Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 939: Section 617: Return (2)

Chapter 939: Section 617: Return (2)

Having comforted Rewo, Malin returned to the North through the transmission channel. Sudel and the other three lads encountered a blizzard on their way back. Although they were not in danger of losing their lives and didn’t suffer frostbite, all four lads had caught a cold. Malin, after learning of their condition, kicked them over to the assistant priests who had come to serve as medics from the Benevolent Church.

They were searching with the herbalists from Thainan for herbs that could cure common diseases, and these four cold patients were just right for them to work on.

In the meantime, Halsan found an opportunity to tell Malin something about Rhodes having taken a fancy to Joki, which was sheer foolish infatuation, infuriating Malin to the point of almost kicking the lad out of the sick bay.

Having an attractive daughter is a good thing, but the only problem with Rhodes now is that he won’t live past Nuo. And Malin would definitely not hand his daughter over to an old wreck.

However, if Rhodes showed talent and could become a Transcendent, then Malin would consider letting the young man have a try.

Daughters grow up and must marry after all. Goethe once made the old man of the Rhodes family suffer, and had also given Goethe, that old man, a hard time. So there would come a day when someone would stab Malin in the back.

Thinking this, Malin felt that he must teach his daughters how to discern right from wrong. As for those deceiving jerks, streetlights would be their best destination, and No. 12 buckshot would suit as the best greeting for them.

As for Malin himself, ha, what is there to be curious about? Malin was disdainful of it all— even if the end of the world were to come tomorrow, Malin would not feel any fear or worry.

At least, Malin would not fall into despair simply because he would vanish from history. He was still looking forward to punching that bitch, the Goddess of Fate, right in the face.

No one would take away the right to control his own fate from Malin.

With such thoughts in mind, Malin boarded the carriage with his captain of the guard, Electrum. It was said that the soldiers at the camp were becoming increasingly unruly, with the gendarmes being pointed at with firearms by soldiers and driven out more than once.

So Malin had to see his soldiers, the young people probably thought that their Lord Malin had forgotten about them, which was unacceptable. He would show these little rascals with actions that not only did their Lord Malin still have them in mind, but he was also willing to confront Chaos alongside them.

As for the Gendarmerie, it was originally intended to provide a squad as Malin’s guard, but Malin refused. Instead, he had Electrum select soldiers from his company of various races. In the end, a Domestic Fairy medic was also borrowed from the medic side, and at last, all races were assembled, riding in the carriages behind.

"When I returned to my unit, I felt that the atmosphere was a bit off, but I hadn’t realized that the situation had become so complicated and awful at the campsite."

To be honest, Malin really didn’t expect the situation to be so bad now. Had he known earlier, he wouldn’t have returned and would have simply brought his daughter around the camp. Nuo, that kid, would surely understand.

"Things are a bit troublesome. Many human soldiers think that you’ve abandoned them, but we Dwarves are different. We’ve heard your stories, and you are definitely not that kind of person," Electrum said bluntly.

Malin still felt some regret; if he had known that soldiers believed in him so much, yet doubted him in their hearts, he would have returned earlier.

The carriage traveled on the road towards the military camp, and Malin could see that the closer it got to the camp, the fewer pedestrians there were in the streets. It seemed that the civilians were aware of the dangers of a rebellious army.

But as the carriage turned a corner, Malin saw a fight breaking out at the entrance of the camp.

Two groups of people, all soldiers with helmets, Malin saw Dwarves hammering Dwarves, humans bashing humans, Half-humans hitting Half-humans, and as for Gnomes... they were all getting hammered.

"What’s going on here?" The carriage stopped in front of a gendarme checkpoint midway, and Malin peeked out to observe the melee ahead, asking a gendarme lieutenant who ran up to the carriage. The latter saluted Malin, "Your Excellency! There are those among them who wanted to go out, but another team stopped them, so they started fighting."

"It looks like there are still soldiers who keep themselves clean," Malin nodded and then got out of the carriage, stopping the gendarme lieutenant who was ready to call his subordinates to leave their positions, and indicated for Electrum and his men to follow.

At first, the soldiers who were watching the excitement from a distance were wary of Malin as he approached, but when they recognized who was coming, they separated and stood at the entrance of the camp, puffing out their chests and sucking in their guts, as if waiting for Malin’s inspection.

Malin walked up to a pair of human soldiers who were feeding each other punches, and they stopped, looking at Malin with bruised faces. Judging by the swollenness around their eyes, it seemed they couldn’t make out who was standing in front of them.

So it was then that Electrum stepped forward, "You stupid things! Worthless hybrids that don’t look human! Rubbish that can’t even open your dog eyes! Standing before you is Lord Malin Gaiate! He’s come to see you numbskulls!"

The fighting soldiers were all stunned by the Dwarves’ loud voice, and the two human soldiers were the first to step closer, tilting their heads as if to see Malin more clearly.

With a sigh, Malin cast a group Healing Spell for minor injuries for the present soldiers, and upon seeing Malin clearly, these soldiers quickly retreated to one side, saluting Malin.

Malin approached a Domestic Fairy who had been beaten lame, who looked tearfully at Malin.

"How did you join the battle group?" After patting the little thing with a Healing Spell, Malin asked.

The little thing pointed towards two Gnomes, "They said Lord Malin, you would not return, and I couldn’t bear it, so I fought with them."

Electrum glanced at the two Gnomes, and immediately the guards’ soldiers went over and dragged them out.

These two Gnomes looked at Malin, and one of them bravely asked, "Your Excellency, have you come back to lead us southward?"

"Yes," Malin nodded.

"We have wronged you, sir! We hurt a comrade! Just execute us by firing squad!" The two gnomes were prepared to face death.

Malin shook his head: "From today onwards, you must take good care of this Domestic Fairy. Until his legs are healed, you must protect him. Can you do that?"

This was an extremely light punishment. The two gnomes looked at each other, and the gnome who had spoken earlier laughed somewhat awkwardly: "This, this is too lenient. How about we brothers also give three months of our salary to compensate our comrade?"

Malin nodded: "No problem."

Then he patted the little head of the Domestic Fairy: "What do you think about this?"

"Thank you, sir." The little guy was extremely happy, nodding vigorously.

"All right, stop standing around like fools, my soldiers. I have come here today to fulfill my promise. I admit, I have rested a bit too long in the South, but considering my wives are all due to give birth, please forgive me for dividing the love I had for you among them." Malin said this, meanwhile glancing around, the soldiers seemed much more spirited, looking at Malin with smiles.

"Now, soldiers, follow me into the barracks. Tell your comrades that I am back, I will be waiting for you at the Central Training Platform."

The soldiers rushed off, whooping with excitement.

"It’s so good that you could come, sir." The gendarmerie lieutenant finally approached alone at this time.

"You’ve come, a brave lad as well. All right, come with me, let’s go see the soldiers. I believe they should no longer bear any malcontent."

.........

The soldiers were more than just free from malcontent. Upon hearing the news of Malin’s return, they quickly surrounded the Training Platform so tightly that not a drop could escape. To make the most of the space, the tall human soldiers seated Domestic Fairies and gnomes on their shoulders, more half-humans squeezed in front of distant windowsills using telescopes, and on the rooftop, the Dwarves did likewise, all gazing toward Malin.

Ultimately, the gendarmerie was still called over, standing around the Training Platform to keep the soldiers five steps away from the platform, as per Malin’s request. Not only were the gendarmes determined to complete the task, but the soldiers also tried their best to resist the pressure from behind.

Luckily, Malin had a loudspeaker—with it combined with an Amplification Spell, Malin’s first sentence "How are you doing, my soldiers?" was met with cheers from across the entire barracks.

The Domestic Fairies at the front raised their hands and clapped vigorously, but were quickly ordered by the dissatisfied comrades behind them to lower their hands.

"Soldiers! I’m back! Did you miss me?" Malin’s first question received a huge and sincere reply—missed.

Malin smiled, very pleased with the soldiers’ genuine affection: "When I arrived, I heard about your situation. I’m sorry, I’ve returned with the promises I made to you and my apologies. I told your friends before, my love for you was diluted by my partners, so I apologize to you, I’ve returned late."

"Not late!" The dense crowd of soldiers shouted back loudly.

"That’s great, I thought you might be angry with me." Malin stood at the front of the platform, looking down at the soldiers below.

"Not angry!" The soldiers answered Malin with the loudest volume they could muster.

Malin laughed happily: "That’s wonderful, for today, I’ve prepared lots of gifts! Canned meat! New model firearms! Better army overcoats! And countless bullets! When you get them, remember to save a few shots for your Chaos friends."

The soldiers below cheered.

Malin pressed down with his hand.

The soldiers quieted down.

"Soldiers, do you remember the oath I swore before you?" Malin asked.

"We do! When spring comes next year, we will gather again!" A soldier called out first, followed by a thunderous chorus.

"Now I’m back! Soldiers! Seeing your listless appearance breaks my heart! I see beards on your faces! I see your bellies! Some of you aren’t even dressed properly in your uniforms! So from today onwards, I’ll double your training workload! In return for the extra effort, I’ll do my utmost to prepare food for you. Do you have the confidence to give me back your best selves within three months?"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers cheered once again.

"Dismissed! Soldiers! Go back and start preparing! Extra rations tonight!" After Malin finished speaking, he saw all the soldiers starting to applaud, and this time, nobody complained about the Domestic Fairies’ raised hands.

Malin put down the loudspeaker, looking at the soldiers’ excited expressions, he added a bonus for the soldiers: "Every week, there will be group training exercises, and after three months, the unit with the best average results! Will have the right to become my personal troop!"

The soldiers looked deliriously happy.

Soldiers... truly, they are young men easily satisfied.

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