Return (on)

Three days later, Locke and Angelina looked at the small cave they had lived in for more than twenty days. They were going to leave today.

Before leaving, Angelina looked at the grass and trees here with a burning gaze. She was the one who had the deepest impression of everything around her.

"Let's go," said Locke to Angelina and left in the direction they had already determined.

The two of them no longer looked like savages. Locke shaved his beard with a dagger. His body had mostly recovered, and he had the protection of the moonlight wolf's light core. He rolled a few times in the snow naked, and the smell on his body disappeared. Angelina also cast a Cleanse spell on him, turning him from a savage into a hunter.

Why a hunter? Because Locke was wearing all kinds of animal fur, which were all contributed by the animals Angelina caught. Angelina's knitting was terrible, so Locke had to resew it to have the appearance of a shirt.

Angelina, on the other hand, fully displayed her noble nature. The smooth and white moonlight wolf fur. Locke directly made a full outfit for Angelina. The fur on the wolf's head was made into a hat, the tail into a scarf, the fur on the wolf's body into a coat and long skirt, and the fur on the limbs into a pair of shoes and a pair of gloves.

Angelina was completely wrapped in the moonlight wolf's fur at this time. She felt hot after taking two steps, let alone feeling cold.

"Why didn't you make a suit for yourself?" Angelina complained. It was such a big piece of moonlight wolf fur, and Locke had made clothes for her, but he was wearing a shirt made from small animals. Angelina was touched by Locke's actions, but she also complained that he didn't care about her. His body had just recovered.

"It looks good on you, but it's a waste for me to wear it. I'll just wear this." Locke laughed and pointed at the 'inferior' clothes on his body.

Angelina had worn clothes that were better than this. Although the moonlight wolf was a rare light major monster, it was only a low-rank one. Angelina's wardrobe in the palace contained a bearskin cotton-padded jacket contributed by a high-rank major monster. It was much more precious than the fur of the moonlight wolf, but Angelina still preferred the clothes Locke knitted for her.

Angelina didn't thank him too much. She just stepped forward and held his hand, and the two left together.

The snow had stopped for three days, but the snow on the Bering Mountains showed no signs of melting. The two of them walked in the mountains, leaving knee-deep footprints.

Locke walked very carefully because the snow was too deep for them to see what was underneath. If there were any holes or stumbles, the two of them would inevitably suffer. Walking carefully meant walking slowly. They set off in the morning and only climbed one and a half hills in the afternoon.

Before the sky turned dark, Locke found a leeward rock and rested against it. There was no cave to live in, which meant that they couldn't start a fire. The two of them weren't eating hot food, but wolf meat that Angelina had heated up using Illuminate. Seeing that the wolf meat was cooked in Angelina's hands, Locke exclaimed, "Magic is so useful!"

Angelina pursed her lips and chuckled. She liked it when Locke praised her. Angelina had been outstanding since she was a child. Anyone who saw her talent would praise her. Although Angelina had matured recently and didn't care much for this kind of flattery, she was still very happy with Locke's praise.

"If you want to learn, I'll get the teacher to test you when we get back to see if you have the talent," said Angelina.

"We'll see." Locke shook his head. Although he was very envious, he still knew where he stood. From the fact that he could barely read and wasn't proficient in arithmetic, his brain was indeed not very flexible. Angelina once said that those with magic potential were all geniuses. What is a genius? Someone like Angelina is one.

Maybe Suzanne could do it, Locke thought. Suzanne had learned to write and count on her own. Coupled with the shrewdness she had developed as a proprietress, she should meet the passing standards of a genius. However, Locke didn't have the guts to recommend Suzanne. Both of them were his women. One was a lowly Shalorian commoner and the other was a noble Faustian princess. If they met, Suzanne would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Locke was very attentive to his women. Suzanne was willing to follow him before he made his fortune and even gave him advice, so he wouldn't let her down. Thinking of Suzanne, he didn't know how she was doing now. His brothers were still alive, so she shouldn't be at a disadvantage. However, his brothers wouldn't always take care of her, so he needed to go back as soon as possible.

A week and a half later, Locke and Angelina were struggling to walk in the snow. At this time, the jungle and mountains were no longer around, and a vast plain appeared in front of them. They had walked out of the Bering Mountains!

In the barracks, Kane was kicking stones in the tent in boredom. The thumb-sized stones were kicked left and right by Kane's flexible feet, but they didn't fall to the ground. After some time, Hans came in with food. "Eat!" Hans handed the food in his hand to Kane.

Kane stopped his senseless behavior and kicked the pebble away.

It had been a month and a half since Locke's' death '. Kane and Hans had been depressed for the past month. Their elder brother sacrificed himself in exchange for their lives. No matter what, as brothers who had gone through life and death together, they couldn't let it go.

Wyr arrived just in time that day. Just as the Shalorians in red leather armour were about to slaughter the remaining survivors, the cavalry appeared like divine soldiers descending from the sky. The ferocious cavalry directly broke up the Shalorians' formation. Coupled with the fact that they outnumbered the Shalorians, the result was self-evident.

Wyr even broke the arm of one of the leading blood-red armoured men on his warhorse. The army was defeated like a landslide. This group of elite Shalorians came and went quickly. Only broken limbs and corpses were left on the ground.

In that battle, five out of the eight infantry platoon jarls of their battalion were killed. Only Mond and Yoshk survived because they followed the baron's team. The remaining platoon jarl, Karl, had lost an arm. Just from the loss of the senior officers, it could be seen how serious the damage their battalion had suffered this time.

At that time, there were more than 300 people in the three infantry platoons. In the end, only a little more than 100 survived. Half of them were seriously or lightly injured. Now, the number of people in the battalion who could fight was less than half of what it used to be. The tragic situation of this battle was comparable to the bloody battle of Gordon Heights a year ago.

Such serious losses should have caused an uproar in their corps and even the entire Falcon corps, but very few people knew the true losses of their battalion.

For some reason, Cardoj and the military suppressed this matter until half a month ago, when the king of Shalor announced that Princess Angelina of the Faustian royal family had been killed by Blood Red, the elite Shalorian unit. Only then did they know that the female caster who was being hunted was their princess.

Then came Kenzir's strong revenge. The three major corps launched a sudden attack regardless of everything. Most of the battles were won, but of course, there were some tragic endings.

But this had nothing to do with their battalion. Cardoj, who had lost more than half of his troops, was directly sent to the rear to recuperate. Although they didn't manage to save the princess, they were able to make Shalor's elite Blood Red suffer heavy losses. In the end, they lost half of their own men. Kenzir and the military were understanding.

There was no reward, nor was there any harsh criticism. Just like that, their battalion had inexplicably fallen from a powerful army that had been through hundreds of battles to the ranks of a second-rate army. Cardoj had been drowning his sorrows in alcohol recently. His efforts for the rise of the Cardoj family were met with a blow at the last moment.

Kane didn't feel happy at all as he ate the tasteless white bread in his hand. Since everyone was dead, there was no point in keeping so much food. Cardoj generously added a stick of white bread to every soldier who was still alive. Perhaps it was the soft white bread, or perhaps it was the confidence of a strong army that had been through hundreds of battles, but the army that had lost more than half of its members had yet to collapse.

When the transport team returned last month, they brought back the bad news of more than 200 families. Kane didn't tell them about Locke's death in battle, and the remains of Locke and Angelina had yet to be found. The baron also acquiesced to Kane's actions. Kane and Hans were now acting platoon jarls of 4th Platoon, and they were in charge of less than 20 people.

As for Locke's pay, Kane sent his own back to Locke's family. He had no relatives or friends, so he was the least enthusiastic when it came to distributing pay. He didn't know where to spend the money. Other than taking a sip of wine, Kane didn't have any special interests.

It had been a difficult month for Suzanne. Without Locke's protection, even though his men were still protecting her, she was no longer as free as she was at the beginning. Suzanne had been doing business with Henry for the past month. The group of refugees that Locke had subdued in Giza was Suzanne's team.

Shalorian refugees were everywhere. They were penniless and worthless in the eyes of those in power, but Suzanne saw a business opportunity in it. Whether it was labour or the hidden value that they might carry, they could all be discovered.

Cardoj hadn't participated in the war in the past month due to the heavy losses of his troops. He lost the last chance to get a share of the pie, so he turned to the transport business. He dared to do many businesses like food, steel, weapons and horses that the troops needed. He was a brave and resourceful man. Cardoj showed his talent to the nobles who mocked and pitied him.

Of course, the business was getting better and better. In the end, there was a shortage of manpower. Although Henry was making a lot of money, he hadn't reached his limit yet. Suzanne stood up at the right time. The free labour she provided alone reached nearly a hundred people.

These hundred people were all Shalorian refugees. Suzanne used her life as a guarantee, and she also had the support of the two acting platoon jarls, Kane and Hans. Henry, who had a good relationship with Locke, accepted Suzanne's help. He originally wanted to give it a try, but he didn't expect the Shalorians to be so obedient.

Any businessman would love to use labor force that could be used as long as they could have a full meal. In recent years, the war between Shalor and Faustian had become more and more intense. Even in the occupied areas, the Faustians wouldn't trust the Shalorians who were enslaved by them, let alone here at the frontline.

"How did you do it?" the logistics merchant Henry asked with interest.