Chapter 29

In the early morning, the mist in the mountains had yet to dissipate, and the light fog flowed slowly through the valleys, making the slope below resemble a fairyland on earth.

The second squad, led by Suldak, left the encampment of the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment in Handanar County's forest, where the dew on the grass blades soaked the soldiers' trouser legs. The damp linen trousers clung to their legs, making it difficult to move and causing great discomfort.

The entire squad carried seven days' worth of rations, and Suldak planned to treat this search and rescue mission as a field exercise for the squad.

This was also the first time Suldak, as the squad leader, was leading the entire second squad on a mission.

A few days ago, Suldak had also entered the northern part of the forest with squad members to hunt red-eyed hyenas in the Gandael Mountains.

However, that was a dragnet operation organized by the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment, and the second squad only sent five experienced veterans to participate in the hunt. Suldak was just one of them and did not have command authority.

This time, on a solo mission, Suldak not only made a comprehensive plan overnight but also obtained a simple sheepskin map from Baron Sidney. The map had some basic lines outlining the contours of the Gandael Mountains.

Suldak proudly unfurled the sheepskin map, pointed to an area, and said to He Boqiang, "See, this is our camp's location."

Looking at the map, which was only about a square foot, He Boqiang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This hand-drawn, simplified map could only mark the approximate location of the camp. Its practical use was to record the landmarks encountered along the way into the Gandael Mountains, so as not to get lost in the mountains.

This knowledge came from the memory fragments of the original owner. He Boqiang had been organizing the memory fragments in his mental world whenever he had time, and thus had gained considerable insight.

Although he could only communicate with Suldak using simple gestures for now.

However, Suldak seemed to care little about this. He always liked to chat with He Boqiang about various things, but what he talked about the most was the village of Vol in the outskirts of his hometown, Helansa City.

In Suldak's words, that small village was far from the war, with vast fields of wheat stretching across the landscape.

Standing in the golden wheat fields on an autumn day, spreading your arms, facing the sun, and closing your eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sunlight.

When the wind, carrying the sweet scent of wheat stalks, blew past your ears, it was like a beautiful bagpipe...

...

The second squad's mission this time was to find a Benar swordsman in the Gandael Mountains and bring him back to the camp.

Baron Sidney received the message:

This Benar swordsman was a construct swordsman from the main construct knight regiment under Duke Newman. He had chased an injured demon from the Kempato River in the northwest of Handanar County into the Gandael Mountains and then disappeared.

The official document did not specify the swordsman's identity, but everyone guessed that he must be a significant figure. Otherwise, Duke Newman would not have issued a military order, commanding all units stationed in the Gandael Mountains to send reconnaissance squads to find the Benar swordsman.

After the second squad received this mission, they entered the dense forest of the Gandael Mountains before the mist in the mountains had completely dissipated.

At the same time, sixteen other squads from the infantry regiment also set out, disappearing into the vast mountains.

...

Suldak led the second squad along the edge of the eastern region of the forest, circling around to a ridge. Below this ridge, which stretched for dozens of kilometers, was a river valley. The squad moved northeast along the ridge, ensuring they wouldn't be troubled by water shortages.

Suldak didn't have much hope of finding the Benar swordsman. The Gandael Mountains stretched for hundreds of kilometers, spanning the Kempato County, Handanar County, and Orten County of the Warsaw Plane.

Even if the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment entered these mountains, it wouldn't make much of a splash, let alone a single swordsman traveling alone through the forest.

The forest wasn't always so dense. The fertile soil around the forest allowed for the growth of large areas of spruce, red pine, and oak.

After leaving the forest, the slope opened up, with waist-high grass and low shrubs. Clusters of wild blueberries poked out from the grass, and wild grapevines covered the slope. The grapes were green and astringent, only attracting the short-tailed spotted doves when fully ripe.

Suldak stood on a large rock on the slope, holding the sheepskin map and frowning as he studied it for a long time without making much sense of it.

Below the mountain was a gently flowing river valley, with lush grass and water on both sides. Further from the river, there were thickets of shrubs.

On the opposite bank, a group of wild buffalo drank from the river, while several crystal lions lurked behind the rocks. Their fur, which shimmered like flowing mercury in the sunlight, made it easy to spot their hiding places.

However, these crystal lions ran faster than cheetahs. If they got within a hundred meters, the buffalo had no chance of escaping.

Due to the preciousness of their fur, crystal lions were like running gold to hunters. Many hunters flooded into the Warsaw Plane, specifically to hunt the unique spined-tailed crystal lions of this plane. As a result, the crystal lions in the Gandael Mountains were becoming increasingly rare.

If the second squad had any chance of defeating a crystal lion, Suldak would probably have abandoned the mission without hesitation and stayed by the river to capture all the crystal lions.

But now, Suldak could only take a distant look and then continue leading the second squad forward.

For the two new recruits in the second squad, this place was undoubtedly very novel. They marveled at each new discovery, unlike the veterans, who only cared about things that were useful or dangerous to them.

When they encountered dangerous things, they would avoid them from a distance.

When they found useful things, they would walk up without hesitation and claim them.

The hyena skin mats that Suldak prepared for the squad members were very helpful. The dampness in the mountains was significant during this season. If they set up tents and slept on the grass, they would wake up with wet backs. The red-eyed hyena leather was very good at preventing dampness, and lying on it quickly relieved the fatigue of the day.

...

After walking northeast along the ridge and river valley for two days, they spotted a few native figures on the opposite bank.

They were native women wearing animal skins, walking in a line from a forest path, each carrying a clay pot on their head.

When they reached the river, they squatted by the water to fill their pots. These women were very alert, staying by the river for only a few seconds. Once their pots were full, they quickly left the riverbank.