Brother Locke, will we have any missions when we return to town tomorrow?" asked a soldier named Ma Li, who was following them.
He was also from Maple Village, but Locke didn't have a deep impression of him. He probably joined the army later on.
"There should be," said Locke without giving a specific answer.
"Will we be stationed at the southern border?" asked Hank. He was a new recruit who had only joined the army for a few months. The tragic siege of Audis was still fresh in his memory, and he didn't want to fight anymore.
"No," said Locke. Cardoj had already roughly explained why their battalion was sent to the southern border, so he believed that they wouldn't get involved in this mess.
"That's good." Hank grinned. He was only hot-blooded when he first joined the army, but he flinched at the last minute.
"Don't worry, Brother Hank. We definitely won't be in a tough battle. Even if there is, I'll protect you, "said Ma Li with a smile. He was obviously flattering Hank.
Ma Li had indeed enlisted two years after the start of the war. He was now a veteran with three years of military service, but he was still a third-rate soldier.
Hank, on the other hand, was promoted to a third-rate soldier in just two months because of his brother Hans' help and the care of Locke and the others. It had to be said that there were privileges everywhere.
Hank was also a smart person. He knew that Ma Li was trying to please him, so he smiled and got along well with Ma Li and the other soldiers.
Locke, Hans and Kane walked in front.
"Did you guess something?" asked Hans. He was Locke's brother who had been with him for the longest time. He knew that Locke might have already guessed the next mission.
Hans, who was already a platoon jarl, had lost some of his naivety. He thought more and became more confident.
"It should be the thieves and bandits around here." Locke sighed. Of course, he hadn't been idle these days. He only knew how to enjoy life. When he talked to the villagers, he often heard about the bandits running amok in the vicinity.
The five consecutive years of war had cost Faustian the lives of countless young and strong soldiers. Some who were unwilling to die on the battlefield had become bandits or kings. As a result, although Faustian had achieved remarkable victories against the outside world, it was often in chaos within the country.
Even Cardoj's domain in the southern province of Dor, which wasn't rich, had spawned countless grey forces.
Cardoj had been at the frontline for many years. Not only did he leave a platoon of soldiers to guard Cardoj's territory, but he also had a low-rank Knecht under him as the leader.
These thieves and robbers did not dare to fight the baron's troops head-on, so they could only wander around and cause chaos in Cardoj's domain every year.
Locke even learned from the village chief that a group of bandits called Wild Wolves was protecting their village. Maple Village had to hand over a certain amount of food and money to the bandits every month to avoid being harassed.
If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to feel the warmth of home for a little longer, he would've called for his men to slaughter the bandits.
They were fighting desperately at the frontlines, but these people were afraid of fighting and did not dare to join the army. How could Locke tolerate this?
If the opponents were just a bunch of bandits and thieves, Hanses wouldn't care at all. He hadn't been practicing dou qi for long, and he had only stabilized his dou qi whirlpool. But even so, Hanses felt that he could take on ten people at once.
"I've been wanting to loosen up for a long time." Kane stretched his joints. He had suffered quite a lot in the past few days. If he could kill a few bandits who were harming the villagers, Rheia would probably think more of him.
When they returned to the village, everyone greeted each other and went home. "Big Brother Locke, can I go to your house for a meal?" Kane pouted and looked at Locke expectantly with his eyes wide open.
Locke was amused by this guy's funny expression. "Come if you want to!" Locke smiled and gave him a punch.
He knew why Kane wanted to go to his house for a meal. He might've felt uncomfortable a few days ago, but not anymore.
Locke knew his sister very well. Although she was gentle, she was stubborn and had her own assumptions. Kane probably wouldn't stand a chance.
After getting Locke's approval, Kane grinned and threw the hare and pheasant he was carrying on his back to Hanses. He then snatched a deer carcass from Hanses' hands.
"Hey, can you leave some for me?" Hanses said helplessly.
"No, I killed it, so of course it belongs to me," Kane said confidently.
"I helped too, okay?" Hanses put his hand on his forehead.
"It belongs to me this time. I'll give it all to you next time, okay?" Kane didn't give in.
"Bro, Bro! Let's go. " Hank saw the opportunity and quickly pulled Hanses home. Hanses was the only one in the group who didn't see Kane's feelings for Rheia.
Locke and the rest found the deer when they first entered the forest in the morning. They finally caught it after chasing it for the whole morning.
The deer had just survived winter and was starving. They didn't know where it got the strength to run so fast. Hanses used a stone to cut the deer open so that it wouldn't move around.
Kane happily knocked on the door of Locke's house with the deer carcass on his back. Locke Senior and Tia gave him a warm welcome. They were more concerned about the deer. There weren't many deer in this season and they were hard to catch.
"The younger generation will surpass the older generation," Locke Senior praised.
Kane was obviously very proud of himself. He wanted Rheia's praise more, but she walked away with a frown as soon as he walked over.
Locke, who was carrying a lot of game, couldn't help but laugh when he saw Kane's embarrassed look. His sister, Rheia, had always disliked the smell of blood. Kane was covered in deer blood, but only Locke Senior and Tia didn't care about it.
"Here, give it to me. I'll help you." Rheia walked to the door and extended her hand.
Of course, Locke didn't give all the game he had to his sister. He only gave her one or two and they put them in the woodshed together.
It was still mid-February and the weather was still cold. They didn't have to worry about the meat spoiling after hanging it in the woodshed.
Tonight's staple food was roasted whole deer and rice and potato porridge. Locke and Kane set up a barbecue rack in the yard while Rheia and Tia cooked rice and potato porridge. The porridge with salt, star anise and coriander gave off a strong aroma.
Locke and Kane had already cleaned up the deer's offal, leaving only edible meat and bones. They skewered a wooden stick and placed it directly on the barbecue rack.
Locke, who was holding a dagger, cut the deer meat from time to time and sprinkled seasoning on it, letting the fragrance of the seasoning blend with the deer meat in the high temperature.
Apart from Kane's help, Locke did the rest of the barbecue alone.
The silver dagger and the red dagger hilt were like beautiful butterflies dancing above the bonfire.
Locke Senior still remembered the dagger that Locke brought with him when he first joined the army. He was surprised and said, "It's been so many years, but this dagger seems to be of good quality."
Rheia's eyes were fixed on the dagger hilt. Although it was dyed red, she could still guess that it was the one she gave to Locke. She lowered her head and thought about it.
The deer didn't have much meat, so two-thirds of it was eaten in just one meal.
Most of the venison was lean and very chewy, so Locke ate it comfortably. He and Kane were the main eaters. Locke Senior and Tia could barely chew on the venison. Rheia had a small appetite, so she only ate a little.
In the evening, Kane said goodbye to Locke's family and went back to Hans' house to sleep. Locke helped with the chores at home and went to bed early.
He and Rheia still lived in the same room, but Locke Senior and Tia had noticed that something was wrong in the past two days. They were going to find a carpenter and a mason in the village to add another room for them.
Now that they had the huge sum of money that Locke had given them, they didn't lack money at all.
Not long after lying in bed, Rheia entered the room. Locke's breathing was steady, and he seemed to have fallen asleep.
Rheia saw this and gently took off her clothes. She had been wearing this underwear for almost a week, and it wasn't convenient for her to change because Locke was in the room.
While Rheia was changing, Locke held his breath and didn't dare to move. As a low-rank Knecht, Locke's keen observation allowed him to see things clearly even at night. Of course, he noticed what his sister was doing.
Resisting the urge to peek, Locke silently circulated impetus in his heart to calm his somewhat agitated Qi and blood.
Time was always long and short. Rheia had already changed her clothes and was lying on the bed.
Locke let out a long sigh of relief. When he was about to sleep, he found that he couldn't. He turned left and right, thinking about what had happened just now.
When his wooden bed creaked, Locke finally stopped moving. After all, this was his bed when he was a child. Now that he was 1.78m tall, he could only curl up to ensure that his feet didn't touch the ground. Coupled with the poor quality of the wooden bed, Locke had already made up his mind to go to town in a few days to order a new bed.
At this moment, Rheia suddenly said, "You're going to town tomorrow, right?"
Locke didn't know when Rheia realised that he wasn't asleep. After a pause, he could only say, "Yes, Uncle Yoshk asked me to report for duty."
When the troops returned to their hometown, the baron had given the leadership of the soldiers in Quarryton to Yoshk and Locke. Because Locke had always followed Yoshk as a soldier, he didn't overtake him and let Yoshk take charge of everything.
"Will you be back?" asked Rheia, not minding the fact that Locke hadn't actually fallen asleep.
"Of course," said Locke. "If it's fast, I might be back in the afternoon."
Locke was, after all, a platoon jarl and a cavalry platoon jarl. Although Yoshk was in charge of the mobilization of the soldiers, he couldn't do it without Locke's approval.
"Come back soon." Rheia didn't say much. She just said that and closed her eyes.
Locke turned sideways and looked at Rheia who was lying on the bed. The bright moonlight shone through the wooden window and onto Rheia's bed. It was so holy and beautiful.
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