freenovelworld Chapter 919 What is a Soldier?
Chapter 919 What is a Soldier?
After the miners were rescued, Saffir nodded slightly upon hearing the news: "Furina is actually quite reliable."
"I think Fukaros is the more reliable one," Pal said, and everyone in the command room burst out laughing.
But they quickly stopped laughing; after all, now was not the time for jokes.
The captain reported that the landslide in the wild was caused by the intense activity of monsters. He had dealt with it and was now on his way to attack the high ground.
The number of monsters in Nata has now exceeded five thousand, while the number of casualties is only thirty-two, which is still within Sapphire's tolerance range.
Meanwhile, Ying has also arrived at the support point.
Here, Ying met the captain's subordinates: Stadukhin and his squad.
They were struggling to hold on against the monsters' siege, with a dilapidated camp behind them, clearly a camp built by the Fatui in the wilderness.
However, the camp was already in ruins due to the monsters' attack.
In the camp, several Nata civilians trembled with fear; these few Fool soldiers were their only hope for survival.
At that moment, Ying had completely forgotten about the supplies. She grabbed Paimon and rushed over, shouting, "Quick, save them!"
Ying charged towards the monsters, wielding the Ice Demon Sword, transformed from the Sky Blade.
Upon seeing Ying's arrival, Stadushin immediately began to boost morale: "Brothers! Reinforcements have arrived! Keep pushing! We'll take down these damned monsters soon!"
"Roger that!"
"Come on!"
This battlefield was far more challenging than any of the previous areas, to the point that even the captain's men were unable to break through successfully.
Ying concentrated all his energy, and the Kairadin in his hand swelled with the force of the storm. "Thunder—A Thousand Armies Shattered!!!"
The girl's cry echoed across the plains, followed by an even grander explosion and roar.
Swarms of abyssal monsters were reduced to dust amidst the elemental turbulence that exploded on the ground, and the entire battlefield blossomed with flowers of death.
Ying felt all the power drain from her body as she unleashed the strike, but she gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and withdrew her sword a second before the aftereffects of Thunderous Thousand Army Break ended. Then, her body shot out like an arrow.
In a flash, she appeared before a dragon-like creature formed from abyssal energy. She swiftly wielded her sword, unleashing a dazzling display of swordsmanship: "Evil is slain!"
She chopped the relic dragon beast into dust, and this move also drained the last bit of strength from her body.
The battlefield was cleared.
Having provided support to three battlefields in succession, each one a real and desperate battle, even Ying felt somewhat exhausted.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, leaving a dark mark. She leaned on her knees and breathed heavily, but the deep exhaustion in her bones could not be dispelled.
Several hours have passed since the Abyss invasion began, and most people are finding it difficult to maintain their dignity due to the prolonged battle.
A few years ago, Ying would never have believed she could do this, but now she has.
Her hand, still trembling slightly, was sheathing her sword when she saw the Fools and the caravan running towards her ahead of her.
Seeing that Ying was about to collapse, Stadushin quickly stepped forward and supported her, asking, "Are you alright?"
Ying shook her head and swallowed hard. "I'm fine. No problem."
"Don't be too reckless. The captain and Lord Dark Priest wouldn't want to see you in danger." Stadushin's feelings were very complicated. In fact, as the captain's subordinate, he had felt genuinely proud.
Because his superior is the captain of the First Seat of the Fools' Enforcers, and also the most powerful of all the Enforcers.
The most powerful commanders naturally have the most capable subordinates; this is a universally acknowledged rule. Therefore, Stadukhin felt that he was among the best of the entire Fools' army.
This applies to both combat effectiveness and fighting spirit, and it should be the case.
The travelers, including Ying, had naturally heard about it. They heard that Safiel took great care of the little girl, practically raising her like a daughter. Scaramucci, a skirmisher who had already left the Fools, even complained about it.
Stadushin also held Ying in low regard. He felt that someone as pampered as Ying could never compare to them, and even if she had some strength, there would be a significant difference in their fighting spirit.
Today, he saw that the gap was indeed huge, but it was the gap between them and Ying.
Needless to say, their strength is overwhelming. Ying single-handedly wiped out almost all the abyssal monsters on the battlefield, which is incomparable. Ying's fighting spirit is also stronger.
After she unleashed that insanely explosive sword technique, Stadushin realized that Ying was exhausted. Even in that state, Ying was still able to grit her teeth and use a move that was no less powerful than Thunderous Thousand Army Break.
She even overexerted herself physically for this, which is something that can't be accomplished by willpower and perseverance alone; it's no exaggeration to say that she was burning her life out.
All of Stadukhin's prejudices against fire vanished completely at that moment.
He looked intently at the girl before him and said solemnly, "You are an extremely powerful warrior, worthy of Lord Dark Priest's special regard. You also deserve the captain's expectations."
“Now, let’s talk about this…” Ying forced a smile, “Whose orders are you to be here? Saffir or the captain?”
Stadushin immediately replied, "It was the Captain's order. In fact, before we joined forces with Nata, the Captain had already ordered us to be dispersed throughout Nata to defend against the Abyss and aid the civilians."
This was suggested by Lady Dark Priest; she said it would reduce losses caused by unforeseen circumstances.
At this moment, the civilians protected by the Fools also spoke up: "If it weren't for them, we would have been finished long ago."
The speaker was named Kamaga, and his body was still trembling; the terrifying situation he had just experienced had truly frightened him.
Ying nodded, then looked at the Fools' soldiers: "You've worked hard. Hurry up and escort them away from here. The wilderness will become increasingly dangerous."
The rock guerrilla soldier named Gusennikov asked, "And what about you? Aren't you going back to rest?"
Ying shook her head: "There's another place that needs support, I can't rest yet." She forced herself to stand up straight and asked Kamaga and the others, "Where was your original plan to go?"
Kamaga sighed, "The original plan was to return to the Flowing Springs, but now, I don't know if it's still safe there."
Upon hearing this, Ying immediately said, "Then there's no need to look. The Flowing Springs are not safe. Let's go to the Holy Fire Arena. All the fighting power will gather in that direction. You could say that the Holy Fire Arena is currently the safest place in Nata."
Stadushin nodded in agreement: "That's what we've heard too. Here's what we'll do: once we've dealt with the monsters around here, we can arrange for someone to send you over."
"Thank you so much!" Kamaga was so moved he almost cried.
Ying watched this scene with great satisfaction. It was wonderful to see everyone working together.
She suddenly remembered the conversation between the two of them at the Goethe Hotel when she first met Saffir.
"What do you think? Who is right and who is wrong? And what made them give such completely different answers?"
Because of her stance, Jean views the Fools from her own perspective, making her an opponent of them. At that time, Ying also didn't really trust the Fools or Saphir.
Now things are completely different, because her relationship with the Fools has improved as she has met one Enforcer after another.
First, there's Saphir, who claims to have no ill intentions; then there's the young master, whose mind is full of fighting but who's actually quite funny; then there's the cold-faced but warm-hearted lady; the elusive yet enthusiastic servant; the eccentric but very easy-to-understand puppet; and finally, the upright and meticulous captain.
She met many executives, and they were all very, very good people.
But why is the reputation of the Fools still so bad?
Ying thought about this question and finally came to the conclusion that it was because the Fools had given themselves the little kindness they had.
She was an outsider and did not have an inherent position, so she was someone who could be won over. Saphir knew her potential and value, and set the tone for the Fools' contact with her from the very beginning.
The Fools may be enemies of many, but she has already been excluded from the ranks of enemies without even realizing it.
Seeing Ying lost in thought, Stadushin reminded her, "Why don't you come with us? You're exhausted and need to rest."
"But support..." Ying wanted to say that there were still many things waiting for her to do.
But Stadushin interrupted him: "The current commander-in-chief is Lady Dark Priest. Do you think she would ask you to fight despite your own physical condition?"
Although I don't know her well, I know she cares about you, so please don't do anything that would make her...worry.
Ying hesitated upon hearing this. What he said made a lot of sense. If she got injured, Saffir would worry.
Seeing that his words had an effect, Stadushin continued, "Going to the arena isn't something we can't help with. People from all over are gathering at the arena, so the defense there is especially important, and the difficulty of defense will keep increasing, so we can't afford any mistakes."
"You are very capable; you can provide a great boost to the garrison upon your return."
After careful consideration, Ying agreed to Stadushin's suggestion. Indeed, she was already at her limit, and running around would be dangerous, which would be irresponsible to herself and Nata.
Don't be stubborn, that's exactly what's going on in this situation.
"It seems that Captain had foreseen this situation, which is why he was in such a hurry..." Stadushin sighed.
The captain was proud; if he hadn't been forced to, he probably wouldn't have proactively contacted Saffir to request her support.
Even so, he only contacted Saffir. Does this mean that in the captain's mind, Saffir is the only strong person who can be compared to him?
Stadukhin didn't know, nor did he want to know. All he wanted to do was obey orders and arrangements and complete every task assigned to him.
While the rest of the Fools' soldiers were clearing out the remaining stragglers, a woman named Oshina found Ying.
She led Ying to a pile of goods and said, "Although I also want to seek refuge, this batch of potions is something the Flowing Springs people are desperately short of. If we don't send it over..."
"Let the Fools send you on your way?" Ying felt this was the only solution.
Osina was taken aback by his words and subconsciously denied it, saying, "That's unlikely."
Stadushin then came over and said, "I can take you to a relatively nearby place, which is also on the way."
"You're not planning to go back to the Holy Fire Arena?" Ying understood the implication in Stadushin's words.
Stadushin shook his head slightly: "Neither the captain nor the Dark Priest has given the order to retreat, so we cannot retreat yet."
"How could this be..." Paimon thought it was too cruel.
Ying frowned, and subconsciously took out the Cave Heaven Pass to contact Saffir, but was stopped by Stadushin: "Please do not doubt Lord Dark Priest's arrangements, she has her reasons for doing so."
“But you will die…” Ying wanted to argue.
Stadushin was not agitated, but said in a calm tone: "In the face of natural disasters, everyone's strength seems so insignificant. Isn't our main task in the wild to protect those who need protection?"
Miss Osina, a commoner, can venture into the depths of the Stream without regard for danger. How can we, as soldiers, be afraid of death?
From the very first day I joined the Fatui, death ceased to be something I feared.
After he finished speaking, he looked at Osina and said, "We will escort you to the Streamers, please rest assured."
Oshina's eyes lit up, but she was also a little nervous. After considering her words for a moment, she said, "Then... I'll leave your safety on the road to you?"
"Don't rely too much on others, and you all need to take care of yourselves." Stadukhin didn't want the other party to depend on him completely; the will to survive is still very important when real danger arises.
Give Osina a sense of urgency; this will help her get tense when she's in real danger, which will increase her chances of survival.
Before long, the scattered monsters were dealt with, and Ying, along with a group of Fatui soldiers and Nata's caravan, began their journey towards the Holy Fire Arena.
Her support mission is now complete, and she will now be involved in the defense of the Olympic Arena.
Of course, she didn't forget to report the intelligence to Saffir, and also inquired whether she had forgotten to order the Fools' soldiers to retreat.
Saffir's answer was: "They cannot retreat until it is confirmed that there is no one left in the wild. This is the result of a discussion between the captain and me."
"Wouldn't that be too cruel?" Ying asked, somewhat puzzled.
There was silence on Saffir's end; for several seconds, Yingdu could only hear Saffir's breathing.
Just when Ying thought that Saffir wasn't going to answer the question, Saffir spoke up.
It wasn't an answer, but a question:
"Ying, do you know what a 'soldier' is?"