Chapter 385: Return (3k)
“Crack!”
Fighters roared through the sky, dropping flames. The crowd outside the hospital looked on with despair, their gazes contrasting with the soldiers’ sneers.
jpg.
Modern warfare is not like in the script, full of glory and a sense of mission. The black shadows sweeping across the sky did not abide by the treaty. Using justice as an excuse, they launched the war prematurely, wantonly destroying people’s homes, like reapers harvesting lives.
—Excerpt from “Land of Freedom,” by Bairnis and Su Jiu, Dragon Country.
When Su Jiu saw this scene, he had already understood that Yela’s attack on civilians was a fact, that they did not abide by the rules was a fact, and that they intended to act with impunity in this broken world without strong individuals to restrain them was also a fact.
Ultimately, it was the impact of being too weak.
Just as Su Jiu was about to step forward and use some special means to get the soldiers to open the door, a voice rang out, a voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Su Jiu, yet not entirely familiar, with a very authentic Fog City accent.
“Why are you locking them out? Officer, this hospital is one of the safe zones designated by the United Nations. By all rights, Yela’s soldiers should not treat civilians like this!”
Su Jiu looked in the direction of the sound. It was the short white doctor she had met a few times before. He was inside the hospital doors, holding a scalpel, frowning as he scolded the soldier blocking the way.
“Heh heh, there may be a large number of Mokala members among these refugees. we cannot let them in; they must be separated from the good citizens.”
As if hearing his voice, the soldiers exchanged glances and revealed strange smiles. They all summoned sharp swords in their hands. In the sunlight, their cold glares poured into the hospital, chilling everyone to the bone.
“Military masters, we are not Mokala. Please let our family of three go.”
“Aren’t you afraid the United Nations will send strong individuals to sanction you for doing this?!”
“They’re coming… those planes have already bombed the city.”
The crowd erupted in chaos. Some prostrated themselves repeatedly, others glared angrily, but most looked at the approaching bombers with helplessness and despair, as if the smoke rising in the distance was already burning them.
“Nonsense! these refugees are outside because they are ordinary people without injuries, and have nothing to do with Mokala.”
A figure leaning on a cane walked out slowly. Age had slowed Director Robert’s movements, but it had not bent his back. He looked somewhat thin and concise.
He tapped the ground with his cane, causing ripples of energy. The ripples, carrying a silver-white glow, shot towards the soldiers. They had no time to react before being knocked outside, and the door was instantly blown open.
The soldiers were knocked aside, hitting flower beds like rags. The high-ranking officer leading them barely managed to withstand the impact, staggering back two steps to steady himself.
“Director, you’ve finally decided to make a move!” the short doctor exclaimed with surprise.
Before the short doctor could rejoice too much, Robert simply waved his hand and looked quietly at the High-Rank Battle General before him, saying lightly, “Go back! If you forcibly attack the hospital, don’t blame me for intervening in the war.”
The High-Rank Battle General looked at Robert with an uncertain expression, then sneered, “Director Robert, are you sure you want to harbor these suspected Mokala refugees? This makes me suspect if there are indeed Mokala in the hospital.”
“I told you there isn’t! I make my stand here today: as long as I am alive, your Yela’s planes cannot fly over the hospital!” Robert said decisively, a Battle King’s domain spreading around him, his gray hair fluttering in the wind.
As the aura emerged, waves of green airflow surged into the sky. With the activation of the Battle King’s domain, an incredibly large phantom of an ancient tree suddenly appeared above the hospital, guarding it like a giant.
“The director of the International Hospital is a Battle King-level powerhouse! We are saved!!”
This scene brought joy to the faces of the refugees, who hurriedly tried to enter the hospital. Groups of people streamed out, and soon only fewer than twenty people remained outside.
“Swoosh swoosh swoosh—”
Seeing this, the soldiers, who were only Battle Generals, looked up at the sky in unison, raised their weapons, and fired signals into the sky, as if waiting for something to arrive.
“Trouble is coming.”
Sighing, an expression of helplessness appeared on Robert’s aged face…
“Whoosh!” Just then, a breaking sound of the air was heard.
“Dr. Robert, please do not intervene in the war. You also know that the primary condition for allowing a hospital to be a safe zone is that it cannot intervene in the war.”
Suddenly, a middle-aged man in military uniform adorned with many medals appeared in the sky. Without making any moves, he dispersed Robert’s aura, then walked with a smile to the iron gate, repelling the refugees, and gently closed the gate again.
The appearance of this middle-aged man was like dropping a bombshell at the hospital gate, not only causing everyone’s faces to change but also surprising the usually impassive Robert.
This aura… Intermediate Battle King!
And his cultivation might have reached the middle stage.
Glancing at the refugees, a smile appeared in his eyes. He then placed his hand on his chest and bowed, a gesture that surprised everyone. His smile remained undiminished: “I, Bard, a Major General of Yela, thank you for helping the people of Yela in Yela.”
“We will not forget everything you have done. If this land completely becomes Yela, we hope you will still be the director of the International Hospital.”
“Major General Bard, if you truly remember my kindness, please let those refugees in. They have been staying at the hospital for a long time. If they were truly Mokala, why wouldn’t they go directly to Isabella University?” Old Robert’s expression remained unchanged. The death of his granddaughter made him naturally disgusted with these Yela soldiers, even facing this Lieutenant General.
“I don’t need to explain these things.”
Bard shook his head and said earnestly, “Commander Kyoungde has instructed me to give the hospital a final ultimatum: not only to refuse these refugees outside the perimeter, but also, when the main force arrives, all residents of Eels nationality must go to the concentration camp for identity verification.”
Then, a smile appeared on his bronze face. He honestly waved his hands and said, “The Commander pities all of you and those ordinary civilians of Eels. We will not massacre them as the rumors say. You talk about killing civilians, but how many of you have actually seen it.”
Upon hearing these words, Old Robert and the doctors who followed him fell silent. Although they knew he was talking nonsense.
But facing Bard’s words, they really had no way to refute. In their sight, there had indeed been no large-scale killing of civilians.
This situation remained deadlocked for a long time. Perhaps because Major General Bard had come forward, the fighter jets had not truly appeared in the sky.
“These people are truly shameless.”
Xu Wutong, who was secretly recording from behind, narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She then bypassed the crowd, held up her reporter’s ID, and said to Bard, “Our reporter from People’s Daily, Mr. Lin Yusheng, was unfortunately killed by Yela soldiers while searching for evidence. What are you pretending to be a big shot for!?”
“Then… do you have any evidence? Photos or anything?”
Bard smiled carelessly, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Xu Wutong, as if expecting something.
“…”
The atmosphere became frozen again. Xu Wutong’s face turned red. She was not foolish. If she really brought out the evidence, she and the others would likely be killed by this Major General in less than half a minute.
“However, as we traveled, we saw many ordinary people abused by Yela, some dismembered, and some transferred by Yela to Crow as spare parts.”
Soon, the frozen atmosphere was finally broken by a clear and cold voice. Everyone’s eyes looked in that direction.
“Who are you?”
The Major General Bard frowned and looked in the direction of the sound, his eyes filled with appraisal. He looked at the Black Skirt Girl with suspicion—a High-Rank Battle General?
For some reason, the moment she spoke, his heart suddenly twitched, as if he had been locked onto by a strong individual. Was it an illusion?
“I am also a doctor of the International Red Cross, and I have only traveled through Eels, which has been occupied by Yela.”
Su Jiu smiled faintly and slowly walked to within three meters of him, looking up directly at him with a composed expression and said.
“Doctor…”
The moment Su Jiu looked at him, Bard’s heart twitched again. He endured the discomfort and surveyed the young girl in the black long dress. She was young and full of vitality. To be precise, she should be a Peerless Battle General.
To reach the Peerless Battle General at this age, there was only one possibility: she came from a prominent foreign family. This also explained why she had been targeted by a terrifyingly strong individual just now.
A guardian…
“Since a senior is here, I will not disturb you. I only hope that the senior abides by international conventions: High-Rank Battle Kings cannot casually intervene in the battlefield—Tomorrow, I will come with Commander Kyoungde to seek guidance.”
His expression changed for a while longer. Bard then bowed towards the space behind Su Jiu, and his body turned into a stream of light and shot into the sky, disappearing from sight.
“Senior? Could it be that there is a powerful being above the High-Rank Battle King accompanying this Frost Blade Doctor?”
Because of Bard’s actions, Su Jiu also attracted everyone’s attention. Director Robert looked at her with a strange expression. He had seen this girl before; she was the one who drove his granddaughter’s truck back.
Under everyone’s gaze, Su Jiu walked forward with a helpless expression. Her gaze then fell on Xu Wutong, who walked towards her as soon as she saw her. She smiled and said, “As we discussed before, I’ve returned with the ‘Record and Truth’.”
“Truth…”
Looking at the girl who had taken off her white coat and was wearing a black long dress, her delicate face carrying an inexplicable coldness, even with Xu Wutong’s many years of experience as a reporter, she was a little surprised: “This black dress you’re wearing… is it an alchemical item? And what’s this about the Major General’s guardian? You’re not a young lady from some prominent family in Dragon Country, are you?”
“The dress is indeed an alchemical item, but I am not a young lady, nor do I have a guardian.”
Shaking her head in denial, Su Jiu spread her hands. If she were a young lady, she might not have had this unexpected trip to Eels.
Taking a day off today
My eyes have been very sore for the past two days (perhaps because I’ve been helping out at home and writing at night). Looking at electronic devices makes me tear up, so I rewrote the outline on paper. I will definitely update normally tomorrow. After tomorrow, there will be no more things to deal with at home, so I can focus on writing the book.
At everyone’s request, the book will accelerate this rather depressing plot. Because in this plot, I was too eager to portray the characters and ignored the readers’ feelings. In the subsequent plot, the focus will be on the reader’s experience, making the plot more relaxed and adding some humorous elements appropriately.
There will be about eight to ten chapters of plot [striving to finish them this week] before we can return to the world competition. After the world competition, there will be about five chapters of small plot points, and then we will go to the Northern Expedition.
The plot in the Northern Expedition will be more relaxed, and I have made some foreshadowing in the previous text, so you should be able to see my intentions.
