To verify his own thoughts, Anning touched the wound on his head.
Indeed, after running all this way, the wound had already healed, and now he only felt the scabbed trace of blood, with no pain at all.
He put a little force, and a piece of the scabbed blood was picked off, which by rights should have bled again.
However, that didn't happen.
The wound had already healed.
This must be like the Breathing to Replenish Blood system in FPS games, as long as you don't get hit continuously, finding a place to hide and catch your breath lets you recover your vitality.
It's just that this breathing duration isn't as short as the few seconds in the games.
For a head wound like a grazing bullet, Anning estimated it would take more than a day to heal, and for other more serious injuries, the recovery time would likely be even longer.
But this didn't mean Anning could rest easy.
After all, the Breathing to Replenish Blood in games isn't the same as being invincible; if you take a fatal injury all at once, you would still die.
Which means, if the bullet wound to the head this morning hadn't been deflected by his hard skull, he would have been done for.
Indeed, he still needed to find a reason to stay away from the battlefield.
It would be best to find a way to sit back behind the lines, govern from the shadows, and steadily scrounge up a fortune.
To achieve this goal, he must deliver the young master Kroetz to the Duke's presence—right, the mission was clearly stated, to deliver him to the Duke and not just to his own lines.
Anning put away the flintlock pistol, squatted down, and began to search the pockets of the bandit leader's torn clothes, quickly coming up with a few biscuits, handing one to Kroetz.
Then he ate a biscuit while searching another pocket, from which he pulled out a pocket watch and several gold coins.
Anning pocketed the watch and gold coins, then glanced at the young master, worried he might be offended by his looting of the dead.
However, Kroetz was struggling with the dry and hard biscuit, frowning deeply, paying no attention to Anning.
Anning, reassured, shoved the remaining biscuits into his mouth and chewed them with no issue—the odd thing was, they were fine to chew, though he was a bit thirsty.
Anning checked the other pockets to ensure they were empty, then he took the bandit leader's dog tags and medals, and after removing the dead man's coat, he bundled it up and slung it over his shoulder.
On the run, who knows when money might come in handy; keeping these medals and dog tags might be worth exchanging for some cash.
After completing this, Anning was ready to leave when he noticed that the bandit leader's shoes were quite good, much stronger than his own worn ones.
So he took off the boots, tried them on, and happily switched to them once he confirmed they fit.
—Good, he had scavenged his first spoils since crossing over.
Anning stood up, turned to the young master, and asked, "Young master... can you still walk?"
The young master nodded: "My feet... no, I can walk!"
"Alright, I'll support you. By dawn, the enemy's cavalry may be on patrol, we should get as close to our forces as possible before then."
Anning spoke with some uncertainty.
France's army had been routed, and who knows if they could still find their own forces; perhaps they would have to flee all the way back to their homeland.
—Yes, France was fighting abroad and had suffered a catastrophic defeat on foreign soil.
Those bandits had spoken German earlier; from the German perspective, these thieves were heroes who came to intercept the invading forces.
Anning helped the young master up and pulled him along as they staggered forward.
The young master suddenly asked, "It's so dark, do you know which way to go?"
Anning: "I have a rough idea, we'll see as we go."
In reality, he knew exactly which way to go, given the guidance of the mission waypoints.
But he had to pretend to be relying on luck.
The young master nodded again, and after a few more steps, he asked Anning, "That swordsmanship you used to kill the bandit just now..."
"To be honest, it was just adapting to the situation. Mr. Tolleson, we don't have much water, and we don't know when we will be resupplied; it's best to save our saliva," Anning said so.
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He was reluctant to discuss the swordplay he had just displayed, as he really hadn't learned it and was only cheating. If the young master thought he was some sword master, it would be bad once his act was exposed.
Mr. Kroetz closed his mouth.
But it didn't stay closed for long.
Kroetz: "Mr. Frost, your performance just now was truly valiant! You must be an experienced soldier..."
——No, I'm just a drummer.
Kroetz: "I've always wanted a brave guard like you. My valet was supposed to protect me at all times, but he ran away after the first volley of gunfire."
Anning: "After being left behind, did you continue to fight until the end?"
"No, I got stunned by the cannon while I was turning my head to call for my valet. And you, Mr. Frost?"
——I got grazed in the forehead by a bullet and ricocheted it off, then used a cheat to breathe and replenish my blood and miraculously survived.
Anning: "I was also stunned. Also, I should tell you something, I am actually just a military drummer, you can tell by looking at my uniform."
Anning stated the fact that since his uniform clearly indicated his occupation, there was no need to hide it, and secondly, knowing that he was a military musician, Mr. Kroetz probably wouldn't insist on thinking that Anning was some swordmaster with secret techniques.
This era was probably quite superstitious, and Anning didn't want anyone to realize he was using cheats.
Unexpectedly, Kroetz was even more admiring: "A musician so brave! Serving as a musician is truly a waste of your talent, when we return to the military, please be sure to become one of my attendants."
Anning thought this was exactly what he wanted, as he planned to escort him back to his father. The role of an attendant was just right.
At this moment, a line of text suddenly appeared in the lower right corner of Anning's field of vision: [Croci de Tolleson's trust in you has greatly increased, his fondness for you is now adoration.]
Anning raised an eyebrow, just a block and counterattack in front of this young master raised his reputation to adoration?
Was it because this young master was inexperienced?
No matter, at this time the French Revolution probably hadn't yet erupted, having a young nobleman admiring him was a good thing.
Right now, Anning just hoped that when they got back to the military, this young master wouldn't f***ing rush to the front lines again; he didn't want to experience the hell of today once more.
At this point, Kroetz asked Anning again: "Mr. Frost, why did you go to the battlefield?"
Anning frowned slightly, the young master's question seemed very removed from the real world.
"What else could it be?" Anning retorted, "Other than the fact that I couldn't afford the tax to avoid conscription?"
As he answered, Anning's mind flashed back to the scene when he joined the army; his mother and sister were crying uncontrollably, and his father, a leatherworker, chewed tobacco with a somber face.
According to the King's orders, every family must send a man to war or pay a hefty exemption tax, so Anning had no choice but to join the King's army and become a musician.
Kroetz was slightly embarrassed: "Uh... sorry..."
Anning shook his head lightly.
Afterward, the two traveled in silence until the sky began to lighten slightly.
At this time, Anning saw a farmhouse ahead, with farmers opening the doors and leading the cows out to graze.
Anning: "Young master, are you thirsty?"
"A bit..."
"And your stomach?"
Kroetz's stomach made a spirited gurgling sound.
Anning: "Okay, let's go to the farmhouse to see if we can buy some food and water."
"Sure, I have a few Crowns in silver coins," said Kroetz, taking the Crowns out of his pocket and handing them to Anning, "I'll leave it to you, I don't speak German."
Anning was originally planning to use the money he had scavenged yesterday to buy things, but since the young master was willing to pay, he naturally had no objections.
However, Kroetz' conception of money was obviously different from Anning's as a commoner. Anning knew about currency primarily in "Sou," never needing to deal with units like Crowns and Livre. The coins Anning carried were also in Sou.
This young master brings out Crowns in silver coins.
Just to buy some provisions, there was no need for silver coins like Crowns...
Anning muttered to himself while taking the silver coins, then helped the young master sit by the roadside before striding towards the farmhouse.
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