Hayes pulled the bag silently, turned around and looked at Hashett, who just waved at him with a smile.
He also waved to the other party, then picked up his bag and carried it on his shoulder, walked past the crowd without saying a word, and suddenly he saw his commander.
Alni's armor was no longer as smooth and brand new as before, with traces of battle on it, and the left shoulder, right leg, and the left ribs were damaged, and the dry blood stains formed black silt at the joints.
He seemed to be patrolling the military camp, and even the crusaders following him had gone from twenty people to only three or four left, each with wounded, which shows how tragic the previous battle was.
Then, Alny noticed Hayes and waved to him.
Hayes trotted over, raised his chest and raised his head to salute.
"Captain!"
Arni's pale and tired face smiled, as if he had a much better mood when he saw the "lucky things" in this group.
"Haes, you're still alive, that's great."
He then noticed the bag on Hayes's back behind his shoulders, then thought of something and nodded.
"Okay, you have already paid a lot, but I'm just a little regretful. I originally wanted to win you a soldier medal."
Hayes put down his hand, and after a moment of silence, he faced his team leader very boldly for the first time.
"Captain, why do you still have to stay here? Why...wait for death here?"
Arny showed a bitter smile and reached out to touch Hayes' head.
"Because this is an order, we are asked to defend our positions to the death. Before we get the order, we will be nailed to death even if we fight one soldier and one soldier."
Hayes wanted to say something, but finally swallowed it back into his throat.
Alni then patted his shoulder.
"Haes, you have been allowed to leave the battlefield, but I hope you can remember the heroic people in the future and remember the glorious moments of your service."
After saying that, he turned around and left.
Hayes stood there for a while and turned around, but after a few steps, he saw Habrey. The big man's left elbow disappeared, and he was leaning weakly against the edge of the box, as if he was sleeping. Hayes knew that Habrey was most afraid of pain, and such injuries must be bad for him.
He felt something was condemning his conscience.
After two more steps, he saw Winter, the boy was lowering his head to sort out his ammunition, with bandages wrapped around his waist and head, as if he was still sobbing in a low voice.
Hayes walked over and patted the other person on the shoulder. Winter raised his head and said in surprise:
"Brother Hayes! You...you are awake!"
Hayes nodded.
"Ah, I'm very lucky, I'm not dead."
"That's good...but everyone..."
Winter turned his head and looked at the helmets that were piled up on the side. Many of them could see terrible damage, including lacerations and penetration injuries.
"There are not many people in the company...there are no more left. Brother Pike is also killed, and political commissar Ai is also killed... Are we all going to die here?"
Hayes looked at the helmets, was silent for a long time, and then stretched out his hand.
"Winter, give me your expedition manual and send me a ride."
Winter didn't know what was going on, but he handed over the expedition manual to Hayes, and then followed the other party to the almost empty track transport station where a wounded soldier and a track cart was parked.
On the way, Winter spoke a lot to Hayes and mentioned the last meal he had with his family during the separation. He didn't know what that evening, and when he returned home after feeding the animals, he found his parents and sisters waiting for him in the kitchen, and it was obvious that everyone had cried, their eyes were red and swollen from sadness.
At first he was wondering why they cried, until he saw the enlistment notice with a black edge lying quietly on the table between them, the surface of the Empire Eagle had already explained it all.
The meal was particularly rich, and the pan simmered on the stove exuded the smoke of meat and the delicious aroma of his favorite food.
But Winter admitted that he could not taste anything at all, because at that time he suddenly thought that no matter how many years there were in his life that had not come, those same fragrances would now be forever linked to a desperate sadness.
Then he talked about his mother's anxiety when he was sick when he was a child, but she had no choice but to hold him and pray to the emperor until her father found a doctor.
Also, the efforts he and his father made to carry and build a new water pump. His head was broken for this matter, leaving a shallow scar. His mother blamed his father for this matter for a long time.
Their life patterns seem to be repeating day after day, but they only change with the changes of the seasons. However, there are always unforgettable details. This is the meaning of family, giving some real meaning to the seemingly boring life, which is something that Hayes has never or in the future.
But he suddenly realized the goal of all the war he had experienced, just like a fog was clearing away before his eyes. All this had nothing to do with faith and honor, just for those who could not fight.
An officer smoking a cigarette was impatiently guarding the front of the car, and immediately shouted when he saw the two of them:
"Hurry up! You guys are there! Or I'll leave! Heretics are coming soon!"
"Brother Hayes, are you leaving..."
Winter looked at the cart with a little envious tone, and then his tone fell. In fact, he had guessed that Hayes would not have arrived at this place for no reason.
"Then... can you help me bring some words to my family?"
Before he could finish speaking, Hayes stuffed the certificate directly into Winter's hand, and then pushed him forward with force.
"You go back and talk to them yourself."
Winter was stunned in place, and he almost didn't react. Hayes just opened his expedition manual, poked a hole to the last page, and threw it at the other party.
"Winter, you do not belong to war, you belong to farmland, family and relatives, let these memories of war be left on paper."
Winter caught the expedition manual and asked blankly:
"What about you, Brother Hayes..."
Hayes replied with a smile, his tone of ease, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.
"I want to be with my father, with my comrades, my regiment commander, and my regiment."
"Hurry up!!! Or I'll leave!!!"
Hearing the sound of the whistle, Winter wriggled for a moment, finally chose to turn around and run towards the officer, and handed the certificate to the other party tremblingly. The other party asked him to get on the car without even looking at it. Then the car was slowly running. Winter ran to the parking space and shook his arm hard.
"Brother Hayes! You must survive!!!"
Hayes smiled and waved goodbye to the other party, then turned around. He had heard the crazy roar in the wind, and the sound of gunfire that seemed to be far and near, but he had become accustomed to all the loneliness, struggle, despair, all disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented sense of transcendence.
He has his own relatives, his own family, and a true "identity".
War will never hurt him again.
War will never scare him again.
The young soldier held the red little angel statue in his hand, walked firmly towards the battlefield, disappearing into the endless hustle and bustle...
Chapter completed!