He had lost an arm, indeed, but he was honed through the miraculous training of the boot camp, truly experiencing the battlefield for three months, grasping the lives of at least seven or eight people in his hand, a veteran who was capable of being selected for the arduous task of conquering a fortress.
The lost arm was gone forever, but the remaining one was still very strong.
The man was somewhat prepared, but still couldn’t dodge or withstand it, and got hit squarely by a slap, flipping directly onto the ground, unable to get up in a disheveled mess.
Seeing this, the other two charged at Cohen Puliya.
But they were no match for Cohen Puliya, a half-disabled veteran, and in two or three moves, they were all knocked to the ground by his one remaining hand.
In the end, the three of them could only help each other up and flee in a wretched state.
“Think you’re something special because you served a few months as a soldier, huh? Came back a cripple, missing an arm and blind! You just wait!”
Before leaving, they didn’t forget to drop a harsh threat.
…
After those few guys were chased off, the siblings who were hiding in the house ran out to embrace their brother from both sides; their father put down his work, looking at his son who had changed so much in character since leaving home, aside from the missing arm and disability, he didn’t know what expression to show; their mother, on the other hand, wiping her tears, approached him, caressing his amputated limb and the injured half of his face, sobbing uncontrollably.
Cohen Puliya comforted his younger siblings and sent them back to their rooms before he had time to have a proper talk with his parents.
At this moment, his mother had stopped crying, but still showed a pained expression upon seeing his right arm, “We shouldn’t have let you join the army!”
“Don’t be like that, Mom,” Cohen tried to sound lighthearted, “I’ve never regretted joining the army. In the east, there are many more people like us who need help. We were there to liberate them. Besides, although I didn’t come back fully intact, at least I made it home, and the army’s policies are quite good.
I brought back a lot of pension money, enough to renovate our house, buy lots of things, even our own farming machinery… I’m still ranked E9, higher than most people at the farmstead. Life will get better from here on out.”
“I would rather you came back without a scratch than need that compensation money,” his mother replied.
Cohen had anticipated his mother’s response. A mother worried for her son would naturally feel this way.
He could only continuously reassure her, and gradually her mood improved.
At this point, his father, filled with concern, spoke up, “Today, you drove away Zecklin’s men; they won’t let this go easily.”
Cohen turned his head and replied confidently, “Yeah, I think so too. But now, it’s the Alliance that rules, not the times when he could cover the sky with one hand. I’ll write a letter later and when a pony cart passes by, I’ll have someone send it to the Veterans Affairs Bureau in Beigu City; they’ll take care of it.”
When he said this, he seemed full of confidence.
And it was precisely what he believed.
“What will happen then?”
“That Zecklin will definitely get punished, and our whole farmstead won’t have to endure his oppression and humiliation any longer.”
Hearing this, his father didn’t look relieved but rather heaved a sigh and said, “If you ask me… why not just give them the money, maybe even apologize to the people you hurt today? If they knew you had that much compensation and pension money, the subsidy they want isn’t much; just give it to them…”
“What kind of talk is that?” Cohen said, displeased, “How can we encourage that scoundrel’s arrogance? The pension, though generous, was exchanged for one of my arms, and there’s no extra to give them! The subsidies you two get come from toiling in the fields, and however small, they should not be given to him!”
Old Priya wanted to say more, but his son stopped him, “That’s enough, Dad, let’s not talk about this anymore. I’m going to write that letter right now; that guy won’t be hopping around for much longer.”
Afterward, the Puliya family set aside their worries and enjoyed a reunion dinner together, chatting for a good while more.
Cohen wanted to help clean up but was stopped.
“You’re in no shape to be helping out, go rest.”
Cohen didn’t insist and returned to his room.
The newly built wooden house on their property was not small.
To facilitate work in the fields, the house was situated on the edge of the estate; there was a vast open space around it, and because of the special period, the lumber was very cheap, so when it was built, they had taken into consideration space for the children to start their own families, hence the sizeable area and the many separate rooms.
Back in his room, Cohen took out the paper and pen he had brought back and began to write. Read new chapters at empire
Before leaving home, Cohen Puliya could barely read and was considered semi-illiterate; but in the few months with the army, he had made substantial progress in education. The military had even provided them with stationery, including journals and writing materials.
Writing a flamboyant article was difficult for Cohen, but with careful consideration and using common characters to clearly express the situation, it was not a big problem.
It’s just that his writing was a bit slow, but he had nothing else to do now.
He had meticulously recorded in his diary the sights and encounters on his journey home, the infuriating incidents he faced upon his return, and his own reflections on these matters.
The immense changes in the Beiqing Valley Region that had spontaneously given rise to feelings of happiness and anticipation;
The rage and pain upon encountering the remnants of the old era’s poison still festering at Microthermal Farmstead;
The disdain for those shameless people, along with the expectations for the Alliance;
He scribbled down many words, taking a long time, late into the night, still writing under the light.
He wished to put all these things down in writing.
Later, when tearing out this section of the diary, paying a bit extra for a passing airship’s driver to help send the letter should be feasible.
If that proved impossible, he would simply make the trip to Beigu City himself.
After all, the roads were now unobstructed, a mere two or three days’ journey.
His only concern was whether his parents might be in danger if he wasn’t at home.
As he pondered this, he heard a strange commotion outside.
Having just been discharged from the military, his vigilance remained heightened.
He cracked open the window and peered out to see Aberrant Beasts.
No high-level creatures, just ordinary, melee-capable cannon fodder types, but at least twenty at a glance!
Why were there so many Aberrant Beasts, almost surrounding their house?
He instinctively tossed the diary underneath the bed and quickly got up, planning to wake his family.
But just then, the tightly secured wooden door of his house was smashed open.
Looking over, he saw a somewhat familiar figure in total disarray, running into the distance. Before he could give chase, two Aberrant Beasts tied up with ropes – now loosened – charged in through the door.
Cohen’s instinct was to draw his gun and fight, but at that moment, he had neither blade nor gun in hand.
…
“I have finished telling the story,” Milia Derong said, exhaling deeply, closing the diary in her hands.
She and her teammates were from the Demon Hunter squad, a unit reporting directly to the Alliance’s Supreme Court. Their team of twenty was responsible for heading south to investigate corruption in the Beiqing Valley Province.
Milia Derong lifted her head, gazing at her brother-in-law in front of her.
“Chief Jason Morgan, after hearing this story, what are your thoughts?”
Jason Morgan, whose constant stress in recent months had begun to give him premature gray hair, lowered his trembling hands from the table’s surface.
He fell silent for a while before saying, “I am deeply saddened.”
“Anything else?”
“I am very sorry.”
“Anything else?”
“I feel a great sense of guilt.”
Milia Derong slammed her hand on the table and demanded, “All these are evasive answers! Do you have any idea that within your jurisdiction, neglect of duty, corruption, and even the murder of civilians by officials are happening on a large scale?! The incident I’ve related is by no means an isolated case across the three million square kilometers of Beiqing Valley!
Do you even grasp the severity of these matters?!”