The boring journey was to be expected, moving from one fortress to another one and making a camp in the wilderness in between. They encountered no wild monster, the road was safe, and just like that they wasted seven days for the trip.
Tonight was the last night. Captain Borun announced that they would arrive at their destination by tomorrow evening at the latest. Sitting in front of the bonfire that he set up in front of his tent, Tang Shaoyang chewed the jerky in his mouth. The salty jerky taste had grown on him, and he would chew the jerky all the time during the trip.
"I am going to sleep first, Brother," Lu An entered the tent, assuming a sleeping position. However, Tang Shaoyang said that his little brother had been going out so often at night. It would be a piece of cake for him to sneak out without being noticed. The strongest here was Captain Borun, who was an Epic Rank. Even the Captain could not detect Lu An, so Lu An had been going out by himself every night.
There were no monsters approaching the road, but there were still a lot of monsters inside the forest. Lu An had been hunting those monsters to cope with his boredom. The monsters were not that dangerous, mostly level 500.
Tang Shaoyang looked up at the moon. They were inside the tower but there was another sky inside. He had never thought about this before, but each floor was considered a world by itself.
"What are you thinking about?" Rosalie asked. She did not enjoy the beef jerky, but she saved some lunch boxes. She was enjoying her food and noticed Tang Shaoyang staring at the sky.The source of this ᴄontent is Noᴠelꜰire
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"I am thinking that we are inside the tower, but I can see a similar sky. That weirded me a little…." The couple chatted as they enjoyed their food.
Meanwhile, the other recruits watched Tang Shaoyang and Rosalie from a distance. That was right, there was a certain distance formed between their tent and Tang Shaoyang's tent. Everyone had heard what happened to Captain Borun, and no one wanted to offend the players who were not even afraid of Captain Borun. Mostly, they were scared because the players were much stronger than Captain Borun himself.
Ignoring the distant stare, Tang Shaoyang and Rosalie finished their food and entered the tent. There was no action inside the tent. He did not want to be watched by these monkeys of course, so they just went to sleep and continued their journey the next morning.
They arrived at the fortress by late afternoon. The group was approaching the back side of the fortress, but everyone could smell the burning flesh permeated in the air. The closer they got to the tall wall of the fortress, the stronger the smell was. It was obvious the smell was recent, meaning a battle broke out in this fortress. The Union was attacked by either the demon or the beastmen, they would find out the answer soon. They arrived at the gate, but no one guarded the gate.
Tang Shaoyang used his Spirit Eyes to ensure that the fortress had not fallen yet. There were still people inside, a lot of people were taking a rest with a few guarding the broken gate at the other side.
Captain Borun had to slam the gate with his fist, then the people inside realized the reinforcement had arrived. The person who opened the gate let out a cheerful shriek, hugging Captain Borun. The reinforcement was around three hundred people, but these three hundred did not have the power of the three hundred people the soldiers inside the fortress. That was because the new recruits were inexperienced, but it still made the guy happy. It seemed it had been hard.
The state of the fortress was much worse than the city for sure, but it was much worse than Tang Shaoyang though. The moment he entered the fortress, the burning smell was mixed with the bad body odor, causing Tang Shaoyang, Rosalie, and Lu An to frown at the bad smell. Especially for Tang Shaoyang who had a sharp nose, this was bad. He would rather smell the burning flesh than stay inside the fortress.
They were led to the supposed to be a barrack, but it was actually no different than a slum. The main building and the lodging were worn out as if it would break at any moment.
'I guess they did not bother to invest more money in this fortress because it can be taken anytime?' That was Tang Shaoyang's guess.
Captain Borun and the person who welcomed Captain Borun approached Tang Shaoyang.
"Hello, welcome to Varil Fortress. I have heard from Borun that you are players," Captain Borun's friend smiled, offering his hand for a handshake.
Tang Shaoyang reached his hand and nodded, "Tang."
"My name is Brond, one of the four Captains in this fortress," Brond nodded, "You are the first player, so I don't know the assignment for the players. Please follow me, I will lead you to meet our General."
"I will take care of them, you take care of the new recruits, Borun,"
Tang Shaoyang followed Captain Brond to the other side of the fortress, the side that was much better. While the building was not new or luxurious, it was well-maintained. There was less smell too, which was much better. The smell was still bearable on this side. They were led to the General Office, and there were four people inside the office.
Two were in red uniforms, sleeping on the couch while one man sat behind the table, reading the report given to him by the girl next to him who seemed to be the General's secretary.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe General raised his head when he heard the sound of the door opening. He was topless, and there was a mark left behind by dried blood, showing his jacked muscles.
"What do you need, Captain Brond!?" The General asked in a stern voice.
"I am bringing the first group of players, Sir. They are the first players who come to Tarkon City and decide to enlist." Captain Brond straightened his back and replied loudly, waking up the two sleeping people.
"Why are you so loud, Brond!? You are disrupting my sleep!" The two people woke up from their sleep, yelling at the poor Captain.
"I am sorry, Vice General!" Captain Brond bowed his head.
However, the focus was on Tang Shaoyang when the players were mentioned. The General immediately stood up from his seat, approaching Tang Shaoyang with a big smile.
"Finally, we have some reliable recruits. Welcome to Varil Fortress, and I appreciate your willingness to help us. My name is Muril, and you don't need to address me by my title because you are not part of the army. You can just call me by name," General Muril was more flexible. Tang Shaoyang liked the guy.
"You can call me Tang. She is Rosalie, and he is Lu An." Tang Shaoyang introduced his team.
However, General Muril's eyes fell on the two little guys on Tang Shaoyang's shoulders, "What about these two lit… What about these? Aren't you going to introduce them too?" He was quick to catch up that Wrath and Greed were not just ordinary pets.