When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1227 Awakening the Giant Beast
The morning mist of early spring has tinged the once green hillsides with a light gray hue.

Carrying a basket full of berries, Hanssk turned and looked down the mountain.

He saw neither the camp made up of endless canvas and oilcloth tents, nor the Holy Alliance soldiers coming and going in military uniforms.

He couldn't distinguish up from down, or left from right, as the sky poured down dark clouds like a vast ocean.

All he could see were layers upon layers of misty threads, covering his head like a sweater his sister had knitted for him.

Hanske felt like a fish in a mud pit, bobbing up and down.

Unable to surface for air or find a way out, they could only suffocate and bewildered.

Ten days have passed since he was rescued by the Holy Alliance army after parting ways with Songzhen Village.

For the first three days of those 10 days, he was in a coma due to severe injuries and excessive bleeding.

It took him four days to be able to walk normally, and the first thing he did was to go back to Songzhen Village.

But Pine Needle Village is gone, leaving only ashes piled up on the ruins, dancing with butterflies when the wind blows.

But butterflies land on bright red flowers, while ashes land on bright red blood.

The villagers either fled or hid and refused to come out.

He could only search through the stench, one corpse after another.

The bad news is that he didn't find his sister or her body; he didn't know if she had turned to ashes or escaped.

The good news was that he found his brother-in-law's body, which was burned beyond recognition and could only be identified by half of his little finger.

Their homes were gone, the village was destroyed, and the villagers left, all gone.

He was the only one left.

With nowhere else to go, Hansk was eventually taken in by the Holy Alliance army, who made him a lowly orderly.

Being a serviceman is much more tiring than being a sentry; there's always work to be done.

But Hansk did not suffer as much as a sentry, nor did he go hungry or be beaten.

Everyone was friendly, and he learned something new every day.

Sometimes it's a few words, sometimes it's arithmetic, and he even gets a salary.

Besides, to be honest, the food provided by the Holy Alliance army was one of the few things that allowed him to temporarily forget his troubles.

Isn't the Holy Alliance a country of ascetics? Why are the soldiers eating such luxurious food?
Hansk had seen the Holy Alliance soldiers in person; they were so impressive, each one like a knight.

He knows this best because he's an orderly!

His luggage contained a frying pan, a coffee pot, various seasonings, and even cheese.

Every morning, he would wake up to the aroma of soldiers frying eggs and sausages in their pans.

They would also sprinkle a pinch of salt into the pan, add a thumb-sized amount of butter, and fry it to release a fragrant, milky aroma.

The sergeant would kick his butt and teach him how to fry eggs, sausages, and porridge.

Making porridge is the simplest thing; just throw the specially made oat bars from Shenglian, which can crush bricks, into a large iron pot and cook them.

Before long, a pot of oatmeal porridge with nuts and raisins will be freshly made.

At this time, the soldiers who got up first tidied up their personal belongings, and then took out an iron funnel and a small tin pot, lined with gauze, to brew coffee.

Each squad of ten had a jar of sugar, and when drinking coffee, the soldiers would add sugar to it as if it were free.

Although it's outdoor camping, the food is just as good as that of a luxury restaurant.

This was completely different from the ascetic army in the legends of the Holy Alliance that Hansk remembered.

However, it is not accurate to say that they are a lazy and cowardly mob.

Hanske still remembers that day when they marched into a narrow mountain pass and encountered a group of knights.

He had assumed that the Holy Alliance infantry would surely flee, and under such circumstances, there would be no time to deploy the legendary Great Horizontal Formation.

Caught off guard, they dared to take the initiative, brandishing their bayonets, and charge back against the cavalry in a column.

The Holy Alliance infantry in the middle seemed to have fired a few shots, and before Hansk could react, the battle was over.

Those extraordinary knights, whom he considered unapproachable, were driven away by the continuous barrage of fire before they could even retaliate.

Hanske wasn't sure if all the soldiers were good people, because many of them were quite violent.

At least for now, he finally has a place to settle down. Although it is still the front line of the war, it is the most comfortable place he has ever been.

"Smack—" Before Hansk could snap out of his reverie, he felt a sharp pain in his buttocks.

Looking back, he saw the old sergeant, bald Pierre, standing with his hands on his hips, looking at him coldly: "Trying to slack off, huh? I'm waiting for your basket of berries, are you going to wait until tomorrow night?"

"No, no, I'll go get it right away."

"Don't think I'm any better just because you were brought by Pastor Vasya."

"No, no, no..."

As they talked, the two carried buckets and picked berries down the mountain. The soldiers kept complaining that they were tired of eating salty food, so they wanted to get something sour to whet their appetites.

As they descended the hill, Pierre gazed thoughtfully at the back of Hanske's head.

After a long pause, he suddenly spoke up: "Has your name been registered?"

"No, the clerk told me to register today. I just learned how to write my own name."

"What name should we register?"

"Hanske..."

"Do you know how many Hansks there are in our servicemen's camp?" Old Pierre held up two fingers. "Fifty. We don't even have enough nicknames."

It must be said that Pierre and Hansque are two of the most common names associated with François and Leia.

In one of Leia's villages, perhaps a third of the men are named Hansk.

Therefore, people in the same village often use nicknames to distinguish them.

However, this military camp was no different from a village, except that there were so many people that it was difficult to distinguish them by nicknames alone.

"What should I do?"

"What's your last name, kid?"

“I don’t have a surname… In the village, everyone calls me Bean Sprout Hansk.”

"Alright, alright, you've already had two bean sprouts, go get another one." At this point, old Pierre suddenly interjected, "If you did something meritorious and made it into the newspapers, how would your sister recognize you among so many Hanskers?"

Hanske staggered, the cloudy light in his eyes dimming considerably: "I... I've done something right? Impossible, right?"

"Why not? Quite a few service soldiers have been promoted to full soldiers."

“But I am not from Thousand River Valley, nor am I a nobleman.”

“Fool, although Xianshidian will become an independent nation after its establishment, the federal governor will be appointed by His Majesty. You are a member of the Holy Alliance.”

The more Hanske spoke, the brighter his eyes became.

Perhaps when he achieves success and fame, even without much fame, his sister will know about him?
My sister is just missing for now. If she sees me in a newspaper or on a notice, then we can be reunited, right?

Or to put it more grandly, Hanske also had a big goal in mind, which was to become a centurion!

How much face will he gain in front of his sister if he becomes the captain of the centurion? Even if he gets another brother-in-law in the future, he won't dare to hit his sister anymore.

If your sister wants to find a brother-in-law, she should go to those pastors, like Pastor Vasya, who is quite good.

Pastor Vasya has a high level of education; he only has a high school diploma!

“Then I, then my name is Hansk from Pine Needle Village.” Hansk scratched his head. “Hansk Furzham (from) Lana (Pine Needle).”

“Hanske Lana,” Pierre nodded. “A good name…”

Hanske heard a sharp whooshing sound, and he turned his head sharply to see Pierre clutching his bleeding ear, kicking Hanske in the buttocks with a ferocious expression.

Hanske rolled down the hillside with a gurgling sound, while Pierre immediately slid down the hillside in the other direction.

Hiding behind a large rock, Hanske was still in a daze when he saw Pierre pull out a short gun.

He pointed his pistol at the sky and pulled the trigger.

The arrow, trailing red smoke, soared into the sky with a sharp whistling sound.

Even though nothing seemed to have changed, Hanske still felt the fog stirring.

It was as if some giant beast had been awakened after the fog had cleared.

(End of this chapter)