Book 6 Chapter 31.2 – Unknown
After the scout left stealthily, the sniper also found a place to lay in ambush, starting to examine their target with his scope. After examining the town a bit, he suddenly released a signal to O’Brien, and then O’Brien immediately moved over. This place was only a bit over a kilometer from the small town, and since they could snipe down an enemy, they could similarly be shot down. Even though he didn’t fear snipers, regardless of who it was, no one liked to be pointed at by a sniper rifle. Through his binoculars, O’Brien unexpectedly discovered that the small town was unexpectedly cold and cheerless, not a single person in sight. The empty streets were full of paper everywhere, when a gust of wind blew by, it stirred up large expanses of snow-white color. There were no signs of guards at the few extremely important locations. If there was no one arranged here, then holing up in the small town would become extremely dangerous, because it would be extremely difficult to defend against an ambush by a small, powerful troop, for example, O’Brien’s current troop.
Could it be that some type of unforeseen event happened?
O’Brien frowned inwardly, currently thinking to himself. The scout who left earlier appeared in his perception, quickly running back, but didn’t forget to cover his own traces. When he arrived at O’Brien’s side, the scout’s first sentence was ‘The town is empty!’.
“Empty?” O’Brien was stunned. From the enemy intelligence system they seized from the enemy, they knew that this small town was heavily guarded just yesterday. One day of time was definitely not enough for a complete retreat unless they abandoned some of their supplies.
“Yes, empty! I already carefully searched about, there isn’t a single person inside the town. There aren’t many who can avoid my detection.” The scout said with confidence. He already experienced many life and death battles, so he had great confidence in his own abilities. As a result, O’Brien nodded, patted his shoulder, and then hinted for Eileen to follow him.
A few minutes later, O’Brien was already standing at the center of the small town. The small town was a mess, many heavy strategic supplies, for example, food and ammunition, were piled up in a mess, from the looks of it completely abandoned. The important strategic locations all had complete fortifications built, but even the anti-aircraft machine guns in the various firing positions were abandoned, the retreat of the defending army clearly extremely rushed. The church at the center of the small town had long been modified into an ammunition storage spot, all types of strategic goods piled up within it, while the basement was where fuel was stored. Barrel after barrel of gas and aviation kerosene were stacked up, left behind just like that. From the looks of it, the enemy couldn’t even be bothered to light a flame or drop a bomb.
Wind roared, releasing mournful murmuring sounds as it passed through the gaps between buildings. O’Brien, who was standing at the center of the town, examined his surroundings. He suddenly felt a strange illusory feeling of desolateness and lonesomeness, as if he was the only one left in this world. He didn’t know where this mood came from either. Eileen was clearly right at his side, yet when he saw this small town that was like the night sky, he found it a bit hard to control his emotions. This was the result of sudden relaxation after being tense for too long. Even if it was O’Brien, it was a bit difficult for him to immediately adapt.
Eileen walked over to O’Brien’s side, and then asked, “Why did they suddenly run? Moreover leaving behind so many supplies.”
O’Brien suddenly thought of a possibility. Even though he felt that it was inconceivable, he felt like there was a higher and higher chance of it being true, and as such, he slowly said, “Perhaps… this war is already about to end.”
“Ah?!” Eileen found this reply difficult to immediately accept.
In Dragon City, Black Dragonrider General Headquarters was one of the few important buildings not caught up in the conflagrations of war. Two dragonrider privates still stood attentively at the entrance, their postures straight, uniforms also neat and tidy, this fact unchanged even through the current difficult times. However, even though their grand display remained unchanged, the Black Dragonriders’ status in the Blood Parliament had already decreased greatly. This was because of Josh Morgan’s neutrality, as well as because of his nonfeasance. Towards the transferring of dragonriders to various sides of the war, Morgan always had one eye opened and one eye closed. As long as it didn’t arrive right before his face, he just completely feigned ignorance. As a result, the number of dragonriders who obeyed general headquarters’ dispatch naturally decreased greatly. On the other hand, the reason for this war, the stripping of former Black Dragonrider General Persephone’s military rank, as well as the demand for her arrest, made quite a few Black Dragonriders feel inwardly disappointed, these individuals all developing thoughts of withdrawal. Right now, in Dragonrider General Headquarters, Josh Morgan was the only former general left, only twenty or thirty of the former few hundred staff members remaining. Apart from the secretaries and others in similar jobs, the only official dragonriders left were those in civilian posts like Lieutenant Colonel Julio who could no longer fight.
Morgan still stood before the window, holding his coffee cup while looking into the great sea outside his window. Time seemed to have frozen still in his office, this place looking no different from the past. Of course, there were still some minor differences, for example, the quality of the coffee in his hands had been downgraded more than once.
It was now approaching dusk, the sky already starting to darken. The clouds above the sea were blown away by strong winds, casting down rays of red sunlight, leaving behind large amounts of glistening scales. Compared to the scenery outside the window, Morgan’s office appeared a bit too gloomy, the lighting much weaker than the past, adding a bit of a cold and stifling feeling to this classical style office. At this time, a few light knocking sounds could be heard, breaking his train of thought. It was still the young, pretty, secretary with the seductive figure. She reached her head in and asked, “Does your distinguished self need a new cup of coffee?”