“You’re obviously annoyed because this seems so easy for me.” Ren Xiaosu said with a dark expression, “How can the commander of the Northwest be so petty about things?”
Zhang Jinglin said matter-of-factly, “I’m not being petty. Since this tour on foot is meant to hone the mind of the commander-to-be, it’s only natural that you should go through the same hardships the sentries here experience. Think about it. They’re not supernatural beings, so do you know how tough it gets for them each day? If I don’t make it harder for you, can you really experience what it’s like for them?”
Zhang Jinglin continued, “And if you don’t experience that, how will you know how tough it is for the sentries here? I’m not asking you to carry a heavier load than you can, I just want you to experience what it’s like to live as a normal person again.”
“As expected of the fortress commander. You’re really good at logic.” Ren Xiaosu pursed his lips. “Tell me, which rock do you want me to carry?”
“How much weight can you carry now?” Zhang Jinglin asked.
“50 kilograms?” Ren Xiaosu said.
“Speak the truth!” Zhang Jinglin snapped.
“But I’ve never tested it out before.” After that, Ren Xiaosu went to the side and found a rock about the size of a winter melon before putting it onto his shoulder. “Is this OK?”
“No, you don’t look like you’re struggling at all!” Zhang Jinglin looked around for a while before he finally found a boulder that was half the height of a person. “This one.”
Ren Xiaosu walked over to the boulder and placed it on his back. It wasn’t until Zhang Jinglin saw him struggling that he said in satisfaction, “Alright, let’s keep advancing!”
But after walking for another two hours, Zhang Jinglin felt like his knees were about to give way. But when he turned around to look at Ren Xiaosu, there was not even a drop of sweat on his forehead.
It was already the beginning of summer, and the days in the Northwest were hot while the nights were cold. Carrying such a large boulder under the hot afternoon sun, how could Ren Xiaosu possibly not sweat if he were truly tired?
Zhang Jinglin asked suspiciously, “Aren’t you tired?”
Ren Xiaosu said in agony, “Of course! I’m dead tired!”
“Are you sure?” Zhang Jinglin asked.
“Of course I’m sure!” Ren Xiaosu roared, “Why don’t you try carrying a large boulder like this one? If you were the one carrying it, you would be tired as well!”
Zhang Jinglin sighed and said, “Disregarding everything else, I’ve really got to commend you on your acting.”
“What gave it away?” Ren Xiaosu wondered.
As soon as Ren Xiaosu was done speaking, he saw Zhang Jinglin climb onto his back.
As such, it turned into a situation where Ren Xiaosu carried the boulder with Zhang Jinglin sitting leisurely on top of it. Ren Xiaosu said unhappily, “As the Northwest’s commander, why are you always finding ways to slack off like that?”
“This tour is to train you, not me.” Zhang Jinglin said nonchalantly, “I’m already quite lenient. My previous commander said his old commander drove while making him walk to all of the outposts.”
Ren Xiaosu ranted, “In what way are you more lenient than him? I’d rather you drive!”
Zhang Jinglin glanced at his watch. “Enough, there’s only about an hour left until our estimated arrival time. Let’s keep going!”
Thus, the two of them resumed their journey with Zhang Jinglin sitting on the boulder and enjoying the scenery. On the undulating hills in the distance, there were sheep grazing, and Zhang Jinglin even saw some occasional yaks passing by a short distance away.
Zhang Jinglin suddenly said, “I’ve never felt so relaxed when traveling out to places beyond the fortress. I haven’t had time to enjoy the scenery like this. But when I think about how this place would be covered in corpses if war breaks out again one day, it really ruins the scenery here for me.”
“Haven’t you thought of launching an attack on those sorcerers first?” Ren Xiaosu asked. “Wouldn’t that solve the problem once and for all?”
“Yes, I’ve thought about it before.” Zhang Jinglin said, “But the enemy’s power is too mysterious, so we have some apprehensions about it. Before we understand the strength of our enemy, we can’t just gamble with the lives of the Northwest’s people we’re protecting.”
Ren Xiaosu nodded. It was similar to the war between the Pyro Company and the expeditionary army. If they had rashly pursued and launched a counterattack against the barbarians without fully knowing how many troops they had, it would have led to failure on their end.
“I heard from the Great Hoodwinker that they’ve sent agents to infiltrate their society. Did it work out?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“No,” Zhang Jinglin said and shook his head.
“Was it because of the language barrier or because they look different?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“No.” Zhang Jinglin said, “They’d already abducted a large number of our compatriots over the past 200 years. In fact, 80% of the people there look no different from us, and they speak the same language as us too. I reckon that when the first group of sorcerers abducted our people to help with their nation’s development, they did not expect this to happen either. Of course, we also need to stay vigilant. This situation not only makes it easy for our people to infiltrate their society, but it also means they can do the same to us.”
“Then why were we unable to infiltrate their society?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“Because we have no way of creating sorcerers.” Zhang Jinglin explained, “The Magi’s power structure reigns above all in that nation. Moreover, their hierarchy is extremely secretive. As long as you’re not a sorcerer, you can’t truly understand what powers they wield.”
“We still can’t figure out their exact numbers, hierarchy, and the source of their powers, nor do we know how to deal with them,” Zhang Jinglin continued. “This situation might change if one of our people emerges as a sorcerer, but it’s not like we know how they can become one.”
“Didn’t you find any clues regarding the source of their powers? Do they awaken their powers like us?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“No.” Zhang Jinglin said firmly, “Their power comprises an entire set of inheritance which is quite different from relying on luck to awaken one’s superpower. Moreover, the sorcerers appeared before the events of The Cataclysm. Actually, they don’t have any prejudice against us. It’s just that when civilizations rise, there will definitely be a degree of rivalry with other civilizations around them. Furthermore, an advancing society will have great demands for resources. We believe there’ll be another war between Fortress 178 and the sorcerer nation sooner or later, because the land they’re living on is not as rich as ours.”
Ren Xiaosu suddenly turned his head and looked towards the hill in the distance. Zhang Jinglin asked, “What’s the matter?”
Ren Xiaosu looked at the two sheep on the hill and said, “I keep getting the feeling that those two sheep are looking at us.”
Zhang Jinglin squeezed his shoulder and said with a smile, “It’s only two sheep. C’mon, let’s keep moving. The soldiers at the outposts are still waiting for our arrival.”
“Mhm, I probably thought too much.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. “After setting out from the Northwest, I keep getting the feeling that the enemy might be nearby, so I got a little tense.”
When their figures disappeared over the horizon, the two sheep grazing on the hill turned around and ran off. No one knew where they were heading.
When a sheepdog saw the two sheep separating from the herd, it wanted to stop them. But just as the sheepdog was about to move towards them, it retreated as though it saw something terrifying..
