No Beast Girls on the Western Front

Page 32

Thinking this, Payne sighed softly and turned to look at the small square, wanting to see how his beast girls were doing.

Lacey and Grace seemed alright, though their expressions were somewhat somber;

Xiao En looked unwell; she didn't even dare to look at the wounded lying on the stretcher.

Ruby looked a little dejected, her tail dragging on the ground.

All four animals were good children. Although they were somewhat unwilling, they were all working diligently.

This little squirrel really had a hard time today; I'll have to comfort her when we get back.

Payne thought he would be able to stand there comfortably, but after a short while, he felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

The small square in front of the church wasn't exactly small; it held at least a hundred wounded people. But it was unusually quiet, with only the sounds of doctors and nurses talking, the occasional cough and groan, and the noise of cars.

He wouldn't think much of it if the place was filled with the cries of the wounded.

But it is precisely because this place is as quiet as a morgue that it gives people a chill.

Only a dying person doesn't even have the strength to shout.

After hesitating for a moment, Payne asked, "Since it's a new type of poison gas, it means there's no cure for it in the short term, right?"

After a two-second pause, the company commander nodded silently.

In other words, there are hundreds of people lying here who are beyond saving and are about to die.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder and looked up at a golden scepter sculpture above the church door.

Yaksha is the religion widely practiced by the people of the Dexter Empire.

This religion believes in a single, all-knowing and all-powerful goddess whose name is "Iya".

Its religious symbol is a scepter with a sphere at the top and a wider top and a narrower bottom, symbolizing the supreme holiness of God's authority on earth.

Therefore, the white-and-red scepter symbol in this world serves essentially the same function as the symbol of the International Red Cross on Earth.

Of course, Pain, who has lived two lives, is not religious.

Whenever he saw wounded soldiers lying under the eaves of the church, he felt immense sorrow and irony.

Where is your God?

Just as he was lost in thought, a violent cough and vomiting broke the tranquility of the small square.

A wounded soldier, being carried by Lacey and Ruby, arched his back in extreme pain, opened his mouth wide, and vomited out a loud "whoosh," splashing red blood onto Ruby's clothes like a fountain.

Ruby, who was already feeling unwell, was startled by the sudden turn of events. She lost her balance and fell backward to the ground, while the injured man was also thrown to the ground and rolled twice.

Seeing several doctors and nurses walking towards Ruby, Payne immediately went over to shield her, "I'm so sorry, she didn't mean it. She's not feeling well today. I'll give her a good talking to when we get back..."

But he realized halfway through his story that the doctors and nurses had no time to pay attention to him and were all focused on the wounded.

The wounded soldier's condition deteriorated rapidly; he began to tremble violently, as if having an epileptic seizure, and several people couldn't hold him down; only their shouts could be heard.

"Hold his head! Don't let him bite his tongue!"

"Give him a sedative!"

"Young man! Young man, can you hear me?! Relax! Relax your muscles!"

"The bleeding won't stop..."

"My heart rate is over 180! My heart rate is over 180!"

……

Several people in white coats busied themselves with their hands and mouths, while Ruby just sat on the ground, trembling and clinging to Payne's leg, without saying a word.

Payne didn't say much, just patted her head and said, "It's not your fault, it's okay."

After a few minutes, the group quieted down, and the doctors and nurses put the patient back on the stretcher and covered his entire body with a white sheet.

Only one doctor wearing glasses came over and told Payne, "Keep an eye on your orcs," while the other doctors in white coats simply left.

Payne had intended to assure the doctor that he would teach Ruby a lesson, but the doctor seemed uninterested in even listening to him and turned away.

Judging from the doctors' attitude, even if Ruby hadn't fallen, that person would likely not have survived.

Death is indeed commonplace here.

More importantly, they also have many patients to care for.

After waiting a few seconds and seeing that no one was paying attention to them anymore, Payne picked up Ruby and carried her to the edge of the square, letting her sit down against a tree root. "Are you alright?"

"Um...no...it's nothing..." The little squirrel looked at the blood on its clothes, its trembling hands gradually calming down. "I...I..."

Payne immediately interrupted her: "It's okay, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to. You were feeling unwell and startled, so you let go of it."

"I'll change my clothes when I get back and take a good shower."

"As for now, you should get some rest."

Ruby's lips moved, but in the end she didn't say anything, only nodded.

After asking the company commander to help check on Ruby, Payne went over and helped Lacey move the wounded.

Ruby stared at Payne's busy back for a long time before lowering her head, her expression forlorn.

On the ground beside her, several black ants were foraging for food, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Chapter 48 XLVIII. Although the preparation work took a while.

Payne thought that once he had sent away the wounded from this square, the matter would be over, but to his surprise, another square came after he had sent away one, and the roar of cars coming and going never stopped.

Only when the sun had sunk below the treetops and was hidden by the dense foliage did no more little red figures arrive, and Payne and the beast girls were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and sit down to rest in the shade.

After a while, an officer ran over and reminded everyone again not to tell anyone what had happened that day. He then gave each person a small bottle of liquor, barely larger than a rifle bullet, as a token of his gratitude, and let them leave.

On the way back, the company commander couldn't help but say, "This reminds me of the first time B Company encountered poison gas. Was it phosgene or chlorine again?..."

Payne's voice was deep: "If you're talking about that time with the yellowish-green smoke, that was chlorine. Phosgene is colorless."

"Yes, yes, that time. Sigh—"

The company commander sighed deeply, "The situation back then was almost exactly the same as now. The higher-ups blocked information, and the lower-ups were in a panic. Wounded soldiers would cough and then suddenly stop breathing..."

“If we hadn’t been off the front line at the time, and you had told us to cover our mouths and noses with wet cloths the moment you discovered the situation, the entire B Company might have been wiped out.”

Pine simply waved his hand, "It was just good luck at the time. How many people had access to information about 'chemical weapons' before that?"

"No matter what, at least we still have gas masks available today, which can effectively protect us from the red gas, and that's enough."

"By the way, you'd better wash your clothes and yourself when you get back today."

The company commander nodded. "Okay. I hope you get a good night's sleep."

Payne chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Thank you for your kind words."

After carrying wounded people all afternoon, he can now see a blood-soaked figure whenever he closes his eyes.

Although it's unlikely, he still hopes he won't have nightmares at night.

……

After parting ways with the company commander, Payne immediately led the beast girls to revisit the stream where they had bathed before.

However, this time there was one less beast.

However, neither the people nor the beasts mentioned this matter.

Lacey, who loves water, cheered and jumped right into the water, splashing water that would earn her a zero from the judges.

Grace and Shawn were much quieter; both of them waded into the water slowly.

As for Ruby, after taking off her clothes, she said to Payne in a coquettish voice, "I'm out of strength, carry me down."

"Even a splitter shouldn't be like this..."

Although Payne had some complaints, the usually imposing little squirrel was behaving so weakly today that he couldn't refuse. So he gently picked up her light body and carried her down to the river.

"Ugh! It's so cold..."

The delicate body in his arms trembled slightly, but Payne just smacked her head in annoyance. "What, do you want me to set this forest on fire to heat up the river for you?"

"Forehead……"

"Just bear with it, you can go back to rest after you're done washing up."

"Um... well."

While the other three beasts played in the water and helped each other wash their bodies, the person and the beast remained quiet.

Ruby let Payne swirl the soap across her skin, her large eyes fixed on him without uttering a word.

The squirrel's gaze made Payne a little uncomfortable, and after a few minutes he finally couldn't help but ask, "Wh...what's wrong?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nothing, I just... just wanted to look at you."

Payne never imagined he would be embarrassed by Ruby, so he could only lower his head and avoid looking into her eyes, focusing on helping her wash her body.

In the past, when Ruby was dealing with a splitting device, she would either handle it herself or adopt a "I'm just borrowing your body, don't overthink it" attitude. She had never become so... submissive and dependent on him.

When did she start becoming like this? ...

"Why...why did it stop?"

Startled by Ruby's words, Payne realized he had been daydreaming and quickly resumed what he was doing. "It's nothing. Hurry up and wash, you'll catch a cold if you wait too long..."

The man and the beast remained silent until the bath was over.

After drying Ruby off, Payne helped her put on clean clothes and let her sit on the shore to rest.

As Payne picked up the blood-stained clothes and dipped them in water, scrubbing them with soap while worrying whether he could remove the toxic substances, he heard Ruby's weak voice behind him: "...I'm sorry."

Payne turned back and saw that not only was her head drooping, but her little ears were also drooping, and her big tail, which was hanging on the bare tree roots, was still dripping water.

"Why are you saying sorry?" he asked.

Ruby turned her head away. "I... I might infect you."

Paine laughed, "What infection? It's not bacteria. It's nothing, it's just a little blood. If you're fine, I'll be fine too."

"When the brancher passes, you'd better listen carefully when I give you a lesson. Only bacteria can be called 'infection,' while toxic gas can only be called 'contamination.'"

"Um... well."