Chapter 127: A Little Interlude on the Road
But there was no breakfast in the morning, so everyone was walking on the road, chatting, and casually nibbling on some dry rations.
They also gave me some of their food—small, palm-sized, black bread that was as hard as a brick! If you threw it at someone’s head, it would definitely draw bl**d! Taking a bite felt like it could knock my teeth out. The warriors from the Northern Region usually broke it into pieces to make porridge, but today there was no time for that. We could only gnaw on it with cold water, munching along the way. We had already walked two kilometers, and someone still hadn’t finished the bread in their hands!
I only managed to eat about half of mine before losing my appetite and handed the remaining half to the Sword Demon. True to form, she treated it like a precious treasure, tucking it away as if afraid the kids would starve one day.
“Speaking of which… why did we abandon the outpost? Why are we racing back to the city like this?”
I was walking at the back of the crowd with the Sword Demon, who was holding the Horned Horse. A man named Ral was driving the supply cart not too far ahead, flanked by a few familiar logistics workers. One of them finished his snack, jumped onto the cart’s back, and leaned over to Ral, whispering a question. I heard every word loud and clear.
“Ral, you’re tight with those warriors; you must know something… Spill it! Are we going back to fight?”
“What nonsense…”
Ral glanced at him with a look of irritation. “I’m just a guy who handles Horned Horses; what could they tell me? If they’re not saying anything, then just follow along…”
“Don’t play coy with me! I can see you don’t want to tell us… Is something big happening? Why would we suddenly abandon a perfectly good watchtower that we worked so hard to establish?”
“Stop speculating and focus on your own business… Get down! You turtle brat, eating so much that the cart wheels might buckle under you…”
“Come on, just drop us a hint…”
“I really don’t know! Stop bothering me…”
A fight…
Are we really going back to fight?
But judging by the other guy’s expression, it looked more like wild speculation…
They didn’t know anything…
Not even Taku was very clear on the matter…
It should be fine, right?
Listening to their chatter, I wasn’t overly worried; after all, the doomsday predictions I’d heard on the way were so frequent that I’d stopped taking them seriously. It was all just guessing and nonsense, and even these logistics folks didn’t have a clue. Real news would never reach people like them.
“Anna…”
After a bit, I smacked my lips, turned to look at Miss Sword Demon, and said, “Got any soft bread?”
“… No.”
Sword Demon didn’t blink, staring straight ahead without flinching.
“You’re lying…” I continued to stare at her. “I know you have some.”
“… But it’s not soft.”
“Anything softer than this bread will do; just tear me off a piece. My mouth’s too idle right now…”
“……”
The honest Sword Demon couldn’t refuse me, so with great reluctance, she pulled out some bread and tore off a small piece, handing it to me. I took tiny bites; it didn’t have much flavor and wasn’t fragrant, but at least it was warm from being tucked into her robes, so it was definitely better than that loaf of brick.
Meanwhile, the chatter up front continued to filter into my ears.
“Those folks on the payroll… seem to be lagging behind. Can barely see the end of the line now…”
“Should we speed up? We can’t be left behind…”
“No worries! Once we’re out of the mountains, we’ll all regroup… besides, there are still a few of us around.”
“Do you think this Duke can actually win… It’s been two months with no sign of action whatsoever…”
“Why bother with that…?”
“Seriously, what’s going on? I’ve got no confidence…”
“Scared?”
“Who’s scared? What about you…?”
“Originally, we came here thanks to some local hero… just for safety’s sake… now we’re suddenly heading back—I’ll be honest, it feels a bit off… I’ve been nervous ever since we started…”
“If you’re really feeling anxious, you might as well go ask those warriors… tsk, it’s just a little question, they won’t bite you…”
After a long, rambling discussion, someone finally mustered the courage to run over to the escorting soldiers, rubbing his hands together with a smile, asking, “Hey there, big guy… uh, so this morning came out of nowhere… everyone’s thinking to ask, why are we heading back? What’s up with suddenly abandoning the watchtower?”
That was a middle-aged man with a sincere face who looked a bit naïve, and while asking, he casually handed a chunk of sweet potato to the soldier.
The sweet potato may have been cooked last night, but by now, it was already cold. The soldier didn’t hesitate, took it, and took a big bite, enjoying it thoroughly. Afterward, he took down his wine flask from his waist and offered the man a drink to warm himself, saying, “Orders from above have come down, telling us to retreat to Baihao City. Last night, we got the message, and it arrived before dawn. I guess they just think this outpost isn’t necessary anymore… Good riddance; we’ve been around here long enough—big winds, deep snow. It’s tough to even find something to eat.”
“We’re not going back to fight, are we? Is there fighting happening over there…?”
“Oh, fighting? What fighting! We’d like to fight from Erin Castle, but ever since those church folks showed up, there hasn’t been a chance at all… stuck in this godforsaken wasteland, let alone women, I didn’t even see any grandmas around… Yesterday, we finally got a couple, and hey! They were stubborn and rank-smelling…”
As the soldier spoke, probably feeling a bit disgruntled, he raised his voice and glanced at me. I immediately shot him a glare, but he didn’t flinch. In fact, he provocatively raised his chin, saying, “Look at her, still glaring at me… little girl isn’t tall, but she sure has a feisty attitude—like it, hahaha!”
… Not tall, huh?
I almost couldn’t hold myself back from charging at him.
“Anyway, it looks like this fight might not happen after all…”
The soldier seemed unfazed by my anger, brushing me off like it was no big deal, and turned back to the middle-aged man as if nothing happened. “What a nuisance! Those church bird-brains are off-limits… it’s not that we’re scared of those knights, but there are so many complicated things at play here… We can’t really make any decisions…”
Yet as he spoke, I could feel the man’s attention was primarily on me.
Even though the Sword Demon had already knocked out some of them last night…
In true Northern manly style, that sort of act would only stimulate their desire to “conquer” us. I bet plenty of them were already thinking about how to “tame” me by now.
“I really hope that when we go back, we can have a proper brawl with the enemy… haha! Don’t you worry, I’ll tell you it’s unlikely; as long as those church folks are in the way… But even if we do fight, you won’t be the one holding a kn*fe. How can someone so big be so scared…?”
The soldier clapped the kind-hearted middle-aged man on the shoulder and watched him take a couple of swigs from the wine, then he snatched the flask back and downed a big gulp before, without even looking at me, tossed the flask my way. “Hey, catch!”
The sudden motion was pretty unexpected, like he was trying to show off, and it caught me off guard. I instinctively raised my hands and caught it, my face a complete question mark.
“I heard you guys slept in Taku’s tent last night… Was that guy hard on you? Haha, not that it’s my business; that guy’s just a softie… Take a drink. Warm yourself up! I’m Sanks; if you need anything on this trip, just find me.”
“… Oh.”
After a moment, I nodded.
Heh…
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes internally.
“I don’t drink,” I handed the flask back, “Keep it for yourself.”
“Hey, no thanks, huh…”
The soldier mumbled, taking the flask back and shaking his head in amusement, seemingly a bit embarrassed, before ignoring me again and continuing his chat with the middle-aged man.
That little interlude didn’t last long before it faded from my mind.
Two hours later, we emerged from the Snow Mountain.
