69novels Page 3
Page 3
“Oh… what about Norma?…”
After Payne asked that question subconsciously, he immediately came to his senses.
Norma is no longer here.
In the previous battle, Norma keenly caught the whistling sound of a shell flying straight towards them and instinctively pushed Payne away, but she herself was seriously injured...
He even traded Norma's depressing jokes for some points.
In that battle, the entire regiment suffered unexpected losses, so those who were rotated out are now sitting on trucks moving forward, preparing to rest and wait for reinforcements.
"Oh... Norma... poor little pony..."
Payne rubbed his face sadly, only then noticing that the shape of the object he was using as a pillow was rather unusual.
It seems to be Lacey...?
At that moment, a wave of guilt washed over him. "Lassie...you don't hate me, do you?"
The voice from above remained gentle: "No, I will never hate Master. There's nothing anyone can do about Norma's situation..."
Hearing this, Payne felt a little better.
He rolled over, now lying face down, ... "Oh, Lacey, you're so good... really..."
"Yes, I will always..."
"...I already said no...just call me by my name."
"For dogs, ...
Payne had no interest in correcting him. "How far are we from our destination?"
"There should be about ten more minutes, let me sleep a little longer."
But Payne was no longer sleepy. Although Lacey's lap pillow was quite comfortable, the metal plate beneath him was really uncomfortable. He had no choice but to sit up and look at the peaceful pastoral scenery outside the carriage. For a moment, he had the illusion that the war had never broken out.
It is now June 18, 1922. This war, which has affected the entire continent, has been going on for two and a half years, and a full year has passed since Payne first went to the battlefield.
As for Payne's time travel, that happened exactly twenty-two years ago.
More than 20 years ago, Payne was just an infant in swaddling clothes when he first came into this world. He had no system missions, no benefactors, and had never even met his "biological parents." He was abandoned at the door of a church in an unnamed town in the Dexter Empire and began a new life as an orphan.
Tanya's style.jpg
Twenty years ago was too long ago, so long ago that Payne even wondered if his life before transmigrating was just a grand dream. He gradually constructed and perfected his so-called previous life on Earth during his twenty years of dreaming in this world.
But first and foremost, the education he received in the world before he transmigrated couldn't possibly be fictional—
In the world before he transmigrated, he was just an ordinary, hapless college student; but in this world where even primary education is not yet widespread, he is a true intellectual.
Because he still retained the knowledge he learned from Earth, he has been called a "genius" ever since he started school, constantly skipping grades and even having many prestigious universities vying to admit him.
Although this didn't save him from being forced to be a line-filling baby...
Secondly, the knowledge he gained about war, especially World War I, in the world before he transmigrated could not have been false—
This planet not only lacks Europe, Germany, and France, but its international situation is also completely different from that of Earth during World War I.
This planet has a supercontinent comparable in size to Eurasia, called the "Main Continent". There are two equally powerful superpowers on the continent: the Dexter Empire, which occupies the eastern part of the continent, and the Fasforo Empire, which occupies the western part of the continent.
However, similar to the situation in Europe before World War I, both empires had experienced global colonization, the Industrial Revolution, the development of military technology, and the accumulation of old and new grievances, which ultimately triggered a world war that affected the entire planet in order to divide the world and compete for hegemony.
Therefore, at the very beginning of the war, Payne had a premonition that the war would not end in a short time, but would have a very high probability of developing into a meat grinder-like trench warfare.
Unfortunately, things ultimately unfolded in the direction he had predicted.
From the end of 1919 to the end of 1920, after a year of mobile warfare and heavy losses, the two empires finally learned their lesson and began an endless infighting over trench digging.
At the same time, the Dexter Empire, which was in dire need of soldiers, also dragged Payne to the training ground. After giving him a fairly generous six months of training, he was sent to the battlefield with a squad of orc soldiers, as he had a great deal of knowledge about beast girls.
Finally, the settings he learned about various anime and novels before his transmigration couldn't possibly be false—
When he first learned about the technological level of this world, he once suspected that he had traveled to the world of "Saga of the Female Warriors".
However, he later discovered that not only did the world map and the start of the war not match up, but this world also lacked a technology and unit called "Aviation Mage," and no one named Tanya von Degurechaff appeared in the battle reports. Only then did he finally confirm:
This is an alternate world that doesn't exist in any other work, and is similar to the era of World War I on Earth.
However, the development of biotechnology in this world, or more precisely, in the Dexter Empire, is somewhat unbalanced.
They've even managed to create beast girls like Lacey to serve as soldiers!
As the second oldest salamander before transmigrating, Payne was naturally very familiar with beast girls, so he naturally chose beast girls as his research direction after transmigrating.
Then, after being conscripted, it was only natural that he was put in charge of the beast girl soldiers...
Although the beast girls have been involved in the social operations of the Dexter Empire on a large scale for more than ten years, people still have some concerns about letting them participate in the war.
It was only because the Dexter Empire was always a step behind its rival, the Fasforo Empire, in military technology that, after a year of bloody fighting, the higher-ups finally decided to form an orc army to see if they could play some unexpected roles.
Pine was conscripted into the army during that period.
"Hey...hey bro, can you do me a favor?"
Just as Payne was leaning against Lacey, reminiscing about the past, he heard a strange male voice calling his name.
He turned around following the sound and saw a wounded soldier lying on a bunk bed looking at him, pointing upwards with his bloodied finger.
"Could you help me figure out what's wrong with the thing up there? Blood keeps dripping down, at first it was just a few drops, but then it turned into a jet of water..."
"My clothes are soaked, but he doesn't respond no matter how I call him..."
Chapter 4, Part IV: Lacey Protects Her Master
This truck was converted into a wounded soldier transport vehicle after being fitted with bunk beds. The able-bodied soldiers who were withdrawn to the rear were also arranged to ride in these trucks, so that they could look after their comrades on the way.
Exhausted and unwilling to move, Payne originally wanted to send Lacey to check on the situation, but considering that many people still did not accept beast girls, and that the wounded soldiers at the lower levels made the situation sound very serious, he ultimately decided to go and see for himself.
The wounded soldier lying on the upper bunk had his entire upper body wrapped in bandages. The bandages on his chest and arms were soaked with blood, which dripped onto the mattress, then soaked through the mattress and flowed down to the beds below.
Payne put his finger on his nose, looked at his eyes again, and finally just shrugged: "Well, how should I put it... he's already fought all the battles of his life."
"
Hey~
The host's depressing jokes were detected.
Depression level: 50%
Funny level: 25%
Freshness: 10%
Note: A bit mediocre
Points increased by 85
"
The system's assessment was fair. The wounded soldier on the lower bunk, after realizing what had happened, didn't laugh, but simply responded softly. He seemed a little weak.
"...Oh, really...then could you help me lift him down? The blood is really making me uncomfortable..."
To this, Payne simply shrugged and said, "Look how narrow this passageway is, it's hard for one person to pass through. Plus, the country dirt roads are so bad that driving on them is like sailing a boat. It's really difficult to lift them."
"Just hang in there a little longer. Move your position and avoid the bleeding area. We'll be there in a few more minutes."
The man could only sigh and awkwardly move his injured body. "Alright! Sigh..."
……
After arriving at a temporary encampment, Payne and his men jumped out of the truck at the entrance and let it continue on to the field hospital.
Lacey asked, "What should we do next?"
Payne yawned widely, scratching his messy hair, and said, "Same as always, let's have a good meal first, then sleep like there's no tomorrow."
Herbivores are easy to please. After Payne pointed to a patch of grass not far away, Troy the horse and Ruby the squirrel trotted over with a soft cheer.
As for Lacey, Payne gestured for her to follow him toward a large bungalow with smoke rising from its chimney.
Seeing the soldiers around her giving her frequent sidelong glances, Lacey tucked her tail between her legs and whispered in Payne's ear, "Letting me into the mess hall... might cause an unnecessary commotion..."
But Payne didn't care. "You don't need to worry about it, just come with me. Or do you not want to eat meat anymore? I mean fresh meat, not jerky that's hard enough to kill someone."
Then, to his satisfaction, he heard a clear swallowing sound coming from behind him.
Animal girls can eat cooked food prepared by humans, but they still retain more of their animalistic nature in their diet. For dog girls, eating raw meat is the best option.
Fortunately, Payne and his group arrived just outside of mealtime, and the small cafeteria was almost empty.
Seeing that not many people seemed to be looking at them, Lacey breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued to follow closely behind Payne.
The war has been going on for two and a half years. Although the two vast and resource-rich empires are somewhat exhausted, they are still far from being completely worn out.
As the human and the beast can see, the canteen offers a wide variety of dishes, including meat, vegetables, and even desserts, which is quite rare. Moreover, you can eat as much as you want, just like at a buffet.
The exquisite and delicious food awakened his stomach, which had been filled with frontline rations, and Payne was even a little dazed for a moment.
Have I really returned from that hellish battlefield? ...
He didn't think much of it, but simply picked up a plate and headed straight for the kitchen—he hadn't forgotten to get some raw meat for Lacey.
Upon hearing his request, the pot-bellied chef didn't ask any further questions. He immediately picked up a large knife and sliced off several large pieces of meat from a pig's leg, piling them generously onto the plate.
Back in the dining hall, Payne handed the raw meat to Lacey, then took a plate and filled it full of human feed for himself.
Finally, I can have a proper meal.
Considering the strong smell of raw meat, Payne and Lacey deliberately chose a corner furthest away from everyone to sit down, intending to enjoy this rare feast.
But it seemed that fate didn't want them to have a peaceful meal. A group of soldiers who had been chatting and laughing at a table in the distance suddenly fell silent after seeing the man and the beast sit down. They exchanged glances, then got up and walked towards them in tacit agreement.
Lacey immediately pressed the animal ears tightly against her head, and secretly wrapped her tail around her waist, pretending it was a belt.
Payne knew perfectly well what these four soldiers, dressed in their uniforms, were there for, but he didn't care at all and just continued eating his meal.
Only new recruits care about their appearance. They know nothing about war.
The leading, square-faced soldier stood in front of Payne and said in a deep voice, "Hey kid, you can't eat here."
Lacey was fidgeting, and just as she was about to say something, Payne pointed at her and asked in return:
"To be precise, it's that she can't eat here, right?"