In the evening, the group found a place to set up camp on the plains. Everyone stopped to rest and reorganize.
Austin placed his backpack on the ground and sat on it to rest.
“If you fainted, do you stop breathing?” Austin muttered to the goblin on his back.
Along the way, he could only rely on the weak pulse on the goblin’s wrist to determine whether he had crushed it to death..
Austin glanced at the soldiers who were setting up their tents and felt a strong urge to help them out. However, he remembered Claremont’s order: He must never be more than an inch away from the goblin.
Resentment regarding the mission couldn’t help but surge into Austin’s heart, causing him to frown.
In order to protect the Goblin and prevent it from falling, his arm had been stretched until it was stiff. Even so, Austin was still unwilling to change his position — to face the Goblin’s directly. With his back facing it, he could still imagine that he was carrying an ordinary child or something. If he held the goblin in his arms and stared at it, Austin wouldn’t be able to stand the horror.
“My hand hurts,” Austin could not help but say.
In the end, he set the goblin down from his back and put it on his leg.
“My God, it’s really ugly,” Austin said with his eyes closed.
“Austin, what are you doing? Come here quickly!” A soldier in the camp shouted at Austin from afar.
It was the captain of the squad.
“What’s wrong?” Austin put on his backpack and walked over quickly.
“Captain Devitt asked you to take this goblin to take a bath, and then let the medic be in charge of the inspection. We just found some rotting corpses of animals on the plains. Captain Devitt was worried that the goblin might be infected,”the soldier explained in detail.
“Okay.” Austin reacted and asked, “Captain, where is the water source around here?”
“There’s no water source,” the soldier said. “The kitchen has boiled a basin of water for this guy. Use that to wash it.”
“Roger that.” After Austin asked, he walked to the kitchen.
When the soldiers in the kitchen saw him, they immediately carried out the wooden basin filled with boiling water.
How unfortunate, this wooden basin meant for washing vegetables has now it had become a bath basin.
Austin walked up and thanked him. He took the goblin in his arms and compared its size with the bath basin. It was just right.
“After the bath, pour the waste water outside the camp,” the soldier in the kitchen instructed. After seeing Austin nod, he hurriedly ran to continue cooking.
Austin used his palm to test the temperature of the water, but it was so hot that he retracted his hand.
For a moment, Austin felt like he was taking care of a newborn.
But he was only twenty years old.
Austin took out a towel from his backpack, dipped it in water, and used it to wipe the goblin’s body.
With just one swipe, the white towel turned black.
Austin looked awkwardly at the soldiers who were busy in the kitchen. This basin of water might not be enough.
Taking a deep breath, Austin patiently wiped every part of the goblin’s body with a freshly washed towel.
Until the entire basin of hot water became cold and muddy.
When Austin took out the dirty water and walked back, the kitchen soldier who had been looking at the chopping board came to him with a pot of hot water, saying, “This was reheated in the kitchen. Captain Dewitt ordered that it be washed clean.”
“Thank you.” Austin poured the boiling water into the basin. He kept stirring it with his hands to cool it down.
The soldier in the kitchen held the empty kettle and stood where he was, looking at Austin’s face with a strange expression.
After a while, Austin noticed that there was someone standing in front of him. He raised his head and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“What… are you doing?” The kitchen soldier asked curiously.
“The water in the basin is too hot,” Austin replied.
“Do you really think you’re taking care of the child?” The kitchen soldier frowned and ridiculed.
“Umm…” Austin was stunned and didn’t know what to reply.
“It seems that this mission suits you quite well,” the kitchen soldier commented. After saying that, he turned around and left.
Austin turned his head and glanced at the unconscious goblin. After a moment of silence, he said —
“So ugly.”
The construction of the camp was officially completed.
After experiencing the incident this afternoon, Dewitt ordered the soldiers, “Strengthen the night guards to avoid being ambushed by the goblins who might be concentrated here.”
The night shift returned to the three-shift system during the tense period.
While some people were setting up tents, the soldiers in the kitchen were busy preparing dinner. When they were ready to let the soldiers complete the task of setting up tents, they would immediately be able to eat a steaming hot dinner.
During dinner time, five or six Caradia soldiers gathered around a table. When the people around the other tables were chopping large pieces of meat, they didn’t even pick up their chopsticks.
“Why isn’t that elf brother here yet?” A soldier sighed.
“He should be here soon. I hope he comes as soon as possible,”another soldier said.
During the rest of the march, the two elven soldiers who helped them yesterday made their first request: they wanted to taste the human’s dinner. Although everyone was very reluctant to share the food in their bowls when they thought about it, they had to keep the promise they made the night before. And so they agreed to it.
In the end, eleven minutes after the dishes were served and the soldiers at the other tables walked past them while picking their teeth, the two elven soldiers still didn’t show up.
“No, I can’t help it.” One of the soldiers picked up his chopsticks and was ready to start at the dishes.
“Pa!” The chopsticks in his hand fell on the table. The voice of the elven soldier came from behind, “Are you people from Caradia so untrustworthy?”
The soldier looked back and saw the elven soldier staring at them angrily.
“No, no, no, we all know the rules. Only he did it!” The soldiers sitting at the table denied one after another, distancing themselves from the soldier who was caught.
“You guys…” the soldier was speechless.
“Forget it.” The two elven soldiers waved their hands. “Give us a seat. How can we eat standing here?”
“Okay, okay, okay.” The soldier who made a mistake immediately moved his chair to make space.
The elven soldier took two chairs and sat down. Under everyone’s gaze, he ate the first bite of the dish.
“Mmm, it’s quite delicious. You guys eat it too.” After one of the elven soldiers tasted it, he gestured to the others on the table.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
After the meal ended, the soup on the table was also demolished.
