Mercenary's War

Gao Yang drove a truck, the strong man and the captive got into another one, and with Cui Bo and the others covering for him, they headed back.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The battle broke out, but the main attack wasn’t directed at Gao Yang’s location, so the bombardment was just a feint to distract the defenders. It was just a routine artillery harassment, absolutely normal, but the death of a dog made it abnormal.

When Gao Yang and the others returned, everyone was in high spirits, with many people gathered around the strong man, asking him all sorts of questions, except for one person.

Wizard said with a grim face, "A soldier like you should be executed!"

But as soon as Wizard finished his cold statement, the lively crowd immediately fell silent.

Military discipline must be strict; defying military orders during wartime could lead to execution, and should lead to execution. So, while Wizard’s words were unsympathetic, they were absolutely reasonable.

A soldier whispered, "But he was so brave, he killed many enemies, captured one, and seized two trucks and two automatic mortars. He should be rewarded."

Wizard wouldn’t waste words on a small soldier; he simply said sternly to Vorvitsky, "Executing him is too severe, but a punishment is necessary. He’s your man, you handle it."

Wizard was as rigid as Nate, believing that any soldier who defied orders must be punished, whether they were a militiaman or a regular soldier, and so he acted accordingly.

The previously cheerful atmosphere turned a bit awkward, but Vorvitsky awkwardly said, "Sorry, sir, I can’t punish him because he’s not a soldier at all. He just helps out in the kitchen. He’s a volunteer, helping out but not a soldier, so I don’t have the authority to punish him."

Wizard’s face turned stern, but he then let out a breath, laughed, and said, "Oh, not a soldier, huh? Well, if he’s not a soldier, then there’s no issue. If he’s not a soldier, there’s no defying orders involved, and without defying orders, he should be rewarded."

The strong man nodded, speaking slowly, "If there’s nothing else, I’d like to do something first."

He parted the crowd, found a shovel, walked over to the dog’s body, crouched down, and said with a face full of sadness, "You were my friend, but you’ve died. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you back. If I hadn’t called you, you wouldn’t have died. I’m sorry, Snow White."

After giving a solemn apology, the strong man picked up the dog with both hands and slowly walked to the side. After placing the dog on a vacant spot, he started digging a pit.

Gao Yang whispered, "This guy is really something."

After speaking, Gao Yang looked at Vorvitsky and asked, "You said he’s not a soldier?"

"No, he wanted to join the militia, but he wasn’t suitable to be a warrior, so I let him do some odd jobs in the kitchen so he could get a full meal."

Gao Yang nodded, watching the strong man dig the pit in a trance. At this moment, Wizard said, "What exactly did you do? What happened? I thought he was a goner."

Gao Yang waved his hand and laughed, "Without us, he would have been done for. At the start, he charged towards the enemy’s position alone, we covered him, killed a few enemies, and then the enemies got disorganized. That guy miraculously reached the front of the enemy’s position, causing panic among them, and they started fleeing. He chased dozens of them, causing chaos, and in the end, he killed one person, but he indeed broke through the enemy’s position."

Wizard shook his head and said, "What a lucky guy."

Watching the strong man bury the dog and slowly walk back, Gao Yang waved at him and shouted, "Come over, big guy, over here."

The strong man slowly walked over, and Gao Yang asked with keen interest, "What’s your name? Full name."

"Yuri Monoko, sir."

Gao Yang nodded, looking curious, "I want to ask, why did you join the militia?"

Yuri thought for a moment, then looked up at Gao Yang and said, "Most people in our village joined the militia, over a hundred of them. I couldn’t stay at home, or I’d be ridiculed, because I’m a Cossack. My father said that Zaporizhian Cossacks have no cowards, and we can’t lose face."

Gao Yang asked, "And you? What do you think?"

"Me? I actually want to live a good life, but there’s no way to farm in our village anymore; it’s become a battlefield, and when the fighting started, there was no fertilizer or seeds available. The seeds of wheat and corn we kept ourselves wouldn’t germinate and had to be bought, and the company I worked for shut down, leaving no work to do, so I didn’t know what to do. Also, they didn’t want me; they said I would die quickly on the battlefield because I’m too big and too slow, but I’m not actually slow. You saw it, right?"

"So, which factory did you work at?"

"I worked at a construction company in Zaporizhia, sir."

Gao Yang nodded and laughed, "So you’re a construction worker, right?"

"No, sir, actually, I’m a construction engineer."

Gao Yang was relieved he didn’t have anything in his mouth, or he would have spit it out.

"What?!"

Everyone had a shocked expression, and Yuri slowly continued, "I graduated from university, sir, Kharkov National University of Construction, and I was an honors student."

Gao Yang swallowed his saliva and glanced at the people around him, while Vorvitsky muttered to himself, "You never said you were an engineer. We all thought you were a bricklayer, Yuri."

Yuri still spoke slowly, "I’m very big, but I’m not stupid, sir."

Gao Yang chuckled a few times awkwardly, and the others were all wide-eyed, stunned. Gao Yang then cleared his throat and looked at Yuri, asking, "So, how old are you?"

Yuri chuckled foolishly and said, "Twenty-seven, sir."

"What?"

Everyone, including Wizard, was stunned. Cui Bo looked as if he was about to cry, saying, "F**k me! I thought he was forty-seven! He looks way too mature."

Yuri chuckled foolishly and said to Cui Bo, "I told you I was an honors student, so I’m actually an engineer, even though I look forty-seven, I’m really twenty-seven."

Cui Bo spoke in English, and Yuri replied in English.

Vorvitsky said in a daze, "You can speak English? And you’re an engineer? You’re better than me, much better. I haven’t even graduated yet."

Looks can be deceiving; everyone thought Yuri was a bricklayer, but he was actually an engineering graduate from a prestigious university, and he could speak English.

Gao Yang sighed, looking at Vorvitsky, saying, "With talent like this, you have him doing odd jobs in the kitchen?"