The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"...Once, I was passing by an abandoned church late at night, and it was raining. I thought about taking the company inside to take shelter, but when we went in, we found that there were already people inside—a dozen or so refugees, men and women. They were very alarmed when they saw us. They were cooking in two large pots. I reassured them that we were just passing through, but as I had my soldiers light a fire to dry their clothes, Little Fitton suddenly came over and told me that he saw meat being cooked in those two pots, and in the corner, there was a crazy woman holding a child... At the time, the bark had been stripped from every tree on the mountainside. Where would they get meat? I was suspicious, so I went over, and they became very afraid. I became even more suspicious and had people check what was in the pots. Little Fitton used his bayonet to pull out a small hand!"

"Ah!"

Galina and Andina covered their mouths and chests, respectively. Even though they had both grown up in terrible environments, this was still horrifying.

"...After controlling those people, I went to find the crazy woman. At first, she was very scared and terrified. I had to have someone grab her, and then a... fell out of her swaddling clothes."

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

Hayes shifted his butt away from the children, then lowered his voice and leaned towards his two wives.

"...A bloody baby's head! After questioning, we learned that they were practicing 'yi zi er shi' (exchanging children to eat), but the woman couldn't accept it and went crazy."

"What is 'yi zi er shi'?"

"It's... exchanging children to eat, perhaps to reduce the guilt in their hearts."

"Oh my god, how could they do that?"

Andina grabbed the eagle emblem on her chest, her face full of disbelief.

"That's not even the scariest part. There are also people secretly selling human meat, especially daughters and children, who are even called 'cai ren' (vegetable people)."

"Doesn't anyone care?"

Hayes shook his head.

"They do. They collect taxes."

Galina shook her head in confusion.

"Why would they collect taxes in this situation?"

"I don't know, but later, when the situation became serious, the ruling class of the planet still distributed some disaster relief, such as... 'grace cakes' made of livestock feed mixed with wood shavings and weeds."

"Can you eat them?"

"Wife, have you ever seen someone die from being stuffed to death? I saw it with my own eyes. They couldn't digest it, their stomachs swelled uncomfortably, and some people used knives to cut open their bellies. Many people were skinny but had huge bellies."

"What about the priests? Aren't they supposed to..."

"I personally asked a priest why they didn't give people food to eat, and guess what he said? He said that people who are starving to death are no longer people. These people can no longer bear responsibility and obligations. Only those who survive deserve to continue serving the God-Emperor and provide taxes and manpower in the coming year."

"What a bunch of beasts!"

"Outside is a living hell, but the residences of those landlords, nobles, and priests are magnificent, with fine clothes and delicacies. I am occasionally invited to their homes as a guest. They have good wine and good food, and even their pets eat a large bowl of meat every day... So I hate performing escort or rescue missions because I have to protect these scum and fire on those starving, crazy refugees. So I don't feel any guilt about taking these things. I'll definitely take them if I have the chance."

Andina nodded.

"Hayes, you did the right thing. It's better to take it away than to leave it to those man-eating demons!"

After finishing the chat, while Hayes carefully put the valuables into the safe in the house, Galina and Andina had already started coaxing the children to sleep, and then it was finally couple time.

"Why are you crying?"

Feeling the coolness on her chest, Hayes gently stroked Andina's smooth body.

"I'm really scared every day... Sometimes I dream... I dream that you are covered in blood, sitting in a pile of corpses, looking at me."

"Sorry, I made you worry."

Galina leaned on his shoulder and whispered softly.

"...Every day is torment, worry, and fear... I don't even dare to go to the women's association. There are cries every day. When the first batch of death notices came back, I can't forget the heart-wrenching cries of that mother..."

"Alas, I'm not capable enough to bring everyone home..."

"You've already done very well. I heard at the regiment headquarters that a battalion went to fight and no one came back... Some women committed suicide because they couldn't bear the loss of their sons."

Hayes could only remain silent about this.

But he never thought this war was wrong, because he saw the horror of the Tyranid. Even if they fought so hard, they still couldn't prevent planets from being devoured one by one.

If this terrible enemy appeared here, he couldn't imagine what would happen. So if sacrifice could keep the war away from home and family, it would be worth it. The process was painful, but the galaxy was cold and cruel. Survival, reproduction, and happiness were never easy.

But there was no need to tell his wife this, because their burden of raising children was already heavy enough.

"Will there be more fighting later?"

Hearing Andina's question, Hayes thought for a while and said:

"It's hard to say. The war over there isn't really over, but... but the local forces have been trained. They're called the Faith Watch, and they're not bad. I feel like they might not need us for a while."

At this time, Galina suddenly blurted out:

"I heard that many officers couldn't stand the loneliness while fighting over there and kept battlefield mistresses, and even had children who they secretly brought back. Hayes, you've always been very honest, right?"

"...How could I? I have heard of such things, but I haven't done them."

"Hmph."

"Hayes, you're really a Major?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god, it feels like a dream. When I met you, you were just a small soldier, but now you're already a Major. I heard people say that once you become a Major, you're a real officer? You won't stay down here anymore? Are we moving?"

Speaking of this, Hayes was also a little annoyed, because the division headquarters had indeed told him that he might be moving to the city soon and living in military housing, but in reality, he preferred it here in the battalion.

"It's hard to say..."

"Actually... moving has its benefits. Rongge and the others can go to better schools. The education level of the nearby primary schools is still a bit lacking."

Hayes blinked. He understood Galina's thoughts. Although they also liked it here, as a mother, her first consideration was always her children. Andina also said softly:

"You're an officer now, and the children shouldn't stay in the countryside all the time."

"Well, let's see what the higher-ups arrange."

The next day, Hayes, as usual, went around the battalion and looked at the breeding farm. Old Fitton had been in charge during his absence, and there were no problems. Moreover, several new small workshops and two battalions had been built nearby, and the population had also increased a lot, forming a relatively lively market.

Time passed like this for more than half a month.

However, one day, as he was having dinner with his family in the afternoon and playing with Fitz in the yard, a message from the division headquarters interrupted his rest.

As a newly promoted field grade officer, Hayes had to go to the senior officer school for further studies in ten days, with a one-year term. In addition, his family could also move to military housing, and the division headquarters would arrange for his children to attend schools for military children.

It was both an arrangement and an order. Hayes had nothing to say and could only start preparing for the move with his wife and hand over his work to the new battalion commander. And this new battalion commander was none other than Little Fitton, which made Hayes feel a little more at ease.

In any case, his heart was always here. Hayes planned to bring his wife and children back to live whenever he had time. He didn't want his children to forget what the land that raised them was like!