Lieutenant John Was a Strange Fellow

Chapter 40

By the time John arrived at Stone Village with his men, the villagers had already gathered skillfully 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 folk; there was not a young woman or child in sight.

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 turned to the old man at the front of the Stone Village villagers, leaning on a cane with a snowy white beard, who was clearly the village chief, and said with a smile:

"Sir, you must be the chief of Stone Village. May I ask your name? Also, there's no need to be so nervous. We were assigned by the Empire's higher-ups to conduct an inspection in Stone Village. We are regular troops of the Empire."

"The Allied Forces have already been driven back by the Empire. Once some time passes, Walden Territory will be incorporated into the Empire's domain. We will all be one family from then on, so there is no need to keep everyone so guarded. Let them relax."

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

Hearing this, Chief Ernest did not dare neglect him. He hurriedly set down his cane, bowed, and stated his name with great trepidation.

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

When he saw that these soldiers were neatly dressed and stern-faced,

he realized that these Imperial soldiers indeed did not look like men who had suffered defeat, nor did they seem to be here to shake down their tiny mountain village.

Thus, the stone hanging over his heart finally dropped.

But Ernest did not dare lower his guard. After all, just that morning, the Allied Forces who had come to their village had said nearly the same things as these Imperial dogs before him.

Yet in the end, had they not ignored the villagers' pleas and forcibly requisitioned all the food in the village? Even the leading Allied officers had violated the women of the village.

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

If it were these Imperial dogs rumored to commit every evil under the sun, then after discovering there was no food or women, they would probably act even more brutally.

Fortunately, after that morning's ordeal, the moment he spotted these Imperial dogs approaching from afar, he had hurriedly informed the villagers to hide the young women and children in empty cellars.

Only those who were older, or who had been injured during the morning's plundering, had been left behind.

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

But with no food, and the Imperial Army pressing in, 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 under the gaze of the Imperial soldier before him, he did not dare reveal the slightest emotion. Instead, he forced himself to perk up and stepped forward to fawn over John.

"Sir, if you have any instructions, you may tell me directly. I guarantee that I will tell the great Imperial Army everything I know without holding back!"

"There's no need to be so nervous, Chief Ernest. As I said just now, we came to inspect the place, not to rob it. You can let everyone relax and go about whatever work they need to do. There's no need to make this so formal, like a parade inspection. Everyone's time is precious, isn't it?"

John rubbed his temples with a headache, signaling that the old man did not need to be so servile toward him.

The old man looked to be at least eighty. Having such an elderly man bow and scrape before him made John feel as though his lifespan had taken an invisible heavy blow.

But knowing full well how frightened the man was, John did not wait for him to continue speaking before forcefully giving the order:

"Enough. Listen to me. Have the villagers go back to whatever they need to do. Don't just stand here like fools obstructing my view. Also, if you need anything, tell me directly. I can send men to help you."

"No, truly, there is no need, sir!"

Hearing this, Ernest was immediately scared out of his wits. He nearly dropped to his knees and kowtowed to John on the spot.

But seeing the impatience in the eyes of this unknown Imperial officer, he realized that the man did not seem to be joking. Though full of doubts, he hurriedly dismissed the crowd and had the villagers continue as before, heading nearby to search for wild fruits and vegetables they could eat.

At the same time, he secretly observed this extraordinary Imperial officer. The instant the man showed even the slightest displeasure, he would immediately call everyone to a halt and kneel to apologize without hesitation.

But to Ernest's surprise, after watching the villagers—the supposed "military merit"—leave, the officer did not show the slightest dissatisfaction or malice. Instead, as if the gloom in his heart had been released, he let out a long breath. Then, smiling brightly, he asked whether they could talk 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 proper courtesy for a first visit.

To be honest, in nearly seventy years of life, Ernest had never heard of such etiquette.

Under ordinary circumstances, he definitely would not 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 whole cans—

if they could take them to town, these cans could fetch at least a thousand pounds of rye. If rationed carefully, that would be enough to help the villagers endure this period.

Once the war settled down, they could simply mortgage the young people of the village to House Hartman as servants, borrow seeds and food, and the village would have hope of surviving.

Therefore, even knowing that he might be shot by the other party, Ernest still gathered his courage and accepted the gift.

At the same time, he prepared himself to have his head cut off.

But what astonished Ernest was that the man did nothing of the sort. He merely ordered the soldiers to camp on a patch of wasteland outside the village, patrol the surrounding area, and not damage the farmland or harass the villagers of Stone Village.

Then, the man came with him 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.

But how could Ernest dare let this Imperial officer help him? He could only endure the pain and summon every last ounce of strength, quickening his pace again and again in an attempt to avoid angering him and bringing disaster upon the village.

But before they had gone far, the man stopped them under the pretext of wanting to admire the scenery around them.

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

To be honest, the man's behavior was completely different from the Imperial Army Ernest knew, the sort that slaughtered innocents to claim military merit.

Even among the troops of his own Golden Rose Kingdom, he had never seen such an officer.

No, forget officers—even ordinary soldiers were not like this.

How could those damned soldier-bandits care about a decrepit old man like him? It was already good enough if they did not find him an eyesore and shoot him dead.

Compared to ordinary soldiers, this unknown Imperial officer could only be called a strange sort of person.

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, one who admired the chivalrous spirit of Xianqin?

What a pity. Such a fine descendant of Xianqin had entered the gates of the Empire. Before long, he would likely be assimilated by that terrifying Empire as well, wouldn't he?

Inside the courtyard enclosed by earthen walls, Ernest held a teapot before a wooden table and could not help sighing secretly to himself.

But he quickly snapped out of it beneath John's puzzled gaze, then silently cursed himself for being a fool. He had actually been secretly judging an officer who commanded troops in his heart—was he tired of living?

Afterward, he hurriedly wiped the chipped teacup in his hand several times. Only after confirming that not a speck of 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 brought a path to survival to their village. Then, half sincere and half feigned, he smiled at the man and said:

"Sir, you have traveled a long way and must be exhausted. If you do not mind, please have a cup of water."