I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 34 I am four years old this year, and I am already a master craftsman with one year of experience.
On the planet Peditia, the piercing alarm finally stopped.

The cultists entrenched in the ruins of the hive retreated once more from the Astragalus Army's main position, like a receding tide, leaving behind a scene of devastation and twisted corpses. The humans who had descended from the hive had once again bought themselves a brief respite, but no one knew when the next wave would arrive, or how turbulent it would be.

During this brief lull, a small group of cultists, seemingly restless, launched a probing attack on the newly acquired chemical refinery. However, they were facing a group of people who had long since accepted death as commonplace.

It wasn't even a proper battle.

Even the most seasoned players have only fought three decent battles at most, but the lessons learned from countless deaths have clearly taught them how to fight in a hail of bullets. Perhaps they are still not as good as those battle-hardened, steel-willed veterans of the Astral Army, but they are at least much stronger than the Peditian Planetary Defense Forces who are always thinking about running away and have low morale.

Moreover, reality is harsh. On Pedithia today, there are very few true veterans of the Astronautical Army left.

Shortly after the battle, Commissar Walter personally led a team to the chemical refinery. The players had already lined up in the open area of ​​the refinery, awaiting instructions.

Commissar Walter's gaze swept complexly over the soldiers, whose faces were filled with confidence, even a hint of ease. They seemed to have just completed a leisurely hunt, showing no trace of the fatigue or fear of a bloody battle. He took a deep breath, suddenly straightened his chest, and shouted with all his might:

Salute to the heroes!

Immediately, he and the Astral Army soldiers behind him, covered in gunpowder and with solemn expressions, all gave the player a standard Aquila salute.

Before the players could react, Walter had already finished his greetings, reverted to his stern expression, and said curtly, "Dismissed."

He waved his hand, signaling his Astral Army troops to lead a group of civilian workers to formally move in and take over the operation of the chemical refinery.

Upon receiving the instruction, the players naturally and carefree dispersed into their formation. However, this time, instead of splitting up in twos and threes, most of them gathered together excitedly.

It turns out that the player who drew the rulebook had indeed started a D&D raid in a corner of the factory area and successfully found more than a dozen people to join, attracting almost all the idle players to come and watch.

The reason I say "almost" is because there were always a few unlucky guys who were assigned to be sentries after the war.

Ruan Wenbo didn't go to watch the commotion; instead, he walked up to Political Commissar Walter. Walter didn't say much, but simply pointed to the newly arrived workers: "I need your soldiers to help these workers get familiar with the environment here."

Ruan Wenbo nodded: "It's just part of my job, Political Commissar, you don't need to worry."

However, Walter's words also made Nguyen Van Bo turn his attention to the group of workers. What he saw startled him. Among this so-called "workers," there were almost no young or middle-aged men.

"Why are they all women and children?"

Commissar Walter said casually, "Young and able-bodied men should participate in the construction of the defense line."

Ruan Wenbo naturally understood the subtext of those words—that every man capable of handling a gun would be drafted to fill the gaps in the war effort. His heart sank: "Has the situation... really come to this?"

Walter simply sighed deeply, saying nothing more, but that heavy sigh said it all. Ruan Wenbo also felt extremely heavy-hearted. He didn't say anything more, but simply called over a few players and asked them to lead the way.

Three players who drew the unlucky lot were leading a group of female workers and a little boy who was clearly still a child, toward Sector C-1. This was the place where high explosives were produced.

One of the players cursed and said, "Damn it, why did we get this assignment? This is really unlucky."

"Stop complaining, finish quickly, and go back to the running group," another person urged.

"Sigh, I don't know what that guy [Ziyu] is so cowardly about. He's already taken out Shipa, why doesn't he just go up and finish it with a Holy Slash? Why is he so hesitant!" His mind was clearly already on the D&D table. Upon arriving at area C-1, the players hastily pointed out the various areas to the female workers and briefly explained the things they needed to be aware of.

"See that? This place has been hit by a laser gun. That machine might be unstable now. It's best to check it before dismantling it."

"There might be lurking heretics in the corners. Be careful while you work, and if anything seems amiss, shout for help immediately!"

The female workers nodded timidly, their faces filled with fear and obedience, vying to promise absolute obedience to the masters' instructions. The players didn't pay much attention to their reactions, simply regarding them as low-intelligence NPCs with simple AI logic that the developers hadn't paid much attention to.

One of the three players, whose ID was [JK], noticed the oddly positioned child among the female workers. He walked over, and the surrounding women immediately made way for him as if trying to avoid him. JK squatted down in front of him, a teasing smile on his face: "Oh, who brought this child? The production area is dangerous, why bring a child here?"

To everyone's surprise, the child was not intimidated at all. Instead, he straightened his thin chest and answered loudly, "Sir, I am not a child, I am a drain cleaner!"

JK's smile vanished instantly. The other two players who were still discussing tabletop role-playing also turned to look in their direction.

"...What did you say? Say it again?"

The child thought the astral army officer was worried that he couldn't handle the job, so he quickly patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, sir! I may only be four years old, but I've already had a year of experience, I'm a veteran!"

After saying that, the child seemed a little embarrassed, scratched the messy back of his head, and added, "I used to have two three-year-old apprentices, but unfortunately they both accidentally fell and died."

"……Hold."

The previously irritable guy, who had been cursing and swearing because he felt unlucky, now growled in a tone a hundred times angrier than before: "What the hell is this?! Where are your parents?!"

The child was startled by his sudden outburst of anger, his body trembled, and he stammered, "I...I don't know."

“Alright,” JK stood up, stopping the player who still wanted to speak, “Don’t scare him.”

He turned to the group of silent new workers and said coldly, "In short, that's about it. This place is now in your hands."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back, and the other two followed him. Behind them, the female workers could be heard bowing and thanking him.

As soon as he stepped out of the gate of C-1 area, the player could no longer contain himself. He slammed his fist into the wall next to him and cursed, "Damn it! Who the hell is the villain here?!"

"You can't expect the people of an empire with its feudal system, theocracy, poor transportation, limited access to information, clinging to outdated technology, and constantly mired in endless wars to have comfortable living conditions," the third player sighed.

"Even so, this is going too far!" The player was still furious.

JK interrupted their conversation: "We can't change these things now; winning the war is the only thing we can do."

He paused for a moment, looking in the direction from which faint cheers could be heard in the distance.

"Now, let's hurry up and see how that group is doing."

(End of this chapter)