Chapter 784: Soldiers On The Line Of Death
Kant"s fis.h.i.+ng boat and the salvage steamboat set off from the sh.o.r.e to the place where the s.h.i.+pwreck occurred.
The salvage work continued from early morning to evening, but only a few Caradia soldiers" uniforms were found.
There were no corpses or remains of reconnaissance team.
After dinner, the workers on the boat were ready to continue search at night.
In order to transfer the searchlights to them, Kant brought Bunduk back to the sh.o.r.e.
On the second departure, a small boat docked. The Caradia soldier on the boat walked up to Kant and reported, "Your Highness, we found... the remains of the dead soldiers."
When Kant heard the news, his body froze. He replied, "Where is it?"
The soldier pursed his lips and pointed at the small boat that he was driving.
Kant walked closer to the small boat that was docked on the sh.o.r.e. He stopped when he saw Claremont"s lifeless face.
Bunduk jumped onto the bow of the boat. He helped the Caradia soldiers" bodies onto the sh.o.r.e one by one.
"So far, only seven of them have been found." the soldier reported to Kant.
"Now, speed up the transportation of their bodies back to Caradia." Kant instructed softly. "Let Adonis hold the funeral."
"Yes." the accompanying soldier replied.
Bunduk looked at the seven dead people lying on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes.
The Caradia soldiers on the dock stood still, praying silently in their hearts.
After a day and a night, the salvage work officially ended.
Other than the bodies of the seven dead soldiers and some relics floating on the surface of the sea, the search team found nothing else.
"Your Highness, we have searched the area where salvage operation can be carried out." the leader of the search team reported to Kant.
"Okay." Kant nodded in response.
Bunduk sat at the side and thought for a while, then said to Kant, "Could it be that the remaining soldiers have escaped from the sunken s.h.i.+p?"
"I think so too." Kant agreed. "But we don"t know where they are now."
"At that time, the sea was pitch black. If they only had life jackets, where could they have gone?" Bunduk asked in puzzlement.
"... I don"t know." Kant shook his head and said, "But if they could have gone ash.o.r.e, they would have gone to c.u.mberland."
"Devitt has never been to c.u.mberland before." Bunduk explained to Kant.
"Then, what about Durandal?" Kant"s eyes lit up as he asked.
"Right. Other than c.u.mberland, there"s only Durandal which is near to the coast." Bunduk said. "Why don"t we have Derrick to conduct a search by the side of Durandal City?"
"Yes, have the soldiers set off tonight. Get them to Durandal in morning and begin their operations." Kant instructed.
"Yes!"
The messenger rushed out of c.u.mberland"s city gate overnight. They rode on their racehorses and rushed towards Durandal.
Durandal"s city gates were knocked open early in the morning.
The messenger took out the medal given by Kant and said to the soldiers guarding the city, "Let me see Commander Derrick!"
Derrick had not been in a good state of mind for the past few days. When the messenger arrived in front of his tent, he was still drinking.
"What is it?" Derrick looked up and asked.
"Commander Derrick, His Highness Lord Kant ordered you to organize the soldiers to search outside Durandal City," the messenger said word by word. "The reconnaissance team may have escaped to this place."
"Are you saying that someone in the reconnaissance team escaped from the s.h.i.+pwreck?" Derrick suddenly raised his head and asked.
"His Highness Lord Kant and Commander Bunduk guessed so..." the messenger replied.
"I understand." Derrick agreed. "Begin the operation immediately!" Derrick said
Derrick got up and walked to the training ground of the military camp. He gathered the soldiers together and said to them, "First company, second company, go to the northern suburbs. Fourth company, fifth company, go to the southern district. Third company, go with me to the city gate. Everyone, get moving. Your comrades are struggling on the edge of death. We are the only ones who can carry out the rescue."
"Yes! Commander!" the soldiers answered in unison.
Because of the news that came a few days ago, the atmosphere in Durandal"s barracks had always been very gloomy.
Now that everyone saw the light at the end of the tunnel of despair, they naturally tried their best to get their spirits up and carry out the operation.
Derrick led a team of three companies and rushed to the city gate. They began the search.
As time pa.s.sed, the search area was gradually expanded.
Finally, they found the unconscious Devitt and the others at the entrance of the cave eight hundred meters away.
"Devitt, Devitt, wake up!" Derrick knelt beside Devitt and placed his hand on his neck. When he felt the faint pulse, Derrick was so excited that he almost burst into tears.
"Medic! Come here and see how they are!" Derrick shouted. "Quick, send someone to prepare the carriage and the stove. We"ll send them back to the barracks."
After a check by the medic, they confirmed that Devitt and his group were safe.
There was a pile of burnt charcoal at the entrance of the cave. It looked like it had been left behind last night.
"If we had come a little bit late, they would never wake up." Derrick said sorrowfully as he picked up a soldier"s luggage bag. The luggage bag was empty. The reconnaissance team had really run out of ammunition and rations.
"Captain Derrick, there are a total of fifteen Caradia soldiers that we rescued. We also learned their ident.i.ties from the nameplates on their bodies." A soldier handed a list to Derrick.
"Let me pa.s.s this list to the soldier who delivered the message." Derrick took the page and said, "Your most important task now is to take care of those soldiers wholeheartedly."
"Yes, Commander." the soldier bowed and replied.
Derrick boarded the carriage and returned to the barracks with the large group.
After hearing the news, the messenger had been waiting at the entrance of the barracks for a long time. After Derrick saw the soldier, Derrick immediately jumped off the carriage and walked in front of him. He said, "Thank you for rus.h.i.+ng here in time to bring us such news and save the lives of the soldiers on this carriage."
"I"m only responsible for delivering the letter. The person who played a role in this entire operation is still Commander Derrick." the messenger took the list, took a glance at it, and replied to Derrick.
"The soldiers from the southern and northern suburbs have yet to return to the barracks. I wonder if they will be able to bring some happy news." Derrick said expectantly.
"What News? Commander Derrick, didn"t you already find the missing Caradia soldiers?" the messenger asked in puzzlement.