Chapter 21 - Chapter 21: 15. Hidden Crisis (1/2)

the army was ready to set out, with all the soldiers gathered at the stairway entrance.

corporal mars led his squad members in formation, quietly waiting for sergeant alvin stafford to issue the attack command.

there were four staircases leading down to the first underground level, each located at a corner of the ground floor hall.

sergeant alvin stafford decided that all personnel would descend using the staircase that mars’ squad had reconnoitered.

the reason was that the staircase mars’ squad had reconnoitered was the only one with an open metal gate, while the metal gates on the other three staircases were closed.

this was not to imply that mars’ squad had failed in their reconnaissance mission. in fact, they were the best of the four reconnaissance squads.

the other three reconnaissance squads had also been attacked by the big skeleton, but their sergeants had ordered the metal gates to be strictly guarded and closed.

although this move did indeed cut off the undead’s route to the surface, it came at a heavy price.

noland lee took advantage of the time when the army was gathering to quietly observe the other three reconnaissance squads.

five startling casualties had been suffered by each of the three reconnaissance squads, with some dead, injured, and disabled.

the dead sin soldier, it was said, had his thigh bitten off by a skeleton hound and was dragged to the foot of a skeleton warrior, where he was hacked into a muddy mess by a bone sword.

the two surviving sin soldiers, one had several pieces of flesh bitten off by a skeleton hound, and another had his nose broken; both were nearly killed by the chaotic sword strikes of the skeleton warriors.

if it were not for the swift support from the squads remaining on the ground level, nine out of ten of the three reconnaissance squads would have perished underground.

this also indirectly proved that corporal mars was a wise commander who knew how to conserve his forces, tactically retreating, unlike other sergeants who were recklessly…

“attention everyone.”

sergeant alvin stafford, with his short black hair, blew his whistle and walked past the neatly arranged soldiers:

“soldiers of the empire, it’s time to cleanse this filthy land.

“in the name of the empire, we shall punish our enemies with the weapons in our hands, pave the way forward with their bones, and let the empire’s wrath burn away the wickedness within the graves.”

sergeant alvin stafford took his honey hammer from a guard, raising it high:

“now, let’s all move out, follow me into the darkness, and fight to clear tomb no.1079.”

with that said, sergeant alvin stafford, like a fearless warrior, took the first step into the poisonous fog-filled staircase, and his guard squad followed closely behind, acting as the pioneers for the rest of the soldiers.

the reconnaissance squads had already paid for this operation with their blood during the scouting phase.

during the formal fighting stage, they were granted a little privilege, allowing them to move at the rear of the army.

with the other squads stepping onto the staircase one after another, noland lee followed suit with corporal mars to return to the staircase which he had temporarily left for 1 hour.

on this downward path, noland lee saw many bones.

the fully armed imperial army, with an overwhelming force, had fought their way from the ground level down to the first underground level, crushing all the skeleton warriors and skeleton hounds they encountered into fragments.

when noland lee reached the end of the staircase and returned to the damaged metal gate, the remains of the soldier who had died from the “death pulse” had already been tidied up by the soldiers who had arrived first, and had not been trampled on by the imperial army as the skeleton bones had.

corporal mars took out a prepared metal can, collected the soldier’s remains, and spoke with some sorrow:

“private second class jack, when this battle is over, we will return you to your loved ones.”

corporal mars took out a strap, wrapped it around the metal can, and tied it to himself.

seeing this scene, noland lee’s mind stirred, and he stepped forward and said:

“chief officer, let me carry him. although i spotted the big skeleton’s aberration in time, i couldn’t save him, and i regret that.”

corporal mars’ determined face showed a slight softening.

the other soldiers also showed their approval and admiration for noland lee’s words.

private second class koben, who was carrying honey bombs, had his eyes twinkling and was about to come over and pat noland lee’s shoulder…

“…jarvis, i appreciate your kindness, but i’ll take care of this. it’s my duty as the squad commander. besides, you haven’t injected the strengthening potion yet, so carrying the metal can would be inconvenient for you.”

corporal mars gently refused noland lee’s request, then waved his hand forward:

“keep moving, brothers, let’s use the undead’s bones to send off private second class jack.”

the soldiers followed mars through the damaged metal gate. as they passed noland lee, they patted him on the shoulder to show their approval and consolation.

noland lee nodded his head to the soldiers in salute, falling to the back of the line.

ah, how embarrassing…

noland lee sighed quietly in his heart…

before crossing over, he was rather introverted.

usually, he was either working as a socially awkward employee at his company or playing games at home, with very little social interaction.

however, as a hardcore player of role-playing games, he knew very well how to use words to gain character favorability.

after crossing over, when he learned about the “imperial fist” and encountered undead creatures he had only seen in games, he couldn’t help but feel that he had stepped into a game world.

just now, seeing corporal mars take care of the fallen subordinate’s remains, noland felt an impulse to gain some favorability points and followed through with it.