“Alright… aside from being a bit short, you actually look quite the part.”
He stepped back a few paces, then bent down to pick up a wine jar from the ground. “Care for a drink? You weren’t around during the mobilization earlier, so none was reserved for you, but there’s still some left in here, enough to count as part of the send-off wine.”
“No,” Lin Yu emphatically shook her head, refusing. “I don’t drink.”
“It’s a tradition in our army; have a little. It’ll chase away the fear.”
‘What kind of tradition is a suicidal charge?’
‘And I’m not scared at all.’
Ultimately, unable to decline the persistent offer, she was forced to take a mouthful of the potent liquor from the jar, which sent her into a coughing fit, bringing tears to her eyes.
“Cough, cough… cough…”
No sooner had she set the jar down than the lieutenant suddenly crouched again, scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground, and smeared it directly onto her face.
“Cough… Ugh—What, what are you doing?”
The liquor around her mouth, mixed with the dirt, formed a muddy smudge, looking utterly wretched on her face, which had barely been clean for a moment before becoming filthy once more.
“Now you look like a defeated general. Go on, ‘lead’ your small infantry platoon, and may you have a prosperous military career.”
Casting a displeased glance at him, Lin Yu returned to find the actual commanders of the operation, where she listened to their pre-departure briefing.
The infuriating Yang Xi was meticulously absorbing the squad leader’s detailed explanations from the side, forcing her to calm her mind and consider how to execute the tactical requirements.
The plan involved covert infiltration, deceiving reconnaissance soldiers, approaching the bridge, laying explosives, and finally, concealing themselves to await the unfolding of the battle.
If the counterattack launched in coordination with their allied forces on the opposite bank could decisively rout the Lanforthian army that had invaded the right bank, they would joyfully survive, silently observing the battle, and would not have to detonate the alchemy bombs to complete this damned suicidal assault.
The only concern was whether they, dressed in Lanforthian uniforms, might be mistaken for the enemy and fired upon.
However, if the allied forces on the other side of the river failed to execute their counterattack, this small group would become the army’s last hope, the final military force capable of destroying the bridge along the Mang River.
Lin Yu already knew full well how the current battle situation would evolve if such an intact supply line fell into Lanforthian hands; the squad leader’s elaborate explanations were unnecessary.
The others had no need to know—they were just common soldiers (TL Note: 大头兵, ‘dàtóubīng,’ is a slang term for a grunt or common soldier), responsible only for fighting and dying, not for contemplating strategy or the economics of war.
Including Yang Xi.
‘Given his way of thinking, he would probably embrace such a fate, basking in the glory of being a martyr who sacrificed his life for His Majesty, shining brightly for an eternity, simply by dying.’
‘Tsk…’
‘Tsk, tsk.’
Lin Yu promptly reined in her thoughts, lest she continue to grow irritated because of him.
‘Alas, this is how this life will end. Entangled with such an idiot, I’m destined to die on the battlefield for no clear reason. I hope my luck holds out, and I hope his talent continues to be effective.’
‘One who is never injured, and one who is always *just* injured—could the combination of these two peculiar fortunes ensure this suicide squad’s safe return?’
“Those are the requirements for this mission. Please engrave each key point into your memory, as they may concern the very survival of the Diacla Imperial Army.”
With the mission briefing concluded, the squad leader motioned for Lin Yu to follow him, taking the lead.
As the nominal commander, she was obligated to guide them out of the logistics area.
In a sprawling expanse of Diacla uniforms, the appearance of a squad dressed in Lanforthian uniforms caused quite a stir among the onlookers.
Fortunately, the higher-ups had informed the Black-armored guard (TL Note: 玄衣卫, ‘Xuányīwèi,’ is a specialized military police force known for their dark uniforms) responsible for maintaining discipline, preventing them from being intercepted and disarmed on the spot.
According to the briefing, they needed to avoid main roads, particularly areas where Diacla and Lanforthian forces were directly engaged. Lanforthian soldiers facing the enemy would open fire on any figure approaching from Diacla positions, even if those figures were currently wearing Lanforthian uniforms.
Therefore, Lin Yu and her team could not simply follow the railway back. They had to circle around to approach from the flank, traversing through mountainous wilderness, embarking on a heavy-laden cross-country march.
In addition to their infantry gear, each of them carried a bundle of alchemy explosives on their backs, truly making it a weighted cross-country march.
Lin Yu, however, because she was playing the part of a “lieutenant,” only had a revolver and binoculars slung over her, symbolically wearing light equipment.
This was partly because officers were not expected to carry heavy loads themselves, and partly because the squad leader had given her special consideration due to her young age.
Nevertheless, even without the heavy load, her physical condition was hardly robust enough to endure nearly ten kilometers of cross-country trekking, especially in the poorly lit conditions of the night—both the lieutenant and the squad leader walking behind her shared this assessment.
Lin Yu was well aware of her own stamina; she didn’t believe she could carry such a heavy satchel of explosives for a full ten kilometers, and thus she was immensely grateful that they hadn’t made her carry a share of the explosives for the mission.
‘But why do I feel like I have an inexhaustible surge of energy, as if I’ve downed a bottle of stimulants? What that guy made me gulp down was clearly just a mouthful of strong liquor.’
‘Or perhaps, those several bottles of magic potions I drank before dark are reacting strangely with the alcohol now in my stomach?’
‘It couldn’t possibly be the stewed goose, could it? If so, not only did it restore magic, but it also provided continuous stamina recovery. Eating an entire pot of it all at once would truly be a waste of heavenly resources.’
‘Those wounded soldiers got quite the bargain.’
‘Now I’m bursting with energy, and my magic is overflowing, making me uncomfortably bloated. I need to find a way to vent some of it.’
Lin Yu softly chanted a familiar incantation, mobilizing the restless, uncontained magic within her body, outlining a small, dim magic circle.
She quietly unleashed a low-quality healing spell, guiding the luminous mist to hide beneath the lapel of her shirt so that those behind her wouldn’t exclaim, ‘Why is this little girl glowing?’
‘It seems my precision in controlling magic has become quite high.’
Lin Yu lowered her head to examine the situation at her chest; the healing mist flowed smoothly along the seams of her lapel and underwear, like a constantly circulating ocean current.
‘Hmm, this is just a poetic way of saying her chest was as flat as the boundless ocean.’
‘Even though I’m using magic, controlling the power to circulate like this, just like in a Xuanhuan novel (TL Note: 玄幻小说, ‘xuánhuàn xiǎoshuō,’ is a genre of Chinese fantasy fiction often featuring cultivation, magic, and martial arts) from my previous life, is truly quite abstract…’
With renewed vigor, she marched at the very front of the column, secretly feeling as though she could easily outpace the heavily burdened soldiers behind her.
****
“Lieutenant! Could you… could you perhaps slow down a little?”
The squad leader, who had been following closely behind her, suddenly whispered her “rank,” causing Lin Yu, who was intently focused on the path, to halt and turn back.
The once orderly column, impeccably aligned, now comprised only a scattered five or six individuals, with all the others having fallen far behind.
A flare, coincidentally fired from the distant front line, illuminated the scene, allowing Lin Yu to discern the expressions on their faces—despite their towering stature, each man was panting heavily, exhausted like old oxen that had just tilled several acres, nearly collapsing onto the ground with tongues lolling out like stray dogs.
Yang Xi, conversely, was the most composed among them, his breathing merely a little faster than usual.
“I admit, we underestimated you earlier, Lieutenant. Please, do slow your pace a bit, or many won’t be able to keep up.”
While his earlier address of “Lieutenant” had been laced with teasing, mocking her—a medic with the rank of private—for playing the part of a Lanforthian platoon leader, his tone now conveyed genuine respect.
Not every fifteen-year-old girl could trek seven or eight kilometers cross-country, increasing her pace all the while, without a change in expression or a quickened heartbeat. Lin Yu’s current performance was that of a “super girl,” enough to earn the esteem of some.
“Alright then, we’ll wait for them. I’ll also try to walk a bit slower afterward.”
A mid-march break to allow everyone to regroup was indeed a welcome thing.
Using the faint glow of the distant flare, Lin Yu unfolded the operational map tucked into her pocket.
After confirming her team’s current position, she also checked the locations of friendly and enemy forces on both banks of the Mang River, noting that they were reliably engaged in fierce combat with the Lanforthians at the bridgehead.
Judging by the flare’s ascent point and direction, it was likely the Lanforthians were fiercely assaulting the Diacla positions, having fired the flare to provide better visibility for their attacking infantry.
Lin Yu held her fingers at a specific interval, tracing the map for a moment. “Captain, it seems… we’re about three kilometers from the river, and then another kilometer to the bridge itself.”
“Three kilometers left. Everyone, five minutes of rest, then we move out. No idle chatter—there might be Lanforthian scouts passing by closer to the front, and being discovered would be disastrous.”
The common soldiers all sat down in unison, even the actual commander of the squad was on the ground, panting. Instantly, only Lin Yu and Yang Xi remained steadfastly standing.
Seeing that everyone else had taken a seat, Yang Xi also settled down, cross-legged, leaving only her standing before them like an officer about to deliver a speech.
“…”
Discreetly dissipating the healing mist beneath her clothes, she too sat on the ground with her knees together, her lower legs splayed to the sides.
She had inadvertently achieved a posture she could never manage in her previous life.