A middle-aged man clad in iron armor staggered over.
He froze at the sight of Li Ping'an, seemingly unable to tell who he was.
But when his gaze fell on Zhao Mu, delight immediately rose in his heart.
Naturally, he recognized the distinctive armor of Great Sui.
"I'm Commander Deng Qiankun. Brothers..."
Zhao Mu hurriedly stood up. "Company Banner Officer Zhao Mu, reporting to you, Commander."
Breathing heavily, Deng Qiankun pointed at Li Ping'an. "Who... who is this?"
Zhao Mu paused. He did not know who Li Ping'an was either.
"A passing traveler," Li Ping'an said mildly.
A traveler?
Deng Qiankun's eyes shifted, but he said nothing more.
The circumstances did not permit him to say much more anyway.
Something seemed to be stewing in the iron pot, giving off waves of... a foul stench?
Deng Qiankun frowned deeply as he smelled the stink from the pot.
Li Ping'an exhaled. "Have something to eat too. We still have some way to go."
Though Deng Qiankun recoiled inwardly, he knew that having anything to eat at a time like this was already something.
Deng Qiankun glanced at the contents of the pot.
Was... was that a centipede?
Gritting his teeth, he took a fierce, enormous bite.
"Urrgh! Urrgh! Urrgh!"
Li Ping'an smiled in shared understanding.
He had eaten this stuff all along the way. Though he had grown much more accustomed to it now, it still always felt like eating shit.
Zhao Mu and Deng Qiankun forced themselves to eat a little under half a piece each, but nothing could persuade them to eat any more.
"Commander, what should we do now?" Zhao Mu asked tentatively.
"What else can we do? Flee back!" Deng Qiankun said.
Enemy troops were right on their heels. All they could do now was seek out