Night probing

Although the leader of the mercenaries, Big Beard, was also a low-rank Knecht, he gave Locke a much stronger feeling than Mond.

If Mond's aura was an unsheathed sword, then Big Beard was an axe stained with blood.

In his armour, Locke was confident that he could fight on par with the veteran low-rank Knecht, Mond. However, he was always on guard against the bearded man.

While Locke was still resting against the rock, the bracelet he kept close to his body began to heat up.

He knew that Angelina was looking for him.

According to Angelina, she had engraved a brand on this bracelet called the Moon Bracelet with her mental power.

She couldn't transmit other complicated messages, but she could easily do this kind of simple trick to make it heat up.

Locke walked out of the camp quietly. Although the soldiers in the camp knew that he had saved the princess and often communicated with the casters, Locke didn't want too many people to talk about him.

As a person who didn't like to show off, Locke didn't want too many people to talk about him because of these things. He didn't want to be in the limelight unnecessarily.

The bracelet was getting hotter and hotter, to the point that it was scalding. It seemed that its owner was very anxious.

Locke curiously walked quickly to the caster camp. Along the way, there were soldiers lying on the ground in a disarray.

The Shalorians who were defending the city gritted their teeth and persevered, and they were no exception. After more than a week of continuous siege, the Faustian soldiers, who fought an average of one battle a day, were also under a lot of pressure.

Fortunately, most of them were veterans. For someone as careless as Hans, they could even fall asleep as soon as they fell.

Although their defensive awareness was a little weak, their recovery efficiency was extremely high. It would only take a few hours for them to be full of energy again.

Locke strode over the bodies of several fellows lying on the side of the road. Impetus training had made Locke more proficient in controlling his body, and his sensitivity had also greatly improved.

It wasn't a short distance, but Locke didn't step on a single person as he walked over.

When he got a little closer to the caster camp, the number of guards in the open and in the dark increased.

Fortunately, his battalion had been on duty outside the caster camp before, so he knew most of the guards. They didn't ask for his password and just let him pass.

Locke smiled and greeted the soldiers on duty. The soldiers on duty didn't have it easy either. Most of them had been transferred here to 'recuperate' after participating in a fierce battle.

Don't think that you can enjoy life by relying on the casters here. On the second day after Locke's battalion retreated, it was said that the caster camp was bombarded by a large-scale spell from Shalor.

The casters of Shalor were indeed much stronger than those of Faustian. The caster camp was 1,500 yards away from Audis. Who knew how they managed to get there?

Through Angelina, Locke had also gained some superficial knowledge of magic. For example, the spells that Angelina used only had a range of 10 yards.

Only high-rank Lehrlings and above could reach 1,000 yards, and there were only three of them in Faustian.

As for 1500 yards … Locke really couldn't figure out how the spell had been thrown there.

It was said that the caster camp was in flames at that time, and Faustian lost many casters that day.

Most of those who died were the ordinary soldiers guarding outside the camp. Of the two platoons, nearly 2,000 soldiers, more than 500 had been burned to death, and countless more had been burned.

Of course, Angelina was fine. She had all kinds of secret treasures, so she didn't even lose a single hair from the attack that day.

In fact, most of the casters were fine. Those who died were the weaker ones, and many of them had just advanced to low-rank Lehrlings.

Even so, the military still ordered the caster camp to retreat another 500 yards.

If they could reach a range of 2,000 yards, there was no other explanation other than the fact that Shalor had another Magister.

When the time came, there would be no need for Faustian to fight back. If Shalor had two Magisters, it wouldn't be Faustian attacking Shalor. Instead, it would be time for Shalor to consider counterattacking.

Unfortunately, Shalor only had one Magister.

The long-range attack from Shalor had only happened once, and it hadn't been seen since. So, there wasn't much pressure on Locke's way, and he didn't have to worry about some destructive spell falling on his head.

The closer he got to the caster camp, the more embarrassed he became. Several waves of people had already stopped him to ask questions.

If it weren't for the faint aura of a low-rank Knecht and the layer of Faustian uniform he was wearing, these soldiers would've been even more impolite.

When he was 200 metres away from the caster camp, he couldn't go any further. Without a warrant or a guide, the guards had no right to let him in.

Locke wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he chatted with the soldiers around him.

Currently, it was a brigade of Lion's 4th Division that was guarding this place.

The soldier who talked to Locke seemed to be a recruit who had just joined the army.

His face still looked young and immature, and he stuttered in response to Locke's various inquiries.

This recruit had grown a lot in the past few days of battle. Judging from the fluff at the corner of his mouth, Locke guessed that he was probably only 15 or 16 years old, three or four years younger than him.

The pain of losing a comrade and the tragic situation made this young boy not very enthusiastic when talking to Locke, who was a low-rank Knecht. Most of the time, it was Locke asking and he answering.

4th Division wasn't having it easy either. As a division composed of mostly recruits, Marmen didn't treat them as recruits at all.

Almost every time they participated in an attack with the other divisions, the degree of danger they faced was no less than that of other divisions.

Although the casualty rate was a little higher, their growth was still very fast. Locke felt that this inexperienced recruit in front of him was already close to the strength of a third-rate soldier.

"I must avenge Tervik!" The recruit named Watson swore.

Locke didn't know who Tervik was, but he could guess that he should be Watson's friend. He was probably an unlucky guy who was killed by the Shalorians, Locke thought.

Locke patted Watson's shoulder and said, "I believe in you!"

Not long after, a man in a black robe walked out of the caster camp. Locke knew that the person who came to pick him up was here. He greeted Watson and walked towards the camp. At this time, no one stopped him. They probably received some orders.

The young man called Watson waved excitedly at Locke, who was walking away. After talking for a few minutes with a low-rank Knecht, who was at least a platoon jarl, Watson felt that he had the capital to brag to his colleagues.

On the way, Locke touched the stubble on his chin. He didn't have time to tidy up his appearance during the siege of the city for the past few days. He wondered if Angelina would be surprised to see him later.

Probably not, he didn't shave during those days in the Bering Mountains. But he could feel it. Angelina was very concerned about his appearance. She preferred to look clean.

"That's it," Locke thought casually. He always felt that a beard was a symbol of a man, and it was better to keep it. At most, he'd just trim it neatly.

Perhaps it was because of the conversation with a recruit just now, Locke suddenly remembered that he would be nineteen after the new year. Another year had passed without him noticing. Locke had been in the army for five years.

The man in the black robe walked Locke to a tent and turned to leave. He didn't say a word to Locke along the way.

Locke was also used to it. Until now, he had come into contact with many casters because of Angelina, and most of them gave him the impression that they were not easy to get along with.

They were a group of loners. Locke defined most casters as such. Perhaps it was because most of these casters were stronger than him, Locke could even see a trace of contempt in their eyes.

This made him very unhappy. Although he was unhappy, he had to bear with it. Although he was now on good terms with the division jarl, Wyr and Cardoj had to give him face. But in fact, he knew who they were giving face to.

He opened the tent and strode in.

There was only one oil lamp in the tent, but the light was surprisingly bright, illuminating every corner of the tent. It was a magic item.

Under the light stood a charming figure. It was none other than Angelina.

This time, Angelina was wearing a long white dress with exquisite patterns and diamonds on it, which further enhanced her charm.

"What's the matter?" There was no one in the tent, so Locke's tone was quite relaxed. He believed that absolutely no one would dare to eavesdrop.

In the past, when the two met, Angelina would be more or less intimate for a while, but not this time. "For the battle in three days, try to stay away from the west and east gates as much as possible," said Angelina, going straight to the point.

"Why?" Although he didn't know that he was at such a level, he still couldn't help but ask.

Angelina didn't hide it. "Gale has been transferred here by my brother, and Shalor will be breached in three days."

Locke's eyes widened. This news was neither too big nor too small for him. Angelina asked him to stay away from the east and west gates, most likely because these two gates would be the main attack points.

In the north of Shalor, Gale had committed the heroic act of slaughtering countless Shalorians. They had an illustrious reputation, and Falcon had always been at odds with Gale. Locke was very curious about their participation.

The short-sighted Locke didn't know what Gale's participation in the battle meant. He only thought that the higher-ups wanted to gather the strength of the three major corps to breach Shalor's capital in one fell swoop.

After a while of cuddling with Angelina, Locke left the caster's camp.

The next battle was about to begin, and Angelina was a busy person now, so the two didn't have much time to spend together.

Locke didn't return to the camp directly, but turned to the rear transport team. He hadn't forgotten what he had promised Glace. Since Audis would be breached in three days, it would be the best time for him to bring Glace in.

Because of Locke's identity as a platoon jarl, he didn't encounter any obstacles all the way from the front to the rear. In the Faustian army, a platoon jarl already had a high degree of autonomy.

Walking to the transport team belonging to Cardoj, Locke directly asked the soldier guarding the door to call the merchant Henry out. Henry then took Locke to the place where Glace and the others were settled.

He hadn't seen Glace for nearly a week, and this woman was a little more mature than the last time he saw her. Unfortunately, Locke didn't have time to appreciate it and went straight to the point. "In three days, I'll ask Henry to find a way to bring you to the front, then I'll take you into the city!" said Locke.

Glace's eyes lit up and she nodded heavily.

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