"If we win these battles, I think the colonel might be promoted to the youngest brigadier general in the empire, but now... Alas." He sighed.

The soldiers had talked enough about the defeats on the battlefield and had felt enough frustration, so they were unwilling to talk about this heavy topic at this moment.

So one person said, "Speaking of which, it is really amazing that the colonel has been promoted to such a high position at such a young age. After the counterattack, if he continues to participate in the war and achieve some results, I think he will eventually be promoted again."

"Well, there is a high possibility. In fact, the tactic of detonating explosives in the peaks was proposed by the colonel at the beginning, and General Dylan gave strong support afterwards, which enabled us to achieve relatively good results in this battle." The second lieutenant explained.

"So that's how it is. To be honest, I originally thought that the reason why the colonel was able to reach this position at such a young age was because of his family..." The post station soldier was interrupted by the cavalry lieutenant before he could finish his words:

"Don't say that anymore. It's just a rumor and only fools would believe it. The appointment and dismissal of senior military officers are based on the comprehensive evaluation of the emperor and they will never be promoted arbitrarily just because they are someone's relatives. Your idea is very dangerous and you must abandon it completely." The second lieutenant glared at the post station soldier.

The soldier hurriedly stood up and bowed, "I'm sorry, please forgive my poor wording, that was not my intention."

The lieutenant waved his hand and nodded, "Sit down, I'm just reminding you."

"In short, you have to remember that although the colonel came from a prominent family, he did not rely on anyone's help. Instead, he relied on his own abilities. He first entered the Salvia Military Academy founded by the Emperor himself to learn systematic military knowledge, and then trained in grassroots troops. He participated in and personally commanded many battles. After being promoted time and time again, he became General Bernhardt's chief of staff."

"If he really wanted to pursue a smooth career without any obstacles, then at the beginning he only needed to join the First Army commanded by Marshal Wolfgang after graduating from the Military Academy."

"But as you know, he has never held any position in the First Army, and this time, he..."

The lieutenant was speaking here when he heard a sound coming from the stairs. He quickly interrupted his words, stood up and looked towards the stairs, and the other soldiers also stood up at this time.

"Kick."

"Kick."

"Kick."

There were slow and heavy footsteps coming from the wooden ladder. The pace was very slow, but each step was extremely heavy. The wooden ladder even creaked, as if it would collapse at the next moment.

Amid the slow and heavy footsteps, Dingle's figure gradually walked down the dark stairs and into the bright light on the first floor.

Under the dim light, although Dingle had his head down, the soldiers could still see that he was very pale, and there were even red bloodshot in the corners of his eyes. He seemed to be in even worse condition than before he went upstairs. The soldiers couldn't help but feel worried when they saw him like this.

The lieutenant immediately asked with concern: "Sir, are you okay?"

Dingle then raised his head and replied in a trance, "Well... not bad."

Although he said this, the lieutenant did not think Dingle was in a good mood. After all, his current appearance was not much different from that of a dead person. However, he could not say too much and could only say:

"Okay sir, dinner is ready."

Dingle nodded blankly, found a chair near the fireplace and sat down, then hugged his waist tightly with both hands, huddled in the chair, but still trembling.

The lieutenant took a look at him and realized that he had not warmed himself by a fire since arriving at the inn, and there was no stove to keep him warm during the time he had been alone on the second floor.

So at this moment he asked the soldiers to have their dinner, and he went to the kitchen himself and served a bowl of broth to Dingle.

"Sir, sir." The lieutenant called out several times in a row, and Dingle finally took his eyes away from the burning firewood in the fireplace.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry." Dingle shook his head.

"Eat something, sir. You, like us, haven't eaten for more than ten hours. We have to leave here early tomorrow morning, so we have to replenish our strength. You can't eat boiling hot broth while you are on the road." The second lieutenant continued.

Dingle then took the bowl from him, and the soldiers each held their bowls and walked to the fireplace, quietly eating the food in the bowl in the warmth of the fireplace.

"Everyone, I cooked a big pot of meat. If you can't finish it, there's more. Eat more. Also, I have prepared dry food for you on the road." At this time, a gray-haired orderly came out of the kitchen. He greeted the soldiers while wiping his blood-stained apron.

"Okay, Uncle Anton, the food you cooked tonight is delicious, we will eat it all." A young soldier at the post station said, shaking the spoon in his hand.

The orderly called "Uncle Anton" nodded at him, turned around and went back to the kitchen. After this little episode, the soldiers gradually opened up.

"Alas, during these days in Enzos, I hardly had any hot meals..." A cavalryman looked at the meat in the bowl, shook his head and sighed.

As soon as he finished speaking, another cavalryman echoed: "Those few days were definitely the most difficult times I have ever experienced in my life. There has never been anything like this before."

"I really couldn't sleep well, always worried that they would sneak up on me at night..."

Hearing this, the lieutenant frowned and couldn't help interrupting: "Don't talk about these things anymore, okay? It's all in the past."

The soldiers immediately stopped talking and ate the food in their bowls in silence again. But after a while, a soldier from the post station finished the food in his bowl first and went into the kitchen to get a second bowl.

Gradually, voices were heard coming from the kitchen.

"Uncle Anton, the meat tonight seems to taste different from yesterday."

"Hmm? What's wrong Matthew? Is there something wrong?"

"No, no problem, I was just saying that."

"I thought I had put the wrong seasoning in. It seems I'm not that confused. Oh, I know what happened. It's indeed different from yesterday. Today I stewed wild boar meat, which is leaner and more fishy. But I have tried my best to remove the fishy smell. Can you still taste it?"

"How could that be, Uncle Anton? I didn't taste any strange taste. What I meant to describe was the difference of the leaner meat. But you know, I'm not a cook, so I don't really understand these things. But my tongue can still taste that it's delicious."

"That's good. A lot of wild boars have come down from the mountains these days. Richard hunted several of them and sent us a lot of meat. For the next period of time, we will have wild boar meat for every meal."

"That's great." The soldier filled a bowl with meat and returned to the first floor, and the conversation ended there.

Then, a richer aroma of meat wafted through the room. Even the cavalrymen who had come down from the mountain were in a bad mood, but their appetite was aroused. Soon, several of them went to the kitchen to get a second bowl.

The lieutenant was still eating his first bowl, and because his attention was mostly drawn to Dingle, he did not devour it like the others, but instead held the bowl and looked at the fire burning in the fireplace.

When the conversation in the kitchen ended, the lieutenant noticed that Dingle suddenly looked at the meat in the bowl, but he didn't eat it, but kept looking at it.

Immediately afterwards, Dingle suddenly stood up, put down the bowl in his hand, and ran out of the room quickly.

"Sir?" The lieutenant hurriedly chased out, but when he reached the door, he saw Dingle hunched over and retching in the snow not far away.

"What's going on?" The soldiers were also startled and ran to the door of the post station to look outside.

"Why did the colonel suddenly vomit? Is there something wrong with the food?" a cavalryman frowned.

"That's impossible. I don't feel anything wrong." Someone said loudly, and Anton ran out of the kitchen in a panic:

"Commanders, what's going on? I just cooked wild boar meat. Could it be that..." Before Anton finished his words, the lieutenant's face changed.

He stared blankly at the bowl in the soldier's hand beside him, at the bones in the bowl, including ribs, large leg bones, and firm heart meat, which were almost the most nutritious parts.

"The wild boar that ran out from...from...Mount Enzo..." the second lieutenant suddenly stuttered.

"Yes... yes, sir, is there any problem? Our post station is right at the foot of the mountain. Sometimes we do capture some wild animals coming down the mountain. These wild boars have run down in recent times. We did not disobey orders to hunt in the mountains. They ran down on their own. If we don't kill them, they will destroy farmland and waste food. Sir... I..." Uncle Anton explained in panic.

"No...it's okay, it's not your problem, don't be nervous." The second lieutenant patted Anton's shoulder with a slightly pale face.

But the next moment, he also suddenly rushed out and started retching like Dingle.

The soldiers at the post station looked at each other in confusion, but the cavalrymen who followed Dingle down the mountain changed their expressions belatedly. They were still holding their bowls, but no one could eat.

The lieutenant who was vomiting outside had a distorted face, drooling from his mouth as he turned his head to look at the Enzos Mountain behind him, which was covered by the endless night.

The pitch-black mountain stood in the cold wind, as if no different from before, but everyone knew that hundreds of thousands of corpses were buried there.

-

At the same time, in the Enzos Mountains.

As the snowflakes fell, mottled sparks from the burning fire were dancing in the wind.

The pieces of meat stuck next to the fire were being roasted and oozing with oil. The aroma spread in the wind. Several green lights emerged from the dense forest in the night and were watching quietly, but soon, these beasts gave up the idea and followed the remaining smell in the snow and began to turn over the ruins with their claws.

Qin Ze reached out his hand expressionlessly, pulled out the wooden stick, brought the roasted piece of meat that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside to his mouth, took a bite, and the abundant gravy splashed out from his mouth.