"What's going on?"

……

"Can't you see it? We won. ”

……

"Can this also be called a victory?!"

……

"Don't be too your victory."

……

Anjie turned her back to Simon.

……

"We survived, we annihilated the enemy...... Isn't that enough? ”

……

She looked up, the sharp pain in her hand that brought tears to her eyes.

……

"As long as you're alive, it's enough!"

………………

Everyone woke up one after another.

Just like An Jie predicted, these guys collapsed one after another after seeing the weapons in their hands inserted in the bodies of their comrades.

She had time to deal with the battlefield, but her own situation was not good, so forget it.

Sitting on the ground in a gloomy manner, An Jie listened to the cries and wails in her ears one after another, and only felt upset.

It's strange to say, she has fought for so long, killed a lot of guys, and seen a lot of dead people. But never once did she feel like she did today...... Sad.

Watching the human body fall down with blood sprayed by bullets, I clearly realized in my heart that I was missing a compatriot. The feeling of sadness is unforgettable.

"What's going on?"

Captain Simon's voice came from behind him, and it seemed that he was awake. Because the voice was close to her, An Jie replied casually:

"Can't you see, Captain? We won. ”

Victory? True, they won. The corpses of the synths lay on the ground, they didn't survive the hallucinogenic roar of the distorted Earth Beasts, and they died the moment the sound waves came to their bodies, including its ordinary Earth Beast compatriots.

"Victory?"

But apparently, the captain didn't think so.

"Can this also be called a victory?!"

An Jie didn't have to turn around to feel his anger.

Also, with such heavy casualties, he will probably be punished...... Maybe he'll be demoted.

If this was placed in normal times, An Jie would have fallen into the well while clapping her hands!

But now she's not in the mood.

"Don't be too harsh on victory, if we don't admit that this is a victory, then what are the sacrificed soldiers for?"

She stared at the frozen corpse of the Earth Demon Beast, but her eyes seemed to drift into the distance.

"Even if it's just for them, it's a victory...... It has to be a victory. ”

For a long time, no sound came from behind him.

"And don't be so sad!"

An Jie didn't know which of her tendons had twitched, so she actually had the idea of comforting Captain Simon. Her brain had been instructed not to meddle, but it had already turned around naturally.

"I've prepared a good sacrifice for them! You see, I deliberately chose to freeze rather than burn ............"

She was speechless.

Simon was crying.

Crying with the body of a young soldier who looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old.

He cried silently, and if it weren't for the fact that the corpse's clothes were wet, she probably wouldn't have noticed.

At a glance at the corpse...... Not to mention the row of Gatling bullet holes in the abdomen, it didn't look like the captain at all.

"Stupid...... That's not your long-lost son............"

An Jie flattened her mouth and turned her head back.

"Don't cry because we've reached the limit. Isn't it enough that we survived, that we annihilated the enemy, that we fulfilled our duties as soldiers? ”

She looked up at the sky.

"Enough! It's enough to be alive! So don't cry! How do you ...... How do you ...... It makes me .................. too."

There was a sharp pain in the arm that had been burned to the point of flesh and skin. An Jie, who was in pain, shed tears.

"It hurts............"

………………

There is no eternal feast, no eternal war, no eternal suffering, and no unchanging happiness.

Packing up the mood, people always have to move towards tomorrow.

Before sending the bodies of the war dead home, Captain Simon was given permission - they were allowed to hold a funeral.

Time passed quietly, on the day of the funeral.

An Jie frowned and looked at the black dress in her hand.

"Do you have to wear a dress?"

Arred stood next to her and smiled wryly.

"Anjie, bear with me, after all, the dead are the greatest."

She sighed.

"I see...... What are you doing standing here? ”

"Huh? Oh! I'm going to get out of here! ”

Al ran away in a panic.

An Jie sighed again.

"It's still coming............"

Three days have passed since the end of the battle, and Captain Simon has been very strangely unpunished, it is said that after that day, distorted earth monsters have appeared one after another in various parts of the north.

They're good here. So the big one among the dwarfs was plucked, and Captain Simon was safe.

An Jie thought that he would be depressed for several days, but he didn't expect to be relieved on the way back to the base, and he appeared in the office the next day as if nothing happened, so he could review the documents neatly.

He is a man who has lived through countless wars.

An Jie admires this from the bottom of her heart.

As for the question of those who died in battle............

Thinking of this, An Jie's action of wearing a skirt paused.

………… It's not good.

The military department's attitude towards this matter was rather arrogant. The order from the central authorities is to hide the facts.

After all, such a big battle damage was caused by cannibalism, and if ordinary citizens knew about it, the face of the military department would probably be wiped off.

They died heroically in battle with the enemy - and this became the unifying narrative.

There are many people who are unhappy with this, but it does not include Anjie.

"Sergeant Scarlett, good morning."

"Good morning...... Sergeant Scarlett. ”

"Sergeant...... Good morning............

"Sergeant ..............."

The soldiers she met along the way, regardless of their rank, greeted her one after another.

An Jie nodded slightly in response...... Respect for the strong, this is the treatment she deserves.

Although many people are unhappy with the concealment of the truth, An Jie does not think so.

What do people join the military for? Money, reputation, and the ideal of defending the family and the country are nothing more than these three things.

The military department paid a pension for their death and gave them honor. Their families may have a little harder, but they can survive. As for the ideal, they have given everything to the ideal.

In that case, why bother with the truth that is not good at all?

An Jie couldn't understand the thoughts of the officers who shouted fairness and openness, and she didn't intend to understand.

She only intends to do what she is supposed to do.

"Anjie ............"

Arred saw An Jie, who appeared at the funeral scene, and showed a surprised expression.

"This outfit suits you perfectly......"

He drugged out such a sentence.

An Jie pursed her lips, lifted the corner of the black dress, and gracefully performed a lady's salute.

"Coincidentally, I also feel that I am very suitable for wearing mourning clothes."

"Uh...... Ahaha............ I'm sorry. ”

Sergeant Arred stepped back.

His place is not here.

An Jie was promoted to the position of hero because she ended the battle and saved most people. She had to stand by Captain Simon's side.

In turn, there are high-ranking figures such as Major Charles and Chief Technician Taylor.

"Isn't she coming?"

"I'm sorry, she can't come."

"That's right...... That's it. ”

Captain Simon, who was talking to Major Charles, saw An Jie coming over and said to her with a smile, "Here it is, hero." Do you have any ideas that you wouldn't like to share with you? ”

"You're sarcastic about me, that's what I think."

An Jie scolded him and stood beside him.

"Rest, I don't want to say."

Simon smacked his shoulders.

It was an informal funeral, but it was so large that all the soldiers who could afford to take leave came.

With the sound of heavy and solemn mourning, Captain Simon said in a deep voice:

"Salute!"

Including An Jie, everyone stood up and saluted the memorial monument engraved with the names of the war dead!

In such moments, it is superfluous to say anything.

An Jie never thought that a corpse could have much value, what was valuable was what they left behind when they were alive.

However, these dead people are all poor ghosts, and they have not left any famous sayings and aphorisms, and the way they die is still so frustrating, even the longed-for honor and wealth can only be obtained after death.

Or by the way the military department is afraid of scandals.

Maybe in the eyes of those high-ranking officials, they are just a bunch of dead scandals.

(Your life is truly sad.) ）

An Jie thought so.

(But!) ）

The muscles of the arms that kept the salute tensed, and the lake-blue eyes looked at the memorial monument. It seems that through those names, I saw those unwilling souls.

An inexplicable emotion suddenly surged in her heart, even if she didn't say it and tell others, she had to let herself hear:

(I'll make your lives worth again!) ）

It's something that only she can do!

(Because your death will strengthen my determination to move forward, and all those who die will become the driving force to move me forward!) I will take your death to heart, and I will always spur myself on - do not forget your ideals, do not forget your vows! I will step on your corpses and ascend to the throne! In this way, you will also be part of my throne. Our glory will be linked together by this! I live, you are my spurs, and when I die, you will all join me and become my soldiers! ）

In the sky of the eternally gloomy Empire, the dark clouds that have not dispersed all the year round suddenly reveal a corner, and the light leaks from that corner, as if some people who should have gone to heaven have given up this rare opportunity, escaped from the arms of angels, and were tempted by the devil's words to return to this ugly world.

The voices of a group of people seemed to come from the light:

That's it............

An Jie looked at the light and smiled.

"Hmmm! That's it! ”