Second Life as a Soldier

Once Peter, Barry, and Kael made their way up, I turned to Peter.

“Peter, how are the Captain and your family?”

“They are good, Sergeant. Father is injured and might need some time to recover. The family doctor is taking care of him right now. We will know more about his condition tomorrow,” Peter replied.

I let out a small breath of relief, then gathered everyone.

“I am going down to help Eleanor organize the crowd. I am taking Mr. I-can-take-a-Tier-3-with-no-issue with me,” I said, giving Leif a light kick.

He just rolled his eyes.

“Peter, you are in charge of defending these towers.”

As soon as I said that, Lela raised an eyebrow.

“Do you think your private has more experience leading than me?”

“No,” I replied. “But I do not think my squad will listen to you.”

It was not just Lela. They would not listen to Leif either, or anyone new for that matter. And as much as it bothered me, some of my men would make it harder for her simply because she was a woman.

Unfortunately, when Lela looked at my squad to confirm my words, she made eye contact with Barry.

Barry gave her a wink and a toothy smile.

Lela immediately drew her bow, causing Barry to flinch and reminding me of the first time I met her.

I stepped in front of her before she could kill him.

“Actually, I want you to do something only you might be able to do.”

That finally pulled Lela’s attention away from Barry.

“I noticed your sensing ability far exceeds mine. The commoner district stretches from the southern gate to the eastern gate, with two gates and six towers in total. We have already dealt with at least thirty-five mercenaries. I would like you to survey the remaining four towers from wherever you feel most comfortable. I do not think there should be more than fifteen or twenty mercenaries left.”

Fifty mercenaries were more than enough to hold the towers and gates around an area filled with commoners and slums. We had already killed a high-level Tier-3 mage, so there should not be anyone more powerful than him here.

“Once the survey is done, regroup with Peter and the others, then decide whether it is possible to take them on. My suggestion is this: if they are spread thin and do not have a high-level fighter, take them out. If not, hold our defensive position and let Leif recover before attacking.”

I looked at Lela and the others for confirmation.

Lela only snorted, then jumped down from the wall, surprising everyone. Somehow, she used wind mana to cushion her fall, and the next moment, she was running along the base of the wall.

I turned to Peter, who nodded in agreement, then looked at Barry.

“You all better start respecting women. The Royal Army has women capable of ripping our heads off before we get a chance to blink.”

Then I pulled Leif up from the ground, slung his arm over my shoulder, and gave him a smirk.

“Come on. I have something even a cripple like you can help me with.”

“Oh, fuck off. I could have killed that Tier-3, but you had to steal my kill,” Leif said, even though his voice was still hoarse from pain.

Before leaving, I stopped and looked at the fading blood mist.

“Peter, if you attack, create a spectacle.”

Without turning back, I made my way toward the stairs.

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On the way down, Leif asked, “What happened to you? I don’t remember you being someone who enjoys the suffering of others.”

I walked a few steps in silence before sighing.

“I don’t. But Leif, I don’t think we fully understand the amount of danger we are in. A Tier-5 is blocking our exit. Even if we stop the mercenaries from taking over the town, we will still have an army to deal with.”

I paused for a moment.

“In the best-case scenario, they attack in two weeks. In the worst-case scenario, they keep us trapped here for a long time, letting us starve and tear ourselves apart through civil unrest. Then, once we are completely exhausted, they attack.”

I looked into Leif’s eyes.

“So what I want right now are rumors. Rumors about a death squad so barbaric that it leaves blood mist in its wake. Then I can only hope those rumors make our enemies hesitate or make mistakes.”

Leif smiled. “Maybe I should join your squad.”

“Well, my squad does not have any place available for a cripple.”

Our jokes stopped once we reached the ground.

Eleanor was struggling to control the crowd as the only available town administrator and the only hope these people had of finding answers.

But in their desperation, they were making the situation worse and preventing Eleanor from doing her work. Thankfully, she had a few young men and women helping her contain the crowd.

“Grandpa Thomas, I am trying to find your family, but please give me some time,” Eleanor said.

Two young men gently pushed back the crying older man who had been trying to reach Eleanor’s legs.

“Hugh, John, be gentle with Grandpa Thomas. Alice, see if you can get him some water,” Eleanor said.

Then she raised her voice.

“Everyone, please form lines and organize yourselves!”

The young men and women helping her repeated her words, shouting over the crowd.

The people at the front reacted, but those in the back kept pushing forward, desperate to reach Eleanor.

I approached Eleanor, who no longer looked like the cheerful person I had seen that day at Peter’s house. She looked completely serious, and more than a little scared.

“Lady Eleanor,” I said, dipping my head slightly.

“Edward, what are you doing here?” Then she looked at Leif. “Does that soldier need healing?”

“No,” I said, cutting her off. “I am here to help with the crowd. Is it all right if I assist you?”

I saw a hint of doubt on Eleanor’s face, but then she tilted her head toward the crowd, as if allowing me to try my hand at it.

I activated [Battlefield Command], pulled in as much air as I could, and for the first time, shouted with that much power.

“EVERYONE! SILENCE!”

Almost everyone froze.

Even Eleanor flinched.

A few of the angrier people in the crowd looked like they were about to shout back at me, but they stopped the moment they saw who I was.

It looked like my performance at the wall had affected even the people below.

I turned to Eleanor and asked, “How would you like them separated?”

A surprised look flashed across Eleanor’s face.

Then she answered, “We should divide them into three groups: the injured, displaced children, and people searching for the missing.”

She pointed toward two buildings.

“I also want to use that school over there as a healing camp, and that inn over there to gather missing children and anyone separated from their family.”

I nodded. “Do you have pen and paper available?”

“I was hoping we could record the names of missing people, their ages, occupations, home streets, identifying features, and the names of their relatives,” I said. “We should also identify volunteers in the crowd. Healers, teachers, former soldiers, anyone who can help us with defense or organizing people here.”

Eleanor nodded. “Yes, that is a good idea.”

Then she turned to one of the girls carrying a large bag.

“Eliza, give me pen and paper.”

Once I received them, I passed them to Leif.

He gave me a glare.

Ignoring him, I once again used [Battlefield Command].

“Everyone, we are moving the injured to the school building. If you can help carry the injured, bring them there. If not, please let these young men pass.”

I pointed toward the inn.

“If there is a child near you who is lost, guide them to the inn over there.”

Then I looked over the rest of the crowd.

“Anyone searching for someone, come forward and give Lady Eleanor’s people their details. Name, age, home street, occupation, identifying features, and relatives.”

I paused for a moment before continuing.

“Anyone who can volunteer, healers, teachers, former soldiers, laborers, or anyone willing to help, come forward as well. Your help might save the lives of your loved ones.”

I raised my voice further.

“Give us time. Once we have the details, we will inform everyone.”

Turning to Eleanor, I asked, “Eleanor, do you have any healers available here?”

She shook her head.

“Then would it be all right if I took charge of the healing camp?”

“Of course. Do you need anything from me?” she asked.

“Yes. I need one person who is not faint of heart and can help me clean blood and wounds. I also need someone who can keep records.”

“I will give you two people.”

Then she turned to the young men and women helping her.

“Eliza, Will, go with the Sergeant. Eliza, help record the patients’ details. Will, help the Sergeant treat people there.”

Both of them nodded.

I looked at Eleanor and hesitated.

The topic I was about to bring up was not pleasant, but it had to be said.

“Eleanor... I think we should also send people to collect the dead.”

Eleanor looked at me, her eyes widening.

“We should recover as many bodies as we can,” I continued. “At least then, some of the people here might get closure.”

She looked toward the destruction, then at the river, where muddy, broken pieces of houses floated past.

“I will,” Eleanor said, her voice firm. “I will get it done.”

Leaving Eleanor with her thoughts and Leif with the pen and paper, I made my way toward the school building.

I could only hope that some soldiers or former soldiers came forward to volunteer. With even a few more trained people defending this area, holding it would become much easier.

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