Chapter 67

Soaking in a large wooden tub filled with hot water, He Boqiang felt all his pores open up. The curly-haired boy Gabi scooped a ladle of warm water and poured it over his head, and the fatigue quickly drained out of his body.

His arms rested on the edge of the tub, allowing even the last nerve to relax.

After the magical effect of the 'Divine Blessed Body' disappeared, his body felt an indescribable heaviness.

He Boqiang checked the wound on his arm; it seemed to be healing well, but the bloody hole on his shoulder looked quite frightening. If the demon's spike had been a little off, his collarbone might have broken.

Lakin rummaged through the tent and found four wooden boxes, placing the demon's head inside one of them and filling the gaps with ashes, a method people often used to store easily spoiled meat.

He sat down and asked He Boqiang suspiciously:

"Are you saying that you found these demon heads in the mountains?"

He Boqiang nodded and quickly wrote a line on a wooden board with a pencil.

The merchant Lakin leaned in, reading the words He Boqiang had written, and said:

"You mean... there was a bear fighting the demon, and the bear killed the demon, while you got the most valuable parts of the demon. My goodness, little Dak, you sure have good luck."

He Boqiang looked at Lakin speechlessly, thinking: I have so many bloody wounds on my body, where do you see my good luck?

"What do you plan to do with these?" Lakin asked again.

"..."

He Boqiang looked at the merchant Lakin with a puzzled expression.

In fact, he thought these demon heads were almost useless except for exchanging them for some merit points at the military logistics department.

He was not a soldier of the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment, so he could not claim military merit points. Therefore, he wanted to give these demon heads to Suldak.

"I mean... do you want to sell them?" Lakin interlocked his fingers and asked He Boqiang.

He Boqiang looked at Lakin, waiting for him to continue.

Lakin gestured and said, "You might not know, but in each legion, there are some... well, big shots who come to the Warsaw plane to gild themselves. They have plenty of money but don't want to take risks. They just want to buy some merit points, and these demon heads are a good choice."

"Merit points in the military are usually strictly reviewed. Duke Newman does not allow nobles to encroach on the merit points of the lowest-ranking soldiers. If discovered, they will be sent to a military court, and even though nobles have immunity from punishment, it's useless once they are kicked out of the military. It becomes much harder to advance in rank."

"So these can be traded privately, and the price is quite good."

"If you want to sell them, I can contact a buyer for you," Lakin said to He Boqiang.

He Boqiang did not immediately respond to Lakin but said he needed to think about it.

After the bath, the curly-haired boy Gabi brought a large plate of stewed beef with bell peppers and a big baked wheat pancake on top.

He Boqiang didn't feel very hungry while bathing, but when Gabi placed the large plate of food on the table, the rich aroma of meat from under the pancake made him realize how hungry he was, feeling like he could eat a whole sheep.

The natives of Handanar County had a unique diet, very different from that of the Green Empire.

For He Boqiang, it was a nightmare. The natives liked to grill food in its natural state and mash it into a paste, adding various spices. Not only did the taste seem strange, but you could never guess what you were eating.

Lying on the wooden bed in the tent, He Boqiang felt his eyelids grow heavy and soon fell asleep.

...

The next day

Suldak sat outside the tent, looking at the four wooden boxes in front of him. One of the box lids was open, and the ashes inside had been pushed aside, revealing a grotesque demon face.

He said to He Boqiang without hesitation:

"Of course, sell them!"

He Boqiang was taken aback and gestured to ask why he didn't want to exchange them for military merit points.

Suldak rolled his eyes at He Boqiang and said bluntly:

"What do you get by turning them in to the military camp for merit points?"

He forcefully closed the lid of the wooden box.

Suldak said to He Boqiang, "A year ago, if I could get four demon heads, I would definitely turn them in to the logistics department for merit points. At that time, the biggest benefit was to be promoted to a squad leader, making my life in the military camp more comfortable. But now, I have no such thoughts. In two and a half months, I will be discharged."

"Once I pass the logistics department's approval, I can get a teleportation pass back to Bena Province, completing my military service. I can return to Wol Village and live a peaceful life as a farmer. You probably don't know, but we have a very good piece of land in Wol Village, very fertile. I plan to grow some sweet cabbage and tomatoes."

Whenever he had time, Suldak would tell He Boqiang some stories about his family.

Seeing him holding a cup of beer but not drinking much, He Boqiang knew Suldak was really missing home.

The military camp had recently tightened its management, and Suldak found it difficult to leave the camp when he didn't have an assignment.

He pushed the wooden boxes to Lakin, asking him to sell them.

Lakin took the wooden boxes, looking very pleased.

Then Suldak said, "Our 57th Regiment is about to head to Moyun Ridge. As the first vanguard of the Moyun Ridge campaign, we are mainly responsible for some infrastructure work on the front lines. The living conditions in the mountains are very harsh."

Suldak said to He Boqiang, "I think you should stay here. The situation there is not very stable, and there could be sudden incidents at any time..."

Before Suldak could finish, He Boqiang shook his head repeatedly.

"Do you want to go with us?" Suldak asked him.

He Boqiang nodded.

Seeing He Boqiang's determined look, Suldak did not overly dissuade him and said, "Alright, if that's the case, your leather armor might not be enough. But selling these demon heads will get you a lot of money, and you can buy a better set of armor."

Suldak added, "By the way, Lakin must have a way to exchange these demon heads for a set of fine armor, which would be more cost-effective."

"Do you want to buy the standard armor of the Heavy Infantry Regiment?" Lakin asked.

"It can be any other armor, as long as the size fits and the craftsmanship is good," Suldak said. "This sword also needs to be repaired. I've heard there's a blacksmith shop on the street recently?"

"There is a blacksmith shop on the street. I've heard that the price for repairing weapons is not high, and the craftsmanship is good. But the shop owner is introverted and doesn't like to communicate with others. I'm not very familiar with him... but I can take you," Lakin immediately said to Suldak.