John the Warrant Officer Was a Strange Fellow

Chapter 40: John the Warrant Officer Was a Strange Fellow

By the time John arrived at Stone Village with his men, the villagers had already gathered with practiced ease in the square at the center of the village to wait. John swept his gaze over the crowd and found that there were only around two hundred people. They were all middle-aged men and women, along with some elderly people. There was not a single young woman or child among them.

Combined with the unease and tension in their eyes, he naturally understood what was going on.

He could not help sighing inwardly again, but soon, a smile as warm as a spring breeze appeared on his face.

He then smiled at the old man standing at the front of the Stone Village villagers, leaning on a cane with a white beard, clearly the village chief, and said:

"Sir, you must be the chief of Stone Village. How should I address you? Also, there is no need to be so nervous. We were assigned by the Empire's high command to inspect Stone Village. We are regular soldiers of the Imperial Army."

"Now that the Allied Forces have been driven back by the Empire, Walden Territory will become part of the Empire before long. We will all be one family in the future, so there is no need to have everyone on such high alert. Tell them to relax."

"Sir, this old man is called Ernest. As you can see, I am the chief of Stone Village."

Hearing this, Chief Ernest did not dare delay. He hurriedly set down his cane, bowed, and nervously gave his name.

However, while bowing, he secretly glanced at the Imperial soldiers around him.

When he saw that the soldiers were neatly dressed and solemn-faced,

he realized that these Imperial soldiers did not look like men who had lost a battle, nor did they seem to have come to this small mountain village to extort supplies.

Thus, the weight on his heart eased somewhat.

Yet Ernest did not dare let down his guard. After all, earlier that morning, the Allied Forces who had come to their village had said much the same things as the Imperial dogs before him.

But in the end, they had still ignored the villagers' pleas and forcibly requisitioned all the food in the village. Even worse, several leading Allied officers had violated the women of the village.

In Ernest's eyes, even soldiers of the Allied Forces, allies of the Golden Rose Kingdom, could do such things to their own people.

If it were these Imperial dogs, rumored to be capable of every evil, then after discovering there was no food or women here, they would probably do something even more cruel.

Fortunately, after what had happened that morning, the moment he spotted these Imperial dogs approaching from afar, he had hurriedly told the villagers to hide all the young women and children in empty cellars.

Only the older villagers and those injured during the morning's plundering had been left behind.

That way, even if these Imperial dogs truly intended to slaughter the village for merit, at least the children might still survive.

But with no food and the Imperial Army advancing on them, could the children of the village truly survive?

This damned world. These damned Allied Forces. This damned Empire!

Chief Ernest's heart was filled with despair and hatred, but feeling the gaze of the Imperial soldier before him, he did not dare reveal the slightest emotion. Instead, he forced himself to step forward and ingratiatingly said to John:

"Sir, if you have any instructions, please tell me directly. I guarantee that I will tell the great Imperial Army everything I know!"

"Don't be so nervous, Chief Ernest. Just as I said, we are here to inspect, not to rob you. You can tell everyone to relax and get back to whatever they need to do. There is no need to make this so formal, like an inspection parade. Everyone's time is valuable, isn't it?"

John rubbed his temples in annoyance, signaling that the old man did not need to be so deferential.

The old man looked to be at least eighty. Watching such an elderly man bow and scrape before him made John feel as though his lifespan had somehow taken a critical hit.

But knowing how afraid the man was, John did not wait for him to speak again before directly giving an order:

"Enough. Listen to me. Tell the villagers to go back to their work. Don't have them standing here stupidly, getting in my way. Also, if you need anything, tell me directly. I can send people to help you."

"No, really, that won't be necessary, sir!"

At those words, Ernest was terrified out of his wits and nearly dropped to his knees to kowtow before John.

But seeing the impatience in the eyes of this unknown Imperial officer, he realized the man did not seem to be joking. Though still full of doubts, he hurriedly dispersed the crowd and had the villagers resume searching nearby for edible wild fruits and vegetables as they had before.

At the same time, he secretly watched the imposing Imperial officer. The instant the man showed even the slightest displeasure, Ernest would immediately stop everyone and kneel to apologize without hesitation.

But to Ernest's surprise, after seeing the villagers—the supposed "merit"—leave, the officer showed no dissatisfaction or ill intent whatsoever. Instead, it was as though the gloom in his heart had been released, and he let out a long breath. Then, smiling brightly, he asked whether they could speak at Ernest's home. He even had a soldier take a box of canned meat from the truck and give it to him, saying it was a courtesy for a first visit.

To be honest, Ernest, who had lived for nearly seventy years, had never heard of such a custom.

Under normal circumstances, he would never have dared accept something from the man.

But considering that the entire village was close to starving to death, and that the gift was canned meat—twelve cans in all—

if he took them to town, these cans could fetch at least a thousand pounds of rye. If rationed carefully, they could probably help the villagers endure this period.

Once the war calmed down, they could pledge the village's young people as servants to House Hartman in exchange for seeds and food. Then the village would have hope of surviving.

Therefore, even though he knew there was a chance the man might shoot him, Ernest still gathered his courage and accepted the gift.

At the same time, he prepared himself to be beheaded.

But to Ernest's astonishment, the man did nothing. After ordering his soldiers to camp in a patch of wasteland outside the village, patrol the surrounding area, and refrain from damaging farmland or harassing the villagers of Stone Village,

he came with Ernest to his earthen house. Even when Ernest's limp made him walk slowly along the way, the man did not urge him on. Instead, he kindly asked whether Ernest needed support.

However, how could Ernest possibly allow an Imperial officer to help him? He could only endure the pain and use every ounce of strength he had to keep quickening his pace, trying to avoid angering the man and bringing disaster upon the village.

But before they had gone far, the officer stopped him, claiming that he wanted to admire the scenery around them.

Thus, what should have been a twenty-minute walk was dragged out to a full hour because the man deliberately waited for him and slowed his pace.

Honestly, the man's behavior was completely different from the Imperial Army Ernest knew, the kind that killed innocent people to claim military merit.

Even in the army of his own Golden Rose Kingdom, he had never seen an officer like this.

No, forget officers. He had never even seen a soldier like this.

Those damned soldier-bandits would never care about a worn-out old man like him. It would already be considered fortunate if they did not find him a nuisance and shoot him dead.

Compared to ordinary soldiers, this unknown Imperial officer could only be described as a strange sort of man.

So perhaps it could only be attributed to the fact that this Imperial officer had only recently enlisted.

And perhaps he was a descendant of Xianqin himself, someone who admired the chivalrous spirit of Xianqin warriors?

It was a pity that such a fine descendant of Xianqin had entered the Empire. Before long, he would probably be assimilated by that terrifying Empire as well.

In the courtyard enclosed by earthen walls, Ernest held a teapot beside the wooden table and could not help sighing inwardly.

But he quickly snapped out of it beneath John's puzzled gaze, then silently cursed himself for being foolish enough to speculate about a commanding officer. Was he tired of living?

He then hurriedly and attentively wiped the chipped teacup in his hand several times. Only after confirming that no dust remained did he place it on the table.

Feeling somewhat guilty, he poured a cup of warm water for the Imperial officer whose sudden kindness had given their village a chance to live. Then, half sincere and half feigning gratitude, he smiled and said:

"Sir, you must be exhausted from your journey. If you do not mind, please have a cup of water."

(End of Chapter)