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Page 29
"Besides resupplying people, is all they do is send some people? Did they tell us who these people are?"
"Ah, they say they're staff from some research institution called Eternal Protocol, and they're carrying a whole bunch of strange equipment. Anyway, it seems like they won't be of any help in the battle. Oh, by the way, His Highness the Prince personally gave us orders to ensure the safety of these people and that the items they brought are not destroyed by the enemy."
"Alright then, I'll have Colonel Kari come to the command center to take charge right away."
……
The radio call was cut off, and Caronville and Carrie recounted the message they had just received on the radio.
"That's all?" Kari listened to the lieutenant colonel's explanation.
“Hmm.” Caronville nodded to him, then turned his gaze to Lefel. “The colonel and I have some business to attend to. You two, I don’t need to tell you where to go, do I?”
"Okay, okay." Lefel waved his hand and watched the two leave.
“Now!” Suddenly, the major opened his arms and placed his hands on Harlan and Wilson’s shoulders from behind.
"Come on, you two!" she smiled maliciously. "Isn't it time to head over to your beds for a date?"
“Hey! I can walk by myself, I don’t need to push you!” Wilson seemed a little lost, and Leiffel took the opportunity to raise the hand that was on Wilson’s shoulder and rub Wilson’s earlobe back and forth with his thumb and forefinger.
"No...don't do this!" His face turned even redder.
"What do you mean, huh?" Lefel didn't stop, her playful words still lingering on her lips. "If I don't keep pushing you like this, I'm afraid you won't want to sleep even after the moon has disappeared from the night sky!"
"No! I said..."
"Shh, learn to be quiet at night!" Lefel raised his index finger and put it to Wilson's lips. "Even enemies will be punished for disturbing everyone's sleep!"
"Hey, Harlan, bend over a bit, it's hard for me to pinch your cheek like that..."
"No, the lieutenant colonel said that even wounded soldiers must maintain a soldier's posture!"
"With the lieutenant colonel gone, I'm your superior! Do you hear me?!"
"Ouch! Stop tickling my neck!"
……
Under the night sky, the German Reichstag building was also painted with an ink-black hue, its silent and mottled walls appearing so unsettling.
Caronville walked toward a room with its door tightly shut. Several fully armed Britannian soldiers stood at the door, guns at the ready, watching him approach.
"Lieutenant Colonel?"
"Is everything okay?"
"everything is normal."
"Alright, you can leave now." With that, the lieutenant colonel drew his pistol from his waist and cocked it.
In that dimly lit room, several American soldiers in grey-green uniforms were dozing. They should have had a submachine gun or rifle in their hands and a helmet on their heads. Now, none of that was there; aside from their uniforms, no one would guess that they were actually soldiers.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a figure that had been seen before at the interrogation table appeared there.
The person closest to the door turned their head, following everyone's gaze, then placed their hands on their knees, stood up calmly, and silently greeted the guest who had knocked on the door.
……
“Excuse me, did I disturb your discussion, Captain Etani Davis?” Caronville’s tone was calm.
"Ah, it's nothing." The captain calmly extended his index finger, scratched his face, and then pointed to the few pieces of bread on the ground—which had already been mixed with the rubble and wood chips.
"The bread you had sent over earlier wasn't very fresh, so we were planning to grind it up and give it to the mice."
"Oh, okay." The lieutenant colonel smiled calmly, after all, such a reaction was expected for a soldier with backbone.
"Is there anything else, sir?" The captain seemed unimpressed by the words. "You're not a junior officer, and you're not busy with military affairs, so why are you visiting a group of prisoners of war? Surely not just to offer your concern?"
"Tch, that's pretty clever..." The lieutenant colonel glanced at him silently, while the soldiers behind the captain glared at him angrily.
“Ha, of course not.” He held out a hand, gesturing for the captain to sit down. “I’m just here to do some business with you.”
……
“One, two, three, four…” Caronville scanned the room with his eyes. “There are four people sitting here, but Captain, you know, there should be a fifth person.”
"What do you mean by this?" The captain's face remained unchanged, but the younger man behind him got anxious first and stood up.
"What have you done to Clark! You're trying to threaten us, aren't you?!"
“Shut up, Taylor!” Davis raised his hand, gesturing for the younger man to sit down.
"what do you want?"
“Oh, thank you for telling me his name.” Caronville paused. “Well, I think you already knew. Clark’s left leg was pierced by a steel bar. It wasn’t life-threatening, but it couldn’t be saved. But don’t worry, if nothing goes wrong tomorrow, you’ll see us supporting him alive and well as he comes to see you.”
“Oh really?” Davis raised an eyebrow. “Clark is a strong-willed kid. I think the more likely thing to do next is for him to take his own life when you’re not looking.”
"No, no, Captain, it would be a gross underestimation of me to say that I'm only using him as a pretext. To be honest, I also want to live a few more days, so how about this..."
……
"If my camp is captured tomorrow and I am beheaded, then you and the Russians can do whatever you want. But if that doesn't happen, your fate will either be to be dragged to a concentration camp by my generals, drained dry, or have everything you know dug out of your heads using inhumane methods. In any case, the final outcome will be to be thrown into a pile of corpses."
“However…” Caronville paused.
“I’m in charge of the POW reorganization unit. If my superiors are willing to incorporate you into the Foreign Legion, you will likely be under my command. If you are willing to follow my orders and become my subordinates, I will do my best to ensure your safety. In particular, I will give that young man named Clark a second chance.”
“But if you try to escape,” Caronville pulled out his pistol, “don’t blame me for breaking our agreement.”
……
The captain remained silent, but the soldier named Taylor became increasingly enraged.
"Stop pretending to be merciful with me! If you're going to die, just give me a quick death!"
"Hmm!" the captain growled, silencing Taylor.
……
……
……
"Sir, please give me one night to think about it. Please come to me tomorrow morning, and I will give you a satisfactory answer."
"Alright, whatever you say..." Caronville patted his pants, stood up, and was about to leave.
"Please decide quickly, sir, we may all only live a few days..."
……
"So, boss! What are your plans?" the soldier named Taylor asked loudly.
"Keep your voice down!" Davis waved his hand, calling everyone together.
"Well, shall we go sightseeing somewhere else?" another soldier joked.
"Who knows!" Taylor shouted, though he kept his voice down. "Anyway, if it weren't for this damn door, I'd fucking charge out and fight these guys to the death!"
*Slap!* The captain slapped Taylor on the back of the head.
"Shut up, you idiot! What else can you do besides resort to violence?!"
"Why bother with violence! I'm here to fight!"
"You only bring a gun to war and then leave your brain in the latrine?! You haven't stopped causing trouble since you were caught!"
"Hey, why should I be quiet? Believe me, if I find the right opportunity, I'll slap them so hard their own mothers won't recognize them!"
"Then let me ask you first, who have you ever beaten in a fight? Can you beat Campbell? How many times has he taken you down?"
“Joe…Jonathan Campbell? That guy’s a sergeant, I beat him up and I’m going to eat him…”
"But I can tell you never held back! People don't just punch someone without saying a word, but what about you?"
"No, boss, why are you always defending him? All he got was a Distinguished Service Cross."
"Um..." The soldier who had been joking earlier finally managed to interject, "Couldn't you settle your score later? Otherwise, aren't the two of us a bit redundant?"
"Ah, sorry, Private Philip." The captain raised his hand apologetically. "Um, if I remember correctly, you said you were from the 18th Infantry Regiment, right?"
"Ah."
“Alright, hello ‘Vanguard’, this is the brothers from ‘Blue Spade’.” The two shook hands.
"Now, let's get serious, Captain. What are your plans?"
"Um, let me ask you a question first. Do you know who these guys who locked us up here and speak fluent English are?"
“I don’t know,” Philip shook his head, “but I don’t think they are Soviets.”
"Tch! So what if they're Russians?" Taylor muttered loudly. "Do you think they'd dare play those German tricks?"
“That’s not the point.” The captain shook his head and continued. “So, it took us four years to get Germany to surrender. Now, do you want to go home alive, or be carried off to some cemetery with your heads severed?”
"I still want to live a good life..."
"Now that there's fighting in Berlin, if we help those generals figure out exactly who's causing the trouble, wouldn't many of our brothers be spared from dying so unjustly, and wouldn't we be able to live a more comfortable life sooner?"
"Uh-huh……"
"So listen to me, this is what I'm planning to do. If no one can come to our rescue, I'll agree to that pretty boy's terms. Whatever they want, we'll just take it one step at a time, and at least we can save that Clark kid."
"The reason I didn't agree to him earlier was because I wanted to discuss it with you. If you all have no objections, then I'll do it this way."
"Pfft, I don't want to be a slave..." Taylor said somewhat reluctantly.
"Do you want to become a corpse?" The captain slapped him on the head again.
"Yes, I knew it! Okay, okay! I'll listen to you, sir!"
And you, Philip?
"I don't care, as long as I'm alive, that's enough. If God really wants to take me to heaven, I have nothing to complain about."
"Hey...hey you over there! Say something!"
At this moment, the three noticed that there was another American soldier in the room, wearing the same green military uniform, but sitting in the corner with a dejected look on his face, like a homeless person on the street at night.
"Hmm?..." His tone sounded quite weak.
Didn't you hear what we just said?
"I heard everything... Do whatever you want... I... I have nothing to say..." His tone was reminiscent of someone in a hospital bed.
Captain Davis suddenly noticed that the homeless man was clutching his chest.
"What's wrong, soldier? Is your wound infected? Do you need any help?"
"No... I'm not hurt... Don't worry about me, I can do it myself..."
……
Just then, a sudden howling wind accompanied by thunder came from outside!
Section 32, Chapter 20: A Helpless Night
"What the hell is going on outside?!"
……
……
……
"My God... what is this...?"
Outside, on the open ground that the camp had always kept, a huge city gate suddenly appeared—a city gate woven with dazzling golden light!
Immediately afterwards, a cluster of light spots of varying sizes suddenly appeared inside the city gate, like the flashing lights on a warship. Several trucks loaded with goods and twenty or thirty people appeared in an orderly line on the open ground!
“This…” Philip was stunned by what he saw. “Harry, fucking, lua…”
"So, these uninvited guests all came out through this door?" the captain muttered to himself.
"Then how did they manage to leave this door here?" Philip was filled with questions.
"This is what we intend to tell the generals."
"Hey," the captain said, looking at the soldier lying on the ground, his face tense, "you? Are you alright?"
"Huff... huff..." The soldier was still breathing deeply, but the frequency of his breathing could be heard gradually slowing down.