Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 926: Section 609: The Departure of Winter (Part 3)

Chapter 926: Section 609: The Departure of Winter (Part 3)

Stepping down from the carriage, Malin approached the entrance of the military headquarters. The young Gendarmerie did not recognize him, but he recognized Lulu. Out of respect for her, the young Gendarmerie came over and saluted Lulu: "Madam, whom are you looking for today?"

"I accompanied my husband over." Lulu, who was arm in arm with Malin, smiled and let go of his arm. She pushed Malin forward to the young Gendarmerie: "It’s not me who wants to go in to find someone, but my husband."

Malin smiled and shook hands with the young Gendarmerie, turned to bid farewell to Lulu, and then walked through the opened doors into the military headquarters.

Lulu stepped back and returned to the carriage. In these two months, her heart had never felt as settled as it did today. Her husband was back, carrying confidence of fulfilling the pledges to everyone... Victory would undoubtedly belong to every survivor, and Chaos would eventually be driven away.

Lulu had absolute confidence in this.

......

"Mr. Malin." Upon entering the hall, Malin was attracted by the voice coming from the duty room. He turned and saw Lillian Marlene, who was smiling at Malin with her friends.

"Good morning, ladies." Malin approached them with a smile: "It seems the security outside is quite lax today."

"Because today is the New Year Festival, the generals are considerate of the Gendarmerie and have given them a day off," said Madam Lillian Marlene as she leaned out of the duty room window: "Marshal Constantine and Marshal Sergei are both here today, whom do you want to see?"

"That’s great, it seems I won’t need to look for someone twice." Malin said with a smile and took out the Revolver from his belt and placed it on the sill: "Madam, please take my gun."

"No problem, Mr. Malin, although I still believe that your very presence is far more frightening than the gun you placed on the sill." Lady Lillian took the gun and placed it into a vacant basket on the side: "Marshal Constantine is in his new office on the third floor, at the end of the corridor on the left near the east, and Marshal Sergei prefers his old office on the second floor."

"No problem, ladies, this is a small gift from me." Malin smiled, took out two fruits of the World Tree, one for each lady, and then ascended the stairs to the second floor amid their continuous thanks. Luck is also a part of life, just like Madam Lillian Marlene, who was fortunate to meet him both times she’d come; since the Goddess of Fortune favors her, Malin naturally would let her wish be granted.

......

Watching Malin push the door open and enter, Sergei gestured for the young man to sit on his favorite sofa—a seat that only his friends and most honored guests were allowed to occupy.

And the young man did so with a smile, taking out a cigar from the cigarette box in his hand and offering it to Sergei.

Sergei caught the cigar, lit it with a match, and then heard Malin’s inquiry.

"I just got back and heard that Mr. Thainan’s daughter had an incident, so I came to ask if you’ve sent our people to their deaths again."

This young man seemed to have some magic; his smiling appearance made Sergei helplessly nod in acknowledgment: "Without your return, only your people in the Northern Legion can be called Elite. In order to rescue Mr. Thainan’s daughter, I had no other choice. Constantine has nothing to do with this, it was my own decision."

"Marshal Sergei, I didn’t come here today to blame you. You didn’t do anything wrong this time, my subordinates indeed are the most Elite, and choosing them for such a mission was the correct decision," Malin said with a smile, which eased old Sergei’s mind, though he remained curious.

Standing by the window, he drew the curtains, letting the sunlight pour through the window into the office.

"Many people said you wouldn’t come back, and I thought so too. The beaches of the south, the warm sunshine, and your wives." Sergei took a puff of his cigar: "In the North, however, you would only encounter misunderstanding and doubt, and the mud that clings to your shoes."

"But I made an oath that I would return, leading the soldiers to end this invasion. Next, we have to fight for our lives against the final Tide of the Dead. My old Sergei, Fate has never pitied us Mortals; only through striving can we hope to survive." Malin sighed as he said this, standing up and tossing the cigarette box over: "For you, old Sergei. And also, I heard your brother’s daughter has taken a liking to Sudel?"

"You said you’ve just returned, but somehow, I find that hard to believe." Catching the cigarette box, Sergei chuckled and shook his head.

"My Lulu is good at gathering this kind of intelligence; I heard you don’t like him, is that right?" Malin walked to the window, glanced outside, and then turned to look at Sergei.

To this, the old Marshal nodded: "Yes, this young man previously displeased you, and I also find his conduct lacking. My niece has been without a father since she was little; I regard her as my own daughter, so I feel that letting this child follow Sudel may not assure happiness, especially since the war isn’t over yet. Right now, no one can confidently claim they’ll survive until after the war, so... what do you think?"

In the end, Sergei still left the decision in Malin’s hands—whether he agreed with him or decided to speak on behalf of Sudel, Sergei would make his choice without hesitation.

"Just marry off your niece to Sudel. I’ll leave now to ensure the safety of their team and Miss Meng. As for your end... I’ll contribute a string of World Tree fruit first, twelve in total." Approaching the table, Malin put down more than a dozen emerald fruits.

"With these fruits, Sudel could even marry a princess." Sergei shook his head—he had always heard people say that Malin was very generous to his subordinates. Before that, Sergei thought even if it were true, Malin wouldn’t actually use fresh World Tree fruit as a dowry for his men.

Sergei found that he was wrong, and grossly so.

Many people’s biological fathers couldn’t even do what Malin had done.

"No matter what, it’s a good thing. I watched Sudel and his comrades grow up. Young people are entitled to make mistakes, and I’ve forgiven them. Therefore, providing a dowry is my duty and responsibility as his superior. That’s settled then," Malin said. He opened the portal, waved to Sergei, and then took out a bottle of potion: "Oh, this one’s for you. I see your legs are bothering you. This is for application, very pure. You’ll be overdosed for at least half a year if you drink it."

After speaking, Malin turned and entered the transportation channel. Sergei caught the bottle of medicine, then happily placed it on the table, planning to try it in the afternoon. Now... It was time to tell his niece about her uncle’s agreement to her marriage with Sudel.

Leave twelve of those fruits for her, the remaining three could be exchanged for money, which should be enough for the two youngsters to buy a nice house in Copenhagen, and to purchase a few young maids as well.

As for himself... Sergei smiled. After all, having Malin as a friend, what else did he have to worry about?

......

"Why is it so cold up in the sky?" Rhodes blew his runny nose while looking at his cousin. "Cousin, do you have any idea why?"

"I’ve got no damn clue... Achoo!" Sudel sneezed, and Rhodes watched as a big glob of yellowish-white snot rocketed out of his cousin’s nose and whisked away by the wind.

"Hahaha, lads! It’s really cold up here!" The Gnome pilot laughed heartily, seemingly unfazed by the chill within his cockpit canopy.

"I can’t feel my legs, damn it. If I had known, I should have worn an extra pair of trousers," Carmen complained from the side, while Halsan remained quiet. Just when Rhodes feared his old friend might have frozen to death, he heard Halsan’s sneezing, followed by Carmen’s scream, "What the heck squirted out of your nose? That’s so gross!"

"Damn it, don’t talk as if what’s dripping from your nose is your brain matter," Halsan retorted agitatedly.

Followed by Carmen’s shrill screams... apparently, it got in his mouth?

Ah, how disgusting. Rhodes lamented, as he pulled out a small aluminum flask from his pocket, uncorked the wooden stopper, and poured a mouthful into his lips.

The alcohol provided Rhodes with a hint of warmth. He sighed, and as the warmth bid him a quick farewell, the young man had to pour another mouthful for himself, then put the half-emptied flask back into his pocket and huddled himself up tightly.

"Speaking of which, why should we rescue that lady? I heard the two rookies with her have already died, and maybe she’s dead too, her soul just imprisoned by some Chaos beast. We might just foolishly jump right into this trap," Halsan signaled the start of a chat.

Chatting up? Rhodes got excited: "Think about it this way, Miss Meng, as the Lucky Angel, was shot down nineteen times in the last three months, and she survived every single time. The battle Mages all call her ’Miraculous Miss Meng’."

"Even the Goddess of Fortune has her off days; maybe this time she’s out of luck," Carmen voiced sarcastically.

"Even so, we should find the last remnants Miss Meng left in this world and hand them over to Mr. Meng, telling him that his daughter fought till the very last moment. She deserves his pride," Sudel said with a smile.

"So we four knuckleheads have to collect her corpse then?" Halsan asked, "That brings us back to square one. If she’s dead and we can’t find her, then what?"

"That’s not for us to consider. However, if one day you end up like that, I will write to your girlfriend saying that I am proud to be your comrade. Your courage, your bravery, and your sacrifice all deserve to be emulated. Lastly, I will ask her at the end of the letter if life is tough, she can bring Halsan’s child and marry me. That way, I can sleep with his wife and smack his kids around."

"Go to hell!" Halsan cursed with a laugh.

Rhodes and Carmen burst into laughter.

Then the cold wind blew, and the four young men sitting outside the aircraft all sneezed in unison.