Chapter Seven: Between Life and Death

  When they first entered the military camp, if they wanted to escape, they had plenty of opportunities. However, they didn't even dare think about it, or maybe they never thought about this issue at all. But from today on, even if they want to escape, there will be no chance at all.

  Because for each of these soldiers who are about to leave the barracks and rush to the front line, there is a clear mark on their wrists that symbolizes the identity of the "cannon fodder" (suicide squad) soldier - dead warrior! It also means that they will forever be "cannon fodder" soldiers, their identities forever fixed here until they die in battle. The cruelty of war can be imagined.

  This is also the real reason why Rayn Green's mood was off tonight and said such rebellious words.

  There was another reason, that at this time Renn had already recovered to the peak state of his original special forces through more than two months of military training in the camp. With the residual memories of the original body owner Renn, he had already thought of how to survive in this new world.

  After repeated deep thought, plus the 'torture' treatment he received today, he was thoroughly enraged. Rayn's escape plan had actually been implemented long ago, and Rus was the first to know about it. While his companions were drinking and having fun in the Fragrant Pavilion, they were making preparations for their escape.

  Weapons, armor, horses and so on are all ready in Cardi town. Originally wanted to wait until the last moment to tell these poor partners that the situation is very special now, he was thoroughly enraged. At this time, he stared at his right fist, which had long since disappeared from the pain of branding, but what about the pain in his heart? Hatred made him angry again.

  Ruth didn't expect Raine's emotions to be so stirred up tonight, and she unexpectedly revealed her plan to escape ahead of time, leaving him somewhat unprepared.

  "Quiet! Friends, if you don't want to be cannon fodder forever, listen carefully to what I have to say. Reed, Dakota, the two of you keep watch." Russ said with a gloomy face after he came back.

  "Alright, got it! I'll make sure to complete the task!" The young Reed lad said with a crisp tone, patting the sturdy Dakota beside him. The two quickly approached the door and window, occasionally pressing their ears against the wooden wall of the dormitory, moving stealthily and listening carefully to the outside situation, their movements extremely agile.

  "Comrades! Cough, wrong! Companions, you came to the 'cannon fodder' military camp, became a dare-to-die squad member, a dead soldier, just so that your loved ones can survive. But have you ever thought, your death compensation is only 100 gold coins... Living for one year, two years, three years, or ten years, but what about afterwards? As long as the empire continues to expand without rest, and wages endless war, their hard days will continue, won't they..."

  "As cannon fodder soldiers, we were ready to sacrifice our lives for the Empire. But how did the Empire treat us? What did it leave us with? Only a brand! A humiliating brand! And what's more, an eternal brand!" Rayn exclaimed, his eyes flashing as he bared his wrist, revealing the stark branding of "Dead Man" that seemed to leap out in the dim light.

  "Are you still willing to die for an empire like this?" Rayn gazed at his companions, who were staring at the branding on their wrists, and continued.

  "No!" They chorused in unison, infected by Lain's tone.

  "As Lord Rain of the Green family, his summoning power is quite great and very effective, hehe!" Rain thought to himself with a hint of joy.

  "Shh! There's a situation!" Dakota's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

  "Turn off the lights!"

  "Whoosh......"

  "Hoo... Hoo... Hoo..."

  “……”

  Outside the barracks came the sound of footsteps in unison, the night patrol had arrived and after a brief pause, another round of footsteps gradually faded away.

  "Renn, aren't you getting a bit impatient? If our plan to escape gets out, the consequences will be unthinkable." Russ whispered.

  "Ruse, they'll find out sooner or later, and if there's a traitor among them, our future activities will be safer, heh heh!" Rayne replied in a low voice.

  "Is it safe now that we have a traitor?" Russ almost shouted out loud, then clamped his hand tightly over his mouth.

  "Hehe, you forgot, I didn't say we were going to escape, just venting a bit and everyone was quite supportive of my idea, which is..." Rayn explained.

  "Heh heh, you're still quite clever."

  "Just a small gesture, nothing more. Besides, as a descendant of the rebel Grin family, what can they do to me? The mood of the soldiers in the entire camp is unstable now. Originally, they still had a glimmer of hope, but now all their hopes have been shattered. Tonight, there are many more patrol soldiers than usual. Tomorrow... well, who knows what will happen tomorrow?"

  "Alas!" The two let out a long sigh, followed by the same sighs from the dormitory, and then the sound of tossing and turning...

  The whole night, the military camp strengthened its vigilance, and the patrol soldiers patrolled from time to time...

  The next day, as usual, the soldiers lined up on the training ground, waiting for their drill. Suddenly, they noticed that the officers on the high platform looked unusual and there were many archers surrounding the training ground with bows and arrows drawn, aiming at the "cannon fodder" soldiers in the field. What does this mean?

  When the bodies of dozens of soldiers were dragged to the front, everyone understood what was going on. They turned out to be those 'cannon fodder' soldiers who failed to escape last night.

  "This is what happens to deserters!" the training officer roared in anger, pointing at the piles of corpses on the field, his eyes scanning the soldiers present.

  "Ah?" The soldiers were all stunned, when they saw the gruesome corpse, some of them couldn't help but start vomiting, and even some fainted on the spot, the scene was in chaos.

  At this time, a team of fully armed campus guards rushed into the training ground and brought those who had fainted, vomited, or even had severe convulsions to the front stage.

  A commotion in the training grounds...

  "As a member of the dare-to-die corps, desertion in the face of battle is punishable by death, and so is cowardice. They are examples!" The training officer said in a gloomy tone, slowly raising his right hand and making a slight swing.

  Before they even went onto the battlefield, they were already executed on the execution ground. The fate of these 'cannon fodder' soldiers is truly too tragic.

  Just as the guards' blades were about to fall...

  "Stop!"

  A loud shout of anger echoed through the training grounds, followed by a scrawny soldier storming forward with a fierce and furious expression.

  He is Rain, Rain Green, a lifelong imperial foot soldier under the system of lifelong profession.

  "Rayne Green, you again? Are you trying to rebel or something?" The training officer's face changed color and he bellowed.

  At this time, the soldiers who were about to be beheaded temporarily escaped danger. When the soldiers on the scene heard the name of Rainier Grenelle, they were in an uproar again...

  "Reporting, sir! I, Rain Green, merely wished to plead for these soldiers. If you think I'm rebelling, I have nothing to say." Rain said with a clear conscience and justifiable words.

  "Hmph, deserters and cowardly soldiers are punishable by death in the Imperial Army. There's nothing more to say. Considering your past contributions to the military camp, you can just go back."

  "Since joining the dare-to-die corps, escaping should be severely punished. However, these fainting or vomiting soldiers are not necessarily cowards who shrink from battle. The main reason is that things happened too suddenly. Commander, you have seen their hard work over the past three months, they were executed before even going to the battlefield, this is unfair to them. Please reconsider, commander!" Rayn continued, kneeling on one knee, clasping his fists together in a sincere manner.

  His life and death had long been put aside, and there was another reason, that is, in the execution ground, there were several soldiers who were his companions, comrades who had lived together for more than three months, for them, he risked his life to remonstrate.

  "Please reconsider, sir!" The soldiers on the scene said in unison, imitating his mannerisms, kneeling on one knee and clasping their fists.

  "Who? You?" The training officer was speechless with rage, pointing at Rain and then at the soldiers in the field, his whole body trembling.

  If it were just Lain begging for mercy, he could be killed, but with so many soldiers present and all of them acting this way, surely they wouldn't kill all these soldiers, would they?

  The guards at the military camp were also stunned, this formation was seen for the first time, more than a hundred archers' hands began to tremble, if these 'cannon fodder' soldiers really went crazy, they...

  The training officer stood on the high platform, and the situation on the scene was clear at a glance. The eyes of these soldiers were filled with anger, and they were all fully armed, holding weapons and shields. If the wrong words were spoken, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  "Alright, let them go!" The training officer deliberated for a long time before finally compromising. The military camp guards also let out a sigh of relief and once again became arrogant, holding their bows and arrows at the soldiers.

  "Thank you!" Ryan said.

  The scene erupted in cheers, soldiers raised their shields, waved their weapons and shouted his name loudly.

  "Rayne Green!"

  "Rayne Green!"

  "Rayne Green!"

  “……”

  Suddenly, the scene fell silent, and the soldiers' angry eyes stared at the front stage. Those soldiers returned safely to their ranks, but Rayn was actually taken to the 'execution platform' by the guards.

  "But you, Rain Green must die!" The training officer's icy words were so cold that he didn't care about the angry soldiers, and the cheers of the soldiers completely enraged him.

  Even soldiers in the military camp did not agree with what he had done.

  "He's just a kid, is the officer out of his mind? Why can't he be executed at any other time, but has to be now?"

  "Yes, following him we're doomed for eight lifetimes!"

  "If we were to fight..."

  “……”

  A few archers' private conversation.

  "Why?" Rain raised his head, glaring at the instructor, this 'enlightened' officer who had once promoted him to team leader.

  "Not for any reason, just because you are Rain Green!" The instructor said calmly.

  "Really? Hahahaha..." Rain laughed loudly, his hands were tied up and two machetes were placed on his neck, at this moment he was completely unable to resist, the machetes were ready to fall.

  "Am I going to die here?" Lain thought.