Lord Handanar

Chapter 2 : The Superfluous Man

After waking from a dream, He Boqiang woke up to see a blonde, blue-eyed man holding a b****y dagger, standing in front of him with a silly smile. Lying on his back on the grass, his head splitting with pain and unable to muster any strength despite struggling to sit up, he was surrounded by the smell of horse manure and blood. He wanted to ask where he was, but his throat felt as if it was stuffed with an apple, rendering him unable to speak and even causing some spasms.

The man with the dagger spoke to He Boqiang in a strange language, his face smeared with purple-black mucus, seemingly without malice. A thunderous roar shook the land, and a giant rhinoceros appeared in He Boqiang's vision, its head adorned with two huge horns, the longest over two meters. Its eyes, as big as washbasins, and nostrils large enough to fit a basketball, were tied with several heavy chains, with large wooden boxes hanging like packages on the chains.

He Boqiang tried to take two deep breaths while lying on the grass, despite feeling a massive weight on his chest causing excruciating pain in his lungs. He thought it was just a dream and tried to close his eyes. But closing his eyes did not bring darkness, nor did it wake him from sleep. He found himself floating in a void, surrounded by countless twinkling stars.

Countless snowflake-like paper scraps fluttered down, each glowing like fireflies on a summer night, swirling around his body. He instinctively touched a paper scrap that floated to his face, feeling an electric shock-like sensation from his fingertips to his brain. These fragments were like intermittent movie reels, forming dynamic images, although bizarre.

He touched another fluttering paper scrap, which disappeared upon contact with his hand. Each paper scrap contained a brief segment of imagery, resembling memories, continuously merging into He Boqiang's mind, causing him indescribable suffering. He had heard that sleeping too deeply could trap one in terrible nightmares, and giving oneself mental cues could forcibly awaken oneself. He Boqiang wanted to slap himself awake, but his hand passed through his face, confirming he was still in a dream.

Many memory fragments had already flown into He Boqiang's body, and he was absorbing this knowledge at an unimaginable speed. The strangest language was the quickest to learn. He had always struggled with foreign languages in school, and now he was forced to learn in this bizarre way. Memories flooded his mind, causing a headache, yet strangely effective.

He felt someone slapping his face and heard a weird accent calling him. He Boqiang was overjoyed as the memory fragments in the void gradually vanished. He forced himself to open his eyes again.

This time, what appeared in He Boqiang's vision was a group of soldiers wearing medieval European armor, including the blonde, blue-eyed man. Surdak stood beside He Boqiang, saying heartlessly to his companion, "He's not gone mad, has he?" He Boqiang actually understood the man's language. He wanted to retort loudly, but the words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't make any sound as if his vocal cords couldn't produce these tones.

He Boqiang felt as if he had been hit by a car, his bones felt scattered, and waves of severe pain surged with each pulse, feeling like he might faint at any moment. This didn't feel like a dream, yet he couldn't accept what he was seeing.

Surdak, veteran Sam, and ten other comrades belonged to the Second Squad of the Sixth Company of the Fourth Battalion of the 57th Heavy Armored Infantry Brigade. Sam was the squad leader. Surdak stood out among the eleven due to his exceptional skinning skills, becoming the deputy squad leader. During the cleanup on the northern slope of the forest, Surdak found He Boqiang, barely alive, under a demon corpse.

Since He Boqiang had no identification tag, it meant he had no identity, and his clothing was not that of the 57th Heavy Armored Infantry Brigade, even his weapons and shield were missing. Such a person couldn't possibly be a soldier of the 57th Brigade. Therefore, the logistics personnel of the Fourth Battalion were reluctant to use their limited carts for He Boqiang.

The logistics personnel suggested giving He Boqiang basic first aid and then leaving him under a big tree at the edge of the battlefield, hoping that if he had comrades, they might come back for him. The logistician looked somewhat helpless after saying this. The Fourth Battalion's primary duty was to clean the battlefield, and every cart was filled with supplies to be transported back to camp. An injured person couldn't be piled with corpses or tied to the back of a Thunder Rhino like cargo, forcing them to abandon the unidentified He Boqiang.

After saying this, the logistician's face showed embarrassment. Seeing no objections from the soldiers of the Second Squad, he patted the dirt off his trousers and quickly left. Surdak looked at Captain Sam, waiting for his decision. Captain Sam checked He Boqiang's eyes and concluded, "He might be mute, but he doesn't seem stupid."

Surdak cut open He Boqiang's blood-stained clothes with a skinning knife, treated his wounds, and said to Captain Sam, "We don't know his unit number, what should we do?" Captain Sam, a veteran with fifteen years of military service, checked He Boqiang's injuries and sighed, "He's so badly injured, not taking him back to camp is no different from killing him. Forget the nonsense from those logistics people; we just need to know he's a citizen of the Green Empire. As for his identity, that's for the logistics and administration department to handle. We can't just leave him to die here."

Surdak replied, "Right, I'll make a stretcher." But Captain Sam grabbed him, saying, "You stay here and collect demon materials for us. Whether we'll feast or starve after cleaning the battlefield depends on what you gather. There's another demon corpse ahead, quickly skin the useful black rune leather. Jelonn, you go chop wood for a stretcher."

A quiet soldier nearby immediately stood up, pulled out a short knife from his armor, and briskly agreed, "Okay, boss!"