Early the next morning, Locke stretched comfortably and walked out of his tent.
Many soldiers in the camp had already started training. The news of their departure had spread throughout Cardoj's camp, and every soldier was working hard to improve their strength. Most of the soldiers in the camp could be called veterans now. In order not to fall on the battlefield like the unlucky ones around them, everyone was working hard.
Locke walked towards the training ground at the back of the camp. The soldiers he met along the way greeted him.
"Hey! Fayr! Come here! "Locke shouted at a soldier who was practicing his sword not far away.
The soldier heard someone calling him. After looking up and seeing who it was, he hurriedly dropped the longsword in his hand and ran towards Locke.
"Brother Locke! What's the matter? "Fayr asked excitedly.
Fayr was the only survivor in Locke's ten-man squad apart from Kane and Hans. Whether it was Kane, Hans or Locke, they had always taken good care of him. In the past few days after his return, Locke had specially looked for Fayr and given him a lot of advice. Fayr, who was just a servant soldier back then, was now a little like a third-rate soldier.
"Go find Cook Corey from the logistics department and ask him to send two bowls of meat soup to the entrance of my tent. I want to drink it after my training," Locke instructed.
"Got it! Brother Locke! "replied Fayr.
"Go!" Locke nodded and patted Fayr on the shoulder to express his encouragement.
There were usually only two meals in the camp, but that was only for ordinary people. As a platoon jarl, it was normal for Locke to have some privileges. As for why he wanted two bowls, Suzanne was still lying on Locke's bed, too tired to move.
Locke couldn't help but sigh as he looked at Fayr who ran to pass the message. How many of his old brothers were still alive now? Gulas, the burly man with a physique comparable to Hans, had followed them to the black market, but now, he had lost a leg and was basically a cripple in the military camp.
Locke went to see Gulas yesterday, but he didn't recognise him at first glance. Was this man with dim eyes and a yellow face still the cheerful burly man who used to talk dirty?
Gulas, who had lost a leg, would probably have a hard time living for the rest of his life. He was only a squad leader, so the compensation given by the baron was very little. After all, he was not dead yet, so the baron did not have to bear most of the burden.
If Locke ended up like this, he would rather die. That way, he wouldn't be a burden to his family, and his parents would be able to receive a pension that was sufficient for their retirement.
They didn't talk much. When Locke left after visiting Gulas yesterday, he gave him about ten silver thalers. Gulas, who used to be a burly man, only had deep bitterness and gratitude in his eyes.
Locke didn't want to think about it, so he walked quickly to the training ground.
The training ground was still the same as it had been in Giza. Each area represented a platoon jarl, but this time, there was no one else except for Locke.
Squadron Leader Mond was currently busy training the soldiers. They were about to set off and needed to drill the soldiers urgently.
Yoshk, on the other hand, was sent by the baron to take charge of the caravan trade. He couldn't tell that the burly Yoshk had any sense in the economy. He was probably not worried about it. Yoshk was famous for his straightforwardness in the camp.
Ever since Uncle Karl lost an arm, he rarely came here to cultivate.
As for Wyr, he was even more elusive. There was no pattern to his presence at all. However, Locke knew where Wyr had gone today. The cavalry camp was covered in dust early in the morning. It seemed that Wyr had gone to the cavalry camp early to train the soldiers.
It was really comfortable to have someone to rely on. With a dutiful strong man like Wyr in front of him, Locke consciously leaned back to enjoy the cool breeze.
Although Kane and Hans were the deputy jarls of 3rd and 4th Platoons, they were actually just squad jarls. The baron hadn't ordered them to be taught impetus yet.
Locke didn't know why Constantine, the current deputy jarl of 1st Platoon, didn't come. Logically speaking, he should have been taught impetus. Locke always felt that this guy was avoiding him. He wouldn't take his position, so what was he afraid of? Locke thought.
Locke was the only one practicing in the large training ground. He could use all the tools here to his heart's content. Ever since the few ribs in his chest were fixed by the camp's doctors, Locke hadn't had a good workout for a long time.
He grabbed a spear and practiced a set of standard Faustian spear techniques. Then, he took the iron sword and practiced slashing five hundred times. There were no fancy techniques on the battlefield. Most of them were big attacks. Locke didn't know any movement techniques or combat skills. He only knew how to use brute force.
Finally, he lifted two iron balls the size of a head and practiced his arm strength for a while. He was sweating profusely and threw away his clothes that were stuck to his body. He sat cross-legged and practiced Falconim.
The impetus vortex that used to be the size of a mung bean had grown more than twice its original size. Impetus circulated in Locke's body and he felt like he had endless energy.
Impetus cultivation was a meticulous process. It was almost noon before Locke finished his cultivation.
He picked up the clothes on the ground next to him and walked to his tent.
Suzanne had already woken up. When she saw Locke return, she helped him change out of his sweaty clothes like a wife. He was going to the baron's tent for lunch later, so he couldn't wear clothes that smelled of sweat.
There were two big brown bowls on the only table in the tent. One of them was full of broth, while the other was half empty. Suzanne must have eaten it.
"Look at you. The food is already cold, and you only came back now," said Suzanne, rolling her eyes at Locke.
Locke shrugged and didn't answer. He walked over, picked up the big bowl and gulped it down. After a whole morning of practice, Locke's stomach was already empty.
Corey the cook was very good. Not only was the bowl of broth big, but there was also more meat than soup. No wonder Suzanne couldn't finish a bowl by herself.
After finishing his broth, Locke still felt like he hadn't had enough. He didn't mind and drank the broth that Suzanne left behind in one gulp. Only then did his stomach feel a little better. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but ever since he started practicing impetus, he felt like he could eat a lot more.
...
The next morning, the gate of the barracks slowly opened and a neat group of soldiers filed out. Cardoj rode at the front of the group and finally set off.
Locke rode his warhorse and followed the cavalry platoon. His original horse was nowhere to be found, and the black warhorse he was riding now was one of the best horses selected from the cavalry platoon. There were many clever people in the cavalry platoon who knew how to please their deputy jarl.
Locke asked the logistics department to take care of Suzanne. Warner, who used to have a good relationship with him at the courier station, had been transferred by the baron to be in charge of trading with the caravans. Who knew why Warner, who was only responsible for delivering messages at the logistics station, would be personally ordered by the baron to be transferred to such a lucrative place.
Just because he didn't have any acquaintances didn't mean that he couldn't do things well. After all, he was a quasi-knight. If he didn't die after the war, he would definitely become a noble, and there were many people who would please him.
Suzanne was also very excited about the possibility of Locke becoming a noble, but she knew that she would never become a knight's wife. Whether it was her identity as a Shalorian or the fact that she was five years older than Locke, she dispelled her fantasies.
Locke rode his tall horse and walked among the cavalry platoons. They were indeed the baron's trump card. Locke was very satisfied with the discipline of the cavalry platoon. They marched neatly as if they didn't represent a cavalry platoon, but an army of thousands of horses and horses.
They should be imitating the training mode of Falcon's cavalry division, Locke guessed.
On the afternoon of the fifth day, Locke and his battalion finally walked to a giant fence that was more than ten metres high and spanned a few kilometres. This was the frontline between Faustian and Shalor, and also the location of Falcon and Lion.
There were countless dark green tents inside the fence, and patrolling soldiers could be vaguely seen inside.
Cardoj sent a soldier to inform them of their unit numbers and noble medals. After some verification, the hundreds of people in their battalion were allowed to enter the large fortress.
"There are nearly seventy thousand people here," Yoshk whispered to Locke.
"After all, there are people from two corps." Locke wasn't surprised at all. He had seen bigger barracks before. That was a fortress made up of three corps, including Gale. The grandeur of a barracks with hundreds of thousands of people left a deep impression on Locke.
A soldier was sent to lead their battalion to the territory assigned to them. Coincidentally, Cashel's camp was right next to theirs.
After walking to the place, the baron ordered the soldiers to set up tents on the spot. When the troops started to get busy, Yoshk came over and asked Locke to leave.
"Let's go! I'll take you to see the world! "said Yoshk generously.
Ever since Locke was promoted to platoon jarl and cultivated impetus, he could use his military merit and money to buy some rare and precious potions, weapons and armour. The location was at the logistics department above the corps headquarters.
However, Locke hadn't even been to the corps headquarters for a long time, let alone the large barracks formed by the two corps.
Yoshk walked in front with Che Qing leading the way. It seemed that it wasn't his first time coming here.
They went to the logistics department of Falcon's second corps.
There was already a long queue when they arrived. The sky was getting dark and it was supposed to be mealtime, but the people here didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. They slowly lined up. Locke counted about twenty people.
Most of them were beginner-level Knechts. Locke sensed that. Two of them had restrained auras and were probably low-rank Knechts.
"There are quite a few people today." Yoshk smiled. "When I came last time, there were a lot of people. There were people from other corps too."
They were all platoon jarls of the same corps. Yoshk seemed to know a lot of them and went to greet them one by one. Locke didn't go. He had to queue up for two people, and he didn't know many of them anyway.
When it was getting dark, it was finally Locke's and Yoshk's turn. When they walked into the logistics department, they were greeted by a small window that was half the size of a person. A young woman was sitting inside.
"What do you need, Rider?" The woman in Falcon's uniform asked Locke formally.
"Uh..." Locke was stumped. Yoshk wanted to suggest something, but he suddenly remembered that Angelina had told him about a potion that was suitable for him.
"Strengthening potion, thank you!" replied Locke.