Three days later, in the Jade Mountain Range.
Herag and his group rode horses along the mountain path, with a carriage loaded with supplies trailing at the end of the line.
A light rain had just fallen in the mountains, and mist lingered among the peaks.
It was now sunset, and Emil rode at the forefront, scouting for a suitable campsite.
Herag was in the middle of the group, continuously refining a map within his field of vision.
Every place they passed, he had Shenlan record. Combining it with the existing map, a more complete map was gradually taking shape.
The Pumpkin Farm was an important agricultural site within Baron Buck’s territory, growing various crops and located to the west of the Jade Mountain Range. Baron Buck’s castle was on the right side of the Jade Mountain Range; they needed to cross it to reach the Pumpkin Farm.
"Let’s spend the night in this cave."
Emil found a fairly spacious cave ahead, with some kind of animal fur inside, and dried animal dung at the entrance.
It was clearly a bear’s lair, but Emil and the others didn’t care, considering bears only as pelt suppliers.
The horses were all tied in the nearby forest, left to graze and rest on their own.
The carriage was parked in front of the cave, forming a simple defensive fortification.
The group began to get busy, and a campfire was quickly lit at the cave entrance.
Herag was in charge of fetching food from the carriage, like cured meat, potatoes, and tomatoes.
A large pot was soon hung over the fire, and the food was thrown in all at once.
They had been eating this kind of stew outside for days.
A rack was quickly erected beside the campfire, where the guards hung their wet clothes to dry.
"Oh! Jimmy! Take those damned socks of yours away! How many times do I have to tell you, no drying socks while cooking! Do you want to eat cured meat with the smell of stinky socks?" Big Beard, a guard named Hagen, sniffed the air, turned to see a pair of stinky socks hanging on the drying rack, and immediately bellowed.
"Hehe." Jimmy sheepishly took down the socks and hung them outside the cave. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NovᴇlFɪre.ɴet
Seeing that the time was about right, Herag walked over to the pot and lifted the lid.
A rich aroma burst forth, filling the entire cave and wafting into the gradually darkening forest outside.
"Dinner’s ready!" Herag shouted, and the guards lying or sitting in the cave hurriedly came over with their metal lunchboxes.
None of them made a move, just staring at the meat in the pot, waiting for Emil to take the first bite.
Emil used a fork to spear some meat and vegetables into his lunchbox, scooped a little soup, and then sat by the cave entrance, eating while staring into the unknown outside.
Once Emil began eating, the rest couldn’t hold back any longer; they scrambled to grab the meat from the pot, which was soon gone.
Herag was well-experienced and quick, aided by Shenlan, in getting his share of meat.
After dinner, there was no entertainment; the group chatted around the campfire for a while before going to sleep.
They could only partially remove their armor, keeping their weapons and armor close by to ensure they could enter combat readiness at a moment’s notice.
Herag was on watch tonight, sitting by the campfire, constantly keeping an eye on their surroundings.
With no dry wood available due to the rain, Herag fetched some stored dry firewood from the carriage.
The campfire had to stay burning all night to ensure any nearby wild animals would shy away from the flames, reducing potential problems.
Late at night, it started drizzling in the mountains again. Herag glanced at the time in his field of vision: 1 AM.
Based on usual observations, Shenlan’s chip had discovered that this world also had about a 24-hour day.
Herag adjusted Shenlan to the twenty-four-hour scale familiar from his previous life.
The cold wind blew into the cave, causing the campfire to crackle, the flames dancing with the gusts.
The chilly wind drove away Herag’s drowsiness as he stared into the pitch-dark forest outside; Shenlan’s small map showed no abnormalities.
Originally, Shenlan’s map could cover a range of ten meters, but after Herag’s physical qualities greatly improved, it could now display plants and animals within a hundred-meter area.
Meanwhile, a group of people was stealthily approaching the cave through the distant woods.
The sound of the falling rain masked their movements. Coupled with their cautious approach, they were hard to notice under the cover of darkness.
Once they got closer to the cave, the leading three signaled, and their troops split, with two teams flanking from both sides to approach, while three others continued advancing from the front.
Herag sat at the cave entrance, steadfast at his post, with Shenlan’s map open in his vision.
He suddenly noticed a red dot appearing on the small map, in the woods to the left of the cave, followed by eight more red dots entering its range.
At the same time, another group appeared on the right, also numbering nine.
Herag immediately drew his longsword, quietly alerted them, "Enemy attack!"
Emil, sleeping deepest within the cave, had awakened even before Herag drew his longsword, quickly donning his armor.
The others also reacted swiftly, all on their feet.
"There are teams rapidly approaching from both sides, and three individuals advancing directly towards the cave entrance!" Herag quickly briefed them on the situation.
Emil didn’t ask how he knew, instead, he walked to the campfire and kicked over the large pot, instantly dousing the flames.
Turning back, he said, "Everyone follow me and break through from the right side!"
Their horses were in the woods to the right, and without knowing the strength of their opponents, getting away on horseback was a good option.
Herag and the others nodded in unison, following Emil out of the cave.
"Damn it! Don’t let Emil escape!" one of the lead three, a man carrying a large sword, roared.
Clearly, their actions had alerted those outside; the extinguishing of the campfire had revealed their presence.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
A volley of arrows rained on the cave, mostly blocked by the carriage.
Meanwhile, Emil and the others faced attacks from the right-side woods, but no one was hit due to the darkness.
Herag noticed that the group remained hidden in the woods, avoiding a direct confrontation, all equipped with bows and arrows.
"They’re over here! Quickly, come!" the opposing side started calling as soon as they spotted Emil and his group.
Checking Shenlan’s map, Herag saw another group closing in, with the leading three approaching at breakneck speed.
Such speed indicated official knights; they had to break through from the right side swiftly.
"Shenlan, activate aiming assist."
Herag hid behind a tree, dodging arrows while drawing his bow and aiming at the enemies in the woods ahead.
Invisible to others, he could see everything clearly with Shenlan’s assistance, even spotting those hiding behind trees, giving him a significant advantage despite the darkness.