Chapter 24

First update!

"Kid, you've really done me in." Cook, carrying a large backpack, and Mike, holding a one-handed sword, were followed by two women in gray robes, Lori and Mitch. Cook couldn't help but whisper to Mike.

"What do you mean, 'old man'? Which race, which place's language?" But what made Cook almost faint was that Mike actually asked with great curiosity.

"Ugh! Mike, do you believe I'll beat you up right now?" Cook's head was full of black lines, and he was on the verge of exploding. Because after hearing Mike's words, Lori decided to sneak around the outskirts of the battlefield to ambush some unfortunate stragglers, and she even gave orders to Cook in a commanding tone.

Between a follower and their master, if the master uses a commanding tone, the follower must obey, even if it means breaking the law or ethics, as long as it doesn't endanger their life. If they don't, they would violate the follower's oath, and Cook had heard the consequences were severe.

Although Cook had never been to a battlefield, he could tell that this war wouldn't be a small skirmish. After all, the top military force, the Mammoth Knights, was like strategic missiles on Earth, and the Mage Corps was a massive air force, equipped with large-scale weapons. So Cook realized that the empire was facing a formidable enemy.

Of course, Cook didn't know that the enemy had mobilized 2 million troops, who were farmers. But Cook knew that 2 million was a huge number. Even if you lined up 10,000 people every 200 meters, it would still form a line several kilometers long. In the age of cold weapons, 200 meters couldn't even fit 10,000 people, let alone in the age of firearms.

Facing the large-scale weapons of the Mage Corps and the strategic power of the Mammoth Corps, this distance would have to be increased by several dozen times, meaning the battlefront would stretch for hundreds of kilometers. This was a vast area, and Cook didn't know any of this. Lori vaguely knew, but she thought that 2 million farmers would probably run away after a single fireball spell, so she didn't care.

Due to the alert and blockade, Cook and his group had to take a detour to reach the battlefield. Lori, however, led her newly recruited student, treating the battlefield like a place to casually pick up things. How could Cook not be angry?

"Damn it, damn it, if it weren't for my sister to learn, I wouldn't be here to die. As the old saying goes, women with big chests have no brains!" Cook, angry, hacked his way through the forest, cursing under his breath. There was no choice; the main roads were patrolled, so they had to take the small paths.

"Alright, let's rest for a while." Lori rubbed her calves and ordered.

"Master, my master, we've only walked a few kilometers, and you've already rested three times." Cook turned around, somewhat resentfully.

"Hmph, do you think our noble mages are like you?" Lori replied with disdain, and Mike collapsed on the ground. Only Mitch, being a farmer, helped her mentor Lori sit down.

"Damn, what kind of road is this?" Mike also complained, as his fancy but cheap boots were already broken, exposing a big toe.

"Hehe, serves you right!" Cook looked at him and said with glee.

"You, these cost two gold coins." Mike said, pained.

"Hehe, mine only cost two silver coins. Look, look!" Cook originally had boots given by Lori, but he found them unsuitable for mountain paths, so he switched to old boots.

"Tch, they're so plain and dull." Mike replied with disdain.

"Uh!" Cook was thoroughly defeated by this guy, who not only liked to show off but also cared a lot about his reputation.

"Alright, I was going to give you a pair." Cook sighed, took a pair of black boots from his belt, but then put them back.

"Hehe, if you give them to me, I can't refuse. I wouldn't want to make you lose face." Mike snatched them and quickly put them on, then said to Cook.

"You, you, you!" Cook was at a loss. What could you do with such a teammate?

"Cook, do you have any more dried fruit?" Just as Cook was about to complain, his mage master asked again.

"Master, this is the last pack. We'll have to find more when we camp." Cook handed over a pack of wild beans, a kind of vine fruit, similar to black beans.

"Mm, delicious, and they're salty. From now on, you'll prepare one pack for me every day, no, two packs, one for me and one for Mitch." Lori threw one in her mouth and praised. Before Cook could be happy, she added.

"Master, two packs!" Cook was about to protest.

"Are you only giving me and not Mitch?" Lori asked with a strange look.

"Of course!" Cook didn't dare to say otherwise. Seeing Mitch transform from an ugly duckling to a swan, Cook didn't want to give up.

"Alright, let's continue. But which way should we go?" Lori stood up, puzzled.

"Master, master, aren't mages supposed to use the stars to guide direction?" Cook was shocked. After all, this was a forest, and Cook knew how dangerous tropical rainforests could be on Earth.

"Of course, but we need to see the stars!" Lori gave Cook a rare glare and replied irritably.

"What about you, the famous bard?" Cook turned to Mike.

"Of course, what do you think I'm here for, to eat with my mouth?" Mike's answer made Cook want to bang his head against the wall.

"You...!" Cook was speechless.

"I know the way, I can go to the treetops to check, but I want to eat roasted meat and mushroom fish soup for dinner." Just as Cook was despairing, a guy named Xiao Hua, who was taking advantage of the situation, said to Cook.

"Alright! Roasted meat and mushroom fish soup it is." Cook gritted his teeth and stared at Xiao Hua, then replied. He didn't want Mitch to eat just bread and water, so he tried to make various dishes. Of course, Cook made non-stimulating food, which was definitely delicious, but he didn't expect to have three big eaters and one small eater.

Following Xiao Hua's occasional guidance, they moved in a certain direction. Cook later regretted it, as Xiao Hua didn't know the way at all. How could someone who jumped from tree to tree know the way? Xiao Hua just wanted to eat.

"What should we do? According to the intelligence, the Ceylon Empire has harvested all its grain and is transporting it. This is the empire's granary." Cassi looked at the three Archmages, somewhat urgently.

"Ceylon's Three-Tailed Fox, she's not easy to deal with!" Melif sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"We have to act, the imperial royal family and the military are in fierce dispute, and the pressure is on us." Hans Huden also frowned.

"But look at the intelligence. What is this woman planning? She's deploying all her troops. Does she think 2 million people can withstand a single charge from the Mammoth Knights?" Corinne South pointed at the map, puzzled.

"Alright, my lords, I think the Mammoth Knights can make a probing attack." Cassi studied the map and intelligence, then suggested.

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