Durin's Diary

Chapter 922 Sleeping Under Flowers

Before he had gone far, the old man was noticed by the young soldiers. Some did not recognize him, but others recognized that he was wearing an old-fashioned marshal's robe draped over his shoulders.

Zhulong, the dwarf demon, and the old marshal must have been thinking about the stories passed down by generations of veterans. When their doubts were confirmed by the old commander behind the little old man, they immediately followed.

They had only heard stories of Marshal Mo, of how he led his soldiers to defeat the alien race time and time again, and of his past sharing meals and beds with his soldiers.

Looking at these unfamiliar young people, the old man felt a pang of sadness—the young people he knew back then were all gone, but he saw in these young people the vigor that those young people should have had back then.

Finally, when an old soldier with half his beard turned white appeared before him and saluted the old man with choked voice, he couldn't help but nod and said, "You're Luo Liancai from the 4th Company of the 662nd Regiment, right?"

"Marshal, you still remember me!" The veteran proudly puffed out his chest.

"Where are the others? Where is your brother Xingcai?" the old man asked. Although he didn't know what had happened after he left, he trusted the young men.

"My brother and my comrades did not disgrace His Excellency the Marshal!" The veteran said, his eyes reddening.

"Okay, I understand. I'll come find you for a drink after I've finished what I need to do." With that, the old man patted his arm.

He glanced at the young soldiers: "Disperse, or come with me. Let me go and meet those bastards who feed you chaff and drink water, and see if they really have three lungs and two hearts like the aliens!"

So when the old man entered the camp and saw the crowd that came to greet him, thousands of soldiers had already gathered behind him.

"Marshal, I am Liu Guoxing's son, Liu Yumen. You should have held me." The old man at the front bowed to the little old man walking in front of the crowd.

“I remember you. Your father did not betray my trust in him, but I don’t understand why, now that you’ve become a general, such things still happen under your rule. You should know that this is the kind of thing I disliked the most when I was alive,” the old man said with drooping eyes.

“But times have changed, sir,” the old man said with a wry smile.

The old man was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.

As he laughed, a teleportation portal opened beside him.

A young Zhulong who looked somewhat similar to him stepped out.

Why are you smiling so happily?

"I am very gratified to see the son of an old friend speak the truth to me from the bottom of his heart, you know?" The old man said, then looked at the old man in front of him: "This is Dulin, my descendant."

The young Zhulong smiled and squinted his eyes: "I am Dulin. If you have read the military newspaper, you should know how to spell my name."

………………

Dulin's words seemed to have a magical power; the commanders who had been whispering just moments before immediately shut their mouths.

The old man in the general's uniform didn't say a word, but knelt down with a thud: "Marshal, I know why you've come, and I understand why you've put on this old marshal's uniform again. You have a great grandson with the strength to lift mountains, but please have pity on these young men behind me. They are young and have made mistakes, but they have already told me that they are willing to give away all their wealth, just asking you to spare their lives." Upon hearing this, the middle-aged commanders also knelt down.

It's funny, even though they weren't any shorter while kneeling, Dulin could clearly see fear on their faces.

What you see is their fear, but what I see is their impending death.

Big Orange dismissed this with disdain.

These wicked people with histrionic personalities have amassed countless riches and starved countless young heroes, who couldn't even die of overeating. To call them beasts is to tarnish the reputation of beasts.

"How could I not know?" Du Lin smiled and then looked at the old man: "What do you suggest? If these people are all your juniors and you can't bring yourself to do it, you can leave it to me. I know that each generation has its own hardships, but I have no relation to them and I can bring myself to do it."

“I know, but I also think that if we kill so many commanders in one go, do you really expect an old man like me, who is only five hundred years old, to lead the young people into battle?” As he said this, the old man glanced at the young girl in the crowd: “Stop hiding. Since you’re already here, come out and see the world. See the bastards on this land who help your family dig up graves every day.”

After he said that, Xiang Shu could no longer hide it, and she walked over to Du Lin's side.

Upon seeing her appearance, the commanders panicked.

The young general looked at the princess beside Dulin and panicked: "Princess, please calm down. These commanders were just confused for a moment!"

"I know that people always make mistakes, but the mistakes they make vary in degree. Some people make mistakes because of excessive drinking, and some people are greedy for money. I don't know which category you fall into, but I never thought that you would dare to challenge the authority of the royal family. Did His Majesty and his wise ministers send young subjects to the front lines just so that you would cut their food allowances and let them go hungry?"

Although Xiang Shu was young, her words were extremely hurtful, which made Du Lin sigh.

Since you still want to perform, Dulin won't stop you.

But the old man still spoke up: "Your Highness, if they can really return the embezzled funds, they can find a way to make a living, but this path will not be easy."

“If you’re willing to give us a way out, we’re willing to go to the penance camp!” a commander immediately said.

With him as an example, all the commanders immediately stepped forward and expressed their willingness to enter the penance camp.

“If it’s not enough for just you, your eldest and second sons must both enter,” the old man said. “If it’s only the eldest and second sons, the second son can be exempted.”

This time, they discussed it, but ultimately agreed with the old man's ruling.

Since that's the case, then this matter is considered closed.

The soldiers also saw no problem with it—it was impossible for the commander involved to be sentenced to death anyway; on the contrary, entering the Yom Kippur camp would grant them freedom, but the work there was something no one else dared to do. The casualty rate was always very high.

After arranging things here, the old man looked at the men dressed like merchants and asked, "And you, what brings you here?"

(End of this chapter)