Chapter 21

With torches lit, in the evening, the villagers of Finks Village mostly stayed obediently at home, so Nolan Village's scouts carried out their mission smoothly—before long, there were many figures in front of seven-tenths of the village's houses, clearly having received the notification. Rodi squinted and found Ruge, who was holding a torch, and was about to step forward but suddenly stopped.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the front with some suspicion and unease, swallowing involuntarily.

Right in front of Ruge, a young man was speaking seriously. He was more than half a head taller than Ruge, with a robust upper body that wasn't bulky. The sword on his right side indicated he was left-handed. He wore a lieutenant's badge on his chest, clearly the leader of Finks Village's scouts.

At this moment, he frowned, seemingly unwilling to believe the content of the parchment in Ruge's hand, shaking his head and waving his hands, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

"I remember... Lieutenant Sodin couldn't write, right?"

These words from the young man changed Ruge's expression.

"We don't have more time to talk nonsense. If the villagers don't evacuate today, a squad of orcs will massacre this place tomorrow, turning it into ruins. Do you want to see that happen?!"

Ruge wasn't stupid; he also understood that the forged letter from Lieutenant Sodin wasn't very convincing. He could only bluff and trick the other into making a decision quickly. Honestly, he was skeptical about the orcs gathering forces to sneak attack a village with no strategic value, but remembering Rodi's serious face, he ultimately chose to believe. However, the big guy in front of him seemed to have spotted the flaw.

This was quite troublesome.

Ruge, anxious, was about to say something more when he saw Rodi already walking out of the manor. The young leader's expression was somewhat strange as he approached the group, looking at the Finks Village scout lieutenant as if he had seen something unbelievable. He finally asked hesitantly—

"Sodlor?"

The big guy turned his head, frowning at the strangely expressioned person in front of him. Although he didn't understand why the other was looking at him like that, he nodded and replied, "It's me. Have we met before?"

More than just met.

With the confirmation, Rodi was deeply shocked—immediately followed by a sense of melancholy.

In the game world before his rebirth, "Rift" had countless renowned heroes, and Sodlor was one of the most brilliant.

He was once the highest commander of the rebel army, one of the few to break through to the advanced class level 60, and a legendary general with a battlefield win rate of over ninety percent!

But after his fall from a despicable assassination, the countless glorious halos gradually faded. The rebel army lost a great general and was betrayed by "allies," ultimately leading to their defeat.

Rodi was a witness to the entire history and had seen the process of this general's rise and fall. But he never imagined that the legendary figure would now be in a position similar to his own, merely a scout captain of a border town?

If he hadn't really been reborn from that era, Rodi himself wouldn't have believed it.

"I—I've heard your name. Let me introduce myself, I am Rodi, the scout captain of Nolan Village... Lieutenant Sodin was injured in battle with the orcs and couldn't come in person, so we were sent urgently to report this information." He casually made up a lie but, after thinking, added, "In the past three days, we've killed over thirty orcs and raided a camp. We obtained this information by chance because one of the orcs spoke Brinjara."

Does Sodlor recognize these characters?

Perhaps even the entire Finks Village's scouts wouldn't know that Rodi's ability to recognize orcish script initially came from Sodlor's order to popularize it. Sodlor himself was one of the earliest military leaders who could recognize orcish script—Rodi had reason to believe that even if Sodlor wasn't as powerful and wise as he remembered, he would have his own ways to judge the clues.

"Letter?"

Sodlor took it, and the first thing he did wasn't to recognize the text but to feel the papyrus under the torchlight—narrowing his eyes and thinking for a few seconds, he then compared the characters, and after a minute, his frown gradually eased, but his expression became even more tense...

Lifting his hand, he returned the letter to Rodi and asked directly, "I believe you. What do you need me to do now?"

There was a moment of silence. Ruge's mouth was wide open, his shock evident, because they all knew the letter was written in orcish... and to them, orcish script was like a heavenly book!

Now, the other had believed Rodi's words after just a few glances. Regardless of his ability to judge orcish script, the sheer confidence was unprecedented.

Indeed, that monstrous guy.

Rodi was both delighted and amazed—though Sodlor was still a young lieutenant, in this situation, he could still calmly analyze and make decisions, which was...

Rodi's mouth twitched. He didn't want to offend such a person. In the future, he had also participated in several external wars organized by this general and deeply experienced his iron-fisted and powerful nature.

With Sodlor's decision to cooperate, Rodi didn't refuse or be overly formal. He looked at the approaching team and clearly arranged, "The orcs will attack tomorrow, so we must act quickly—and we can't encounter any resistance!"

"Ruge—"

Ruge immediately stood at attention, the sound of his boots clashing unusually crisp.

"Have the team continue to assist the villagers in leaving. Don't bring extra items; no one should be left here by midnight."

"Yes!"

He immediately turned and ran off, leaving only Rodi and Sodlor facing each other. Looking at the young lieutenant he once could only look up to, Rodi hesitated for half a second before giving a formal military salute and said, "I'll try to convince Butler Hall and Miss Sally, but I don't expect success. If there's any conflict, try to keep your people from getting involved."

Sodlor squinted his eyes, looking at the scout he was meeting for the first time, seemingly evaluating and weighing something. Finally, he nodded silently, returned the salute, and turned to his subordinates.

"Phew."

Rodi sighed in relief.

Even though Sodlor didn't have the decisive and resolute aura of a future general, Rodi found himself unable to completely shake off the influence of the "past" or the now blurred "future."

Turning his head, in the dim light, Butler Hall was scolding several terrified servants, having finally noticed the villagers' unusual activity of packing up. The servants stood meekly, taking the scolding, while the butler was sweating profusely, unable to stop the Duke's daughter, Sally, from riding up.

"Butler Hall, good evening."

Duke's daughter Sally arrived in front of Hall, gracefully dismounting. Though young, she exuded a strong presence. In the torchlight, she politely bowed, then looked up, her eyes flickering with surprise and curiosity, and asked softly, "Is Finks Village evacuating today?"

Her tone was merely inquiring, but to the butler, it sounded like an accusation, making his back cold with sweat. He stammered, "Miss Sally, I... this... the villagers seem—"

Hall couldn't form a complete sentence, and just then, a voice he absolutely didn't want to hear rang in his ear—

"Rodi, Captain of the Second Scout Team of Nolan Village, wishes to report a message to the respected Miss Sally."

Village, scout, captain. These three words indicated the speaker's lowly status, no different from a commoner. In Butler Hall's eyes, this unknown scout was treating him like air...

Already in a bad mood from a series of unfortunate events, he was now interrupted and immediately snapped—

"Who are you? What right do you have to speak here?! When did Nolan Village's scouts need to report here?"

"You are overstepping! I will punish you with the strictest laws!"

Butler Hall didn't realize that his outburst was leaving Sally, who should have been the focus, ignored. While he was berating Rodi, he didn't notice that Rodi's gaze never left the Duke's daughter who had just dismounted.

This was the first time Rodi had met the daughter of the old Duke, who had already died in history. In his imagination, this girl should have been innocent and perhaps a bit mischievous or serene. Now, in the torchlight, her face was indeed beautiful, and her figure slender, but the inexplicable "confidence" in her demeanor made him frown slightly.

It seemed... there was a sense of foreboding.

"Butler Hall, I believe I still have the right to decide whether to listen to this scout's report, don't I?"

Sally noticed Rodi's gaze. She didn't seem to find the scout's behavior impolite but interrupted Butler Hall's incessant scolding straightforwardly.

This time, Hall was like a duck that had been hit hard, his mouth slightly open, his expression stunned.

The young Duke's daughter was known for her politeness and gentle nature, but the butler never expected the coldness in her voice to shock him.

Sally's face turned cold for a moment, then she ignored Hall and turned her gaze to Rodi—her previously slightly upturned lips now serious.

"So... Captain Rodi, what message do you have to report?"