Locke exhaled a puff of white air and stood up. He now felt an inexhaustible amount of energy in his body. The strengthening potion's effects were too overbearing. Even now, he still had a lingering fear in his heart.
Although Wyr had told him how to use it, if he had to choose again, he wouldn't use the potion so easily. The soreness and numbness all over his body almost made him want to die.
Fortunately, everything was over. After the strange feeling, he felt a sense of fulfillment from the improvement of his strength. He took off his sweat-soaked clothes. The cold wind blew past. Although it was winter, Locke didn't feel cold at all.
He flexed the solid muscles on his shoulders and was very satisfied with his current state. Not only had his strength and physical strength improved, but the impetus vortex in his abdomen had also broken through the size of a thumb and turned into the shape of a walnut.
Strands of white Falconim circulated throughout his body. Locke's impetus was at least five or six times more than before, which was a huge improvement to his strength. Locke estimated that he should be able to beat two of himself before he broke through.
This was just the improvement after the breakthrough. When the realm stabilized, there would be a small improvement.
Although he had broken through, there were still a lot of muscle tears and bone hyperplasia when he had just broken through. A faint white light radiated from the left side of his chest. As the white light shone, the damaged tissues under his skin slowly healed. This was the moonlight wolf's monster core at work.
When Angelina left with her brother, she took the moonlight wolf's fur with her, but left the monster core to Locke. Locke, who was about to go to the battlefield at any time, really needed such a healing treasure.
As expected of a light-elemental monster core, the internal injuries caused by Locke's advancement were healed in a short while. This was also related to the large amount of mana stored in the monster core after not using it for a long time.
Locke left the training ground wearing only a singlet and a short shirt, holding his coat that he had taken off in one hand. He thought that only a short time had passed, but when he looked up, the sky was already dark.
At the banquet in the baron's tent, several platoon jarls gathered together and chatted. When Locke came in, it caused a lot of surprise. Those present were all experienced people who had been on the battlefield for a few years. From Locke's intimidating aura, how could they not see that his strength had changed dramatically?
"Locke? You? You broke through? "Yoshk asked in disbelief.
After Locke nodded in response, everyone around him inhaled sharply.
Karl smiled wryly at Yoshk. "We've been training for so many years for nothing. I can't believe a junior caught up to us." Karl's tone was filled with joy at Locke's advancement rather than bitterness. Carl, who had lost an arm, was much more optimistic now.
The other platoon jarls looked at Locke enviously. The platoon jarls of 3rd and 4th Platoon hadn't been granted impetus yet. Only the platoon jarl of 1st Platoon had. He was the only one who could understand how incredible Locke's promotion was.
What followed was the sound of Hans and the others fawning over him. Kane was even more pretentious, shamelessly trying to suck up to him. Although they had a good relationship, they were now platoon jarls of the same camp, so he still had to do what he had to do. Of course, he had to laugh and scold them in private.
It was only when Cardoj and Wyr entered the camp that the flattery quieted down. Although Wyr and Cardoj were surprised by Locke's increase in strength, they soon felt relieved.
With so many precious potions, Locke's advancement was a sure thing.
The baron didn't mention much during dinner. He just wanted the soldiers to train well. At the end of the dinner, he brought up a piece of important news.
"The recruits of 3rd and 4th Platoon will be here soon," said the baron politely as he took the last bite of his bread.
The platoon jarls looked at each other. "It's the mercenaries recruited by Bideslane and the soldiers recruited by the fief," said Mond, answering the doubts on everyone's faces.
"4th Platoon will be merged with 3rd Platoon. Zeon, Hans, you two will be platoon jarls," said the baron after taking a sip of wine.
"3rd Platoon's vacancies will be filled by the recruits recruited from the fief," added Mond in a timely manner.
At this point, everyone understood that the baron wanted to restore the combat effectiveness of Cardoj's battalion to its peak. Needless to say, 4th Platoon was made up entirely of mercenaries.
Locke had seen many professional mercenaries on the battlefield over the past few years. They were a group of bloodthirsty people who worked for money. Their methods were no worse than soldiers who had been in the army for a few years.
At the end of the dinner, Locke still hadn't seen Solon. Locke suspected that the baron had sent Solon back to his territory.
He patted Kane on the shoulder and left the tent with Kane. From tonight onwards, Kane wouldn't be able to eat in this tent anymore.
"I'm fine! It's just a platoon jarl! " Kane was very generous, which was in line with his usual heartless image. Instead, he grinned to reassure them.
But after years of brotherhood, Locke and Hans could tell from the involuntary shaking of Kane's shoulders that he wasn't as casual as he appeared to be.
Everyone had a desire to improve and compete. Locke had always been their big brother. It was normal for a platoon jarl to cultivate impetus, and Hans had always been on par with him. This time, Hans had risen to the top, while Locke had fallen to the bottom.
They were all brothers, so Kane wouldn't be jealous of Hans, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Kane had always been a scout. His individual strength was not bad, but on the battlefield, what was important was the ability to fight in groups. Kane was one of the best among the second-class soldiers when it came to one-on-one battles, and the burly Hans could at least block a group of second-class soldiers. It was reasonable for the baron to value Hans more.
After comforting Kane, Locke walked to the logistics office. He missed Suzanne after not seeing her for three days. Although Locke's mood had been affected by Kane's breakthrough today, he was still in a good mood overall. He wanted to see if he could sneak Suzanne back to his tent today.
Locke had not eaten meat for a few days, and he could no longer hold himself back.
As soon as he walked to the logistics office, he saw rows of carriages and people carrying goods everywhere. The baron's caravan had probably returned.
"Hey, Locke!" Locke! "A slightly plump middle-aged man waved at Locke, who had just entered the supply camp.
Locke looked up and greeted him with a smile. "Hey! Henry! Long time no see! "He then walked over.
Henry stopped what he was doing and walked towards Locke. The two shook hands, and Henry smiled, "I heard that you came back alive, but I didn't expect to see you again so soon!" The manager of the caravan, Henry, seemed very excited to see Locke again.
Locke replied, "Thank you for taking care of Suzanne and the others for so long."
"It's alright, it's alright!" Henry shook his head and said with a smile, "Suzanne and the others helped me a lot!"
To be honest, Locke owed Henry a big favour. If it wasn't for Henry taking care of Suzanne, Glace and the others when he was deep in the Bering Mountains, Hans and Kane wouldn't have been able to take care of them at all.
Locke and Henry chatted about the new things that happened during this period. Although Henry didn't practice impetus, he still had a good eye. It wasn't hard for him to guess that Locke had broken through from the faint and terrifying aura that Locke was exuding. He was well-informed and even knew that Locke was now the vice-jarl of the cavalry platoon.
The baron's transport team had always been protected by the baron's personal guards and cavalry. As the one led by Henry didn't belong to the baron personally, the protection they received was limited. It was a great benefit for Henry to be able to build a good relationship with the vice-jarl of the cavalry platoon.
When Locke saw Henry, he wanted to ask him to get him another shield. That shield had saved his life in the Bering Mountains last time. The low-rank moonlight wolf had been smashed by him and suffered a concussion. The quality of the shield alone was much better than other equipment.
"Shield? No problem! I'll get you a better one this time! " Henry patted his chest and promised. Because he had saved Locke's woman, Henry and Locke were now brothers. Henry, who was more than ten years older than Locke, naturally called him his brother.
"Bruce! Bruce! Come here! "Henry shouted at the busy caravan.
"Hey! Coming! Coming! "After a while, a voice came from the crowd. A brown-haired young man about the same age as Locke came out.
"What's the matter, Uncle?" The young man glanced at Locke curiously and then asked Henry.
"This is Platoon Jarl Locke. Be smart next time!" Henry first introduced Locke and then said, "After returning to Bideslane in two days, go to Sander and ask for a shield. Remember to tell him that the quality is better than the one you got last time!"
"Got it, Uncle!" Bruce replied.
Henry then smiled and introduced him to Locke as his nephew. On the way back to Cardoj's territory, many of the caravans that Henry was in charge of were taken care of by the little guy.
Henry also added, "Two months ago, this kid went to Quarryton and brought back the news of you being promoted to platoon jarl."
Locke's eyes lit up. He looked at Bruce, who was about the same age as him, and asked, "Have you met my family?"
Bruce was very curious about Locke, who was about the same age as him, but was a generation younger than him. His uncle called Locke "brother", so wasn't Locke also his uncle?
"Yes! Yes! " Bruce hurriedly answered. He had been following his uncle in the caravans all year round, so he had a shrewdness that his peers didn't have. So what if he was a generation younger? He still had to suck up to Locke. Bruce didn't feel any psychological pressure at all.
"How are they?" Locke had always lacked news about his family, so he was very concerned about the current lives of his parents and sister.
"Your parents are in good health now! They were overjoyed when they heard that you were promoted to platoon jarl! Bruce smiled and said, "Even the mayor of the town has to arrange a house for your family in town. There's also a lot of subsidies." Bruce knew very well what a big shot like Locke was concerned about.
His family lived in a better place and didn't have to work hard. With the military pay that he sent back and the subsidies from the town, Locke was much more at ease with his family.
"What about my sister?" Locke finally couldn't help but ask after holding it in for a long time. He always had a strange longing for his sister.
"Your sister is also very good. She even asked me to tell you to be careful on the battlefield," Bruce replied. He only thought that the siblings were close.