manynovel Page 69
Page 69
"Boss! I'm back!"
After an unknown amount of time, Stephen's deliberately lowered voice came from behind.
"You've had a tough time. Did you encounter any danger?" Payne asked.
"Everything is normal! Oh, by the way, where's the company commander? There are new orders from headquarters."
"It's just ahead, go and look for it."
"okay!"
So the white-haired horse ran forward excitedly, and seemingly because she didn't notice something tripping her on the ground, she made a crisp "clang".
Because the sound was very similar to the sound of a bullet hitting a helmet, it frightened quite a few people.
"Be careful, there's no need to rush..." Payne muttered to himself.
A short while later, the sound of gunfire came from the right flank of B Company again, but it was as if the guns were shrouded in thick fog. Not only could the muzzle flashes not be seen, but the gunfire also sounded muffled.
However, the battle did not last long and soon fell silent—perhaps a French reconnaissance squad had been eliminated?
Payne vaguely remembered that their right wing was F Company, the same company that Alpha and Stephen had previously served in.
This should have been just a minor incident on the battlefield, but soon, an order came from the front:
Turn around and head towards the location of Company F.
Chapter 107 CVI. Investigating the Cause
What happened to F Company?
If they had only wiped out a French reconnaissance team, there was absolutely no need for B Company to move closer to them.
Or did they discover the tracks of a large French force and request B Company to set up an ambush?
So, Stephen is in charge of relaying messages between the two companies?
Hopefully, she'll be smarter and not blindly follow the French...
With a hint of unease, Payne silently continued forward with B Company.
It seems like it hasn't rained in Minston lately; the ground and grass are dry, and they feel especially solid underfoot.
Although there were dark clouds in the sky, they were far away and wouldn't block out the moon for a while.
The bright moonlight shone on the earth, and although it was not as clear as the sun, it was enough to make any moving object visible.
Therefore, not long after they walked, before the dog could smell anything, Payne spotted a long barbed wire fence ahead, protecting the trenches behind.
Judging from the location of the barbed wire, it must have been the work of the French.
However, those trenches all seemed to be unfinished, with a depth no different from that of drainage ditches, and were completely exposed, making it impossible to hide anyone.
Even so, B Company, which was lined up in skirmish lines, still crouched down on the spot and raised their guns to guard their surroundings.
Under the company commander's orders, Payne and her beast girls, along with Carter and Hale, went forward to check the situation.
This is a bit strange when you think about it carefully—
Although the French army's large-scale offensive on Minston only began a few days ago, this front should have existed for a long time. How could there be trenches that have just begun to be constructed?
Are they planning to extend the trenches from the flank?
Since he was unfamiliar with the area and had no map, Payne had no way of making a judgment.
Moreover, the focus of his attention should not be on this matter, because he has already seen several people lying on the ground in front of the barbed wire, and judging from their uniforms, they should be German soldiers.
Just then, Lacey suddenly said out of the blue, "It smells like barbecue."
This statement was so insensitive that even Alpha, who had lost the dog king competition, couldn't help but say, "This is not the time to talk about this."
But then she sniffed and reluctantly added, "It does smell like... meat that's been roasted over a fire."
"……fire?!"
Upon hearing this word, Xiao En almost panicked. The little courage she had mustered vanished instantly, and she grabbed Payne's clothes and hid behind him.
“Relax, I don’t smell any gasoline burning.” Payne casually offered a few words of comfort, but feeling that things were getting increasingly wrong, he nervously observed his surroundings. “Everyone, keep your posture low.”
Besides the background artillery fire, another burst of gunfire came from afar, and this time the fighting lasted quite a while, but B Company couldn't see the location of the exchange of fire.
Payne and his men didn't have the energy to deal with the other companies. They practically crawled to the barbed wire fence and together turned over the soldiers who were lying on the ground as if asleep to check them over.
“He’s dead,” Haier concluded quickly. “I didn’t find any wounds, and it doesn’t look like poison gas… Could you take a look?”
"Speaking of which... we're where F Company was supposed to be now, right?" Payne asked, examining the corpses. "So where are they now?"
“They didn’t even take the dog tag, so it seems F Company evacuated in a hurry,” Carter said. “Strange, there are no wounds or signs of poisoning. This guy looks perfectly normal.”
Payne pondered, "Did F Company get scared away because someone in the team died inexplicably...?"
The general level of education in this world is still relatively low. Therefore, although warfare has entered the industrial age, many soldiers still hold feudal and superstitious beliefs.
Carter and Hale, being cautious, were already touching their gas masks, but Pine looked at the two dogs, who showed no reaction whatsoever.
Considering that wearing a gas mask at night would only blind him, Pine didn't follow veteran Carter's example. Instead, he said to the squirrel:
“Ruby, you’re observant. Go with Lacey and Alpha and check on the others to see if their conditions are the same as this person’s. Oh, and Lacey, could you change your helmet?”
"Okay." "Good!" "Understood."
"Stephen, go... oh, she's not back yet... Xiao En, go find the company commander and tell him that those cowards from Company F have disappeared. Quickly bring them back."
"...Okay!"
The sheep left the makeshift team, and the squirrel, with two dogs, made its way along the barbed wire fence.
The three beasts worked together to remove the clothes from several corpses. Ruby confirmed that none of them had any wounds. The two dogs exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. "The faint smell of burnt meat is still there."
"You two aren't hungry, are you?" Ruby said casually, taking off the helmet from the corpse and handing it to Lacey.
With her ears pressed under the helmet once again, Lacey scratched her head uncomfortably.
Just then, she noticed that Alpha seemed to be staring at the helmet with exposed ears in her hand, so after thinking for a moment, she offered it to him: "Want to try it on?"
"Huh?...Is...is that okay?" Alpha asked, somewhat surprised.
"Of course~"
"My master said I should get along well with Alpha, and I really don't dislike her. That should help us get closer," Lacey thought to herself.
Since the superior had taken the initiative to show goodwill, and he was indeed very interested in trying it out, Alpha gladly accepted the helmet with exposed ears and tried it on.
Not only are your ears not weighed down on your head, but your hearing is also not impaired. Every hair can stand up and feel the flow of the wind, which is really comfortable.
But... why are the downy hairs on my ears standing up?
Not only the ears, but it seems the fur on the tail has also started standing up since just now...
"What's wrong? I've been feeling uneasy ever since just now." Ruby stopped what she was doing, panting heavily, and sat down on the ground.
Half-dug trenches, bodies with unknown causes of death, the vanished F Company, and unusually upright downy hairs...
Whether it was the three beasts over there, or Carter and Hale over here, they all noticed these anomalies, but they didn't know what these anomalies meant.
It was only after much thought that Payne noticed a clue he had seen long ago but had subconsciously ignored—
All the bodies were lying near the barbed wire.
Upon realizing this, he immediately examined the hands of the corpse in front of him.
Sure enough, there was a thin, dark mark on his palm.
"The case is solved!" With that thought in mind, Payne immediately whispered to the three beasts, "Don't go near the barbed wire! Stay away!"
After confirming that everyone (and the beasts) had maintained a safe distance, he pulled the dagger from the corpse and casually tossed it onto the barbed wire.
A bright arc of electricity exploded in the pitch-black night, and the dagger was immediately deflected to the side.
“Oh…so, this barbed wire is electrified?” Carter muttered to himself as he removed his gas mask. “I’d heard about it before, but this is the first time I’ve seen it…”
Payne was quite pleased with himself for uncovering a Frenchman's treacherous trap, but before he could even boast about it, Alpha stood up and walked towards him.
"Don't worry! I'm fine!" Payne quickly reminded him, waving his hand. "Keep your posture low! We still don't know what's going on!"
But perhaps because his voice was too soft, Alpha misunderstood his waving of his arm. In any case, she didn't lie down, but turned around and prepared to return to Ruby and Lacey.
But such a small mistake can be fatal on the battlefield.
No one saw the muzzle flash, but Payne clearly heard a faint sound of gunfire.
With a metallic clang, the black Alpha suddenly froze, then collapsed to the ground as if all its strength had left its body.
Chapter 108 CVII. The Power of the Ox
“Sniper!!”
Carter had barely finished speaking when a burst of chaotic gunfire erupted, so he quickly changed his tune and shouted, "Enemy attack!! 12 o'clock!!"
This reaction speed is truly worthy of veterans. Sure enough, the soldiers of B Company spotted the inconspicuous muzzle flash at the 12 o'clock position, and they immediately lay down and began to return fire.
Unfortunately, the enemy was in the dark while we were in the open, and we had no cover whatsoever. B Company was being suppressed very hard and could only desperately move closer to the barbed wire, trying to find some cover.
At the moment the battle suddenly broke out, Payne didn't bother to join the attack. Instead, he frantically swung his limbs like he was swimming and crawled to Alpha's side, who had been pinned to the ground by Lacey, in just a few seconds.
"Alpha!! Are you alright?!"
Payne shoved Lacey aside, somewhat surprised to see that Alpha was actually in good spirits. His voice, though flustered, was strong: "I...I think I was hit! I'm sorry!..."
It's good that I still have the energy to shout.
Payne quickly checked her body, "Where are you hurt?! Does it hurt?!"
"It doesn't hurt at all! I... I don't know where I was hit, I just felt a warm sensation in my chest..."
"It's normal that it doesn't hurt now! It will start to hurt after the adrenaline goes down!"
As Payne spoke, he ripped open her clothes, revealing a dense network of blood spots on her chest, a bloody and mangled mess, as if she had been shot with a shotgun.
Shotgun? ...
Although the range of a shotgun is not as ridiculously short as depicted in games on Earth, the bullet spread becomes very large after 30 meters, making it impossible for so many bullets to hit her.
To create such densely packed bullet wounds, the distance would have to be extremely close, but in that situation, Alpha's heart and lungs would have been riddled with holes long ago, making it impossible for him to still be so energetic.