Chapter 293: The Return Journey and Militia Training

After resting for a day in Yinyulin Cunzi, Jier decided to return to the city.

As he walked out of the village, he calculated that he had earned quite a bit of money in just a few short days of being out, which was very efficient. It was just that facing the Magic Beast earlier had been far too dangerous.

If there were a next time, he wondered if he would still have the same Yongqi he had when facing the Magic Beast before.

His broken right lower leg was healing rapidly and no longer affected his normal walking, but if he wanted to travel a long distance back to the city, he still had to apply a splint to his leg to help support the weight of his body.

He found a villager in the village who was good at carpentry and had the other person make him a wooden frame that could fit his entire leg inside; it was a bit troublesome, but as long as his knee did not bend, he could rely on this thing to make it to the city.

Actually, Jier felt that he might not even need this thing anymore; with the rapid consumption of the Divine Power within the Agricultural God Badge, he could feel that his broken leg would be healed in another day or two.

It had to be said that supernatural things were truly amazing; he had originally thought he would have to hire a donkey cart to take him back to the city, but he never expected that after resting in the village for just over a day, his leg would already be half-healed.

On the return journey, because his leg was inconvenient, Jier could only walk slowly against the cold weather, moving bit by bit along the road toward the east.

Bored with walking, he turned his attention to the Forest on the north and south sides of the road.

He specifically kept an eye on the particularly tall treetops in the Forest, and after peering carefully into the distance, he discovered that basically every treetop had abnormalities different from other large trees.

These must be the traces left behind by that Magic Beast in its daily life.

Seeing that basically every tall tree had traces of the Magic Beast, Jier felt that the Magic Beast had truly been operating here for a long time; if he hadn't uncovered the truth of the disappearances earlier, it would likely have been a long time before anyone discovered that all those things were done by this Magic Beast.

But by the time that happened, who knew how many more people would have died.

And who knew how much property Yinyulin Cunzi would have lost due to the inconvenience of travel. By then, the poor Villagers would still be unable to survive locally and would have no choice but to move their entire families to other parts of the County to make a living.

While on the road, he also ran into a group of people; leading them was a female Knight riding a tall horse and wearing armor for the horse, and behind her were ten Forest Hunters carrying Hunting Bows on their backs.

The female Knight was wearing Steel Armor, which made Jier, who was passing by, quite envious; that suit of armor alone must be worth a lot of money, and Kendall City didn't even have Craftsmen who could manufacture or repair it.

Seeing that it was a female Knight, Jier immediately guessed that the other person was likely a Kendall Knight named Lanisha; he had heard that her fief was located at Umi Lake Cunzi in the north of the County, where there had been a persistent wolf infestation. The group of murderous-looking Forest Hunters behind her must be the hunting team she had organized.

Sure enough, Steward Irupachi had guessed correctly; Kendall Baron had indeed sent a Knight to hunt down the Magic Beast.

Originally, Jier had wanted to go up and greet them, and tell them his intelligence regarding the Magic Beast. But these people were walking in a hurry, the female Knight was full of enthusiasm, and the Hunters were also wanting to avenge the three Hunters who had died.

So even if they ran into a lone traveler on the road, these people had no interest in going up to strike up a conversation.

The thought of speaking slid back down his throat; Jier turned his raised hand toward his head, scratched it, smiled awkwardly, and continued walking along the road. Since they had a Knight leading the team, they would surely go to Yinyulin Cunzi to inquire about the situation later, so they didn't need his intelligence after all.

Afterwards, Jier ran into another group of bold Merchants on the road who were delivering goods to Yinyulin Cunzi, and everyone chatted a little on the road about the group Jier had met earlier.

The Merchant was aware of this matter; he was trying to see if he could conduct a transaction with the Knight's group while he was at it, when he went to trade with the village.

Bidding farewell to the Merchant who was eager to seize the trading opportunity, Jier walked slowly for a day and finally felt that the broken part of his lower leg, after the treatment from the badge, was finally completely healed. But the badge had lost its previous luster.

Jier still wore it around his neck; he knew the method to restore the badge's power.

According to the method the Agricultural God Church had taught him at the time, as long as he found a piece of farmland and buried the badge under the soil, after leaving it for a period of time, it would once again be filled with power.

At the same time, there were two key points. First, it must be farmland; placing it under ordinary soil would not work, as the Divine Power of the Agricultural God was only effective in the fields under His management. Secondly, if it were land directly under the Church, or land belonging to a Nongshen Believer, the speed at which the badge recovered its power would be even faster.

After his leg was better, Jier threw the wooden frame he had just made far away; although this thing had helped him travel long distances when his leg was broken and not yet healed, who would use this thing when their legs were fine? He didn't even want to look at it.

Soon, as Zhao Ji traveled further east, the Forest on both sides of the road receded more and more, until Kendall City appeared on the horizon as a small black dot, along with the farmland.

Passing through the vacant farmland in the north of Kendall City, as well as one tall farmhouse after another at varying distances, Zhao Ji then followed the curved road to circle around the increasingly closer Kendall City.

While passing through the southeast of Kendall City, Zhao Ji saw large areas of temporary camps, where young people from all over Kendall County were lazily warming themselves by fires in the large encampment.

Zhao Ji had long heard about the winter training for the Militia, but he hadn't expected it to look like this.

Zhao Ji returned at a convenient time; today happened to be the day the winter training began.

The gate of Kendall City was surrounded by quite a few people watching the excitement, so Jier was in no rush to enter the city; he stopped his Handcart, stood on it, and looked over the crowd toward the city gate tunnel.

Following the sound of heavy hoofbeats, along with a large amount of chaotic footsteps accompanied by the clattering of armor and weapons, five people on horseback slowly walked out from the city wall's gate tunnel.

The one in the lead wore a gorgeous surcoat of many colors, and the steed beneath him was also draped in ceremonial horse attire sewn from colorful fabric, wrapping the entire horse from head to leg.

Just from the attire, one could distinguish him from the others.

This person was not wearing a Helmet on his head, but rather a very gorgeous crown—a magnificent headpiece with a metal frame, crystal pillars, and Gems at the top.

Underneath the surcoat on his body was a Noble winter formal suit, with exquisite fabric and accessories, plus decorations made of carnivore fur to display a winter style, making it so that anyone who looked at the clothes would know this person was a Noble.

On the belt at his waist, he wore a Gem Short Sword on the left, and a gorgeously styled Gem Short Staff on the right.

When the people by the road saw this person, those who were close by all knelt on the ground one after another. Those carrying weapons on their persons half-knelt. Of course, those who were a bit further away were more casual.

Seeing the people paying their respects to him, this Noble waved his hand casually to acknowledge them while speaking in a low voice to the others accompanying him.

Behind this Kendall Baron in the lead were two riders; one was riding a similar steed and was also wearing a gorgeous surcoat and horse attire, but compared to Kendall Baron, his was only half as good—the gorgeous surcoat on his body only covered the main torso of his body and did not drag on for a long distance like the Baron's.

Likewise, his horse's surcoat only covered the horse's torso.

This person also wore a metal circlet on his head, but compared to Kendall Baron's, it was far inferior, with only a blue square Gem in the center of the circlet to display authority.

There was no Short Staff at his waist, only a slender Curved Saber of a different style.

Jier had seen this weapon style in his dreams related to elves; he knew that the slender Curved Saber was imitating the ancient weapon style of the elves.

The other person was the Kela Knight, whom Jier was very familiar with.

Unlike usual, today Kela Knight was wearing a suit of Knight Heavy Armor, equipped with a sword, Shield, and a Battle Flag with a spearhead, on which the emblem of the Kendall Family was embroidered.

The heavy armor on Kela Knight's body made Jier's scalp tingle, because the thickness of that heavy armor was truly too thick; Jier estimated that that suit of Knight Heavy Armor alone must weigh at least over one hundred kilograms, and adding the equally thick Shield and the one-handed Knight Battle Sword, plus the equally heavy Helmet hanging at his waist, this whole set must be nearly two hundred kilograms.

Looking again at the horse beneath Kela Knight, that horse had six thick horse legs, its body was both long and sturdy, and it was also draped in thick, heavy metal armor; as it walked along, every time a hoof fell, it made a heavy "thud, thud, thud" sound against the ground.

No matter how one looked at it, that horse and the Kela Knight on top of it were monsters encased in steel.

The onlookers were quite happy, and when Kela Knight passed by, everyone cheered.

Kela Knight showed no reaction to the cheers of the people, but when his eyes swept past the crowd and he saw Jier standing on the Handcart, he nodded toward Jier, who was looking over.

The following two riders were much more normal; the remaining two were Senior Scribes from the Kendall City Administration Office, who basically handled all the various matters of Kendall City.

Behind the five riders was a team of several dozen Kendall Guard members jogging along; they were all wearing the full set of armor of the guards, and although the weapons of each guard were not consistent, the onlookers all knew that this instead represented that they were all Refining Qi guards with skilled martial training.

Behind them were some of the city's Militia driving donkey and horse carts loaded with a large amount of supplies; these carts clattered and clanged, filled with various weapons and equipment, while the accompanying Scribe stood on a donkey cart shouting for the carts behind to keep up and not fall behind.

After the transport vehicles, it was over; a large number of people who had nothing to do in the winter followed slowly and messily behind, bringing their own wooden chairs and windproof clothing, clearly going to continue watching the excitement.

Jier also wanted to watch the excitement; he hadn't seen the local main armed forces yet. He hurried into the city, greeted a few guard friends who were guarding the gate and hadn't followed, and then hurried back to the Fox Tail Chamber of Commerce.

Pushing the Handcart next to the guard post and carrying some essential items back to his room, Jier didn't bother with the rest of the things on the cart; they were just consumable supplies like ropes, Torches, and food anyway, nothing important.

After greeting them and saying he was going out of the city to watch the militia training, Jier jogged out of the Merchant Guild.

He first went to the Table Corner Tavern, wanting to give Todd his share of the commission money, but it was quite a surprise to find Todd's uncle tending the shop.

This uncle, who usually looked after the shop at night, said that Todd had run out early in the morning to find a good spot at the militia training grounds.

Jier had no choice but to run out of the city as well.

By the time he hurried to the place where he had seen the large militia Yingdi earlier, he managed to find Todd, who was wearing a wolf-fur Cloak, among the crowd of onlookers.

"Ha! Jier! You're back. How was it this time? I heard that Yinyulin Cunzi had some Magic Beast tissue transported over a few days ago; was that your doing?" Todd said, patting Jier on the shoulder.

At this moment, the militia were still gathering and receiving the weapons transported out from the city one by one, while the Kendall City Guard stood as sentries, maintaining order in the area.

"You guessed right, I gave that wicked Magic Beast a taste of my steel. The situation was quite tense at the time; I almost didn't make it." The two chatted briefly, and then Jier asked Todd, a local of Kendall, to explain the process of this county-wide militia winter training.

"Winter training, huh? This didn't use to be a thing. Ever since Kela the Knight arrived, the Baron and he have been pushing for it. They select idle young men from various settlements every winter and have them gather here outside Kendall City during the agricultural off-season." Todd stretched out his finger and pointed at a large expanse of fields to the south.

"The land within this range belongs to the Baron himself. Usually, it's just used for simple farming, but when winter comes, it can serve as an open training ground."

Jier asked: "Then how are the militia's food and lodging handled?"

"The city is responsible for everything. Look, those Senior Scribes handing out weapons are the ones in charge of those matters. A while ago, they transported the materials for setting up the large tents outside the city; when people arrive, they have them set up their own tents. The food is provided by the city in advance, but they aren't responsible for food while the militia are on the road."

Jier saw the militia collecting their weapons and equipment, so he asked about their gear: "What kind of weapons and equipment do they use? Do you know?"

Todd raised his eyebrows and said excitedly: "Of course I know, I participated in the first batch of militia training myself, a few years ago." He counted on his fingers: "Generally, everyone gets a set of thick wooden armor fastened together with leather straps, and the Helmet is made of leather. In addition, everyone gets a Crossbow that can fire two bolts at once, and a bag of Crossbow Bolts. However, Crossbow training is done at the very end; the beginning is all about physical fitness and simple squad coordination and command training."

"After that, depending on your combat position, you are equipped with a Spear and a Long Wooden Shield, or a melee axe, a Cleaver, or an Iron Sword paired with a Round Shield. That's roughly all there is for weapons."

Jier saw the militia in the distance selecting the weapons they needed; large wooden crates were placed on the ground, filled with shiny, sealed weapons, and each militiaman was choosing an axe, a Cleaver, or an Iron Sword according to their own preference.

Another group of militia each received a long Spear at least five meters in length; after the militia stood the Spears on the ground, a dangerous forest of spears immediately appeared on the ground.

It was quite a fearful sight.

Roughly speaking, about half of the militia went to collect Spears, and the other half went to collect melee weapons.

Jier asked Todd about how they distinguish who carries a Spear and who fights in melee.

Todd scratched the hair on his forehead: "As for that question, I'm not entirely sure either. I heard people say it seems to depend on whether the militiaman has received simple martial arts training before. If they had some basic practice at home, they are prioritized to be selected for the melee group. Surely there aren't three hundred people who have had training, so for the rest, they choose those who are relatively robust from the others to join in."

Jier was curious about which one Todd had practiced, and Todd laughed: "I participated in militia training twice; I've used both the Spear and the Iron Sword. My Crossbow aim was very accurate back then."

Jier smiled, indicating he didn't believe him, and Todd spread his hands: "I know you don't believe me, but Crossbows are regulated in the county, and only the militia have the authority to use them. I'm not a militiaman now, so you won't be able to see it."

Now Jier couldn't even debunk Todd's words.

Watching the militia continue to distribute and select weapons, which wouldn't be finished for a while, he handed a small money bag to Todd: "This is the commission money given by the Steward of Yinyulin Cunzi; your share is inside. There's a bit extra; that's what they gave as a bonus."

"Because of the Magic Beast?" Todd took the small money bag, opened it, and took a look before asking.

Jier shrugged: "I discovered the tracks and intelligence of the Magic Beast on the way there. When I arrived at Yinyulin Cunzi, they didn't believe me and insisted on following me to see it with their own eyes. Unexpectedly, the Magic Beast discovered him, and I had no choice but to risk my life to save him."

Hearing Jier speak so lightly, Todd chuckled, took out the share he was entitled to according to the commission, and returned the rest to Jier: "A Magic Beast, huh? It's not as easy as you say. Risking your life—you definitely risked your life, right? Lanisha the Knight from the city even took people to hunt down the Magic Beast, and you're not a Knight, so why act so tough?" After saying this, Todd punched Jier in the chest.

Jier didn't move at all after taking the punch, while Todd rubbed his wrist and hissed: "You really are sturdy; it seems I underestimated you."

Jier rubbed his face and said with a grin: "I'll be even stronger in the future, just you wait and see."

At this time, the militia had finished distributing weapons and were gathering their squads under the guidance of the Kendall City Guard. The so-called squads were actually divided based on where each militiaman came from; since the training hadn't officially started yet, they were just like that for now.

Afterward, they would be broken up and divided into detailed groups and training units according to their squads and weapons.

Those who had participated in militia training before would naturally become the leaders of the new small squads. As for the cliques formed after they were broken up, that was no longer Kela the Knight's concern.

After the squads gathered, the Baron's five riders circled around the militia, letting all the militia see them clearly and recognize their faces.

Then they arrived directly in front of all the militia. A slightly elevated command platform made of wood and earth had already been built here.

The five of them dismounted, then walked onto the platform one by one and stood still.

Kendall Baron stood in the middle; to his left were Kela the Knight and the eldest son of Kendall Baron. To his right were the two Senior Scribes in charge of the Kendall City Administration Office.

These two Senior Scribes were basically responsible for all the various affairs, big and small, in Kendall City. The weapons, equipment, and organizational notices for the militia training were basically handled by them and their subordinates.

The two of them were actually members of the Kendall Family as well, both being elders to the current Kendall Baron, and their interests were aligned with the Baron's.

The Baron's eldest son was naturally the Baron's Heir, and there was also Kela the Knight, who had a close personal friendship with the Baron.

These five people were the actual leaders who controlled the largest armed force in the county.

Of course, the actual combat command and management were handled by Kela the Knight, the professional, but on such a formal occasion, the five of them taking the stage, with Kendall Baron in the center delivering a speech, was naturally to let these young men from different parts of the county know who truly commanded them.