while they are in the sky feeling sorry for their Imperial Golden Dragon"
The comrades chatted word by word, and it was not difficult to hear a hint of complaint in their words. Meaning, John said a few words casually, handed the plasma grenade he just picked up to his comrades, and then walked outside the building.
At this time, the large forces that followed took over the tasks of these "forward attack battalions" and began to advance towards the federal defense line in the center of the city.
Looking at this scene, John always felt that the war in front of him seemed to be endless.
He couldn't help but think of his good friend Will. When they were gathering at the military station in his hometown, this guy said he would carry a sack of military medals back.
“I don’t know what happened to this guy. I hope that when we meet after the war, he won’t be missing any arms or legs.”
(End of this chapter)