Chapter 195: The Old Man''s Past


    "It doesn''t matter, take your time. We have plenty of time today. Let''s chat while we drink," Han Ming said with a smile, pouring another bowl of wine for the old man. At the same time, he carefully observed the old man''s actions.


    The old man sighed wistfully, drained the wine in his bowl in one gulp, and choked, coughing twice.


    "Oh! Look at you, I told you not to drink so much!" the little girl scolded.


    Han Ming smiled and said, "It''s okay, I''ll take care of it."


    Saying this, he held the old man''s hand with his right hand, and a gentle magical energy flowed into the old man''s body, helping to alleviate the alcohol''s irritation.


    The little girl saw that just by Han Ming gently holding her grandfather''s hand, his complexion improved significantly. She looked at Han Ming with admiration.


    "Go on," Han Ming said with a smile.


    The old man paused and said, "Thank you. Our village is not an ordinary one. Everyone living here is a veteran of the Rhine Empire''s border defense forces. Us old folks are all retired from the previous two generations. Look at the houses in the village, aren''t they nice? They were specially built for us by the state. And that large expanse of farmland in the wilderness, it''s all for us to farm."


    Hearing this, Han Ming''s doubts were somewhat alleviated. No wonder these farmers all had combat energy; they were retired border defense soldiers.


    The old man sighed, "We border defense soldiers entered the army when we were young. As you know, the border defense forces fight the most battles. I can''t say I''ve spent my life on the battlefield, but I''ve experienced countless large and small battles. Look around the village, you don''t see many young adults. That''s because our descendants have all joined the military. You could say that our village is a military village. Everyone here, men and women, young and old, has been a soldier."


    Han Ming nodded and poured another bowl of wine for the old man.


    The old man drank it all in one hearty gulp.


    Han Ming quickly added food and poured more wine.


    After several rounds of drinking, the old man''s mood grew higher, and the flush on his face became more pronounced.


    When he got excited, he tore open his shirt, revealing his chest. Han Ming took a quick look and saw that the old man had no fewer than ten scars on his body.


    The old man excitedly pointed to the longest and most shocking scar on his body and said, "Look at this, from when we resisted the invasion of the Cabo Empire''s army. I was cut in the chest with a sword, and I was done for. It was my comrade who carried me on his back, constantly talking to keep me conscious. He carried me over two mountains to reach the medical team. It was a miracle that I survived such serious injuries."


    Han Ming nodded with a smile.


    The old man then pointed to a circular scar on his stomach and said excitedly, "Look at this!" Saying this, he drank a bowl of wine, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and looked up at the starry sky, falling into thought.


    "That was when the magical beasts from the Wilderness Forest came out in droves, bypassed the border defenses of the Mont Empire, and directly charged into our Rhine Empire. That year, sigh... more than half of our border defense forces were killed or injured. It was a truly brutal war. We''re not afraid of fighting humans, but we had no experience fighting magical beasts."


    Speaking of this, the old man suddenly laughed and said, "Guess what? At that time, one of my comrades came from a family that ran a slaughterhouse. He said that killing magical beasts was no different from killing livestock, so he took a mountain axe and went up. He was gored through by a unicorn rhino and died on the spot. I was pretty foolish too. We were just farmers, what did we know? I imitated him, took a mountain axe, and charged up, only to be gored by a mountain goat with earth magic. I was lucky to survive."


    Han Ming poured more wine for the old man and listened to his story intently.


    The old man moved his stool, turned his body, and pointed to a huge scar that ran diagonally from his shoulder across his back to his waist. Even Han Ming found it shocking.


    The old man laughed heartily and said, "This was from a conflict with the Mont Empire''s army. In the chaos of battle, the leader of my small squad was cut down. The Mont soldier raised his large sword, and it looked like he could split our leader in two with one blow. Our leader was really good to me. I lost my parents early in the war, and all three of my brothers died on the battlefield. I had no family except for him, who cared for and looked after me the most. At that critical moment, I didn''t think twice and threw myself on top of our leader, taking the blow for him. That battle caught us off guard, and our ten-thousand-man squad was reduced to less than five hundred survivors."


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    Han Ming listened, lost in thought, almost able to visualize the old man diving to protect his leader. He couldn''t help but feel a deep respect for the old man.


    "Come on, sir, I toast to you!" Han Ming said, filling the old man''s cup and clinking glasses with him before drinking it all in one go.


    The old man laughed and said, "If you say I''m not afraid of death, that''s a lie. I''m scared of death, very scared. During my time in the army, I often dreamed of dying on the battlefield, waking up from nightmares in the middle of the night. I''m scared of death, very scared! But at that time, I didn''t have time to think too much. I just got carried away, didn''t think much, and charged up. That blow knocked me unconscious. It was only later that I heard from my surviving comrades. When we retreated, our leader, with his skills, could have definitely survived. But he refused to abandon me. He couldn''t carry me on his back because he was afraid the pursuers behind would kill me. So he had to carry me and flee. You know, running while carrying someone, how fast can you go? Our leader carried me all the way, his body reportedly hacked to pieces by the enemy, bones exposed. If you looked from behind, he looked like a running skeleton. But he carried me all the way, using up the last of his quick-healing medicine on me. My teammates said that when we met up with our reinforcements, our leader could barely keep his eyes open. With sheer determination, he managed to get me to the medical team before collapsing and dying."


    "Sigh... he died..."


    The old man laughed, tears streaming from his old eyes.


    Han Ming felt somber, silently pouring another bowl of wine for the old man.


    The old man drank it all in one gulp.


    Han Ming subtly placed his hand on the old man''s and sent magical energy through it again.


    "I''m fine!" the old man shook off Han Ming''s hand, poured himself another bowl of wine, stood up with the cup, and said, "War is strange like that. You never know when you''ll die or when you''ll survive. On the battlefield, you might be strong but still die, or you might be weak but survive time and again. I''ve fought countless battles, but I survived. Sometimes I really miss my comrades. I often think about the days we fought side by side. Even now, I dream about those times every night. Young man, do you know what it feels like to see your comrades fall one by one in front of you? I can''t describe it, but sometimes I really hate myself. Why did I survive when they didn''t? Why didn''t I go with them?"


    Han Ming sighed softly and said, "Life is full of disappointments. That''s just how it is. You shouldn''t blame yourself too much. After all, you''re not a deserter; you did your best."


    Han Ming felt as if there was a fishbone stuck in his throat, preventing him from spouting his usual profound wisdom. After struggling for a while, he could only utter this one sentence.


    "I''m a professional soldier, and that''s the life of a professional soldier... I''ve spent my entire life fighting wars. I don''t know anything else, not even how to farm. After spending half my life on the battlefield, what am I supposed to do if I retire? I can''t even fix shoes properly on the street. I tried working for others, but you know us soldiers, especially border defense soldiers, we''re wild at heart. Unless you''re better than me in battle, have killed more enemies than me, why should you tell me what to do? So I quit every job I took because I couldn''t stand being bossed around."


    The old man laughed and shook his head in frustration.


    Han Ming thought for a moment and asked, "Then... the Rhine Empire is really cold-blooded, not providing you with any living security?"


    The old man was taken aback and quickly said, "Hey! Young man, I don''t like hearing that! Watch out or I''ll smack you!"


    "Grandpa!" the little girl exclaimed, seeing her grandfather had too much to drink, and quickly intervened.


    "It''s okay, let the old man speak," Han Ming said indifferently, smiling.


    The old man glared at Han Ming indignantly and said, "Who says the country doesn''t care about us? The country did intend to let us old folks who have been guarding the borders our whole lives move to the big cities, arrange housing for us, and provide living security. But... I grew up on this land. This is where I was born and raised, where I fought to defend our country, and where my comrades who fought by my side are buried. Their souls, and ours, are here! I can''t leave this place. So we didn''t accept the country''s provisions and chose to stay. Stay on this land. The country built us better houses, gave us farmland to cultivate, and provides us with military pay every month."