75: Chapter 75 The Road Home Forged in Blood

Early in the morning, Director Wang was organizing the evacuation of the wounded, sweating profusely.

"Here, wipe it off. You're getting on in years, yet you're still running around so fast." Mia handed him a cotton handkerchief, the same kind she used to stop bleeding for the wounded.

Old Wang didn't mind; he wiped the sweat from his temples. "Being busy is fine, but I'm afraid of the enemy planes' autocannons. That is truly, sigh..."

"I told you I'd handle the planes," Mia comforted him.

"I always felt you girls had some sort of skill. Back where we're from, there were Xian masters who were quite powerful, but none as formidable as you lot—wiping out an entire enemy squadron without a sound. I've already submitted the commendation report, covering both your rescue efforts and your combat achievements. I'm a senior colonel and a director, after all."

"Fine, fine, I know you're impressive. We rely on guns and artillery to kill the enemy. Haven't you seen that before?" Mia completely denied it.

"Alright, keep your secrets then. But one thing: don't push yourself. If you can't handle it, retreat. Don't get yourself killed; the wounded are counting on you and Nurse Jiang to take care of them!"

"Alright, don't you worry. Go on, hurry. If you stay too long, the planes will come back and you'll have to run again." Mia pushed him into the evacuation line.

She turned and returned to the temporary hospital ward in the church; she still had something very important to do.

The wounded who were too severely injured to be moved were gathered by the director in the main hall of the church, as the structure here was relatively sturdy.

Mia took a Bible, the cover of which was sizzling as it burned her palm. She walked up to the podium.

"We've been together for so many days, and as you all know, I'm not exactly a proper Cleric." Mia's opening was a bit unusual.

"Heh heh, haha," the soldiers let out hearty laughter.

"Can those who can walk just leave? I can't move. Otherwise, I'd help the brothers block them and take out a few devils to send them off on their way." A soldier who had lost a leg to a bomb said with some resentment.

"I'm actually a devil," Mia's next sentence made the whole room quiet for a moment, then they burst into laughter again.

"Give me a dozen devils like that, and I'll help every strapping lad in the village find a wife! Right? Erdan!" An old veteran with one eye blinded by an explosion chimed in to tease.

Mia revealed her hand burned by the Bible, and the room went quiet again. "I don't have the ability to fully heal your wounds right now, but I can concoct a medicine that will allow you to regain normal combat effectiveness for about two hours. You'll be able to think clearly, write letters home, and fight the devils. However, you will become devils similar to me." She paused. "Choose for yourselves!"

"Damn, I can stand up again? What's there to choose? Even without a leg, I can still fight the devils. Give me the medicine! And I can write a letter home? What a steal!" A wounded soldier lying on a stretcher roared with all his might.

"Do it! Getting caught by the devils means having our guts skewered by bayonets anyway, and we might even get our heads chopped off!" "Do it!" The voices in the chapel rose one after another.

Finally, Tuaner wiped away her tears and fed the soldiers the medicine Mia had prepared using [Blood Rose Seeds] and [Primary Vitality Potion EX]. The soldiers' severed limbs grew back from their wounds, but they weren't flesh and blood; they were sturdy vines. The wounded were a bit scared at first, but then they thought, I'm going to die anyway, who cares!

The humming of airplane propellers approached from afar; a small formation of six Zero fighters was flying toward them. The main force of the Japanese invaders lay in wait, but dozens of ninjas in shinobi gear ran across the sea of roses at the beachhead, led by a Chunin, rushing toward the church like the wind.

"The Empire cannot afford to waste any more warriors on these demons." Tojo's adjutant conveyed the General's order to the Bihe Mountain Shinobi Leader.

"Leave it to us," the Bihe Mountain Shinobi Leader said with full confidence. "But we might face questioning from the European Cleric headquarters later. Please, General, do not hand us over to take the fall. After all, she is their Saintess." He made sure the adjutant fully understood the meaning of the word 'cunning'.

As they spoke, the planes approached the church. The autocannons on the planes began to spin and warm up, preparing to spew flames of sin to harvest the lives of the wounded soldiers we were evacuating.

The man on top of the church, looking like a tin can, lowered his faceplate and activated his werewolf form. With thick arms capable of lifting a thousand pounds, he hoisted a massive flag inscribed with obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations, radiating endless malice—this was the flag of the [Fear Spell] and [Debuff] that they had spent the whole night painting.

Ryan Nephalem struggled to wave the flag, which was as large as the side of a small truck, and shouted, "Hey devils, if you've got the guts, aim your autocannons at me!! Come on!"

The pilots heard Ryan Nephalem's roar. They turned their guns and sights, preparing to slaughter this idiot who had popped out of nowhere. But when they clearly saw that flag, they all fell into terror and agony, unable to even hold their control sticks steady.

Two planes collided on the spot, and the shockwave of the explosion took out another.

Of the remaining three pilots, one urgently climbed and fled without looking back, while another crashed into the ground, the remaining fuel in the tank becoming the fireworks for their funeral...

The flight leader, before his plane crashed, used all his might to steady his mind and pulled the trigger of the autocannon, sending a tongue of fire sweeping toward Ryan Nephalem...

"Damn, this thing really hurts!" After a round of strafing, Ryan Nephalem had been hit four times. One of his arms was blown off, landing on the ground in front of the church. His whole body was riddled with three holes, and his waist had become slimmer than ever before. He coughed up blood and, facing the plane that had just swept over his head at low altitude, raised the [Night-walking Werewolf's Holy Oath Gauntlet] and sprayed the high-combustion flamethrower fuel he had bought from Firing Pin earlier.

The burly man standing on the church spire, now like a heavily wounded dragon, spewed flames of angry vengeance at the plane...

Fireworks exploded above Mia and the others, and the fragmented aircraft parts fell to the ground, as if repenting for the sins committed before.

"Sister Loran, go support Ryan Nephalem. Then detonate the [Class B Explosives] we buried at the beachhead. Tuaner, the soldiers, and I will hold off the Bihe Mountain ninjas." As Mia ran toward the trenches where the soldiers were stationed, she said to Loran. Tuaner, meanwhile, put on her gray ghillie suit and, using the church as cover, began to prepare to pick off the enemies. "Carrying both a bow and a gun feels a bit strange..." Tuaner's soft mutter made Mia look at her helplessly...