A group of cavalrymen was traversing through the forest.
"Big Brother Locke, how much longer do we have to go?" asked a hot-tempered boy.
"We should be there soon." Locke wasn't sure.
They were Locke's platoon on their way back. To be precise, they belonged to Quarryton's cavalry platoon.
They had finally arrived at Cardoj's camp two days ago. Under the baron's arrangement, each platoon was led by a platoon jarl and returned to their hometown.
The members of this cavalry unit were all young lads from Quarryton, and there were more than ten of them.
Apart from the cavalry, there were also close to a hundred infantry platoons behind them, led by Yoshk, Karl and Hans.
Relying on the horses, Locke and the other cavalrymen kept a distance from the infantry behind them. They couldn't wait to see their relatives.
"I should've brought someone who's familiar with the route," said Locke, annoyed. Coincidentally, this cavalry unit was made up of a bunch of young people. Locke, who had always been the youngest in the camp, was actually the oldest among them.
After being away from home for so long, Locke could only vaguely remember the direction of the road. As for the exact distance, how could he remember it?
"Let's speed up. We'll definitely be there in a day and a half at most!" said Locke confidently.
They were definitely on the right path. After being a soldier for so many years, Locke wouldn't go the wrong way. Since the road and direction were right, they would definitely be able to reach Quarryton if they kept going.
Maple Village, Quarryton.
"Tia, Tia!" Aunt Mary, who was the loudest in the village, woke up her neighbor early in the morning.
"What's wrong, Mary?" Tia opened the door of her courtyard with sleepy eyes and looked curiously at Mary who was standing at the door.
Mary squeezed her body into the courtyard and said, "I heard that Locke and Hans are coming back. Let's go to Quarryton and guard them!"
Lia was chopping firewood in the courtyard. Mary saw her and said, "Lia, what are you chopping firewood for? Come with me!" She then grabbed Lia, who was still chopping firewood with a headscarf wrapped around her head, and walked out.
"What? They're coming back! "A muffled sound came from the house. Locke Senior put on his clothes and rushed out.
"Yes, yes, the news just came from the town!" said Mary. "My old man has already left with Eldest and Third Eldest."
"Let's go! Let's go too! "Without another word, Locke Senior and Tia supported each other and walked out.
Rheia couldn't care less about chopping firewood, but she didn't leave with Aunt Mary right away. Instead, she ran back to her room and changed out of her peasant clothes into the new clothes that her mother, Tia, had made for her during the new year. She took off the headscarf that covered her hair, and her long, straight hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
"Leah! What are you doing? Hurry up, Tia and the others are already far away! "Aunt Mary's urging voice came from the courtyard.
Leah replied, "That's good." There were two hair scarves in the bedside drawer, one green and one white. She chose the white one.
Hurriedly putting on the scarf, Rheia tidied up her clothes, ran out, held Aunt Mary's arm, and ran towards the village entrance.
At first, Mary did not know what Rheia was doing. A second ago, she was complaining that the child was dawdling, but the next second, she was shocked by Rheia's change in appearance.
Dressed neatly in new clothes, Rheia had taken off the headscarf that rural women wore and put on a white headscarf. Coupled with her good looks, Mary, who was almost forty years old, was stunned.
"Rheia, you're going to charm all the young men in town!" Mary laughed.
"Oh, Auntie, don't tease me. Let's go." Rheia pushed Mary gently and ran without slowing down to catch up with Locke Senior and Tia.
Seeing how beautiful Rheia was and how thrifty she was, Mary was tempted. She said, "Hans is coming back this time. He's not young anymore, so it's time for me to find him a good wife."
Rheia didn't have a deep impression of Hans. In her eyes, Hans was the child who always followed his younger brother around with a runny nose. Hans had been playing with Locke since they were young.
"Yes, Hans is coming back too. Auntie Mary, you should think about your happiness." Rheia didn't know what Aunt Mary was going to say, so she just went along with it.
"If I want to find a wife, I should find someone as beautiful and virtuous as you, Rheia." Mary squinted her eyes and smiled.
Rheia understood what Mary meant this time and rejected her tactfully, "Hans is a platoon jarl now. I can definitely find someone better."
News of Hans' promotion to platoon jarl had reached Quarryton two months ago. At that time, Audis hadn't been conquered yet.
Mary also heard Rheia's rejection, but she didn't care. Ever since Locke was promoted to platoon jarl, many big families in town had come to propose marriage to them, but none of them succeeded. Not only did they want to marry off their daughters, but most of them saw that Rheia was beautiful and wanted to marry Locke Senior and his family.
Without exception, they were all rejected by Locke Senior and Tia. According to them, their daughter was still young and they didn't want to get married so early.
Others might not know it, but Mary knew very well that Rheia was the one who didn't want to marry off after so many years.
In their village, there were many girls who got married at the age of sixteen. Rheia was already twenty-one, so she was considered an old lady. Locke Senior and Tia weren't in a hurry, but Mary, as their neighbor, was. Mary didn't care about their opinions anymore. She held Rheia's hand and walked quickly to the village entrance.
They weren't the only ones who received the news. The whole village knew that the men were coming back. Families with men in the army brought their families to the town to welcome them.
When Mary and Rheia arrived at the village entrance, there were already many villagers gathered there. They were all from Maple Village.
"Is everyone here? Let's go! "A hunchbacked old man stood on a boulder at the entrance of the village. He was the village chief.
With a wave of his hand, almost all the villagers rushed to the town. It was several times more lively than going to the market.
There was a century-old maple tree next to the boulder at the entrance of the village. Its withered leaves fell with the wind, revealing a new bud.
At night, a dozen soldiers in Faustian uniforms sat around the campfire and roasted food.
A grey-haired young man sat in the middle, and the other soldiers around him seemed to regard him as their leader.
"I know this forest!" the young man who was roasting a hare suddenly said.
His words attracted the attention of the other soldiers around him. "Brother Locke, where is this?" asked a soldier who was close to Locke.
"This seems to be the forest outside Quarryton," answered Locke. "We passed by this forest when we left Quarryton."
Hearing Locke's words, the surrounding soldiers suddenly remembered that most of them had gone to war from here six years ago.
"That seems to be the case!" shouted the soldier who spoke earlier.
"If that's the case, we're almost there," said Locke. "We'll probably reach Quarryton tomorrow!"
When the surrounding soldiers heard this, they all smiled. Everyone couldn't wait to see their loved ones.
"Where are Jarl Yoshk and the others?" Locke asked a soldier next to him.
The soldier thought for a moment and replied, "Jarl Yoshk and the others aren't far from us. They'll reach Quarryton tomorrow at most."
Locke was relieved when he heard this. It seemed that the soldiers led by Yoshk were also homesick. Their speed wasn't much slower than the cavalrymen's, and they were only half a day behind.
Two days ago, the baron had issued the order to disperse and return to their hometown. Under the leadership of their respective jarls, every soldier used all their strength to hurry on the journey.
Glace, Suzanne, and the other two girls were settled in the town outside the baron's castle. Unlike the Shalorian nobles who liked to build their mansions in the town, most Faustian nobles were keen on building fortresses.
Every noble's castle was a small military fortress, which might be one of the reasons why Faustian's military power had been strong for hundreds of years.
The town outside the baron's castle was not much worse than a small city in Shalor. Locke gave Suzanne a large sum of money to let them stay in the hotel for the time being. He also asked the soldiers living in the town to take care of them.
Most of the cavalry platoon's families lived in the town outside the baron's castle. Suzanne and the other three girls were staying there, which was considered to be Locke's home ground. If there were any ignorant people, he believed that the group of soldiers would treat them well.
The reason why he didn't bring them along was that it was difficult for him to explain their origins, and he didn't know how to introduce them to his parents and fellow villagers.
Nowadays, there weren't many people in Faustian who had a good impression of the Shalorians. Countless Faustian families had been broken up because of the war with Shalor. Locke had already repeatedly emphasized that the four girls should not reveal their nationality.
The hares that rolled over the bonfire sizzled and dripped into the fire, emitting a fragrant aroma.
When it was almost roasted, Locke blew on it and took a bite. It was delicious. Even the hares from home were more delicious than those from Shalor.
The forest around them wasn't big, only a mere two or three miles in area. Standing on a high ground, they could even see the boundaries of the forest.
But it was such a small forest that formed a complete ecosystem. Locke and the other cavalrymen got their dinner from this forest, and they didn't touch the dry rations they brought along.
If they could eat meat, why would they bite hard bread?
Although there was a lot of game, Locke didn't find any traces of major monsters. He didn't even feel any elemental fluctuations. Not to mention major monsters, there weren't even any magic plants in this forest.
It seemed that only places like Morphey Forest or the Bering Mountains could see major monsters and even major monsters everywhere.
After swallowing the last mouthful of rabbit meat, Locke shouted, "Let's rest here after eating. Rusko, Biki, it's your turn to keep watch. We'll go home tomorrow!"
"Yes!" Locke's words received a response from all the soldiers.
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