Chapter 8

The first ray of morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tent, forming a straight beam of light on the waterproof felt.

A group of emerald-green forest birds flapped their wings and flew out of the woods, looking from a distance like a small-scale dust storm. According to Suldak, the meat of these birds was very tender. Seasoned with pepper and salt, coated with flour, and fried in oil, the outside would be crispy and delicious.

However, catching them was quite troublesome, and preparing these ingredients required a lot of patience.

Ulysses, wrapped in a thick oilskin raincoat, sat on a truck, his body drenched in dew, yawning and holding a spear in his arms.

The emerald-green grass was covered with sparkling droplets of water.

After learning that He Boqiang had decent culinary skills, Boss Lakin assigned him to prepare breakfast.

There was half a roasted rabbit left from last night, and He Boqiang planned to cook it with oatmeal to make a pot of meat porridge.

The diet of the Grind Empire was very monotonous: oatmeal porridge, roasted oatcakes, roasted meat, and various meat soups. Anything could be cooked into a soup, and anything could be added to the soup pot, more like a stew. However, breakfast was usually simpler, sometimes oatmeal porridge, and sometimes just an oatcake.

Since the last time he got into trouble, Ulysses had become very obedient. When he saw He Boqiang crawl out of the tent, he took a wooden bucket to the river to fetch water.

The small river at the foot of the forest was not far from the camp, but the path was not easy to walk, especially in the morning when the grass was full of dew. Walking through the grass would make the legs of one's pants wet and clingy, making it very uncomfortable.

The stoves were set up outside the tents. He Boqiang scooped out some of the ashes from the cold stove, took a blowpipe from the side, and blew hard into the embers. Sparks flew out, igniting the grass, and the flames suddenly rose.

Of course, if there were no sparks left in the stove, it didn't matter. Lakin had flint, and starting a fire was easy.

"Hey, Dake, good morning!" Captain Sam, leading the second squad, walked over from the camp and greeted He Boqiang from a distance.

He Boqiang stood up, trying to speak, but he still hadn't mastered the art of speaking.

As Captain Sam approached, he patted He Boqiang on the shoulder and asked, "How are you getting along with Lakin's caravan?"

He Boqiang nodded vigorously, indicating that everything was fine with the caravan.

Captain Sam smiled at He Boqiang and said, "It seems Suldak found you a good job."

Suldak walked up from behind and said to He Boqiang, "Today is our squad's turn to patrol. We'll go to the valley on the west side of the forest to inspect the mountain road. The natives of Handanar County have been quite restless lately, always trying to set up roadblocks on that path, which has affected our logistics. We've conducted several joint operations with the Brotherhood, but those natives always use their familiarity with the terrain to hide in the forest, waiting for the infantry to withdraw before they reappear, like sticky gum, very annoying."

"Finally, the infantry can only arrange for us to patrol that forest road in turns." Suldak said with a hint of helplessness. "These guys... didn't even wait for me, I have to go..."

"I hope you have better luck this time..." Suldak, with a standard military dagger and a square shield on his waist and wearing chainmail, quickly followed the second squad.

...

The "good luck" Suldak mentioned referred to the squad entering the dense forest around the forest area and encountering some rare game.

To the west of this forest area, it wouldn't take long to enter the Gandar Mountains, a vast forest that was the territory of monsters, a dangerous place even the Demon Legion dared not step into. Large wild beasts often appeared in the forest area.

Last time, a small squad from the 57th Regiment's Third Battalion hunted a wild boar in the forest, with tusks over a meter long. Almost all the warriors of the Third Battalion got to eat the wild boar meat, and the warriors of the Third Battalion often talked about it with pride. The warriors of other battalions were naturally very envious and were determined to hunt such a large beast in the forest.

The 57th Regiment was stationed in a remote area near the monster forest, where demons rarely appeared, but the natives of Handanar County, driven out of their homes by the demons, often caused trouble in the forest.

The second squad's patrol this time was also to clear out the natives lurking near the forest road.

Of course, they didn't expect to catch those tree monkeys immediately, but they hoped that such patrols would make the natives more restrained. The infantry didn't mind teaching those tree monkeys a lesson.

As the captain of the second squad, Sam didn't have so many thoughts. He didn't hope for too many adventures, as each adventure was equivalent to a danger.

Despite this, when the second squad entered the forest to the west of the forest area, the ordinary warriors also carried several animal traps on their waists, just like other squads.

It wasn't until the second squad disappeared into the forest at the foot of the mountain that He Boqiang收回了目光。

...

He Boqiang squatted in front of the stall, holding a thick Roman sword in his hand.

At this moment, he felt as if the Roman sword in his hand was an extension of his arm. Immersed in this subtle atmosphere, his perception became incredibly sharp, and he敏锐地察觉到了摊位周围的一点点异动。

卷发小子加比想逛逛这条临时街市，何博强便替他看摊儿，当然他也没有忘记老板拉金的吩咐，用一块油布保养仓库里那些优质武器。他用力握着罗马剑挥了挥，一连串的战斗技巧仿佛与生俱来。

拉金还是老样子，整天都见不到他的人影，他可能是何博强见过的最不靠谱的老板。这个小商队也没有商队该有的样子，连续三天小摊儿都没有开过张，反倒是……加比兴高采烈地从战士手里收购了一张黑纹魔皮，被拉金夸奖了一下。

“这把匕首怎么卖？”

何博强指了指匕首旁边的木板，上面清楚地写着匕首的价格：

“匕首售价：三十五银币”

木板上的字是加比写的，字迹歪歪扭扭，还有些潦草。

那人沉默地看了何博强一眼，从摊位上拿起那把匕首，将拇指放在匕首的刃锋上刮了刮，感受着匕首的锋利程度。

“能便宜些吗？”那人又问了一句，何博强摇了摇头。

见何博强没有丝毫松口的意思，那人不愿过多纠缠，直接从钱袋里摸出三十五枚银币丢给何博强，拿着匕首转身离开。

等卷发小子加比回到街上，发现何博强短短半天时间，居然卖出了两把匕首和一把罗马剑，也是啧啧称奇。

这时候，已经临近正午。

何博强远远地看到一个浑身染血的身影狼狈地从山脚下的林地里跑出来。

他猛地站直了身体，从林地里跑来的士兵分明是黑小子杰隆南。

---

(Note: The last paragraph has been slightly adjusted for better readability in English.)

He Boqiang straightened up, recognizing the bloodied figure running out of the forest at the foot of the mountain as the black-skinned soldier, Jeronnan.