manynovel Page 24
Page 24
Funny level: 100%
Freshness: 100%
Note: The timing was perfect.
Points increased by 300
"
...?
Frowning, Payne looked at the pop-up message about the increased points with a puzzled expression.
Why did the joke delivery system suddenly start working?
And then there's… "timing"? What "timing"?…
A few seconds later, Ruby suddenly felt her support point shift, causing her to almost fall to the ground due to the shift in her center of gravity.
But just as she was about to angrily rebuke Payne for leaving without saying goodbye, she saw him staring blankly in the direction of the tree. After taking a few steps, he suddenly shouted:
"pony!!"
Everyone turned to look at him, but no one responded.
Payne could no longer remain calm. He took off his helmet, threw it aside, and ran wildly towards the tree.
"Little Horse!! Little Horse, how can you sleep?! How can someone your age and at this stage of life sleep?!"
"
Hey~
The host's depressing jokes were detected.
Depression level: 200%
Funny level: 200%
Freshness: 100%
Note: 2-hit combo! Critical hit!
Points increased by 500
"
"Shut the fuck up!!...Little Ma!!!"
Payne ran to the shade of the tree at the fastest speed he had ever run, and knelt down next to Pony with a thud. He grabbed her shoulders and laid her down, touched her nose and pulse, but there was no movement. When he opened her eyes, he saw that her pupils had already dilated.
It was only then that he noticed blood and foam dripping from the corner of Xiao Ma's mouth.
"Medic!!"
Payne's shouts echoed throughout the land, followed closely by Ruby, who rushed over and asked urgently, "What's wrong? Should we do CPR on her?"
Payne, at a loss, cupped the pony's gradually cooling face in his lap. "I don't know... I... I don't know either..."
"What happened... How could she suddenly be gone... This can't be happening, it's impossible..."
"Could it be... could it be sudden death?... Or did she exert too much force just now, causing internal organ rupture?... Yes, yes, that must be it, she even vomited blood..."
"Medic!!!!...Wait, wait, could it be poisoning?...Some poisonous gases cause these symptoms..."
As Payne was rambling incoherently to himself, he suddenly felt someone touch his shoulder.
He suddenly looked up and saw two somewhat unfamiliar faces staring at him in fear, their expressions a mixture of silence and desire.
It took him several seconds to recognize them as the new beast girl Wangcai and Little Pony No. 2.
"I...can we eat that?" Little Pony No. 2 timidly pointed to the ground. "Hungry."
Payne stared at her blankly, then slowly lowered his head and looked in the direction she was pointing.
The chestnuts he had given to Xiao Ma earlier were scattered all over the ground, with only one remaining, which she clutched tightly in her hand.
Chapter 36 XXXVI. Almonds, Apples, and Rotten Hay
It was only after arriving in this world that Paine realized that, given the level of technology during World War I, people had no concept of "sudden death" or "cardiopulmonary resuscitation."
It was after he came into this world that he first used a non-standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation technique, which was then perfected and popularized by many doctors and nurses.
This saved many soldiers who died suddenly during intense combat, and Payne has always been proud of it.
But looking at the blood foam oozing from the corner of the pony's mouth, Payne felt no matter what that didn't seem like the right condition to warrant CPR.
If the internal organs were to rupture due to excessive force, it would be a difficult problem even with Earth's technological level, let alone in this world.
The Dexter Empire has advanced biotechnology, but scientists' enthusiasm is largely limited to creating new species, with little to no contribution to medicine.
Moreover, no matter how thoroughly Payne examined the pony, there were no identifiable vital signs left on it.
That silly horse, I told her to be careful with the force...
Although her body was still warm when the medics arrived, the doctor looked her eyelids and shook his head bluntly, indicating that there was no hope.
But out of professional ethics, and since they weren't busy at the moment, they still lifted Xiao Ma onto a stretcher and sent him back to the rear.
Payne remained silent until the medic and the pony disappeared from sight, simply standing there in silence.
Lacey looked at Payne with some concern. She wasn't very talkative, so she gently snuggled into his arms and rubbed her fluffy head against his chest.
But Payne wasn't even in the mood to pet the furry creature; he just stood there motionless like a stone statue—a rare sight for someone who had seen so many beast girls die.
As Lacey was still trying to figure out how to comfort Payne, Ruby stepped forward, patted his arm, and said in a forced, teasing tone:
"Okay, take it easy. It's true that it's a shame to lose a fuck buddy, but new ones will be sent to you soon, right? You'd better take good care of them."
"I might not be available at the moment."
"...why?"
Ruby looked up and saw that most of the sadness on Payne's face had disappeared, replaced by a solemn expression.
"Whoosh-"
"Whoosh-"
"Whoosh-"
Amidst the explosions at the front, there seemed to be a few whistling sounds of artillery shells flying overhead.
Everyone looked up and saw several faint trails in the sky not far away, which quickly disappeared completely with the breeze.
"Where are they fighting?" Payne muttered to himself.
"I don't know. Artillery position?" Ruby said.
Everyone had a bad feeling, and that feeling soon turned into reality.
Not long after, the officer who had been urging them to move the cannons came over and said that the front line was under heavy artillery fire and the enemy was about to attack. However, there were not enough troops stationed here, so he ordered them to go to the second trench immediately to organize the defense.
Wangcai and Little Horse No. 2 are really unlucky; they've only just arrived and they're already in a fight.
Payne sighed inwardly, gathered his six beast girls, and followed B Company to the trench area.
As they continued to advance through the labyrinthine trenches, the booming of artillery grew louder and more frequent, and they were occasionally met with a shower of dust.
Although Xiao En had participated in a battle, she was still trembling like a leaf, but at least she could still walk on her own.
The newcomer, Grace, was a composed girl, and she was still able to keep her composure.
However, Wangcai and Xiao Ma No. 2, who had been subjected to long-term abuse and probably hadn't been properly trained, suffered greatly. Their performance was even worse than Xiao Ma and Xiao En's first time on the battlefield. They would be so frightened by the shelling that they would stand still and not move, seemingly forgetting even to lie down.
Left with no other choice, Payne had to have Grace and Lacey, who were stronger, carry the two new beast girls forward, and they managed to half-push and half-shove them to the second trench.
This place is closer to the front lines than the trenches where Payne and his men have always lived, and they are not familiar with it.
Fortunately, the enemy did not attack here immediately, giving them some time to prepare.
Payne poked his head out of the trench and glanced around. The entire battlefield was shrouded in thick smoke, making it impossible to see the first trench.
Anyway, let's get started preparing.
Payne immediately ordered the beast girls to help the B Company soldiers by moving weapons and ammunition out of the trenches, prying open ammunition boxes, and taking out grenades to put them out in the open.
Only now, after Little Pony II and Wangcai had somewhat adapted to the hail of bullets on the front lines, did the gruesome training they underwent at the rear begin to show some results:
No matter how dangerous or harsh the environment, they can faithfully carry out orders.
They are more obedient than livestock.
For them, death was an abstract concept, but the officer's whipping was real pain.
Under Payne's orders and leadership, they were at least able to handle simple tasks like moving ammunition boxes without any problems.
But it seems that fate was deliberately making things difficult for Payne. Although the two new beast girls were fine, the usually smart and obedient Lacey encountered a small problem.
At this tense and serious moment, Payne saw that Lacey, who was carrying five boxes of ammunition, seemed absent-minded, standing still for a few seconds every now and then, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, seemingly lost in thought.
This was really unusual, so Payne had to go over and pat her on the head.
"What are you daydreaming about? Focus. I know what happened with Xiao Ma makes you sad, but right now..."
"Ah... that's not how it is." Lacey stuck out her tongue. "Master, can't you smell it? Oh right, I forgot again, humans have a much duller sense of smell than I do."
"I just smelled a faint, strange odor in the air, like a mixture of almonds, apples, and rotten hay... It smells familiar, but I can't quite place it... Oh, Master, what's wrong?!"
As Payne listened to Lacey's words, his eyes widened, and before the dog girl could finish speaking, he darted to the side.
Not far away, Kermoris of B Company was huddled at the bottom of the trench, dodging shells, when Payne rushed over, grabbed his collar, and yelled at him.
Unfortunately, a series of shells landed nearby at that moment, and the booming explosions completely drowned out Payne's shouts. Kermercy stared wide-eyed in surprise as he watched Payne's mouth open and close urgently, but he heard nothing.
Only after the shelling had stopped did Camerich finally hear what Payne was shouting over and over again:
"...Gas! Gas! Poison gas! Poison gas! Pass on the message!"
Seeing that Kemerisi finally reacted, Payne turned and ran back to his beast girls.
Lacey and Ruby might be fine, but the three new beast girls definitely won't know what to do.
Those scumbag training officers who only know how to torture beast girls have no idea what's going on at the front. Even if they did know, they wouldn't teach the beast girls how to wear gas masks.
Sending beast girls to the front lines was definitely a mistake.