Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 112 Unprecedented Transportation

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Renault truck crashed into the town at near-crossing speed.

Citizens gathered around and noticed obvious damage to the truck's exterior—the front glass was shattered, there were embedded objects resembling shell fragments on one side of the vehicle, only one of the two rearview mirrors remained, and the rubber tires were starting to smoke from wear.

Boom!
Someone violently kicked open the car door, jumped out of the driver's seat, and ran towards the tarpaulin at the back. His black robe and the cross around his neck swayed as he ran.

A priest driving a truck?!

The onlookers were momentarily confused.

"What are you looking at?! Someone come and help! There are many wounded here!" the man in black robes shouted as he opened the back of the car.

The soldiers and civilians nearby then seemed to realize what was happening, and everyone rushed over to help.

When the car door was opened, everyone was startled. In the back compartment, a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair was supporting a semi-conscious wounded soldier. Her pretty coat and fair face were stained with blood.

"One, two, three, four..."

A total of twelve people were carried down from the back, with nurses and laborers dragging stretchers around.

The scene was chaotic, and many people still didn't understand what had happened.

But the black figure shouting loudly left a deep impression on people's minds.

Later, people learned his name from the wounded:
Father Al.
-
At night, Chanel leaned against a bench at the bus station, clutching her suitcase, and was drowsy.

This last stretch of the journey had almost completely drained her energy, and now that she had relaxed a little, she couldn't help but doze off.

The sound of footsteps startled Chanel, who immediately became alert. The dark shadow opposite her startled her, but she felt relieved only after seeing the person's face clearly.

"Father El, you scared me." Perhaps because they had been through danger together, the young woman's words carried a slight hint of coquettishness.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think of that." The priest in the black robe spread his hands in apology, his attitude much better than when he was in the car.

Where is Mr. Raymond?

"He was lucky in the hospital; the doctor said his hand could be saved."

Whoosh~ The priest in the black robe tossed something over.

Chanel felt a heaviness in her hand and realized it was a somewhat rough cotton military coat.

The woman looked surprised.

“I got these from the garrison. Take them with you. It’s going to be a while before we get to Paris, and you can’t just wear a sweater,” the priest in the black robe said.

The Chanel jacket had been used to keep the wounded warm, and now it was covered in dried bloodstains, which is why the woman was sitting in the wind at the bus station wearing only a sweater.

The young woman awkwardly put on her cotton coat, which made her look round and chubby due to its size, making her appear somewhat comical and lightening the atmosphere.

"Not going to the hotel?" the priest in black robes asked.

"Yes, I checked. There's only one train to Paris in the morning, so I won't be sleeping tonight." The woman shook her head.

Sure enough, this woman was obsessed with her career. She even took a nap at the bus stop late at night in order to catch the first bus. With such a hard-working person, it's no wonder she succeeded.

The priest in black robes was deep in thought, and the station was eerily quiet when neither of them spoke.

beep~~
A horn blared from the side, and a Peugeot 146 sedan was parked not far away outside the station.

"Alright, they're urging me to leave. Have a pleasant journey, Miss Chanel! You'll become a super businesswoman someday." The priest in the black robe stood up to leave.

"Is this a prophecy? Thank you." Chanel smiled, her eyes crinkling, and waved to the other person.

The woman watched as the priest in the black robe got into the car, its headlights flashing in the night before disappearing from sight.

She thought it was just a thrilling little episode in her life, and that the two of them would never see each other again, but life's unexpected events are often more exciting than those in novels.
-
At the same time, at the headquarters of the French Second Army, it was late at night, and General Pétain was still staring at the map on the wall. The jagged markings near Verdun fortress looked as if they had been torn apart by wild beasts.

A knock sounded on the door, and the assistant, Sebor, answered.

"Your Excellency, the person has been brought."

"Please let him in."

The 60-year-old man turned around and stuffed the pocket watch in his hand into his pocket.

The door opened, and a young priest in a black robe walked in. Pétain was slightly taken aback when he saw the priest's Asian face.

"Sir, is there something amiss?" The young priest asked with a calm smile, showing neither fear nor obsequiousness towards the high-ranking general who commanded nearly 100,000 troops.

Pétain's first judgment was that Pétain was a man who had seen it all.

"I just didn't expect Father El to be so young. Have you been in the army for a long time?"

"Not too long, I used to live in the north."

"The north? You've already met with the Germans?"

"Yes, it started in 1914, and I even fought them with bayonets during the most dangerous times."

"I see!" The priest on the other side came from the German-occupied territory and even participated in the fighting, so his performance during the day was not surprising.

It doesn't matter where he came from exactly; he was either Sedan, Arthas, or Lorraine.

The old general pulled out a chair and sat down, while also gesturing with his hand.

"Please sit down, valiant Father El. Since you have been on the battlefield before, then we can talk about the rest more easily."

The priest in the black robe pulled out a chair and sat down, also observing the old Frenchman in front of him.

Philippe Pétain, a man full of contradictions, was a hero of the French army during World War I, but a traitor condemned by all after World War II. If it weren't for the amnesty granted by his former subordinates, he would probably have ended up on the gallows.

Some say he took a roundabout approach, saving France from being turned into a wasteland. Others say he was a complete coward, and everything he did was just a senile act to cover up his cowardice in the face of the enemy.

However, only he himself probably knows his true thoughts.

This person is sitting right in front of me, pushing something off the table toward me.

Qin Hao took the item and placed it in his palm. It was a special collar insignia with purple piping and a cross pattern—the honorary rank of French battlefield chaplain, and he was even a captain.

“Father Ayr, in view of your heroic performance during the day, I hereby confer upon you the rank commensurate with it on behalf of the French Army.”

Qin Hao was slightly surprised. As far as he knew, although French chaplains could be awarded honorary ranks according to the 1914 wartime amendment, very few people were actually awarded the rank, and captains were generally only awarded to those with outstanding achievements.

This seems a bit too sweet for a candy.

"Sir, isn't this reward a bit too generous?" Qin Hao put down the collar insignia in his hand and asked humbly.

"No, your heroic act saved the lives of 12 young men, and you deserve this honor. Moreover, awarding you a military rank will facilitate our next steps."

"Next step?"

“Yes, Father El, I don’t want to hide it, our current situation is very bad. Verdun Fortress needs a lot of personnel and supplies to stop the German attack.” Pétain stood up and gestured on a section of the map.

"Father El, would you be willing to cooperate with the military to organize a large-scale transport operation between Baladik and Verdun?"

"This will be unprecedented!"

(End of this chapter)