Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 774: Section 526: Bullets Are the Best Gift (2)_2

Chapter 774: Section 526: Bullets Are the Best Gift (2)_2

"And why is there so many cysts and ulcers on the body, it’s disgusting," Lulu said, then she turned to look at Malin, "Malin, you won’t look at me with that kind of eyes, will you?"

What the girl referred to was the surprised look that the chief mage on scene had given Lulu.

Of course, Malin shook his head, "To me, you are the most adorable Lulu."

So, Miss Lulu resurrected with full health, opened the umbrella in her hands, handed it to Malin, and then clung to Malin’s arm.

"I just knew that you, Malin, are trustworthy." The girl lowered her head, and the now taller Malin couldn’t see her expression, but he could feel the fear and unease in her words.

Yes, suddenly discovering that another timeline’s version of oneself has fallen, and turned into a bald, muscular woman covered in cysts, how could the average person possibly accept that.

In Malin’s eyes, Lulu was doing very well.

Even better than Faye, who took a long time to recover after hearing the story of herself in the time-stopped barrier – and that was just about a sleeping beauty.

......

The next day, news came from the National Church that the team led by Malin was retained as an independent unit under Malin’s name.

It seems that the report written by the Church’s youth was taken seriously, as the higher-ups of the National Church probably felt that they wouldn’t miss a few extra soldiers, so it made sense to leave them to Lord Malin for training.

And the National Church didn’t hide anything – early in the morning, someone from the Church of the War God came, and it was the familiar old Marian. His health had improved greatly since Malin had helped him retrieve the souls of his two children.

As soon as he saw Malin, without a word, he gave him a hug, then immediately revealed his ambition to mix his people into Malin’s team. In his words, if he didn’t come early, any old trash Church would soon be dumping their hazardous waste on Malin.

As for the Bishop of the Winter Wolf Church, she seemed to have no problem with it at all. She introduced the young people who came to support from the Winter Wolf Church and then made a very penetrating statement.

"On behalf of the Winter Wolf Church, I offer you our deepest greetings. The Lady of the Winter Wolf awaits the moment when you become a deity to jointly command against Chaos," said the lady with a smile, then she left without leaving a trace of dust.

Marian was impotently furious and eventually retreated into the distance.

You see, that’s the trouble with the Church of the War God. Everyone knows the War God takes hits, and everyone knows the War God never shows up now, and everyone knows the bizarre Divine Arts given by the War God (like the blessing spell, which is obviously something the Lord of Justice would have), all the informed people know what sort of thing the War God is turning into.

But why don’t they say it – isn’t it because all those in the know are aware that the deity in question is almost being pulled into a neutral deity position by the Lord of Justice?

In the era of Chaos invasion, the prospect of having one less powerful Evil God is considerably better for the survival of humans.

So, can the Church of the War God stop tearing into the Winter Wolf Church? You’re not on solid footing and can’t compete with them.

Left with no other choice, Malin could only take the six young lads sent by the Church of the Goddess of Harvest, along with groups from both the Winter Wolf Church and the Church of the War God, to the small camp allocated specifically for him—one that was located in a small square to the south of the city.

Now, every square in the city had turned into a barracks. When Malin arrived at the small camp with his people, he found that it had become somewhat crowded. Without options, Malin paid out of his own pocket to rent two houses on the edge of the square, finally freeing everyone from the hardships of sleeping in tents.

The locals renting out the houses had heard Malin’s story, knowing it was the great hero looking for a place for his men to stay. They were embarrassed to take Malin’s money, but Malin still paid the full rent—after all, it was impressive that the rent wasn’t raised during such times.

Then, Malin offered the camp to the villagers from two nearby villages that had fled here for refuge, completely free of charge, even paying for the villagers’ breakfast each day.

No one objected to this—all over the world, the Churches were generally sympathetic to mortals, especially in times like these. Malin’s actions were seen as very appropriate in their eyes, the very epitome of the benevolence expected of a Clergy of the Goddess of Harvest Church.

Several young members of the Goddess of Harvest Church immediately became Malin’s loyal followers. They rallied around Sudel, whom Malin had appointed as a commander. Malin thought this young man was truly a talent worth cultivating. He had written a report for the military of the Northern Kingdom, and Malin had obtained a photocopy from his own channels. He discovered that the young man had written about Malin’s operations in detail and emphasized the need for sufficient strength and impeccable aerial reconnaissance.

Even the Church’s lads hadn’t written as comprehensively, which endeared him to Malin—his legion needed a talent like Sudel.

Or rather, Malin was desperate for capable individuals.

It was just unfortunate that the boy seemed to have a natural affinity for the military of the Northern Kingdom, a matter which could not be resolved at the moment but had to be worked on gradually.

With young members from the Goddess of Harvest Church setting an example, the youth from both the Winter Wolf Church and the Church of the War God eventually acknowledged Sudel—after all, they were all from the Northern Kingdom. Sudel had recently received a medal from the military for saving the people of the town from the clutches of Chaos. His fallen father, as well as the fallen Guards, received medals too—it seemed this practice of awarding medals might have been copied from Malin.

In any case, the effect was excellent. Upon hearing Sudel’s story, the young people from the Winter Wolf Church and the Church of the War God gave up any competitive thoughts.

So with a leader established, Malin decisively had Salis pick out a relatively small Chaos reconnaissance squad for Sudel to command during the second sortie out of the city. Malin hoped to observe the young man’s ability to react and adapt while leading troops.

In the end, Salis located about a hundred Chaotic Believers hiding out in the village head’s house in a village three hours south of Copenhagen by car. After receiving the report from Salis, Malin glanced at his own troop—previously just a small number of people, now expanded to over forty. Even at three-to-one odds, with the element of surprise and superior equipment, assaulting the enemy at nightfall, using night-vision goggles for clarity, clearing the field, and then retreating under the cover of moonlight, they could still return for a late-night snack. With these thoughts, it seemed like there should be no problem.

Thus, Malin announced this news. The young lads, who had been immersed in training lately, became somewhat excited. Sudel very timely used his pep talk to dispel any arrogance among his peers. Malin prepared all the supplies for the young leaders, and as they began checking their equipment, he explained the operational plan. When Sudel heard that Malin had decided to let him lead this operation, he was very surprised but accepted the command with confidence.

This was indeed the bearing expected of a military descendant.

All the young people looked at Sudel differently after that, their eyes filled with a mix of envy, jealousy, and respect—just what Malin hoped to see. Sudel had performed the best in training, whether it was battlefield situation analysis, combat group deployment, or marksmanship distribution; he always scored the highest.

Malin had him take command this time, and he did not show modesty or hesitance, reflecting the confidence of a young man aiming to become a commander.

Twenty minutes later, all the team members jumped onto snowmobiles, equipment provided by the Science Academy that could operate in the harsh conditions of the North. With proper maintenance, their failure rate was only about 0.7 times per thousand kilometers.

As for why they didn’t open a teleportation portal, firstly, the Copenhagen area was currently in an active Subspace area, and without sufficiently safe coordinates, teleportation was akin to seeking death; secondly, even if teleportation was completed, the spatial node fluctuations could be detected by spellcasters from both sides, making any attempt to "warmly open the door" potentially a one-way suicide attack.