Chapter 18

The tent was filled with a faint scent of perfume. Baron Sidney sat in a high-backed chair at a square table, holding a thick leather-bound book. A magic desk lamp sat on the table, its moonstone wick emitting a soft light.

The guard pulled back the embroidered curtain at the tent entrance, and Suldak strode in, his boots caked with mud and blood, leaving a trail of clear footprints on the beige velvet carpet.

Suldak carried a pungent, bloody smell, and the linen bag in his hand dripped with thick blood. He glanced nervously at the footprints behind him, his face showing a mix of tension and embarrassment. He gave a somewhat standard military salute to Baron Sidney, who sat behind the wooden table.

A soft giggle came from behind the curtain of the tent bed, but it quickly stopped.

Baron Sidney raised his head, his expression unchanged. He was a nobleman who paid great attention to his manners and appearance, always maintaining a calm demeanor and a meticulously groomed hairstyle. His gaze fell on Suldak's face.

Suldak felt as if a large hand had grabbed his heart, making it hard to breathe. He held his breath, stood straight, and said, "My lord, we found the group of natives in the mountain hollow to the north of the logging camp."

Baron Sidney's displeasure did not show on his face, but when he heard Suldak's report, he raised his eyes and stared at Suldak, asking, "Oh? You found them?"

Suldak subconsciously touched the crescent-shaped rib guard on his chest armor and said, "Yes, my lord. They sneaked to the water source to fetch water, and we managed to kill three of them. Unfortunately, we couldn't capture any alive."

Baron Sidney's gaze first fell on the blood-dripping bag at Suldak's waist, then he walked to the map hanging on the edge of the tent. Holding the magic desk lamp, he almost pressed the lampshade against the map and pointed to it, asking Suldak, "Can you understand this?"

Suldak followed Baron Sidney to the map, wiped his hands, and drew a large circle on a section of the map, saying, "This is the logging camp area."

"Very good. Can you point out where you found those Handanar County natives?" Baron Sidney's eyes showed approval, and his voice became much more pleasant.

Suldak did not rush to answer but carefully examined the map for a long time before saying, "Yes, it's roughly in this area."

He narrowed the area he had previously indicated, pointing to a ridge marked on the map, and said to Baron Sidney, "These native hunters are currently hiding in a cave on a cliff. The area has a wide view, and the entrance to the cave is very narrow, making it easy to defend but hard to attack."

Baron Sidney nodded slightly and put the magic desk lamp back on the table.

"Is the bag containing the heads of those natives?"

"Yes, my lord."

Suldak was about to take off the linen bag when Baron Sidney waved his hand, signaling him to step back. He said, "Tomorrow morning, gather the entire Fourth Squad. I will apply to Captain Monty Goss for the deployment of longbowmen to thoroughly clear the northern area of the logging camp."

As Suldak retreated to the tent entrance, Baron Sidney called out to him, "Soldier, what is your name?"

"Suldak, my lord!"

Baron Sidney nodded slightly at Suldak and said, "Suldak, you did well. I will put your name at the top of the commendation form."

He then waved his hand, signaling that Suldak could leave.

Suldak, stepping out of the tent, excitedly clenched his fist.

...

The curtain at the tent entrance was lifted, and the room had a faint mint scent, which effectively repelled the surrounding flower-legged mosquitoes.

He Boqiang looked up and saw a sprig of mint hanging from the top of the tent. The scent was invigorating but also made it hard to sleep.

The curly-haired boy Gabi brought a bowl of steaming corn porridge and sat at the entrance of He Boqiang's tent, making slurping sounds.

Merchant Lakin sat opposite He Boqiang, with several dirty magic cores in front of him. He held a magnifying glass and carefully examined each core, first feeling its weight, then biting the protruding parts, and finally using the magnifying glass to search for blood veins. After completing all these inspections, Lakin let out a long breath, and his tense face relaxed.

Gabi, with corn porridge on his lips, leaned over to Lakin and said, "Boss, how is it?"

Merchant Lakin put the magic cores into a money bag, carefully stowing them away, and replied, "They all seem to be genuine, Dac. You and your team must be hunting in the mountains before dawn?"

He Boqiang shook his head and quickly made a throat-cutting gesture, indicating that the magic cores were obtained from the natives.

Lakin nodded and patted He Boqiang's shoulder, saying, "Bring back more magic cores of this quality, and I'll take them all."

Lakin then asked, "Are you going to the logging camp with Sam and Suldak tomorrow?"

He Boqiang nodded.

Lakin said to He Boqiang, "Be careful. Those natives are like fish in water in the forest. You don't have that layer of iron armor, and leather armor won't stop their wooden spears and bows."

With that, Lakin and Gabi left.

He Boqiang lay down on the leather mattress inside the tent, thinking about his recent miserable life. It seemed that he could never return to his original world. He felt like a traveler in this new world, where everything was so novel, yet he felt out of place.

Fortunately, the original owner of his body had a strong physique, which was something He Boqiang should be grateful for.

Recently, He Boqiang had been accompanying the Second Squad in the logging camp area, and Lakin's place had become his temporary residence. Since Lakin had taken care of He Boqiang, Suldak had reciprocated by trading some of the squad's recent harvest of magic cores with Lakin.

He Boqiang reached out, rolled up the sleeve of his linen shirt, and saw the mottled burn scars on his arm. He then closed his eyes, not wanting to relive those terrifying memories.

Suldak's invitation, to be honest, had somewhat moved He Boqiang, especially when Suldak mentioned introducing him to his beautiful sister. This made He Boqiang particularly touched. Perhaps he should strive for a teleportation pass to Benar Province and visit Suldak's hometown.

Suldak had said that war was a game for the brave.

He Boqiang did not consider himself brave, but he had managed to perform many brave acts. Upon reflection, He Boqiang felt that perhaps he was just treating everything as a role-playing game.

He looked forward to the day when he would hear someone say, "Game over," and then he would wake up from his dream.

However, Captain Sam had said that to survive longer in the heavy infantry, one must be cautious and never show off...

As he thought, drowsiness began to overwhelm him...