Chapter 90

After the attack, the high-ranking officials of the Benet Legion's expeditionary force unanimously agreed that the failure of the outer perimeter sentry posts to function properly was the reason the demons successfully raided the camp.

If the Constructed Knights had not arrived the day before, the damage to the camp would have been even more severe. Nearly one-third of the 58th Heavy Infantry Regiment's soldiers died in this raid.

Cleaning up the battlefield was a cruel task, with countless bodies to be handled. This was deep in the Gandaur Mountains, and it was impossible to transport the infantry soldiers' remains back to their hometowns. To prevent the bodies from turning into the lowest rank of the undead, skeletons, they needed to be burned on the spot.

This time, too many people had died, and it was impossible to burn each body individually. They had to lay pine branches on an open field outside the camp, place the soldiers' bodies neatly on the pine branches, and then cover them with another layer of thick pine branches, forming a huge pyramid.

They poured cans of oil over it and had Solomon Bowen, the Marquis of the Benet Legion's expeditionary force at Moyun Ridge, personally light the fire.

The entire ceremony lasted the whole afternoon, and Solomon Bowen waited until dusk to light the fire, which burned all night before gradually extinguishing.

The soldiers' belongings and identity tags were collected and placed in wooden boxes along with a portion of the compensation. These wooden boxes, shaped like jewelry boxes, filled an entire cart.

He Boqiang's 57th Regiment, 4th Battalion, 2nd Squad, performed exceptionally well in the battle, and the squad collectively received hundreds of merit points from the military. When these points were evenly distributed among the 2nd Squad members, the amount each received was pitifully small, but it was said to be the highest honor for heavy infantry soldiers.

As an "outsider" in the 2nd Squad, the merit points awarded by the military had no meaning for He Boqiang.

During this demon raid, He Boqiang also lost his Roman sword, which he had barely used.

Although he was sure he could get it back, He Boqiang was somewhat frustrated.

Perhaps it was because he didn't get any merit points, or perhaps it was because of the sword. Various factors mixed together, making him feel uneasy.

In the demon raid, Baron Sidney gained a lot. Not only did he earn a large number of merit points, but his bravery during the battle also brought him into the sight of the military high command, earning him the approval of some high-ranking officials. Lord Roman Bowen even invited him to dinner, a rare honor among young nobles.

Regarding the whereabouts of He Boqiang's Roman sword, Suldak obtained information through some connections. It was currently stored in the heavy cavalry regiment's warehouse as a war trophy.

It was said that a heavy cavalryman had killed a demon and seized the Roman sword from it. At the time, the demon was injured, but someone needed to prove that the modified Roman sword belonged to the 2nd Squad.

To resolve this, Suldak met with Baron Sidney. Impressed by Suldak, the young baron decided to help them reclaim the modified Roman sword.

After some effort, the Roman sword finally returned to He Boqiang's hands, but the merit points from the demon kill were not to be expected from the heavy cavalry.

In response to this raid, the military issued an order to increase the number of patrol squads outside the camp for each infantry regiment.

Since the 2nd Squad had performed excellently in the patrol mission at the foot of Moyun Ridge, Baron Sidney assigned the 2nd Squad to continue as the scout squad. This time, they were not just to monitor the demons' movements at the foot of the mountain but also to explore the terrain of Moyun Ridge to prepare for the army's upcoming attack.

If this task had been assigned to another infantry squad, it would have been a very difficult mission.

However, for the 2nd Squad, which had experience hunting demons, it was a rare and desirable task. At least during the patrol, they would have the opportunity to hunt more demons, and each demon was a significant source of wealth for the 2nd Squad soldiers.

As the captain of the 2nd Squad, Suldak felt that hunting demons during patrols was too dangerous under the current circumstances.

However, the 2nd Squad soldiers were highly enthusiastic, all wanting to seize another opportunity.

Since this was a common request from all the soldiers, Suldak agreed to look for opportunities to hunt demons during the patrol.

In recent days, after several battles, He Boqiang's body had continuously activated up to the tenth node. These nodes were mostly connected in a large area on his shoulders, emitting a faint glow in He Boqiang's spiritual world, continuously nourishing his body.

He Boqiang had always wanted to discuss this with other soldiers to see if they had similar experiences.

The light from these nodes was similar to the holy light bestowed by the divine statue, mainly enhancing his recovery ability.

Due to He Boqiang's language barrier, he had never been able to discuss this with Suldak.

Bajiale, the swordsman, had once told He Boqiang that his body could sense divine magic elements, and he might become a magic swordsman in the future.

Leaving the camp at the foot of Moyun Ridge, the 2nd Squad followed a narrow ravine to the west.

The expeditionary force had set up sixteen sentry posts on the west side of the camp. Since early yesterday morning, two of these posts had not reported any news.

This morning, the soldiers sent to relieve the posts also lost contact.

The 2nd Squad's mission was to investigate the situation and, if possible, continue exploring to the west.

As the squad members left the camp, the large fire outside was still not completely extinguished. A group of infantry soldiers were repairing the wooden fence around the camp. To prevent a similar situation from happening again, the wooden fence was being expanded to a double layer, with yellow earth packed between the two rows of fences, and ballistae were to be placed on the walls.

Additionally, four watchtowers would be built around the camp.

Suldak led the 2nd Squad about a kilometer west. From the treetops, they could clearly see the camp behind them. The sentry posts marked on the map were empty. Suldak, He Boqiang, and the bearded man climbed to the treetops. The trees here had very dense foliage, suitable for setting up hidden sentries, but the sentry posts that should have been there were conspicuously absent.

He Boqiang climbed up the tree, hugging the trunk, and on the first branch, he discovered a large claw mark...

This was clearly left by a demon. Following the claw mark, he found some newly broken branches and bloodstains on the tree.

He Boqiang called Suldak, who was on a nearby tree. The traces on the tree were minimal, with only a few claw marks on the trunk and no signs of a struggle. It was evident that the demon had accurately found this sentry post and assassinated the soldiers stationed there.

The soldiers sent to relieve the post in the morning had also mysteriously disappeared.

Suldak selected a new recruit from the squad to climb a nearby tree and temporarily take over the sentry post. Until the military sent a replacement, he would be responsible for the alert at this post. Suldak also gave the new recruit a magic signal flare to use in case of an emergency.

The 2nd Squad then continued to the next sentry post...