Alice in the Land of Steam

Mitch didn't dare to face Metine because of the curse, or the careless words. In his opinion, Metine had warned him a long time ago, but he ignored her warning because of his arrogance, which eventually led to a huge tragedy. Moya paid the price for this, which was his life, something more important than anything else.

If I had been more persistent at the time, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

Thinking this way, he selectively ignored the fact that the person who was most persistent at the time was not him, but Moya. So there is no need to regret or feel guilty about this, no matter who it is, no one can change the will of the person involved.

Besides, the so-called curse is nothing more than a joke uttered by a genius player. It may happen in games or novels, because the creation of stories requires drama, and authors often make compromises for this. The real world is neither a game nor a novel. If you try to use any theorem or law to summarize fate, it is actually all nonsense.

Ling, who knew the whole story, understood Mitch's concern. On the one hand, he complained in his heart that the genius player always liked to spread some messed up theories, which even affected Metien and others. On the other hand, he felt that he could not let the boy continue to have wild thoughts, otherwise, even if he eliminated his concern now, he would fall into it again sooner or later.

Let's find something for him to do.

After thinking for a while, Lingge simply ignored Mitch's objection and dragged him out of the school and walked towards Tianxin Church. The boy tried to resist at first, but after being glanced at by the young man, he dared not act rashly and could only follow him silently and be led away. This may also show that the boy's resistance is not that strong. Rather than saying that he dared not face Metien, it is better to say that... he didn't know how to face it.

On the way to the church, Linger found a random topic to distract Mitch.

"Now that the mineral town of Lostra has been recaptured, what is the next move of the rebels?"

Linge said: "Although it's a bit far away, if you need our help, you can always ask us, don't mind."

Although the large army was dispatched collectively, there were still some people left in the camp of the Ash Guerrillas. One of the purposes of the Gray Hill Eagle to keep them was to keep in touch with the Cloud Whale Sky Island in order to deal with various emergencies. Before the Kingdom Army officially intervened in the war in the Ansers region, Linger and his party had always been the most reliable allies of the Liberation Front. Even if the Kingdom Army officially intervened, it could not replace this position, because no one would be like these travelers who fell from the sky, selflessly providing assistance without asking for anything in return.

This is from the perspective of the rebels. From Ling's own perspective, his help to the rebels was certainly not selfless. He also had his own selfish motives. However, his selfish motives did not involve politics and would not harm anyone's interests.

"The follow-up actions... I'm not sure." Mitch shook his head and was vague.

This answer surprised Linger: "Why, you didn't know? Mr. Carson and the others didn't tell you?"

Logically, this shouldn't be the case. Mitch may not have realized it yet, but Linger knew very well how much the Grayhill Eagle valued him. He could even be considered as the next leader to be trained - not the leader of the Youth Army, but the leader of the Ash Guerrillas and possibly the entire Liberator Front in the future. If not for this, he would not have been allowed to attend such an important combat meeting last time.

If even Mitch is not qualified to know the next move...

"They didn't tell me, but I think it's because they haven't made a decision yet." Mitch thought for a moment and said, "Although we successfully recaptured Lostra Town, we were already very busy just counting supplies, collecting prisoners of war, and preparing a celebration banquet. So, until I left, they hadn't yet discussed the next action plan."

"Preparing a celebration banquet?" Ling Ge frowned slightly, seeming to disagree.

Seeing this, Mitch quickly explained, "It's not what you think, Pastor Linger. Brother and his men didn't get carried away just because they captured Lostra Town. It's just that the casualties in that battle were indeed heavy, and the miners in Lostra Town also helped us a lot in this war. In order to appease the emotions of these miners and other townspeople, Brother Carson decided to hold a celebration banquet."

He was afraid that Lingge might have misunderstood something, so he explained it in extra detail.

But in fact, he also misunderstood Lingge.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with holding a celebration party, but I think it's the wrong time to hold a celebration party."

Linger said, seeing that Mitch was still confused, he patiently explained to him: "Since the rebels have recaptured Lostra Town, the next step is naturally to use the Mineral Town as a base to continue to recapture other strategic locations. However, Lostra Town is too close to the Iron Forge City, Bad Ain. Once the defenders of Bad Ain react and send out troops to encircle and suppress, a new war will be inevitable. At that time, Lostra Town alone, isolated and without help, will definitely not be able to be defended. Therefore, the most urgent thing for the rebels is to The main thing is to take advantage of the fact that the defenders of Bad Ain City have not yet learned that Lostra Town has fallen, and to recapture and occupy the strategic locations such as villages, mountain roads, and even enemy fortresses scattered around Lostra Town as soon as possible. Only by controlling these strategic locations can the entire Lostra Mine area be built into a solid line of defense to resist the enemy's first wave of offensive; and only by resisting this wave of offensive can the rebels say that they have gained a firm foothold and have the foundation to compete with the 17th Legion from now on. "

That was the most appropriate and necessary time to hold a celebration banquet. On the one hand, it would demonstrate confidence and boost morale; on the other hand, it would publicize the rebel army's achievements to the people of the entire Ansers region and create momentum.

Mitch didn't quite understand those complicated inferences, but he could hear Ling's hidden meaning, and for a moment he couldn't help but panic: "What should I do? Should I go back and remind them now?"

"That's not necessary."

Linger shook his head and said, "It's too late, and the reason is not complicated. I think they, especially Mr. Carson, must understand that there may be other reasons for doing this." In the final analysis, this is just a conclusion that Linger deduced from the map and the superficial military knowledge he learned from books. It is purely theoretical. But Carson Borg is a practical person who has been to the battlefield in person. When it comes to war, practical people always have more say than theorists. After all, what he sees and thinks must be more comprehensive and complicated than Linger, and he does not need others to worry too much.

Furthermore, Ling already had some vague guesses about Grayhill Eagle's true intentions and inner thoughts, but he just couldn't reveal them to Mitch yet.

He looked at Mitch deeply, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart at the man's good intentions.

……

When they arrived at Tianxin Church, there was a circle of people in front of the statue of the goddess. They were Kadora and other members of the Youth Army. The person in the middle was Metien. Her eyes looked red and swollen, and she must have just cried. Sister Livia stood beside her with a look of helplessness, not knowing how to comfort her. When she saw Lingge, she immediately showed a relieved expression. She knew in her heart that at this time, no matter what others said, it would be useless. Only the comfort from her brother could calm Metien down.

Seeing Lingge and Mitch coming, the crowd parted to the sides and made way. Mitch walked quickly to Kadora, anxiously wanting to ask something, but the latter shook his head slightly, implying that he had nothing to ask now and left the time to the brother and sister. The young man came to the sister and saw her helpless look, as if he was back in the Holy Temple of Heaven and learned that the goddess had returned to the Sea of ​​No Light. Although it was ridiculous to link the great goddess of Genesis with several young boys and girls in the world, Lingge knew that they meant the same thing to the girl, so the blow to her was naturally the same.

Her heart is so pure and kind that she regards all living beings in the world as her friends. She is willing to be sincere even to friends she has just met. She will always return the kindness she receives with greater kindness. However, the real world is not fair. Such people are often more easily saddened and hurt more deeply than others.

The young man sighed silently, wanting to reach out and touch her hair gently, rubbing her head and telling her that it was okay, everything would pass, and life would always get better - just like the words he had used to comfort her when Mr. Yang Ke passed away. But when he reached out his hand and touched the girl's hair without bending down, the young man suddenly realized that the little girl who had been crying and tugging at his clothes had grown up, and could now be called a "girl", and was no longer at the age suitable for being comforted by her brother rubbing her head.

But is growth always accompanied by constant loss in life? She is so strong, but she can't avoid shedding tears.

The hand that was stretched out paused in mid-air, and when it fell again, it was not placed on the girl's head, but on her shoulder, conveying a kind of silent comfort and encouragement. Feeling the warm touch from his palm, as beautiful as a memory, the girl raised her head blankly, her eyes washed by tears, like the sky after rain, filled with clear sadness.

"Lingge..."

Her voice was trembling. An impulse that emerged from the boundless emptiness drove the girl to tell her brother everything. She was so happy when she saw Kadora and the others coming back, how panicked she was when she found out that many of them were missing, and how painful and sad she was when she learned that those people would never come back here to listen to her preaching, play games with her, and chat happily...

She knew that life was not always smooth sailing, and she had been prepared to endure sadness. But when it really came, the girl found that she was not as strong as she thought. This might be because the sadness that fate gave her was much heavier than that of ordinary people. Her beloved father left forever because of a tragedy, and the god she believed in had fallen asleep before she knew everything about him. Even the friends she just met would leave her overnight. From a girl to a young woman, and then to a more mature adult in the future, will she have to go through this kind of pain many times?
She wanted to throw herself into her brother's arms and cry as much as she could, just like in the past. But she realized that she was no longer old enough to act like a spoiled brat and cry to her family. Did growing up mean losing all the privileges of being a child and then falling into a cage called loneliness? She looked at her brother for an answer, but he said nothing and just shook his head slightly.

At this moment, Metien seemed to understand something.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her fragile heart, and then reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She turned around and knelt down in front of the statue of the goddess, clasped her hands together, and offered a prayer, but the prayer was not for herself, nor for God, but for a group of people who still persisted in pursuing light in the dark war and never regretted it until death. She silently prayed in her heart, telling the long-sleeping god the names of every victim, and praying for his protection in the Sea of ​​No Light: Moya, Ike, Chris and Misha, as well as everyone she knew or didn't know, people she liked and hated, even innocent people and guilty people... She hoped that they could all return to the Sea of ​​No Light in the sky, just like returning to your kingdom, and live in that worry-free kingdom from now on, free from dust and dirt, and not for nothing.

After finishing the most pious prayer in her life, she slowly stood up and turned to face her brother's concerned and worried expression. Although her eyes were still a little red and swollen, her voice was still a little trembling, and she still felt sad and wanted to cry in her heart, she still told him and everyone so firmly: "I'm... fine."

Linger reached out and gently smoothed her messy bangs, then stared into the girl's eyes and asked word by word: "It seems that you have made a decision, Metien."

"Yes." The pink-haired girl nodded gently: "Since everyone is willing to regard Tianxin Church as their home, then let the goddess's gaze guide their souls to the end of long-term and peaceful life."

This means agreeing to build a cemetery outside Tianxin Church and bury the ashes.

Mitch breathed a sigh of relief and finally felt relieved. At this time, Linge turned to him and said, "Although Metien agreed, I have a request."

Request? Mitch was stunned. Why didn't he hear Pastor Linger mention it before coming? Didn't he say that it would be enough if Metien agreed? Kadora asked, "What kind of request is it, Mr. Linger? As long as we can do it, please tell us."

"It's not difficult. I just hope you can stay for a while and contribute to the construction of the cemetery. I think if this resting place can be built by our companions, the souls of the deceased will feel comforted." Ling Ge paused and said, "This should be the last thing you can do for them."

This sentence made everyone fall silent at the same time, and the voices and smiles of those people seemed to reappear in their minds, their smiles, tears, pain and confusion... If they had not experienced them personally, how could they say that they had inherited their wishes?

After a while, Mitch responded softly: "Yeah." (End of this chapter)