Chapter 29

"That's the cavalry from Fort Conseton. Could it be... the orcs didn't just attack Finks Village?"

But looking at the direction they were heading, Soderlor muttered to himself, "The fort's defense area should extend to the north... why are they heading southeast?"

Suddenly, as if a thought struck him, he asked Carter, "Miss Sally said yesterday... she was going to Fort Conseton?"

Seeing Carter nod, Soderlor immediately tightened his grip on the reins—he knew very well under what circumstances the knights of the fort would be dispatched in full force. The current situation could only mean that Sally had likely encountered an unimaginable accident!

What kind of accident could have happened last night? Looking at the still burning Finks Village in the distance, Soderlor didn't need to think much to understand—it was all the work of the orcs!

To be honest, Soderlor was not the kind of minor border official that Rody imagined. In the memories of the future, Rody was also unclear about how this legion commander initially rose to prominence.

In fact, Soderlor was not of common birth.

He once had a noble surname, though it was just an obscure baronial family, it still placed him above the commoners. However, after his family was destroyed by political intrigue, Soderlor, who had escaped, came to Hollar City at his dying father's words, sought help from Duke Lucifer, and eventually obtained the unremarkable position of "lieutenant."

Because Soderlor's father had some connections with Duke Lucifer, and Soderlor himself was quite capable, he was always seen as a promising "seed" in the duke's eyes after becoming a lieutenant. However, in recent years, the old duke's attention towards him gradually cooled, and eventually turned to neglect, leading to Soderlor's misfortune.

Six months ago, he "offended" the knight guarding Fort Conseton for some inexplicable reasons and was demoted to a second lieutenant in Finks Village.

Soderlor was not short of ambition, but he was unsure of the duke's intentions and had no way or opportunity to find out. Over the years, he had endured hardships and委屈, and he had become like a rusty, blunt knife, losing much of his edge.

However, these experiences did not affect his clear mind and judgment. Carter wouldn't know what Soderlor was worried about, as the political machinations of the nobility were like fairy tales to him. But for Soderlor himself, the current situation seemed to offer a turning point.

Originally, he had always relied on others, but now he had to make a choice: should he place his hopes on the old duke who seemed to have forgotten him, or should he... carve out his own path?

In a society where most farmers did not believe they could become lords, Soderlor's ambition to achieve greatness was not surprising—because he was a noble descendant, with the glory of his family and his own future at stake.

To seek revenge, to rise to prominence... Soderlor understood that to achieve all this, he first needed to make such a resolve and determination.

After hesitating for less than three seconds, he took a deep breath and said softly, "I have some things to do, so I won't be going to Nolan Village for now."

Rody wouldn't know that the historically mysterious "Duke's daughter's mysterious death" incident had already begun to reverse due to his intervention; Sally Lucifer, who was supposed to have been killed by the orcs, was still alive; and Soderlor, who should have known nothing about this, had embarked on an unknown path due to his "ambition." Meanwhile, Francis, the earl who was supposed to pretend to be sad and return to Hollar City, was now angrily dispatching troops to try to intercept his own sister by any means necessary.

Amidst this chaos, the center of the whirlwind—Rody and Sally—were now traversing the dim and perilous Whispering Forest, facing unknown dangers that were unimaginable to ordinary people.

In the modern human mind, "forest" often just means a lot of resources: tall trees, buzzing logging machines, trucks, and derived products like furniture, paper, and firewood. However, for the humans of the Kingdom of Caren in "Rift," forests usually represent the unknown and danger.

In the game, most forests within human territory are only used for timber development in the surrounding areas, as humans become vulnerable to the "natives" when they venture deeper into the forest. Apart from adventurers who risk their lives, few people would venture into these deep woods to face various powerful magical creatures and enchanted plants.

Mentioning magical creatures and enchanted plants, it's necessary to talk about some of the settings in "Rift." Simply put, during the game's initial launch, the world was in a "low-magic" phase, with few mages and even fewer powerful magical creatures. Overall, it wasn't much different from a real medieval society. However, as the game progressed, with the release of several expansions and major historical events, the world's magical elements gradually became more concentrated, and the power of mages, or all individuals in various professions, grew stronger. The number of magical creature species in the forests increased, and it wasn't until five years after the game's launch that mages capable of casting "forbidden spells" appeared.

In terms of the current Whispering Forest, there were still not many magical creatures with magical attack capabilities. In Rody's judgment, it should not be much different from the forest he explored at the game's launch.

"Crack."

Sally's footsteps were not as silent and agile as Rody's, and she often stumbled, bumping into branches on the ground. This resulted in many small cuts on her calves. In her attempt to catch up with Rody, she accidentally stepped on a dry branch, and the sharp sound was particularly jarring in the quiet forest.

Rody suddenly stopped, and Sally, who was looking down at her wounds, didn't notice and bumped into him, instinctively wrapping her arms around his body.

"Ouch!"

Before Sally could cry out in pain, Rody turned and covered her mouth, and without waiting for her to show surprise, he picked her up and ran to the side—scenery flashed by in front of Sally's eyes, and her stomach was pressed painfully against Rody's shoulder, but she didn't dare make a sound.

She silently cursed this guy for not considering others' feelings, but at this moment, she also understood that this guy had never had any ulterior motives.

After running for over 300 meters, Rody finally stopped, drenched in sweat, and panting, he put Sally down on the ground. Her face was flushed, and just as she was about to complain, he scolded her, "Did you forget my warning?"

Sally, who had opened her mouth to say something, was immediately speechless. She pouted, her eyes downcast, and stared at her blistered feet and wounded calves with a resentful look, finally nodding stubbornly without saying another word.

Rody, who was not a heartless person, softened. If he were to consider Rody's actual age, Sally calling him "uncle" would be appropriate. His harshness towards the younger generation was partly due to his own stress. Realizing this, Rody sighed, looked back at the forest they had just left, and confirmed that the shadow under a tree root had gradually retreated before finally relaxing and sitting down.

"You're lucky you didn't attract any monsters..."

Though Rody muttered in complaint, his eyes fell on Sally's wounded calves, and he realized she had suffered a lot. After a moment's thought, he muttered, "Let me take a look," and reached out to hold her foot.

Sally pursed her lips but seemed too tired to show surprise. She found herself starting to get used to this rogue's various "indecent" actions... his movements were so matter-of-fact, without any hesitation or questioning, touching and holding as he pleased, it was simply...

Too infuriating, this guy was really too infuriating!

Sally was a lady and had never argued or shouted at anyone in her life. Faced with such a thick-skinned guy, she found herself completely helpless.

After all, Rody, a tech geek, was only strong in the game, and his brain was lacking in some areas—perhaps it should be said that his brain was too "routine," with almost no "emotional" part. So even though he understood that feet were a private part for noblewomen, he wasn't thinking about Sally's feelings at all, but rather how to get her to keep up with him.

After observing for a while, Rody decided to find some herbs to stop the bleeding and reduce swelling. He explained briefly and then ran to a nearby meadow to search. He admitted that he had some communication barriers with women, having heard too many jokes about tech geeks being lonely all their lives, to the point where he even believed it himself.

Women... women.

As Rody searched for herbs, scenes from his memories flashed before his eyes. Didn't that girl who used to like wearing red robes also wait for him to gather herbs to heal her in the forest? Although it later turned out to be a joke she was playing on him, the naive Rody had never been angry at being tricked by her.

Hey, thinking about it, he really was a bit silly.

Shaking off those thoughts, Rody looked at the few common hemostatic herbs in his hand, realizing he had been standing there lost in thought for a while. He coughed and walked back to Sally, first cleaning her wounds with a water flask, then chewing the herbs and preparing to apply them to her wounds: "It's a bit crude, but it should work well..."

Spitting out the remaining herb residue, Rody felt a bit numb in his mouth and spoke less clearly: "You... if you... ugh—so bitter... I mean, if you find it disgusting, you'll just have to bear with it."

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