Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1227 Do you feel it’s a pity?

When I left the cabin, Kadora was still waiting outside. She stood under a half-dead old tree, with her hands behind her back, looking up at the withered treetops. The growth period of the cursed tree is very long, but it only takes one night to grow old. The rickety old tree in front of me exudes a deeper sense of death than the dusk. In its age counted in hundreds of years, has it long anticipated the moment of its own death?

Hearing the footsteps, the girl turned around, raised her eyebrows, and greeted the two men: "Mitch, Mr. Ling, is the combat meeting over?"

"Yeah." Mitch didn't say anything, and Linger gave the answer for him.

"Have you come to any conclusion?" Kadora asked.

Lingge was about to speak, but Mitch got there first and replied with a sullen face, "Let's talk about this when we get back, Kadora."

The girl noticed that the boy seemed to be in a bad mood, but it was not simply anxiety or dissatisfaction, but rather a more complex emotion. She blinked her eyes and did not ask further, but said "hmm" obediently. Although the girl has always been the more stubborn of the two, occasionally, when the boy becomes stubborn, she is often the first to give in.

"Let me give you a ride."

Linge said.

This was of course an excuse. What else could he give in the Ash Guerrilla camp? The real reason was that he had something to say to these two people, of course, mainly to Mitch.

Neither Mitch nor Kadora objected, so the three of them left and headed for the rest area of ​​the Youth Army. After they left, the other people who attended the meeting also walked out of the wooden house one after another, leaving the Ash Guerrilla camp with either expectant or solemn expressions on their faces. They had to hurry up and convey the battle plan to their companions who were still staying in the base, and prepare for the upcoming war.

A week from now, the fate of the Liberators Front will be revealed.

The last person to leave the cabin was Grayhill Eagle, but after he left, two people stayed in the cabin, one was Regina, and the other was the leader of the Miners' Brotherhood, Giovanni, known as "Iron Heart". Carson Borg had long guessed that the two of them had some topics to discuss, and that they should be topics that were not convenient for outsiders to know, so he kindly left a quiet space for them, and even the soldiers who were patrolling nearby were sent away by him for various reasons to ensure that no one could hear the conversation between Regina and Giovanni.

However, even the Grayhill Eagle could never guess what Regina's first words would be.

"Um, is everyone okay, Boss Giovanni? I, I mean, do you remember what happened back then... That's not right! In a nutshell, it's... that..."

This red-haired girl was a reliable assistant to the Gray Hill Eagle, an optimistic and cheerful elder sister to the Ash Guerrillas, and a caring and loving sister to Mitch and Kadora. No matter how difficult the situation was, she never wavered, as if she had no concept of sadness and disappointment in her mind. Only when facing this white-haired old man, she showed an expression of shame and guilt, and she didn't even dare to look him in the eye. She dodged and timidly said the words that had been hidden in her heart for many years: "I'm sorry, my dad and I are really sorry... everyone..."

Her tone gradually became low, and in the end it was even weaker than the sound of wind blowing through fallen leaves, as if she was not talking to the old man in front of her, but talking to herself, talking to herself, and then apologizing to herself.

Giovanni folded his arms across his chest, looking down at the girl from above, saying nothing. He only looked for the girl who had dared to run into the mine to play just after learning to walk many years ago. At that time, her parents were so angry that they beat her with a stick. The miner leader, who was not as old as he is today, laughed loudly, protected the girl behind him, and said to her parents in a solemn tone: "The blood of rock and ore flows in this child's bones. She was born the daughter of the mine!"

But when did she become what she is today? The daughter of the mine should not speak in such a hesitant and timid tone, just as the timid cannot be favored by the mountain god, and those who dare not swing the pickaxe into the darkness deserve to starve. This is the only truth that the miners in Lostra believe in.

Old Giovanni didn't say anything, so Regina kept her head down, feeling a little lost. She felt that she would never be forgiven by this elder, and perhaps she would never be forgiven for the rest of her life. However, just as the girl's heart was sinking, she suddenly heard a familiar, heroic laugh, which was more powerful than the mattock in the hands of the miners, enough to penetrate all the obstacles of soil, rocks and rock formations. Then, a pair of rough hands pressed on her head and kneaded it gently. The huge palm grabbed the girl's head, just like grabbing a small apple, and there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

"Hold your head up, Regina. You are the daughter of the mine. You should always hold your head high." The old man said carelessly, "As for apologizing, there is no need. Your father trusted his apprentice and decided to recruit him into the group. There was nothing wrong with that. His apprentice betrayed your father's trust and informed those damned Westlanders, which led to the failure of the uprising. That was his fault. Why should you apologize for someone who did nothing wrong while letting the person who really did something wrong hide and laugh? You are my apprentice, Regina. I don't remember teaching you to be such a fool!"

"But, Boss Giovanni..."

"No buts! Hold your head up and face me with dignity. This is what a bold and unrestrained son and daughter of the mine should be like. Hahahaha!"

"But, Boss Giovanni... you're holding my head and I can't lift it up..."

"a ha ha ha!"

……

"So, what happened?"

After walking to an empty corner, Kadora asked. At this time, Mitch's expression returned to normal. For some reason, his first reaction to this question was to look at Lingge, while the young man shook his head, indicating that this was a matter between you and Kadora, and I would not interfere.

The boy sighed in disappointment, then he pulled himself together and told Kadora the plan they had discussed at the combat meeting. The girl was not surprised that the Liberation Front would launch an operation against the mineral town of Lostra. She had guessed long ago that under the current situation, the rebels would have a major operation, but she had not guessed the target.

It was the other thing Mitch mentioned that was really relevant to her, or rather, to the entire youth army.

"Brother Carson has given us a mission."

Mickey said, "There is a small fortress on the commanding heights on the east and west sides of Lostra Town. There are not too many troops stationed in them, but they are equipped with the enemy's continuous magic machine guns. If these machine guns are allowed to fire, the casualties of the troops attacking head-on will be very heavy. Therefore, someone is needed to deal with them, and we are one of the candidates, responsible for the fortress on the east side." After listening to this, Kadora finally understood why Mickey had such a complicated expression when he walked out of the wooden house.

This was the first time that the young soldiers had taken on such an important mission. In the past, their missions on the battlefield were simple, such as setting traps, intercepting deserters, or simply cooperating on the periphery. Considering their age and combat experience, it was not impossible to think that this was deliberately taken care of by the adults. And today, was it because Grayhill Eagle felt that Mitch and his companions had grown up and were able to take on greater responsibilities, or was it because there was a shortage of manpower and even the children had to be pulled out to serve as the new force?

If it was the former, Mitch would feel gratified and proud; if it was the latter... he would be a little worried.

"do not think too much about it."

Linger suddenly reached out and knocked on the boy's forehead. When the latter screamed, he said to him in a calm but composed tone: "In any case, the war has begun, and it will not stop because of anyone's confusion. The only thing you have to do is to do your best to complete the tasks assigned to you by Mr. Carson, and at the same time protect your companions. This is consistent with what you have done in the past, isn't it?"

But what should you do if there is a conflict between completing the mission and protecting your companions, and you can only choose one?

At times like this, your responsibility and awareness as a leader are tested.

“When you feel confused, think about why you are fighting.”

Linger looked at the boy deeply, but Mitch had not yet realized the complex meaning contained in this look. In the young man's comfort, which was not comforting, his mood magically calmed down, and because of the young man's words, he thought of many things. There were scenes of him losing his parents and relatives in the war and wandering around, and there were scenes of him being taken in by the Gray Hill Eagle and having the courage to tell him that he could fight; there were scenes of him persuading Kadora not to think of the war too simply, and finally agreeing to her joining the Youth Army under her repeated insistence, and there were scenes of the Gray Hill Eagle patting his shoulder and saying meaningfully, "You will be a good leader in the future"...

Finally, all the images were frozen on that day, the scene he saw in the school of Yunjingkong Island. Children of his age were studying in spacious and bright classrooms. They had clear eyes and sincere smiles, and were regaining those faint hopes from the pain of war. He stared at this scene in a daze. Was he envious or unwilling in his mind? But the boy was sure that he had no regrets about embarking on this path.

He rubbed his nose, and when he raised his head again, he had turned back into the familiar look of Lingge, a confident and flamboyant kid, but not annoying: "I understand! It's just a small fortress, look, I'm going to blow it to pieces and let those damned Westerners... Wow, I'm not talking about you, Pastor Lingge..."

When he is not arrogant, he is like an autistic child, but when he becomes arrogant, he becomes complacent. Who does this personality resemble?
Linger stared at Mitch for a while, but he didn't really care about the derogatory name he used against the people of the West. Perhaps the young man himself didn't realize it, but he had gradually transcended the limitations of the world in his mentality and no longer cared so much about everything that the world was obsessed with. Not only did he not care about the difference between the people of the East and West, he even no longer minded the difference between humans and aliens, mortals and extraordinary people, finite and infinite, long and short... If he knew enough about the history of the Moruya people, he would know that the Moruya witch called this virtue "great love". Treating all living beings in the world equally means loving all things in the world equally. This is a quality that every king of the elves possesses, but for young people today, it is just a common cognition.

Compared to the so-called "great love", he cared more about the obscene slang that the boy blurted out. He frowned and said, "What a son of a bitch... Did you learn this from old Giovanni? He is qualified to curse like that, but you are not yet of the corresponding age, so don't learn blindly. It is not a sign of boldness and uninhibitedness for a child to curse. It is purely a lack of quality. Don't let me hear such words next time."

The young man glanced at Mitch, and the teacher's authority that he had re-cultivated in the past few days suddenly emanated from him, causing the latter to shudder inexplicably and quickly agree.

Cardora was a little curious: "Who is Boss Giovanni?"

Even Mr. Lingge has to call him boss, is he that powerful?

Mitch quickly said, "He's the boss of the Miners' Brotherhood, a very powerful old man. Oh, and he's also Regina's boss."

"Hey, isn't Brother Carson the eldest, Sister Regina?"

"The eldest brother is the eldest brother, and the eldest is the eldest. There is a difference between the two. You must not understand, Katara?"

"I really don't understand. You boys have really complicated mindsets."

"But Sister Regina is a girl."

"Well……"

The three of them walked and talked, not talking about the war anymore. When they arrived at the rest area of ​​the Youth Army (actually a few simple wooden houses), the young man declined the two's invitation to come in as a guest, saying that he would return to Cloud Whale Sky Island as soon as possible to inform the others of the news. But before leaving, he seemed to remember something and said to the two: "Mitch, Kadora, come to Cloud Whale Sky Island when you have time. Rolena has some alchemy tools left over from the past. You can use them, and the mission will be easier."

"Eh?" Mitch hesitated. He did not doubt the ability of the alchemist sister who was always smiling, but he said, "Such a precious alchemy tool, wouldn't it be better to leave it to Brother Carson and the others?"

After all, the pressure on the front battlefield is greater than anyone else.

Ling Ge shook his head: "There are not many of them, so it won't have any effect. What a pity... No, it's nothing. Anyway, if you think this is inappropriate, use the power of these alchemical tools to remove the enemy's fortress as soon as possible and reduce some casualties on the front battlefield."

Mitch could accept this statement. He nodded vigorously: "Yeah!"

Only Kadora looked at the young man in confusion, probably wondering what he meant by the word "it's a pity" he just blurted out.

But the young man had no intention of explaining. He turned and left. His back quickly disappeared from the two people's sight and was buried in the shadowy dark forest. Only the silent night and the residual heat of the campfire were cooling down.

Give me some meow