Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1228 Is he still a child?

After Linger left, Mitch gathered his companions and announced the news to them. When they learned that the young soldiers were about to take on important tasks in this operation, everyone's reactions were different. Some were worried and uneasy, while others were full of confidence. Mitch actually knew where the worry and confidence came from, after all, he had just experienced this feeling. But the facts cannot be changed, and those who have set foot on the battlefield will never turn back, even if they are just children.

When everyone calmed down, Mitch began to arrange tasks for everyone as a leader. Although they had to remove the enemy's fortress, a mindless attack was obviously not feasible. They might be shot into a sieve by the enemy's magic machine guns before they could get close. So Mitch came up with a very simple but effective plan, which was to wait until the battle began and the enemy's attention was on the front battlefield, and then quickly advance and attack the fortress with a small force, destroy the enemy's continuous magic machine guns as quickly as possible, and then retreat. They couldn't fight for too long. They were at a disadvantage in terms of physical fitness and firepower, and the only thing they could use was their own concealment and mobility. As for the others, they could make a noise nearby to create the illusion of a large enemy invasion and disperse the enemy's firepower.

Undoubtedly, the team that entered the fortress was the most dangerous, and in the worst case, they would even face the crisis of annihilation. As a leader, Mitch had no choice but to take on this task. At the same time, he selected the bravest, most stable, and most experienced soldiers in the Youth Army. They were basically the backbones who joined the Youth Army the earliest. Except for their age, their qualities in all aspects were not inferior to those of the adults. Of course, another selection criterion that Mitch did not mention was: those who hated the invaders the most.

The reason why it is not mentioned is not because there is something to hide, but because everyone knows it.

"Ike, Fasha, Joshua, Craig, Maddow, Milk, and..." Mitch's eyes swept across the faces of his familiar companions one by one. None of the people whose names were called showed any surprise. Some clenched their fists, looking impatient, while others silently wiped their weapons, as if they had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. Each of them had a deep hatred for the invaders, and each of them had a reason to go to the battlefield. If Mitch didn't take them with him, it would make the other side feel that they were looked down upon. This was the reason why the boy could call out their names without any psychological burden.

But when he was about to call out someone's name, he suddenly paused, and then, for the first time, a hesitant expression appeared on his face.

"Hey! Why did you stop all of a sudden?" the man shouted dissatisfiedly, "Shouldn't my name be called next? Could it be that after just a few hours, you have forgotten my name, Mitch? We are good brothers!"

"Who is your good brother?"

Although he was used to the other party's irrelevant way of speaking, the boy still subconsciously refuted, and then realized that now was not the time to argue with this guy. He hesitated for a moment, and suddenly recalled what Metien said that day, or a terrible curse. Although everyone thought it was absurd at the time, but, what if?
Even Metien said so, what if?
"Otherwise, you just..."

Why don't you join us?

The boy began to speak tentatively, but before he could finish his words, he was rudely interrupted by Moya: "Are you kidding me, Mitch?"

The latter stared at the former, with a serious and earnest look in his eyes that Mitch had never seen since he met him. In the boy's impression, Moya has always been a free-spirited guy, undisciplined, self-indulgent, and egoistic, giving people a carefree feeling. Even when talking about his past, he always had a smiling expression on his face: "I don't know, I just remember the war, everyone abandoned the village and fled for their lives, and my father and mother told me to follow them closely and not get lost. As a result, they ran away and I don't know where they ran. Maybe they got lost. What a pair of idiots."

Someone asked him, what next?

"Then? I'll just wander around by myself. But there's nothing wrong with wandering. I've long disliked that small village because it's too remote and boring. If I go out and play, I can encounter many new and interesting things."

He said with a smile that wandering was a journey of play, which caused dissatisfaction among some people, because they were also wanderers and knew how painful and lonely this process was. But Moya didn't care about their opinions and continued to do his own thing, firmly believing that he left the village to have fun, and his parents were just lost, and they would meet again sooner or later.

As for the reason why he joined the Ash Guerrillas, it was incredibly simple: "I was hungry and couldn't find food anywhere. At this time, Brother Carson said, come with me and you can have a full meal, so I followed him. Although he lied to me and I was never full, only half full, I am not the kind of person who doesn't repay a favor. He gave me food, so I helped him fight."

When Mitch heard this for the first time, he was very angry. He felt that he was insulting the Eagle of the Ash Hill, whom he admired the most, and also insulting the great cause of the Ash Guerrillas. The boy who was not very familiar with Moya at the time retorted sarcastically: "If the Westerners gave you a bite to eat, would you also help them fight? Maybe you would be more enthusiastic?"

There was malice in his tone, but this was not a fictional plot. Just like those shameless lords and merchants, after surrendering to the invaders, they intensified their oppression of the people of this land, sometimes even more excessively than the people of the Western Land. It was really hard to know who was the invader.

"These are two different things."

Mo Ya didn't care. He held his head with both hands, looked up at the sky, and replied casually: "Anyway, the Western Land guy didn't give me a bite of food to eat. It made me hungry."

Moya's personality, casual style, and temperament that didn't fit in with the surroundings once isolated him. No one wanted to deal with him, and they were even afraid that his attitude would cause trouble for everyone on the battlefield. But later, as they worked together more and more, they gradually discovered that he was actually a good guy, except for his bad words, and his performance on the battlefield was not as bad as they had imagined. The relationship between them gradually improved.

It was because of the deep impression of him in the past that Mitch suddenly felt strange when he showed a serious attitude, as if he had suddenly become a different person. His staring eyes, serious expression, and lips pursed into a straight line were undoubtedly conveying a message to everyone: Do you want to exclude me from this operation? No way!
In fact, Mitch wanted to ask him, since you joined the Ash Guerrilla just to make a living, what's the reason for you to fight those invaders? Others have endless hatred, but for you, wandering is just a journey of play, your parents are just temporarily lost and there is no time to find them, all the deep hatreds worth stepping on the battlefield do not exist, why are you standing here and saying this to me?
Or maybe, in fact, we have never really understood you, and the boy we knew in the past was just the way he wanted to appear?

Mitch vaguely felt that it might be the latter.

Although it is difficult for others to see through a person when he wants to hide himself, but after so many years, I don’t even have a real understanding of him. Does this mean that I am neither a qualified friend nor a qualified leader?
Mitch felt a little sad, but he knew that now was not the time to blame himself because everyone - especially Moya - was still waiting for his decision.

The boy sighed silently, and when he raised his head, his expression had returned to normal. He spoke, and his tone was not one of compromise, but of helplessness: "Then, you should come with us, Moya."

The seriousness and deepness on Moya's face disappeared at once, so fast that people thought what they just saw was an illusion. He reached out and patted Mitch's shoulder, and said with a playful smile: "That's right, I'm very strong. Without me, you will lose an important fighting force. How can this be possible? Of course, in addition to being strong, I am also very lucky. You know, the most important thing on the battlefield is luck. With me here, I guarantee that this mission will be completed smoothly!" He never forgot to emphasize his good luck. This is also an old problem. In this regard, how else can everyone react except being speechless? After solving the problem of "whether he should go to the battle", Moya seemed to have put down a worry, and the whole person relaxed. He naturally ignored the strange looks of his companions, pinched his chin, and thought to himself: "By the way, there is still a week before the operation starts. It's too boring to just wait like this. Why not go to Tianxin Church to play a few games?"

"Hey, I heard everything!" Mitch said with a dark face, "You are not allowed to go! Stay here for this week and train well, and make preparations before the battle. Your weapon has not been maintained for a long time, it's a good thing it can still be used. Kadora, keep an eye on this kid for me. No, keep an eye on everyone except Moya. This operation is very important, not the small fights in the past. You all should be prepared and don't let down your guard!"

"Okay." Kadora nodded decisively and agreed.

There were a few sighs in the crowd, and some people looked at Moya with complaining eyes. They probably had the same idea in their hearts, but they didn't expect Moya to say it directly, and Mitch heard it. Now that they were targeted by Kadora, none of them could have fun.

With the war approaching, they still had this mentality. In fact, it was not that they were too lax, but just a habit. Every time they had a mission, they would go to Tianxin Church to play games first, pretending to be relaxed and casual, so that Metien could feel at ease. Over time, everyone took it as a routine. If they didn't play games or listen to Metien's sermon before carrying out a mission, they always felt something was missing.

But this time it's different.

This time, if we step into the battlefield with an overly relaxed attitude, something bad will happen.

Besides, if they went to Tianxin Church now, it would only make Metien more worried.

Strangely, Moya, the instigator, did not show any regrets. He just smiled, stretched, and said casually: "Okay, I'll listen to you. If I don't want to go, then I won't go. At most, I can come back and complete Zelda again. It's the same thing..."

Mitch's eyebrows jumped.

This familiar sentence, as well as the curse that Metien had said, came to his mind again, making him suddenly a little irritated. The boy angrily shouted, "Shut up, don't say that again, Moya!"

"What?"

Moya was stunned by what he said. It took him a while to realize what Mitch meant by "this kind of words". He was immediately surprised and looked at him with strange eyes: "So you really believe it, Mitch?"

Mitch felt a little guilty when he looked at her, but refused to admit it: "Believe, believe what? I just asked you to stop disturbing everyone's attention!"

"Let's just take it as it is."

Moya shrugged and sighed in a voice that everyone could hear: "You actually believe such childish talk. You are still a child, Mitch."

"you--"

Mitch was so angry that he wanted to have a good argument with him, but he was covered by Kadora who had been silent all the time. He was dragged out of the room forcefully in the eyes of everyone who were either surprised, suspicious, watching the show or thinking. Mitch was still a little indignant after being stopped, and snorted: "Why are you stopping me? Let me go. Moya looks down on people. I want to duel with him!"

"Moya is right." Kadora let go of his hand and sighed softly: "You are still a child after all, Mitch."

"Varied--!?"

"I know what you are worried about, and Moya also knows what you are worried about. In other words, everyone knows what you are worried about, but Michel, you shouldn't let everyone know what you are worried about." The girl stared into the boy's eyes and said word by word, "Because you are our leader, you have our recognition and trust. If you are worried about something, everyone will worry about it too. If you have no confidence in this battle, everyone will lose confidence as well. Being a leader is not a right, but an obligation you should fulfill, Michel. So, don't spread your emotions to others. That's not what a qualified leader should do."

Mitch was stunned and confused. He was speechless: "I..."

"But it doesn't matter, Mitch, because you have two very good teachers." The girl suddenly smiled at him, her voice as soft as a nun in the church confessing to him, although the boy had never had such an experience: "When you don't know what to do, think about what Brother Carson and Pastor Ling would do."

"They will tell you."

Give me some meow