Chapter 52 The Soldier's Statue

Hao Ren and his group were all first-timers in this city. Even Izhaks, who used to wander around, had never actually set foot in Kadesa—he had come to the Carduus plane for sightseeing but got delayed by something. So now, the group found everything in the city new and fresh. Even though they remembered they had serious business, they couldn't help but stop and admire the exotic scenery around them, turning their visit into a sightseeing tour.

The group didn't plan to enter the inner city today, so they started looking for a suitable inn in the outer city. Based on general experience, such inns should be located around the city's main roads, so the group walked along the main road, and naturally arrived at the square at the end of the avenue.

This was a semicircular plaza paved with neat white stone bricks. Around the square were decorative lamp posts and stone carvings. Everything was new, and it was clear that the square was built after the end of the Ten-Year War.

And the most eye-catching thing in the square was a tall sculpture. The group was attracted by the sculpture and couldn't help but stop in front of it.

Unlike the hero sculptures seen elsewhere, the protagonist of this sculpture was clearly an ordinary soldier. He didn't wear a cloak or insignia symbolizing an officer's status, but only wore an ordinary soldier's armor. His body leaned forward, one leg raised in mid-air, his long sword pointing forward, as if he was jumping out of a bunker to meet the enemy. The sculpture was lifelike, with a kind of aura that was hard to forget after just one glance—unyielding.

Under the sculpture was a plaque. Unlike the thousands of words in the biographies of heroes, there were only two short lines of text on this plaque:

Private, Kevin Hoddle, killed in action at the beginning of the Ten-Year War.

Brave brother, thank you for the courage you brought us. When you jumped out of the trench, we finally knew why we came here.

Hao Ren felt that the sculpture was very vivid, guessing which hero of the year the owner of the sculpture was, but he didn't think much about it. It wasn't until he was about to leave that he noticed Izhaks was standing silently in front of the sculpture with a thoughtful expression.

"I remember this human," Izhaks nodded at the sculpture. "Very good, it seems his compatriots have not forgotten him."

Hao Ren immediately realized that there was a story behind this. The others also looked curious, and Lanina told the story of what happened back then on behalf of Izhaks.

That was the beginning of the Ten-Year War, and the end of the Demon King's army's centuries of invincible conquest in the human world. This battle broke out on the red earth plain in front of Kadesa City.

At that time, the Demon King's army had swept across most of the world. Internally, it had almost unified and suppressed all the demons. Externally, it had almost defeated the armies of all the human races. It was at its peak and unparalleled, and no one could stop it. Under such circumstances, Izhaks made the decision to attack the Carduus plane—occupying this "center of the world" meant that the unified war would enter the final stage. Controlling this spatial hub that could directly control all races meant that the entire world would officially fall under the rule of the Demon King's army.

It was also at this critical moment that seven powerful warriors known as the "Seven Heroes" appeared in the world. They were the last surviving military leaders of the seven main races in the world: humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, dark elves, halflings, and spirit race—under the liaison of the human Pope and Saintess, the Seven Heroes reached a consensus and formed a coalition army. Those races that had been almost completely defeated by the Demon King's army finally united at the last moment, and they all bet their last remaining cards on the Battle of Carduus.

The Demon King's army and the Papal coalition army launched a decisive battle on the Great Plains in front of Kadesa City—determining the final direction of this world.

But at first, this battle was almost going to end with the Demon King's army's overwhelming victory, just like every previous battle.

"The King's army has swept the world for hundreds of years, accumulating an aura that is difficult for ordinary people to resist," Lanina looked at the sculpture in the square, her eyes very complicated. "When the demon army approached the human defense line, the latter's soldiers were trembling and didn't dare to meet the enemy at all. Even if they were the bravest warriors selected from all races, it was difficult to rise up and fight back in the face of hundreds of years of accumulated fear."

"Then a soldier jumped out," Izhaks raised his hand and pointed to the sculpture. "An ordinary soldier, jumped out when everyone else was trembling and didn't dare to move. It was this human."

"Although the victory or defeat of the final battle cannot be attributed to the brave leadership of one human, the individual actions of this human did reverse many things, at least reversed the fate of that defense line—and perhaps also reversed the fate of the entire world," Lanina sighed. "If he hadn't jumped out, perhaps the demon army would have driven straight in, but after he took the lead, the entire human camp began to counterattack."

Izhaks nodded: "My army suffered its first defeat."

Hao Ren didn't know how to react after hearing this story, but Lily, who was always thinking strangely, said: "Then this human made a great contribution. Did he become a big shot later?"

"No, in fact, he died in battle within ten minutes of jumping out of the bunker. He was one of the first ordinary soldiers to be killed in the Ten-Year War," Lanina shook her head. "This human actually never killed an enemy. I investigated. That day was even his first time on the battlefield. His combat career only lasted for ten minutes, but that doesn't prevent him from becoming one of the most important heroes of the Ten-Year War."

Hao Ren and the others were silent, and at this moment, a sound of footsteps came from behind them.

Hao Ren turned his head and saw a girl in plain clothes. This girl looked seventeen or eighteen years old, had ordinary looks, and her clothes seemed to be from a civilian background. She was holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand. When she passed Hao Ren and the others, she nodded slightly to show her respect, and then solemnly placed the bouquet at the foot of the statue.

After the girl put down the bouquet, she put her hands on her chest, lowered her head and spoke softly. Her voice was very low, but Hao Ren and the others could still hear her clearly: "Dad, this is the last time I've come to see you this year. I've gotten permission from my teacher and will go to the demon plane with the next rotation of troops..."

"Are you his daughter?" Lily immediately blurted out, and Hao Ren couldn't cover her mouth in time.

The girl raised her head and looked at the group of strangers curiously, nodding slightly: "Yes, many people here know me."

Her voice was calm, not out of pride, nor to publicize her identity as the "daughter of a hero", but just to explain the situation to the outsiders.

Hao Ren immediately felt that the situation was a bit delicate, and Izhaks quietly looked at the girl for a while, and suddenly asked: "What's your name?"

"Vanessa Hoddle." The girl replied politely, without showing any strange expression because of Izhaks's frightening appearance.

"You joined the army?" Izhaks asked casually, as if he had met the orphan of an old friend, with no expression on his face, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.

Vanessa nodded, then shook her head slightly: "I can't be a soldier, I'm going to be a scribe. My father always hoped that our family could have a learned person."

Izhaks and the girl were silent for a while, and the latter gradually showed a puzzled expression, as if she was about to say goodbye and leave. At this time, Izhaks suddenly took out a small amulet from his bag and handed it over: "Take this, the demon plane is not suitable for human survival, a physique like yours won't last more than a few months there. This amulet can help you adapt to the environment there faster."

Vanessa hurriedly refused, but Izhaks forcibly stuffed the amulet into her hand: "Take it—I know your father."

Only then did Vanessa take the amulet in surprise and doubt, thanking him repeatedly with her head down, and then bid farewell and left.

"Child," Izhaks called out to Vanessa, "Your father was a good warrior!"

After the girl left, the atmosphere at the scene seemed a little awkward, and it was clear that it was not appropriate for anyone to say anything. Izhaks was also silent for a long time, then he looked at Hao Ren and pointed at himself: "Was I wrong?"

Hao Ren shook his head: "No."

Izhaks pointed to Private Kevin's statue again: "Was he wrong?"

"No, he wasn't."

"So this is war."

Izhaks left these words and turned away from the soldier's statue.

Hao Ren shrugged and led the others behind him, and the data terminal's voice rang in his mind: "So this is the life of an inspector."