It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 173 | Farewell

"Here you go, no need to thank me. This miniature pistol suits you perfectly." Shang Ke generously gave it away without hesitation.

"Huh? You're giving this to me?" Moro was a little surprised.

This is a Colt pocket pistol. What makes it special is that the entire gun has been blued, and the grip is made of high-grade black walnut wood, making it look very exquisite. I guess Captain Romania spent a lot of money to buy it.

“This is a reward for your excellent performance in the previous battle, Cecil Morrow, the officer candidate,” Shank said solemnly.

"A reward?" Morel stared at him in surprise, puzzled. "Isn't it to thank me for showing up in time?"

"Speaking of this makes me angry. Your government is too slow. If we weren't constantly being urged, we definitely wouldn't have sent troops by now, and there would be no expeditionary force at all," Mr. Shang said with certainty.

Moro scoffed and accepted the unusual gift, but retorted without backing down, "Whether or not to participate in this war is our country's right. We have no obligation to fight and shed blood for foreign countries. At the very least, the Huns should thank us."

So you've tasted the price of your supposedly brilliant strategy of self-preservation in history... Shang Ke thought to himself.

Twenty-one-year-old Mauro comes from a historic city called Saint-Quentin.

She was born into a large family with several siblings. Her father was a well-known auto mechanic in the area, but supporting such a family was not easy. Therefore, Morel's teenage years were not carefree, but were filled with the bittersweet experiences of life.

She learned Chinese while working at a local Chinese restaurant, which was three years ago. After showing promise in 1937, she volunteered for the army, trained to become a qualified soldier, and further studied mechanized cavalry warfare.

In Moro's eyes, Mr. Shang could be described as a legendary figure.

It should be noted that the intelligence briefing issued by the Mariana Expeditionary Force before they went abroad to fight mentioned Mr. Shang, and there were only a few sentences directly describing him.

"Shang Ke, an armored major from Zhongguo, is a member of the Grand Federation Military Technology Advisory Group. He possesses outstanding tactical skills and seems equally adept at urban warfare."

It wasn't a long story, but it was given a whole page, which is quite an honor.

Furthermore, the battle briefing introduced the battles of Viges Airport and Tissalek Dam, both of which involved Mr. Shang.

Therefore, Mauro, who was carefully reading the battle briefing at the time, subconsciously felt curious—who exactly was this major?

To her surprise, she actually encountered Mr. Shang during a combat reconnaissance mission where she was acting as the vanguard, and Mr. Shang was a lone commander.

She was a dignified honorary colonel, but when she was discovered, she only had a handful of men under her command. She would remember that predicament for the rest of her life.

Shang! You don't want others to know about your miserable situation, do you?

Seeing him stand up, Morel asked, "Where are you going next?"

"Look at the troops I commanded before." Shank let out a long sigh, put his hands on his hips and said leisurely, "I still need to see Queen Hurri. Her royal guard was reduced to only a few hundred men in my hands."

“Alright, goodbye, Shang.” Morel pondered, “Hmm… how do you say that idiom comes from?”

"Until we meet again?"

"Yes, this is it. Until we meet again."

The battle was not yet over; Marianne's expeditionary force was relentlessly pursuing and striving to inflict maximum damage on Ivanrod's army.

Morrow must return to the team.

The two looked at each other.

Looking into her blue-gray eyes, Shang Ke said calmly, "Staying alive is the most important thing. We'll see each other again in the future."

Moro's eyes revealed a hint of disdain and arrogance.

She smiled playfully, turned around, waved, and nimbly climbed onto the Panhard armored vehicle. She then straightened her cap and saluted from the vehicle. The armored vehicle sped away, crunching through the dirty snow on the dilapidated streets of Budapest, disappearing around the corner.

"Unexpectedly, a genuine Gallic girl, quite interesting..."

Shang Ke muttered to himself as he casually tossed away the nearly burnt-out cigarette butt in the wind and snow.

Then, he drove an off-road vehicle across the frozen Danube River to Buda on the west bank.

Why not use the Széchenyi Chain Bridge? Because this only remaining bridge currently plays a crucial role—allowing all sorts of heavy weapons to pass through.

After a bumpy ride of more than half an hour, he arrived at the current location of the 'Hunyatti' military police regiment and the royal guard.

Although it's called a garrison, it's actually just a relatively flat valley in the Buda Mountains. Nearby are large forests, their bare branches covered in snow, a pristine white landscape.

Looking around, there were sixty or seventy tents of various sizes, with soldiers in twos and threes preparing for dinner.

"Stop the car! Show me your identification."

The sentries on duty, as was their routine, stopped the SUV.

"Oh?" Shang Ke got out of the car and said, feigning seriousness, "Have you forgotten who I am after just a few days?"

The setting sun cast a long shadow of him.

"Colonel? Colonel Shang?"

Someone shouted, "The colonel is back!" and the garrison immediately erupted into a frenzy, like a pot of boiling water.

The soldiers crowded around, unable to hide their excitement.

Captain Zeno and Captain Eugene also rushed over. When they saw Mr. Shang standing there unharmed, they were so excited that they couldn't speak.

After stammering for five or six seconds, Captain Zeno sniffed and said with deep emotion, "We all thought you wouldn't come back..."

Looking at the soldiers before him, meeting their gazes, Shang Ke smiled and said casually, hands on his hips, "Just encountered a little trouble... Now! Dismissed! Prepare for dinner!"

After the soldiers left, Shank called Zeno and Eugene aside for a private conversation.

"What are the plans for replenishing troops and equipment?"

"Colonel, would you like to see the paper documents? I'll go get them."

"Need not."

Captain Zeno adjusted his glasses and replied without hesitation, "According to headquarters' allocation, we can supplement with about a thousand new recruits and thirty officers."

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "It is said that the Ministry of Defense has been racking its brains to procure guns and cannons. We will receive a batch of Valland weapons, which were handed over by the troops stationed on the Valland border."

Three Walland infantry divisions and one mountain division, which had been stationed in eastern Austria for a long time, also set off north to join the war. They were ordered to unseal several war reserve warehouses and transfer all the guns and cannons stored inside to Hurghazi free of charge.

During the European war, the Waldland Empire manufactured millions of Mauser Gew98 rifles, as well as a large number of MG08 water-cooled heavy machine guns and various artillery pieces. After being upgraded, these large quantities of old guns and cannons were mothballed as war reserve materials.

从这个星期开始，瓦尔兰德无偿移交了4.5万支步枪和1600挺重机枪，以及134门75毫米山炮和95门105毫米LeFH16型105毫米榴弹炮，足够武装10个步兵师和10个民兵旅。

"And what about the Royal Guard?" Shank asked Captain Eugene, who looked distressed.

(End of this chapter)