Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 441: After modification: Volume 5 Chapter 47 Spreading Rumors (Chirping for Monthly Votes)

The private sent to inform the platoon leader returned to the front line.

He did not complete his mission; a sudden barrage of artillery didn’t kill him but knocked him out. When he woke up, he found the communication line down once again. The platoon command post was empty, all reserves had been sent to the front line, and unable to find anyone, the private decided to return on his own.

The sergeant had told him to come back and collect the bodies. The private thought, once he finished collecting his brothers’ bodies, he would stay on the front line with them.

When he returned to the front line, the sergeant was gone. Apart from the five or six men desperately firing in the trench, there were only two burning Mecha wreckages and dozens of bodies, both theirs and the enemies’. The burning Mecha could still be made out in shape, the private knew this kind of Mecha was called [Holy Armor] 22, belonging to low-level Mecha, but for infantry, such Mecha were a nightmare.

”Officer, Officer.” the private called. No one paid attention to him. The front line was still filled with the intense screech of energy guns. In the distance, a few retreating enemies staggered and fell, the remaining quickly jumped into the trench and disappeared outside the light chain of the energy machine guns.

The private searched through the bodies; he wanted to find the sergeant. He wasn’t in the trench, so he must be outside. The private crawled and tried to climb out of the trench, but a veteran grabbed him back. ”What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed?” The veteran leaned tiredly against the misshapen bulletproof wall, gasping for breath.

”I’m looking for the sergeant,” the private said, ”I didn’t find the platoon leader, the command post is empty.”

”Here...” The veteran took out a severed hand and stuffed it into the private’s hands, ”This is the only big piece left; I just picked it up. For the rest, you don’t need to clean them up... they’re everywhere...” the veteran pointed inside and outside the trench.

The private stood there holding the severed hand, looking around following the veteran’s gesture. What he saw were radial bloodstains inside and outside the trench, mostly small, indistinguishable black spots in the mud, occasionally a bigger piece still with some flesh, making it clear that they didn’t grow from the ground.

”The sergeant rushed out with a bundle of Fusion Hand Grenades and took down a Mecha.” the veteran sighed, patting the private on the shoulder, ”Otherwise, our front line would be long gone.”

Peeking at the enemy’s position below the front line, the veteran said, ”Get ready, we’ve repelled this attack, it’ll take them some time to launch another one. Don’t dwell on it, let the brothers lie where they are, we’re going to join them eventually. Killing more feels better than doing anything else.”

The front line’s gunfire had already stopped, the cursing from a distant place became clearer. The private silently collected weapons and ammunition, placing a tied Fusion Hand Grenade by his side, he asked the veteran, ”Who are they cursing at?”

The veteran laughed, ”Cursing that son of a bitch Reinhardt. I’ve fought my entire life and never laughed like this.”

The private listened carefully to the curses with their twists and turns, sighed, ”So vicious, to curse like that, how cultured must they be.”

The veteran mused nostalgically, ”Yeah, for dozens of minutes, haven’t heard a repeat.” Listening some more, the veteran clicked his tongue, ”Those scandals he reveals about Reinhardt, I wonder if they’re true. Killing his dad, betraying the country, colluding with Desic, pretending to be good, killing donkeys when the grinding is done, posing as a master, debauchery in the palace, cheating in examinations, snoring while sleeping, bad breath, flatulence, stunted growth, tsk tsk. All claimed with evidence.”

As they spoke, there was a sudden angry voice, ”Reinhardt, since you don’t dare accept my challenge, don’t blame me for exposing your ugly face in public! Warriors of the Mythical Army, deceived Gazalin warriors, let’s listen to this recording...”

The soldiers, seizing a moment of peace before death, were listening intently, only to notice that three more Mechas appeared below the front line, in addition to the two [Holy Armor] 22, there was also a [Poison Insect] medium-sized Mecha.

In their ears was Reinhardt’s voice, as heard by many on TV, ”...I am shameless, so what can you do about it? Who’ll believe a colonel over an admiral?... Osullivan, you’re too naive!...”

Private A: ”Hey, isn’t Osullivan the commander of the Mythical Army?”

Private B: ”That’s him, I’ve heard his voice, no mistake!”

”...You can’t shake my position, do you know why?” Reinhardt’s voice was full of fanatical narcissism, ”I am the most handsome man in Gazalin, all women go crazy for me. Every word I say is like an edict in the Mythical Army! Those soldiers are born to highlight my unparalleled charm; without me Reinhardt, the Mythical Army is nothing...”

”Did I betray the country? This country should have belonged to me Reinhardt from the beginning! What George, what Stephen!” Reinhardt’s voice became sharp and hysterical, ”I am the king of this world, you should follow my orders, to besiege cities and capture lands, to write the legend of a great emperor...”

”A bastard... so what if I’m a bastard? That old geezer, he’ll pay for it one day. When I become the Gazalin Emperor, who will know about this? Everyone who knows must die!...”

Private C: ”I didn’t expect Reinhardt to be such a person.”

Private D: ”Impossible, this recording must be fake!”

Private E: ”It’s hard to say, in this world, one can never truly know another man’s heart.”

On every battlefield of both sides, the same discussions were happening. Even many Mythical Soldiers were uneasy. These days, they had too many questions.

The private peeked out, and the enemies below the position started their attack. Seeing the Mechas rushing towards the position and the enemies behind them charging with wild shouts, he suddenly sat in the trench, gasping heavily, looking helplessly at the veteran, and said tremblingly, ”The enemy is coming up.”

”Prepare yourselves!” The veteran shakily took out a pack of cigarettes, and handed each person one. They lit up and took a deep drag, feeling the smoke flow through their lungs—it was a feeling of being alive.

They picked up their guns, placed the tied-up grenades within reach, and the warriors were battle-ready. As they aimed, they laughed maliciously, listening to Reinhardt being thoroughly denounced, and each warrior facing death felt an incomparable comfort in their hearts.

The enemy approached, the intense sound of gunfire and cannon fire erupted suddenly. The energy machine guns of three Mechas charging at the position drew out more than a dozen light chains, raining densely on the front and back of the position, making it impossible for all the warriors to lift their heads.

Seeing that the enemy was about to break into the position, amidst the deafening explosions, the warriors roared in anger as they fired and grabbed their Fusion Hand Grenades. Their fingers turned white from the exertion.

In the violent explosions, the private tilted his ear, realizing that the playback sound seemed to have gotten much louder.

The sound grew louder and louder, and suddenly, amidst the sky full of artillery fire, two [Warrior] Pioneers stepped up onto the position. Their loudspeakers shook the loose soil on the position, making it jump continuously.

In the warriors’ dumbfounded gaze, one of the Mechas announced, ”Brothers, retreat, a new position has been established behind us. We will cover you.”

Watching the two Mechas leap out simultaneously, dodging like phantoms amidst the artillery fire, they rushed towards the three obviously unprepared enemy Mechas like two black bolts of lightning. Everyone felt utterly drained, and the kind of ecstasy from hell to heaven made each person somewhat dazed.

The private stared blankly at the two [Warrior] mechas swiftly shuttling and leaping through the artillery fire, quickly firing a few shots to finish off two [Holy Armor] 22s, exclaiming, ”Incredible! How did they know we were about to fall? This position is not the main position.”

”Who knows...” The veteran’s voice was no longer in its original spot.

The private looked back and saw the Old Ghost crawling desperately towards the back of the position while shaking his head and muttering, ”Tsk tsk, that old white face Reinhardt, really shameless... the most handsome man... who recorded this voice?”

The voice that echoed across the battlefield became sorrowful and resentful after its hysteria, ”...Osullivan, I once loved you so much, I gave you everything, why did you abandon me, betray me? Is power more important to you than a loving confidant?...”

”Damn!” A group of Freedom Fighters squirming like caterpillars in the trench simultaneously collapsed into the pit, ”...Too vicious.”

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Fatty lay quietly in ambush, [Logic]’s body completely blended into the abandoned position. On the mechanical computer, the recorded dialogue between him and the little kid was still being transmitted.

In the position, unusable firearms lay scattered, a heavy infantry energy cannon had been blasted beyond recognition, and several enemy corpses lay sprawled in disarray beside [Logic]. In front of the position, a dense array of bodies stretched out, crater upon crater, and a few Mecha wrecks had burned to blackened scrap metal. The flames were out, but thick black smoke was still billowing.

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Almost out of the top six, friends who haven’t voted yet, please help your brother, it’s urgent.

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(To be continued, if you wish to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com, more Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)