It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 163 | The Extraordinary Use of Parting Gifts

Shank put down his shotgun, frowned, and said, "Hmm? Not a single one left?"

“Almost,” Emilia said briefly.

Except for a very few exceptionally gifted individuals, the vast majority of people with potential need to wear enhancement devices to unleash their abilities.

Most countries have unanimously designed gain devices into necklace pendants similar to dog tags. These are not complicated devices; they have no electronic or mechanical parts. When they exert their gain effect, they slowly consume the corresponding metal, and can be replenished by opening the cap when they are used up.

To facilitate standardized replenishment, the Hungarian army's logistics department mass-produced metal supplies in the shape of small round beads, while the Grand Federal Armed Forces used flat cylindrical containers, somewhat resembling button batteries. The specifications weren't particularly sophisticated; scrap metal scraps and offcuts would suffice.

After several days of fierce fighting, Emilia's 'necklace' has exhausted the small aluminum spheres inside the pendant.

Seeing that his temporary bodyguard had suddenly lost his ability to protect himself, Shang Ke was greatly distressed.

We're still in enemy-occupied territory, surrounded by dangers. Without strong bodyguards, things will be even more complicated.

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.

"Wait, I've got it. Let's see if this works."

As he spoke, Shang Ke took out several command rulers from his officer's satchel and picked out one made of aluminum alloy.

Emilia also took off the necklace, used her dagger to pry open the cap of the pendant, and then used the dagger to scrape the edge of the ruler a dozen times until aluminum alloy shavings filled the pendant.

After concentrating on the sensation for a moment, she said softly, "It works."

This was the gift that Jian Keqiu had lovingly given her before they parted ways.

Shang Ke never expected that his fiancée's feelings would come in such an unexpected way.

With such an unexpected substitute, at least their basic ability to protect themselves was ensured, and the two breathed a sigh of relief.

The two then climbed a ladder to leave the sewer and return to the surface.

After a night of blizzard, the ground in downtown Budapest is covered with a layer of snow, though the snowfall is less than the previous night.

Emilia looked around and pointed to the ruins diagonally in front of her, saying with absolute certainty, "This is the Baker Lison neighborhood, the movie theater I used to go to often."

"How far are we from the Capitol Building... Oh, I see it." Looking west, Shank saw the Capitol Building, which he estimated to be seven or eight hundred meters away as the crow flies.

Gunshots and explosions continued to emanate from there, clearly indicating that the fierce battle had not been halted by the blizzard.

The streets in Budapest are not very wide, mostly only a few tens to a hundred meters wide. This size is insignificant in open field warfare, but it can be as difficult and distant as an insurmountable barrier in urban warfare.

"Our positions are still three or four blocks away, Colonel, thankfully not too far."

“It’s safer to go through the sewers, but we need to get a bit further away from here before going back into the sewers.” Shank thought for a moment, then added, “Be patient. The more we rush, the more likely something will go wrong. Let’s find some food to replenish our energy first…”

Just then, Shang Ke vaguely heard a sharp cry for help.

It was unmistakably a woman's voice, with exceptional penetrating power; even the background noise of artillery fire couldn't drown it out.

Then, a sudden gunshot rang out.

Right now, behind the Paramount Hotel in the next block...

"Corporal Gruberv, the Huns are left with only a few remnants. Once we capture the parliament building, we'll occupy their capital, and their government will surrender, right?"

“I’m not so optimistic. The Huns have the support of the Varlanders and the Khitans. They won’t give up the resistance easily before the Varlanders are destroyed.”

"Well, these guys just rely on foreign support, huh!"

Five Imperial Russian gendarmes were patrolling the streets. The Baker-Lison district was not on the main axis of the attack and was relatively peaceful. There were actually not many people outside; apart from a few soldiers wandering around, the surviving civilians were all hiding in their homes.

The mission of the Imperial Russian Gendarmerie was to hunt down and eliminate any scattered enemy forces, and incidentally maintain order in the occupied territories.

Several figures in green military uniforms flashed by; they were infantrymen who had just completed a "big purchase."

Seeing that each of them wore four or five watches on their arms and had bulging pockets, Corporal Gruberv shouted at them, "What have you guys been doing, deserting your posts? Which unit are you from?"

The other group didn't take it seriously, laughing and running away as they went, shouting nonchalantly as they ran.

"What does this have to do with you? We're just here to 'collect compensation'!"

"We've already heard that Her Majesty the Queen said the Hungarians will pay for their stubbornness, and we'll do whatever we want as long as no one is killed!"

The soldiers spoke with an air of self-righteousness, and then ran off in a flash.

The military police didn't chase after them, helplessly watching them leave laden with their loot.

What these people said wasn't wrong. Two weeks ago, Veronica did make it clear in a fit of anger that she would not pursue war crimes to a certain extent.

Simply put, apart from prohibiting the killing of civilians, all other serious crimes are reduced to minor crimes, and minor crimes are reduced to no crimes. As for acts such as theft, robbery, and burglary, they are turned a blind eye.

For example, the rape of civilians was a serious crime according to the military regulations of Ivan Ross's army. However, according to Veronica's instructions, it was temporarily treated as a minor offense, which was probably a verbal reprimand, a few days of solitary confinement, and a fine.

At that moment, the military police heard screams and cries coming from inside the Paramount Hotel, so they rushed over.

Four or five Romanian soldiers and two Imperial Russian soldiers were seen working together, grinning as they dragged several girls toward the guest rooms on the second floor.

A girl struggled fiercely, which angered the Romanian soldier who was dragging her. He kicked her twice while cursing, then grabbed her by the collar, lifted her up, and slapped her several times across the face!

Seeing this, the girls' relatives and friends could not help but resist, and then led more than ten other civilians present to resist as well.

Seeing that these lambs to the slaughter still dared to defy him, a Romanian soldier simply cocked his gun, aimed at the crowd, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

A middle-aged man collapsed, clutching his stomach, and instantly, cries and screams erupted from the crowd…

Seeing their comrades enjoying themselves without restraint, the two Imperial Russian soldiers naturally wanted to have some fun too—why should the Romanians be able to have fun?

So, after some discussion, the two of them forcibly took away a trembling woman.

"Stop!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Military police inspection!"

Five Imperial Russian gendarmes stormed into the hotel, only to find corpses and a group of heartbroken, weeping civilians.

One of the soldiers shrugged nonchalantly and said, "We didn't do anything, we just wanted to chat with this young lady."

"Who fired the shot?" Corporal Grubev asked, pointing at the body with a frown.

"Romanians".

"Where did they go?"

"Enjoying it upstairs."

(End of this chapter)