Chapter 98

It was only then that He Boqiang realized that the old man he had met in the military camp with Sul Dake the day before yesterday was actually a military doctor.

It seemed that only the Mechanized Knight Regiment of the Moyun Ridge Expeditionary Force had the privilege of having a military doctor with them.

Sul Dake must have paid a great price to have the military doctor examine a heavily armored infantry soldier.

However, it seemed that medical practitioners were truly scarce in this world.

It was said that before the temple was closed, people here would go to the temple when they were sick, pray to the Goddess of Freedom, and the priests in the temple would invoke divine blessings, which could heal any injury or illness quickly.

He Boqiang even felt that the medical knowledge he knew might make him a doctor. If there were any problems he couldn't solve, it would just be a matter of a sacrifice. The 'Divine Blessed Body' could temporarily enhance one's physical condition, which should help patients get through the most dangerous period.

The light emitted from the nodes in his body seemed to have a powerful healing effect, but he still didn't know how to use the sacred power within his body. He Boqiang suddenly thought of the Knight Gabriel. It would be great if he were here now.

Sul Dake seemed to enjoy revisiting old topics. He said:

"Knight Gabriel said you have a good chance of becoming a Demon Swordmaster. I still think you shouldn't give up that opportunity."

He Boqiang felt like his ears were about to develop calluses from hearing this.

Moreover, there was that talk about wanting to marry his sister to him. In this world, arranged marriages shouldn't exist, and He Boqiang secretly mocked: Shouldn't you, Sul Dake, ask your sister if she's willing first?

Sul Dake sighed again:

"It's my fault that you're stuck here. You could have been more free and shouldn't have stayed on this damned battlefield with me."

He Boqiang lightly tapped his forehead with his fist. Every time he heard this, he wanted to tell Sul Dake: I wasn't that close to Knight Gabriel. Just because he said he would take me to receive Demon Swordmaster training, should I obediently follow him to the Benar Legion headquarters? Isn't there also a major battle to be fought?

But these thoughts were better left in his mind.

He Boqiang stretched out his hand and wrote 'Go Home' on the ground.

Sul Dake looked at it, his eyes becoming particularly gentle, and his voice became much softer:

"You're right. In two months, my military service will be over!"

Sul Dake's eyes were filled with longing for his return home. He whispered to He Boqiang:

"Lakin is trying to get us a teleportation pass. He said that as long as we have black magic crystals, it's actually quite easy to get one."

Speaking of 'teleportation passes,' which were limited, most of them were still in the hands of the nobles, and what the nobles needed most were merits.

In the Green Empire, the only way for nobles to advance in rank was to earn enough merits on the battlefield. With the current outbreak of planar wars in various regions, it was a good opportunity to earn merits. However, for some nobles who were too timid to go to the battlefield, earning merits was somewhat less glorious.

Sul Dake looked at the small team of soldiers who were plotting how to hunt a level one magical beast and chuckled:

"I think the 'Divine Blessed Body' can gradually improve one's physical condition. Although it's hard to feel the effects after a single blessing, there is still some improvement. I think... before we leave, if possible, we should give them some opportunities. After all, we've fought in the same trench. If their levels improve, even as cannon fodder, they shouldn't die so easily..."

He Boqiang wanted to tell Sul Dake that each opportunity required a sacrifice, and he didn't know where to get so many sacrifices!

Even a level one magical beast wasn't easy to catch...

He Boqiang also thought of the Great Mage Inoyatira, who entrusted the sacrificial ritual to him. It seemed he had no ulterior motives...

...

The sky soon turned dark, and the mountain road became even more difficult to navigate.

The logistics convoy and heavy cavalry needed to retreat to the camp first. The heavy infantry regiment would evacuate around midnight.

There were three heavy infantry regiments, and it would take at least half a day to evacuate. Considering the fatigue from a day of marching in the mountains, the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment was scheduled to evacuate last. Therefore, the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment decided to camp and rest on site.

Count Munde Gos then selected ten elite squads from each of the five battalions to be responsible for night watch. As the squad that had performed the best recently, the 2nd Squad of the 4th Battalion was assigned the patrol duty again.

After Baron Sidney assigned the tasks, Sul Dake immediately led the 2nd Squad to take charge of the southwestern corner of the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment's camp.

Augustus and the bearded Kager's eyes were almost glowing.

Many low-level magical beasts were accustomed to hunting at night, and the darkness was their greatest protection. The 2nd Squad, assigned the patrol duty, could hunt a level one magical beast if they found one in the forest without leaving their assigned area.

After living in the mountains for some time, the 2nd Squad had completely adapted to moving through the forest at night.

The mountains at night were full of unknown dangers. One might step into a void and fall off a cliff, or suddenly find no path ahead, or be attacked by a lurking beast from behind.

The bearded Kager led the way, his extensive jungle experience allowing him to predict certain dangers in advance.

The 2nd Squad spent the night in the forest on the southwestern corner of the temporary camp. Fortunately, no demons appeared.

Augustus and Kager did not encounter any level one magical beasts either. Before dawn, Baron Sidney finally thought to send a replacement, and the 2nd Squad withdrew from the forest, following the 2nd Battalion through the pass back to the camp.

Outside the camp at the foot of Moyun Ridge, some merchants had set up stalls.

The merchants brought some living supplies from outside the mountains, but setting up stalls was not their main business. They came here at great risk to purchase various materials obtained by the military in the mountains, such as silver leaf grass, or the capture of a bristled beast, which provided meat, leather, and magic cores.

Of course, there were also squads like the 2nd Squad that had hunted demons. Not all soldiers would turn in the demon heads to the military supply department; some would sell their private collections to merchants, often for more gold coins.

He Boqiang saw some merchants writing on wooden boards: "High prices for magical beast leather, magic herbs, magic cores, and black-striped magic skin."

He Boqiang remembered that he had promised the eccentric old man at the logging camp's magic goods store to help him collect some magic herbs if possible.

People outside said that the Gandal Mountains were rich in resources. Besides various magical beasts, the dense forests were filled with precious magic herbs. However, after so many days in the mountains, He Boqiang hadn't seen a single magic herb, showing a significant gap between the rumors and reality.