Chapter 468: A World Where Only Perna Gets Hurt
The nurse jumped to her feet, startled by the sudden shout, and turned to face the newcomer. "Lieutenant Angers, what are you doing..."
The French Lieutenant pointed at the Austrian officer behind her, gritting his teeth. "Anna is mine! How dare you try to seduce her!"
Anna quickly stepped in front of him, her voice anxious. "Lieutenant Angers, please don't! I've always thought of you as my best friend."
She glanced back at the Austrian. "As for Ferry... I, I truly like..."
"No!" Angers roared instantly. "He must have tricked you, that scoundrel!"
He had been pursuing Anna for a long time, but she always kept him at arm's length. Now, seeing his goddess being intimate with an Austrian, his emotions instantly spiraled out of control.
Ferry, having been called a "scoundrel" several times and accused of being a swindler, rose in anger. "You impudent fellow, Anna was right not to choose you," he declared coldly.
The French were notoriously arrogant and looked down on Austrians as "mountain farmers." Hearing the provocative words, Angers could no longer restrain himself. He pushed the nurse aside and swung his right fist at Ferry.
The Austrian Major raised a hand to block, while his other hand struck Angers' face without hesitation.
Anna's face paled with fright. She tried to intervene but couldn't get between the two burly men. She turned and ran towards the center of the field hospital, shouting, "Help! Someone stop them!"
After a busy day, Perna wearily headed to the drying area to check on the disinfection of bedding. Although there were dedicated staff for this, she meticulously inspected it herself every day.
Just as she rounded a pile of dried wood used for making crutches and stretchers, she heard a girl's shouts from her side. She quickly grabbed her white coat and rushed over.
"Pe-Perna, Doctor Perna?" Seeing her, Anna immediately felt a surge of relief. She pointed behind her. "They're... they're fighting..."
Perna hurried after her for a short distance and saw two injured men "fighting to the death" not far away.
She anxiously stepped forward to intervene. "Gentlemen, please stop fighting!"
The rivals, seeing each other, were red with fury and already bleeding from their faces. They paid no attention to the sounds around them.
Helpless, Perna steeled herself and tried to pull them apart. "You're both injured, why are you still..."
Before she could finish, Ferry swung a fist at Angers. The latter ducked, and the blow landed squarely on Perna's face.
"Ugh..."
The Austrian Lieutenant Colonel felt he had struck an "unidentified object" and instinctively turned to look. Angers, seizing the moment of distraction, kicked him in the waist.
A soldier's keen sense of danger made Ferry desperately retreat half a step. Angers' boot grazed his clothes but landed on Perna's back instead.
The female doctor was sent flying sideways, tumbling into a patch of weeds nearby.
In the fading light of the setting sun, Anna saw Doctor Perna lying motionless on the ground. Her eyes widened in terror, and she let out a piercing shriek. "Ah—Doctor Perna is dead!"
The two fierce combatants, still locked in their struggle, abruptly froze at the mention of "Perna." They rushed to the doctor's side, and only let out a collective sigh of relief when they heard her pained groans.
Suddenly, both men pointed at each other simultaneously and bellowed, "You scoundrel, you're the one who hurt Doctor Perna!"
"How dare you strike Doctor Perna! I'll kill you!"
The field hospital was located far behind the front lines, so there weren't many patrolling guards. Only then did a squad of guards turn into the vicinity. Hearing the screams, they hurried over. "What's happening?"
"Who's there?!"
Angers, seeing that allies had arrived, immediately grabbed his rival and shouted, "It's this Austrian scoundrel! He injured Doctor Perna!"
From a distance, Ferry spotted the guards' white uniforms. He estimated that even if he was in the right, he wouldn't be able to explain himself. Following the principle that a wise man avoids immediate trouble, he forcefully shook off Angers, turned, and hobbled towards the edge of the field hospital to escape.
Angers was about to give chase, but Anna stood in front of him with outstretched arms. She even turned to the retreating Austrian and called out, "Go quickly! I'll hold them back!"
Half an hour later.
Inside the largest tent of the field hospital, military doctor Adam examined Perna's injuries, then turned to the several officers waiting nearby. "Please don't worry, Doctor Perna's bones are intact, and there's no major danger."
Hundreds of wounded soldiers surrounding the tent all breathed a sigh of relief at the news. They had all been treated by Perna; many owed their lives to her. Hearing she had been injured, they had anxiously come to check on her.
An officer responsible for camp security looked at Anna and Angers, asking gravely, "What exactly happened?"
Anna hadn't seen clearly at the time and stammered, unable to give a coherent explanation.
Angers, however, declared indignantly, "It was that damned Austrian! He attacked Doctor Perna!"
"An Austrian?" The officer frowned. "What's his name?"
Angers turned to Anna. The nurse could only whisper, "Ferry..."
The surrounding wounded soldiers, seeing the bruising around Perna's eye from the tent entrance, immediately grew furious.
That was the kind, gentle, beautiful, and charming Doctor Perna! She had fanboys everywhere in the French army, and virtually everyone in the field hospital adored her.
Now, someone had dared to injure her?!
Someone roared, "I'm going to kill that bastard!"
"Ferry, I know him. He's from the Austrian Seventh Dragoon Battalion."
"Who's with me to teach that scoundrel a lesson?"
"I am!"
"And me!"
"I'll go too..."
From her cot, Perna heard the commotion outside the tent. She wanted to stop them, but her weak voice was completely unheard.
Large numbers of wounded, risking disciplinary action, returned to their respective units that very night, furiously informing their comrades that Doctor Perna had been assaulted.
Proud and arrogant French soldiers wouldn't tolerate being bullied by Austrians. The next morning, over a thousand French soldiers marched en masse to the encampment of the Austrian Seventh Dragoon Battalion. Their officers only made a token effort to stop them before letting them go; some even joined in to teach the Austrians a lesson—after all, Doctor Perna had saved their lives.
Inside the Austrian camp, Ferry nervously argued his case to the cavalry battalion commander. "It was that French Lieutenant, he's the one who injured Doctor Perna! He's slandering me!"
"Are you willing to swear?"
"I swear to God, it was that Frenchman who kicked Doctor Perna down!"
The battalion commander, who had also received treatment from Perna, immediately scowled. "Those shameless Frenchmen, daring to cause trouble here!"
He turned to his orderly. "Order the entire battalion to assemble."
Just over ten minutes later, the French and Austrian soldiers, who had been trading insults, could no longer contain their anger. Someone charged across the line and began to fight.
Soon, outside the encampment of the Austrian Dragoon Battalion, an unprecedented mass brawl erupted.
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