Watching the female elf wobble to her feet and then turn away, Luo Chuan lets out a long sigh of relief. Despite losing contact with the main army, he made up his mind to find them. Judging by the situation before he blacked out, the multinational forces should have already withdrawn near the Otherworld Gate, their rallying point, armed with a large number of powerful weapons. The Otherworld Allied Army couldn’t break their defense lines for the time being. As long as he could get there and then sneak into the encirclement, he could reunite with the main force.
As for the arrow in his chest, it’s better to leave it in for now; it wouldn’t be good if pulling it out resulted in heavy bleeding.
After regaining some strength, Luo Chuan tried to stand up. He started looking for usable gear in the trenches while clutching his rifle. The explosion had buried most of the battlefield in rocks and dirt, with many comrades buried beneath the entrenchment.
Of course, Luo Chuan couldn’t care less about them now. He needed to find enough supplies and walk to the Otherworld Gate to join the main army.
Their artillery position should be around fifty to sixty kilometers away from the Otherworld Gate, but as the terrain is mainly flat, they should be able to reach the gate by midnight. The Otherworld Allied Army wasn’t used to fighting at night, so it was a perfect chance to slip into the encirclement.
While he was rummaging around the trench, he heard a rush of footsteps, followed by a figure hurriedly jumping into the trench, rolling on the ground with a whimper of pain.
Startled, Luo Chuan aimed his gun at the figure, only to realize it was the elf who had already left. She had a scared look on her face and, despite her fear, she lunged at him.
Luo Chuan restrained himself from reflexively shooting. At his mercy, the elf swiftly hid behind him, shaking uncontrollably.
"You..." The role reversal left Luo Chuan rather baffled. Even though they held no deep resentment towards each other, they were, after all, enemies. An enemy seeking his protection made it hard for Luo Chuan to understand.
"What exactly do you want?" Luo Chuan spun around swiftly, kept a distance from the female elf, aimed his rifle at her, and asked with a frown.
Seeing the gaping hole of his rifle barrel, the elf crumbled up on the spot, shaking uncontrollably. Not knowing if she understood Luo Chuan, she pointed fearfully outside the trench.
Following her direction, Luo Chuan spotted a group of towering ugly men about a hundred meters away. With their ferocious faces and crude iron-clad bodies, they were wildly beast-like, armed with rough weapons while searching for spoils of war and slowly drawing closer.
Seeing the frightened expression on the female elf’s face, the fact that she took refuge behind Luo Chuan despite him being a former enemy, Luo Chuan finally choked out a sentence in Elvish he had once learned: "Afraid?"
Upon hearing his words, the elf glanced at him incredulously. For a moment, she nodded her head nervously.
Luo Chuan stood up and looked at the Beastman soldiers searching for spoils in the distance. They were rudely turning over each broken body, looking for items of interest. Of course, if they found any survivors, they would be even more delighted.
In the interrogation of the Otherworld Allied Army that invaded Australia, Luo Chuan heard such a claim. The Beastman from the Allied Army was reckless and brutal. In their search for spoils, any survivors on the battlefield, friend or foe, would be enslaved by them. During the war in which the Otherworld Allied Army invaded Australia, there were instances where Beastman Race captured women from other races for their amusement.
Luo Chuan didn’t know how reliable these claims were, but judging by the expression on the female elf beside him, the rumors might not be baseless.
"Hey, you...follow me, understand?"
With the language barrier, Luo Chuan resorted to hand gestures. He pointed at her and himself, clumsily expressing his intention.
Whether she understood or not, the elf seemed confused but nodding vaguely.
Luo Chuan took a deep breath, grabbed her arm with one hand, replaced the magazine in his 03 rifle with a new one, checked the safety catch and the loading, and then carefully led her through the disorderly trenches.
The Beastman squad in the distance didn’t notice them. They were busy swearing and searching for spoils and survivors. One Beastman picked up a bloodied limb, sniffed it, and surprisingly bit into it without hesitation. Both Luo Chuan and the female elf couldn’t help but retch at the sight.
Slowly moving to the edge of the war-torn zone, the two of them were already panting heavily. Luo’er sat down in the dirty trench, struggling to take off his heavy bulletproof vest. The half arrow shot by the female elf was still stuck in his chest. Luckily, vital organs were unharmed. Although he had lost a fair amount of blood, his life wasn’t in danger.
Carefully removing his shirt, Luo Chuan looked at the half arrow lodged in his chest and then at the female elf. Understanding that she was responsible for the arrow, she backed away apprehensively, her large green eyes fixed on him, worried that he would retaliate suddenly.