Arrival

Meanwhile, the Dawn Order's Black Lion Knights did not pause for even a moment. They followed the Moonlight Magic Wolves' trail in relentless pursuit. Although their Dragon-Scaled Horses were merely ordinary bronze-rank mounts, they were exceptionally skilled at climbing and running through mountain forests.

The wolves' speed gradually slowed due to the Wolf King's injuries, while Yaduo De, the knight commander, ordered his men to keep their distance and wear down the pack's stamina.

"Awwooo..."

A weak wolf howl rang out. The Wolf King called for its pack to stop. Cunning enough, it had realized during their long flight what the people behind them were trying to do.

It decided to stop and make a desperate final stand.

The battered magic wolves gathered around the Wolf King. Blood and sweat flowed down their bodies and onto the ground, staining the lush green grass red. Quite a few of them restlessly shifted their front paws.

A tragic, solemn atmosphere filled the air.

Yaduo De quickly noticed that the pursuing wolf pack had stopped. He understood that these cunning magic wolves had seen through their plan, but he did not care. He no longer kept his distance and led the knights toward them.

"Let's go. It's time to send these filthy things out of this beautiful world."

Yaduo De spoke casually. In his eyes, these magic wolves were already prey in his grasp and would not take much effort to deal with.

A memory of its child flashed through the Wolf King's eyes. It immediately came back to itself and stared at the human knights slowly riding toward it. The intelligence in its gaze turned savage and bloodthirsty once more. It bared its fangs, saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.

"Whoosh..."

This time, the Wolf King personally led the charge. The exhausted wolf pack seemed to rally for one final burst, charging at the knights as though pumped full of adrenaline, only to be brutally nailed to the ground. Aside from the Wolf King, not a single Moonlight Magic Wolf reached the knights. The entire pack was reduced to the Wolf King alone.

It faced Yaduo De first. In less than two exchanges, the last remaining Wolf King died beneath Yaduo De's spear. Its eyes held not only the madness of death, but also concern for its child.

"Let's go."

Yaduo De silently watched the fallen magic wolves for a while before calling for the knights to clean up the battlefield. They still had another battle tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Lin Lei received over a hundred gold coins, all earned from killing the magic wolves. He glanced at the rank experience needed for his next level. He was already two-thirds of the way there, and it would not be long before he gained another chance to draw.

Half a month later.

A ragged little caravan appeared at the gates of Flower Territory. It was the same small caravan Lin Lei had traveled with. Over the past few days, however, he had heard that an important figure from Iron Hearth Fortress was traveling with the caravan.

Lin Lei had observed from afar and had indeed seen a mysterious carriage in the middle, surrounded by numerous guards. He could sense intense danger from those guards, so for safety's sake, he had not investigated further out of curiosity.

Over the past few days, Lin Lei and Red Fire had communicated several more times and finally integrated all of their abilities. He now had the confidence to fight even a first-stage silver-rank opponent.

After arriving at Flower Territory, Lin Lei left that somewhat mysterious little caravan. He rented a single room at a small inn beside the Mercenary Guild. After half a month of struggling through the wilderness, his whole body seemed to carry a moldy stench.

As expected, Flower Territory's prices were far higher than those of the small town where Lin Lei had grown up. An ordinary night at an inn cost him two silver coins. In Wheat Town, a stay only cost five copper coins.

Fortunately, Lin Lei was not a poor mercenary. He had originally left with only three gold coins, leaving the rest for Aguda and the others. Yet after this escort mission, he had earned his way back to more than two hundred gold coins.

The caravan had not encountered any major bandit groups afterward. Only scattered magical beasts and Kobolds attacked the caravan, and all of them became Lin Lei's rank experience.

Lin Lei had gained another draw opportunity two days ago, but his body had smelled too bad. Afraid it would affect his luck, he had saved the draw until now. He decided that after taking a bath, he would begin his blissful draw.

Lin Lei bathed quickly and only needed ten minutes to finish. However, Red Fire was with him, so he washed it as well. Bathing the dog took quite a bit of time, and the man and dog spent a full hour getting cleaned up.

"Heavens above, spirits below, Taishang Laojun, show your divine power."

Before drawing, Lin Lei began a superstitious ritual, praying for something good. Logically, he did not believe in such things. It had not worked last time, but he still wanted to try praying again.

With a thought, the draw wheel began spinning once more, cycling continuously through purple, yellow, green, and white.

"Purple card, purple card... It has to be a purple card."

Lin Lei muttered like a madman who had just escaped from an asylum.

The pointer spun, slowly came to a stop, and landed in the purple section.

"Holy crap, it really is a purple card."

Lin Lei had kept chanting for a purple card, but when he truly drew one, he could hardly believe it. He looked once, then looked again. That was right. It was a purple card.

"Hahahaha..."

Lin Lei laughed excitedly, then immediately checked which hero it was.

"The path you choose must be walked to the end, no matter how absurd it is."

A man in green battle robes appeared in Lin Lei's mind. After speaking those words, he turned into a card and appeared in Lin Lei's inventory.

"Lord Guan, a man skilled in movement and lethal strikes."

Lin Lei muttered to himself, clearly satisfied with this draw. Drawing a hero card was already lucky, and he had been extraordinarily lucky to draw a mounted-combat hero. Today was truly his lucky day.

But speaking of Guan Yu, Lin Lei felt that he should find himself a good horse. At the very least, it should be on the same level as the Dragon-Scaled Horses he had seen before.

"But it's getting late. I should report to the military first. As for a horse, I can consider that later. It's not like I'm in a hurry to use this Guan Yu card."

Lin Lei thought to himself. After packing his things, he began asking for directions and headed to the City Guard Office with Red Fire.

"Who goes there? This is a military restricted area. Outsiders are not allowed inside."

As soon as he reached the entrance, Lin Lei was stopped by two guards. Both were large men, and judging from the aura they gave off, they were bronze-rank, third-stage soldiers. They stood alert and full of vigor.

"I'm here to report in. This is my badge."

With no other option, Lin Lei showed them the badge Alice had given him. Seeing that it was the same badge carried by other Centurions, the two guards exchanged glances, uncertain what to do. They knew every Centurion in Flower Territory, but they had never seen Lin Lei.

"Wait here. I'll go in and report it."

"Thud, thud..."

The soldier on the left quickly ran inside, while Lin Lei waited outside alone with Red Fire.

Before long, the soldier returned and respectfully handed the badge back to Lin Lei.

"Your identity has been confirmed. Centurion, just follow the road ahead. Someone there will receive you."

Lin Lei instinctively thanked them, but the two soldiers became somewhat uneasy. They thought Lin Lei was expressing dissatisfaction in a roundabout way. By the time Lin Lei realized it, the words had already left his mouth. He did not explain further; leaving quickly was the best choice now.

Following Cherry Blossom Avenue, Lin Lei arrived at a place called the Military Affairs Office.

"Name and position."

A rough-faced, bearded man sat on a stool and questioned Lin Lei, who stood before the desk. His tone was very calm.

"Lin Lei Thunder Roar, Centurion."

Lin Lei answered just as calmly. After several adventures, his nerves had grown much steadier.

"Let me check."

The rough-faced man on the stool rapidly flipped through the record books. In less than a few minutes, he had gone through more than half the books piled across the table.

"Here it is. Found it. Lin Lei Thunder Roar, Centurion, recommended by Miss Alice."

"Miss Alice?"

Only then did the rough-faced man show some expression. He looked at Lin Lei questioningly, and Lin Lei nodded.

The rough-faced man then gave Lin Lei a proper look. There were several hundred Centurions in the military, but very few were favored by Miss Alice.

"You now belong to the City Defense Department. You can report there right away. Your direct superior is Captain Ao, Otto. Just find him and have him assign you a task."

After speaking, he handed Lin Lei's badge back to him. He also had someone bring out a Centurion's uniform. Like an ordinary soldier's uniform, it was black, but the Centurion's uniform bore a lion pattern, while the soldier's had nothing on it.

After collecting his things, Lin Lei did not linger. He walked nearly ten li before arriving at Flower Territory's City Defense Department.

Flower Territory's City Defense Department had three Captains, fifteen Centurions, and seventy-five soldiers. It was directly under the lord's command, and Flower Territory had an unwritten rule.

An official in the City Defense Department ranked one level above an ordinary official. In other words, a Centurion in the City Defense Department was equivalent to a Captain in the regular military, while a Captain was equivalent to a commander of ten thousand.

When Lin Lei arrived at the City Defense Department, there were only two or three people inside. He found it strange, but he still sought out his direct superior, Captain Ao.

Lin Lei handed his records to Captain Otto. Otto's previously indifferent gaze immediately turned serious. Few people dared offend someone favored by Miss Alice, and even someone of his status did not wish to bring trouble upon himself.

Flower Territory's lord, Edward, had only one daughter, Miss Alice. Furthermore, Edward had raised her as though she were a son. Anyone with eyes could see that Miss Alice would become the next lord of Flower Territory.

"You're the newly arrived Centurion Lin Lei? In a moment, you can be assigned a residence. I'll have one of my personal guards take you there."

Captain Ao was very friendly, unlike the aggressive upper management Lin Lei had dealt with at his former company. Lin Lei felt quite good about it.

"I have a question. Why are there so few people in the City Defense Department?"

Lin Lei voiced the question that had been on his mind ever since he entered the City Defense Department.

"Oh, that. Our City Defense Department is very busy every day. Besides maintaining order in Flower Territory, we also send people to protect the lord and Miss Alice. We also periodically organize operations to clear out nearby nonhuman races. Right now, we're mobilizing troops to eliminate threatening creatures in the surrounding area."

Otto answered without much thought.