Chapter 48: 40. Shrimp and Pig Heart (Important note at the end of the article)
Translator: 549690339
“Finally caught up with you guys!”
Sergeant Piggs led the Military Intelligence Second Division soldiers, cutting through the Army of the Lost.
He scanned the members of Mars Squad, noticing that Sergeant Mars, who held the same military rank as himself, was not present.
An expression of delight and cruelty immediately crossed his face. He stormed toward Private Second Class Corbin and punched him in the shoulder:
“You son of a bitch, daring to mess with my nutrient solution! If it weren’t for Sergeant Pim sending someone to find me, I’d still be puking and shitting in the dry toilet.”
Corbin was knocked to the ground and pinned down by Piggs’ foot on his chest, not daring to fight back.
The sergeant outranked him – he was just a private second class.
“Intentionally sabotaging the gathering operation before battle, I suspect you are a Death Notice Spy planted in the Imperial Army.”
“No! I’m not a spy!” Corbin cried out in panic as he lay on the ground.
Sergeant Piggs turned to his men and ordered them:
“Come, take this guy’s gun and uniform. Bind him up and take him back for interrogation.”
Two soldiers stepped forward and took Corbin’s issued gun; just as they were about to strip off his clothes, Mars Squad soldiers surrounded them and blocked the Military Intelligence Second Division soldiers’ action.
The Military Intelligence Second Division soldiers had their wrists grabbed, unable to move.
Sergeant Piggs twisted his neck, yelled out the laws of the Imperial Army, and ordered the Mars Squad to back off.
All Noland Lee wanted to do was complete the demolition task quickly so he could rejoin the main force. He was growing impatient as Sergeant Piggs interrupted the mission.
His lips tightened as he looked at the terrified expression on Corbin’s face, then lifted his head to stare directly at the hateful Sergeant Piggs.
What the hell was he thinking?
Escalating conflict on the battlefield?
Wasn’t this a blatant disruption?
Sergeant Mike Adams, who had previously lured several metal skeletons away, returned.
When he saw Private Second-Class Corbin pinned under Piggs’ foot, his anger flared up.
Sergeant Mike pushed away the Intelligence Division 2 soldiers around Corbin and stood in front of Piggs:
“What are you doing?! Sergeant Piggs! We are currently carrying out the highest-priority military task! Release Corbin immediately!”
With a cold smile, Sergeant Piggs faced the furious members of Mars Squad and said:
“Soldiers carrying out the highest-priority military tasks do indeed enjoy special treatment in emergency situations. But that’s not a reason for you to drug me, a Military Intelligence Second Division sergeant. I now suspect you have intentionally obstructed this mission. Any one of you could be a Death Notice Spy.”o
With a sinister smile, Sergeant Piggs lifted his foot:
“You said this is the highest-priority military task, tine. As a frontline observer dispatched by the Military Intelligence Second Division, I have the right to supervise your mission. Start setting up the explosives; my soldiers and I will keep an eye on you. Anyone who dares to slack off or gets careless will be executed on the spot.”
Sergeant Piggs kicked Corbin in the waist:
“Get up, you son of a bitch. Hurry up and plant the explosives. You’ll be the one to detonate them later. This is an order.”
Private Second Class Corbin was overwhelmed by the series of unexpected events, his face turning pale.
Shaking, he picked himself up from the ground and hesitated before saying:
“Chief Officer, we use an automatic fuse that can ignite and explode without manual operation…”
“Automatic fuse?” Sergeant Piggs pressed his gun against Corbin’s chin, sinisterly saying:
“My experience in Military Intelligence Second Division tells me not to believe anything a suspect says. I highly doubt whether the automatic fuse you mentioned can actually work. Do you understand what I mean, Private Second Class Corbin? If you want to prove that you’re not a Death Notice Spy, you have to detonate the explosives manually.”bender
“But, sir, the length of the fuse…”
“Shut up, Private Second Class Corbin, you have no right to contradict me.” Sergeant Piggs spat on the ground, “Do as I say.”
Corbin’s body trembled, his eyes welling up with tears, and his fists clenched and unclenched.
He lowered his head, and after two seconds of silence, he nodded with difficulty:
“Yes, Chief Officer.”
“Get moving, stop standing there.” Sergeant Piggs waved his right hand, driving away the Mars Squad members around him.
Noland Lee, holding the engineering hammer, headed towards the wall but was stopped by Sergeant Piggs.
“Hold on, Sin Soldier No. 888? That’s a revolver on your waist, isn’t it? Who allowed you to carry a hot weapon? Soldiers, take off his gun and ammunition!”
Noland Lee was held in place by soldiers approaching from behind, who then took away his issued gun and bullet bag.
As he turned around, he saw Sergeant Piggs’ pig-like face.
The opposing side was laughing triumphantly, but Noland Lee detected the same disgust in his eyes that he’d seen in Sergeant Pim’s.
For some inexplicable reason, both the current Sergeant Piggs and the obsessive-compulsive, gold-rimmed glasses-wearing Sergeant Pim held hostility toward him, a Sin Soldier. This baffled Noland Lee.
What about him triggered such hostility from Pim and Piggs?
Noland Lee took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He temporarily suppressed the various thoughts in his heart and focused on the task at hand.
About 3 minutes later, the explosives were set.
In order to completely destroy the huge Underworld Cavern Entrance, soldiers need to detonate multiple explosives in a short period of time.
According to the original plan, Mars Squad would use an automatic firing system.
The operator only needed to stand in the distance and press the remote control button in their hand to ignite multiple fuses at the same time, implementing a rapid explosion.
But now, Private Second Class Corbin had to operate the detonator manually.
During the process of setting up the explosives and fuses, everyone had not yet detected any abnormalities.
It was only when Corbin squatted down next to the detonator that Noland Lee and his party, who were guarding against the Undead not far away, discovered a huge hidden danger.
Once the explosives exploded, the Underworld Cavern entrance would collapse, and the high concentration of poisonous fog inside would rush out with the shockwave.
Because they had originally planned to use automatic fuses instead of manual ones, the reserved fuse lengths were very limited.
Now, for Corbin to operate the detonator manually, he had to stand about two meters in front of the Underworld Cavern entrance.
This distance was extremely dangerous.
It was very likely that Corbin would be swallowed by the high concentration of poisonous fog in the Underworld within half a second after the explosion.
Fortunately, the Engineering Hammer, which could extend his arm reach, was more than a meter long, allowing Corbin to press the detonator at a greater distance.
Just as the members of the Mars Squad were worried about Corbin’s safety, Sergeant Piggs spoke again, adding fuel to the fire.
He held his waist, bulging his round belly, glanced scornfully at the members of the Mars Squad who were glaring at him, and laughed, then shouted at the figure near the cave entrance:
“Listen, Private Second Class Corbin. I order you to show your loyalty and courage to the Tatis Empire. You must accept the mission bestowed upon you by the Empire. When you press the detonator, you must use both hands and not the Engineering Hammer. Otherwise, I will shoot you on the spot and let your comrades press the detonator for you.” Sergeant Mike Adams was furious:
“Damn it, Piggs, you’re going to get Corbin killed!”
The Mars Squad was furious and wanted to stop Piggs’s order, but they were blocked by his subordinates.
Noland Lee was not completely on the same page with the Mars Squad, but at this moment, he was more or less angered by Sergeant Piggs.
Not long ago, Corbin had proposed to leave Sin Soldier No. 888 behind and let the latter fulfill his duties. Now, this treatment had fallen on Corbin’s own head…
Noland took a glance at the miserable Corbin and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Sergeant Piggs was unmoved by the angry gazes of the Mars Squad. He took out his issued gun and aimed it at the figure by the cave entrance:
“Make your own decision, Private Second Class Corbin. Do you want to enjoy the glory of the Tatis Empire, or be killed by me on the spot, so your parents know that their only son, after graduating from the Empire’s Military Academy, did not become a glorious Imperial Soldier, but fell into the role of a despicable Death Notice Spy.”
Damn, heart-wrenching… Noland clenched his teeth and became extremely vigilant towards Piggs.
Sergeant Mike Adams gritted his teeth and took a big step forward, shouting: “I am the deputy squad leader. I’ll detonate the explosives!”
Without waiting for him to rush to the Underworld, Private Second Class Corbin held up his right hand, saluted from afar with tears streaking his face, and then suddenly squatted down and pressed the lever of the detonator.
“For the Empire, for glory, for my mom and dad!”
“Boom!!”
Explosion roared, debris flew, poisonous fog surged, and swept over several meters around the cavern entrance.
As the dust floated and the fog rolled, no one came out of the poisonous fog, nor were there any screams or cries of pain.
Corbin had already been corroded to nothing by the poisonous fog. Noland Lee was pushed back by the fierce shockwave, barely managing to stand still with the help ot his teammates.
Sergeant Piggs put away his issued gun and scanned the furious members of the Mars Squad without any fear.
He looked at Noland Lee with a hint of satisfaction:
“Sin Soldier 888, I’ve heard that you are brave and disciplined, right? Well, I’m giving you a chance to show off.”
Sergeant Piggs waved his hand forward:
“All personnel, move out and return to the frontline positions immediately… As for you, Sin Soldier 888, you will stay behind with me and guard the rear for everyone.”
Noland Lee scanned Piggs’ face with an apparently frightened gaze, then bowed his head, covering his features with hanging hair, his eyes turning icy and deep.
This Tatis Empire was beyond salvation. The command system of their Imperial Army was in such chaos.
PS: The confusion in the command system that appears in this chapter is one of the flaws in the Empire in this book. There is no need to worry about setting problems. The author has done research before starting the book, and this chapter was not written based on imagination. The chaos in this chapter is just a presentation of one aspect of the Empire’s disorder and is related to the subsequent plot. Please comment rationally.
Worried that QQReading friends can’t see it, so this note is put in the main text..