Suspicious (Seeking Recommendations)

The setting sun was like blood.

The day's warfare ended quickly.

The death toll was not particularly high; to Aaron, it felt more like a probe.

This made him deeply realize that the Davis Family had no intention of crushing the Sothoth Family in a single grand battle, perhaps because the cost would be too great.

What they likely wanted more was simply to pin down the main force of the Sothoth Family.

Tents were scattered in messy clusters, with open-air campfires everywhere; many militiamen were roasting food, bragging, and chatting.

There were even those drinking and summoning camp followers.

Such military discipline left Aaron speechless.

Although he knew that it was a custom of medieval warfare for fearless small merchants and camp followers to trail the army, the extent of it still left him deeply dissatisfied.

He returned to his squad's camp and summoned Eight-Fingers and the others: "I don't care about the others, but in my unit, no drinking and no women allowed... but as compensation, there will be plenty of meat and bread! Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

Eight-Fingers answered loudly, though his expression immediately turned somber.

"Are the casualty reports out?"

Seeing his expression, Aaron immediately guessed the truth.

"Yes, Adam was killed in action; the unlucky fellow had his skull crushed by a flying stone. There were also a few poor souls who tripped on the battlefield and were trampled to death by our own men... Aside from that, Sanchez and Baker suffered minor injuries..." Eight-Fingers replied in a low voice.

"This is war!"

Aaron took a deep breath: "Tonight, we will take turns standing guard!"

He returned to his tent and took off his leather armor, only then feeling the soreness in his muscles, along with what were likely abrasions and bruises.

Although the battle had not lasted long, wielding such a heavy sword had still placed a significant burden on him.

Beyond that, there was a sense of mental exhaustion and disgust.

He endured these feelings, forced himself to eat a bit of bread with water, and then fell into a deep sleep.

The dream world.

Aaron had completely given up on moving; he was now pouring the single mysterious unit generated by his daily entry into the dream entirely into strengthening himself.

Although this strengthening would not carry over to the other world, he felt that, as before, it likely required reaching a certain threshold.

And while he was on the battlefield, he could not let any opportunity to grow stronger slip by!

For this, delaying his exploration of the dream world was perfectly acceptable!

Whoosh!

In the boundless Red Sea, massive shadows occasionally swept beneath the surface.

Most had mutated to the point where Aaron could no longer recognize them, radiating terrifying and powerful auras.

Fortunately, they had not discovered Aaron.

"To this world, I am still just an observer, even if I can move now..."

Aaron used his will to pour the day's energy into himself, feeling a cool sensation spread through his consciousness, and then, nothing more.

"Even the strengthening of myself in the dream shows no immediate effect... I wonder when I will finally become extraordinary?"

He sighed, his thoughts shifting to other matters: "The Davis Family's actions today were also suspicious. They were clearly in a stalemate, perhaps even holding a slight advantage, yet they retreated directly, adopting a defensive posture. It seems they truly intend to pin down the Sothoth main force!"

Aaron sensed the scent of a conspiracy: "It seems... I must have a talk with Father and the others."

Although he had no real affection for Colin and the rest, if the Sothoth Family were finished, his own fate would certainly be no better.

The fighting over the next few days went much as Aaron had anticipated.

The Davis Family continued to engage, but the intensity was clearly lowered, while still giving the Sothoth Family the feeling that one more push would be enough to thoroughly defeat them.

Consequently, the entire army remained bogged down at the Black Crow Dunes, even repeatedly urging the rear to transport supplies and reinforcements.

Aaron sighed and walked into the command tent.

"Father, I took three more heads today."

As soon as he entered, he heard Colin's proud voice.

"Well done, my son. It seems the unification of the Green Forest will be realized in my generation."

Theodore laughed heartily.

"Father."

Aaron sighed inwardly and stepped forward to salute.

"My dear brother, I wonder how many spoils of war you have acquired?" Colin asked, appearing curious.

During these days, Aaron had been following Alfred to learn tactics and command, and he had little interest in spoils or severed heads.

Ignoring Colin entirely, he turned directly to Theodore and said, "I believe the Davis Family is deliberately feigning weakness to hatch a conspiracy. We must take measures against this!"

"Pfft!"

Colin burst into laughter, his expression filled with undisguised contempt: "A conspiracy? On the battlefield, there is only the difference in strength; conspiracies are things used only by women and cowards!"

"Colin!"

Theodore barked a command to stop Colin, though his own expression remained largely unchanged, clearly unconvinced: "Colin is right about one thing: war relies on hard power. We have a general understanding of the situation in the Davis Territory; mobilizing two thousand troops is already near their limit... They have no strength left to execute any other conspiracies! Besides, you have no evidence!"

"What we must do now is strike them down in one go and destroy their main force; we cannot give them the chance to retreat into their castle and hold out!"

Theodore had always wanted to thoroughly crush the Davis Family and rule over the entire Green Forest.

But if the Davis Family were given the chance to retreat into their castle, this goal would be difficult to achieve.

And now, although the family had fewer troops, the quality of the Sothoth Family's soldiers was clearly higher, giving them a certain advantage on the battlefield.

Theodore saw this as well, and therefore, he would absolutely not let this opportunity slip by!

Seeing this scene, Aaron could only sigh.

Sometimes, smart people are more likely to fall for scams because the swindler simply lays out what the smart person is already thinking, and then, the smart person fills in the flaws for the swindler themselves!

"Then... at least let me patrol the perimeter; perhaps I can find some evidence."

Aaron took a deep breath and spoke up.

"Oh, my dear brother, are you trying to desert?" Colin's eyes lit up, and he immediately retorted.

To withdraw from the battlefield at this moment would inevitably earn the label of a coward, which, in this medieval society that worshipped martial prowess, was as good as a death sentence!

Aaron scanned the room and, as expected, saw the disdainful gazes of the knights.

But he didn't care in the slightest; even if the Davis Family had no conspiracy, surviving was what mattered most!

"..."

Theodore was silent for a moment before finally speaking: "Get lost, and take your squad with you!"

Although he was very disappointed in his son, he still did not refuse.

"Thank you!"

Aaron straightened his back, offered a salute, and walked out of the command tent.