Chapter 40 Cannon Fodder

"Let's talk about [Lion]."

"Have you seen him?"

"I saw him once, and he gave me the impression that he was as terrifying as a man-eating beast god."

——————

Sergeant Latobis of the 23rd Kranos Infantry Regiment was guarding an almost abandoned trench alone. He felt hungry, sleepy, and nightmare-like cold.

Sergeant Latopis grabbed his raincoat and pulled it hard. He felt that the temperature of his skin was dropping rapidly. This was not a good thing. He had seen soldiers who froze to death. Their

His face was as ferocious as a legendary savage.

The sergeant's ten fingers were all red from the cold, and he couldn't even lift the automatic gun smoothly. He sniffed, sucked the big and sticky snot back into his nasal cavity, and let out a

There was a disgusting sound of mucus rubbing and rolling.

But he didn't care about such trivial matters. Lathobis's body was shivering involuntarily in the freezing cold temperature. His eyes wandered among the puddles in the trench that were slowly freezing, and finally returned to his eyes.

There was a crude instrument placed there. At a glance, it was obvious that it was a completely industrial product, but this did not prevent Latobis from serving it like a queen.

After all, apart from the automatic gun next to him, the automatic heater that he got after begging his grandfather to tell his grandmother is already the most valuable thing in Sergeant Latobis's body. It is even more valuable than his own life.

.

The sergeant looked at the little thing in front of him enthusiastically, as if he were looking at a hot girl - no, no matter how hot the girl was, she couldn't compare to it. His stiff fingers reached into his shirt.

Inside, under the rainproof leather jacket, he put on another layer of outer clothing, and underneath that was the furry military uniform, and inside the military uniform was another layer of the warmest and best sweater, which he wore from his own body.

The only thing I brought out from my hometown had not been washed for several months and exuded a disgusting stench of wool and sweat.

But it doesn’t matter. There is a stench everywhere in the trenches: whether it’s the rotting corpses outside, the supplies soaked in sewage, the bodies that haven’t been washed for too long, or even the gray-haired animal in the corner that is starving to death and resembles a mouse.

, and the urine secretly peed by the watchman last night. They all stink. Stink is a theme in the trenches.

The only good thing is that the temperature is so cold now that even the smell and flying insects have been dissipated. This can be regarded as a kind of joy in suffering.

But Sergeant Latopis didn't care about this. He cared more about what he had on hand. With stiff fingers, he carefully took out a box of round tin cans from the inner pocket of his clothes. The outer shell of the tin can was covered with green

The paint was sprayed haphazardly, and words such as [Standard Ration—Type IV] could be vaguely seen on it.

He hooked the tab and opened it. The inside of the tin can was filled with a flesh-colored mixture, and dark brown solids like stones could be vaguely seen. To be honest, this combination looked a bit disgusting.

They said it was canned meat mixed with some beneficial plant stems and artificial substances, but he wasn't sure, didn't know, and didn't care.

Latopis handled all this carefully. He first pulled off the lid completely and put it aside, and then carefully placed his cans in the automatic heating machine. It was like a young man

The father held his son in his arms for the first time, and a feeling of excitement, joy and even some fear overflowed involuntarily.

With a slight creaking sound, the self-heater started working. Soon, the aroma and heat continued to spread. Latobis greedily enjoyed this rare touch of warmth. He couldn't help but smell it.

, and then he retched violently: once the inferior paint was baked, the pungent stench emitted even overshadowed the aroma of the food.

And just as he was rubbing his head and nose, an equally dirty figure rushed into the trench and galloped towards La Tobis.

The sergeant subconsciously grabbed the gun, and put the self-heater and his lunch into his arms regardless of the scalding temperature with his other hand. Then, he saw clearly who the person was and couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.

"Second Lieutenant Tigray, it's you."

The person who came had a dark face, and when he smiled, he showed a mouth full of yellow rotten teeth. The guy's footsteps were fast, and he almost slid all the way to Sergeant Latobis's side, and sat down smoothly.

Latobis instinctively straightened his back to make himself look as respectful as possible: unlike himself, a sergeant who was picked up for free, Tigray was actually a second lieutenant who was promoted through military service, and was even once the captain's guard.

.

Then, Tigray pressed his shoulders and forced him down.

"Okay, okay, don't be ridiculous, come on, give your kid something good."

Tigray took out two dirty and oily packages from his arms and threw one to Latopis. Then he wiped his hands, looked at the dirt between his fingers, and rubbed them fiercely.

After rubbing it, he carefully took out a letter from the deepest part of his inner pocket, and then he read it intoxicatedly regardless of what La Tobis was doing.

Latopis put down his lunch and opened the package, only to see a dark mass inside, as if it had been kneaded many times.

It should be edible.

After thinking for a moment, Sergeant Latopis tore off a bit and stuffed it into his mouth.

At that moment, it was like a sledgehammer swinging like a tiger, smashing the shell of depression in his mouth, allowing his tongue and taste buds to once again experience the concept of "taste" and the breath of life.

His teeth chewed unconsciously, crushing everything and squeezing out as much of the oily liquid as possible.

The sergeant swallowed involuntarily, letting the delicious piece slide down his throat. He froze in place, and then couldn't wait to bite the remaining part, even if he swallowed the paper piece by piece, he didn't care.

This is meat!

It's not the messy starch distributed by those bastards from the Ministry of Military Affairs, nor is it the weird beasts walking in the tunnels that even starving ghosts won't eat.

This is real meat!

He devoured it, feeling the warmth of joy emanating from his pupils.

——————

Latopis has known Tigray for almost two years.

At that time, their legion was not in this damn desert, but in a strange place called the Forge World, where there were huge factories and furnaces with billowing smoke everywhere, and there were some strange-looking guys walking around.

They lost the battle there, a very tragic defeat. The entire regiment was destroyed. Everyone was running for their lives. Abandoned firearms and armored vehicles were piled up into hills. Just as Latobis followed

When everyone was fleeing for their lives, he met Tigray.

At that time, Tigray was injured and was still supporting an officer who was shot in the thigh. He later found out that it was the captain of Tigray. At that time, Latobis just thought about it, and his pity took over for a moment.

The upper hand allowed him to run over and help Tigray and the officer successfully escape.

Later, he heard that the defeat eventually turned into a collapse that almost swept the entire world. It was not until the legendary angels of death intervened that the situation was contained. It was said that the generals and commanders who directed the battle were all shot.

When the 23rd Kranos Regiment was counted afterwards, only about one-fifteenth of the men successfully ran back.

But for Latropis, this was not a bad thing. After the officer recovered a little, he immediately promoted Latropis from private to sergeant, and said he would take him with him.

Such a good thing made Latobis fantasize about it for several days, until he heard that the officer followed many wounded people on a ship bound for the rear. Then, before the ship had time to take off, it was bombed by an alien attack.

into pieces.

A few days later, Tigray, holding the rank of second lieutenant, came to the trenches of the 23rd Kranos Regiment. Along with him came a large number of recruits and stragglers from other regiments. The regiment was soon filled again.

Members - at least that's what it seemed like, and then they were kicked into this barren desert world and forgotten in the cold wind for two full years.

"How does it taste? These are cured meats made by my mother herself. They are much better than the bullshit military food given out by those bastards."

"My mother said in the letter that she packed five packages for me, but the bastards in the logistics department told me that there were only two packages and the rest were lost. Damn it! Those bastards!"

Tigre spat, and then continued to read the letter. The letter was not long, but he read it again and again, and smiled unconsciously.

Latobis devoured the pieces of meat, and then licked his oily fingers with endless interest. After licking them one by one, he picked up his lunch, although it didn't look good and was cold.

, but he still ate greedily.

The sound of eating echoed in the trench until Tigre stroked the letter, carefully folded it, and put it in his inner pocket. The second lieutenant wanted to smoke a cigarette, but he searched his pockets and couldn't find any.

No.

At this time, Latopis's voice came from the side.

"Second Lieutenant, there is something I have been wanting to ask."

"explain."

"Why did you come to join the army?"

When Tigray heard this, he simply touched his chin and stopped looking for a cigarette to smoke. He just laughed.

"I said it was for the great cause of mankind, for the empire, for the emperor, do you believe it?"

"Uh...For what?"

"For the emperor, for the emperor, the biggest boss who pays us wages, you have to learn to click this sentence. Those officers love to hear this, they also love to shout this, and those people

Awesome mortal auxiliaries, that’s what they call when they fight.”

"Uh, mortal auxiliary army? Isn't that what we are?"

"You want to fart!"

Tigray slapped Latopis on the head unceremoniously and laughed angrily.

"Those armies from Terra and those big places are the mortal auxiliary army. Haven't you seen that their equipment and guns can beat us ten blocks away? Let me tell you, those guys from Terra have their noses in the sky.

, especially those...narrators, they don't recognize guys like us as mortal auxiliaries, they only recognize the rich men of Terra and big places."

"Ah...that's it...then Lieutenant, why are you here? Is it really...for the emperor?"

"Shit! For money."

Tigray touched his coat pocket, which contained his letters from home, his most precious thing.

"I originally lived in my hometown, with an old woman above me and a brother below me. I didn't have a wife or children, but it was no problem for me and my brother to work together to support my mother. Until my brother went to work once

The leg got caught in the machine."
To be continued...