Khalifa: Queen in the Apocalypse

Chapter 152: The General in Trouble

They returned back to the base the next day, a lot more relaxed, even with the additional 100 plus rescues from the villa.

Khalifa had asked her men (who happened to be extremely refreshed and energetic) to help deal with oncoming zombies.

As such, the trip back home was extremely smooth. They even had the choice to rotate as they moved so they didn’t have to stop midway to kill zombies, just let a team handle while the rest moved with the convoy.

The supposedly dangerous mission with more than 50% survival rate only lost a single digit, and this was only during the start.

They had lost no one else since Khalifa’s team made big moves.

Of course, a lot of people were still asked to defend their own scope, however the burden was significantly lower with the three men ambling about and lightening up the mob wherever they were needed.

"Smooth." A man said, impressed, as he watched Jacob behead two zombies in a single move.

"Amazing!" One person said, admiring the wall of fire that engulfed zombies. It made the handsome man with fiery hair look ethereal.

There were quite a few fangirls (particularly from the villa area) in there, and they started squealing.

Fortunately, they were mature enough to know not to scream loudly.

"So cool…" another voice sounded on the other side of the car, looking at the handsome bespectacled professor in admiration along with everyone watching.

"Khalifa is even more amazing," Joana said, teasingly at one of the few women there, mostly rescues. "To be able to keep these powerful men."

They couldn’t help but look at the RV that happened to be behind theirs. It was being driven by Mr. Bo.

They could imagine that the beautiful woman was still sleeping. How could a normal woman handle 3 men without being overexerted?

"You’re right. Then again, she’s too beautiful and amazing isn’t she? No wonder those men are obsessed. I would be too."

They chuckled.

Mira looked down and gripped the fabric of her denim.

She felt extremely bad, and hearing all these praises to another felt like acid was poured to her heart.

The honor of reducing the deaths should’ve been hers! It was her who told them the better entrance and it was her who warned them about the mob locked in the canteen area!

In her dream, not even a quarter of these managed to get back! But now most of them survived!

The credit should have been hers!!

It isn’t fair!

***

The journey was smooth even if it was tiring. However, they didn’t expect that what would meet them when they returned was a somber atmosphere instead of a celebration.

Though many of the soldiers were happy with their successful return, they obviously had something more depressing dampening the mood.

Ryo frowned as a team rushed to meet theirs, heavy expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" He asked one of the guards, who saluted in response.

"Sir! Something happened to the general!" He said, "He’s in the medbay now!"

"What?" He uttered, heart stopping and strode immediately to the medbay.

Kaize and the men heard this and looked at each other. Khalifa often told them about significant events in the so-called Books.

One important event to watch out for was anything threatening the General’s safety.

Thinking of this, they grabbed the soldier to find out what happened, scaring the soul out of the poor man. Fortunately, the man’s a soldier and was composed enough to answer their questions.

Apparently, less than an hour ago, the general had collapsed, unable to breathe.

It was a desperate fight for air and the general was gripping his chest, obviously in pain.

"That’s all I know." The soldier said, scuttling somewhere else

The three men hurried to the RV and to Khalifa on the bed, blocked by a curtain from Mr. Bo’s view.

She was sleeping peacefully and they couldn’t help but admire her beauty before Caius sat down next to her and gave her a chaste kiss.

"One of the milestones happened, my love. Time to wake up."

"Hmmm?" Khalifa mumbled, stretching her arms to shake off the lethargy. "Which one?"

"The General’s." Kaize said, also giving her a kiss.

"Who knows?" He told her, "Maybe we can change things."

***

Ryo was walking to and fro the operating room as he listened to the lieutenant, who was standing outside for more details.

"He just suddenly collapsed and grabbed his throat like he couldn’t breathe.

"Then he became nauseous, dizzy, and convulsing…

"I… I’m sorry that’s all I know."

One of the doctors came out to greet him. He looked at Ryo with a complicated expression and sighed. "We are stabilizing him, but we can only slow down the degeneration…"

"What happened?"

"The preliminary judgment is severe pneumonia or other respiratory disease." The doctor said, looking at the general’s confidants.

"Was the general exposed to volatile chemical agents during his service?"

"A little, but this was a long time ago…"

The doctor nodded, expression grim. "It could be the long term effect of this."

Ryo and the others looked down, feeling heavy and shaken. The general had been the anchor to everyone. What would happen if he suddenly left like this?

Some people sent furtive glances at Ryo, the heir apparent, while some to Hilten, the right-hand man.

Before any discussion about this was opened however, the door opened, revealing a gorgeous woman followed closely by three dashing men.

While a little startled by her beauty, most of the men inside were straight old men with non-existent romantic bones. A lot of them just frowned at the intrusion.

Ryo’s eyebrows rose and shook away his depression, walking to them with a bit of hope.

Unconsciously, he too had come to think of them as extremely reliable allies.

"Why are you guys here?" He asked, turning to look at the man. "The general, he…"

"May I take a look at him?"

"What?" The old men, even Hilten, looked at her in puzzlement and frowned.

Someone gave her a bad look. "Who are you?"

"If you want to increase the chances of the general’s survival, let me take a look." She said, though speaking directly at the man’s godson.

Ryo thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Captain Ryo!"

Ryo raised his hand with a serious expression. "They’re the reason most of my team are alive. They deserve a bit of trust, don’t they?"

"But—"

Ryo glared at them, shutting them up.

"Are you going to keep arguing?"

"...no." and they all shut up.

Khalifa’s eyebrows rose at the interaction.

At the very least, through this, Ryo showed he did have some power over them. This was unlike the Ryo shown in the books, who had great trouble keeping these older men at bay.

Hey, he’s not so hopeless after all.