Neigh ~ Neigh ~" Locke whipped his horse and galloped on the dirt road between the mountains.
There were nearly a hundred cavalrymen with him, led by Cardoj.
Cardoj and Wyr were on the left and right, only half a body's length behind the baron. The group of cavalrymen galloped unscrupulously.
When they reached a slope, Cardoj pulled the reins and took the lead to stop. The cavalrymen behind him also stopped quickly.
"Where are we?" Cardoj tilted his head and asked.
Locke took out a sheepskin scroll from the inside of his armour and took a quick look at it. After putting it away, he said, "There's a town called Aimo up ahead. It's two days away from Bideslane."
This was a Faustian military map, and it was quite detailed. Locke didn't know many words, but he still knew a few of the names of the places.
"Alright." Cardoj nodded and pointed to a soldier. "You, go to the cavalry regiment behind and report that everything is fine."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier turned his horse around and ran in the direction from which they came.
"Let's keep going." Cardoj kicked his horse's buttocks and led the cavalry platoon forward.
It had been more than a week since they left the joint camp. Locke found that the troops that were transferred back to the kingdom included two cavalry divisions from Falcon and Lion, as well as an infantry division from each division.
Needless to say, the infantry division was also the most elite of the two corps, 1st Division.
Locke couldn't help but wonder if they were really just returning home.
The move of transferring the most elite troops of the two corps back had attracted the attention of many people like Locke.
Of course, Locke could only choose to obey the orders of the higher-ups.
Currently, the cavalry platoon was following Falcon's cavalry division, while the infantry platoon was following 1st Division.
Now, their platoon's mission was to be the vanguard of Falcon's returning troops and walk in front of the whole army.
Along the way, they passed through occupied territories. Almost every inhabited town had Faustian soldiers to entertain them. The security and comfort of the journey couldn't be too high.
Anyway, Locke felt that he had been sightseeing for the past week.
He didn't pay much attention to it during the war, but now that he took a closer look, he realised that the scenery in Shalor was not much worse than that in Faustian.
In the evening, the cavalry platoon finally arrived at Aymo. The Faustian garrison in the town warmly welcomed the cavalry platoon.
They had received news in advance and knew that one of the returning troops would pass by their town.
It was because the Lion Corps and the Falcon Corps had split up. One was heading south, while the other was heading north. Even though their destination was the Bideslane Territory's Bideslane City, both of them were heading north.
As the vanguard, Locke's platoon didn't just accept the hospitality of the soldiers who stayed behind after arriving here. Cardoj and the generals stationed here had already gone to find an empty space outside the town that was large enough to accommodate the remaining 10,000 soldiers of Falcon.
The main force would probably only arrive when the sky was completely dark.
"Brother Locke, why don't we go have some fun?" The soldiers of the cavalry platoon were already very familiar with Locke. A few of them came up and invited him.
The so-called 'fun' was nothing more than drinking and looking for women.
While the baron was away, no one would care about them. As long as they dragged either Locke or Wyr into the water, they could do whatever they wanted.
"Nah, you guys go ahead." Locke shook his head and refused. He had already drunk with the soldiers several times these days, so he didn't want to drink tonight.
As for women, he had Suzanne, Glace, and even Angelina. The three of them were outstanding beauties. Locke wasn't interested in ordinary women.
"Oh." The soldiers were obviously not as excited since they didn't invite Locke. They walked into the town in twos and threes.
Invite Wyr? Don't joke around. Most of the soldiers of the cavalry platoon had been trained by Wyr. It was already good enough that Wyr would acquiesce to their lazy behaviour. Don't think that Wyr would be in cahoots with them.
"Don't play for too long!" Locke reminded the soldiers who hadn't gone far.
In the end, this small town called Aimo Town had to cut off a small part of the forest outside of the town before they could settle down the rest of the troops that came later.
After resting for a night, they continued their journey.
...
They rode on the land of the occupied Bideslane. The farmers on both sides of the road were tending to their crops.
"The winter wheat was planted last October, and it will be ready to be harvested in two months," Cardoj said, showing off his knowledge to the soldiers around him.
As Locke listened, he looked at the wheat fields that looked like a green carpet. Although the soil was still covered with some unmelted snow, the bunches of wheat stood upright like soldiers.
Locke thought of the few acres of land that belonged to his family in the village. Because they were located in the warm south of Faustian, they also grew crops twice a year. However, wheat was only planted in the spring, and they planted more productive rice and potatoes in the winter.
Although bread was delicious, it was only on the premise that they wouldn't starve to death. Most ordinary civilians chose to grow crops that could last long and had a sufficient quantity to fill their stomachs and have a good New Year.
He didn't know if the rice and potatoes at home had been harvested. In his mind, he pictured the scene of working in the fields with his sister and father when he was a child. Snow was still falling from the sky, and little Locke would rub his hands and stamp his feet in the field. His sister and father would hold a shovel with their hands that were red from the cold and dig out the food for the day from the hard ground.
Locke smiled when he thought of his sister's face and his father's appearance. There was also his mother, the woman who was meticulous about the family's expenses and worked hard all her life.
"Go!" Cardoj waved his whip and led the cavalry platoon forward.
If there were no accidents, they would arrive in Peterstown in the afternoon.
Two days ago, the troops had already arrived at the Bideslane. Unlike before, where there were only hills and forests along the way, the Bideslane's vast plains were its own calling card.
The Faustians had planted countless crops on these plains for this year's needs.
Nearly 30,000 Faustian troops arrived in Peterstown on the same day.
The Lion Legion and the Falcon Legion, the two troops that had marched on different routes, arrived in Bidesburg at the same time less than half a day later. It was quite a coincidence.
Locke, Hans, and Kane rode side by side on the main road of Peterstown.
After entering the city, Cardoj gave them some general instructions on what to take note of and dismissed them.
Of course, the soldiers were still training in the barracks, and they were still on duty.
The platoon jarls all slipped out of the barracks with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Locke was the one who found Kane's horse. There were more horses than people in the cavalry platoon, so it was easy to take one out. Of course, they had to return it in the end.
"Where are we going?" asked Hans. Among the three, he was the least assertive.
"Of course we're going to the most famous brothel to see the world," said Kane.
Due to the war, countless Shalorian civilians had left their homes. Coupled with Peterstown's abundant food production, many desperate refugees came here to make a living.
Most of the men had gone to do manual labor. The lack of labour caused by the war made many positions lack people. However, the wages wouldn't be high. At most, they wouldn't starve to death. Most Faustians were prejudiced against the Shalorians.
It was better for women with families. If there was no pillar of support, they could only do some manual labor. However, it was difficult to fill their stomachs. If they couldn't make a living, they could only sell their meat. This indirectly stimulated the development of the brothel industry in Peterstown.
Kane had heard from other experienced soldiers that the brothel was the most famous.
The influx of tens of thousands of Faustian soldiers had injected fresh vitality into Peterstown, a city that had just emerged in recent years.
Every soldier had a bulging wallet at this time. Coupled with the habit of spending extravagantly in the army, it was unknown how many industries in Peterstown would develop.
Fortunately, there was a leader like Cardoj who restrained most of the soldiers under him. The soldiers would sneak out to have some fun at most. Otherwise, there would definitely be trouble.
"What brothel?!" Locke glared at Kane.
Speaking of which, Kane was the most upright among the three. Although he was a cunning fellow, he could bear it better than anyone else when it came to practical situations.
"Let's go! Let's find a place to eat first. "Locke set the tone.
Before the three of them came out, they had already said that they wouldn't go back for dinner. Now that they had nothing to do after walking around, they might as well sit down and eat something.
When they walked to a more prosperous section of the road, the three burly men hesitated.
On the left was a row of places that looked like taverns. Many tavern girls stood on the side of the road and smiled coquettishly as they solicited customers, especially for soldiers like Locke and the others.
The girls in revealing clothes inadvertently exuded a smell of perfume and exposed western scenery. The three burly men collectively gulped. In this cold winter, the three of them actually felt a wave of heat.
The other side was also a place to eat, but there were no cases of people soliciting customers. Whether it was the decoration or the space, it was obviously a grade higher than the tavern on the right. Under a beautiful chandelier at the door, there were only a few waitresses standing prettily.
Although these waitresses dressed more conservatively than the girls outside, it was their dignified appearance that made Locke and the others even more envious.
"Where to?" asked Hans. Hans was still the one who asked the question. His gaze was now fixed on a dignified female attendant on his left, who was holding her stomach with her hands.
"Of course to the right. Let's go have a drink!" Kane glared at the tavern girls on the side of the road. Basically, he would look at those who wore less.
After weighing the pros and cons, Locke brought the two of them to a place called "HSBC Restaurant" on the left.
They had been to taverns countless times, but they had never been to such a high-class place before. It would be good to broaden their horizons and broaden their horizons.
The reason why Kane suggested going to the tavern on the right was because he subconsciously felt conflicted about such places that he had never come into contact with before.
"Welcome!" As soon as the three burly men stepped on the red carpet in front of HSBC Restaurant, the dignified waitresses on both sides bowed and said in unison.