flstandardbreds Chapter 629 Patrol
Chapter 629 Patrol
The autumn wind, carrying sand and gravel, swept across the Helmingen Martyrs' Cemetery, swirling withered leaves into eddies that rustled against the stone walls.
At the edge of the newly dug grave, dozens of mourners stood silently. The priest stood on the edge of the pit, his black robe billowing in the wind, the silver cross on his chest rising and falling with his breath, reflecting the leaden-gray skylight.
He cleared his throat, his voice low and solemn, echoing slowly in the empty cemetery:
“Merciful Lord, we gather here to bid farewell to your servant. He once stood on the frontier of the land, clad in armor, resisting the invaders' iron hooves with his own flesh and blood; he once stood shoulder to shoulder with his comrades, holding fast amidst the smoke of battle, defending the peace of the homeland with his loyalty.”
"His sword pierced the darkness, his shield protected his people, his courage shone like the stars, and his sacrifice was as heavy as the mountains."
"Now, he has laid down his armor and returned to dust. May you accept his soul and grant him eternal rest in heaven. May his deeds be remembered by posterity, and may his spirit be passed down forever. Amen."
As the priest finished speaking, a chorus of soft "Amen" rang out from the crowd.
Immediately afterwards, two young men in overalls stepped forward, holding shovels in their hands. They took a deep breath and then began to slowly fill the coffin with soil from the edge of the pit.
The dirt fell onto the oak, making a dull "thump-thump" sound, each sound like a tap on the hearts of everyone present.
Little by little, the soil was piled up, eventually filling the pit. Someone brought over a carved stone tablet from the side, on which was engraved the deceased's name, dates of birth and death, and a short inscription:
"Fight for our homeland, die for our freedom."
The two young men placed the stone tablet in front of the mound and then tamped down the surrounding soil with shovels.
The funeral ended there, and the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only a dozen or so officers. The leading officer raised his hand and gave a standard military salute, which the other officers followed suit, their arms drawing neat arcs in the air before stopping in front of their chests.
A moment later, the leading officer slowly lowered his arm, and the others followed suit. They didn't say another word, but took one last look at the tombstone before slowly turning around and walking step by step toward the cemetery gate.
"it is finally over."
A staff member rubbed his sore shoulders; his arms were stiff from filling the hole earlier.
He turned to look at his colleague beside him, a tired smile on his face.
"Lille, is everything alright today?"
The young man named Lille was thin, with a somewhat immature look on his face. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a breath:
"It should be gone. We've done it during our daily routine patrols and cleanup."
"Then go back to the duty room and rest."
The former stretched and sounded relaxed.
Just as the two were about to turn and leave, another staff member suddenly ran up from a distance, waving as he ran:
"Lille, you all need to get to the duty room right away. The principal said there's an emergency meeting."
"I'm really fed up. How come the principal always has something going on?"
Lille muttered a complaint under his breath, his weariness instantly replaced by helplessness. He didn't dare to delay and quickly ran towards the duty room.
The duty room is located on the east side of the cemetery. When Lille ran to the door, he saw dozens of staff members already standing in the open space in front of the room. They were all wearing the same gray work clothes. Lille quickly quickened his pace and ran to the end of his line.
"Everyone's here, right?"
A dignified voice rang out, and the principal walked out of the duty room. He was tall and had a serious face. His sharp eyes swept over the crowd in front of him, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.
After confirming that everyone had arrived, he said in a deep voice:
"Then let's get down to business. I've been inspecting the area these past few days, and the cleaning work at this cemetery is a complete mess."
The principal's tone was clearly one of dissatisfaction, and he paused.
"Leaving aside fallen leaves and such, the wine and food that the families left next to the tombstones are scattered everywhere!"
"It's not our fault, Director."
One of the staff members couldn't help but step forward, complaining with a wronged expression on his face.
“It’s autumn now and the wind is blowing every day. It’s normal that some fallen leaves haven’t been cleared. Besides, we’re in the suburbs. Not to mention small animals like rats, we might even see foxes and wolves. They might break into the cemetery looking for food, and they’ll run away as soon as we go there.”
"Stop giving so many reasons!"
The headmaster suddenly raised his voice and angrily rebuked.
"Don't you know where you are? This is the Helmingen Martyrs' Cemetery. Even if you don't care about such a glorious place, you should at least look at the fact that you're being paid ten times the wages of the cleaners in Helmingen."
"Luckily, no family members have complained yet. If it had been reported, everyone, including me, would have had to sweep the streets!"
The principal's voice was full of warnings.
"From now on, the number of patrols per day will be doubled, and the number of patrols on the night shift will be the same as on the morning shift. I've put the schedule inside; take a look yourself. Since we can't eradicate it completely, then we'll just have to look more closely. Meeting adjourned!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the staff rushed into the duty room, eager to check their shift schedules.
Lille followed the crowd inside, and just as she reached the entrance, she heard the headmaster call out:
"Lille, I need to call you."
Lille's heart skipped a beat. He immediately stopped, turned around, and ran to the headmaster, respectfully saying:
"Director, what's the matter?"
"Old Geben is on sick leave this week. You can cover his shift tonight, and you'll get paid."
"what!"
Lille opened his mouth in surprise, a troubled look on his face.
It wasn't that he didn't want to work overtime, but rather that he was genuinely afraid of being on night duty at the cemetery.
Since he started working here, he has never worked a night shift. The thought of facing those tombstones alone in the pitch black night sends chills down his spine.
"Director, I..."
Just as Lille was about to refuse, the headmaster interrupted him.
"So you're trying to say you're afraid of ghosts again, huh? You're a grown man, there aren't any ghosts in this world."
The principal rolled his eyes, then patted him on the shoulder, his tone softening.
"Even if there are ghosts, this cemetery is full of soldiers who defended the country in life. They gave their lives to protect their country, so how could they possibly harm you?"
"You just stay here and keep watch."
After the headmaster finished speaking, he turned and walked into the stone house, leaving Lille standing there alone, his face pale.
Night fell quickly, and the outskirts of Helmingen were devoid of the city lights; darkness enveloped the entire cemetery like thick ink.
A few candles were lit in the duty room, and the flickering flames cast long and short shadows, barely dispelling some of the darkness.
Lille and several other staff members on the night shift sat in the room. Some were chatting in hushed tones, while others were wiping the oil lamps used for patrols. Only Lille sat on the edge of the bed, his hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes, his heart pounding wildly.
His ears were exceptionally sensitive; the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves outside, the howls of unknown wild beasts in the distance—all these made his heart pound with fear, as if something terrifying was lurking in the darkness.
After some time, the door to the duty room was pushed open, and two staff members who had returned from patrol walked in.
They looked tired. One of them rubbed his eyes and asked:
"Nothing's wrong. Who's on the next shift again?"
"It's Lille and Ryan."
The team leader in charge of the night shift glanced at the duty roster on the table, then looked at Lille.
“Lille, you and Ryan will patrol the cemetery in half an hour. Ryan, Leille is afraid of ghosts, so you can show him around.”
"okay."
A burly young man responded; that was Ryan.
Ryan had worked here for two years, doing countless night shifts, and knew the cemetery inside and out.
Half an hour later, Ryan carried an oil lamp, and Riel followed behind him, also clutching an oil lamp tightly. The two slowly walked out of the duty room.
The outside was completely silent, except for the occasional bird call and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
The oil lamp's light was faint and warm, illuminating only a few steps in front of you; beyond that lay boundless darkness. The rows of tombstones appeared as blurry black shadows in the darkness, like lurking giants.
The distant wall outlined a heavy silhouette in the night, isolating this cemetery from the outside world.
"Don't be afraid, just come with me."
Ryan noticed Lille's tension, turned around and smiled at him, his tone relaxed.
Lille nodded, but still dared not relax.
He followed closely behind Ryan, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, the oil lamp in his hand swaying slightly with tension, the light and shadow flickering erratically.
Ryan led him along the paths of the cemetery, where they would occasionally find a few leaves on the tombstones or some food scraps scattered by small animals. They would stop and use the tools they carried to clean up the leaves and collect the food scraps into a bag.
Everything seemed calm and normal, without the eerie scene that Lille had imagined, and his tense nerves relaxed a little.
The two walked to the north side of the cemetery, where a new area of tombstones was located, and the funeral would be held there that afternoon.
Ryan stopped and pointed to the two forks in the road ahead, saying to Lille:
“Lille, let’s split up and work separately. You go this way and I’ll go that way.”
"what?"
Lille suddenly looked up, his face full of panic.
He glanced at the dark stone path to his left, lined with tombstones that looked particularly eerie in the night, and his heart immediately turned to back out.
"What? I've already taken you so far, and it's all fine. If we split up, we can get the work done faster."
After Ryan finished speaking, without waiting for Riel to refute him, he picked up the oil lamp and walked down the path to the right, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Lille stood there, hesitating for a long time, before finally steeling himself and walking down the path to the left.
He kept reassuring himself that Ryan was right; these were the tombstones of martyrs, heroes who wouldn't hurt him.
Despite this, he couldn't help but let his mind wander, always feeling that someone was following him. He took each step cautiously, listening carefully to the sounds around him.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Lille suddenly realized that the tombstone in front of him looked familiar.
He stopped and looked closely by the dim light of the oil lamp. He had just been on this road that morning, and the newly piled mound in the distance was the place where he had attended the funeral that afternoon.
"Gululu..."
Just then, Lille's stomach suddenly growled.
He rubbed his stomach; he had been busy working in the afternoon and hadn't had time to eat much, so he was indeed quite hungry now.
"A little hungry."
He muttered to himself and rubbed his empty stomach.
His gaze inadvertently fell on the offerings placed in front of the tombstone.
There were a few small pieces of bread and a small jug of ale, which must have been left by the family of the martyr.
The bread had become somewhat dry and hard, and the beer bottle had fallen to the ground, spilling some of the beer and soaking the surrounding soil.
"I wish there was something to eat."
Lille stared at the bread, unable to resist swallowing hard.
"No, this food has been here all day, and it's all dirt. You'll get diarrhea if you eat it."
A deep, gentle voice suddenly sounded behind Lille, with a hint of concern in its tone.
Lille said it offhand without thinking:
"I'm not stupid, and stealing offerings isn't something a normal person would do."
After saying that, he suddenly realized—who had just been talking to him?
He's all alone here!
wrong!
Lille's heart clenched suddenly, a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
He turned his head stiffly, but behind him was nothing but a cold tombstone and scattered fallen leaves.
"There's...there's a ghost!"
Lille was terrified. She screamed and, without thinking, turned and ran frantically back the way she came.
The oil lamp in his hand fell to the ground, the flame struggled in the soil for a few moments, and finally went out.
In the darkness, he could only run aimlessly based on his memory. The pebbles under his feet hurt him, but he didn't care. He only wanted to escape this terrible place as soon as possible.
Near the newly erected tombstone after Lille's escape, a slightly helpless voice suddenly rang out:
"Not that much."
Not long after the words were spoken, another rough voice rang out:
"Hey newbie, where did you die in battle before?"
In the darkness, countless blurry figures seemed to gather around the tombstone.
"Boom!"
A dull thud shattered the stillness of the night. Riel, focused only on running forward, didn't notice anyone in front of him and crashed into them, both falling to the ground simultaneously.
Lille struggled to his feet, still shouting "There's a ghost!" until he saw the person in front of him and gradually stopped shouting.
"Ouch, my butt."
Ryan rubbed his sore bottom and slowly got up from the ground, his face full of pain and confusion.
"What are you trying to do? The Yodas are attacking!"
"I encountered a ghost, and it even talked to me!"
Ril was panting heavily, his face pale, his lips trembling, pointing in the direction he had just fled, panicked.
"I even encountered a ghost? I work the night shift every day, how come I've never encountered one?"
Ryan rolled his eyes in annoyance, clearly not believing him.
He patted the dirt off his clothes.
"Alright, alright, let's go back together. Tomorrow I'll talk to the principal and tell you not to work the night shift anymore."
Upon hearing this, Lille nodded hastily as if grasping at a lifeline, and followed closely behind Ryan toward the duty room, not daring to look back even once more.
Meanwhile, the voices continued to emanate from the darkness beside the tombstone where Lille had previously stood.
“You came from Nilan? That’s the front line. Thanks to you guys holding the line, otherwise we wouldn’t have had time to evacuate the civilians.”
“We are all the same. Without your continued fighting against Yoda’s army, this country would not exist.”