Half an hour later. In the temporary medical area set up on the ruins. By the time Xie Yuduo rushed over after receiving the news, Jiang Jianming had already pressed Ryann down and completed all the possible treatment procedures.
First was debridement. Cutting away inactive tissue, removing blood clots, then washing with medicine. Next came light beam therapy, blood transfusion, and simple bandaging.
“Ouch, ah, it hurts, it hurts—”
The person who could cry out like this was certainly not His Highness Ryann. Tang Zhen was also here, with two broken ribs. Fortunately, his lungs weren’t pierced and there was no internal bleeding. A medic was helping him secure and wrap his chest.
Bei Man’er was by his side, pouting. “Now you know it hurts.”
Tang Zhen: “What do you understand? On the battlefield, you need to maintain a tough guy image even when injured, otherwise your cries will scare your teammates and lower morale. But now, with no outsiders around, why not cry out…Ouch! Gentler, gentler…”
Jiang Jianming sat on the other side, pale-faced and silent with his eyes closed, occasionally burying his head to cough urgently, looking more like a patient than the actual patients.
Ryann leisurely put on his outer clothes and slowly inched over, wanting to hug him again.
Xie Yuduo rushed over from the northern zone, his face also covered in dirt and grime. Sweat drops hung from his chin, and when he wiped it with the back of his bloodstained glove, it only made it dirtier.
“Your Highness, Little Excellency,” he looked at this scene, not knowing who to console first, “Uh, what’s going on with you two…?”
Ryann, sharp-eyed, noticed and preemptively said, using his chin to point at Jiang Jianming. “He’s a bit squeamish about blood.”
Xie Yuduo: “??” To say a Silver Big Dipper military officer is squeamish about blood, that’s really something.
“I told you,” Jiang Jianming leaned to one side with his head down and eyes closed, his voice hoarse, weakly retorting, “This is because you angered me.”
As he spoke, he reached into the inner pocket of his clothes and took out a box of tranquilizers he kept close, “Come here, take the injection.”
Ryann snatched the box away and stuffed it back into his clothes, “Injecting tranquilizers will dull the crystal bones. There might be night raids tonight, I can’t take it.”
Jiang Jianming suddenly opened his eyes and said coldly. “Shut up. There are over a hundred thousand imperial troops here, do you really think you’re the only combat force? With such a rotten temper, the Crystal Cult could wear you down to death just by attrition.”
These words were too harsh. Tang Zhen and Bei Man’er were so scared they didn’t dare to breathe. Xie Yuduo pretended to be looking at the moon, avoiding eye contact.
The Crown Prince was indeed provoked. He retorted, starting to scold Jiang Jianming for daring to give away the tranquilizers he kept close. If he continued to be so careless, one day he’d have an attack with no medicine available.
The north wind blew through the cold night, the lights set up in the temporary medical area swayed overhead, and people constantly came and went beside them.
These two dignitaries, without any “image baggage”, one injured and one sick, just argued back and forth like this. After about less than ten minutes, they quieted down on their own and leaned against each other.
“Where’s Wilson?” Jiang Jianming asked, breathing lightly. He was tired from arguing, his heartbeat and breathing were a bit fast, and he felt cold. He pulled Ryann onto himself, unfolding a thermal blanket to wrap around both of them.
“I sent him away as soon as we left the battlefield. That guy is too dull…It seems your judgement isn’t so great either.” Ryann spoke emphatically, his expression full of disdain. “When you used to ask me ‘How old are you?’, I at least knew you were calling me childish. He didn’t even understand that.”
Jiang Jianming: “…Can you not find a sense of superiority in such things?”
“Major General,” Tang Zhen said expressionlessly, “These two are treating bickering as flirting, right?”
Xie Yuduo smacked the back of his head. “Heh, it’s been like that for a long time.”
Jiang Jianming heard this and suddenly turned his head, saying ominously. “What?”
“Nothing, nothing, nothing,” Tang Zhen quickly thought of a way out, pulling Bei Man’er over, “We were saying — congratulations on your new marriage, Little Jiang!”
At some point, the wounded soldiers lying and sitting in the distance had all slowly inched over to this side.
Among these dirt-covered soldiers, some were only lightly injured, while others had broken bones or amputated limbs, damaged organs; there were even those who had nearly gone into crystal disorder, saved by third-generation tranquilizers, but half their faces were a mixture of crystal and flesh.
But now, even those severely wounded who didn’t know how much longer they could hold on were trying hard to keep their eyes open, staring intently at the noble generals and royalty joking and showing emotions like ordinary people.
Looking out, the long night and the wind and snow seemed equally endless. Ruins, lights, footsteps. A faint scent of blood and death.
Suddenly, a soldier spoke out hoarsely.
“Your Highness—…”
The trembling end of his voice dissipated into the night.
Jiang Jianming had already closed his eyes preparing to sleep, but was awakened by this sound, still a bit dazed. Ryann patted him to indicate he should continue resting, then turned around.
That soldier was lying on the ground, half his face wrapped in bandages, only one eye visible. His chest was deeply sunken, his breathing rapid and weak.
This person was about to die, which was perhaps why he had gathered the courage to speak out.
When he saw that the Crown Prince had actually turned to acknowledge him, faced with those jade-green eyes like an icy lake, the soldier showed an excited yet fearful expression.
The surroundings seemed to grow a bit quieter.
Ryann had originally prepared to ask “What is it?”, but hesitated as the words reached his lips.
“I’m listening,” he said instead.
The severely wounded soldier became even more nervous, stammering and unable to say anything, finally shaking his head with difficulty.
A trace of confusion appeared between the Crown Prince’s stern brows.
Jiang Jianming had also awakened, sitting up straight and saying softly, “You’re too intimidating. I’ve always said, Your Highness should be more approachable to the people.”
After he spoke, he looked around at the surrounding soldiers again, and suddenly had an idea.
Although the day’s battle had been successful, it hadn’t dealt a devastating blow to the Crystal Cult. If the enemy still had any trump cards, they would likely use them soon.
Tonight, both sides were regrouping. Tomorrow would surely bring another round of fierce battles, with more lives slipping away in the wind and snow.
“Your Highness, Major General Xie.”
Jiang Jianming indicated with his eyes, and Xie Yuduo understood, moving closer.
He lowered his voice and said. “About the crystal particles, we might as well clarify it tonight. Actually, I’ve already taken the liberty of letting some people hear about it.”
Tang Zhen asked confusedly from the side. “What about crystal particles?”
Xie Yuduo frowned. When he suddenly heard the truth from Ryann that day, it had also caused a great stir in his mind. He had been angry at Old Marshal Chen’s cover-up before, but after calming down, he could actually understand. This matter was too big; if leaked and the situation couldn’t be controlled, it could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Saying it meant choosing to trust the other party. The Crown Prince had done so with several senior military officers before the war, and now Jiang Jianming was doing the same with the entire army.
Ryann: “It should be said. Those who bleed for the country have the right to know why they die. The Far Star and the Empire’s civilians are almost in a state of disconnection, so there’s no need to worry about causing widespread unrest.”
Since the Crown Prince said so, Xie Yuduo had no objection. He looked around. “But now the personnel are scattered, it’s not easy to give a speech… How about opening the military channel?”
Jiang Jianming nodded. He looked around and saw that just outside the temporary medical area, there was a pile of ruins where part of a watchtower had collapsed, forming a high ground.
If one stood up there and raised their arms to shout, it should be quite impressive.
He gave Ryann a look. “Your Highness should go speak.”
Ryann: “You go.”
Jiang Jianming: “You need to be more approachable to the people…”
Ryann: “I’m injured.”
Jiang Jianming retreated in defeat, turning to look hopefully at Xie Yuduo.
Xie Yuduo immediately took three steps back, dramatically changing his expression. “Little Excellency, don’t joke. I just learned about this, how could I explain it clearly?”
Tang Zhen was completely confused, asking Bei Man’er. “What are they talking about?”
Bei Man’er was uncertain but suspicious. After all, she had experienced the Empire’s internal turmoil and counterattack with Jiang Jianming, and had vaguely sensed something.
She nervously grabbed Tang Zhen’s hand and said softly. “I don’t know either, but… it must be something big.”
There was a small rustling sound nearby as Jiang Jianming resignedly stood up.
“Alright.” He straightened his collar with one hand, calmly exhaled, and looked around. “I’ll go speak…wait a moment.”
Ryann: “What are you looking for?”
“Need some atmosphere.”
Jiang Jianming gestured. “A national flag or something, do we have one?”
****
Dawn broke.
As the light of the fixed star once again fell upon the land, the outline of the fortress, once obscured by the night, became clear once more.
In the southern zone, the two bishops of Destruction and Death sat on a high platform. Su was predicting the imperial army’s next tactics, while Margaret listened quietly.
Suddenly, both of their expressions changed slightly.
“What’s that sound?”
Su raised his head, looking towards the two areas where the imperial army was stationed.
He knew that the Empire had held a meeting last night, and some notification had been simultaneously issued to the entire army.
This was unusual. Generally, orders were passed down level by level, first from the highest generals to their deputies, then from deputies to the centurions of each unit, and so on down to the soldiers.
He didn’t know what the Empire was doing. Su had considered launching a night raid last night, but since the other side had regained defensive control of their fortress areas, a surprise attack wouldn’t be very effective, so he had abandoned the idea.
Margaret suddenly said. “Someone is singing.”
Su: “Singing?”
Listening carefully, there really was singing.
The voices were rough and hoarse, irregular, many people singing together. The sound drifted faintly from the eastern and northern zones, across a great distance.
It was a long, resonant melody, passionate with a touch of tragic heroism, reminiscent of pilgrims trudging through a long night with lanterns and spears, their spear tips forever pointing towards the sunrise in the east.
The song fell on the white snow, on the black broken walls.
In the temporary medical area of the eastern zone, the severely wounded soldier who had called out to the Crown Prince last night lay on his back, no white mist coming from his nose and mouth anymore.
The song fell on the soldiers’ temples, their brows and lips relaxed, very peaceful, as if they had fallen asleep on a snowy winter morning.
The medic silently unfolded a long white cloth, covering the body and face, and carried the corpse away.
In the southern zone, the wind stirred the robes of the two bishops. Margaret listened for a moment, then said in an ethereal voice. “It’s the national anthem.”
Su: “National…anthem?”
Margaret: “The Empire’s national anthem.”
Su pressed his lips together. A few seconds later, he summoned a cult member, asking if they could find out what the imperial army had said last night from the “alien creatures” in the sky.
The answer was easily obtained; the Empire hadn’t prepared to keep this secret.
“They conveyed the truth about crystal particles to the entire army, Your Excellency the Bishop,” the Crystal Cult member said respectfully, bowing his head. “And the history.”
Su showed an expression of incomprehension.
“Then ordered the soldiers to sing?” he asked.
“No,” the cult member said. “According to what our people saw, there were no such orders.”
“The explanation took less than an hour to finish, but someone in the eastern zone hung up the national flag and didn’t take it down. At dawn, the soldiers under the flag spontaneously began singing the national anthem.”
“Others around followed suit, the singing spread to the northern zone, and they joined in as well, so… it’s like this now.”
A flash of bewilderment passed through the black-robed man’s eyes.
He didn’t understand why, after learning such earth-shattering truths, the imperial soldiers’ reaction would be like this.
In the faint singing, for the first time, Su felt as if he had never truly understood his own race.
But there was no turning back now.
Su looked at Margaret. The girl’s blue eyes were calm, her white hair floating in the air.
He knew that Death was a humanoid weapon tamed by Archbishop Gaius. Soon, this weapon would be activated.
