Chapter 228 Volume IV - Chapter 73: First Step into the Army
I woke up early in the morning, the sun had only been up for about an hour. I could tell by the clock right in front of me.
And the reason I woke up was not natural...
A few more knocks on the door of my room and I yawned, got up from my bed, and went to the door. The moment I turned the handle, the door suddenly opened violently toward me.
In my half-awake state, my eyes widened when I saw the rapidly opening door right under my nose. I barely stepped back and somehow dodged the door, then turned to the dwarf standing in front of my room in shock.
"Are you trying to kill me...?"
Dorhud grinned, stood as tall as he could with his short stature, and looked me up and down.
"In the army, such a state ain't acceptable, Aiden!"
I sighed deeply as I brought my hand to my face.
"I wanted to sleep well on the last day, the moment we land on the battlefield you will hardly find a more respectful soldier than me."
As if my words were going in one ear and out the other, Dorhud reached for the door, took one last look at my face, and became serious.
"Get ready, I've arranged an outfit in your closet before you came here. Put it on and come straight down."
Without waiting for me to answer him, Dorhud pulled the door closed and left me standing in my room, staring blankly ahead.
Was this it? I was expecting a slightly calmer morning.
I quickly turned my head from side to side, went to the bathroom, and splashed as much cold water as I could on my face. Then I opened the only cupboard in the room.
Just as Dorhud had said, there was a uniform in it. A soldier's uniform that was just my size and looked quite comfortable.
The soldiers of the North Holar had a plain uniform, dark green in color, with slight details according to their rank. This uniform had exactly the same features.
I stared at the uniform for a few seconds, trying to figure out my rank by looking at the details.
"Corporal..."
I'm not in the ranks of an officer, but I'm not a normal soldier either... Well, it's not like I want anything more. As long as I'm going to be in the war, other things are secondary for me.
So I looked at the uniform for a while, then when I felt ready, I put it on and stood in front of my mirror.
The dark green uniform looked good on me. The red double stripes on either side of me, indicating that I was a corporal, went down to my elbow, and there were singular stars between the dashed lines.
Details aside, the uniform was much more comfortable than it looked. I could move as if I wasn't wearing them.
"Well..."
When I finished examining the uniform, I turned back to the mirror and looked into my gray eyes.
"You are ready. You will go into that battle and when it's over, when you come back, you will stand on top of everyone on your level."
It wasn't my style to speak out loud, I was the kind of person who liked to live and think everything inwardly. Yet I deliberately spoke these words outwardly, I wanted to engrave them in my mind, I wanted not to forget a word.
So I nodded and threw almost every item in my room into my ring, I was truly ready.
As I headed for the door, I took one last look around my room.
Although I had only spent one night in it, I had never been in a room as cozy and peaceful as this one.
Our time together was short, but I'm really going to miss this place...
*******
I was coming down the stairs in my uniform when I met some dwarves coming down with me.
They were also wearing military uniforms, most probably in the same platoon.
The only problem... they all stare at me with a surprised expression as they see me.
I have to get used to it... I'm either the only human in the army or one of the few.
So when I got to the bottom I saw a group gathered just outside the lobby, everyone in military uniform was there and the others were coming slowly.
Everyone in this building is a soldier anyway, except for the staff... This is not a normal hotel, I forgot it.
Sighing lightly, I stepped out of the lobby, and as soon as I stepped out into the clearing, everyone in the area turned toward me.
Almost a hundred dwarves were looking at me, all of them with expressionless faces, all of them staring at me like the ones on the stairs.
I couldn't tell whether I was welcome or unwelcome.
"Line up!"
Suddenly there was a stern voice. Everyone stopped what they were doing and began to line up in four rows.
The atmosphere had changed so fast that I was left standing where I was for a moment. Still, I didn't want to look bad on my first day, so I quickly managed to get into the fourth row from the back.
When I finally finished getting in line, I realized two things.
This area... is completely empty, as if it was completely flat for quite a distance, not even a car. And I can't see anybody except the soldiers.
What exactly is the deal with this hotel? I know it's not a normal place, but does the government really devote so much time, space, and money to its soldiers? I still don't understand...
The second thing I noticed was... I stand out like an adult among children. Well, everyone here is a dwarf and I'm the only human among them.
I'll have to get used to everyone being shorter than me...
"Get ready!"
As all the soldiers stood at attention, a loud voice echoed across the field, and then a familiar face caught my eye at the front of the line of four.
Dorhud appeared, looking very solemn in his uniform, with the badge and detailing indicating his higher-than-normal rank, as he looked at the soldiers lined up in a rather serious manner.
I stood like a skyscraper among the dwarves, so of course his gaze shifted to me a few times, but he still didn't keep his focus on me.
"At ease!"
Dorhud finally finished examining everyone and spoke seriously with his hands behind his back.
"Ye've been restin' fer three days, now it's time to get back int' the battlefield!"
No sound came from the soldiers. I only saw a few of them smiling and excited, a few with ugly expressions, and some with no reaction.
"In a wee bit, yer airship'll be arrivin'. Ye'll don yer armor, strap on yer weapons, get briefed about th' battle zone, and head straight down to th' fightin' grounds!"
Huh?
I was processing what I heard in my mind when I suddenly paused.
What do you mean, directly? Without going to the military base, without any waiting or strategizing, just with preliminary information?
This is absurd... completely absurd!
Aren't we normal soldiers? What exactly am I part of a regiment that serves what purpose...?
Different thoughts swirled around and around in my mind as I tried to find an answer to my questions.
I looked at Dorhud's face, our eyes met and he smiled slightly after seeing the expression on my face.
The moment Dorhud smiled at me, I heard a sound, or rather, I became aware of the sound.
It was a sound that was getting louder and louder. It was a sound I had heard before, a sound I knew what it was.
My eyes darted upward in surprise, and then a shadow descended upon me. No... not only me, but most of the area we were standing on suddenly went black.
Over the hotel where I was sleeping, a huge airplane - well, not really an airplane - flew swiftly through the air, made a U-turn, and descended to the huge, empty plain behind Dorhud.
Trying to cover my gaping mouth, I just stared at the... aircraft, the ship, that landed in front of us.
I recognized the craft as I saw it. Of course, I did.
In the game, after the destruction of the North Holar, what was left of it was revealed by this ship in the middle of the game when all of Lunerra was on the brink of collapse.
By talking to the crew of this ship, we could get information about the past, like what this vehicle used to be used for.
It was used to transport the troops of the most important regiment that the North Holar used in the war. The purpose of the regiment was to go to the areas where the fighting was particularly intense as support and to help the front lines.
This regiment's units did not rest easily. They were constantly moving from one battle to another and trying to control the battlefield.
I slowly looked at Dorhud with the dots connecting in my mind.
Dorhud... He commands a platoon of these advance support troops, I understand now, and I was assigned to one of these platoons...
I clenched my fist, finally closed my open mouth and this time tried to suppress an involuntary grin.
This is even better than I thought. I thought I would be sent as a normal soldier somewhere on the front lines, but this... This is much better than what I wanted.
The next time I meet General Darbal, I will thank him as much as he will ever tire of me...
As I continued to smile like some of the other soldiers in the line, I looked at the airship that had landed completely on the ground.
It wasn't as big as the Caleuche, it couldn't possibly be that big. The Caleuche was like a city that could fly on its own. This ship was big enough to provide only weapons, armor, and shelter for a group of a hundred soldiers. However, even if it was a baby compared to the Caleuche, it was also quite big.
Not long after it made contact with the ground, the door on the side of the ship opened wide sideways, then a ramp slowly lowered to the ground for those of us below the entrance.
"Get in, don yer gear, and be fully prepped fer battle! Get everythin' ye need and be ready to dive int' the battlefield!"
"Understood, captain!"
And so the soldiers of the unit I was in marched in a line into the ship. When it was my turn, I didn't know what to do, but I went inside the ship according to the order.
I knew what it was like inside, although now... it had a very different look and feel than in the game.
After all, the future destruction had not yet happened, this ship had not yet been emptied to be fit for that time...
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