The Fourth Calamity never believed in the steel torrent!

Chapter 275 Fellow villagers, we will surely defeat the invaders!
"Whoosh! The experienced driver is about to start the ride, anyone want to get on?"

"Coming, coming, they're almost here!"

"Wait a minute, help me put up the back panel of the car so I can drive this toilet-headed vehicle up there!"

The players quickly prepared the armored train, which had been parked near Schlüsselburg and was responsible for guarding this transportation hub.

Players took turns positioning themselves in different gun positions on the armored train. One player even drove a KV-2 tank onto the last flatbed trailer of the armored train, effectively adding an extra turret to the train.

In fact, during World War II, the Soviets often used tanks as artillery pieces on armored trains when transporting them by train, thus creating a monkey-like version of the armored train.

By doing this, they could often catch the enemy off guard when fighting for the train station, and at the same time, they could quickly allow armored forces to wipe out the enemy around the train station.

However, there are also drawbacks to doing this.

If they use a surprise attack tactic, there's naturally no problem. But if the enemy is prepared, and they've lined up all their tanks on the deck, they're easy targets.

In addition, sometimes the firing of a cannon from a tank on the train can cause instability in the train's operation, which makes doing so still somewhat risky.

In most cases, the Soviets would never be able to drive a KV-2 tank up there, because the recoil of its 152mm howitzer was too great, and the tank itself was very tall, making its center of gravity somewhat unstable.

This thing can't even be turned at top speed while driving, otherwise it will inevitably roll over, its stability is quite poor.

Of course, that only applies to the original KV-2 tank. For players, their tanks have a physics engine that doesn't have issues like rollover.

Their tanks do have recoil when they fire, but it's not enough to cause the vehicle to overturn or slide off an armored train, just as they can put tanks on airplanes to take off.

Near the train station, Black Hawk soldiers were also driving away large numbers of laborers and civilians, forcing them to work quickly to repair the railway.

"Hurry up, all of you! Haven't you eaten yet?"

A Black Hawk officer who understood Cambrian shouted at the group, his eyes full of contempt.

"Um, sir, but we really haven't eaten..."

A farmer timidly raised his head and muttered something under his breath, but before he could finish speaking, the officer who had come over lashed him hard across the face with his whip.

"Shut up! You haven't even finished your work, and you expect to eat!"

After the Black Hawk officer left, everyone else present wore expressions of resentment and glared at him with hatred.

They never expected that the enemy would reach them so quickly. They had originally planned to evacuate by train from here, but they were blocked by the Black Hawk unit.

The Black Hawk Empire had no intention of treating them like prisoners of war. Although they did not directly turn these villagers into undead, they were still treating them brutally, forcing them to do heavy physical labor.

It was midday, and although it was already summer, the sun was still scorching, even though the weather hadn't reached its hottest point yet.

These villagers have been working tirelessly under the scorching sun, without even having time to eat or drink anything.

How could they not experience adverse reactions?

In fact, many villagers have already collapsed due to heatstroke, and several have even died, but the Black Hawks don't care at all.

According to their domestic propaganda, these Cambrian people are just an inferior race, and letting them all die is only to purify their inferior bloodline.

Of course, in the theory propagated by the Black Hawk Empire, almost all ethnic groups are considered inferior, while they are the superior ones.

People with insight naturally find this theory absurd and laughable, but most Black Hawks, under the overwhelming brainwashing of public opinion, are genuinely willing to believe it and use it to vent their animalistic desires.

One villager remained silent for a moment, then suddenly noticed that no Black Hawk soldiers seemed to be paying attention to him.

He carefully stood up, looked around, and an excited expression appeared on his face.

Great, these guys aren't watching him, he can escape!

He had long wanted to give up, because if he continued like this, he would only end up dead. He would definitely work himself to death here!
Thinking of this, a force suddenly arose in his feet, and almost subconsciously, he ran as fast as he could.

Looking at the receding railway and the lush green fields in the distance, a look of excitement appeared on his face.

If he could simply crawl into the bushes, find a place to hide, and escape in the dark, he would be able to escape alive.

But his actions were eventually noticed by the Black Hawk soldiers.

A Black Hawk soldier raised his rifle, seemingly intending to kill him outright, but the officer, hearing the commotion, waved his hand and excitedly said:
"No, no, no, don't shoot! Shooting now is just too boring!"

"Mage, summon two hellhounds for me. I want to see if he can outrun your hellhounds!"

Damn, what kind of perverted hobby is this?

So, this officer is treating this place like his personal hunting ground?
The abyss mage in the group frowned slightly. To be honest, coming from an academy, he wasn't that ruthless; he still retained a bit of the naivety of the ivory tower.

However, the phrase he heard most often in the academy was that an order is an order, and soldiers of the empire must obey orders; it is their duty!
So when he heard his superior's words, he only frowned slightly, then summoned two hellhounds and controlled these two disgusting hellish creatures to chase after the fleeing villagers in the distance.

Hearing the noise behind him, the fleeing villager turned around and was immediately terrified.

He's 30 years old now. When the harvest is bad and the taxes imposed by the authorities are heavy, he still has to go out into the wild to pick fruit or vegetables, or even set small traps to hunt for a living.

So he has naturally seen many wild animals, and even chased away a black bear that jumped out of the forest with a pitchfork!
But when he saw the two strange creatures behind him, which looked like skinned ghosts with six legs and tentacles, he instantly lost all will to resist and only thought about running away for his life.

That thing possessed a terrifying magic, seemingly capable of creating fear out of thin air, making his heart pound, as if he had seen the most terrifying creature he had ever seen.

However, how could a two-legged man outrun a six-legged hellhound behind him?
Before long, the two hounds, which looked like skinning monsters, pounced on the unfortunate villager, knocking him to the ground and preparing to open their bloody mouths to devour him.

Just then, the mage in the distance suddenly sent a signal to put down the villager and for the two hunting dogs to come back.

This wasn't because the monk felt sorry for the officer and suddenly had a change of heart, preparing to fight against him; it was because the officer next to him hadn't had enough fun yet.

Seeing that the hellhound had caught up so quickly, he couldn't get enough of it.

Since that's the case, let those two hellhounds release the target for now, and then chase it again after it runs a distance!
Perfect, he can also use this villager's fate to warn others, to show them what will happen if they try to escape on their own.

Many villagers clenched their fists as they watched this scene, and some young people even began to sob.

They didn't understand why these Black Hawkmen were so brutal after they invaded.
They hadn't participated in the battle against the Black Hawk Empire, nor had they joined the guerrillas in the resistance.

They just want to live their peaceful lives, so why can't these people allow them to?
It would be a miracle if these invaders could provide a good life for their country when it is destroyed.

Just like Loki said, my boots and ants have no grudge against each other, but that doesn't stop me from stomping on them to death!

The other Black Hawk soldiers also gathered around to watch the commotion in the distance. Some Black Hawk soldiers felt sorry for what they were seeing, but most of them just laughed and watched the spectacle.

During this war, those who had been brainwashed did not believe that the civilians were innocent. They generally harbored hatred for the Cambrian Empire and held contempt for these people.

Therefore, in their view, the scene before them was almost no different from them abusing an animal.

These Cambrian citizens are not valued by their Black Hawk Empire, so why should they care about these issues?
To put it bluntly, even the Tsar of the Cambrian Empire didn't care much about ordinary people!

But just as the villager was trembling and about to flee into the woods, and the two hellhounds pounced on him again, gunshots suddenly rang out.

A bullet, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, struck the hellhound precisely in the head, instantly causing the monster's ugly, eyeless head to explode, sending disgusting flesh and a pile of worm-like unknown tissue flying to the ground.

Upon seeing its companion killed, the other hellhound immediately became alert and began to howl in all directions.

But its roar was useless; a subsequent armor-piercing round also blew the hellhound's head off.

"Damn it! Who fired the shot?"

The officer looked at the scene in the distance, roared in anger and embarrassment, and looked at the soldiers in his own ranks at the same time.

He looked around for a long time but didn't see anyone suspicious among the soldiers in his own ranks, so it didn't seem to be his side firing the shots.

"Sir, that gunshot is definitely not from our rifles. It must be the enemy using a special rifle to snipe from the woods!"

One of the soldiers couldn't help but shout, and before he could finish speaking, a bullet flying through the air pierced his head and exploded like a rotten watermelon.

The bloody scene made the Black Hawk officer feel nauseous. He suppressed his urge to vomit and shouted an order to the other Black Hawk soldiers:

"Damn it, it's those guerrillas again! Charge into the woods and drag them out!"

"Hurry up! Don't let me see fear in some of them!"

Upon hearing this, although most of the Black Hawk soldiers were truly unwilling to go into the woods, they had no choice but to obey their superiors' orders and tiptoe towards the distant forest.

Another crisp gunshot rang out, and a Black Hawk soldier was hit in the neck, his entire neck was broken, and his terrified head fell off.

Seeing this bloody scene, all the Black Hawk soldiers felt a chill run down their spines.

They knew that the enemy was definitely not using an ordinary sniper rifle; it was most likely some kind of anti-armor rifle!

Damn it, who is this pervert?
Using an anti-tank rifle against infantry? Doesn't he feel any pain in his shoulder?

In most cases, anti-tank rifles are not used by soldiers against infantry, partly because anti-tank rifle bullets are more expensive and scarce, and partly because the recoil of these weapons is too great.

Even the strongest soldiers would find it difficult to operate an anti-tank rifle too many times; the recoil of this thing would make a person's shoulder hurt terribly, and if it hit their face, it could break their nose.

Of course, if they had learned how to use a rifle, they wouldn't have shot themselves in the face with it.

That's why the Black Hawk soldiers were somewhat surprised, not understanding what the sniper in the shadows was thinking.

Before they could think any further, more soldiers were killed as they chased the enemy to the vicinity of the woods.

However, they were getting closer and closer to the forest. Before long, they would be able to capture that damned guerrilla and then torture them severely!
When that time comes, they will definitely give him the ultimate humiliation!

The other villagers stared in astonishment at the scene in the distance, their eyes gradually brightening.

They also knew that guerrillas in the area had been launching attacks on Black Hawk soldiers recently, killing many of them.

It is said that after their troops at the front were broken up, many of them were unwilling to surrender or submit, so they hid in the deep mountains and forests.

With the Black Hawk Army busy launching a fierce offensive, they naturally couldn't afford to waste a lot of manpower searching the mountains, which led to a proliferation of guerrillas.

Seeing this scene, some villagers began to fidget, seemingly wanting to pick up the tools they were using for construction and launch a resistance.

But more villagers quickly pulled these impulsive young people back, telling them not to act rashly.

Having guts is a good thing, but don't forget, not all the Black Hawk soldiers have escaped yet!

Several machine guns in the vicinity were pointed at them, and if they made any small move, they would immediately face a merciless massacre!

Compared to resisting, they were more afraid of being implicated by other rebels, which was something they could not help.

The Black Hawk officer, standing still, looked impatiently into the woods.

Because of the forest, he had no idea how the battle was going inside.

Anyway, he could hear gunshots coming from inside every now and then, and the two sides were fighting fiercely.

But the fact that the gunfire never stopped is quite telling. It's impossible that his soldiers were busy fighting amongst themselves after killing the enemy.

"……damn it!"

He glanced at the soldiers beside him, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately decided not to send more men into the woods.

He didn't know how many enemy soldiers were in the woods, nor how many more he would need to send in to deal with these damned guerrillas.

He had about fifty soldiers left with him, which wasn't a large number, so he was reluctant to send any more men over there.

What if the enemy suddenly rushes over and launches a sneak attack on him?
Damn it, I should have brought all his troops instead of just this one.

Thinking of this, he quickly instructed the communications soldier to contact the nearby military camp via radio and ask them to send more soldiers over. These guerrillas were really annoying and were driving him crazy.

But just then, he suddenly saw what looked like a column of smoke drifting over from a distance.

"That's strange, a train? How come I didn't know that the Empire had trains coming this way?"

He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

Logically speaking, the railway here has been bombed by the enemy, so the Empire shouldn't be sending trains this way. So where did this train come from?
Wait, no, this train isn't coming from the direction behind their army!
This train is the enemy!
Realizing this, the Black Hawk officer quickly shouted for his soldiers to prepare for an enemy attack.

At the same time, the radio operators who were contacting the military camp also urged them to send some armored units over, preferably two Dreadnoughts or something.

They didn't know what was going on with this sudden train. If they hadn't received any news from here, the Cambrian freight trains carrying supplies to this train station would have been fine.

But if it really is an armored train or something, they'd better run away as soon as possible.

Just as they were thinking this, a cannon shot suddenly rang out in the distance.

Immediately afterwards, with the whistling sound of shells streaking across the sky, a 76mm mountain gun shell crashed into their ranks.

"Damn it, beat them to a pulp, kill these bastards!"

"These bastards! What I hate most is the Japanese enslaving the people! No matter if they're Japanese devils or Black Hawk devils, we'll fight them!"

The players were furious as they watched the Black Hawk soldiers mercilessly whipping the villagers in the distance.

Having never been invaded, they may not be able to empathize with these villagers, but it is precisely because their ancestors also experienced such suffering that they feel anger.

Suddenly, one of the players, as if struck by a sudden thought, couldn't help but let out a sneer and said:
"Damn it, and that movie that just came out a couple of days ago, what kind of garbage was that? A perfectly good movie was made so inexplicably, I'm speechless!"

"After all that patriotism propaganda, it's not as exciting as this crappy game. This crappy game gave me a much stronger feeling than that movie!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of players joined in the吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for complaining/criticizing) all at once. It seemed that many players had some complaints about the movie that had just been released.

A shell that had just landed instantly destroyed a machine gun position, stunning the Black Hawk soldiers. Only then did they make out the appearance of the train in the distance—it was the infamous armored train!

"Damn it! Have the Cambrian army gone mad? Are they planning a counterattack here?"

"Are you kidding me? Why would they send an armored train to a place like this?"

Upon witnessing this scene, neither the Black Hawk officer leading the team nor the other Black Hawk soldiers present could comprehend it.

The Cambrian army had already withdrawn all the troops that could be evacuated, so it is certain that they had abandoned this transportation hub.

Although there are still quite a few guerrillas here, in their view, these guerrillas are just a means for the Cambrian Empire to annoy people, and there is nothing to care about.

If that's the case, then why did they send an armored train?

Shouldn't valuable combat units like armored trains be positioned to advance along the railway when the enemy launches a counterattack, providing fire support to the troops?
Who would send an armored train to fight a guerrilla war? What is their purpose in sending this thing here?
Even now, these Black Hawk soldiers and officers have no idea that the armored train in front of them was actually sent to rescue these villagers.

If it weren't for the Black Hawk's brutal actions here, the players wouldn't have suddenly brought over the armored train. Did they really think that they could move the guild's armored train without spending money or paying favors?
Faced with the armored train, the Black Hawk soldiers hastily chose to retreat, running desperately towards the outside of the railway tracks.

However, none of them chose to hide among the villagers.

It wasn't that they couldn't think of using the villagers as a shield; the main problem was that they were very suspicious that the armored train would actually show mercy for the sake of the villagers.
Judging from the Cambrian Empire's past combat style, these guys are not exactly merciful or kind.

In the past, when Cossack cavalry suppressed internal rebellions within the Cambrian Empire, their performance made foreign armies frown.

That's why these Black Hawk soldiers dared not gamble, because they didn't think the Cambrian soldiers might suddenly have a change of heart and become hesitant because of the villagers.

They were indeed afraid to gamble, which made them extremely vulnerable at that moment.

The railway in front of them was surrounded by vast stretches of flat land. Although some fields could provide cover, the waist-high grass was not enough to hide the Black Hawk soldiers.

The high-explosive cannons on the armored train opened fire first, and a series of explosions erupted among the fleeing Black Hawk team, instantly killing several Black Hawk soldiers.

In addition, the cannons, mortars, and machine guns on the armored train were also firing at the Black Hawk soldiers.

The players were so enraged by the sight before them that they showed no mercy whatsoever to the Black Hawk soldiers!

The abyss mage mixed in with the group gritted his teeth, cast a shield on himself, and then began to condense a rain of sulfur.

Compared to other targets, armored trains are easy to deal with using sulfur fire rain because their tracks are fixed.

Suddenly, the players noticed a bright green magic circle appearing on the top of the train, followed by a barrage of green fireballs raining down from the sky and slamming into their armored train.

These extremely hot magical fireballs easily burned through the armored train's roof, killing not only a machine gunner standing on it but also a gunner hidden inside the train, almost burning a large hole in the entire armored train.

Upon seeing this, the player felt extremely distressed.

"Wow, are their battle mages that powerful? They can even burn an armored train like this?"

Some players were surprised and couldn't understand what the Black Hawk Empire's battle mages were all about.

This armored train is a genuine war behemoth, so how come it seems so fragile in the face of the enemy's brimstone rain?

If it weren't for its large size and numerous carriages, making it less likely to be destroyed by the enemy in one go, wouldn't it have been wiped out instantly if it were something else?

But it didn't matter. The enemy mage had also revealed his position, and the player showed no mercy, unleashing a barrage of fire from the high-explosive machine gun.

A barrage of shells bombarded the mage's shield, quickly putting him in grave danger.

But at that moment, the mage suddenly fell backward and landed in a green crack, then reappeared on the other side.

However, judging from the mage's heavy breathing, players can deduce that the skill he just used was not something that could be used casually!

This skill must consume a lot of mana, otherwise the opponent wouldn't have appeared so vulnerable!

Before the mage could react, a mortar shell was fired from the turret of the vehicle and hit him squarely in the spot.

Seeing the sudden appearance of kill records on his screen, the player controlling the turret smiled with satisfaction.

They didn't know that the spell used by the abyss mage just now wasn't a normal teleportation spell in the conventional sense.

Normal teleportation spells require spatial talents, which have extremely high requirements.

Strictly speaking, the previous spell should be considered a reverse operation of some kind of summoning spell.

This time, instead of summoning the monsters from the Seven Hells or the Seven Abysses, the Abyss Mage chose to use these monsters as coordinates and summon them in themselves.

Without a doubt, even though they are mages, they are still mortals.

The shock of mortals facing Hell is unimaginable, just as it would be like mortals suddenly looking directly into the Warp without any protection.

If the mage hadn't been unable to hold on any longer, he wouldn't have chosen such a desperate measure at that moment.

One wrong move and he'd be stuck in hell forever!

Unfortunately, no matter how much he struggled, he ultimately ended up going to hell.

Black Hawk troops were driving this way, and when they looked up, they saw this armored train.

When they saw the real armored train, the Black Hawk soldiers immediately chose to flee; not one of them wanted to stay and fight the armored train.

As they ran, they couldn't help but curse their companions who had already been blown to pieces.

They're all those damn bastards. They only said that the enemy had a train coming, but they thought it was a freight train that hadn't figured out the situation!

Who knew this was an armored train?

Normally, if their unit suddenly encountered an armored train, shouldn't they run away immediately?
Who in their right would use an infantry force with only a small number of armored units to directly confront an armored train?
He runs away, he chases, he can't fly.

Although the Black Hawk soldiers who arrived were numerous and they noticed the situation was amiss early, they still could not all escape the pursuit of the armored train.

When the high-explosive cannons blasted into their ranks, these Black Hawk soldiers wished they had two more legs and could mutate their flesh and blood to have the movement speed of cavalry!
This is terrible! How could they have run into such an enemy?
Not to mention, the enemy also drove a steel tank off the armored train!
The only Dauntless mech in their team was originally preparing to fire two shots at the armored train, but then it suddenly saw the armored vehicle driving off the train.

A 75mm shell was fired first, but the player maneuvered the tank skillfully and successfully dodged the shot!
At the same time, the KV-2 tank immediately aimed its gun at the Dauntless mech and fired a powerful shot, instantly piercing the mech from front to back and causing it to explode.

Immediately afterwards, the vehicle joined the pursuit of the Black Hawk soldiers, its machine guns spitting fire as players vented their frustration with them.

The villagers watched the scene unfold before them, which resembled a battle of gods, trembling with fear and confusion.

Most of them didn't understand what had just happened.

They saw a monster, completely different from any train they had ever seen before, rumbling down the tracks.

This thing is thick and heavy, and looks like a string of extra-large coffins!
Immediately afterwards, this armored monster unleashed powerful firepower, driving away all those damned Black Hawk devils. That's great!
In the past, they would not have cheered for the Tsar's army; instead, they would have kept their distance.

But at this moment, they really wanted to cheer for these soldiers.

"Ula——!"

It's unclear who started the cheering, but the excitement seemed contagious, and soon more villagers joined in.

As soon as a player jumped off the vehicle, he was surrounded by a group of villagers. These Cambrian villagers looked at the player with eager eyes, their eyes filled with gratitude.

The player was overwhelmed by the cacophony of thanks and expressions of concern from the surrounding villagers.

Although he believed it was just a pre-set program by the NPCs, and that after he rescued them, they would thank him and might even give him some quests.

But no matter what, the feeling of being appreciated is not bad at all; it's better than being ignored after saving the villagers.

"My fellow villagers, you have suffered so much!"

"Don't be afraid, everyone. We are soldiers under General Vorontsov. Get in the car with us, and we'll take you away!"

One player managed to break free from the crowd, found a large rock to step on, and shouted loudly at the villagers.

However, the scene before him was so chaotic that his voice was quickly drowned out by the crowd.

The villagers only quieted down and heard him speak after he raised his rifle and fired a shot into the air.

Upon hearing that the armored train had come specifically to pick them up, the villagers were deeply moved.

As the players guided them to squeeze onto the vehicle, many villagers kept praising General Vorontsov, saying he was a truly benevolent and righteous leader.

Their previous understanding of General Vorontsov was limited to that of a legendary war hero.

Many villagers do have a strong affinity for the identity of a war hero, but many others don't take it seriously.

General Vorontsov was able to help them beat the Black Hawk devils, which made them very happy. But in the past, how many of the so-called famous generals of the Cambrian Empire were actually good to them?

Needless to say, when an uprising broke out in Kievan Rus' due to severe famine, one of the most prestigious imperial marshals led troops there to quell the rebellion, killing countless people and leaving a trail of carnage wherever he went.

No one knows exactly how many civilians that marshal killed, but it certainly wasn't just 10.

Of course, the marshal was killed in a subsequent coup, but this did not change the bad impression that ordinary Cambrian people had of the Tsar.

Therefore, compared to that bunch of scoundrels, General Vorontsov's image suddenly became much more impressive.

Not every general would think of sending an armored train to rescue them when things are going badly at the front. Most noble generals really don't care about their lives at all!
Even after boarding the armored train and slowly leaving the area, many villagers still wore expressions of disbelief.

As they watched their homeland recede into the distance, some villagers suddenly burst into tears for some reason.

Upon hearing the crying, other villagers immediately ran over to comfort the villager, but the villager's crying did not stop.

He cried as he asked the people around him:

"It's all over, all over! My land, my newly built house, my old home, it's all gone!"

"It's rare that the Tsar is so benevolent, allowing us to redeem the land from the lords. But my family spent 50 years paying off the debt, and before we could even get used to the land, it was snatched away by the Black Hawk devils!"

"These Black Hawk devils are so fierce, how are we supposed to fight them back? Does this mean this land will just belong to the Black Hawk devils?"

Upon hearing these words, many villagers who had rushed over to offer comfort fell silent.

Thinking back to their own land, they also felt a sense of unease.

Many years ago, the Tsar actually issued a policy to emancipate serfs, but the policy did not seem to liberate them at all.

Serfs needed to pay a large sum of money to redeem their land from noble lords, and if they had that money, they would naturally no longer be serfs.

In the end, they could only continue to sign agreements with the noble lords, and every year they had to use most of their harvest to pay taxes and debts. Otherwise, how could they redeem their own land?
Some people are lucky and don't encounter any major disasters; their families may be able to pay off most of their debts in twenty or thirty years.

However, some people ran into problems and not only failed to pay off their debts, they even had to continue borrowing money from the noblemen of the past, causing their debts to grow larger and larger.

For a family to pay off all its debts in 50 years across three generations, they are actually considered quite lucky.

They thought they would finally have a good life, and that all the grain they grew would belong to them after paying the agricultural tax to the Tsar. But to their utter surprise, they were driven from their homeland by the Black Hawks.

The thought that all the goals they had worked so hard for over the years had vanished left many villagers deeply saddened.

But just then, a player suddenly ran over to them and said:
"Fellow villagers, don't lose heart, we will definitely win back!"

"Just you wait and see, these invaders won't be able to hold their ground. Before long, we'll help you take all the land back and give those Black Hawk devils a good kick in the ass!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers seemed to have found their pillar of support and surrounded the player.

"Really? Sir, are you telling the truth?"

The player originally wanted to make a couple of jokes to lighten the mood and tease the NPCs.

But when they saw the glimmer of hope in the eyes of these weathered and emaciated villagers, the joke that was about to slip out of his mouth was swallowed back down.

Even though these villagers are just NPCs, looking at them now, how are they any different from real people with flesh and blood?
Players simply cannot bring themselves to joke with them like that, disrespecting their dreams.

So the player held the old lady's hand without any hesitation, not caring at all that her hands were covered in calluses and dirt.

"Auntie, please don't call me 'Military Master.' If my squad leader finds out when I log off, he'll probably kick me to death!"

"Don't worry, when we turn around, we will definitely drive the invaders away!"

"These invaders will never be able to gain a foothold on our land, I swear!"

Upon hearing this, the villagers were moved to tears once again.

Although they didn't know whether the soldiers were telling the truth or not, they were willing to believe them.

Since they were willing to risk their lives and pay a huge price to bring the armored train over just to save a bunch of peasants, why couldn't they be trusted?

One player edited the entire scene into a video and posted it in the chat area, instantly sparking heated discussion.

Andrei also saw the video, and for a moment his nose felt a little sore.

Indeed, despite the fact that things have been going on for so long, the situation in Petrograd is not too tense. Even theaters and various clubs are still operating normally, and a bunch of noble gentlemen are having balls every day.

In reality, countless villagers have already been displaced.

Andrei didn't know where these villagers could settle down after being displaced.

But he knew that compared to that distant final battle, his most urgent task now was to drive away the invaders and reclaim the land occupied by the enemy!

(End of this chapter)