allendalepharm Page 39
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He thought it was already dinnertime, so he was wondering why he was hungry now, even though he had eaten so much at noon. But when he stepped out of the tent, he realized something was wrong:
Is the sun drunk? Why is it setting in the east?
He rubbed his somewhat numb head and thought for a while before realizing that it was already the next morning!
The order to attack could be given at any time. Every day of vacation is one less day to go, and it would be such a waste to sleep through it.
There are still many things I can do, such as continuing to teach the beast girls how to shoot, finishing the letter I haven't finished writing, having fun with Lacey, and continuing to have fun with Ruby...
Just as Payne was wondering what to do first, he heard a rustling sound coming from the tent behind him, "Woof... Master, you're awake? Come play with me~~"
A warm, wet tongue licked his hand, and he suddenly remembered the most important thing he should do: "Oh right, I haven't brushed your teeth yet."
Lacey's licking motion froze, and she quietly withdrew.
But it was too late. Payne went back to get a toothbrush and toothpaste, grabbed Lacey's chin to restrain her, and quickly smeared her dog mouth with foam.
"Gurgle...gurgle..."
"Don't talk, just bear with it for a moment, it'll be over soon. Be careful not to swallow the foam."
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle..."
"I've told you so many times, you must pay attention to your oral hygiene. You don't want the dentist to pull your teeth, do you?"
Payne, like a mother hen, kept nagging while brushing Lacey's teeth until the other three beasts were also awakened. They all crawled out of the tent and surrounded the person and beast, watching the scene with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
It took Payne a full ten minutes to finally deal with the uncooperative Lacey. He then gave her a final instruction: "Rinse your mouth properly, don't swallow it," before turning back to glare at the three beasts.
"What are you looking at? You want to brush your teeth too?"
Grace and Shawn immediately took a step back, while Ruby just pursed her lips, "Whatever, it's all the same anyway, just sticking a stick into my mouth..."
If Lacey hadn't been so eager for Pine to play with her, he would have made Ruby realize that there's a difference between sticks and clubs.
Fortunately, the sun wasn't too strong today. After walking the dog, Pine found a tree branch of just the right size, and then the two of them played that classic game:
Payne throws the branch out, Lacey retrieves it, Payne throws it out again...
Sometimes Payne himself wasn't sure whether he was raising a dog or a beast girl, as Lacey's animalistic traits were often very prominent.
Moreover, this guy's stamina was just too good. Payne threw branches all morning, and he was so tired that he thought he was doing grenade throwing practice, but Lacey still happily brought the branches back to him again and again.
Actually, he had considered switching to another game halfway through, like tug-of-war, but the strength of the beast girls was something no human could contend with. Almost every time, he would be dragged along by Lacey, so he had to give up.
Fortunately, when it was time for nap time, Lacey finally took pity on Payne and let him catch his breath, burying his head in his arms and remaining still.
The furry texture felt nice, but it was still just as hot today, and before long Paine could feel his stomach and legs drenched in sweat...
Ruby, fearing that Payne wasn't warm enough, stuffed her big tail into his arms and covered Lacey's face.
It's like offering charcoal in the summer heat.
Payne wanted to send her away, but seeing the resentful look on her face, he did nothing.
These past two weeks have been a dividing line for Ruby, and he promised to give her all his attention.
But because Lacey had done a good job, he had to spare some attention for the dog.
Ruby didn't make a fuss; she just tucked her tail into his arms in an attempt to get some attention back, and Payne was already very grateful.
Lacey is a good dog; when the big tail was pushed in her face, she just twitched her ears without showing any displeasure.
When she woke up, Ruby poked her face and said, "You can have her during the day, but I want to have Payne all to myself tonight."
She had no objection to this, and simply licked Ruby's fingers.
But by the afternoon, Payne was too tired to throw branches anymore, so he could only coax Lacey by saying that he would give her special grenade throwing training that afternoon, and that she should throw the branches herself and retrieve them herself...
So the silly dog spent a whole hour throwing and picking up the branches itself, and then, for some reason, suddenly put the branches back into Payne's hands.
"I want my owner to play with me~~"
Fortunately, Payne was prepared for this. While Lacey was entertaining herself, he went to the company commander and told him about his plan to have the beast girls act as grenadiers in the attack. So the company commander gave him a few grenades with their charges removed for training.
He also asked for a makeshift soccer ball, made of scraps of leather boot wrapped in rags and haphazardly sewn together, under the pretext of rewarding Lacey.
Playing football is much more fun and less strenuous than throwing tree branches. Thanks to this ball, Payne barely managed to get through the afternoon.
When he really couldn't hold on any longer, he would have Xiao En and Grace throw two grenades. One of them could throw them 100 meters and the other 300 meters, enough to keep Lacey running for a while.
Even so, by evening, Payne was so tired that his calves felt like they were cramping.
The thought of having to serve Ruby that night made him feel exhausted.
Under normal circumstances, Ruby would never cause him such concern. But if Lacey is also involved, then it's hard to say.
Tonight will be a closely contested battle!
Fortunately, after dinner and back in the tent, Lacey did Payne a big favor again—ignoring Ruby's desperate attempts to shoo her away, she insisted on staying in Payne's arms and refusing to leave.
Perhaps she didn't think that much about it, but Pine could take this opportunity to pet the dog and continue to rest.
When Payne stroked her neck, she trembled slightly, which puzzled Payne. He lifted her hair and took a look.
There was a short red mark on her neck; if you looked closely, you could see that the skin there was broken.
After a moment's thought, Payne understood what was going on: "Lassie, you were grazed by a bullet earlier?"
“Woof?... Ah, speaking of which, I do think I heard a ‘whoosh’ sound when I rushed over. But it didn’t hurt afterwards, so I forgot about it,” Lacey said.
“…That was really close.” Payne was only scared for a second before laughing and giving her a good pat on the head. “It’s alright, it’s good that you’re alive.”
So Lacey continued to wriggle happily in Payne's arms, wriggling until her belly was turned inside out.
It wasn't until later, when Payne noticed that Ruby's gaze had shifted from resentment to a murderous intent, that he coaxed her into letting her other two herbivores go out.
Before Payne could even catch his breath, he suddenly felt a thin arm wrap around his neck and pull him backward, causing him to fall onto the bed. Ruby then rolled over and pounced on him.
"Hey you! Have I been too nice to you lately?!"
Payne raised an eyebrow and tried to lift his hands, which were pinned to the bed, upwards—but he couldn't...
Lacey has exhausted all his strength; this is bad.
"Hmph~~ This time, the initiative is no longer in your hands~~" Ruby sneered, licking her lips. "You'd better pay me back for what you owe me yesterday and today~~"
Payne was immediately drenched in sweat.
This seemed to be the first time he had been suppressed by Ruby in this matter...
Chapter 59 LIX. Departure Again
The next morning, Payne was awakened by a series of booming cannon shots.
"Is it starting so early in the morning? Can't people just get some sleep...?"
He sighed, pushed Ruby, who was sleeping soundly on top of him like a log, away, and went outside the tent to look around.
The surrounding area was still a peaceful pastoral landscape. The morning sun shone on the leaves covered with dew, and the chirping of birds could be faintly heard hidden in the rumbling of cannons. A faint smell of dust filled the air.
Payne stood there for a while, his mind blank, then casually pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
The stock is running low; it's time to find someone else to exchange a few for some.
Just as he reached for his lighter, he heard a rustling sound behind him, followed by two slender arms wrapping around his waist from behind. "Hmm~~ How was it last night?"
To be honest, Pine felt that last night was the best night.
With the same rhythm and frequency, and having exhausted their energy, both the human and the beast thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
However, as an animal trainer, the worst thing you can do is to appear weaker than the animals, otherwise it will be difficult to manage them in the future.
Therefore, Payne only vaguely said, "It was a draw, I suppose."
"Haha~~ Don't pretend, you're clearly having a lot of fun~~"
Let Ruby pok his waist, Payne casually tossed his cigarette butt aside and retorted calmly, "I hope you still remember what you just said tonight."
After a moment of silence between the two, Ruby said again, "Tonight's not going to be easy..."
"It won't just be tonight; it won't stop for at least another week."
"Sigh, I really hope this battle ends before my splitter depletes..."
"That depends on how well our artillery performs."
Payne patted Ruby's hand, signaling her to let go, then turned to call the beast girls in the tent, "Wake up! Can't you wake up with all this noise?!"
……
Payne had considered that the attack might be brought forward because of the spy. But he hadn't expected it to be so much earlier, and without any prior notice.
It seems that the higher-ups really went all out for this attack, fearing that another leak would render all their efforts futile.
Before long, the soldiers gradually woke up. They didn't say a word, but just kept their heads down and packed their belongings.
Now that things have come to this, the matter is quite clear, and there is no need for further communication.
After breakfast, the officers indeed issued orders to move into the trenches and await the attack.
Without a word, the soldiers lined up to receive bullets, grenades, and a new type of gas mask, and marched forward to the front line.
The company commander listened to Payne's suggestion to have the beast girls serve as grenadiers. After speaking with the logistics department, he immediately ordered each beast girl to carry several boxes of grenades and also had each soldier carry two extra grenades, as if he was afraid that the beast girls wouldn't have enough to throw.
On the march, Xiao En began her traditional skill again—shaking, and the steel helmet, propped up by the ram's horns, clanged and rattled once more.
Payne simply couldn't understand how she could be shaking when she had five boxes of grenades on her body...
To calm the timid lamb down a bit (and also for some peace and quiet), Payne slapped her helmet and said:
"Relax, I think you've already adapted to the battlefield, and you can throw grenades quite far. You can do a lot of things for us."
However, Xiao En was still trembling: "I...I haven't...I'm not used to it yet...I...I'm just too...too timid..."
"Oh, don't say that. You've already been on the battlefield twice, you should be used to it by now. Besides, didn't you save my life last time?"
"I...I just...don't want you to..."
"This is a symbol of your courage. Okay, okay, don't worry, I'll take care of you."
As he spoke, Payne reached under her helmet and began to vigorously rub her, almost causing her to lose her balance.
Although the feel of Birubi's tail is still a bit lacking, its soft, wool-like texture is unique and very easy to pet.
However, Payne didn't intend to touch her for too long, because he had already sensed an increasingly intense gaze coming from behind him.