Chapter 193: Preparing for Battle and Changing Equipment

The others teased him, "Is this one bear gall enough for your third brother's bride price?"

Menban patted his shoulder, "Want me to add some? But let's be clear, I get a share of that wife too."

"Enough, enough, none of you get a share," Skinny said dismissively, carefully taking a box and putting it away.

His teammates knew he was the eldest at home, with four younger brothers and two younger sisters. His second brother had lost a leg in battle and couldn't do the heavy labor required to support the family.

After their parents passed away, Skinny, as the eldest brother, had to take on the father's responsibilities. With the bear gall in hand, he felt confident: "Let's see what else the in-laws dare to ask for this time!"

As everyone was about to bid farewell and head home to rest, their captain, Liu Tong, returned. "Don't disband yet, the next mission is here."

Menban was startled. "Now?"

From tracking and ambushing to fighting, they had been busy for more than a dozen hours just to kill the bear demon. They should be resting and recuperating now.

"This is a mandatory mission, there's no room for negotiation," Liu Tong said with a grave expression. "Go treat your wounds, prepare five days' worth of supplies, and gather at the South Gate Plaza after three hours of rest. This time, it's a legion-level operation!"

Everyone was astonished, and a clamor of voices broke out: "We have to participate in a legion-level operation too?"

"Is it finally our turn?"

"A major battle is great! More military merits!" Skinny licked his lips, adding, "More money too. I'm already tired of killing monsters."

He Lingchuan, however, asked, "How many legions are participating?"

"I don't know, it's classified," Liu Tong instructed everyone. "Time is limited, so quickly replenish your food, water, elixirs, arrows, and other weapons. Lead your horses back to the stables to rest; I'll arrange for a batch of warhorses to replace them. We might have a long march after leaving the city."

Menban's expression turned serious. "Are we going to Puxi Valley?"

"I don't know," Liu Tong said, rushing off.

Willow twisted his neck, producing a few cracking sounds. "The horses get to rest, but we don't." They had hunted for more than a dozen hours, returning to the city exhausted, only to be told they had to leave immediately. "I'm going back for a nap."

Skinny, meanwhile, had to rush home to hand over his earnings from this trip to his family. Before leaving, however, he didn't forget to ask his teammates, "Hey, there are only two hours left. You don't have time to shop, right? Should we do the same as last time: twenty scallion-meat pancakes and five pieces of cheese per person?"

Menban frowned. "We buy from your sister-in-law every single time; can't we get a discount?"

"For you guys, my family always uses good flour and plenty of oil. Don't you feel how fragrant and flavorful they are when you eat them?" Skinny said, counting on his fingers. "Even so, each pancake is still one copper coin cheaper than the market price. This is a teammate price, a conscience price!"

"Then why does the meat in the pancakes taste a bit sour?" another teammate chimed in, asking, "What kind of meat do you actually put in them?"

"Good meat, all absolutely proper good meat!" Skinny said with a serious face. "I personally watched them make the pancakes, so rest assured, there's absolutely no cutting corners."

"I even found a fly in my pancake," the teammate retorted. "If you supervised the whole process, didn't you see a fly get in?"

"An extra fly means extra meat. It's crispy and crunchy, why bother picking it out?"

Everyone booed him, but they tacitly agreed to continue buying dried provisions from his family. Skinny had a large family to support and was constantly short on money; he wouldn't let even half a copper coin slip by. Anyway, the scallion-meat pancakes all tasted the same, so it didn't matter whose they bought. At least Skinny wasn't wrong about one thing: the pancakes made by his brother and sister-in-law were oily and more filling.

After everyone else left, Skinny asked He Lingchuan, "Broken Blade, do you need anything else?"

"Give me another five catties of dried beef. I want it dry and hard, not soggy."

"Alright!" Skinny knew that bachelors like He Lingchuan, with no family to support, only needed to feed themselves, so they were certainly more generous with their spending on food and drink.

Cattle were precious resources for production; who would be willing to slaughter them unless they were injured, sick, or old? The price of dried beef was at least three times that of cheese.

He Lingchuan emphasized, "No cat meat, no civet meat. I want proper beef."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Skinny said with a laugh, turning to run, but He Lingchuan called him back. "Also, help me get a few ghost cicada shells."

"Ghost..." Skinny paused. "That stuff isn't cheap."

"It's even more expensive to exchange with military merits." Every city had an underground black market, and even strict cities like Panlong City were no exception. Rare and valuable items circulated there. If Hu Min and A'Luo hadn't been absent, He Lingchuan wouldn't have bothered this guy.

Ghost cicada shells were the essential "seeds" for using the "Substitute with a decoy" ability. After He Lingchuan learned this divine power, he could freely swap positions with a shell within five zhang, as long as he had placed it on the ground beforehand.

Although its cooldown was as long as six hours, if used well, it was a divine skill.

After Skinny left, He Lingchuan returned to the Pengcheng Bureau and used his accumulated military merits to exchange for the "Substitute with a decoy" ability.

Then, he found a nearby inn and checked into a room. The shorter the breaks between battles, the more crucial it was to seize the time to rest and recuperate.

Hu Min had left yesterday afternoon without saying where he was going. Coincidentally, A'Luo did the same, so He Lingchuan deduced they had gone ahead to Panlong Wasteland.

During his recent dream-entrances, he had diligently gathered information. He quickly discovered that Panlong City and the Baling Army had already engaged in several skirmishes in Puxi Valley. Facing the Baling Army's harassment tactics, Panlong City focused on major issues while overlooking minor ones, and didn't simply wait for trouble. Instead, they dispatched troops to maintain order only when crops were being harvested en masse or when merchants were leaving the city.

After several ineffective incursions, the Baling Army simply sent more personnel to plunder merchants.

After all, Puxi Valley's local specialties were truly valuable.

Before today, the Baling Army had successfully plundered three times and failed four times, with the most recent attempt being three days ago.

In just two months, troops had been deployed to rob seven times in total, showing the intensity of the rivalry between the two sides.

This kind of frequent, medium-scale combat couldn't rely solely on the Great Wind Army, as it had its own missions to carry out. Therefore, the Patrol Army was brought in as a timely supplement, becoming one of the main forces of the Puxi Valley escort team each time.

Many patrol squads had already been there; this time, it was finally the turn of He Lingchuan's team.

As soon as he lay on the bed, the exhaustion from the past more than a dozen hours overwhelmed him, dragging him instantly into sleep.

During his previous missions, He Lingchuan was surprised to find that he could actually sleep within his dreams.

However, this kind of rest didn't involve dreams within dreams; instead, it was a deep, unconscious slumber. He would wake up feeling refreshed and completely recovered from fatigue.

With thirty minutes left until assembly time, He Lingchuan walked to a small restaurant nearby and ordered a plate of plain boiled mutton, two enormous unleavened steamed buns, and a large bowl of wonton soup. He then ate with gusto.

Among all foods, meat was the most filling. He Lingchuan figured it would be better to eat Skinny's scallion-meat pancakes later.

However, probably only patrol members could afford to eat like this in a small restaurant. Others would have to think for a long time before ordering a bowl of mutton soup with just a few oil slicks floating on top.

A child nearby almost cried from envy, slowly gnawing on his own bun while secretly glancing at He Lingchuan's bowl.

He Lingchuan simply focused on eating his fill.

The waiter, holding two full water pouches, diligently handed them to He Lingchuan. Many patrol members ate there, and the proprietor would provide whatever services they could, such as helping to replenish ready-made dry provisions and water.

He Lingchuan stood up, paid the bill, and then pointed at the soup bowl, asking the child, "Do you want this?"

The child nodded frantically. There were still several large wontons in the soup, along with green onions, and a layer of oil floating on top.

The child's mother watched eagerly; her family had last eaten meat about two months ago.

He Lingchuan placed the bowl on the child's table and turned to leave.

South Gate Plaza, Panlong City.

When He Lingchuan found his squad, seven or eight hundred people had already gathered in the plaza, mostly Patrol Army based on their attire.

Skinny arrived with his younger brother and sister-in-law, distributing dried provisions with one hand and collecting money with the other.

The young woman was fair-skinned and somewhat attractive. She carried two baskets containing freshly made scallion-meat pancakes, which were still warm through the oiled paper. She smiled at everyone and didn't mind the men joking or saying suggestive things to her.

Menban said to Skinny, "If you want me to buy again next time, your sister-in-law will have to come deliver the pancakes herself."

Skinny gave him a sarcastic look. "Then you'll have to survive today." He then gestured towards Willow with his mouth.

Menban turned his head and saw Willow glaring fiercely at him, almost with her eyebrows standing on end. He couldn't help but lower his head and cough twice.

Liu Tong came over and led all the team members to a nearby alley, where sets of light leather armor had been delivered.

He Lingchuan was startled, and Menban already exclaimed, "Ah, isn't this Great Wind Army uniform?!"

The standard equipment of the Great Wind Army was different from other units, easily distinguishable at a glance.

For many, being inducted into the Great Wind Army and wearing this uniform was a coveted honor.

"What are you shouting about? Are you afraid others won't hear?" Liu Tong made a shushing gesture. "Change into them right here, quickly."

Everyone stopped asking questions and swiftly changed their clothes. Someone then collected their patrol uniforms.

Menban stroked the Great Wind Army uniform on his body, his eyes full of emotion. "Are we being given this set of equipment?"

These pieces of equipment were neither new nor old, likely having been worn by their previous owners for some time. He Lingchuan even found dark red bloodstains on a sleeve guard.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, even a half-eaten one. Willow asked suspiciously, "What do they want us to do?"

"Why do soldiers ask so many questions?" someone replied. Then, more horses were brought over, all sleek, spirited, and with freshly brushed coats. Their own rations were tied to the back of their saddles.

For such forced marches, the horses could graze on the wasteland's plants and water, but to ensure they had endurance and stamina, the cavalrymen also needed to carry a portion of concentrated feed.

Everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances.

If there wasn't a tough battle ahead, why would the preparations be so thorough?

Liu Tong called for everyone to lead their horses back to the plaza.

Willow and the others had already had their wounds re-dressed. Panlong City's spiritual medicines were exceptionally effective for superficial injuries, and now their movements were largely unhindered.

By this time, over a thousand people and horses had gathered in the South Gate Plaza. A heavily armored man stepped forward and began to address the entire army.

He Lingchuan heard someone say that this was General Nanke.