Man With Super Medical Skill (Matthew)
Chapter 3197 Cathay Is My Backbone

Scenes like this didn't just occur in one village; they were replicated in countless others, turning them into living hells. Gloam Wing soldiers committed atrocities, burning, looting, and raping, even in front of fathers and husbands. They assaulted daughters and wives without restraint. At the same time, they greedily amassed wealth, even establishing an internal rule within Gloam Wing: half of the looted money was to be kept for themselves, thirty percent went to the commander, and the remaining twenty percent was handed over to the king. The Gloam Wing dungeons echoed with the sounds of despair. Villagers from various villages were bound to racks, and mercilessly whipped.

"Confess! Say that everything you did was on Matthew Larson's orders, and we'll let you go."

A young man, his dungeon uniform soaked in blood, hung limply from the rack, his eyes lifeless as he stared at the Gloam Wing soldier before him. With all the strength he could muster, he spat a mouthful of blood right into the soldier's face.

The Gloam Wing soldier's face darkened with anger, his eyes blazing with fury. But the young man showed no fear. In fact, he began laughing. "Hahaha! Fellow villagers, today, I, Lars Zuriel from Zurielville, will go ahead and pave the way for you!"

The Gloam Wing soldier, enraged by the young man's defiance, snarled, "Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish." He picked up a wooden stake, positioned it against the young man's stomach, and drove it in with a hammer.

Pfft!

The young man coughed up a mouthful of blood, spraying it all over the Gloam Wing soldier. Yet, he seemed unfazed by the pain and continued to shout, "Hahaha! You think... cough... you think I have no backbone?"

The Gloam Wing soldier sneered at the seemingly crazed Lars. "Take a look around-who's going to back you up? Who can you count on?"

Lars, though his voice was growing weaker, his eyes only burned brighter. "My backbone isn't a person or a title. It's a legacy that spans 5,000 years, the faith that resides in the hearts of all our people. You'll never understand what it means to be part of a nation, to have... brothers and sisters!"

Lars' voice faded as his strength ebbed away, but it was enough. Before darkness claimed him, he saw a vivid red in his mind-a red so bright, so fiery.

His words echoed through the dungeon, rekindling the resolve of the villagers who had begun to waver. Suddenly, another voice, filled with pain but still strong, rang out, different yet somehow unchanged. "Laszlo Szabo of Cathay! I'll go ahead and join our brother Zuriel in paving the way for the rest of you!"

"I, Rainer Lehmann of Lehmannville, stand with you, my brothers and sisters! Don't leave me behind!"

There were also those who cursed in rage, using their last breath to hurl insults. "You b*stards, I'm done playing with you! Wait for me, brothers. I'm afraid of the dark!"

One by one, voices rang out in the dim, oppressive dungeon. Though they couldn't see each other, it was

as if they could glimpse one another through that bright, burning red.

en Narugi

Yes, most of them were originally from Cathay, having left their homeland for various reasons. But they had never forgotten the great legacy they had behind them.

A faint song began to rise in the darkness of the dungeon, a song of longing for their homeland.

"From sea to shining sea... The Rockies, the Grand Canyon... In my heart, they weigh a thousand pounds..."

The song reverberated through the dark dungeon, making it feel less like a prison and more like a choir of Cathayans expressing their deep yearning for their homeland.

The Gloam Wing soldier, still

covered in Lars' blood, listened to

the song echoing through the

dungeon Just as the voices seemed about to falter, someone would shout their name and continue singing, even if their voice was tinged with pain or nearly a scream. They didn't let the song die.

Standing over Lars' lifeless body, the Gloam Wing soldier's face twisted with envy. "Why do you get to be born in such a great place? Why?"