Super Soldier in the City

Chapter 1876 - 1939: National Interest Amid Life and Death

If it were just a goddess marrying someone else, it would indeed be worth mourning, but would it really be so hard to let go for a lifetime? Li Yifei thought, but he didn’t ask. Instead, he listened to Su Tianhai continue reminiscing.Murong Yuanqing also felt sorrow. When he heard the news, his first reaction was whether the female knight had married Su Tianhai. At the time, his relationship with Su Tianhai was still passable, and on the battlefield, they could trust each other’s back. Upon hearing that the female knight not only got married but also had a son, he was stunned and nearly broke down. After all, by the timeline, he had met the female knight first and had liked her for many years. He even held back, constantly improving himself, hoping to reach the highest realm, marry the female knight, and then, when the country was peaceful, find a quiet place in Arcadia to grow old together.

But unfortunately, the sudden marriage and childbirth of the female knight plunged Murong Yuanqing into a long period of despair until something even more heart-wrenching happened, prompting Murong Yuanqing to emerge.

This matter, as it turned out, caused Su Tianhai even more grief and heartache, and he still can’t figure it out to this day.

It was during a mission where the enemy set up a massive trap, and our side was unprepared, resulting in many people falling into the enemy’s trap, including several senior officers on our side. These officers had all earned their stripes through battles, possessing top-notch military talents and being invaluable assets to the nation. To lose even one would be a national loss, not to mention that they were surrounded by the enemy. The loss of these officers during the critical juncture of the battle would undoubtedly deliver a huge blow to us, potentially affecting not just local fights but entire military district campaigns. Once affected, combat strategies nationwide could become disrupted, potentially turning the tide of the battlefield.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the masters tasked with protecting those officers knew it was the most critical moment. Everyone received their orders with a resolute willingness to die if necessary. They planned multiple breakout attempts, but all were detected by the enemy, resulting in complete interference. After several failed breakouts, numerous masters on our side were lost, weakening combat strength, and the survivors were mostly injured, including Su Tianhai. After more than twenty years of honing his skills and relentless fighting, his prowess had long surpassed his earlier days, almost reaching the status of a grandmaster. With further improvement, he could become a top-tier master.

During that defensive mission, his prowess was already among the best. Some with greater ability were killed after all, the battlefield was no longer in the Age of Cold Weapons. Individual valor under the heat of gun barrels and fierce artillery was inadequate. They fought incredibly bravely in close combat, capable of defeating hundreds at once, but many were injured or even killed by bullets when facing gunfire.

But Su Tianhai was unafraid, driven not only by a heart to protect the country but also because... the female knight was also part of the protection mission. She had come on her own; her husband and child were whereabouts unknown, and Su Tianhai didn’t ask. On the surface, he was already keeping his distance from the female knight, but his heart was always fervent. In the still of night, Su Tianhai even had base thoughts, wishing that the female knight’s husband would die, but these thoughts emerged only once or twice. Su Tianhai continued to bury these feelings deep inside, rarely showing them.

For both Su Tianhai and Murong Yuanqing, the process was extremely painful. The woman they admired had married someone else. If they couldn’t see her, perhaps it wouldn’t be too upsetting, but Su Tianhai saw her every day, which made it all the more painful.

During one breakout attempt that day, the female knight was wounded by a stray bullet. Su Tianhai was there and already too late to shield her from the bullet, helplessly watching her fall. In a rage, Su Tianhai slaughtered the remaining forty or fifty enemies, bloodied and returned to where everyone else was hiding. Seeing the female knight, he didn’t care about his injuries and wanted to check her condition.

But the female knight avoided him; though silent, Su Tianhai understood her meaning, so he sat down nearby, meditating to recuperate and heal.

The female knight was severely injured this time, the bullet hit her chest and even damaged her lung, so she moved to the rear for treatment, simultaneously protecting the officers. Su Tianhai rested only for one night before he continued the next day with others to find the enemy’s weakness and prepare for another breakout. At this point, it was a very critical time. The enemy was tightening their encirclement, with more opponents facing them as time went on, so Su Tianhai and his compatriots fought desperately, at least reducing enemy numbers would make it slightly easier in the future.

Everyone was wounded; there were almost no uninjured individuals, even among the officers. This evidenced the ferocity of the battle, while support from other troop areas was impossible. With the cunning enemy, a small force injected would not suffice.

Self-reliance was necessary, and Su Tianhai had only one thought: he must fight to the last breath, as long as he had strength, he would kill enemies. Fortunately, their personal skills were powerful. During the day, they were restricted by the enemy’s hot weapons, but at night, the power of those weapons diminished significantly. The martial arts masters moved ghost-like, infiltrating enemy camps and achieving good results.

Stalemated for four or five days, our casualties were acceptable, whereas enemy losses surpassed a thousand. For our side, losing one person was an enormous loss, but the enemy didn’t care about deaths. As the encirclement shrank, Su Tianhai grew desperate. Since the beginning of the resistance war, he had never felt this close to a desperate situation, his physical condition deteriorating. Forced fighting might even bring death near.

So Su Tianhai made a decision: he had to take the female knight away. With his skills, even severely injured, breaking through encirclement wouldn’t be too hard. Besides, surrounded by mountains and forests, enemy pursuit couldn’t cover every point, so he could just leave by himself. After eradicating a small enemy reconnaissance group, he decided staying would lead to death, and he couldn’t let the female knight die here. Even if he died, he wouldn’t close his eyes peacefully.

Of course, doing so would mean Su Tianhai couldn’t stay in Huaxia afterward; he would bear immense infamy. People would despise him. In that era, everyone had a heart of patriotism, especially such talented individuals, considering it a worthy end to die for their country. If he left with the female knight, he would be branded a coward fleeing from battle, unable to stay in Huaxia unless living anonymously.

But he didn’t care and considered it for three days. From the moment the female knight got injured, Su Tianhai harbored this thought. Compared to the officers and colleagues, he was more concerned about the female knight’s life.

Putting the nation’s interests at risk, he focused solely on the female knight. Su Tianhai arranged tasks, letting others continue eliminating enemy scouts. Under the cover of night, he traveled dozens of miles through the mountains to fetch the female knight. He even thought about if she disagreed, given her character, he was sure she wouldn’t. He decided to knock the female knight unconscious upon return. Though injured, he could still escape with one person, albeit with some effort. If traveling with a larger group, breaking out would be impossible; the enemy was determined to crush those officers.

Returning to the hiding place overnight, Su Tianhai was exhausted. Passing a river, he stooped to drink and fill his belly, washed his face to wake up, then swam across the river where the hiding place was in the small village opposite.

Upon reaching the village entrance, he saw a sentry, who relaxed, seeing it was Su Tianhai, lowering his guard. If Su Tianhai had any ill intent, the sentry wouldn’t even react, especially since most villagers had gone out to fight, leaving only severely injured or officers behind.

Su Tianhai nodded at the sentry, who looked haggard, with a cut on his face, undoubtedly not better elsewhere, having walked ten meters past before returning to pull a sweet potato from his pocket, breaking it and throwing one half to the sentry.

"What’s this?" the sentry hesitated.

"Eat. Found it on the way," said Su Tianhai, entering the village as the sentry watched in gratitude. Villagers had left months ago after a brutal massacre, survivors likely escaped to the mountains. Unfortunately, local wildlife made life perilous without weapons.

Food was scarce, and what little there was had been looted by enemies. They relied on hunted game to barely subsist while keeping the best meat for the officers. Su Tianhai had found two and a half sweet potatoes sparingly while traveling, planning to keep the largest for the female knight.