Warpath of the Knight

Locke was a second-class soldier of the Faustine Kingdom. He had started serving at the age of 14 and had been serving for 4 years. Today, he was in a good mood. Because it was the day to pay for the soldiers, the second-class soldiers of the kingdom had three silver ducas a month. In addition, there were two silver ducas that Baron Cadozzi provided for his soldiers. He could get four silver ducas a month. Why four, not five? It was because the military would always embezzle one silver ducas. That was a tradition.

Locke couldn't wait to receive four silver ducas. Then, he would ask Lord Baron's caravan to send three back to his hometown. He hoped that his sister could buy a ribbon that she liked to replace the rough-linen wrapped on her hair. He also hoped that his parents would eat one or two meals of white bread in the next month. They were already in poor health. As for the remaining silver ducas, Locke would treat his brothers to a drink. He had a little authority, managing a team of ten men.

He knew that his brothers were having a hard time either. The third-class soldiers only had two silver ducas every month while the servant soldiers had only one silver ducas. They needed to change their silver ducas into copper ducas. They needed to subsidize the family and cover their own expenses. This was not enough at all. In order to unite the soldiers, and have a few loyal subordinates who could stand up for him at the critical moment, Locke was generous in treating them.

In his ten-man team, there were five third-class soldiers and five servant soldiers. Apart from three of them being assigned to their team two months ago, the rest had fought together for at least half a year. Most of them were the same age as Locke, but they had served a shorter time. They were all new soldiers who had only joined the army for one or two years. Most of them admired Locke from the bottom of their hearts because Locke was generous and loyal. He would treat them every time after soldier's pay. Most importantly, they had more or less been taken care of by Locke during the battle, saving many team members after the first battle. After experiencing more fights, team members were becoming more tacit, and the survival rate of the team became higher and higher.

This was also quite famous in the entire military camp. No matter if it were for a recruit or a veteran, as long as they were younger or of the same age as Locke, they would call him Big Brother Locke, showing him their respect. Moreover, it was said that Locke had killed many barbarians from the Karlaw Kingdom in the battle two months ago. He was about to upgrade as a first-class soldier.

Locke walked to the military supply camp. Soldiers could receive their pay here and it was also a trading place where you could buy everything you want from fragrant ale, a sharp fine iron sword, a horse with good stamina to a beautiful woman. There was everything here, and Baron Kaidoqi took care of his soldiers very much. But the premise was that you have money... Or, power. As a second-class soldier, Locke could narrowly consume here, but he rarely squandered here. It wasn't just him. In the military camp, basically, all the soldiers with family or burdens wouldn't consume here. It wasn't because the soldiers had strong self-control, but because their pay couldn't afford to be extravagant.

"Hey, Locke! Your pay!" With a rough roar, a burly bearded man with a large waist threw a bag of money to Locke. Locke opened it and saw that there were three sparkling silver ducas and a hundred copper ducas.

"Uncle Joshak, are you going to have a drink this afternoon?" Locke said to the bearded man with a smile.

"How many times have I told you to call me Captain in the military camp? You brat! One cup is not enough! At least two cups!" Uncle Joshak corrected with a smile.

Locke invited Uncle Joshak to drink not only because he was polite, but also because of the promotion of his military rank. His military achievements were about to reach the first-class soldier level. The first-class soldier was a dividing line for all soldiers. For those who reached the first-class soldier level, the baron would give them the cultivation method to cultivate Qi. This was the passage to advance to the knight level. And first-class soldiers could at least be middle-class captains. An old first-class soldier like Uncle Joshak was directly appointed as Captain.

Uncle Joshak agreed to Locke's request not only to attend to his prestige but because he thought Locke was a promising young man. Moreover, Uncle Joshak and Locke came from the same town, Mineton. In fact, most of the people in their brigade came from the same place, Cadozzi Barony. Uncle Joshak had helped him a lot since Locke joined the army. From a servant soldier to a second-class soldier, Uncle Joshak had witnessed his growth over the years. He was also willing to help this young man. This time, he was prepared to guide him on advancing to a first-class soldier.

"No problem. I'll call you when the time comes!" Locke took his pay and left. The exquisite armor, sharp long sword, and the coquettish woman around him almost made him jealous. An ordinary set of armor would cost at least 100 silver ducas, which was one gold ducas. A good sword would cost at least 10 silver ducas. And if you wanted to spend a night with a beautiful woman, it would cost you at least one silver ducas. Locke did not have much spare money. He was now equipped with only damaged leather armor, a sharp iron sword with a gap, an iron spear, and a dagger hidden in his boots.

Locke returned to his own tent and looked at his subordinates who were sitting in groups of two or three playing cards and bragging. He became relaxed in such an atmosphere. Locke kicked Kane, who was shouting while playing cards. This guy was a scout of the team, a third-class soldier. On the battlefield, he was a scout who was calmly ambushing while normally, he was careless and speaking in a loud voice. He, Locke, and the team's shieldman, Hans, had the best relationship. They had been comrades for more than two years. "I'll take you guys to drink in the afternoon. Now go get lunch! Don't mess around here!" Locke said to the team.

"Hey, boss, can you stop kicking my butt? What if someone observes my swollen butt next time when I scout?" Kane winked at Locke, making everyone in the tent laugh.

"Don't worry. If your butt is swollen, I'll go ask Ritch Brothers to lend you a mint and apply it to you. It will be fine the next day," the spearmen, Yard, teased, who was also a third-class soldier. The Ritch brothers were famous gays in the camp, who were good at interrogating the tough prisoners. The mint slices were used for some kind of activity to reduce the swelling. After all, they still had to fight the next day.

"Piss off! Little Yard, are you intended for a beating? How dare you tease me? Be careful that I won't show you any mercy on the training ground!" Of course, Kane was just joking.

The daily fun of these soldiers was playing cards, bragging, and teasing each other. Everyone was good at joking and teasing. Locke liked this kind of phenomenon very much because it indirectly increased the cohesiveness of their team. "Stop talking nonsense. Go get your food and bring my share," Locke scolded his subordinates with a smile, "Kane, don't secretly eat my meat. Otherwise, you won't have any share for drinking in the afternoon!"

"Don't, boss. No one will eat your meat. I will beat him if anyone dares to eat it! Hans, let's go!" Kane promised before leaving.

In order to encourage the soldiers to fight bravely and strive for honor and merit, the military had set up a lot of hierarchy systems that could be displayed in terms of eating. Every meal, servant soldiers would have chestnut cake and potato soup; third-class soldiers would have black bread and potato soup; second-class soldiers would have wheat cake, a piece of meat, and potato soup. As for the first-class soldiers, they ate with Lord Baron, the captain, and others in the military tent at the center of the camp. It was said that they ate white bread and meat soup. However, this kind of treatment was not something that ordinary people could have. There were more than five hundred people in the entire camp, and only less than fifteen people could eat in the tent, including four infantry Captains and four deputies, the captain of the cavalry squadron, Sir Will, the captain of the cavalry squadron, Baron Cadozzi, and his eldest son, Solon and his butler. Locke had been looking forward to enjoying the white bread for a long time.

Not long after, Locke's subordinates returned. Kane handed Locke's lunch to him and said with a smile, "Boss, look at how big this piece of fat meat is. Should I help you eat it?"

"Piss off! Hans and I will go to the military supply camp later. Have you all received your pay? Whoever wants to send money back to the family gives the money to Hans. I will help you send it later," Locke took the lunch, gave Kane a kick, turned around and said to his team members.

Perhaps the word 'family' was too distant for the soldiers at war. Everyone was silent for a while when they heard it. Most of them nodded in agreement. In other teams, it was taboo for the captain to ask for payment from the members, which might cause a mutiny. But this would not happen in Locke's team. Because when the members needed to borrow money, Locke never rejected it.

Four years of war had given Locke the habit of eating quickly. He finished the meal, wiped his hands, and said to Hans, "Hans, let's go."

Locke arrived at the munition depot again. It was noon now, and most people were either sleeping or soaking in taverns. Locke walked straight to the posthouse at the rear of the munition depot, took the money pouch from Hans, and walked into the courier station.

"Warner! Warner!" Locke shouted.

"What! What's the matter! Damn Locke, I heard it. You ruined my afternoon nap. You damned bastard!" Warner, who was in charge of the courier station's communication duties, walked out of a room and complained, "Is it sending money to your family again? Come on, give it to me!"

"Here, this is mine. And those bags belong to other guys in my team. Don't mess it up!" Locke warned.

"I know, I know. It's not the first time I worked for this. None of the other teams are as fussy as you!" Warner was still dissatisfied with Locke waking him up from his nap.

"You such guy, if you mess things up, wait and see how I'll punish you." Locke gritted his teeth at this lucky guy. Warner was lucky because the person in charge of the courier station not only enjoyed the third-class soldier's salary, but the most important thing was that this position was safe. After all, anything could go wrong, except for logistics. Moreover, in this position, there was no need to be that respectful to others. Generally, the Lieutenant would not mess with Warner. But there's no promotion here. Warner was in charge of the post when Locke was a third-class soldier. Now that Locke had been promoted to a second-class soldier for more than a year, Warner was still there. However, Locke heard that Warner was related to Lord Baron's housekeeper, so Locke thought Warner will have his way to promote in the future.

"Well, do you have any other requests? Message or something." Warner had been dealing with Locke for a long time. He knew that every time this guy received his pay, he would send it home with a few words.

"Yes. Please tell my parents to take care of themselves and tell my sister that she doesn't have to keep saving money, she can buy whatever she wants. I'm not short of that kind of money right now." Locke had already thought of what he was going to say. He believed his sister knew what he meant: to buy a silk scarf for hair, which was Locke's obsession.

"Got it. The caravan to Cadozzi Barony will set off tomorrow. We will first go to the territory occupied by the eastern province, Peters Barony, and then to the capital, Flor City. Finally, we will return to our southern region, Del Duchy. We will be able to get back in 20 days at the latest." Warner said. After chatting with Warner for a while, Locke left. He did not want to disturb Warner's lunch break. Although Warner was idle now, he would be busy in the afternoon because today was the payday.

Walking out of the courier station, Locke brought Hans back to their tent. "Hans, what do you think our village is like now?" On the way back, Locke and Hans chatted. They came from the same village, and their families were neighbors.

"I guess the village is still the same. The maple tree at the entrance of the village should be taller. My elder brother had another son this year, so I now have three nephews, and in the future the family land is not worried about no one to plant. It is said that this year's harvest is very good, so the village killed a pig for our military families, each family has a share, and..." Hans was usually quiet, but when he opened the conversation, he couldn't stop talking until the two of them returned to the tent.

"This battle has been going on for four years, and it's almost over. I really want to go back quickly!" Locke sighed.

After Locke and Hans returned to their tents, apart from janissary Phil, the rest of the team were taking a nap. Those who had been to the battlefield knew that abundant energy could allow them to live longer on the battlefield.

Locke walked to his bed, took off his coat, and went to bed. However, he did not fall asleep. He was thinking about how he could get promoted to a first-class soldier as soon as possible. In the army of the Kingdom of Faustine, there was a system of promotion: janissary, cannon fodder on the battlefield. After joining the army for two months of training, you can be a janissary. Third-class soldiers, the main force of the kingdom's army, required at least two years of military age(required more than a year in wartime), and also had the strength to deal with three janissaries. A second-class soldier, the Lieutenant, who managed a team of ten, needed at least three years of military age(more than two years of wartime) to have the strength to deal with three third-class soldiers. First-class soldiers, the trump card combat strength of the army, to serve as a Captain leading 100 soldiers, required more than four years of military age(more than three years of wartime), and had the strength to defeat at least three second-class soldiers. That's right, it was "defeat". First-class soldiers had the right to learn techniques to cultivate Battle Aura. The army did not clearly state the requirements for the promotion of a first-class soldier to a knight. Maybe the requirements will be announced when you were qualified.

Locke was clear about his own capacity. He could deal with three second-class soldiers for a while if he tried his best. Though his military age was enough, he was not sure if he could gain a promotion. There were many soldiers who were similar in strength to him. A third of their battalion had been killed in the battle two months before, and the Captain of the third squadron and the Deputy Captain of the fourth squadron had been killed, leaving two vacancies. There were too many monks and too few porridge. It was unknown how many people were secretly watching these two positions.

Thinking back to the battle two months ago, Locke shuddered. This was a ruthless battle that was second only to the Battle of Gedeng Highlands. In order to take down the Fermer Grand Canyon that led to the heart of the enemy kingdom, the three groups of legions fought with their lives. In order to break the deadlock, the three groups took turns attacking the canyon Highlands. It was said that there was only one regiment of the enemy defending the canyon, so how could they defend? This battle was extremely difficult. The enemy had risked their lives to defend this last line of defense. Locke had experienced more than once when the heavily injured enemy soldiers were surrounded by his own side and attacked crazily. Was this to protect their home? Locke asked himself, if his kingdom was invaded, would he do this? He recalled how his army had successfully defeated Karlaw Kingdom's main force last year. After occupying Peters Barony, they had done what they had done in Karlaw Kingdom. They burned, killed, plundered, and those with a bit of assets were demoted to slaves. The beautiful women were either seized by the nobles or became military prostitutes. He also remembered his simple parents and kind sister. Locke also understood these opponents, because in the same situation, Locke would be even more ruthless.

Facing this kind of courageous opponent, Locke was full of respect, but he did not show any mercy. This was a war, and his brothers were also suffering casualties.

Taking down Fermer Grand Canyon costs the three groups of legions nearly a month. Locke's battalion belonged to Legio Aquilae, the Fifth Brigade of Legio Aquilae's Second Step Corps. During that battle, the Second Step Corps was the vanguard of the entire corps, and the Third and Fourth squadrons of their brigade were the vanguard of their battalion. The first battle was attacked by their two squadrons. During the war, the earth-shattering sounds of killing never stopped. Even Locke, who was resting in the rear, could hear the screams, shouts, and the sounds of swords clashing. From time to time, a fireball or lightning would flash across the sky, which was said to be the power of magic. The sky was stained red with blood.

When it was Locke's squadron and the first squadron's turn to participate in the attack, the third and fourth squadrons had already lost nearly half of their members. This caused quite a bit of panic to the soldiers in the barracks. However, Locke, who had fought for four years, suppressed the panic in his heart. Locke thought a battlefield was like a meat grinder, and one could not be timid on the battlefield. The more afraid one was, the faster one would die. Under the command of Locke, their team managed to avoid a few waves of magic bombardment. Locke did not fight head-on against the enemy. This kind of enemy with a death wish was the worst to provoke. He advised Captain Uncle Joshak to attack the flank of the canyon. There were many dangerous walls and strange stones there, so it was easy to avoid arrows and magic attacks. The enemy did not have many troops there. Moreover, occupying the commanding height of the canyon flank could be considered a contribution.

War was war. Locke's team still lost two men. Third-class soldier Gale, a sword-shield man with great strength; janissary Cal, a funny little boy, only sixteen years old. In this battle, Locke killed a lightly wounded second-class soldier, a third-class soldier, and five janissaries at the cost of a stab wound to his right chest and several minor injuries. In total, their team had killed a second-class soldier, five third-class soldiers, and more than ten janissaries. Such a good result was not only due to their strategy of power play, but also due to the cohesion of their squad.

After killing the enemy, you can use their identity tokens to exchange for military contribution points: a janissary takes one point, a third-class soldiers take five points, and a second-class soldiers take ten points. Locke had accumulated almost 50 points. Military contribution points could be exchanged for promotion, 100 points could be exchanged for the rank of a first-class soldier, and it could also be used as currency. Soldiers could use military points to exchange everything they wanted in the supply camp. This was more common than silver ducas, and the purchasing power was stronger. Lastly, you could exchange it for money, one point for one silver ducas. Exchanging military points for money was the choice of most of the soldiers. Faustine Kingdom had experienced a drought for two years, so the food was expensive. Most soldiers enlisted to earn money to support their families. The rich nobles and military forces would not dare to embezzleand the money exchanged by contribution points. If this money was sent back to their families, their relatives would be able to live.

Locke had always exchanged his contribution points for money, but since last year, he had changed his mind after going through the bloody war of Gordon. If he couldn't live, how could he let his family live better? The ones who died the most on the battlefield and the ones who died the fastest in the high-intensity war were the lowest level soldiers-janissaries. Even with the strength of a third-class soldier, he was exhausted in the end and hid among the dead to survive. After that bloody battle, his strength had improved a lot. With the large number of enemy waist tokens he collected, he became a Lieutenant, and under the care of Uncle Joshak who had also survived and had been promoted to Captain, Locke was not a hothead soldier any more.

Locke considered that his current strength should be in the middle among the people participating in the competition. Although his military contribution points might not be the highest, he must be higher than most people. There was still a chance for him to increase his rank this time. He believed that Uncle Joshak would also help him.

When it was four in the afternoon, most of the people woke up. Locke got out of bed and began to call his subordinates. "Let's go and drink outside the camp! It's so hot that I can't sleep!" Locke complained.

"Great!" Locke's team members were very excited that they could immediately enjoy free wine. On a hot day, only the iced ale could let them calm down.

"Kane, take them to Green Palm Tavern first. Order a glass of ale for each of them and book a private room. Tell the lady boss that it's on me. Hans, go with me to visit Captain Joshak." Locke instructed.

"Yes.". Kane and Hans answered.

Locke and Hans came to Uncle Joshak's tent, "Uncle Joshak, go drink!" Just as they entered the tent, Locke shouted at Uncle Joshak, who seemed to have just woken up.

"I know. Kid, lower your voice. I got a headache because of you." Uncle Joshak teased.

"Uncle, let's go. I have already arranged for someone to book a private room in Gizaton's Green Palm Tavern." Locke said.

"En, let's go." Uncle Joshak wore a set of casual clothes and followed Locke out. "This is Hans, right? The young man has become much stronger." Uncle Joshak also had some impression of this young man from the same town.

"That's right, Uncle. I am very satisfied with my body now. I can beat three Karlaw barbarians now." Hans continued.

"He eats very much so he is strong. He eats twice as much as I do." Locke said with a smile.

"A soldier needs to eat more! Look at how much I eat every meal. Although your physique is not bad, you are still a little thin."

Uncle Joshak was not very satisfied with Locke's size. Locke was now 1.76 meters tall. In fact, he was a little taller than most soldiers. His physique was very well-proportioned, and his weight was 75 kilograms. Uncle Joshak was 1.9 meters tall, and his weight was nearly 150 kilograms. Even Hans was 1.8 meters tall and weighed more than 100 kilograms. Compared to them, Locke was too thin.

The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked out of the camp.

Outside the camp, Gizaton was once the territory of the Karlaw Kingdom. Two months ago, after the Faustine Kingdom had forcefully taken down Felmer Canyon, the Karlaw Kingdom could not resist. The Faustine Kingdom's armies were divided into three groups, moving towards the capital of Karlaw, Oddis City. Legio Aquilae was attacking from the south. Because the resistance along the way was periodical, the corps commander decided to spread out the troops. 20,000 people in the four infantry corps had been equally divided into different battalions, each of which had 500 soldiers, to participate in the attack of the villages and towns. As for attacking cities or large territories, they were reorganized into the form of corps. Each corps had 5,000 people. The corps command only left the cavalry corps and logistics corps with a total of 10,000 people to stay in the military.

Gizaton was a small town in the southern part of the Karlaw Kingdom. This small town had just experienced a war. Walking along the road, burnt houses and dark-faced beggars could be seen everywhere. These people sneaked a look at Locke and the others with fear and panic in their eyes. Their suit of Faustine Kingdom's army revealed the identity of Locke and the others. The war had to destroy some things. Two weeks ago, Baron Cadozzi's Army took over this place. The lesson of blood and fire made the remaining residents of this town accept these strangers.

The owner of Green Palm Tavern was a magical person. It was said that he betrayed his motherland before the army of Faustine Kingdom arrived. He captured the mayor of the town and sold out the information of the town's force arrangement. After offering a large sum of money, the owner of Green Palm Tavern had successfully obtained Baron Cadozzi's olive branch, who was the actual controller of Locke's camp. The Green Palm Tavern should be the only industry in the town that was still open at the moment, and his target consumer was the soldiers in the barracks.

As for why so many soldiers were willing to drink outside the camp, one was that there were very few higher-ups in the camp, and the highest status was Lieutenants. These soldiers could speak freely, drink wine, brag, and make jokes; The other was that the expenses here were very low. As this place had been occupied, the original currency of the Karlaw Kingdom was almost useless. Ducas was now a hard currency. A large cup of ale only cost one ducas, which was half cheaper than that in the camp. There were also some part-time workers here. Because of the war, many women who were worried about food would come here to work. Some of them were willing, some were forced by others. But now that the law of this place had not been established, no one would care about them. Because these women were cheaper and more fresh than those in the camp, no matter how strict the military discipline was, these soldiers could not control themselves. As this hidden business of the Green Palm Tavern grew bigger and bigger, the higher-ups also turned a blind eye. In fact, this was a common occurrence in the occupied area. Those farmers could not do farming? What could they eat? They could only sell blood or their body...

Locke and the others arrived at the Green Palm Tavern. As soon as they entered the tavern, a strong smell of sweat and noise came. It seemed that it had many consumers. Seeing many familiar faces, Locke and the others smiled and nodded at them. Uncle Joshak was even more popular. After all, there were many youngers belonging to his battalion. As one of the four captains of their battalion, Uncle Joshak was also one of the higher-ups. Many people came forward to greet him. Uncle Joshak nodded slightly.

"Boss, here!" A loud shout was heard. Sure enough, Kane and his group had already occupied several tables in the corner of the tavern. There was a large glass of ale on the table that had yet to be touched, it seemed that they were still waiting for Locke.

Uncle Joshak was still entertaining the people around him, so Locke took Hans to their table first. "You guys drink first. I still have something to discuss with Captain Joshak. Kane, go and order a cup for Hans." Locke instructed Kane.

"Alright, boss." Kane nodded and handed Locke a key. It was the key to the private room upstairs.

"Hans, drink with your brothers. I'm going to discuss something with Uncle Joshak." Locke said to Hans.

"OK." Hans nodded. He saw that Kane had already brought him a large glass of Ice Staff ale. Hans smiled and revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth. He liked it.

"Brothers, drink first. I will come down later." Locke said and walked towards Uncle Joshak.

"OK, boss." "Alright, boss." "Boss, we'll wait for you."... The team members all said one after another.

"Uncle, let's go up," Locke said to Uncle Joshak. Uncle Joshak was still exchanging greetings with the soldiers who were greeting him. Hearing this, he nodded to Locke and said to the people around him, "I still have something to do. Young men, go on drinking." "Okay, Captain." "Goodbye, Captain." "Captain, come down and have a drink with us later."

The surrounding soldiers understood and nodded in agreement. Locke called Joshak "Uncle", which showed that he had an unusual relationship with Captain Joshak. The military camp also existed competition. The word "Uncle" showed that Locke had a good background. The influence of Locke had also increased by quite a bit when people with ulterior motives heard it. Moreover, anyone at a certain level could roughly guess what they were talking about with Captain Joshak at this time. The expressions of a few soldiers around them changed slightly.

Locke and Uncle Joshak went up the stairs at the corner of the front desk. Before that, they nodded to the bar owner at the front desk. This was a beautiful woman with red wavy hair. Her name was Sylcean. After all, she had to meet the owner when she was drinking and talking. Sylcean winked to them to show that she understood. Locke thought, "This charming fairy."

There were about five or six private rooms upstairs. Locke took the key and found their private room to open the door. The room was not big, less than 20 square meters. There was a window in the room, and through the window, one could see the verdant mountains in the distance. There was a table by the window, and there was a sofa on both sides of the table. There was a small screen at the door, which was not exquisite but relatively beautiful. There was a small hanger next to it. And there were two glasses on the table, two bottles of ale, glass bottles, and oak stoppers. The layout of the room made people feel very comfortable. Locke had been here once. He did not lead an elegant life, but he felt that drinking here was very classy, so he was deeply impressed. Locke thought this was a woman who was good at doing business.