On the day of departure, the sky was not as clear as it used to be, but it became a little hazy.
First, they received their epaulets and weapons and equipment. The soldiers of the slave battalion were issued an epaulet with a pegasus pattern, on which there was only a line of number 105, without any military rank or number.
Luo Kai received an old-fashioned rifle with a long stock. More than half of the paint on the stock was gone, and the rifling was seriously worn. It was far worse than the guns they usually trained with. There was also a military backpack with thin bedding, a box of compressed rations, and a jug of drinking water.
Other things were fine, but the weapon was too lousy. Not only him, but also the soldiers of the slave battalion received old guns. On the other hand, the formally recruited soldiers received new guns with the smell of engine oil. The difference in status was immediately apparent.
Bear stood in front of him, holding an old gun and fondling it. He turned back and said excitedly, "You don't know, the old guns have been tested in actual combat. They are more accurate than new guns."
Luo Kai rolled his eyes speechlessly. The wear of the rifling directly affected the accuracy of the bullets. How could it be better than new guns? Battalion Commander Kang Cheng must have brainwashed these squad leaders. Most of the slaves were in a backward and closed environment, so they were easy to be deceived.
In the barracks, the soldiers began to assemble according to batches and numbers. When the number of people exceeded 10,000, the whole barracks was covered by the crowd. All kinds of standing at attention and standing at attention were heard. The first batch of soldiers left the barracks and headed in the direction of the military rail station.
A steam-powered train had already been waiting at the railway station, with more than 20 carriages hanging behind the front. The carriages were painted with green paint, like a long green snake.
According to the calculation that each carriage could accommodate 200 people, a train could carry nearly 4,000 soldiers. Of course, it was impossible to fill every carriage with soldiers. Some carriages had to be left for officers and military supplies.
Luo Kai squeezed into the carriage with the crowd with a bitter face. In order to accommodate more people, the tables and chairs in the carriage were all removed, so he could only sit on the ground. He squeezed behind Bear to a window seat and hurriedly opened the window. The cool wind blew away the smell of sweat in the carriage. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that when the train started, he would find a chance to jump out of the window.
There was still a large number of soldiers rushing over, but this train had a limited capacity, so they could only wait for the next train.
Luo Kai's gaze was attracted by two weirdos in the crowd. Their bodies were very strange. Their waists and lower limbs were as thin as sticks, but their chests and arms were incomparably strong. Their arms were much thicker than their waists. They looked like two gorillas. No, they looked more like Popeye from a comic.
The two of them each carried a large box and entered the officer's carriage at the back.
Then, he saw another familiar face. It was the beautiful female soldier with the phoenix eyes. She and the students from the Physical Arts Academy also entered the back carriage. Luo Kai rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, "It's a pity that I won't have the chance to teach her a lesson."
With a long whistle, the train started. The speed was extremely slow, and it didn't pick up speed even after a long time. It was estimated that the speed was only 60 to 70 kilometers per hour, far slower than the cars in his previous life. Sitting at such a snail's speed was really torture.
Tieheng Mountain was an endless narrow mountain range with a rugged terrain. Several mountains in the center had an astonishing amount of iron ore reserves. Seongma Province and Nanzhao Kingdom had been fighting for this for many years. Even if they couldn't mine, they couldn't do so because iron and steel were too important to the industry. In addition, the Tieheng Mountain was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once either side occupied it, it would completely change the situation of the country and officially enter the ranks of the human race's powerful countries.
Jinlan Prefecture was about 300 kilometers away from the Tieheng Mountain, which meant that it would take about seven to eight hours to reach the front line.
Some of the surrounding slave soldiers were very excited, some were very nervous, and most of them looked gloomy. During the short training for half a month, the instructor had also taught them some simple geographical knowledge and military theory. They all knew the famous Tieheng Battlefield. No one knew whether they would live or die on this trip, and the future was not in their hands.
Da Xiong was one of the excited ones. He shouted out of the window, as if he was venting the boredom of the training during this period, and also as if he had obtained the freedom he yearned for.
Soon, it caused a chain reaction. Many people shouted out of the window, and for a moment, their voices were louder than the roar of the train.
Compared to the crowded carriages in the front, the rear carriages were like a normal train. The students of the Body Arts School were also very excited. To them, going to the front line for training was like a bird out of a cage, and they could see the vast world outside. More importantly, they finally had the opportunity to display what they had learned and even make a name for themselves.
A tall and handsome student cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, I have good news to announce. Three days ago, General Mu Shan led the elites of the Combatant Division to infiltrate the Nanzhao Kingdom and blew up their largest ammunition depot!"
"Ah!
Really? "
"Senior Brother Xu Tao, where did you get the news?"
The students immediately became excited. The importance of ammunition depots in firearms warfare was self-evident. Even Yue Han couldn't help but ask, "Xu Tao, how did you know?"
Xu Tao shushed them mysteriously and whispered, "The source of the news is absolutely reliable. The military hasn't announced it yet, so students, don't spread it out."
…
Luo Kai leaned against the window drowsily. He didn't know how long they had been traveling, but the train left the boundary of Jinlan Prefecture and entered the vast mountains.
The scenery outside was very beautiful. Instead of the monotonous and desolate plains, it became rich and colorful. There was an endless green forest, and there were all kinds of birds and animals. Luo Kai even saw a herd of deer with twisted antlers, which looked like reindeer. Seongma Province was located in the south, but there were still reindeer. It seemed that many animals had changed their habits after the Catastrophe.
Luo Kai held the rifle diagonally behind him and opened the window a little wider. The train wasn't fast, so with his physical fitness, he wouldn't even be scratched if he jumped out. When he was about to jump, he couldn't help but look back at Big Bear. This guy was leaning against the carriage and sleeping, drooling on the ground. He suddenly felt a little reluctant to leave. Forget it, he would find another chance.
After a while, the scenery outside changed again, and they entered the mountain railway. The railway was built on the edge of the mountain, and on one side was a steep slope that was tens of meters high.
A dark tunnel entrance appeared in front of them. As the train rumbled into the tunnel, Luo Kai's eyelids suddenly twitched, and an indescribable sense of crisis rose in his heart. Even his Qi and blood unconsciously began to circulate faster. His face suddenly changed, and he looked around. The soldiers were still sleeping or chatting. There was nothing unusual.
However, the sense of crisis in his heart grew stronger. As his strength increased, his mysterious sixth sense became more and more accurate. It was as if a life-threatening disaster was about to befall him.
Luo Kai couldn't care about anything else. He shouted loudly, "Stop the train, stop the train!" His voice was so loud that it directly covered the noise in the carriage. The slave soldiers all looked at him in confusion.
Big Bear was also awakened by him. He raised his hand and waved it in front of his eyes. "9527, what's wrong with you?"
Luo Kai didn't have time to explain to him, but this was a train. No matter how loud his voice was, it couldn't reach the front of the train. He gritted his teeth, stretched out his hand, and opened the window completely. He shouted, "Jump! If you want to live, jump!"
No one listened to him. They looked at him as if he was a psychopath.
The light at the tunnel entrance was faintly visible. Soon, half of the train moved out. At this moment, a violent explosion came. The few carriages that had already left the tunnel were directly thrown out by the huge explosion. A series of carriages behind them were also pulled into the trench that was tens of meters deep.
The situation was so sudden that even Luo Kai was thrown up. He could only reach out and grab the luggage rack above his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Big Bear being thrown around. He hurriedly stretched out his leg and hooked him. Countless heart-wrenching screams and cracking sounds of bones were heard. The violent collision and rolling lasted for half a minute. With a series of loud rumbling sounds, the rolling train finally stopped. The carriage was severely deformed, and the inside had become a sea of blood and a mountain of corpses.
Luo Kai climbed up from the pile of corpses. Big Bear next to him rolled his eyelids and kept spitting out blood. He was dying. Luo Kai didn't have time to be sad or angry. He stretched out his hand and carried Luo Kai on his shoulder. He broke the broken carriage with a punch and got out.
The scene outside made Luo Kai, who was used to seeing death, tremble slightly. More than a dozen carriages all slid into the trench that was tens of meters high. Human flesh and blood couldn't withstand such a disaster. Thousands of soldiers died on the way to the battlefield.
A gray fog faintly floated in the sky. It was not smoke, but the unwillingness, hatred, and anger of the dead before they died.