Food
Sika Territory border, outpost.
Two watchtowers, each fully six meters tall, were inconspicuous amid these mountains. With a bit of camouflage, they were enough to make any careless person overlook them.
However, the sharpshooters standing atop the towers could easily see everything on the main road and in the inner mountains.
Moreover, the angles of the two watchtowers allowed the sharpshooters on them to keep watch over each other, reducing the chance of accidents.
Whoosh!
The northern wind howled through the winter night.
Luka hunched his neck and instinctively tightened the sheepskin around himself, but the wind still kept slipping through his collar and piercing his body, making him shiver uncontrollably.
"Damn weather."
"It's even colder this year than last year!"
"The only thing keeping me going is that I'll be going home soon!"
Luka spoke quietly to his companion beside him.
Sika Territory had a military service system. In households with more than two adult sons, one of them had to be selected every three years to serve for one year.
Most terms of service began in winter and lasted until the winter of the following year.
Of course, this was not unpaid service. There were certain subsidies.
What the households valued most was the tax reduction.
When a family had a son in service, that year's taxes could be reduced by a quarter or even more.
For that reason, quite a few people chose the path of a career soldier.
However, it was not easy.
To gain the status of a career soldier under the lord of Sika Territory, a devout believer in the War God, the first requirement was the ability to fight. At the very least, one needed a reputation for valor.
It was even better if one possessed some special talent.
Ebru, who was