RNP Page 7
Page 7
A group of three beasts and one person stood with their hands in their pockets in front of several trucks that were still running, looking at the new recruits jumping off the trucks excitedly, as if they had lived decades longer than these recruits.
Only after all the human soldiers had jumped off the truck and were being directed to collect supplies such as ammunition and rations from the open space to the side did Payne see two beast girls getting off the truck last, nervously clutching the hem of their clothes and cautiously looking around.
One of the beast girls was anxiously looking down, circling around in circles as if searching for something—Paine immediately noticed the curved ram horns on her head.
Although this goat girl's hair is a fluffy white wool that looks like a cloud, and it seems like it would be very petting, Payne still can't help but want to say something:
I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking. It's one thing if they don't send strong carnivores, but they could at least send some horses or cows that can do heavy work. What's the point of sending a sheep?
Besides being obedient, what other advantages do sheep have?
Ruby, standing to the side, seemed to have read his thoughts from his dissatisfied expression. She not only pouted but also said with a hint of resentment, "She's stronger than you."
Payne rolled his eyes at her.
"So what? Goats only mate year-round in warm regions with good nutrition. In this dilapidated place on the front lines where we're starving and freezing, we should be grateful if she can mate on time in spring and autumn. I have plenty of time to prepare."
Ruby scoffed and turned back to mutter "old pervert" under her breath.
But just then, something the size of a football flew from the spot where the truck had been blocking the view and hit the goat's horn with a "thud." The goat was so frightened that she immediately went into defensive mode, crouching on the ground and trembling.
A burst of laughter also came from the ranks of new recruits:
"Hahaha, you think you have that much guts to fight a war?"
"They didn't even realize their things were stolen, they're incredibly stupid."
"Go home as soon as possible! Otherwise you'll end up as roast lamb chops!"
"Ha ha ha ha!……"
At this point, Payne couldn't be bothered to argue with the recruits anymore. Tonight, the enemy's artillery would teach them a lesson.
With the help of another beastwoman beside her, the goat woman reached out to pick up the thing that had just hit her, put it on her head, and stood up again—it turned out to be her helmet.
But because she had horns on her head, the horns pushed up her helmet, and she clattered and rattled her way toward Payne...
Those people upstairs are really crazy. Animal girls either have ears or horns; how could they possibly wear helmets? And they still give them helmets even though they can't? I really don't understand what they were thinking…
The man and his three beasts watched in silence as the two newly arrived beast soldiers walked up to them and gave a somewhat awkward military salute.
"Number 1704, reporting for duty!"
The other beast girl spoke first. Payne looked closely and saw that this beast girl looked very similar to Troy, with black eyes and black hair, except that her hair was shorter than Troy's, just reaching her shoulders.
And... she's also a female horse.
It seems that the above is not entirely unreliable.
The goat didn't even dare to look at people, her eyes darting around as she stammered, "Number... 1750... reporting for duty!"
Payne immediately interrupted the two beasts: "Alright, alright, I understand. You don't need to rush to introduce yourselves."
"You know what? You new beastmen always confuse me... Every time, before I even have a chance to remember your names, you've already lost your lives on the battlefield. Besides, the numbers are hard to remember anyway..."
"This is putting me in a difficult position."
These words left the two beast girls looking at each other in bewilderment, unsure of his meaning.
“So,” Payne pointed to the goat girl and the horse girl in turn, “from today onwards, you will be called Little Goat and Little Horse, understand?”
Before the two beasts could answer, Payne, on a whim, blurted out, "I understand, applause," and then started clapping on his own.
The five beasts present: "...?"
Is this the spirit of veterans on the front lines? It's truly breathtaking.jpg
Just as the five beasts finished their exclamation, Payne, as if to confirm their thoughts, suddenly stretched out his hands and let out a "Ha!"
"Meow!"
Then the goat was so frightened that she squatted down on the ground, trembling, and her helmet, which was already loose, rolled off the ground again.
"What are you doing?"
The new horse girl, while helping the lamb, asked with some dissatisfaction, but she saw Payne whisper in the dog girl's ear:
"You'd better keep an eye on her. I have a feeling this woman won't live to see tomorrow morning."
Chapter 10X. Setting Off in the Dark
Since they had to leave immediately after dinner, Payne didn't interact with the two new beasts much during the rest of the day. He simply asked them about their training progress, explained some precautions, and then let them rest.
He explained the two beasts' doubts as follows: "We only start working in the evening, and generally it's very likely that we'll have to work all night. If we don't rest now, we definitely won't be able to stay up."
"Besides, this place is far from the front line, so we can get to know each other on the way."
Payne's leniency surprised the two beastmen—there were people who were kind to orcs these days, but they were extremely rare.
Not to mention in the military, a place full of roughnecks.
However, even though these beast girls were born with wilder instincts than humans, they had at least received some military training and knew what they should and shouldn't ask, so neither of them said anything.
As Lacey and the other two beasts were preparing to take the two new beasts to rest, Little Horse stepped forward to Payne, took a letter from his chest pocket, and handed it to him. "This is what my superiors told me to give you before we go to the battlefield."
"...Okay, let me guess."
Payne took the envelope but didn't open it right away. "Is it here to make a request? Criticize me? Praise me? Or have you agreed to improve your meals?"
Amidst the three old beastmen's helpless laughter, Payne opened the envelope and began to read. "Hmm... In short, there's good news and bad news. You'd better think about it first..."
Ruby immediately blurted out, "Whatever you want, just say it."
"The good news is that the higher-ups have finally given you permission to use weapons in combat."
"The bad news is that you can still only use cold weapons."
Yes, because of the fear of the beast girls' physical abilities, which far surpass those of humans (meaning they are strong enough to crush a person's skull with their bare hands), the beast girls sent to the battlefield were previously forbidden from using weapons.
Most beast girls spend most of their time doing heavy physical labor on the front lines, but when attacked by enemy forces, they must also fight alongside the dedicated combat beast girls, using their sharp teeth, powerful strength, agile movements, or the horns on their heads to attack the enemy.
While it's true that as long as it's not seen by certain people who particularly dislike beast girls, no one will actually care if a beast girl picks up a dead person's dagger to fight on the battlefield.
However, outside of combat, even if a beast girl has an entrenching tool on her belt, she might still be reported to the authorities.
After all, chopping someone with an entrenching tool is much more exciting than stabbing them with a bayonet.
Furthermore, teaching animal girls to fire guns is prohibited under any circumstances.
Is it some kind of sudden twist of the brain of those generals that they're now allowing beast girls to use weapons?
Or did they finally manage to steal a moment from their busy schedules to take a trip to the front lines, only to be so enraged by the chaotic situation there that they decided to start making good use of the beast girls?
However, no matter what, being able to get weapons is a good thing.
However, given the technological level of World War I, it's hard to say whether using only cold weapons on the battlefield was useful or not...
Although the beast girls seemed quite eager to try out the order, Payne didn't want to bother with it for the time being. He simply took five beasts to the warehouse and got five shovels.
To be honest, at least during World War I, there was no more versatile, easier to find, or more handy melee weapon than the entrenching tool.
……
For veterans, sleeping is not a difficult thing at all, even in tense combat situations.
They were even able to sleep while marching.
But this ability is clearly not something that new recruits possess.
When dinner time arrived and everyone gathered in the mess hall, Payne could clearly see that the veterans only showed a slight nervousness on their faces, but the new recruits all had dark circles under their eyes in addition to being nervous.
The two new beast soldiers were no exception; they clearly hadn't slept much.
But war clearly doesn't care whether soldiers get a good night's sleep. As the sun gradually sank below the horizon, new and old soldiers boarded the trucks that came to pick them up, like sardines being packed into cans, ready to head to the front lines.
Because there were too many people and not enough trucks, the soldiers had to stand one after another, and no one could sit down.
Among them, the new recruits who rode in the same vehicle as the beast girls were the most unhappy. Their young faces made no attempt to hide their dissatisfaction as they stared directly at the beast girls.
To avoid conflict, Payne didn't mind standing between the recruits and the beast girls.
The only minor problem was that the roads were so badly damaged and full of potholes that the ride was incredibly bumpy.
The new beast girl, Little Lamb, was already weak and frail, and not tall enough to reach the steel frame of the canopy at the top, so she could only cling tightly to Little Pony's arm.
After a violent shaking, the lamb accidentally slipped from his grasp and fell headfirst onto Payne's broad chest.
When she looked up and saw Payne staring at her with his head down and no expression, she bleated softly again and hurriedly pushed Payne away from him, trembling as she tightly hugged the pony.
This girl is really timid. I only scared her a little, and she's already this scared.
I really don't know what I'll do once I'm on the battlefield...
This scene was naturally witnessed by the new recruits, and one of the troublemakers, not one to shy away from making a joke:
"Beastmaster, keep an eye on your beast soldiers! Don't let her fall and break her arm, or she might end up as roast lamb chops!"
The truckload of new recruits immediately burst into laughter, but Payne was too lazy to argue with them—new recruits usually wouldn't dare to act recklessly in front of veterans, but the soldiers who commanded the beast girls were always the ones being teased.
But when he looked closer and saw a tuft of blond hair peeking out from under the spiky man's helmet, he suddenly said, "So what? A broken arm means I can be sent home. It's better than having wild ideas on the battlefield, right?"
"
Hey~
The host's depressing jokes were detected.
Depression level: 10%
Funny level: 25%
Freshness: 15%
Note: It was so classic that I became desensitized, and the timing wasn't ideal this time either.
Points increased by 50
"
"Damn it, your demands are getting higher and higher every day," Payne cursed silently in his heart.
However, this so-called classic is only relative to Earthlings, and Payne saw that quite a few new recruits were amused by his jokes.
The blond soldier, with an arrogant expression, said, "I won't go back so easily. I'll definitely kill a few Frenchmen on the battlefield. Just you wait and see."
The French, or simply the French, are perfectly fine.