My own war game

Chapter 42 The Hardest Task

1918, interrogation room at the forward headquarters of the German assault group on the south bank of the Somme.

Under the dim light, Mario Metzer sat on a chair. His once beautiful blond hair stuck to the side of his face like seaweed, and his right eye was bandaged with gauze, making his originally handsome face look a little hideous.

"Name!"

"Mario Metzer"

"Position!"

"3rd Bavarian Regiment, th Patrol, Lieutenant Deputy Commander"

"You said you were an officer? Do you have any ID?"

"I lost it when I was captured."

"Where are your soldiers?"

“I came back alone.”

As soon as this sentence came out, people in the interrogation room immediately whispered, "Abandoning the soldiers and running away by yourself, what a lack of honor!"

"Look at him, he looks like a tomcat that has fallen into the water. Shouldn't a German soldier have some sense of shame?"

"What a shame, he looks so ugly..."

Facing the doubts of the crowd, Metzer stood up and said, "If you question me with a sense of honor, I have nothing to say. But please remember, only the living can tell the headquarters that a French commando appeared under our noses."

Then he looked at the person who had spoken last, his remaining eye flashing a cold light. "Besides, let me tell you, the ugliest thing is to lie in the mud and rot."

…………

More than a dozen kilometers away in the villa, French soldiers and nurses were also facing a choice.

"We need at least seven volunteers to stay here. Is there anyone willing to sign up?" A handsome French lieutenant colonel standing upright asked loudly in the hall.

The hall was silent and there was no response, because staying would mean giving the chance of life to others.

Reinforcements arrived, and Pétain's care for his subordinates gave these abandoned soldiers new hope. A rapid reaction force equipped with four Belgian-made Minerva armored vehicles and a small number of motorcycles penetrated the German defense line and found this manor by chance.

With the marshal's tacit approval, this force was led personally by his adjutant Leon Phillips, and the soldiers in the team were all top-notch elite.

The lieutenant colonel commander was pleasantly surprised to find that the object of his long-sought-after search - his fiancée Christine Sinnier - was actually in this manor.

The knight drove an armored vehicle to pick up his princess. This is simply the ending of a fairy tale, but reality is always a little different from ideal.

The rapid reaction force that was just looking for a woman simply couldn't take so many people away. Including all the vehicles, at least seven people would have to stay here.

But who would be willing to stay under such circumstances?
In the somewhat eerie silence, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Phillips, the leader of the team, opened his mouth and said, "The seriously wounded and those who cannot move will wait for the next retreat. Leave one person behind to take care of them. They can surrender if necessary."

"What! Leaving the seriously injured behind! This..." Christine covered her mouth with her hands. This decision was too much of a shock to her.

Waiting for the next retreat was just a cover. Everyone knew that no one would come back, and leaving the seriously injured behind would be tantamount to letting them fend for themselves.

The blonde female reporter was born into an old aristocratic family and was deeply influenced by the spirit of chivalry. This act of abandoning the weak and escaping almost subverted her inherent values.

What was even more fatal was that this sentence came from her former perfect boyfriend, a model of gentleman, and the man she loved - Leon Phillips. "Leon, can't you think of a solution? These wounded soldiers are very pitiful. They fought for France..." Christine tried to persuade him.

But her words were rudely interrupted. The lieutenant colonel lowered his voice and said, "Kristen, shut up! Who do you think I gave up my duty beside the marshal at the critical moment for?! This is war! Trade-offs are necessary. We don't have the ability to take everyone away, so someone must sacrifice. Or do you want to stay for them?"

"I..." The female reporter opened her mouth, but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat. She didn't have the courage to say the words "I stayed for them" no matter what.

She has experienced real artillery fire and the cruelty of the battlefield, and has also hovered on the brink of death.

She was timid.

Seeing that the woman was no longer speaking, the lieutenant colonel nodded, stood up and ordered, "Check the condition of the wounded now, and anyone who is not conscious should stay!"

Several unconscious and seriously injured people were carried out. They were no longer conscious and naturally could not defend themselves or fight for their rights. Five or six of them leaned against the wall, looking very miserable.

The other wounded soldiers subconsciously turned their backs, not daring to look at their former comrades.

"How many people are there?" the lieutenant colonel asked coldly.

"Report, at least one more person needs to stay." The assistant beside him answered quietly.

"Sir, there's another one here!" a soldier suddenly shouted.

The lieutenant colonel walked over quickly and found an Oriental man lying on the ground. His coat was torn, but there were no obvious external injuries on his body. His breathing was even, as if he was asleep.

"I just heard from people here that he has been in a coma for three days and has always been like this." The soldier pointed at the Oriental man on the ground and reported to his superior.

"Then there's no need to worry about it anymore, just carry him to..." The lieutenant colonel raised his hand and prepared to give an order.

"Wait!" Christine ran over and opened her arms to block the Oriental man. "He's not injured, he just fainted. We can't leave him here!"

"Oh?" The lieutenant colonel turned around, a slight change of emotion flashed across his eyes, and he asked in a deep voice, "You are very familiar with the sergeant? Why don't I remember that you have any acquaintances in China?"

"He saved a lot of people here and led us to kill a squad of German soldiers. He also..." Christine tried hard to praise He Chi's strengths.

"But he is a burden now. An unconscious person will take up the space of two people on the armored vehicle. Or I will give the power to you. You nominate two people to stay behind, and I will carry him up immediately!" The lieutenant colonel stepped forward and asked.

"I..." Christine's words were blocked again.

"You two, what happened?" a voice came from below.

The Oriental man suddenly woke up and was watching the two people arguing with his eyes open.

"God, that's great, He, you woke up, tell them you are not hurt..." Christine bent down and quickly repeated in Hechi's ear what had just happened.

Unexpectedly, the Oriental man just stood there in silence.

"He, what's wrong with you?" Kristen couldn't help but pull Hechi's arm, but he didn't respond.

"Players have entered the third stage of the dungeon, please listen to the briefing." The system's voice sounded in my ears.

[Instance: Rose on the Somme River, Mission Objective: Defend the Rose Manor before July 7 to prevent the German army from completely occupying it. Reward: 14 gold coins. Note: The main mission has the highest priority. Once the main mission fails, all subsidiary rewards will be cancelled.]

(End of this chapter)