The last bullet, Malin sent it into the hands of a Chaos soldier wielding a firearm—perhaps one procured from the frontline earlier? Or maybe one he crafted himself?
Remembering the spot where the Chaos soldier fell, Malin began to reload while desperately trying to conceal himself within the trenches.
The sound of gunfire was everywhere, and although it wasn’t the short, controlled bursts Malin was accustomed to, the rapid firing still crazily stimulated his adrenal glands.
After reloading, Malin shifted a few positions to the left and, turning sideways, he squeezed the trigger at a Chaos soldier vaulting over the trenches; then, with a roll, he dodged a spear thrust, and as he rose, a "Divine Ray" from his free left hand instantly hit the Chaos soldier who had jumped into the trench. As it began to scream, falling to its knees and igniting into flames, Malin had already shot down two more Chaos soldiers with his gun, then cast another spell; this time, a wall of fire that erupted from the ground devoured a squad of Chaos warriors whole.
By then the small twig had transferred to his left hand, transforming into a longsword, and with a swing, Malin cleaved an oncoming Chaos soldier, along with his firearm, into four pieces.
Then, retreating with a spin and leap, he dodged an incoming battle-axe, and while turning, his revolver in his right hand aimed at a transforming Sydney soldier whose face, already twisted by corruption, revealed a hint of joy as he gazed at the barrel pointing at him.
The next second, the corpse with its head blown open lay within the trench, and as Malin landed, the last bullet from his revolver killed the one wielding the battle-axe.
Dropping the revolver, he drew his beloved large-caliber, short-barreled .50 revolver from the holster at his waist and pulled the trigger at a Chaos soldier charging towards the trench, sending him flying backward through the air before crashing to the ground. With an expressionless face, Malin ignored a closer Chaos soldier and instead shot the trigger at a Chaotic Sorcerer charging behind the line with the heavy troops; the .50 bullet smoothly turned the sorcerer’s head into history.
Then the sword in his hand turned into a whip, pulling a Chaos soldier towards him; one strike of the gun handle shattered his nose, and as the whip became a dagger, Malin stabbed it into the Chaos soldier’s chest. With a twist and a pull, he used the corpse to block the arrows from the opposing Chaos archers, and Malin’s last .50 bullet for the archer penetrated its frail body, knocking down another Chaos soldier.
Unable to stow the gun back into the holster in time, Malin simply used it to smash into the face of another charging Chaos soldier; dodging another’s overhead attack at the same time, his twig-dagger stabbed into the waist of a sauce-covered Chaos soldier, gripping the top edge of his breastplate to pull him downward, and instantly impaling his chin with the dagger.
Before he could twist the dagger, Malin was brought down by a Chaos soldier; he grabbed the dagger aimed at himself with his left hand while his right hand snapped the wrist clutching his neck. The twig had already climbed to the Chaos soldier’s neck, turning into a rope and strangling him.
Pushing the Chaos soldier off his body, he grabbed the dagger, and with it, sliced through the Chaos soldier’s neck. Rising, Malin knocked over a Chaos soldier entangled with a Sydney soldier, pressed the dagger towards his eye socket; the latter desperately resisted Malin’s hand, but the difference in strength allowed the dagger to slowly penetrate the eyeball. Gritting his teeth, Malin pushed forward until the dagger handle was fully embedded.
The expression on the Chaos soldier’s face solidified, and letting go of the dagger handle, Malin stood up as the twig, by this time, had already strangled another Chaos soldier. It leaped toward Malin, swiftly healing the wounded Sydney soldier’s injuries visibly at a quick pace.
By this time, the gunfire had also ceased, and no Chaos emerged from the mist. Malin glanced around and casually pulled a casualty from the pile of corpses; his breath was very weak. Malin gave him a healing spell for serious injuries. It wasn’t very effective, so Malin used Spiritual Energy to ripen a small fruit on the twig into his mouth. This time, the effect was much better, significantly improving the casualty’s condition, and the distortions and corruption on him also began to dissipate.
While the high-intensity effects might cause the young man to live a few years less, he definitely profited compared to the decades he could continue living.
Settling behind cover, Malin finally took off his helmet from his head and placed it beside him. If someone looked over from the other side of the cover through the mist, they would see half a helmet—such a ruse wouldn’t fool a veteran, but it wasn’t wrong to deceive a brainless Chaos.
Then, distancing himself from the helmet, Malin fished a box of cigarettes from the pocket of a deceased soldier; North Sydney’s Haruni brand cigarettes, not a bad choice. Malin looked at his shoulder rank insignia; it seemed he wasn’t one of the heavy troops.
Lighting a cigarette from the pack, he took a couple of satisfying drags, then placed the remaining half beside the deceased warrior. Malin gestured to Colin walking along the fortifications: "I’m over here!"
"My god, you’re still alive. We hit subspace turbulence on the way here, and you dispersed right away. I thought you were certainly dead, but the prophecy magician found your approximate location," Colin said, holding a short axe in one hand and a revolver in the other, with blood on the axe and smoke still wafting from the gun barrel – he too had clearly fought his way through the battlefield.
"I’m fine, how is his lordship doing?"
"When we encountered the subspace turbulence, he used up a lot of his power to protect us, ending his divine descent prematurely. But his Divine Envoy could help us. We can find some wounded at the infirmary, and if we can repeat the resuscitation process and bring people back to life, that would be a new emergency spell formation," Colin said, sitting next to Malin. He glanced at the cigarette case in his hand, immediately took one out and lit it: "This is the first time I’m using my own eyes to see the battlefield of the North, how about you? Weren’t too frightened, were you?"
"I killed quite a few Chaos." Malin snapped his fingers, using the flame on his fingertip to light a cigarette for his elder brother, then lit another one for himself.
"Haluni, good stuff. Did you find it on that guy?" Colin pointed at the unfortunate soul.
Malin nodded: "Yes, what rank was he?"
"Lieutenant, looks like a Noble. This tobacco isn’t cheap, I only ever mooch some off Boone and Dak."
"Then it’s yours." Malin tossed Colin the cigarette case, still more than half full.
"You don’t want it?" Colin was curious; he knew his younger brother also smoked – just seemingly without the addiction or perhaps this kid was simply made of stone, not showing his dependence even if he had one.
"I don’t, tobacco can soothe the burning blood inside me, but it cannot rewrite my memory," Malin took a puff of his cigarette.
"Maybe you should go see a psychologist." Colin watched his brother stand up.
"No need." Malin took a few steps, turned his head to look at his elder brother: "My heart, my actions are as clear as a mirror; all that I do is justice."
Colin’s eyes widened as if witnessing the nature of his brother’s heart for the first time.
Malin smiled: "What I kill are not people, but the scum who sold their souls and bodies to the Evil God. Bullets are the best gift I can offer them; death is the only direction I can point them to. I haven’t grown so weak that after killing a few Chaos, I’d whine and moan for life or death. This is a battlefield; if I want to survive, I must kill the Chaos. Since people always die on the battlefield, why can’t it be them?"
In Malin’s mind, what is an enemy, what is a friend, these lines are always clear. Goblin whelps count as this world’s natives; Malin would never kill them. But if a child is corrupted by Chaos, then Malin’s only option is to purify the poor child’s soul with Divine Spiritual Energy.
Because mercy is the greatest evil one can show this world.
"...I’m relieved you’re okay." Colin nodded, his expression somewhat complex.