Chapter 17

The forest of Handanar County is located on the eastern fringe of the Gandar Mountains.

The 57th Regiment is the least conspicuous heavy infantry regiment under Duke Newman of the Bena Legion.

This infantry regiment is stationed on the north slope of the forest to guard against the indigenous people who have fled into the mountains and forests from making a comeback.

Duke Newman's main force of construct knights is currently gathering in the Grizzly Hills of Handanar County, while the dark demon legion from the Abyss is surrounded by the Bena allied forces. Now, they are just waiting for the main force of construct knights to gather, and Duke Newman will launch a general offensive against the demon legion in Handanar County.

The forest of Handanar County can be considered one of the most peripheral areas of the battlefield. Although there won't be much fighting here, it also means that it's hard to accumulate military merit. This is very much in line with the intentions of Colonel Munde Goss, who has spent most of his life in obscurity.

...

A leaf slowly drifted down, landing right in front of He Boqiang, blocking his view.

He lay motionless in the mud, with a cluster of dense glass grass on his head, and had been there for half a day. Most of his body was submerged in the mud, and the camouflage on the exposed part of his body had become somewhat dry and stiff, making it impossible for him to reach out and remove the leaf.

He Boqiang tried to hold his breath and blow the leaf away.

The leaf trembled in the artificial breeze from He Boqiang's mouth.

‘Too bad, just a little more!’

He Boqiang felt disheartened, his vision darkening as he felt a bit oxygen-deprived.

Just as He Boqiang couldn't resist reaching out to remove the leaf, the opposite shrubbery suddenly moved, and a wooden bow appeared from the bushes.

He Boqiang immediately held his breath. Then, a native dressed in animal skins cautiously emerged from the bushes, scanning the surroundings with great alertness. He didn't rush to move but instead took out his wooden bow and shot arrows at several suspicious spots. One of the arrows landed right in front of He Boqiang, and at the moment the arrow pierced the mud, his heart almost leaped out of his chest.

If the leaf hadn't blocked most of He Boqiang's view, he would have noticed the native hunter shooting an arrow at him, and it would have been difficult for him to remain so calm in the mud.

Cold sweat dripped down He Boqiang's forehead, but fortunately, the native hunter didn't attempt to shoot another arrow.

He stepped forward cautiously, his large feet making no sound on the dry leaves. He held a wooden bow in one hand and a wooden spear in the other, suddenly darting to the side of the mud pit. A frog in the grass beside the mud pit was startled and leaped into the water, but the native hunter skewered it with his wooden spear.

The native hunter, with his legs spread wide, pursed his lips and pulled the frog off the spear, threading it onto a grass rope around his waist. The pendulum-like movement of the grass rope under his animal skin skirt was visible. Just as the native hunter reached out to retie the grass rope, He Boqiang suddenly sprang up from the mud, slashing the native hunter's abdomen with his Roman sword.

Before the native hunter could even cry out, He Boqiang punched him in the throat, crushing his larynx, and pressed him into the mud, decapitating him with the Roman sword.

Just as He Boqiang was about to catch his breath, he felt the round leaves of the shrub on his left side tremble. He immediately lay down, and an arrow whizzed past his neck. He jumped up and lunged at the shrub, but only caught a glimpse of a blurry figure, like a nimble deer, disappearing into the dense forest.

He Boqiang stood there, touching his cold neck, thinking he had been lucky this time.

His body was covered in mud, the upper part of his body had dried and become stiff, and the lower part of his leather armor was caked with mud, making it impossible to run. He could only watch as the native easily escaped from under his nose.

He Boqiang threw the glass grass on his head back into the mud and searched the native hunter, finding nothing valuable. He then dug a shallow pit beside the mud pit, dragged the native hunter's body into it, and covered it with a thin layer of soil.

He continued to track the direction in which the other native hunter had disappeared.

...

In the past two weeks, three small merchant caravans have been attacked in this area.

According to the merchants who escaped, the attackers were a group of very cunning native hunters. They were skilled in archery and set traps in the dense forest that were hard to guard against.

These hunters were also extremely ruthless, never leaving any survivors, as if their sole purpose was to kill.

One of these small caravans belonged to a distant relative of Baron Munde Goss. The young man, who had come to the Warsaw plane through the connections of Colonel Munde Goss, had hoped to make some money and buy a piece of land back home. After all, a third-class baron without his own territory would never be able to hold his head high in front of other nobles.

Baron Munde Goss admired such a young man and even planned to marry one of his daughters to this nephew. However, the young man never reached the forest and was killed by a group of natives who had come down from the mountains. Enraged, Baron Munde Goss ordered Captain Sidney, the 4th Battalion commander, to handle the matter.

Captain Sam of the 2nd Squad had been patrolling the forest for five days, and Ian even speculated that the natives had already moved elsewhere.

It was He Boqiang who suggested that the members of the 2nd Squad guard the various water sources in the area to see if they could find any leads. They waited for half a day.

He Boqiang, suppressing his nausea, placed the native hunter's head in a linen bag and headed towards the rendezvous point.

...

He Boqiang and the members of the 2nd Squad entered the camp of the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment. The guards at the gate barely turned their heads to look at him.

As an unofficial member of the 2nd Squad, many people in the regiment recognized him but couldn't call out his name.

As they passed by Captain Sidney's tent, Captain Sam nudged Suldak, indicating that Suldak should report this time.

Suldak took the linen bag from Sam and walked straight to the tent entrance.

The guard at the tent entrance raised his head, glanced at He Boqiang mixed in with the 2nd Squad, and asked Suldak with a smile, "Hey, Dac, is this a new member of your squad?"

"Not... really," Suldak replied, waving to the 2nd Squad members to return to the tent and wait.

Suldak flattered the guard, "Is the baron in?"

The guard, who was familiar with Suldak, leaned in and whispered, "He's inside, you know, just back from Colonel Munde Goss, not in a good mood."

He then hinted to Suldak and lowered his voice, "If it's not urgent, it's best to come back tomorrow."

Suldak raised the bag in his hand, smiling confidently, and said mysteriously to the guard, "Oh, this is important business. Maybe he'll feel better after he hears it."

The guard's eyes lit up, surprised, "Oh! Alright, I'll announce you!"

Suldak nodded and followed the guard into the tent.