"Not bad!"
Zhang Xianzhong, who had already returned to the temporary camp at the foot of the mountain, watched the young Martial Artists drag back more than twenty Iron Tusk Pigs of various sizes to report in, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Everyone, put down the spoils first. Go eat lunch, then we'll talk."
Generally speaking, people in this era mostly ate two meals a day. But for soldiers on campaign, their physical exertion was far greater than usual.
Armies with sufficient means would implement three meals a day during long marches and campaigns, ensuring they could sustain their immense consumption, steady the army's morale, and keep the soldiers' combat strength from declining.
Since Zhang Xianzhong intended to lavishly nurture these orphan youths and was not short of supplies, money, or grain for the time being, he naturally would not be stingy.
After eating the Spirit Food lunch prepared by the Logistics Camp soldiers, everyone rested for about the time it took to burn one incense stick, then began loading the spoils from this expedition onto the horse-drawn carts.
Fortunately, the rear compartments of these large carts were considerably taller and larger than the carts in Li Dingguo's historical past life, allowing them to fit more than twenty Demon Beasts.
Clearly, Zhang Xianzhong had calculated this in advance after scouting out the enemy situation.
"Move! Hurry back to Dingbian City!"
"We're going home!"
"Set off!"
About half an hour later, everyone had dismantled the temporary camp, packed everything up, and formed into ranks. With a command from Zhang Xianzhong and a sweep of his hand, this cavalry unit laden with spoils set off for home.
By evening, the young Martial Artists who had returned to the Wang Family Courtyard in the county town first fed their horses, then dispersed to wash up. Once they were done, they gathered again in the front courtyard.
Several covered cauldrons had already been set up there. More than a dozen cooks bustled about nonstop, boiling Demon Beast bones in water and spices inside the pots.
Several large basins had also been placed on the ground, filled with Demon Beast meat that had already been sliced thin.
Generally speaking, unless one came from a family of great wealth and nobility, Martial Artists had only two usual ways of cooking Demon Beasts. One was to put them in a covered cauldron with water and stew them for more than an hour.
This was mainly because Demon Beast meat was far superior to ordinary wild beast meat. It had to be stewed for at least an hour before the bones or chunks of meat could be bitten through, and it was more nutritious that way as well.
The other method was to slice the Demon Beast meat into thin strips and roast it. It could not be roasted too long, or it would become tough and dry.
Working by squad, the young Martial Artists who had labored all day sat around several fiercely burning charcoal braziers. One after another, they grabbed the thin skewers of meat from the large basins beside them and excitedly began their barbecue feast.
Once the skewers were nearly cooked, they brushed on a little thick salt water, roasted them a little longer, then ate as they grilled.
"Delicious! So delicious!"
"Right, right! I've never had meat this good before. It smells amazing!"
"I feel like I could eat at least three to five jin of this."
"Mm-hmm. The cooks who came over to help said that the Demon Beast bones and meat the King gave us will last us at least seven or eight days."
"Yeah! But starting tomorrow, we won't get to eat it this fresh. Any Demon Beast meat we can't finish today will be made into jerky, and the bones will be cured with salt so they can be stored longer and won't spoil too quickly."
"Jerky is great too! It's better than having no meat at all. Besides, if we slice it thin and roast it, it should still taste really good."...
Night had already fallen, firelight shining over one delighted little face after another. Everyone feasted heartily while chattering without pause.
"Boss, the King said we'll keep training here tomorrow. We won't leave the city again until the day after tomorrow, when we'll begin the next round of practical combat training."
Tang Guangqiang, sitting beside Li Dingguo with grease all over his mouth, suddenly brought up another subject.
"Mm. The King also said that the target for the day after tomorrow's practical training will be some low-level Malevolent Spirits."
Cao Yongxiang, sitting on Li Dingguo's other side, also spoke up. "I heard Malevolent Spirits have form but no substance, and ordinary attacks are ineffective against them."
"If you don't have a spirit weapon in hand, using Tiger Roar Fist would be more effective."
"And once a Malevolent Spirit gets close enough to possess you, it can easily devour your soul!"
There was a trace of nervousness in Cao Yongxiang's voice.
None of these young Martial Artists had ever fought a Malevolent Spirit before. Just thinking about it made them uneasy.
There was no helping it. In this world, when living beings of all races died, if the resentment they carried in life was too great, their souls could turn into Malevolent Spirits.
Moreover, Malevolent Spirits could continuously strengthen themselves by devouring the souls of living beings.
These young Martial Artists had previously read quite a few miscellaneous books, some of which contained explanations about ghosts and monsters.
Because the conditions for Malevolent Spirits to form were rather harsh, there were not many of them in this world.
Fortunately, that was the case. Otherwise, humanity's situation would be even more difficult.
Malevolent Spirits were also ranked from level one to level nine.
Corresponding to the three major stages of the human Body Tempering Realm were: level-one Spirit Soldiers, level-two Spirit Warriors, and level-three Spirit Generals.
Among them, level-one Spirit Soldiers appeared as grayish-white phantoms, level-two Spirit Warriors as white phantoms, while level-three Spirit Generals appeared as black phantoms.
Once they broke through to become level-four Malevolent Spirits, they underwent a qualitative transformation. Not only did their bodies become almost tangible, they regained the intelligence they possessed in life, and could cultivate by absorbing Moon Essence Power, awakening innate skills!
Such Malevolent Spirits were called aberrations. Compared with low-level Malevolent Spirits, they were vastly more formidable.
No matter how one put it, Malevolent Spirits of the same level were much harder to deal with than Demon Beasts of the same level.
They could hide more effectively and ignore the obstruction of objects, passing through them at will except in certain special environments.
Fortunately, aside from coming out to hunt and feed, they spent most of their time in places thick with Yin Qi and did not dare recklessly approach human settlements where Yang energy gathered.
The more living beings there were in a place, and the more Yang energy gathered there, the greater the effect on them and the less combat power they could unleash.
Therefore, when a great army marched out, its blood qi and Yang energy soared to the heavens, making it the last thing Malevolent Spirits wished to provoke.
The Blood Fiend Qi formed by a military formation in particular held an almost crushing advantage over Malevolent Spirits of the same level.
"Mm."
Although Li Dingguo was uncertain inside—after all, he had never encountered a Malevolent Spirit at close quarters—he now possessed some confidence and would not fear any Malevolent Spirit of the same level.
After Cao Yongxiang finished speaking, Li Dingguo nodded and reminded the two beside him, "When our squad leaves the city to train the day after tomorrow, remember not to let yourselves or your teammates stray from our squad."
"Otherwise, if anyone is left alone, they may very well meet with misfortune, be possessed by those Malevolent Spirits, and have their soul devoured!"
"According to some of the relevant books we read a few days ago, aside from Yin Spirit Lands where Yin Qi is especially dense, ghosts and monsters cannot possibly gather in large numbers anywhere else."
"As long as we're careful, when the King leads us out of the city next time and selects some Malevolent Spirits for combat training, we should be able to handle it."
So long as Zhang Xianzhong was not a fool, he would not assign the Orphan Youth Camp a combat mission where nine out of ten would die.
Therefore, although Li Dingguo was somewhat nervous now, he was not flustered in the slightest.
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