Chapter 36

The commander of the Hell's League analyzed the situation and issued the order to retreat. There was no way they could win now, the troops were disheartened and their forces had dwindled.

Some of the defeated generals made haste and got into some of the intact vehicles with some of their troops and made a quick getaway. As they were heading out, Ajax opened fire on them and destroyed three of the fleeing vehicles before he turned his attention to the fleeing mechs.

Ajax used his rifle and fired on the nearest fleeing mech, a Knight-Level mech. One well-placed shot dislodged the mech's left arm, throwing its momentum off-balance and sending the mech tumbling. The Mech tried standing up again but another shot hit the bottom of the cockpit and made its way out in through the top.

"Oooh, talk about getting pegged," Ajax made a light-hearted joke about the horrifying act he had just committed.

"Victory is ours!" Most of the operators cheered about their victory, while a few wailed as they hugged the remnants of a dead comrade.

Ajax looked at the battlefield full of corpses, it seemed as if he could smell the blood and gunpowder smoke outside through the sealed mech. He then felt a sudden pain in his head and was forced to disconnect from his mech. Ajax quickly got out of his mech and threw himself to the ground as he vomited and bled from his nose.

Ajax was able to recover after a few minutes and wiped his mouth. He knew that this was the aftereffect of piloting his mech to the extreme for a long time. It would happen when mental strength was seriously lacking and the symptoms were relatively mild.

Despite everyone's cheering, Ajax didn't feel the joy of victory. He planted one of his right foot on the ground and used his right arm to help himself up. He came to the mech that just went through hell with him and knelt beside its cockpit, its seriously injured pilot was somehow still alive.

He was a man in his thirties and his face was covered with scars, his previous appearance could no longer be made out. His body was still twitching, and the grass below his mech was stained red by his blood. 

Ajax wanted to save the man, but he didn't know where to even begin or what to use to plug the wounds that were the size of his fists.

"I.....I'm sorry.....Sir....I did.....didn't follow your...orders...But we....won...right?..." The man raised his left hand when he saw Ajax and spoke with difficulty, his bleeding worsening the more he spoke.

"Yes...We won....we won, thanks to you." Ajax clenched the man's remaining hand a little bit with a sad grin on his face.

He had killed the most people and mechs in this battle, but if there were no men who were willing to fight to the death or even sacrifice themselves for the sake of their brethren, he would not have been able to survive, let alone kill the opponent's Rakshasa-Level mech and eventually win.

The man didn't speak, he just grinned, but the missing teeth made his grin seem so sad.

"You...why did you block that blow for me..." Ajax asked a question he desperately needed an answer to. They had barely known each other for a few hours, and they had never even seen each other's faces. But the man, actually sacrificed his own life to block the missile for him. No one had ever done such a thing for him.

"I...I want to protect...the camp...but I...can't...only you...can...You achieved... our victory..." The man seemed to struggle with every word, but he was resolute to finish his answer.

"No, you protected the camp." With light in his eyes, Ajax held the man's hand harder and looked at the man's wounds, "Thank you for saving me..." There was nothing he could do except watch the man die.

"Cough, cough, cough..." The man began to cough violently, and blood oozed from the wound every time he coughed. Ten seconds later, the man seemed to have regained some strength: "It's none of your business...you don't have to feel guilty...I'm just protecting...the person I want to protect..."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Ajax wanted to fulfill the man's dying wish, it was the only thing he could do.

The man looked at him and grinned, his eyes shone for a second. He patted Ajax on the face, as a father does to a son, looked to his right, and then his arm dropped and his pupils dilated, finally able to rest.

Ajax looked in the direction that the man had looked toward, it was the direction of the camp. There should been some people he wasn't able to say goodbye to, but knew they would be safe...

Ajax looked down at the corpse of the unnamed man who had sacrificed himself for him. Ajax's eyes were blank and he still knelt on the ground.

He had killed so many people and seen so many corpses in the past few days, only one f them had shocked him. The death of this man was the second, but this one hurt him more for some reason. How can he kill the person who wants him to die, but he can't save the person who wants him to live?

The surrounding operators didn't dare to disturb Ajax, even lowering their voices in a show of respect. Ajax closed the man's eyes and told his corpse "Your fight is now over...thank you....I'll make sure to not waste this life you've given me."

A few minutes later, Bomen, who was assigning his men different tasks, came over. There was a lot of blood on his body. He patted Ajax on the shoulder with a big smile: "Boy, I knew it was you who had come back. No one else could have done what you pulled off."

He had heard about Ajax's performance when he went to rescue the rescue team. Coupled with the strength Ajax had just shown, Bomen finally felt that he was right to keep Ajax in his ranks. This young man was a deadly opponent, and sooner or later, he would become a pillar of the Lazoole Society.

Ajax didn't say anything special, he stood up slowly from the ground, and pointed to the corpse on the ground: "Did you know his name?"

Bomen went up to the front and looked at it carefully before nodding: "He was not an ordinary operator, but I forgot his name. Although he was a pilot, he was relatively timid and never took any dangerous missions, so I didn't talk to him much. He did have a wife and child, they are also in the camp, and if I remember correctly, the child was quite young."

"Huh..." Ajax closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He finally understood the man's behavior and why he said what he said before dying.

"What's wrong?" Bomen didn't know what kind of connection Ajax had with this man.

"When your operators die, what do you do for their family members?" Ajax still did not answer his question and instead asked another.

"If the death is due to a mission, no matter what was the cause, the family members of the operator would get a reward after the death of the operator—a pension." Bomen replied truthfully, "If the family members are in the camp, they can continue to live in the camp and be protected by the camp or they can leave at any time if that's what they wish."

"Then how much will I get paid for the work I did today?" Ajax's few questions sounded irrelevant.

"How much do you want? Make an offer, and we can talk." Bomen could feel that Ajax was feeling down right now, so he chose to be ambiguous. After all, Ajax not only saved him yesterday but also saved the camp today. His status in his eyes had soared, he would give him whatever he asked for...

"Give as much as you want, but not to me, give it to his family along with his pension. Make sure to hand it to them personally." Ajax said as he pointed to the corpse on the ground.

"Alright, I'll do that." Bomen nodded emphatically as Ajax's soulless eyes made him feel a chill run down his spine. Bomen straightened his cowboy hat, lit a cigar, and said: "In fact, everyone who has joined the camp has accepted death. They know its a part of our everyday lives, and so do their families. It's the path they chose to walk."

"Knowing that you'll die tomorrow, will you hang yourself today?" Ajax asked all of a sudden.

"I- don't let it get to you. Everyone dies at some point in time. He is the one lying here today, who knows if maybe tomorrow it'll be you or me. You are now the hero who saved the camp now, everyone is looking up to you. You are their role model and they need your inspiration. You are destined to become a leader, born to be one. In the future, make sure you are a good leader, make sure you cry when you're alone, but keep yourself composed when you're in front of your men."

Ajax could feel the sincerity of Bomen's words and nodded seriously: "I understand your words, but I'm no hero, those who lay down their lives just to buy their brothers another minute to live are the real heroes."

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TN: It's a terrible day for rain ladies and gents. We lost a real one. RIP unnamed man. Your valiant sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Knowing that you'll die tomorrow, will you hang yourself today? - Shinei Nouzen, 86