Chapter 996: Section 645: Eastern Observations (Part 1)_3
"All yours. Now pull out one from your pack." Malin tossed the cigarette box to the Viscount: "You’re a good commander."
"How could I? These are exclusive goods from Carterburg." The Viscount said, looking at Malin.
"Now they’re the Viscount’s cigarettes." Malin said with a grin, then reached out and pulled the Viscount to his feet: "Get ready. Our guests are arriving soon."
Malin was a legend. When he said the guests were coming, that meant the guests were truly on their way. Hence, the Viscount and his men promptly took their positions. Even the soldiers stopped spectating. As Malin moved toward the front lines, some soldiers, who caught sight of him eating wooden-crumb bread, saluted him.
Malin returned each salute and patted their shoulders.
This filled the soldiers with pride and honor. Malin looked at them, knowing the soldiers of this era were unfortunate. They were to face enemies far stronger and more terrifying than them—those Chaos warriors skilled in the art of tearing flesh from bone, far more fearsome than their own kind. Precisely because of this, these soldiers appeared all the more endearing. For they fought for the sake of humanity itself. They feared, they trembled, but they still stood resolutely in the trenches, facing death alongside their comrades.
In front of the defensive line, five cavalrymen advanced on horseback towards the horizon. Before long, they disappeared beyond the edge of the earth.
The Viscount sent out his scouts, waiting nervously for their report. Soon, the five cavalrymen returned—but only three made it back, all wounded. They brought bad news—Chaos forces armed with firearms had arrived.
The good news, however, was that there weren’t many firearm-equipped Chaos warriors in this batch. Most carried cold weapons. It seemed like two distinct groups of enemies. This difference was what allowed the scouts to bring back their news alive.
With both good and bad news in hand, the soldiers instinctively began to seek out their own firing positions.
Malin accepted the firearm handed over by Old Kay—a bolt-action rifle of an early model. In Malin’s workshop, these rifles were now relegated to apprentices for practice. Their hallmark was affordability and reliability.