On the fourth evening after the battle, when the soldiers climbed over the last grassy slope, they saw the houses in the distance and heard the sheep crying. It was hard to describe their complicated feelings at this time.
In the past, this was just a village they lived in every day. They saw the scenery every day. Even the sounds of insects and birds were monotonous and boring. But when they suddenly left and returned after more than ten days of life and death battles, the tired scouts found that this inconspicuous little village was the warmest and most reliable place in their minds.
This was home.
When they saw familiar people and familiar things, even when they saw the familiar smoke rising from the familiar houses, the uneasiness and vigilance in their hearts were gently put down at this time.
When the team returned, not many people came to greet them. The simple villagers did not have any fancy ceremonies. The uncles and aunts just looked at the young people who had left for many days and did not come back. They carefully counted the number of people. After confirming that no one was missing, they smiled and continued to busy themselves. As for what they did, in fact, not many people were worried.
The orcs from the five villages, including the two wolf cavalry teams and Sarota's team that had been slaughtered in the end, the 30 young men had killed a total of nearly 400 orcs and had successfully provoked internal friction between the two tribes. From a political point of view, such a feat could be called a "miracle." However, under Roddy's order, no one mentioned anything about these battles to the villagers. If anyone asked, they would just say, "Go to the grassland for field survival training."
They did not bring back any spoils of war. Even their food and tents were almost used up. Seven or eight horses were killed or injured. So, no villagers would have any doubts.
That night, the team slaughtered a cow as a celebratory feast and lit a bonfire on the drill ground. Everyone gathered together in a lively manner and had a hearty meal. The "political commissar" Carter was the "host" of the banquet. He livened up the atmosphere, sang and danced, and the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable.
Simple wooden cups were filled with ale, and the fresh roast meat was fragrant. Sodelor could see his men from Fenkes Village and Norland Village talking and laughing without any barriers. They smiled and raised their cups to salute. Then, under the cheers of the soldiers, they went up and danced a cheerful style, which caused a lot of cheers. Carter went up to imitate him, but ended up tripping over himself, causing the audience to burst into laughter.
The campfire reflected the warm orange light. Lu Ge sat in the crowd with a glass of ale and listened to the conversation of the soldiers. The feeling of camping in the cold tent a few days ago felt like a lifetime ago. He nibbled on the beef in his hand and watched the scene of the soldiers celebrating. He quietly took a sip of warm ale and whispered something that no one else could hear.
"My old friends, I've avenged you …"
Tears flowed down his weather-beaten face as if he was thinking of something. The soldier beside him was at a loss. But very quickly, the young recruit took the wine glass from his comrade and replaced the empty glass in Lu Ge's hand. He patted the veteran's shoulder and said loudly, "To Lu Ge, to those brave seniors. Cheers!"
He gulped down the ale, and the cheers gradually diluted the sadness in his heart.
Rody's face was flushed red as he sat on the ground. He had never been a good drinker. His chest felt warm as he looked dizzily in front of him. He felt that he had a group of comrades who had walked out from a life and death situation. His heart felt warm.
"Roddy! What are we going to do next? "
Carter excitedly represented the opinion of the crowd. He asked Roddy, who was sitting on the ground and looking at the sky.
"What else do we want to do? Have a good sleep! Wait for me to find some ways to make money. I'll give you more pay and money. After we split the money, you can go to the town and find women! "
Messy words and laughter echoed in the village. Roddy felt that the world was slowly spinning. He let go of the vigilance in his heart. Just like that, he lay down in the middle of the crowd and … fell asleep.
Some firewood was added to the bonfire. The loud singing turned into whispers, and finally, snoring gradually sounded.
On the square, the scouts of Norland Village were lying on the ground in a circle, just like Roddy. Just like that, they spent their first night back home.
And … they had the most peaceful sleep they had in a long time.
***
At the same time that Roddy and the others safely returned to Norland Village, a bloody battle that had not been seen for many years broke out on the other side of the Nehemiah Plains.
Black smoke rose. The flames no longer brought warmth and affection, but destruction and slaughter.
The battle between Hammer of Rohar and Bloodspear resulted in thousands of casualties. Even though battles happened every year and the Orc Kingdom was used to it and even enjoyed it, the scale of the battle this year was unprecedented. More importantly, Hammer of Rohar, who always had the absolute advantage in military strength, was forced to retreat under Bloodspear's attacks. After fighting for more than two months, they were forced to give up a large piece of land and put out the flames of war.
Once a grudge like this was formed, there was no way it could be resolved. It was obvious that Rohar would fight Blood Spear to the death in the next few years before he would stop. However, what troubled Chieftain Rohar the most wasn't the loss of the battle, but the disappearance of his most capable subordinate, Witch Doctor Sarota.
The last place the 75 Wolf Riders were seen was in Cossack Village. According to the villagers, Witch Doctor Sarota's last battle was to chase after the 30 human scouts. In the end, he didn't return. Perhaps, he was killed in battle.
The orc who reported the situation was slapped out of the chieftain's tent. When he crawled back dizzily, he could still hear Chieftain Rohar's angry roar.
"Do you think I don't have a brain?! 75 Wolf Riders! And Sarota! He chased after 30 scouts and lost his life?! "
The subsequent questioning naturally didn't get any other information. After five to six days, he sent people to patrol the Death Swamp and another seven to eight people died. Then, Rohar had no choice but to accept the truth.
Perhaps, this clever witch doctor … was really dead.
Now, he and the Bloodspear chieftain knew that the war was started by the humans. However, it was useless to say anything now. Should they point their spear at the humans on the other side of the prairie? Such a thing wasn't realistic for the orcs who only wanted to annex the other's prairie!
The battle had already been fought, and most of the people had died. The territory had been invaded. The most important thing was that he had fought and fought, and his family's resources had been reduced. The death of 75 Wolf Cavalrymen had already caused him great pain, but the most important thing was that after the Witch Doctor Sarota had died, the entire tribe's combat power had been reduced by half!
Rohar wanted to take a hammer and smash those cunning humans into minced meat, but then he realized that he didn't even know where the humans were.
The depressed chieftain thought so, but there was nothing he could do. He could only focus on how the tribe could recover as soon as possible. Naturally, he wouldn't know that in the village that once belonged to Sarota, a young orc solemnly swore to avenge his teacher.
Roddy, who was hundreds of miles away, wouldn't know that he had killed the teacher of the "King of Axes" Sauron, the future supreme ruler of the orcs. He also wouldn't understand … that the skinny orc who fell in the Death Swamp was the greatest mastermind of the orcs' invasion of the Kingdom of Karen in the game's history!
And now, when "Sauron", the ruler who was once "brave but not astute" in the eyes of the players, swore a "revenge oath", history had completely embarked on a completely unpredictable path.
***
The rainy season had unknowingly come to an end.
Ever since the scouts returned from the prairie, the atmosphere in Norland Village had changed slightly because of the change in this group of soldiers. Perhaps it was because the originally numb young people finally experienced excitement and hot-bloodedness that they had never experienced in their lives, or perhaps it was because of the promise that Captain Roddy had made to them that sounded like a joke. In short, when the farmers woke up every morning, they would see the scene of scouts running around the village, shouting strange slogans such as "One, two, three, four" and "Defend the motherland".
This was what a young man should be like, full of exuberant vitality, like the rising sun.
At noon, the sun was no longer scorching hot, and when the breeze blew past, it felt a little more refreshing. The hottest days of summer in Norland Village had passed. Following the resolution of the orc crisis, the training of the soldiers had also begun to change. It was no longer about ambushes that focused on riding and killing, but had become solid positional warfare. It was all for the sake of being able to perform at the highest efficiency in complex and ever-changing environments or in certain dungeons.
And on the 27th day of the 8th month of the Elon calendar, Roddy had finished crafting a new shortbow and was prepared to set out for Hollier City.
Everything was going according to his previous plan. The ambush in the orc kingdom had increased his level to 8. Although the composite shortbow he crafted was not "excellent" and was only a white grade equipment, its damage, arrow speed, and shooting speed were all better than the horned bow from before. With such a weapon, Roddy was prepared to make a trip to Hollier City to see if there was a chance to kill the future "traitor", Francis, and bring the "Ginseng of Blasphemy" to try and cure Old Duke's illness.
If everything went smoothly, Roddy could choose to arrange a good place for the scouts to train, and he could start preparing for the "Profession Advancement" trial after Level 10.
Roddy had always done things like this. Almost everything that could be planned would be carried out strictly. But when he was about to leave, he naturally had to say goodbye to these comrades who had been through life and death with him.
"Heh, I should really teach them to sing" Send off the Red Army "…"
After walking for three to four miles, when Roddy turned back, he could still see the scouts still standing at the entrance of the village. Although he was touched, his mouth said some irrelevant things.
He was used to being a ranger in his previous life. Often, no one would talk to him for weeks or even months, so he kept his way of relieving his emotions. After a long period of silence, people would eventually become a little bored. Roddy felt like he was the main character in the movie "Survive on Deserted Island" who always talked to the volleyball player "Wilson". Sometimes, he would talk to himself, but it was quite enjoyable.
He took a deep breath and looked at the vast blue sky above his head. He couldn't help but hummed along with the rhythm that automatically jumped out in his mind, "Send off the Red Army with a creak down the mountain …"
"Send off the second … Forget it, it sounds so f * cking awful …"
The sound of hooves echoed in his ears. When the Forest of Silence gradually appeared in front of him, he couldn't help but think of his previous experience in Hollier City.
It would have been better if he didn't mention it. When he really recalled it, he kind of missed the hair-raising escape with the daughter of Duke. Especially the scene where Sally was scared to the ground because she thought it was the undead. That memory was almost unforgettable in his life … Of course, it was mainly because he had a deep impression of Sally's fair and tender skin when she "exposed herself".
What is she doing now? Is she having fun fighting with that brother of hers? Heh … Among the nobles, only she knows my identity. As long as she doesn't expose my identity, with the identity of a "scout" as a disguise, everything is really smooth sailing. That * sshole Francis probably wouldn't even think that I was the one who saved Sally.
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