The ground is riddled with holes, with shells everywhere blasting the ground into craters, and the trenches dug by engineers are like deep scars.
"Boom!"
The shells fell next to the crowd, the flying dust was mixed with shrapnel, and several gray-faced bodies fell to the ground.
"Ah, it's a shelling!"
Accompanied by short shouts, all the soldiers instinctively fell down in the trenches in a very short period of time.
Those who have not developed this habit are either recruits who have just been recruited from various places, or they are dead people who have been blown to pieces.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Sure enough, artillery shells fell like raindrops and exploded around them again and again.
Except for one unlucky guy who was hit in the back of the head by a shell, everyone else was almost unscathed.
"Stop!"
"The shelling has stopped!"
"Damn Cassander, they all deserve to go to hell!"
Someone wailed and screamed. He was rolling in the trench while holding his leg that was cut off by the shell.
There are no doctors or disinfection methods here. If you suffer such a serious injury on the frontline battlefield, you will basically be declared dead.
"Poor Busa!"
The veteran sighed in a habitual tone. Although he was called a "veteran", he was only in his twenties - but this did not prevent those older than him from also calling him "veteran".
The reason is simple. He is the one who has survived the longest on this battlefield and has been in this position for more than five months.
During this period, his comrades had changed one batch after another.
Of course, the veteran also had his own name - Ball Stanton, but everyone is still used to calling him the veteran.
"It hurts so much!"
"Damn, this is what it feels like to break a leg. It's fucking worse than going to hell!"
"Veteran"
Busa was still lying on the ground wailing. He looked at Bauer, with a complicated look in his eyes that were blurred by tears in pain.
Ball could see the meaning—it was a plea.
Busa didn't want to live anymore.
Suddenly, the surrounding soldiers fell silent. They focused their hesitant eyes on Bauer, seeming to be waiting for his decision.
"Fuck."
Ball spat.
He loaded the rifle skillfully, stepped forward in a few steps, and pressed the muzzle of the gun to Busa's temple.
"May you live forever in the Kingdom of God in Amaunata."
"Thank you."
"Bang!"
There was a crisp gunshot, and brains and blood flew everywhere.
Busa is a merchant, and his whole family is a devout believer in Amaunata. He rarely even curses. He was dragged to the battlefield by Wareham's recruitment order three months ago.
He spent the last few minutes of his life swearing and swearing all his life, and ended his life with a bullet five seconds ago.
"Bussa is the one who has lived the longest among the second batch of comrades. He did nothing wrong, but he was just unlucky."
Ball thought so.
He turned around, his expression calm, but the hand holding the gun was trembling.
"Let's go. Although they have already carried out a shelling, the battlefield is changing rapidly. Who can guess what will happen?"
"Just like this unlucky guy whose legs were shortened by shrapnel."
The remaining dozen soldiers continued to move forward. The veterans who had experienced life and death did not care, but the few recruits witnessed the death of their comrades who lived together day and night, and were frightened by it.
Life is too cheap on this battlefield.
For some reason, the air around him became stagnant, as if it was soaked in a bowl of thick blood.
Soon, after walking through the very familiar ravine full of corpses, the soldiers finally reached a safe area.
Suddenly, someone asked: "Veteran, do you have any cigarettes?"
"Go away, I found so many bags with great difficulty, and I can't even use them. If you want them, go and feel the pockets of those corpses yourself."
Bauer cursed with an unkind expression.
He waved his hand, took out a crumpled cardboard box from his pocket, and held it in his hand like a treasure.
The soldiers around him suddenly looked over with longing eyes.
"Ouch! Made in Empire!"
"Veteran, you still hide such a good thing!"
The packaging of the carton has a pattern of vertical pupils and flames, and also has the vague words "Made in the Empire" printed on it.
The rifle in Ball's hand also had such a mark on the wooden handle.
The soldiers didn't know where these things came from, and they didn't care what they meant - they just knew that cigarettes with this mark were the strongest and best to smoke.
They knew: If Bauer didn't want to share the cigarette, he would not take out this treasure.
The soldiers swarmed forward, smiling and stretching out their rough palms, sweeping away the tense atmosphere.
"Go and take one each - this is for Busa's sake."
"I haven't received my share yet!"
"Wait, there's me!"
"You fart! What are you holding in your other hand? I just saw you took one!"
When everyone dispersed with faces full of joy, Bauer looked down at the carton with only one cigarette left, his face full of distress.
"These bastards."
He took out the cigarette, protected it from the wind with one hand, and lit it with the other hand, then put it into his mouth.
"Hoo——"
"It is indeed a product made by the empire. It is strong and much better than those products that cut corners."
Bauer leaned against the earth wall, exhaled a puff of smoke, and couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.
The refreshing feeling rushed straight to the top of his head, causing his thoughts to briefly pull away from the battlefield and fly to his distant hometown.
He thought of the former Strong Town, which was just a small town in the eastern part of Thrace, but it was so peaceful and beautiful.
At that time, Bauer was just an ordinary blacksmith apprentice. He made an agreement with Jenny from the flower shop next door—the two would get married when he could manage the blacksmith shop alone.
He thought of Jenny's red face and shy but happy smile that night.
This scene was particularly warm, and in his eyes, it was more beautiful than heaven. He could even smell the fragrance of wild flowers on the other person's body.
But the next moment, the explosion and smoke tore this warm scene into pieces, and Ball couldn't help but scream.
"Ah——"
He continued to think.
The ruthless war broke all this, and soon all the young men in the town were warned by the officers of the Thracian Kingdom, and Bauer was no exception.
"Jenny."
"Is she okay now? I heard from those people that Cassander's cavalry also entered the eastern part of the kingdom"
"Maybe, maybe"
Bauer felt a little worried.
The air was gray with artillery smoke and fog, and he could taste the bitter smoke on his tongue.
Ball didn't like the smell of gunpowder smoke, but he liked smoking - because it was one of the few ways to relieve stress on this battlefield.
Every time he exhaled the smoke, he would feel refreshed, and his tense brain would also get a moment of rest.
"Fuck."
"Damn war."
Bauer took a deep breath and suddenly discovered that the war had penetrated into every aspect of his life and was pervasive.
Even if he escapes reality, he cannot escape the shadow of war.
As the all-out war progressed, armies from both sides appeared on each other's territory, and burning, killing and looting were commonplace - and Ball was just an ordinary soldier on the southern front.
If there was any difference between him and other soldiers, it would be that he lived longer.
He can't change anything.
"Veteran" came the timid voice.
Bauer turned his head, and what he saw was a dirty, immature face.
He was wearing a military uniform that was a few sizes too big for him, with his sleeves rolled up and folded into wrinkles on his wrists.
That was Tommy, a new recruit who was said to be only sixteen years old. Because of his obvious baby face, everyone called him "The Kid."
Ball glanced at him.
"Child, the cigarettes are finished."
Tommy shook his head and looked serious: "No, I didn't come to you for this. I just have a question that I haven't figured out yet, and I want you to answer it."
"Any questions?"
Bauer narrowed his eyes, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said nonchalantly: "I have stayed on this battlefield the longest. If you have any questions, just ask. The more you know, the longer you will live."
< br>
"That unlucky guy Busa knows a lot, but it's a pity that he is so unlucky."
Tommy hesitated for a moment, then looked into Bauer's eyes and asked in a low voice: "Do you know why we want to fight?"
Bauer's eyes widened immediately. He did not expect that the other party would ask such a strange question.
Tommy continued: "My father told me that the Holy Fadland Empire is one. Both Thracians and Cassanders are proud citizens of the empire."
"But now, we are fighting together and killing each other. Why is this?"
"My father said that Otis betrayed the great Sun God and became the apostle of hell. His Majesty Wilhelm is here to stop him."
The surrounding soldiers had gathered around and were quite interested in their conversation. After all, there was no entertainment on the battlefield.
Ball didn't know.
He doesn't care about the cause of the war or its significance. He just wants to live, return to the town, and marry Jenny.
Ball wanted to shake his head and express that he didn't know, but for some reason, he suddenly remembered the "joke" he had heard from an officer before.
So, Bauer said meaningfully: "The old emperor left a chair made of gold. Our Majesty Wilhelm wants to sit on it, and the devil Otis, who does all evil, also wants to sit on it, so..."
At the end, he deliberately lengthened his voice and sounded mysterious.
Tommy was suddenly stunned: "Is this the reason for the war? So many people died and so many people lost their homes, just for a chair?"
"So - none of this has any business with us!"
"This is just a joke! No matter how hard we fight and fight, we are just fighting for a chair for the people above."
Bauer smoked the cigarette until the butt was only the width of his little finger, and sighed with unfulfilled content.
"I"
Realizing that he was being teased, Tommy immediately suppressed his blush, and it took him a long time to utter a word.
"Hahahahaha!"
"It's really a child!"
The soldiers laughed.
"Child, work hard to live. No matter what the sun god in the sky does, I will be satisfied if I can see the sun tomorrow."
Bauer stretched himself, patted the dust on his military uniform, and said this.
He was talking about war, but at this moment, what came to his mind was Jenny's red face - that was the future he longed for.
In the distance, the crisp sound of gunfire and the rumbling of artillery can still be heard.
At this moment, Bauer, Tommy and the many soldiers who were smiling happily did not know that because their unit was on the southern front and close to the Holy City, they were selected as reinforcements by General Misel Benacerraf. .
And they are about to go to the most cruel "meat grinder" - the Holy City battlefield.
I don’t know how many of the lively people who are laughing, cursing, and making jokes will come back alive from there.
……
……
Isdalia, the 13th Factory of Klaubau Military Industrial Group.
The huge machinery buzzed, like a giant beast made of steel, constantly spitting out smoke.
On the assembly line, in front of the huge machine tool, hundreds of workers were completing their work at their respective positions: some were responsible for inspection, some were responsible for classification, and some were responsible for assembly.
They are also like machines, numbly doing extremely simple tasks without stopping for a moment.
"Please pay attention to me!"
“The defective rate of the last batch of goods exceeded 8%!”
"You idiots, can't you do such a simple job? The people above are very unhappy!"
The supervisor's angry voice echoed in the workshop, making all the workers nervous.
"Hold on a little longer."
"We will finish work in half an hour."
Raj Pink thought.
He is the worker responsible for sorting parts, and his job is also very simple, which is to classify different components.
But after six hours of non-stop work, he felt dizzy looking at the parts.
"What are you doing!"
The worker next to him made a mistake and missed a defective part, which was discovered by the sharp-eyed supervisor.
The worker quickly apologized: "Yes, I'm sorry, sir, I was distracted."
"I won't do this next time! If I find this again, half a month's salary will be deducted from you!"
Upon hearing this, Raj quickly cheered up and held up his eyelids.
He works here just to make ends meet.
money.
As the most developed city in Anzeta, Istalia is very expensive.
As for an assembly line worker like him, whose salary is only enough to maintain food and clothing, it would be wishful thinking to buy a residence in this city.
I heard from the overseer that the things they made would become exquisite weapons and be sold to the south, with each piece fetching a high price of one kinner.
That's a kinnar!
You must know that if he works diligently for a month, he can get a salary of one kinaar, which does not include daily expenses.
And there are thousands of firearms that pass through his hands every month - Raj often wonders, where does the money for those firearms go?
He didn't know.
Maybe it all goes into the pockets of those big shots.
The supervisor also explained to them impatiently: without the dragon-blood nobles investing in building factories and providing equipment, they would not even have a chance to work in Isdalia, let alone receive wages.
Raj had a long discussion with his co-workers, and they all thought what the supervisor said made sense.
Raj's idol is also a dragon-blooded nobleman - his name is George.
George's story was published in the "Empire Daily" and was loved by the majority of workers. Raj even spent money to buy that issue of the newspaper, cut it out, and posted it in his dormitory.
Baron George came from a humble background and was once a serf in the North. He also started as a worker at the bottom, worked hard step by step, and finally became a dragon-blood noble.
That is Raj's ideal self, and it is also the self in the eyes of countless workers who come to Isdalia to make a living.
"Speaking of which, I also met Mr. George's former co-worker. He seems to be named Howard, the supervisor of the factory next door."
“I don’t know if I can see Lord George”
Raj thought so.
Suddenly, a sharp shout broke his beautiful vision.
"Raj! You are distracted too!"
"Sure enough, if you think about it every day, you will make mistakes! Look, you put Part No. 2 in the area of Part No. 3!"
"I'm sorry, sir, it's me"
Raj suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He looked panicked and wanted to defend but didn't know where to start.
The supervisor just glanced at him, then turned and left: "Don't explain, this is the second time you have made a mistake this month, so prepare to receive your silver!"
Raj, who stayed where he was, looked livid, lowered his head, and sorted parts silently.
His dream is to buy his own small house in the outer city of Istalia and open a flower shop inside.
But houses in Istalia are not cheap. Even the outermost houses cost thousands of gold.
Raj's salary is one kinnar a month, and half of this month's salary will be deducted.
When will he realize his dream?
——Asking for monthly tickets——(End of chapter)