Interstellar Soldier

Chapter 1083 The ideal of life
The fighting was fierce, but King John did not feel it, nor did the rest of the officers and men.

Now, they are in a race against time.As long as you can kill the attacking enemy, you can retreat back to rest and prepare for the enemy's next attack.If the enemy is not killed in time, then after they retreat, the enemy will occupy the surface position and launch a new attack immediately.Even if the enemy only occupied a part of the position and moved forward a small step, it would mean that the fortress in the rear would fall in a short time.This is the last fortress of the human legion, there is no way to retreat, and no matter how much the price is paid, it must be defended.However, a soldier's physical strength is limited, and his time is also limited.Under the repeated attacks of the enemy, King John was already exhausted.If the fighting was over now, all he wanted was a good night's sleep.Perhaps, the same is true of other officers and soldiers.For them, the greatest reward of defeating the enemy is retreating to the underground bunker and enjoying a rare, and all the more precious, little quiet time.As for whether they can hold the fortress, or even when they will die in battle, it is not a question for grassroots officers and soldiers like King John to consider at all.In their view, whether it is victory or death, the time will come naturally, and all they do is obey orders.

Three 10 minutes passed quickly.

When the sound of Jin Bao sounded in his ears, King John knew that they still had the last 3 minutes of time left. This was not the time to kill the enemy, but the time to retreat to the underground bunker.Because the poison gas permeating the position has not yet dispersed, they must end the battle immediately, otherwise they will not be able to return to the underground bunker in time.The problem is, the battle is not over yet, and there are still many enemies on the ground.

"Everyone has, retreat according to plan B."

Hearing the order from the squadron leader, King John did not withdraw, but followed a dozen officers and soldiers and rushed towards the place where the enemy was most dense.

If all goes well and all the enemies are killed, everyone will retreat to the underground bunker.The problem is, if not all the enemies can be killed, when the energy is exhausted and the battle is not over, some officers and soldiers have to stay to cover other officers and soldiers to retreat to the underground bunker, and try to kill as many enemies as possible.Simply put, these remaining officers and soldiers will definitely die in battle, and their sacrifice will buy precious time for their comrades-in-arms, so that they can return to the underground bunker to replenish energy.Because as long as you stay, no matter how many enemies you kill, you will eventually die. Therefore, there is an unwritten rule in the legion, that is, all officers and soldiers determine the order by drawing lots, and then take turns to be responsible for the rear.

This time, it happened to be the turn of more than a dozen officers and soldiers including King John.

They did not hesitate, nor did they have the slightest fear.In fact, King John even felt a joyful sense of impending deliverance.

In fact, the same is true for more than a dozen other officers and soldiers.

As a veteran, King John came to this planet 15 years ago, and according to the rules of the Human Federation, unless he is exceptionally promoted, he has to serve here for 30 years before he has the opportunity to return to his home galaxy and Get a good job as a veteran.Without this war, 30 years of military service would not be too long for a human with an average life expectancy of more than [-] years.If luck is good enough, such as getting an exceptional promotion and becoming an officer, King John will go to other places to continue serving for decades, or even until retirement.Although serving means facing danger at all times, and the death rate of soldiers is much higher than that of others, the income of soldiers, especially officers, is also considerable, at least allowing King John to support his family without any burden.Soldiers also have a high social status and enjoy the best benefits. Children of military officers can not only receive free education, but also have more opportunities to obtain higher education.All in all, the vast majority of soldiers have no worries, and regard joining the army as a shortcut to realize their ideals in life.

However, that was before joining the army.

During the 15 years here, King John had a question.This is, what is the ideal of life?
You must know that all citizens of the Human Federation, regardless of gender, as long as they have no physical barriers, they must serve in the military after reaching adulthood.Because they only received basic education before that, the vast majority of young people can only start as soldiers.Even if you pass the assessment and get the opportunity to receive higher education, you still have to serve in the military after graduation, but you start from a low-level military officer with a slightly higher starting point.The key point is that all grassroots officers and soldiers did not have a family before serving, and according to relevant regulations, only mid-level officers are eligible to marry during their service.Therefore, for grassroots officers and soldiers like King John, either they can start their own families after 30 years, that is, after retiring from the army, or they have to find a way to climb up and strive to be promoted to mid-level officers as soon as possible.

In fact, for almost all low-level soldiers, it is almost impossible to get extra promotion during the 30-year military service period, let alone promotion to a mid-level officer.Quite simply, military officers are trained through higher education, while grassroots soldiers have no chance of receiving higher education at all.Even if there is a chance to get an exceptional promotion, they must first return to colleges and universities to receive systematic education, then return to the army to start as a junior officer, and then spend ten to 15 years before they have the opportunity to be promoted to a mid-level officer.While this means being able to serve in the military for life, it also means spending more time than officers who have received higher education to begin with.

Of course, less than one in ten thousand soldiers received exceptional promotions.

In 15 years, King John did not find the ideal of life he was pursuing.

In the first few years, he still had some fantasies, thinking that he was the lucky one, but gradually, he recognized the reality and integrated into the crowd.For him, it was 30 years of military service, and after he was discharged, he could go back to his hometown with a veteran's honor card, find a job that wasn't too bad, start a family with a woman, and raise a few more children , Waiting for more than 200 years to meet death in peace.

In fact, this is also the life experience of the vast majority of citizens.

However, this war changed the fate of King John and the fate of all soldiers.

At the beginning, when the federal authorities declared a state of war and indefinitely extended the military service period of all active soldiers in accordance with the wartime laws, King John, like other soldiers, was extremely angry, thinking that the federal authorities had not taken care of their soldiers at all. Interests in mind.However, as more and more planets fell, as more and more legions perished, the voices of complaints gradually decreased.Compared with the life and death of the Human Federation, what is the extension of military service?What's more, this is only a wartime decree, which means that it will become invalid after the war is over.If military service in peacetime is just a job, then in wartime it is for survival.

Apparently, it's not just the life and death of the military, it's everyone.

Although King John was not married, or even had a partner who could be called a girlfriend, he had relatives and many friends.

However, the continuous and arduous battle is also killing the fighting spirit of King John and other soldiers.

Obviously, grassroots officers and soldiers like King John can't see the future at all, let alone know when this war will end.

For him, all he needs to know is to fight the enemy and face death bravely.

After more than a dozen battles, King John had long given up any hope.Although he firmly believes that the Human Federation will persist until the end and win this war, he does not believe that he can survive to that day, or even that he can defend the planet he is on.

You know, before this, many planets have fallen, and none of the soldiers guarding those planets survived.

In fact, after other fortresses fell one after another, King John knew that the moment to face death bravely would return soon.At that time, not only him, but all the officers and soldiers who fought side by side, as well as those senior officers who hid in the fortress and directed the battle, will be the same.

In a sense, death on the battlefield will be the final outcome of all officers and soldiers such as King John.

If this is an unchangeable ending, then coming sooner means getting relief earlier.

It was also true that after the squadron leader gave the order to retreat, King John rushed towards the enemy first, and did not flinch from the imminent death.

At this moment, King John had only one thought, to kill a few more enemies before he fell.Even if it means little, there are too many enemies after all. Even if this attack is repelled, there will be another attack, and all the officers and soldiers in the army will die before the fortress falls.However, what else can you do besides killing a few more enemies?Retreating is also death, and retreating in violation of orders will also die in disgrace at the hands of one's own people.If the final outcome is death, then it counts as many enemies as can be killed before the result comes.Besides, that is the last 3 minutes.Even if it is not killed by the enemy, it will be poisoned to death after the energy is exhausted.

3 minutes, obviously very short.

As the siren turned into a constant hum, King John took his last breath.Immediately afterwards, the energy barrier protecting him disappeared.For him, there are still 2 minutes left in his life, and there are more than a dozen enemies near him who have been affected and have not yet woken up.He didn't stop, and he was still waving the long knife in his hand quickly, with every stroke being extremely accurate, either stabbing a vital point or cutting off the enemy's head.It's just that the suffocation feeling is getting stronger and stronger, every cell in the body is desperately obtaining oxygen, telling the brain with a tingling pain, so that the brain can give breathing instructions to the abdominal diaphragm.Only gradually, the brain became numb and confused.Still stubbornly, King John rushed to the enemy not far in front, aiming the tip of the knife at the enemy's back waist, which was where the heart was.When taking the last step, King John put all his weight on it, watching the tip of the knife penetrate the enemy's body.

When he fell down, King John opened his mouth and took a greedy breath.

There is still enough oxygen in the air.As air enters the lungs, cells throughout the body come alive and the brain regains cognition.

However, this is just a flashback.

Along with the oxygen entering the blood, there is also the poisonous gas released by the enemy. After 30 seconds, the poisonous substance in the gas will paralyze King John's nervous system, completely paralyzing him.If there are comrades in arms by his side, he can still survive.Only now, waiting for him will be about 3 minutes of death process.It's not too long, and it's not very painful, because he will lose consciousness completely before dying.

(End of this chapter)