status quo

The next morning, Locke got up early and went to the training camp. He had just advanced to a low-rank Knecht, so he still needed enough training and consolidation.

Another reason was to avoid Glace. Although he had taken a drop of blood from this beautiful woman last night, he hated this kind of transactional love. As the saying went, out of sight, out of mind. Locke planned to use cultivation to calm his restless heart.

Although it was early in the morning, there were many soldiers in the camp who had already woken up. Most of them started their day of training under the leadership of their squad jarls. Locke had always felt that the reason why they could beat the Shalorians was not unrelated to their daily training.

Ten more drops of sweat during training was one less drop of blood on the battlefield. Locke had forgotten who said this, but he always felt that it made sense.

He walked to the training camp and greeted the two soldiers on duty outside the camp gate before entering.

The training camp was still empty, but Locke knew that it wouldn't be for long. Hans and the others would be granted impetus soon. Locke told Hans in private that he would give him some pointers.

Locke had only been promoted to platoon jarl for less than half a year, so he wasn't qualified to give pointers to others. However, he was now a low-rank Knecht and one of the few masters in the camp, so he was qualified to give pointers to Hans, who had just entered the camp.

Locke didn't know much, but there were some tricks to using impetus and the functions of impetus that he'd figured out himself. These things were more practical.

Training was boring. He didn't exercise as usual today. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground and channeled impetus. The impetus that had skyrocketed because of the strengthening potion yesterday was now filling every part of Locke's body. This was the reason why he couldn't suppress his aura.

He had to gather these scattered impetus together and use them for his own use. Just like Mond, he was as quiet as a virgin and as agile as a rabbit. Earlier, Mond had resisted the attack of Farlans with a shield and forced his way up the city gate. Locke was extremely envious of him.

Locke couldn't do it now because he had just advanced and couldn't control impetus perfectly. If he were to go up like that, his impetus would probably not be smooth. If he was careless, he would be crushed into a meat patty by the rolling stones that fell from the city gate.

After two hours of cultivation, Locke had sorted out his impetus, but that was all. He would need another week to fully adapt to this stage.

There was enough time. The news circulating in the camp was that Prince Kenzir had decided to attack Audis after the new year. Firstly, it snowed from time to time, which hindered the attack on the city. After the new year, the weather would warm up and there would be less heavy snowfall.

Secondly, it was to raise more troops. The Eagle and Lion Corps had suffered casualties in the past few months. The major corps of the two corps had suffered different kinds of losses. They should take this opportunity to replenish their troops and increase their chances of attacking the city in the future.

It was said that Gale Legion would also participate in the war. Of course, this was just a rumor. Gale, which had carried out many massacres in the northern provinces of Shalor, had a notorious reputation among the surrounding countries. If Faustian chose to let this legion participate in the war, at least the remnants of the Shalorian army guarding Audis would resist desperately.

Locke didn't care what the higher-ups decided. What he needed to do now was to work hard to improve his strength and survive in this final war between the two countries. On the battlefield of hundreds of thousands of people, even if he was a low-rank Knecht, he was just a slightly bigger ant.

Of course, Locke didn't forget what he had promised Glace. He could roughly guess the woman's identity. She was most likely a member of a noble family in Shalor. The temperament she usually exuded was very similar to Cardoj's. In fact, she was even more distinguished than Cardoj.

If Locke was just a squad jarl a few months ago, he would've probably captured Glace and handed her over to Cardoj. Every noble in Shalor could be exchanged for varying amounts of wealth in the Faustian military.

However, Glace was a woman after all, and she had two other women with her, especially Kristin, who was only twelve years old. Locke, who had a lot of blood on his hands, rarely laid his hands on women, especially beautiful women.

Sigh, I originally wanted to keep a mistress in my house, but I didn't expect such a big mess to happen. Locke slapped his head, annoyed.

"Why did I agree to help her last night?" Locke muttered to himself.

It turned out that when he was a beginner-rank Knecht, he could already subdue the three women. Laffey, who was also a beginner-rank Knecht, was no match for him at all. He could totally rely on his own strength and nearly a hundred soldiers to make Glace listen to him. Now that he was a low-rank Knecht, shouldn't he be even more powerful?

Locke could only blame himself for agreeing to help her enter the city, even though he didn't know what she was going to do in the city. Locke, who had always been very stable and had a relatively unrefined personality, rarely did such arduous and unrewarding things.

Locke would never believe that Glace was going to enter the city to inform the Shalorians of something. More than seventy thousand people surrounded a city whose garrison might be less than twenty to thirty thousand people. Even if their god of war, Margrave Campbell, was resurrected, there was nothing he could do.

Of course, Locke wouldn't take any risks. He wouldn't send Glace in in front of tens of thousands of people. That was tantamount to treason. What awaited him was burning at the stake and hanging. Locke really couldn't think of any other outcome.

Locke's idea was to wait for the siege to begin and send Glace in during the chaos, or wait until the city gate was breached before sending her in. At this time, even if Glace had any thoughts that were detrimental to Faustian, they would die prematurely. Locke could still follow Glace. He wanted to see why this woman insisted on entering the city and even sacrificed her chastity.

He would only send Glace in after the city was breached. Only a veteran like Locke could come up with such a despicable idea. Indeed, this was very much in line with Glace's request. But if the city was breached, Glace might enter on her own without him sending her there. Why would she still need him?

Why not wait until Shalor was destroyed before sending Glace in? That way, Locke wouldn't have to bear any risks. Although Locke was thick-skinned, he wouldn't go to this extent. After all, Glace had already given herself to him, so he had to be responsible for her.

But even if the siege began, things wouldn't be so easy to handle. Locke needed to plan properly. It just so happened that Wyr owed him three favours, which might come in handy.

Because he didn't undergo high-intensity training and only cultivated impetus, Locke didn't come out of the training ground drenched in sweat like before. This surprised the two soldiers guarding the training ground. In the past, their platoon jarl would always be exhausted and sweating profusely when he came out of the training ground.

Ordinary soldiers like them admired Locke, who was also a commoner. Usually, when they saw Locke train so hard, they felt that it was no wonder he was doing so well. Even when he was training, he worked so hard.

Locke didn't know what the two soldiers were thinking. How could he be in the mood to train after Glace's matter? It was already amazing that he could be patient and cultivate impetus for a while.

When he returned to his tent, Glace was no longer there, replaced by Suzanne.

Last night, Locke already knew that Suzanne had been dragged to their place. When Kristin threw a tantrum, Suzanne couldn't come back. Glace said that she was going to tell Locke that Suzanne wasn't coming back, but she hadn't gone back all night. How could Suzanne not know why they kept her there?

Suzanne felt a little bitter in her heart. She gently asked Locke if he was tired from training and if he wanted some water. After saying that, she looked for a canteen to pour water for him.

Suzanne was still the best. She didn't have any bad ideas and treated him wholeheartedly. Locke went forward to hug her and said softly, "It's okay."

Suzanne, who was hugged by Locke, felt his warm chest, and her heart was filled with endless nostalgia. She knew that she was much older than Locke and wasn't as pretty as Glace, so she couldn't bear to part with him. She was also prepared for Locke to have several women. It was normal for a platoon jarl like Locke to have multiple wives after the war.

It was nonsense to say that women, children, the elderly, and the elderly suffered the most casualties during the war.

As far as the war between Faustian and Shalor was concerned, the Faustian side was still very restrained. Although they were fighting on Shalor's territory, they really didn't treat the ordinary civilians, especially the elderly and children. Faustians were also humans, not animals. They wouldn't attack the weak.

The ones who died the most were undoubtedly men. In this war between the two countries, Faustian lost fifty to sixty thousand soldiers, and Shalor lost even more, estimated to be close to a hundred thousand. One had to know that the population of these two countries was only close to two million.

Most of the soldiers who died were young and strong men. After the war, it was obvious that there were more women than men of the right age. At that time, even an ordinary man could have more than two wives if he could afford it. Not to mention, Locke was a big shot with a position above that of a platoon jarl.

Locke didn't think that far ahead. It was all Suzanne's thinking. Among the three women he had entangled with, Suzanne and Angelina were the ones he had the deepest feelings for the most. One of them had been with him for a long time, while the other had been supporting each other for nearly two months. As for Glace, he only had one night with her, so he had the weakest feelings for her.

Suzanne didn't have to worry at all that Locke would get tired of her.

There were still twenty days before the new year, and the new soldiers recruited by Cardoj from the territory would arrive one after another during this period. In addition, there was also a platoon of mercenaries.

Although there weren't many soldiers recruited this time, only sixty to seventy, it still made it very difficult for the four towns in the territory to put together.

Cardoj was just a small territory with only a few thousand people. In the past four years, a total of nearly 800 soldiers had left the territory. The ratio of population to soldiers had almost reached 5: 1. Cardoj's war potential had been exhausted.