"It doesn't matter. Speak slowly. We have plenty of time today. Let's talk while drinking."
Han Ming smiled and poured another bowl of wine for the old man. At the same time, he carefully observed the old man's movements.
The old man sighed sadly, drank all the wine in the bowl, and coughed twice.
"Oh! Look at you, I told you to stop drinking!" the little girl said reproachfully.
Han Ming smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, I'll do it."
As he spoke, he held the old man's hand with his right hand, and a soft magical power entered the old man's body, helping him relieve the irritation of the alcohol on his body.
When the little girl saw that Han Ming only gently held her grandfather's hand, her grandfather's face suddenly became much better. She couldn't help but look at Han Ming with admiration.
"Go on."
Han Ming said with a smile.
The old man paused and said, "Thank you. Our village is not an ordinary village. The people living in this village are all border guards of the Rhine Empire. We old guys are also former
Two generations have retired. Look at the houses in that village. Are they all good? They are houses specially built for us by the country to accommodate us. There are also large areas of farmland in the wild that are also used for our farming.
"
When Han Ming heard this, the doubts in his heart suddenly disappeared. No wonder these farmers were all full of fighting spirit. They turned out to be retired border guards.
The old man sighed: "We border guards have joined the army since we were young. As you know, the border guards have fought the most wars. In my life, I dare not say that I have been in the army, but I have experienced countless times, big and small.
of the battle.you
Looking at this village, there are not many young and middle-aged people. This is because our descendants have all joined the army. It can be said that our village is a military village. The entire village, men and women, old and young, are all soldiers.
"
Han Ming nodded and poured another bowl of wine for the old man.
The old man drank the wine in one bold breath.
Han Ming quickly picked up food and poured wine.
After several rounds of drinks, the old man's mood became higher and higher, and the redness on his face became more obvious.
Speaking of excitement, he excitedly pulled open his shirt and exposed his chest. Han Ming took a quick look and saw that the old man had no less than ten scars on his body.
The old man excitedly pointed to the longest and shocking scar on his body and said, "Look at this, it was left when we resisted the Kabu Empire's invading army. At that time, I was hit in the chest with a knife.
It couldn't work anymore. It was a comrade of mine who carried me on his back and kept talking to me along the way to keep me awake. He carried me over two mountains before reaching the medical team. It is a miracle, to say the least.
I was so seriously injured, but I actually survived."
Han Ming smiled and nodded.
The old man pointed to a circular scar on his stomach and said excitedly: "Look at this again!" As he said that, the old man drank a bowl of wine, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, looked up at the starry sky, and fell into
meditation.
"This was the year when the monsters in the wild forest went out in large numbers, bypassed the border defenses of the Monte Empire, and rushed directly into our Rhine Empire. That year, alas...more than half of our border guards were killed or injured. It was really tragic when I think about it.
It is an incomparable war. We are not afraid of fighting against humans, but we have no experience in fighting against monsters."
At this point, the old man suddenly laughed and said: "Guess what? At that time, one of my comrades was engaged in butchering at home. He said, killing monsters is just like killing animals, and he actually took a
I took the machete from the top and was killed by a one-horned rhinoceros
The cow was gored all of a sudden and it was impossible to survive. I was very stupid at that time. We are farmers, how knowledgeable can we be? I also imitated him and rushed forward with a machete. As a result, I was killed by a soil element.
The goat gave me a tip. I was lucky and survived again."
Han Ming poured wine for the man again and listened carefully to the old man's story.
The old man moved his stool, turned around, and pointed at a huge scar on his back that stretched diagonally from his shoulders to his waist. This scar seemed particularly shocking even to Han Ming.
The old man laughed loudly and said: "This was a conflict with the Monte Empire army. During the war, the leader of the small team I belonged to was slashed to the ground. The Monte soldiers held their swords high and saw this
With one strike, our leader can be cut in half. This leader is really good to me. My parents have been dead since I was a child. They all died in the battlefield, including three of my children.
My elder brothers also died on the battlefield. Of those without any relatives, this leader was the only one who cared about me the most and took care of me. And at such a critical moment, I pounced on the leader without even thinking about it, and I was stunned.
I was stabbed for him. In that battle, we were caught off guard by the Montes because we were unprepared. Of our team of 10,000 people, only less than 500 people survived in the end."
Han Ming listened leisurely and fascinated. Suddenly he had witnessed the tragic war. He could almost imagine the scene when the old man threw himself at his leader regardless of his own safety. He couldn't help but admire the old man in his heart.
"Come on, old sir, I respect you!"
Han Ming filled the old man's glass with wine, the two touched each other and drank it all in one gulp.
The old man laughed heartily and said, "You want to say that I'm not afraid of death. That's a lie. I'm also afraid of death, and I'm scared to death. When I was in the army, I often dreamed of dying on the battlefield.
I woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. I was afraid of death, so scared!
But I really couldn't think too much at that time. I was just hot-headed and pounced on me without thinking about anything. I fell into a coma on the spot after the knife was struck. Later, I heard what my surviving comrades said. Later, we retreated. Originally,
With the skill of our leader, he would definitely be able to survive. However, he refused to abandon me and carried me on his back. He was also afraid that I would be killed by the pursuers behind him. So he could only hold me and escape all the way.
You know, if you run with someone in your arms, can you run fast? This leader hugged me and ran all the way. It is said that the back of his body was chopped to pieces by the enemy, and even the bones were exposed. If you look at it from behind
, it’s no different from a running skeleton. But he just hugged me and ran, and
I used all the last bits of quick-acting healing medicine. My teammates said that when we met up with our reinforcements, our leader couldn't even open his eyes. He was so desperate that he could not even open his eyes.
They sent me to the medical team, and then I fell to the ground and died."
"Oh...dead..."
The old man chuckled, with muddy tears flowing from his old eyes.
Han Ming was in a deep mood and silently poured a bowl of wine for the old man.
The old man drank it all in one gulp.
Han Ming quietly put his hand on the old man's hand, and the magic power passed through him again.
"I'm fine!" The old man shook off Han Ming's hand. He poured himself a bowl of wine and stood up with the wine in hand.
The old man sighed, looked at the sky, and said: "War is so strange. You don't know when you will die, and you don't know when you will survive. On the battlefield, you may be very strong, but you
But you will inevitably die, or you may be very weak, but you can survive over and over again.
I have fought countless battles in my life, but I survived. Sometimes when I think about it, I really miss my comrades. I often think of the days when we fought side by side. Even now.
, I dream every night and think back to that past event.
Young man, do you know? What does it feel like to watch the comrades who fought alongside you in the past fall one by one before your eyes?
I can't say it, but sometimes I really hate myself.
Why was I the only one who survived? Why didn’t I go with them?”
Han Ming sighed softly and said: "Unfortunately, things happen often. This is life. You can't blame yourself too much. After all, you are not a deserter. You did your best."
Han Ming felt as if there was a piece of fish bone stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say a word at this time. He had to hold it in for a long time before he could say such a sentence.
"I am a professional soldier, and this is the life of a professional soldier... In my whole life, I know nothing except fighting with people, and I don't even know how to farm. You said, I am on the battlefield.
After working in the workforce for most of my life, what can I do if I am suddenly asked to retire? I can’t even mend people’s shoes on the street.
I have also tried to work for others. But as you know, our soldiers, especially the border guards, are all wild. Unless you fight better than me and kill more enemies than me, why should you care about me?
?So I worked at several jobs, but I quit them all because I couldn’t stand being told what to do.”
The old man said this and laughed again. He shook his head helplessly.
Han Ming thought for a while and asked: "Then...the Rhine Empire is really cold-blooded, doesn't it even provide you with any guarantee of life?"
The old man was stunned when he heard this, and said quickly: "Hey! I'm talking about young man! I don't like hearing this anymore! Be careful, old man, I will slap you!"
"Grandpa!" The little girl saw that her grandfather had drunk too much and quickly stopped her.
"It's okay, let the old gentleman say it." Han Ming didn't care at all and said with a smile.
The old man glared at Han Ming angrily and said, "Who said the country doesn't care about us? The country also wanted us old guys who have been stationed on the border all our lives to go to big cities, arrange accommodation for us, and provide us with the guarantee of life.
But...I grew up
It grew up on this land. This is the place where I was born and raised. This is also the place where I killed the enemy and defended the country. This is the place where my partners who fought side by side with me are buried. Their souls are here, as well as
Our soul! I can't leave here.
Therefore, we did not accept the guarantees provided by the country and chose to stay on this land. The country built us better houses, gave us farmland for farming, and paid us military expenses every month.