At noon the next day, at Black Flame City Railway Station, the military train, about to depart, sounded its first whistle—a final urging and inquiry before its departure.
"Is everyone here?" Lieutenant Colonel Reinhardt peeked out from the carriage, and the last few Iron-Blood Battalion soldiers jumped onto the train from the platform.
"Everyone's here!" Major Guderian wiped his glasses. "All the equipment and personnel are on the vehicles! Except for one wounded soldier left in Black Flame City, everyone from the Iron-Blood Battalion is on the trucks."
"Then, let's go!" Lieutenant Colonel Reinhardt ordered, a slight pang of regret flashing through his mind as he thought of that young face.
After three blasts of the whistle, the entire military train began to move slowly.
"What a pity!" Major Guderian took off his gold-rimmed glasses and slowly wiped them with a cloth. Throughout the Iron-Blood Battalion, he and Lieutenant Colonel Reinhardt knew that the Gregory Family had given Zhang Tie a bottle of Advanced Recovery Potion after Zhang Tie left the hospital. If Zhang Tie had used that potion, he should be able to barely keep up with the Iron-Blood Battalion's pace by now. But Zhang Tie didn't come, which is why Major Guderian sighed.
The officers' carriage was packed with officers from the Iron-Blood Battalion. No one uttered a sound at Guderian's soft exclamation; they all remained silent.
"There's nothing to regret. I guess this is what Marshal Lin Changjiang meant by the fate between people!" Reinhardt concluded.
The train sped up on the platform, and just then, the people in the officers' carriages seemed to hear increasingly loud shouts and cheers coming from the carriages carrying ordinary soldiers behind the train.
Lieutenant Colonel Reinhardt and many officers peered out of the train window again, puzzled. They saw an SUV speeding out of the lane next to the train platform, chasing after the train. Soon, the SUV caught up with a rear carriage carrying soldiers. The Iron-Blood Battalion soldiers inside were yelling and opening the carriage doors, cheering on the man. A dark-haired man in the back seat of the SUV stood up from behind the driver. He carried a huge military pack on his back and held a massive sword. Amidst the cheers, he first threw his pack into the carriage, then handed over the terrifying sword, which several soldiers caught safely. Finally, he leaped like a tiger, tumbling into the open carriage. Several soldiers struck by his human cannonball screamed in agony...
Upon hearing the screams, the soldiers refueling in all the following carriages burst into laughter.
At the last moment, Zhang Tie arrived...
Five minutes later, Zhang Tie, looking somewhat disheveled, appeared in the officers' carriage where Lieutenant Colonel Reinhardt was traveling.
"Boss, Second Lieutenant Zhang Tie, platoon leader of the third platoon of the fifth company of the Iron-Blood Battalion, has recovered from his injuries and formally requests to return to the unit!" Standing in front of Reinhardt, Zhang Tie solemnly saluted the leader of the Iron-Blood Battalion.
"Return to the team is approved!" Reinhardt smiled, looking at the young man before him. His mood suddenly improved. "Is your injury healed?"
"All done!" Zhang Tie patted his chest. "I was fine a few days ago, but something came up and I was a few days late returning to the unit!"
"What took up your time for a few days?" Chief of Staff Guderian, who was somewhat meticulous, asked.
"Chief of Staff Guderian... well... you know I just had that surgery... I've been holding it in for over ten years, and my girlfriends couldn't wait any longer after they found out. It's not convenient in the military camp..." Zhang Tie said somewhat awkwardly.
"Damn it!" After cursing Zhang Tie, even Major Guderian couldn't help but laugh. Of course, he knew where Zhang Tie got his nickname "Mummy Lieutenant."
Everyone in the officers' carriage burst into laughter...
Zhang Tie found a seat and sat down, looking out the window at the Black Flame City, which was slowly shrinking. His thoughts were churning.
At this moment, Alice was at home receiving the beautifully wrapped gift box that Zhang Tie had asked Pandora and Beverly to bring her. She looked at Pandora and Beverly with some curiosity.
"What's in here?" Alice asked Pandora.
"Open it and you'll see!" Pandora said to Alice with a smile.
Alice opened the blue gift box, and like the other girls, Alice gasped in surprise when she saw the two Mrs. Dis logos Milan Jewelry Store logo, and flowers inside.
No girl would dislike having these items placed together.
Alice opened the two boxes, one large and one small, inside which was a beautiful set of blue lingerie and an expensive ring set with a huge sapphire.
Alice's low spirits from the past week were instantly filled with immense joy, and her smile blossomed like a flower in full bloom.
"Did Zhang Tie send you two to deliver this?" Alice looked at the two items in her hands with great delight.
"Who else could it be but him?"
"Why isn't he coming?" Alice asked Alice, her face flushed as she held up the blue lingerie. It looked great on her. That scoundrel, that big pervert, all he knows is how to please girls...
"He didn't know how to face you, so he asked us to send it over..." Pandora said calmly.
"Where is he?" Alice's movements stiffened slightly.
"He's gone to Karur. He's probably already on a military train. His Iron-Blood Battalion, as the vanguard of the 39th Division, has been dispatched to Karur to participate in the war against the Sun God Dynasty ..." Beverly said in a low voice.
Alice's face turned pale instantly.
"Did he say anything to me before he left?" Alice's voice trembled slightly.
"He said he engraved everything he wanted to say to you on the ring!" Thinking of the words on the ruby ring Zhang Tie had given her, Beverly couldn't help but shed tears. Many people, both men and women, called her a slut, but only Zhang Tie knew she was as pure as a ruby. Beverly would be content just to meet one man like that, regardless of whether she could be with Zhang Tie in the future.
May your future happiness be as vast as the Da Hai -- Zhang Tie
When Alice took the ring, she finally saw the small line of text on the back. As she looked at it, Alice seemed to see Zhang Tie's smile appear before her again...
He was a man who truly cared for her! He was a man who flew into a rage when he saw her being chased by wolves! He was a man who would rather risk his life than not shield her from crossbow bolts in the most dangerous moment! When she first shed tears in front of that man, he controlled himself at the most critical moment, stopped his conquest and greed, silently helped her put on her pants, and gave her her most precious possession.
Alice never imagined that that time might be the last time she would ever see Zhang Tie. When the man left, he sent her this ring, full of blessings, and this set of underwear that fit perfectly, personally chosen for her by that man.
Alice burst into tears and ran out of the house towards the train station, wanting to see the man one last time. In the end, Alice missed the military train...
In another part of Black Flame City, Barry and the Airplane Brotherhood, including Sista, Doug, Baghdad, and Light, had already retrieved what Zhang Tie had left for them from the safe.
It was a leather suitcase containing a huge sum of 600 gold coins and a letter left by Zhang Tie for a few people.
The letter contained the following content:
Brothers, I'm leaving for Karur. You are my brothers, and the men of the Iron-Blood Battalion are my brothers too. They would fight to the death for me, and I will fight to the death for them. I don't want it to seem like I'm making my final arrangements, but sometimes I have to explain things to you here, because I'm not a god, and I might not come back. The casualty rate of the 39th Division's Iron-Blood Battalion is very high within the entire Iron Horn Legion.
Normally, if I gave each of you 100 gold coins, I know that, like Shavin, none of you would accept them, because our friendship is worth more. But here, I want you to accept them. The reason is simple: if I don't return, I only want to do what I can for my brothers. Why do I want to do something for you? Because the Holy War between humans and Devil Race is approaching. This is what the person I trust most told me when he left Black Flame City. I believe him. Perhaps in the next few years, the situation in the entire Blakerson Human Corridor will change drastically. Black Flame City is not a place to stay for long; you need to make plans as soon as possible. If I had the ability, I would like to do more for you, but please forgive me, this is all I can do for you now. Consider this money as compensation for the first time I've taken from you.
I originally had so much more to say, but now that I've written this far, I don't know what to say anymore. Oh well!
If I come back alive and find that any of you bastards dare not appreciate my kindness, I will be furious and I will beat the crap out of them.
And, Sista, you bastard, you're not allowed to use this money to find other women. You should be thinking about how to run away with the woman you like in the future.
Doug, you don't seem like the type to know how to spend or make money. If anything happens, don't forget to talk to that Barry first; he won't let you get the short end of the stick.
Baghdad, I spoke with Hans, the manager of the Iron Thorn Combat Hall, before I left. If you'd like to go, they'll arrange a very suitable position for you, definitely better than the waiter job you're currently doing at the Battle Hall.
And Shavin, no matter what happens in the future, never keep it to yourself. Remember you have so many good brothers.
Barry, I know you're actually the most loyal guy, you cunning fatso. I'm glad to know you guys and be your brothers.
Okay, that's all. One last thing: I've had my circumcision, and I've shed my virginity. Please don't be curious about how I lost my virginity; if you knew, you'd be jealous. I don't want to damage your confidence as men and make you feel ashamed to face me in the future, haha... haha...
Anonymous!
Zhang Tie's letter almost brought tears to the eyes of several readers at the beginning, but the latter part made everyone laugh.
" Zhang Tie, that bastard!" Doug, whose eyes were already brimming with tears, suddenly burst into laughter, blowing a green snot bubble from his nose. In his excitement, Doug didn't think much of it, casually twisting the bubble and wiping it on someone's clothes next to him, then wiping his hands on that clothes as well...
After reading the letter, Sista realized that Doug had just rubbed against him twice. What did that mean? Sista looked down and immediately jumped up!
"Ah, Doug, you bastard, what disgusting stuff did you put on my clothes? I'm going to kill you, ah..."
In the distance, the military train carrying the Iron-Blood Battalion marched further and further south. Watching the silhouette of Black Flame City gradually disappear on the horizon, Zhang Tie silently said to himself:
Goodbye, Black Flame City! (To be continued, please search for the novel for better and faster updates!)