The Mysterious Female Voice

The sky after the rain was spotless, carrying a crisp, refreshing chill.

After spending several days on a bloody battlefield, being able to smell the fragrance of the earth again and see the dewdrops on the nearby trees greatly lightened the mood of the group.

The party moved very slowly, as everyone was injured, and more than half of them were riding in the wagons.

They were also hauling quite a lot of goods—food, spoils, equipment, horse feed, and so on—all heavy cargo.

These wagons had been pieced together by the carpenters from whatever they could find. Some of the parts had even come from the battlefield where Lesley's merchant caravan had been attacked.

More than ten wagons formed a long convoy, barely enough to carry all of the lord's people and goods.

This was all thanks to Lesley's sensible planning and coordination.

Of course, it was also thanks to Li Ang shamelessly taking away half the carpenters.

Ralph did not fuss over it—in fact, judging by the look of things, he had no intention of returning the carpenters he had borrowed from Long River Town either... Perhaps when someone came to ask for them back, he would claim that Li Ang had lured them all away...

Someone who had once served as acting commander of the city guard naturally would not be some honest, simple-minded fellow.

This probably counted as splitting the loot equally between them.

The carpenters naturally did not mind. Their pay under Li Ang and Ralph was far higher than it had been in town.

In fact, the dozen or so carpenters following Li Ang were delighted—the lord had even allowed them to share in the distribution of spoils, saying that they too had contributed to the battle. They felt that their lord was a fair man.

Thus, the carpenters officially became another line on the party list: 'Craftsmen, 10/11'.

One of them had previously been injured by a stray arrow.

Since all the wagons were patched-together heaps of junk that had been hastily repaired, even with Lesley, a quartermaster skilled at rapid marches, managing things, the party still could not move quickly.

But fortunately, no one was in a hurry now.

In fact, they enjoyed this rare stretch of leisure along the road—the lord was a good boss who kept his word. The only problem was that he never gave his employees days off, and occasionally made them work overtime...

Flocks of migratory birds kept passing overhead. From time to time, fearless birds would circle above the convoy, occasionally sticking out their backsides to taunt them.

Fortunately, Li Ang, who was lying drowsily in the wagon, was not struck by bird droppings.

Ansen energetically rode back and forth on horseback, bow in hand, trying to shoot down a bird—an exercise Li Ang had assigned him offhandedly.

Ansen apparently really was interested in archery, but he had not brought down a single bird along the way. He kept riding around to retrieve the arrows he had missed with. He had probably gained quite a bit of riding experience instead...

To reward Ansen for his outstanding performance in the previous battle, and to ensure the safety of the field doctor, Li Ang gave him a set of green-cap gear—one of the twenty sets of Horn Ranger gear Ralph had given him.

Except for the bow, of course.

It was not that Li Ang was reluctant to part with one. The main issue was that, with Ansen's current arm strength, he could not draw the Eagle Strike Bows used by the mounted rangers at all.

So, he was currently using a short wooden bow, given to him by a crossbowman who had once been a hunter.

The kind doctor was extremely popular within the party. Everyone liked the polite young man, and besides, he could treat their injuries.

The courage he had shown in the last battle had also made everyone see him in a new light. Even Kloze no longer mocked his weak strength and instead seriously taught him a few tricks for building muscle.

After another fruitless attempt, Ansen retrieved his arrow and ran dejectedly to Li Ang's wagon. "My lord, I still don't think I've found the feeling you mentioned..."

Li Ang was still hungover. Lesley's alcohol had an incredibly strong kick, and even after most of the day had passed, he was still somewhat muddled. "Have you drawn the bow a hundred times? Then did your shoulders start to ache?"

"Yes, my lord... I can't even lift my arms now... My whole body hurts!"

"Then that's right!"

Ansen's eyes were filled with expectation and confusion. Could pain be the secret?

"This means you've reached the limit before a breakthrough... Go treat your arms... Then keep practicing like this, and you'll soon experience that profound feeling..."

"Ah! Yes, my lord!"

The simple-minded Ansen obediently withdrew...

Drawing a bow a hundred times in half a day—if he did not improve his archery, at least he could build arm strength... And if he strained his muscles, he could practice medicine...

Even while still hungover, the lord's training method remained highly scientific and logical.

Though it only worked on Ansen...

Li Ang lay back down in the pile of straw inside the wagon, a grass stem between his teeth as he stared idly at the sky.

He had already finished that officer's memoir. With Lesley arranging the party's affairs, he had nothing to do now.

Walking at the very front of the party was the crossbowman skilled at swimming.

Since the lord had not yet recovered from his hangover, this crossbowman was leading Alice from the front.

His name was Eric—an extremely common name in the Lionheart Kingdom, roughly equivalent to names like Dog Leftovers or Post Pillar.

Dog Leftovers was now dressed almost exactly like Li Ang had been a few days earlier: a chainmail coif, light chainmail, linen padding, and high-top riding boots...

After witnessing Li Ang's archery and martial prowess, Eric probably admired him somewhat now and constantly tried to imitate him.

Aside from the most valuable and heaviest lamellar armor, as well as the foul-smelling nomad boots that he had not taken, all the other equipment that had belonged to the Gatu warlord Drash was now on him. This was the promise Li Ang had previously made to them.

The lamellar armor went to the other White Stripe in the Waves, John—a name that was similarly in the Gou Dan category.

As for Drash... Li Ang had kindly left him a nomad robe. He was now dressed like a pure nomadic vagrant, listed in the party roster as a 'Gatu Wanderer Rider'.

However, the desireless Drash was very obedient now. He stayed among dozens of Gatu Horses and seemed gentle, like a kind middle-aged herdsman.

After this harmonious party had traveled south for most of the day, Eric, who had been scouting ahead, called for the group to stop beside a small grove. Then he jogged over to Li Ang.

Eric was one of the few men in the party who still retained his full fighting strength. Aside from a few scrapes on his face, he was unharmed. According to him, several arrows had grazed past his face, but not one had hit him.

Maybe having a lousy name really did bring good luck...

"My lord, shall we make camp here for the day? Beyond this point, it's all forest. It wouldn't be very safe to camp in the woods."

"Fine, you decide. You know the terrain around here better than I do..."

The lord lazily rolled over and continued dozing.

But then he suddenly sprang up as if struck by an arrow. "Who? Who said that?!"

Li Ang looked around, but Eric was the only person beside him. The others were mostly in the wagons behind them.

Eric stared blankly at Li Ang. "My lord, are you still drunk...? Is Miss Lesley's wine really that potent?"

Li Ang clutched his head and shook it. "No, Gousheng, I really heard a woman talking..."

"My lord... ahem, you must have been dreaming about some woman again... Forget it. I'll go ask Miss Lesley to arrange the camp..."

Eric shook his head, muttering as he turned and headed toward the rear of the party.

Li Ang still stood there in confusion, one hand pressed to his forehead as he kept searching his surroundings.

"...Watch your back, child..."

The voice became clearer—a gentle, calm woman's voice.

Yet Li Ang truly couldn't see anyone. The voice seemed to have appeared directly inside his mind.