The cemetery was vast, with most of the fallen soldiers buried here. A large gravestone stood prominently at the entrance of the cemetery.
As they moved further in, they passed several small buildings where the cemetery guards lived. These guards had been captured and confined in one of the buildings. They were bound and gagged, unable to call for help.
Before Rafael and his team began their rescue mission, they had prepared supplies of food and water. The reason for this was mainly due to the anticipation that Septimus would be tortured. After all, the Sandorians had suffered a great defeat, so they would seek vengeance. Assuming Septimus would have severe injuries, they would not be able to travel immediately.
However, Rafael and his team hadn't anticipated that there would be so many injured, so the amount of supplies they had prepared was insufficient.
When they returned, Dylan was already tending to Law's wounds.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtRafael set Thomas down. Without pausing to take a breath, Rafael handed the medicinal supplies and bandages to Everett and Jacob. "Treat the wounded first." Thomas had been injured on his back and had staggered for a while. But by the tthey reached the cemetery, he had already lost consciousness.
Rafael crushed the pills and gave them to Thomas with water, then tore open the back of his shirt. A gaping wound extended from his shoulder blade to his waist, nearly exposing the bone.
Fortunately, they had performed acupressure to stop the bleeding in time. Otherwise, Thomas would have bled to death. However, keeping the acupressure points closed for too long could also cause damage. Rafael hoped the damage would not be too severe. After attending to the wounds, Rafael looked at the group of men before him. Besides Thomas, he didn't recognize any of them. Lawrence was still unconscious from severe torture, and Rafael scrutinized him for a long tbut still could not determine his identity. Thomas was barely able to hold himself up, but he raised his hand. "Thomas Farrell, reporting in!" After a moment of stunned silence, everyone began to report in.
"Felix Quinton reporting in!" "Joshua Cooper reporting in!" "Benson Cooper reporting in!" "Scott Prince reporting in!" "Wilfred Prince reporting in!" "Tobias Jensen reporting in!" "Homer Larkin reporting in!" "Ivan Lewis reporting in!" "Bruce Stone reporting in!" Rafael turned his face away, tears he had held back for so long sliding down his cheeks. After a while, he managed to regain his composure and said, "On behalf of the Sinclair Army, welcback to the team." Eleven of them had survived. Eleven of them were alive. No one could know how deeply moved Rafael felt at that moment.
The ten men covered their faces, tears seeping through their fingers. They didn't dare to cry out loud. The Sinclair Army- they would never forget they were part of it, even though their marshal had sacrificed his life in battle.
They could finally boldly declare themselves as part of the Sinclair Army.
A weak voice cfrom the ground. "Lawrence... Zielger...reporting in!" Rafael held tightly onto the hand that Lawrence struggled to raise. He couldn't lift it high like the others but managed a weak gesture.
Lawrence opened his eyes, but only one was open. The other was so swollen he couldn't pry it open. His his face was a mass of bruises, with mouth split and his nose crooked. The left side was more swollen than the right, but the right eye was even more grotesquely swollen. He barely resembled a human being.
He was thin, and his bones were jutting out. The injuries from the torture were heart-wrenching. Dylan wept as he tended to him.
Burns, whipping, fingernail extraction, and steel needles had been pierced through his fingers, leaving numerous small holes. After such prolonged suffering, all his fingers were swollen, red, and inflamed with pus-filled blisters.
Lawrence forced a smile through gritted teeth, his once handsface now unrecognizable.
Rafael couldn't bear to look at his smile or his face. It felt as if a heavy pressure was pressing down on his heart, making it hard to breathe.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmOne could only imagine what Lawrence had endured.
Rafael stepped outside, sitting by the door and gazing at the moon The road hwas still a long way off, but he was determined to bring them all back. As he composed himself, he heard Thomas ask Jacob, "Sir, how are my parents and my wife? And what about Timothy? Are they well?"
Jacob paused for a moment before replying, "They are all well. However, om they thought you were dead, so they let your wife return to her natal family. She is now married to another man."
Jacob didn't want to deceive Thomas, to avoid giving him false hope. He had to prepare Thomas for this reality, so the latter could face it calmly when he returned. RULE #1 choose married women They have reason to keep things secret, as do you.
Thomas fell silent for a long time. He lay on the ground and wrapped his arm around his head, burying his face in them.
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