Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 842: Section 559: Walking With You (Part 1)

Chapter 842: Section 559: Walking With You (Part 1)

The chaotic raid from Chaos ultimately resulted in over two thousand casualties, with the vast majority marked as killed in action—at first, they were classified as missing, because this was according to military standards.

But Malin, against all objections, had them designated as killed in action.

Today, the 21st Battle Group of the Northern Kingdom responsible for the front line was annihilated. From the group leader, the deputy group leader down, all platoon leaders and deputies, and all non-commissioned officers were lost. Of the entire group’s 20 full-strength platoons, only the three platoons on break survived when Malin spotted the enemy’s trace, but because the rest area for those on break was too close to the first defensive line, after Chaos pressed on all fronts, they were quickly obliterated, with only three wounded soldiers from the initial battle sent to the rear.

The rest areas of the 19th and 40th Groups, close to the first defensive line, suffered heavy losses. The 19th Group only had five wounded soldiers left who had been sent to the rear due to frostbite during training, after their rest area was breached by Chaos. Everyone fought till the last moment; in every platoon’s resting room, there were cases of soldiers pulling the pins on grenades to die with the enemy.

The 40th Group was luckier; nearby were the 15th and 16th Groups, both Dwarves, who used fish explosives and flamethrowers to repel the onslaught of Chaos, retreating with the more than half-lost 40th Group to the second defensive line.

However, the group leader and deputy of the 40th still fell in battle. The group leader of the 40th led his guard to stand at the front line during the initial fight. After the deputy arranged for the retreat of two platoons far from the battleground, he joined the battle with the remaining men, fighting while retreating. After the group leader was killed, the deputy was seriously wounded and breathed his last as the Dwarves arrived to help.

Besides, troops at the second line also suffered deaths and injuries, but overall, all the wounded were saved—when the final Holy Light ignited, it also sustained the lives of all the wounded personnel on the scene.

Malin took a full blast of Holy Energy to the face. With Malin’s foundation, ordinary Holy Energy couldn’t push him past his limits, but the blast of Holy Light to the face still had a profound effect on him. As for the average soldiers, let’s not even mention them; they received more than twenty times the amount, with some even surpassing a hundredfold.

Therefore, all battle groups started to be scheduled for rotation that afternoon, with the entire force set to undergo rotation starting tomorrow. The Benevolent Church’s medical team assessed Malin’s condition, like if Malin’s maximum effective treatment threshold was 300, then the current value in Malin’s body is 2000, more than seven times over.

"At least three months are needed for it to naturally subside," said the Benevolent Church’s medical team after explaining, and then stamped a forced convalescence seal on Malin’s medical treatment recommendation.

......

Hearing that Malin also had to take forced convalescence, Marshal Constantine, although a bit reluctant, honestly said that the military was really afraid; now on this defensive line, let alone platoon leaders and group leaders, even the words of division commanders didn’t matter. The soldiers fervently trusted Malin, and in the just ended battle, because Malin was standing behind the second defensive line, Constantine watched countless soldiers charge fearlessly into the second line, equipped with rifles affixed with long bayonets, very much prepared to fight to their last breath for their respected Malin.

And finally, when the Holy Light fell under Malin’s guidance, regarding how the followers of the Lord of Justice felt, the entire defensive line was saved due to Malin’s efforts, and the soldiers’ loyalty to Malin was visible to the naked eye.

Fortunately, everyone had exceeded their limits; with at least three months of separation, Constantine thought the soldiers should be able to calm down.

So Constantine quickly signed the order stating that all participating units, including the esteemed Malin Gaiate, must rest for three to six months in the rear. He had already submitted the order to his King, and the result should be out soon.

Great, just thinking that he, old Constantine, could also rest for three months with honor and dignity made him extremely happy. Recently, every day spent on the front lines, only able to sleep three to four hours, Constantine thought he was going to die suddenly in this snowy land. Therefore, when Malin came over to request to give a morale-boosting speech to the soldiers during the handover of the defensive line tomorrow morning, Constantine happily agreed—let Malin speak once, even if he has some ulterior motives, Constantine wouldn’t dare refuse Malin’s request.

Because Constantine was certain, once the word got out that he disagreed (and the word would get out for sure), soldiers would definitely be infuriated enough to assassinate him.

That would not be fun.

So he simply agreed to the request and patrolled the defensive line that night, ensuring that the Patrol Team and personnel on the front line were doubled and then redoubled before old Constantine could finally sleep peacefully.

The next morning, old Constantine got up to the sound of the bugle call. He put on his favorite marshal’s uniform—the one issued to him on the day he became a marshal, which still bore the patches sewn by his wife. Now that she was gone, only this uniform signified that she had once been in this world.

Therefore, unless it was a most important day, old Constantine would not wear this marshal’s uniform.

Dressed and having checked the buttons’ positions, old Constantine stepped out of his resting room. As soon as he did, he saw the newly stationed divisions. Seeing a marshal, the soldiers immediately saluted, and old Constantine returned the military salute, tidying the appearance of each one—this was what Malin had taught them, the marshals and generals.