739 Everlasting Friendship (1/2)
There was no time. The inspector was screaming at the top of his lungs at the pier. The pressure from the frontline, the tight situation faced by the logistics at the rear, the constant pressing from the headquarters, the commands from the commander, these were all layers and layers of pressure heaped upon these fellows. They were on the verge of going mad, so naturally, they were not going to be polite and gentle anymore. There was no time to explain nicely to anyone.
”Get up, get up, get up, get up!” They kicked open the cabin doors and stormed in. One by one, they dragged all the new soldiers down from their beds. These soldiers had barely slept a wink after being seasick for half the night. A few military policemen came in with a few buckets of water and poured them all over the soldiers to wake them up.
Amidst the foul stench of vomit, the inspector pulled the person closest to him. ”Name! Number! Which formation are you from?”
The new soldier was stunned to see that the inspector was blind in the left eye. He quickly stood at attention and saluted before replying, ”Second lieutenant, Charles Forbes, number S7-2287. Sixth formation of the Royal Musician Division!”
The inspector tore off an epaulet and spat on it before sticking it onto his shoulder. ”Alright, you are now a member of the fourth squad of the third war chariot mixed regiment.” Without wasting a single second for him to be stunned, the inspector kicked him out of the cabin. ”Alight, alight, collect your terminal and board the carriage according to your number!”
Outside of the cabin, someone deftly stuffed him with a piece of the terminal of the net of aether and three redemption rifles. ”Go, go! There are others queuing up behind you!”
Charles was confused. ”But, where should we go?”
The distributor pushed him aside and pointed at his own head. ”Someone will tell you.”
Very soon, as the terminal was initiated, the sound of a machine could be heard. An illusionary realm appeared in front of him as routes and directions were labeled on physical objects to urge him on. Amidst the chaos, the confused Charles somehow managed to queue up according to his number as he was nudged forward against his own will. When he finally reached the destination, someone was already there to drag him towards the Water Tank that was all the way at the front.
The commander was full of sweat and was pointing at the door of the war chariot. ”The last person is here. Get on board, quick!”
Charles was still in a daze as he stepped forward. He was about to board the chariot only to realize that all the seats had already been taken. All that was left was half a frame that had just been welded on.
”I'm sitting here?” Charles' face had turned red. ”I'm a knight!”
All the soldiers in the war chariot were stunned for a while before bursting into laughter in unison. ”No one here cares if you are a knight.”
The commander sent him into the war chariot with a kick and shut the door. ”Suck it up, soldier!”
The war chariot rumbled forward towards the battlefield amidst the screaming and shouting of the headquarters.
”Where… are we going?” amidst the rumbling of the machinery, Charles finally gathered up his courage and asked.
”The frontline.” The conductor finished smoking his cigarette and said calmly, ”We are going to invade the city hall to open up a path for those at the rear.” With that, he thrust the hanging aether balls in the war chariot to Charles. ”You are in charge of surveillance and aiming. The Asgardians are equipped with new weapons against our war chariots. A single hit and we are doomed.”
With that, he emphasized his point by making a gesture of explosion with his hands, ”Boom!”
Charles hesitated as he considered the fact that the safety of the entire war chariot would lie squarely on his shoulders. ”I… I…”
”Don't worry, everyone's lives are not entirely in your hands. There's me.” A middle-aged musician, who was seated at the other front passenger seat, raised his hat to salute. ”Soldier, which term are you?”
When he saw that gesture, Charles' eyes lit up. ”Sixth term! I am Charles from the third class of the sixth term of the Royal Academy of Music. Sir, you are?”
”Second term.” The middle-aged musician smiled gleefully. ”You can call me Screw. From now on, you shall be called 'Knight.' Here, have one.” With that, he tossed a tobacco roll over. Charles had to stop himself from going against him and wisely accepted the senior's offer and the nickname that was given in jest.
In an army, it was essential to find someone that could be relied on. When this person happened to be a senior, one must treasure this fortune wholeheartedly. It would be foolish to do otherwise. Within a few minutes, everyone somewhat managed to be familiarized with each other.
Just as Screw was reaching the climax of a lewd joke that he was sharing, Charles heard an explosion and his world began to spin into darkness. It was as if the entire war chariot had been flipped over by a giant and was now tumbling on the ground. Its final impact was with a shop, which somehow managed to flip it back into the correct orientation.
There were ear-piercing screams all around him but all that Charles could see was darkness. He only felt as if someone was slapping him. The pain of the slapping woke him up and he saw Screw's face.
Screw breathed a sigh of relief and forced out a smile. He turned back and shouted back to the conductor, ”Good news, the new soldier is still alive!”
Amidst the stench of the leaking engine coolant, Screw dragged him up from the ground and kicked aside a bunch of corpses before tossing him into the driver's seat. ”Bad news, the lever's neck is broken. The conductor is trying to repair it so now I'm in charge of weapons and you will drive the vehicle!”
Charles was in a daze as he looked at the steering wheel in his hands. He looked like he was about to cry. ”Me? I don't know how!”
”Do you see that thing below your feet? The red one is the accelerator and the blue one is the brake. There are three gears in total. Just choose one!”
Amidst the roars around them, Screw was no longer in a good mood. When he saw Charles still hesitating, he immediately screamed, ”Quick, Knight. No, that name has already died for you once. So quick, new soldier. There are no more new nicknames to die in your place anymore. Stop hesitating anymore. Just take it as you are saving yourself!”
Charles dared not hesitate further and stepped on the accelerator. He connected his will to the alchemy formation behind the driver's seat and he looked beyond the thick layer of armor and out onto the battlefield.
”My goodness…” In that instant, a chill ran down his spine. There were flames everywhere as the city seemed to be bathing in fire. Underneath the grey sky, there were roars everywhere, and the city was like a fallen giant on the brink of death.