No Beast Girls on the Western Front

Page 115

Apart from that, a gunshot rang out in the distance was the only background noise.

It wasn't romantic at all, but for people (and beasts) caught in the midst of war, this rare tranquility was enough for them to enjoy.

...Huh? Wait a minute, a gunshot?

Weren't they supposed to be fighting a coordinated war? These past few days, there have only been sporadic gunfire during the day. Isn't it a bit like they're trying to test people's mental fortitude to continue doing this at night?

Not only that, Alpha's large ears twitched alertly, as if it had heard the slightly complaining voices of a few Frenchmen.

However, because of the distance, she couldn't hear what the French people were saying.

Even if they were close by, it wouldn't matter, because she doesn't understand French.

Although she was a little reluctant, she gently pushed Payne away, twirling her ear as she asked, "Did you hear gunshots and complaints?"

Payne was already a bit tired, and this prompt immediately woke him up. "Where?"

"there."

Alpha didn't let go of Payne; instead, it pointed in the direction with its ear.

Payne looked up, then relaxed. "Stephen is watching over there. Don't worry, Ma's hearing is even better than yours. She'll warn you if anything goes wrong."

"Huh... Really, is everything alright?..."

"Guess what? I've encountered this situation before. We have a lot of new recruits on our side, and the French have a lot of new recruits too. Maybe it was just an accidental discharge. Otherwise, why would anyone complain?"

"Hmm...it seems so too?"

Hearing him say that, Alpha felt relieved. She used the splitter to force her attention to Payne and increased the pressure on her hands, pressing Payne against the wall.

"Hey, wait a minute, let's switch seats. You really scared me this morning..."

"Ah... I'm... I'm sorry..."

Looking at Alpha lying obediently on the ground, Payne burst into tears.

We finally gained a high ground, and our pelvis was saved.

Who wouldn't love a big black dog that's powerful, majestic, and obedient with its splitter?

As night deepened, the moon hung high in the sky.

Apart from the intermittent panting sounds, there was no other movement from the German trenches.

……

Payne woke up the next morning because of the heat.

These days we have weather forecasts, although their accuracy can't compare to that of the 21st century, but having one is better than having none.

Moreover, this intelligence was always transmitted to the front lines in a timely manner. For example, this time, a message was sent two days in advance that there would be strong winds and a drop in temperature, and people should take precautions to keep warm.

The soldiers responded that this was all nonsense; the higher-ups hadn't even issued them thick clothes, so what were they supposed to care about keeping warm?

However, Payne should still be careful—there are quite a few beast girls currently at the branching point, so they can squeeze together to sleep and keep warm.

Then when he opened his eyes in the morning, he felt that he was covered in sweat.

Looking to the left, I saw Lacey fast asleep, her head resting on my shoulder, hugging my left arm.

Looking to the right, Alpha was fast asleep, hugging its right arm, its face pressed against its arm;

Looking straight ahead, there was a cloud-like white fluff—right, Xiao En was also there.

After playing trench warfare with Alpha last night, he came back to sleep. In order to take care of both dogs at the same time, he squeezed into the same bed with Lacey and Alpha.

Xiao En should have been asleep by then. When did she climb up?

This sheep is so silent; it seems like it would be a master of sneak attacks.

There were plenty of empty beds in the shelter, but the one person and three beasts insisted on squeezing into one bed...

With the furry creatures surrounding us from three sides, plus the fact that I covered myself with a blanket last night to protect myself from the wind and temperature drop, it's no wonder I'm so hot.

Payne had no time to enjoy having two women on either side. He pulled his arms out of the two dogs' arms, sat up, and placed Xiao En where he had been lying. He then quickly grabbed his soaking wet clothes and fanned himself before looking up at the entrance to the shelter.

The bright sunlight was shining in through the thin, tattered curtain.

Looks like it's another day of the weather forecast being wrong.

Payne shrugged, stepped over Alpha, and got off the bed, wanting to take off his soaking wet shirt to cool off.

However, this series of actions probably woke up the beast girls, as the two dogs and the sheep all grunted, and then Lacey and Alpha each grabbed one of Shawn's arms and started sniffing.

"Hmm... Chief..."

"Hehe~~ Master smells so good~~"

Payne: "..."

Do these two silly dogs really recognize their owner? ...

I'd like to see when you guys finally realize what's going to happen.

Payne even began to suspect that the two of them had injured their noses when they bit each other last night, because their noses were stuck in Xiao En's woolly hair, almost waking Xiao En up, but she still didn't notice anything unusual.

No, Alpha is one thing, but didn't you tell me before, Lexi, that you disliked the mutton smell on Xiao En?

Seemingly not satisfied with just sniffing, the two silly dogs then stuck out their tongues and started licking Xiao En's face.

The damp touch finally dragged Xiao En out of her dream. She frowned uncomfortably and tried to rub her eyes, but felt her arm being held. She reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Meow!!"

Then came a series of terrified screams as if caught by a predator.

Startled as well, Lacey and Alpha immediately stood up. When they saw that the person they were holding had turned into Xiao En, and their minds were still foggy from not being fully awake, a surge of anger at having their partner taken away welled up in their hearts, and they bared their teeth and growled at Xiao En.

There's something funny to watch first thing in the morning, it's really something.

But within seconds, Payne's amusement vanished—his pants were visibly soaking wet...

"Don't pee on my bed!!!"

Chapter 181 CLXXX. Washing Sheep

"Meow...I...I can...I can wash it myself...meow..."

"Bear it."

"Baa... baa..."

After Lacey and Alpha worked together to scare Shawn so badly he wet himself (physiologically), Payne kicked the two out to train with Stephen.

Fortunately, because he intervened in time, the bed was not contaminated in a large area or deeply; all that was needed was to wash the stained areas.

However, Xiao En's pants are ruined and need to be thoroughly washed.

Fortunately, because the situation on this front was stable, supplies were transported with virtually no loss and were delivered to the soldiers in full.

Therefore, estimating that it would be time to deliver supplies in two days, Payne checked their water reserves and found them to be sufficient, so he decided to give Shawn a little cleaning.

Ruby's supply package also included a few bars of soap.

In order to get some compensation from Xiao En, he ordered the sheep to endure it no matter how shy she was, and that he would clean her himself.

Even with the succulent feel of the lamb leg gliding over her fingertips, Xiao En's face flushed red, she couldn't help but savor it. Paine, meanwhile, couldn't help but complain as he washed it:

"You know, you've clearly built up all your courage, you're not even afraid of artillery shells anymore, so how come you were scared by Lacey and Alpha?"

Xiao En also looked aggrieved: "Waaaaah... I felt like they were going to eat me alive..."

"But they are your compatriots and comrades-in-arms."

"Waaaaah... I... I know... but I'm just scared... Waaaaah..."

In fact, Payne also knew that this couldn't be entirely blamed on Shawn.

The terrifying upright ape had no natural enemies, making it difficult for humans to understand the fear of predators ingrained in the genes of prey.

A sheep can be trained to desensitize itself to the sound of gunfire, and can even be trained to treat the wounded or charge into battle amidst heavy artillery fire. But to be able to face predators head-on, Payne felt that this was something that could not be accomplished simply through training.

However, at this stage, all the beast girls are in the same boat, and Payne felt that there was no need for Xiao En to be forced to undergo this kind of training.

Therefore, he felt there was no need to be overly critical of her for this incident, since there hadn't been any major loss.

However, not losing too much is not the same as not losing anything at all, so he not only didn't want to give Xiao En a pleasant look, but also specifically said, "It seems I need to give you some courage-boosting training."

"By the way, we've been talking about training in jumping through fire hoops for a while now, but we've been kept interrupted by various things. Let's start it once we get back to the rear."

Xiao En (in horror): "Meow meow meow?!"

Payne raised an eyebrow. "All beasts must undergo this training. What, you have a problem with that?"

Xiao En (dejected): "N-nothing...nothing..."

……

Since there were no spare pants available, Payne didn't want to use the Depressing Jokes System to get her another pair, so he let her stay in the shelter trench until her pants dried.

The two dogs with diverging gears have been quite exhausted these past few days (in a double sense). Ella hasn't had any gourmet food yet, so Pine wants to get them some dog food.

He took the opportunity to check while washing the sheep. Xiao En hasn't reached the branching stage yet, but he doesn't know how many days are left.

But if you do the math, the time seems to be about right...

Xiao En, you need to be more observant! The splitter can come a couple of days later! ...

With a slight sigh, Payne forced himself to focus on the battle and walked toward Ella, who was monitoring the enemy lines from the firing port.

From the moment he woke up, the enemy's gunfire continued intermittently. Although the frequency was low and no one was injured, everyone was still on edge.

Ruffling the golden retriever's head, Payne asked, "Did you find anything?"

Ella twitched her ears. "The gunshots must have been from guns embedded in the breastplates, right? Does that count?"

"Yes, of course it counts, how could it not count?"

As Payne spoke, he gradually stopped stroking and began to think, touching his chin.

There was no similar situation on Earth during World War I, or at least he had never heard of it.

Embedding a gun in the breastplate and firing blindly and randomly...that sounds really weird.

Besides manipulating people's mentality, they definitely have other plans.