Training on the Hunt

Aside from salt, the village could now produce nearly everything it needed. The mountains to the east, however, remained unexplored.

Lu Zeming wanted to explore them for two reasons: to see whether they held a salt deposit, and to use the expedition to train his troops for future campaigns beyond the village.

The 135 Awakened and 300 professional soldiers drew lots and were split into two groups. One would stay to guard the village while the other entered the mountains. They would switch every two weeks, and the expedition was expected to last two months.

Once the supplies and equipment were ready, more than two hundred people followed Lu Zeming into the mountains.

Spring had begun, but the early spring wind still cut through the mountain pass like a knife. It whipped up scraps of unmelted snow that stung their cheeks.

The column advanced along the mountain trail in orderly silence. Calling it a trail was generous; it was a track worn by wild animals. Sometimes there was no track at all, and those in front had to hack a path through. At ravines, they had to wait for an Awakened to use Earth Release to make a crossing.

Stopping and starting, they pressed deeper into the mountains.

It was Rin's first time going on a mission with her brother, and she was bursting with excitement. She chattered the whole way, pointing out strange rocks ahead one moment, then deliberately hiding in her brother's arms for comfort when an odd noise came from the woods. At least she kept the journey from getting dull.

Braised Pork had come along with Rin. When they first entered the mountains, the little pig stayed close behind her, its beady eyes darting about warily as though danger might spring out at any moment. After