The light in the temporarily occupied hall flickered between bright and dim. The candles had been deliberately reduced, and the dusky light dragged deep grooves across the wood grain.
The secluded corners were deathly silent, and a chilling air permeated the room.
Those present were not used to bright firelight, but so long as the pale, eyepatched middle-aged man seated at the head of the room remained silent, not one of the others dared to act rashly.
If Su Fei had been here, he might have recognized the man, because his appearance had barely changed even after more than ten years: he was Instaron's second-in-command, the Vampire Baron known as the "One-Eyed" Tagus, serving under the Black Baron. He was a member of the Manlein Family, a fourteenth-generation vampire, and one of the younger generation. However, compared to his experience in Madara's army, he was far more seasoned than the greenhorn Instaron.
But it did not matter. This was only the beginning of their cooperation--
Tagus watched as the Skeleton Soldiers carried out stacks of documents from the archives. After a moment, he turned and asked the Lich beside him, "Speak. What did Rosko leave you behind to report?"
"Esteemed General Tagus, my master discovered a scout in that manor." The Lich lowered its head and answered in a dry, rasping voice.
"And?" He glanced at it, then shifted his gaze back to the tactical map spread before him.
"He escaped."
Several contemptuous chuckles sounded around the room.
The Vampire general raised his head, and the faint noises immediately died down. After a pause, he said, "I understand. Rosko did well. But I expect better. Tell him not to be distracted by these minor details--I want to see him reach Beledor Forest before noon."
The Lich bowed respectfully and withdrew.
But the moment it left, discordant voices arose in the meeting room. This time, the speaker was a tall skeleton clad from head to toe in battered brass armor. Dark-yellow flames flickered in its eye sockets, revealing its indignation.
"Lord Tagus, perhaps the humans have already discovered our intentions. That scout--"
It opened its mouth, but the wind whistling through its jawbones suddenly fell silent. It had seen Tagus staring at it with his one remaining eye, and that gaze made it instinctively shut its mouth.
Low laughter came from all around. The mockery in it made the flames in its eyes flicker resentfully.
"Cabes."
"Here!" The tall skeleton immediately answered, puffing out its chest.
"Take this place." Tagus pointed to a village on the map.
"Before sunrise." He pointed at a rooftop. "I want to see the result--"
"Yes, Lord Tagus."
"Vesa, Eberton."
"Here!" they answered in unison.
"Attack Webin and seal off Dagger Riverbank."
"Yes, Lord Tagus."
"Raven's Beak."
"Here!"
"Take two squads. Search and purge this area."
"Yes!"
Tagus raised his head and swept his cold gaze over everyone. "You are all nobles of the darkness. I expect you to carry out every one of my commands with elegance and speed, without the slightest negligence. Ridenburg is our next target."
He rose first, placed his pale hand against his left shoulder, and declared, "Madara will triumph--"
All the undead rose to their full height and replied in solemn voices, "Madara will triumph--"
Tagus lowered his head, his gaze falling back to the map. His eyes first found Red Pine Forest south of Buchi, then moved up to Green Village, Beledor Forest, and finally Ridenburg--and farther north, Sharpstone River Valley.
A human scout? He gave a cold laugh.
At that same moment, the full moon shone over the crown of the pine forest.
There were no howls in Yusong's mountains, but the wind had risen in Black Pine Forest. The cold wind slipped through the branches like wisps of smoke, making people shiver and feel a chill creep up their backs. The young people of Buchi had never spent a night outdoors before. The mist-filled darkness of the forest made them suspicious of every little thing, as if a terrifying monster lurked beneath every shadow.
But one voice steadied their hearts--
"Hold this spot down."
"Yes, like that."
"Water--"
"Give me a Bandage."
"Keep the pressure on."
At last, it was done. Su Fei wiped away his sweat and let out a long breath.
He saw a pale green +2 rise from the young man's body, and only then did he relax.
After his First Aid skill had reached the Beginner level (Level 0), the recovery effect of bandaging had naturally improved as well. This was no different from the game, but every detail that matched Su Fei's memories reassured him greatly.
How to clean wounds, prevent infection, stop bleeding, apply bandages, and handle all the necessary details and techniques--he guided Macmi and Nibeto through everything step by step. Of course, he had no stamina to do it himself. His own weakness left him only slightly better off than Josen, who lay unconscious.
When Nibeto completed the final step under his instructions, Su Fei raised his head and discovered that everyone was staring at him, dumbfounded.
Professional.
That was the only assessment in their hearts.
Even Little Finis turned around and solemnly said to Freya behind him, "Big Sis, compared to him, your technique seems pretty lousy--"
As for Freya, she stood at the edge of the crowd, her expression calm as water.
So I was right. He really used that as an excuse to get close to me. What a shameless man! She could not help reaching that conclusion. Then, somewhat worried, she glanced toward Roman, only to see the latter counting the spoils on the ground with a smug little smile.
That brat.
But heavens knew, only Su Fei himself knew that all this knowledge came from the Battlefield First Aid skill. Only when he recalled the skill in his list did the knowledge emerge in his memory piece by piece. The young man's Beginner Battlefield First Aid knowledge had mostly come from the first three sections of Gerson's Holy Cross, a book mainly covering bandaging techniques. Su Fei happened to know Gerson from the game: the current High Priest of Brags.
The contents of the book felt as if he had witnessed them firsthand, as though he had studied them hundreds of times. That effortless familiarity felt just like using a cheat to learn first-aid techniques.
Unfortunately, even cheats usually came at a price--
On the other hand.
Su Fei soon learned that Buchi's Third Militia Squad actually had ten members. Including Freya, they were Macmi, Essen, Aike, and Little Finis, whom he knew relatively well.
Then there were the quiet Nibeto and Vlad. The two brothers were mountain folk who had migrated from the Bora region. They had inherited the local people's taciturn nature and preferred doing things to talking about them.
Next was Josen, though the latter remained unconscious and was unlikely to wake up.
Then there was the daydreaming Merchant's Daughter, along with the girl who was with her. Su Fei later learned that she was the town baker's daughter. She was somewhat shy and introverted, unlike the other two ladies, who were much more outgoing.
The girl's name was Betha. She was gentle by nature, but at least she was a kindhearted girl.
These were all the people Su Fei needed to deal with. They seemed like excellent young people, but Su Fei knew they were beginners among beginners, with no understanding of what they were about to face.
After thinking it over, he asked, "Do you have any plans?"
The smiles vanished from their faces the next moment, replaced by silence.
"We're going to Ridenburg." After a while, Essen suggested it.
"That's right. Captain Maden and the others will definitely go there too," Aike agreed.
Just as expected. But Su Fei shook his head.
He looked at the young people and saw silence, unease, and helpless uncertainty about tomorrow on their faces. Even Freya seemed slightly better than the rest, but her pale knuckles around the sword hilt betrayed her true feelings.
Only Roman answered as a matter of course, "I'm going with Brando."
The answer left Su Fei exasperated and amused. Still, the Merchant's Daughter's frankness made her likable. The young man paused, then said, "All right. There's one thing I agree with you about--our top priority is getting out of here."
"That means there are things you disagree with, right?" Freya asked.
Su Fei nodded. "Does anyone have a map?"
Everyone looked at one another. Who would have something like that? Although they were militiamen, in most situations the militia followed the orders of the Local Guard. Put plainly, they were merely a reserve force.
Su Fei also realized that he had misspoken. In Eluin, carrying a map without authorization from the temples could get him treated as a spy. He always slipped into the identity of a traveler and forgot that he was now part of this world.
And here, there were no players anymore.
"The Guard Detachment probably has one..." Macmi stammered from the back of the group.
Su Fei shook his head, thinking, Isn't that obvious? He sighed, then turned to the Merchant's Daughter beside him. "Roman, give me a sword."
"All right, Brando."
Su Fei took the sword and drew two lines in the soft earth.
"This is the Weishi River, and this is the Yusong River."
He tapped several times between the two rivers with the sword tip. "This is Buchi, this is Green Village, and this is Webin."
He sketched only a rough outline with a few simple strokes, yet the young people were once again amazed. After all, in this era, few people understood the world as well as he did--
"Aren't those the three towns?" Betha could not help covering her small mouth.
"How amazing. So this is what our area looks like." Aike's gaze at Su Fei held a hint of admiration.
"So Buchi is here?"
"Brando, how do you know?" Everyone bombarded him with questions. They were young, after all, and could not suppress their curiosity.
Su Fei shook his head.
What a joke. If I couldn't even recognize the Three-Town starter village, I might as well go bang my head against a block of tofu and die. Of course, he could not answer that way, so he deliberately countered, "Didn't you study it? Tactical maps?"
Tactical maps? What were those?
Everyone looked blank. Merciful Martha above, did even the militia of Brags have to study this?
For a moment, everyone began to look at him with blind admiration.
Their protagonist, however, laughed inwardly. Even ordinary junior noncommissioned officers in the regular army generally did not know this stuff, so how could the militia possibly have learned it? Of course, he would not expose himself in front of them. Instead, he tapped the place where the two rivers converged.
"This is Ridenburg."
"Ah, this is Ridenburg?" Roman asked curiously.
"What's wrong?" Su Fei clearly heard muffled laughter from around him and could not help looking up.
"It's like this, Big Brother Brando. When Roman was little, she was insanely envious of the traveling merchants in Ridenburg. She pestered everyone every day, saying she wanted to become a merchant. Once, she ran away, claiming she was going to Ridenburg to do great business, but then--" Little Finis not only defected immediately, he even deliberately left them hanging.
The people around them broke into quiet laughter.
"What happened?" Su Fei asked.
"Haha, she got lost in the forest halfway there. In the end, Uncle Seer had to go find her and bring her back." Little Finis burst out laughing.
"N-no, that never happened." Roman's eyebrows shot up.
Su Fei glanced at the future Merchant's Daughter and could not help thinking, Looks like she still hasn't learned her lesson.
"All right, let's get back to the subject. Why do you want to go to Ridenburg?" He composed himself and continued asking.
"There's an army there."
"Captain Maden and the others will definitely go there."
"My uncle will too." Once again, everyone began talking over one another. Their meaning was the same: each of them had relatives of their own. They had been separated for the moment, but those relatives might go to Ridenburg. So why shouldn't they go there too?
Su Fei found that answer difficult to refute. It was perfectly normal. Who would abandon their own family? Yet he also knew that most of those who escaped Buchi would be caught by Madara's army. Going to Ridenburg now would only be throwing themselves into a trap.
Su Fei knew very clearly that they had to advance parallel to the "Grim Reaper" Cabes Corps, then slip one step ahead of it into Beledor Forest and cross Dagger Riverbank before Eberton and Vesa encircled them. From there, they would enter Deer Hunting Forest, skirt Instaron's main force, reach Anzek, and inform the local garrison of the Gusta Unit's plan to advance along Instaron's flank.
Only by doing this could they preserve their group and prevent Eluin from suffering the same catastrophic defeat it had in history.
But how was he supposed to say that?
Forget it. He would follow his usual rule and take things one step at a time. He rubbed his heavy-feeling forehead, changed his wording, and said, "All right. We can head toward Ridenburg first and decide what to do next based on the situation."
Then he raised his head and happened to meet Freya's worried gaze. The girl clearly did not believe his explanation.
"Mr. Brando?"
"It's nothing, just a judgment. The situation might change." He smiled at the girl. But despite saying that, he could not help sighing inwardly.
Reality was cruel, and with his strength still so weak, he had no choice. Of course, if he got the chance, he would definitely find a way to try.
A shut-in really is this naïve.
He could not help mocking himself--
(PS: My results just won't improve. Sigh.)
Before you continue