Chapter 97: Comrades, Charge with Me!
“Faster, faster, move it!” Cody shouted loudly.
Around him, two infantry platoons were moving quickly.
These soldiers, still wearing the uniforms of the Alliance Army, were now a reliable force.
Although they weren’t as trustworthy as Cody’s old unit, he believed that, after his efforts over the past few days, they would be willing to fight for the Governor.
Moreover, today’s mission was for the sake of Revival City.
Cody hailed from the Wasteland Society and was among the first to enlist under the Governor’s command. Pobov was his former superior.
When Pobov was ordered to form the 2nd Infantry Battalion, Cody was promoted and took the position of squad leader.
After the battle to capture Revival City, he was elected as a commissar, donning a black coat, a red military hat, and epaulets, looking both dashing and authoritative, distinct from the usual soldier’s attire.
It was hard to say how much his willingness to take on the commissar role was influenced by the uniform.
Of course, he fully understood the responsibilities that came with the role.
To be honest, even after a half-day course on loyalty to the Empire and the Emperor taught by the Sisters of the Sacred Lily, followed by a heartfelt lecture from the Governor himself, he still wasn’t entirely clear on how to fulfill his duties as a commissar.
It was a classic case of being thrust into a role unprepared.
When he first arrived at the company, facing over a hundred unfamiliar faces, Cody felt nervous.
However, his crisp, sharp uniform, the bright red hat, and epaulets forced him to straighten his chest and quickly adapt to his role.
Over the past few days, he made contact with every soldier. He now knew everyone’s names, their pasts, and their reasons for joining the army.
In his view, he didn’t have any special methods. He chatted with everyone, understood their thoughts, and then shared his own.
Why join the army? Because they needed to change the world.
No one wanted to live in this chaotic, deadly, and hunger-filled wasteland.
Now, a savior, the Governor, had descended from the heavens, and they had to seize this opportunity.
This was their only chance to change their fate and, incidentally, the fate of the entire world.
Why did he say this? Cody used his hometown, the Wasteland Society, as an example.
The people of the Wasteland Society once lived in far worse conditions than the residents of Revival City’s outer districts or even the Alliance soldiers here. But now, the Wasteland Society had enough to eat and wear, they lived in sturdy cement houses, had jobs and industries.
The booming heavy industrial machines produced hope in large quantities.
Those alloy and plastic steel, those machines, engines, vehicle shells… As these things became more abundant, it meant that people’s lives were improving.
The Wasteland Society had already undergone a tremendous transformation. And why did they come to Revival City? Because they wanted to help the Governor bring the same drastic changes to Revival City.
Cody had said these words to nearly every soldier in the company over the past few days.
He was tireless, and his words were sincere.
He then established a soldiers’ committee, allowing everyone to voice their thoughts. He either organized discussions or provided answers, then selected the most suitable dozen or so soldiers with the most progressive and determined mindsets to assist squad leaders in their work.
As a result, there was a special gain at that time.
One soldier mentioned that before joining the army, he lived in a place where there was an underground passage from the inner city to the outer city. He discovered it by accident, and it was being used for smuggling.
He didn’t dare to reveal this before because someone who discovered it with him disappeared mysteriously within days due to loose lips.
But now, he dared to speak up.
Cody then reported this information to his former superior.
Pobov indeed made a significant capture there, reportedly arresting a high-ranking Alliance official.
Of course, this was just a minor incident.
Cody didn’t dwell on it but continued to focus on talking and communicating with the soldiers.
He didn’t feel like he was doing ideological work; he was simply conveying his thoughts and ideas sincerely and earnestly to each soldier in various ways.
Then, somehow, he received a commendation from Captain Yan Fangxu, who said that he and his company had the best ideological work and even awarded them a banner.
When he brought the banner back, it was met with cheers from the entire company.
This was probably the team honor that the Governor had mentioned during training.
When Captain Yan Fangxu said that they needed to select a company to handle the task of food distribution, Cody was the first to communicate with the company commander and eagerly signed up for the mission.
During the mobilization, he explained everything clearly to all the soldiers.
It was a great mission, distributing food to the entire city to ensure no one went hungry; there were rebels and cultists in the city who were very bad and likely to cause chaos. Their goal was to use the hunger and death of countless innocent civilians to oppose the Governor’s rule.
Our task was to protect the food, safeguard the achievements, and crush the plots of those traitors and cultists.
The soldiers fully understood the objective of this battle and their morale soared.
This led Cody to a new realization: the Governor had said that soldiers must know what they are fighting for.
Just now, they received new orders: the convoy responsible for transporting food was attacked while delivering food to Distribution Point No. 2, and they needed support.
Without hesitation, after communicating with the company commander, Cody had the commander take one platoon to continue securing the distribution points where civilians were already lining up. He, meanwhile, led two platoons, about sixty soldiers, to support the convoy.
When he arrived at the scene, he found that the firefight was still ongoing.
The ambushers had not yet succeeded.
The soldiers guarding the food trucks were wearing different uniforms, likely a platoon from the 3rd Infantry Battalion. They were using the vehicles and two occupied houses as cover while engaging the enemy.
They were under significant pressure, surrounded by a chaotic mob armed with various weapons, ranging from crude to sophisticated, numbering at least a hundred.
Seeing this, Cody felt somewhat relieved.
Fortunately, the situation hadn’t escalated beyond control.
He could see that, although the comrades from the 3rd Battalion were lacking in heavy firepower and had to ensure the safety of the food trucks, making it difficult to break through, holding their ground wasn’t an issue.
The mob couldn’t break through either.
But as he got closer, he realized his initial judgment might have been off.
The casualties among the 3rd Battalion soldiers were unusually high.
It was then that he noticed several individuals among the mob who stood out. They weren’t holding weapons but had white mist condensing in their hands.
When these white mists were thrown, they caused compressed air explosions, with a force comparable to a grenade blast; the scattered wind blades were much like shrapnel.
These must be the so-called cultists.
Cody hesitated no longer and shouted, “Support our comrades! Comrades, charge with me!”