"Well...I know about this."
Accompanied by the man's slightly regretful voice, the cigarette butt flickered slightly in the darkness, and then began to move.
"Uh...I don't know how to smoke, Captain."
"If you can't calm down, just try this."
The red dot on the cigarette butt lowered, and soon there was a childish cough.
"Hayes, although it's a bit hypocritical to say this, you are a soldier. There are no innocent people except friendly troops on the battlefield. The only thing that can limit your gun is your own conscience. Now you know the cost of indulgence, and If you accept the punishment, then as I said, it doesn’t matter whether you admit your mistakes or not, as long as you can change them.”
Hayes held the cigarette and wanted to answer but could only cover his mouth and cough.
It took him a while before he managed to speak.
"Punishment...what is it?"
"You will always remember this, just like the puff of cigarette you just took. The bitterness it brings will always gently flog your soul, reminding you of the mistakes you have made. Okay, it's time to go, don't you? Do you want to stay here all day?"
"Ahem....Company commander, smoke."
"You can keep it and smoke it."
After a final thought, Hayes put out the cigarette butt on the ground, put it in his pocket, and followed Oranios out of the warehouse.
The battle was basically over at this time, and soldiers could be seen everywhere carrying corpses. When he walked out of the factory and came to the outside space, Hayes saw Hashet walking over and lowered his head in embarrassment.
"Uncle...I'm sorry."
Hashet raised his hand, originally intending to slap the other person on the back of the head, but ended up stroking Hayes's head. He looked at the boy and sighed softly.
"It's okay."
"The Space Marines are coming!"
Suddenly, someone shouted, and everyone started running. Hayes glanced at Hashet, who nodded.
"Go and have a look."
When they arrived at the apron of the ordnance factory, there was already a circle of people there. A row of guards blocked the crowd. A Thunderhawk was slowly falling. Their regiment leader Arni and other officers were waiting aside. Including Ouranios.
"salute!"
When the Thunder Eagle ramp was lowered, Arni immediately made a sound, and then not only the officers, but also the surrounding soldiers immediately stood up and saluted.
The theater commander Arash, who was dressed as a Terminator, walked out of the Thunder Eagle. In fact, when he learned that this cannon fodder regiment and this "waste" young man had actually given up their positions, his first thought was to order the execution of the other party. But not long after, another news came to his attention. He was shocked.
The other party actually captured an important ordnance factory in one fell swoop!
Arash is indeed using some second- and third-line troops to make a sheep attack to attract the attention of the Red Pirate defenders, but another reason is that this ordnance factory is relatively important, and he is worried that attacking it easily will cause irreparable damage.
Unexpectedly, such an important target was captured by a cannon fodder regiment.
After seeing the opponent's march route, Arash couldn't help but exclaim. This is undoubtedly a bold and very clever plan. If you are not careful, the whole army will be annihilated. It must be a bold and even crazy commander. Only then could he come up with a plan, so he decided to come down in person to meet this young man who had been publicly denounced by him before.
Arash looked around at the ordnance factory and saw only a few damages and no traces of fire or explosion. It was obvious that the place had been well preserved, which made him quite happy. After all, it was at the forefront far away from the logistics line. It is really important to have a complete factory.
This also made him more curious, how did the other party capture this important place without causing large-scale damage?
"Arni Morales."
Lowering his head slightly, Arash's shadow completely covered Arni's body.
"arrive!"
Facing the huge space warrior, Arni's face was tense and his body was as straight as a javelin.
"how did you do it?"
"Report to the Commander, under the protection of the God Emperor, we were not discovered by the enemy along the way. After arriving at the target point, we discovered through reconnaissance that there were loopholes in the factory's drainage system, so we sent a commando team to sneak into the factory through the drainage pipes and destroy them. The circuit system caused the heresy to fall into chaos and captured the place in one fell swoop!”
After listening, Arash blinked, with no expression on his face.
After a moment of silence, he said slowly:
"With such a risky plan, why did you make such a decision?"
Arni paused, then replied:
"I am reporting to you, sir, because I firmly believe that the heresy will be defeated!"
Arash pondered for a moment and nodded slightly.
"Arni Morales, I used to think you were an uneducated idiot, but now I have to admit that I was wrong. You are a bold, brave and wise commander who takes the initiative. Penetrate behind enemy lines and attack their weak points..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the circle of soldiers around him.
"You've done a good job leading such a force."
"Commander! I still have something to say..."
Arni took a step forward, then whispered a few words, then turned around and took an enlarged data tablet from the attendant, and handed it to Arash with both hands.
The Space Marine took it and scratched it twice briefly, with no expression on his face, and then turned around and handed it to the guard beside him.
"I understand. I will send someone to investigate. Your regiment will be stationed here for the time being. The Mechanicus Priests will come to take over later. Your mission is to protect this place and assist the Mechanicus Order in restoring production here. Those prisoners are not needed. Just move it to the rear and hand it over to the Mechanic Priest on the spot."
"yes!"
"In view of your brave raid and glorious record, I will personally write your commendation notice."
Arni immediately made an eagle salute to the other party.
"Thank you sir!"
Then Arash turned and walked towards Thunder Eagle, but suddenly stopped halfway and looked sideways at Arni.
"Arni Morales, keep your bravery and fighting spirit, your future will be brilliant, and your family will be proud of you."
"yes!"
Arni couldn't help but feel excited, and even had a smile on his face. Those honors were like a stimulant pumping into his body. Maybe in a certain future, he would also have the opportunity to be like Macarius in the past and Soshyan now. All the same, become the leader of an expedition and permanently carve your name in the history of the Empire.
As the Space Marines left, everyone dispersed. Arni was busy deploying defenses and waiting for the coming Mechanic-Priests, while the soldiers continued the work at hand.
I don't know why, but seeing the Space Marines again, Hayes' mood was completely different from the past. He was no longer excited, no longer fantasizing, and he didn't even feel anything at all.
When he saw the smile on the face of his regiment leader, he would occasionally wonder, did that person know who had died? Will he grieve for them?
After the battle, everything seemed to have changed.
He tried to look for Jung's body but found nothing.
This partner was just part of the victory, like thousands of others, some who paid the ultimate price, some who survived but perhaps only delayed their death.
In any case, as the next day comes, the war will continue, and this crazy machine will swallow more flesh and souls.
I don’t know why, but Hayes didn’t want to pray to the God Emperor at all today. Instead, he started writing things in the expedition manual, and prayed that after his death, at least something could be sent back to Xiao An and others to prove that he had lived. Pass--
That's all.
