As Yun Zhe had predicted, Belvaldo's army did indeed slow its march, but at this pace, it would likely reach the vicinity of Fort Gular in about ten days. By then, the probability of a successful ambush would be difficult to say.
Therefore, we have no choice but to increase the dosage.
Meanwhile, Valentine's days had been incredibly monotonous. Every day, he directed a group of people to create rotting corpses, which he then handed over each morning to a hooded, taciturn woman completely shrouded in a black robe. She would then throw these corpses into the water source near Belvaldo's army base. After a few days, Valentine couldn't help but wonder what this woman, so heavily shrouded in secrecy, looked like, and what her relationship with Yun Zhe was.
Because Yun Zhe had warned him and these soldiers that the whole thing must not be revealed, including what they did and who they met.
The curiosity of the Aruru people is the same as that of humans, especially after seeing the woman's graceful figure and pleasing demeanor beneath the long robe. Finally, this morning, the Aruru man Valentine mustered his courage and asked the woman who had come to collect the goods:
"Who are you? Why are you wearing a hood and not showing your true face?"
The woman stopped, her scrutinizing gaze peeking out from under her hood as she swept her eyes over the Aruru people in front of her. After a long while, she reached out and touched her hood, as if to remove it.
Valentine gazed at those hands, white and slender, the kind of hands only a nobleman could have.
But she still didn't take off her hood. She lowered her hands, shook her head, and spoke to Valentine for the first time.
"If Yun Zhe doesn't want you to know, then you shouldn't know." Her voice was deliberately low and husky, but you could still hear the clarity and aloofness in it.
Valentine suddenly felt incredibly foolish; all the courage he had mustered earlier had vanished. He gave an awkward smile, then waved, as usual, signaling the woman to take her things and leave.
This time, the supplies were much larger, more than double the amount of the past few days. What would have required two of Valentine's men to lift was easily carried by the woman, who then hoisted it onto her back and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.
Valentine stared blankly at the woman's disappearing figure, suddenly realizing that this woman's strength might be greater than all of them combined.
"Boss, why are you backing out? Didn't you say last night that you wanted to get to the bottom of this?"
"That's right, that's right! Didn't we agree to take off her hood and see if she was really an ugly monster?" Two young men who were usually on good terms with Valentine joked with each other.
Valentine looked embarrassed, but then, as if he had just thought of something, he stared at his two disrespectful subordinates and sneered, "It's a good thing they didn't take it off. If they had, we probably would be dead."
Valentine's words piqued the curiosity of several soldiers, who gathered around him and asked how he had come to this conclusion.
"Ahem," Valentine said, his mood improving at the gossipy looks around him. He asked in a serious tone, "You all know that the lord has a wife, right? It's that Ellie, the archer."
The soldiers nodded in agreement. Although they had never met Ellie, they had heard a lot about her and Yun Zhe.
"Don't you think this woman looks a lot like Ellie, but she's clearly not Ellie?"
The soldiers looked at each other and nodded. Indeed, the masked woman had the same strength and power as Ellie, but she was obviously taller, had a more prominent bust, and was probably prettier than Ellie.
"Boss, stop being so mysterious, what's going on?" One soldier, clearly lacking in intelligence, struggled to understand Valentine's gradual explanation.
"Hmph, I think she might be another lover of Lord Yun Zhe. After all, some men only like one type of woman!"
"Ah, haha," the soldiers instantly understood, their smiles revealing a newfound understanding. Now that the topic of women had come up, the soldiers, exhausted from a night's work, instantly perked up and enthusiastically began discussing the subject.
The mysterious woman, who had circled back to the soldiers, listened to their words, her red eyes dimming and returning to their icy blue. She sighed deeply, her expression somber, picked up the bag, and quietly left the group of soldiers.
That day, Belvaldo's march slowed considerably, and they even set up camp before nightfall. Today's distance traveled was only a third of their usual route. Yun Zhe was overjoyed upon receiving this news. He even gave the cavalryman who brought the message a big hug, then hurriedly returned to his tent to begin planning a letter urging Serena to speed up their pace, hoping to strike while Belvaldo was ill and launch a decisive attack to annihilate him.
When Yun Zhe returned to the tent, he found that there was another person inside. The woman who had been wrapped up tightly in the morning was now sitting by Yun Zhe's bed, her eyes fixed on Yun Zhe as he entered the tent.
Yun Zhe was startled and jumped up. But he quickly recovered, swiftly pulling the tent flap shut and instructing the guards at the door to withdraw completely, forbidding them from entering without his orders. Having arranged everything, Yun Zhe finally relaxed, looking at the woman on the bed, and grinned, "I didn't expect you to come. You did a fantastic job. How should I put it? This time, thanks to you, I'll keep you by my side as agreed. But I've thought about it, and simply keeping you around wouldn't do justice to your performance. So, I'd like to give you an extra reward. Is there anything you want, Akdina?"
Akdina took off her hood, and when she heard Yun Zhe say he would give her an extra reward, she tilted her head and asked, "Any reward is fine?"
Yun Zhe was so overwhelmed by the good news that he nodded without thinking, "Of course, of course, anything I have and can do, I'll do."
Akdina listened without saying anything. After a long while, she suddenly chuckled softly, but her laughter carried a clear sense of desolation and loss.
Yun Zhe was a little at a loss for words at this scene. Why was the extra reward so bad? Why did he seem so disappointed?
"How do you plan to reward me?" Akdina asked softly.
Yun Zhe thought for a moment, "I'm planning to get you a suit of armor. What kind of weapon do you like? I can try to get you a handy weapon. As for money, that's even easier to handle. I have hundreds or thousands of dollars."
After hearing Yun Zhe's words, Akdina's eyes showed even more disappointment. She didn't speak, but just looked at Yun Zhe with that disappointed look, which made Yun Zhe feel a little helpless for a moment.
"Fine, just reward me by letting me take a bath here. I'm too tired today, and those things were so smelly," Akdina said casually, stretching. Her tone was full of understanding and forgiveness, as if she were giving Yun Zhe a way out.
"Huh?" Yun Zhe looked at Akdina, momentarily stunned.
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