Chapter 15

The reserve soldiers and regular soldiers each took a map and headed separately to the designated locations in the mountains.

Fernandi and Walker remained at Par Lake with a squad of knights to protect Cyrus.

After arriving at the designated location.

Mike Andrew planted the small flag he carried into the ground. He first sent people to familiarize themselves with the route from there to the valley, then summoned the squad leaders to discuss a plan to seize the other side's flag.

However, before they had finished discussing their strategy, the two soldiers sent to scout the terrain around the small valley suddenly returned with grim expressions.

"Squad leader, something doesn't seem right."

Mike Andrew frowned. "What is it?"

The soldier said, "We found faint traces of activity around the small valley and found this branch on the ground... We suspect there may be another group inside the valley, but we were afraid of alerting them if we got too close, so we didn't dare approach."

A heavy snow had just fallen in the mountains.

The frost on the treetops and the snow on the ground had not yet completely melted.

Dead grass and branches from this period were the hardest to ignite. Going into the mountains without bringing coal and lamp oil was therefore an extremely unwise choice.

The end of the branch the soldier produced was charred black and dry. If one leaned close and sniffed carefully, there was a faintly pungent smell.

When he had been a slave working for a manor lord, he had often chopped wood and tended fires. He could tell at a glance whether wood was dry or damp.

The end of this branch clearly showed signs of having been doused in lamp oil and burned.

The soldiers could preliminarily determine that someone was inside the small valley.

Though they did not know whether they were friend or foe, anyone choosing to enter Par Mountain at a time like this could not possibly have good intentions...

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"What should we do, squad leader? Should we go back and inform Lord Edward first, then..."

Mike Andrew pondered for a moment. "Send one person back to report this."

"The original exercise plan has changed... They came to Par Mountain at a time like this. No matter their purpose, they probably mean us no good."

"The count is waiting beside Par Lake. Protecting the count is the most important thing. Friend or foe, capture them first."

The other squad leaders gathered nearby exchanged glances.

One of them said, "So that means... we may really have to fight them with real blades and weapons... Do we, do we have to kill people?!"

Mike Andrew said, "Don't forget Lord Edward's instruction. Once you pick up a weapon, there will come a day when you must swing it. Mercy toward the enemy is cruelty toward yourself."

"If you cannot bring your hand down, then you will be the one who dies."

The expressions of the other squad leaders gradually became resolute.

Mike Andrew said, "First, have two squads follow me and carefully sneak over there. Once we investigate and confirm the situation, I'll blow the bird whistle to signal you to act and pass the message to the regular soldiers on the other side of the small valley."

"Yes, we understand."

A bird whistle was a short whistle made of wood.

While blowing it, one adjusted the rod in the middle by pushing and pulling it. The tone could shift in pitch and duration, sometimes clear and soaring, sometimes sharp and bright... It sounded extraordinarily similar to real bird calls.

It was only half a palm long, making it very easy to carry.

Cyrus had invented the bird whistle for transmitting messages and using coded signals in the army through variations in tone.

Besides strengthening physical fitness, the Soldiers' Training Camp also taught technical skills such as reconnaissance and rapid rescue.

The bird whistle was one of them, and at present only the squad leaders possessed one.

A reserve soldier quickly returned to Par Lake by the original route and reported the abnormalities discovered around the small valley to Fernandi Edward.

At the same time.

A series of sharp bird calls suddenly rang out through the forest at regular intervals, brief and piercing.

Walker William said beside Cyrus, "That means they are no longer hiding and have begun a full-scale attack."

"It seems they have confirmed that the people hiding in the valley are enemies."

"They still don't have enough experience. Taylor, Bana, go over and keep an eye on them. Direct them while you're at it."

Taylor Kennedy and Bana Larry accepted the order and left.

Cyrus asked, "You and Fernandi aren't going?"

Walker William smiled. "Count, protecting you here at Par Lake is the most important thing."

"Besides, Fernandi and I have been drilling them hard every day for the past three months. This is the perfect time to test the results. The Soldiers' Training Camp shouldn't be raising useless people, after all."

Though he upheld the spirit of chivalry deep down, he had been born a noble. He also had an older brother with whom he was not particularly close. In everything he did, failure meant elimination, and success was the only way forward.

Most of the time, the smile on his face was a disguise. In truth, he hid an unknown coldness within his heart.

Compared with him, Fernandi Edward was the one who was truly the same inside and out.

After an unknown amount of time passed, another long, clear bird-whistle call sounded.

Fernandi Edward said in a low voice, "The battle is over."

Cyrus said, "Let's go take a look."

"Yes, Count."

The narrow small valley in the forest was somewhat steeper than the large valley where Par Lake lay. It was filled with disorderly boulders and rocks, while the ground was relatively barren, with only sparse thorny grass struggling tenaciously from the cracks between stones.

The snow in the small valley had been trampled into a mess and mixed with crimson blood. The pungent smell of blood, not yet fully dispersed, filled the air. Quite a few corpses lay sprawled across the ground, with greatswords and scimitars scattered beside them.

Cyrus wrinkled his little nose and waved his small hand uncomfortably.

"How are our casualties?"

Joy could not help appearing on Taylor Kennedy's face as he replied, "Count, only a very small number of the camp's soldiers suffered light injuries. Not a single person died."

It could only be said that the scales of victory had already been heavily weighted in their favor.

First, the two soldiers scouting the terrain in the small valley had accidentally discovered something suspicious.

Then Mike Andrew had made a decisive decision. Once the enemy situation was confirmed, he immediately blew the bird whistle. The regular soldiers reacted quickly and coordinated seamlessly, catching the other side off guard and driving them back almost step by step.

A smile appeared on Cyrus's little face. "Not bad. When we return, the soldiers who distinguished themselves must be rewarded."

"Who sent them? Have they confessed honestly?"

Taylor Kennedy said, "We captured more than ten people, but we have not interrogated them yet."

Cyrus said, "Fernandi, Walker, I'll leave these dozen or so people to you two."

"Interrogate them one by one. Make sure to find out who is behind this and wants my life."

"Yes, Count," the two replied in unison.

After Fernandi and Walker accepted the order and left.

Cyrus lowered his head and rubbed his feet together. He kicked away the remaining snow on the ground, revealing soil darker than that outside the valley, along with tiny granules.

He seemed to become interested and kicked away all the snow around him before walking toward the edge of the valley.

"Judas, let's take a look over there."

Judas naturally followed behind without objection.

The Natural Asphalt deposit map gifted by the system was incredibly detailed—it had even drawn a three-dimensional map of the valley's terrain and marked the places where the vein was weakest and easiest to excavate.

The place Cyrus wanted to visit was a section of broken rock along the mountain wall, half-covered and extending slightly inward.

Going farther in, it resembled a cave, though the interior was so narrow that only one person could pass through.

He had only just reached the outer edge of the broken rock when he saw several black solid chunks scattered messily across the ground. Each was about half the size of a fist and irregularly shaped. A casual glance would only make one think they were ordinary stones.

Cyrus's heart grew hot with excitement.

This was Natural Asphalt. More specifically, it should be Rock Asphalt, a type of Natural Asphalt.

He said in his mind, "System, 098."

[Host, 098 is wholeheartedly at your service.]

Cyrus asked, "What is the range in which the gift can be placed?"

"From where I am standing now, can you place the gift in the deepest part of the cave?"

[Yes, Host. Would you like 098 to deploy the gift now?]

"Confirm."

[Please wait, Host. Operation in progress... Deployment successful. Please confirm receipt promptly.]

Cyrus seemed to hear several milky little grunts coming from inside the cave.

He said, "Judas, there seem to be baby animals inside!"

After saying that.

Cyrus darted inside in a flash, and Judas could not stop him even when he tried to grab him.

"Count!"

When Judas hurried after him, he saw the little count with his back to him. From his silhouette, he seemed frozen in place, staring blankly as though he did not know how to react.

Cyrus was indeed rather stunned.

At his feet, two fluffy little creatures were slowly squirming about. One was black and one was white, their bodies covered in beautiful markings. They had thick little paws and sturdy little tails.

They were actually two tiger cubs that should not even have been weaned yet.

One was a White Tiger.

The other seemed to be a legendary Black-Blue Tiger, which had long since gone extinct in the modern era.

Cyrus had expected fluffy little animals, but he had absolutely not expected two little black-and-white tiger cubs...

He could not help asking in his mind, "098, where did you go sightseeing?"

[Host, 098 traveled to the planet where the Idiot System lives.]

[That place is full of fluffy creatures. These two tiger cubs are brothers. Their parents died shortly after they were born. If they were not taken away, they would be bitten to death by another adult tiger.]

[098 thought they were cute and wanted to give them to Host as a gift. No need to thank me~]

"..."

When Judas approached, Cyrus crouched down and stroked the heads of the two constantly grunting tiger cubs with both hands. Their furry paws immediately hugged his hands as they licked him once, then rubbed against him.

They really were quite cute.

"Judas, look! They're tiger cubs," Cyrus said softly.

Judas frowned slightly. "The colors of these two tiger cubs' fur... are very strange."

He had never seen a white tiger or a black tiger before.

Cyrus said, "Maybe that's why they were abandoned... Can I raise them?"

"Count, tigers are wild beasts. They are dangerous..."

"Judas~"

"..."

Judas had a little trouble withstanding the count's coquettishness, especially when those caramel-colored eyes looked at him so eagerly, with his little hands clasped before his chest.

"Ahem, if you truly want to... then of course you can."