On the city wall, Horrey looked at the swarm of children from afar, somewhat speechless.

Wang Xuefeng resembled a kindergarten teacher, covered in children.

Because the little boy's home wasn't far away, the other children followed him along the way, planning to play games near his house.

"My name is Huo Pingping, and my sister's name is Huo An'an!" the little boy said happily as he climbed onto Wang Xuefeng's back.

"May you be safe and sound," Wang Xuefeng said softly.

"Yes!" The little boy's face beamed with a happy smile.

...

Horry watched as the group walked into a large courtyard, his view then blocked by the houses.

The team's voice chat was on, and all three members could hear each other.

Xiao He and Hori naturally learned about the Winter Campaign, but Hori had no recollection of it.

"There's nothing we can do. The wars are too frequent, so it's hard to make any connections," Horry explained helplessly. "However, it's almost certain that the parents of these children are in the same army."

"Because their homes are all nearby?" Xiao He asked during the call.

“Yes,” Horry said. “Initially there were only four legions, divided into the East March, West March, South March, and North March. Now, with the addition of the Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, and Northwest Marches, it has become eight legions. The inner city was designed according to the eight legions, so the parents of these children are mostly in the Southwest Legion.”

"But each legion has various different units, such as purely ranged and purely melee units, or balanced units, and the number of units varies... I don't know which legion these children's parents belong to, I'll have to check that."

While looking at Wang Xuefeng's coordinates, Horry looked down and flipped through the resident files of the Southwest District.

Before long, Xiao He followed the main force of the 11th Regiment to a circular open-air square.

The square was filled with tables and chairs.

Many women wearing aprons were busy serving up elaborate breakfast dishes.

Lucadi frowned slightly: "General Huo has gone to great lengths. Our support troops are also an army, and there is no need to differentiate us from your soldiers."

"This is how Yanluo Military City treats its guests, please don't take it to heart, Commander." Huo Pingyang appeared very warm and hospitable, and his every move exuded the demeanor of a great general.

“I have no objection to the support plan you just mentioned, but the composition of my personnel needs to be adjusted according to the situation. Could you please provide me with the latest intelligence from the surrounding cities?” Lucadi asked directly.

A hint of surprise flashed across Huo Pingyang's eyes; he hadn't expected Lucadi to intend to take complete control of the command.

Although he was commanding his own team, trying to control the entire team's actions with the members so scattered seemed rather...

Huo Pingyang was trying to figure out how to tactfully tell Lucadi to temporarily abandon so many battlefields when the latter spoke up with a serious expression:

"General Huo, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I need to be responsible for each and every one of my team members. They are my team members, and I know better than anyone what positions they are suited for. I can make sure that each of them can maximize their potential."

Before Huo Pingyang could even offer any advice, he discovered that the man had already sealed the deal with a few simple words.

After a long pause, he sighed softly.

"Alright, I'll have someone compile the latest intelligence and deliver it to you before the morning banquet ends."

Upon hearing this, Lucadi solemnly gave a military salute.

"Thank you for your understanding and trust. We are confident that our joint support operation will be victorious!"

Huo Pingyang returned the salute of the Huo family army, and then took his leave of the group under the pretext of "preparing for battle".

Xiao He sat at a table behind Lucadi, his back to the two who had just been talking, yet he could hear their conversation clearly.

"Found them." Horry's voice came from the other end of the call: "It's the Ninth Army of the Southwest Corps. They are currently on campaign and have not returned."

"What battle? How many people were involved? Where was it held?" Wang Xuefeng asked.

"The Battle of the Zuniga River involved 1,200 men and took place along the entire Zuniga River, from its source in the Zuniga Mountains to the Zuniga Inland Sea, a distance of less than five kilometers. The expedition began on the first day of the deep winter month, with the mission of clearing away the millennia-old resurrection from the riverbed and setting up a barrier at the point where it connects with the Inland Sea," Horrey explained in detail.

"When is the expected return date?"

"No."

"No?"

"This mission doesn't have a rating either, which is quite unusual compared to other missions. Because there's no mission rating, it's hard for people to notice it."

“The Suniga River…” Wang Xuefeng frowned slightly.

Just now, a little girl mentioned that there was a small flower in the letter she received.

This flower grows in winter by the inland sea, buried in the snow like a radish. It's edible, tasteless, and very juicy.

Because Wang Xuefeng and Xiao He had also picked quite a few on the shores of Erlan Lake, he could tell the difference just by listening.

This shows that the letter came from the Sunica Inland Sea.

However, it was winter at the time, and with arduous tasks at hand, the army could not have cleared the area so quickly.

Sweeping from the source to the destination in just one month is an impossible feat, unless they encounter some kind of extraordinary luck.

But that makes it even stranger.

If they arrived at their destination as early as winter, setting up the barrier wouldn't take much time, so logically they should be able to return by late spring at the latest.

But now that half of early summer has passed, even if we need to be stationed there to guard the area, we shouldn't be without even a letter from home.

"Has anyone checked the mission progress?" Wang Xuefeng asked.

“No, unless the expected return time is specified, no one will bother to check it when everyone is busy,” Horry added. “Family members don’t have that right either.”

"I see..." Wang Xuefeng put away the system map and his thoughts returned to the ordinary room.

There are many photos on the wall, most of them of a family of four.

It is worth noting that almost all the men in the photo are wearing thick armor.

It was as if they had just returned from the battlefield, or as if they were about to set off again after taking the photos.

The house has few items and simple furniture, but it is practical.

The little boy, Huo Pingping, was making bread with his mother, and the aroma of baking bread wafted from the kitchen from time to time.

The little girl, Huo An'an, was still in her walker, biting into a candy while staring at Wang Xuefeng with her big eyes.

There was an open letter in front of him.

The letter contained only a few lines.

"Plant all the peanuts in the cellar next spring, and cook more for Ping An and An An to eat."

Wang Xuefeng naturally didn't quite understand this passage.

But the women in the kitchen said that men love to drink and eat her fried peanuts when they come home.

Therefore, Wang Xuefeng remained silent.

"If he knew he wouldn't be able to come back this spring, maybe not even this year, or maybe much longer..."

"But he didn't complain at all, as if he had stayed there willingly...?"