A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

It is a tragedy when one wishes to care for one's parents, but they are no longer there.

So he wanted to create a magical cake that would allow his wife to relive the past.

It's like a form of remembrance.

The main ingredient is breadgrass, and you need a lot of breadgrass.

A few stalks are not enough; to create a strong effect, you need a large quantity of breadgrass.

Of course, the simple name "Cao" was given by Duncan himself.

At the time, bakeries weren't well-off, and Duncan couldn't afford to spend too much money on commissions.

They can only offer a few thousand gigabytes of compensation.

Naturally, no one paid any attention to the request.

Dangerous and low-paying.

Until his wife passed away, no one fulfilled this request.

Duncan's cake was never finished.

He was unable to fulfill his wife's wish before she passed away.

Duncan's wife's wish is similar to Bray's and Lux's; they simply want to look back on the past.

The surprise he had been preparing after losing his wife turned into pure regret.

In the end, Duncan gave up being a baker and didn't even want to continue managing the bakery.

Kaya took on this mess.

"Since you're not planning to use them, why are you letting others do such dangerous missions?" Kaya was speechless.

“I don’t need it, but that adventurer does.” Duncan watched Bray’s departing figure with a meaningful look. “Company commander, hundreds of brothers are ready.” A middle-aged man in an Imperial military uniform saluted a man much younger than himself.

"Sneak, how many times have I told you, call me Commander!" the young man shouted, slapping his thigh.

“Please don’t do that, Mr. Garrett,” the middle-aged man called Snake waved his hand.

“Commanders usually manage thousands of people, but you only manage a few hundred,” Snake explained patiently.

Snake is the deputy battalion commander of this battalion.

However, he was a size younger and older than the battalion commander, Garrett.

Garrett hasn't even grown a full beard yet, while Snake already has a thick beard.

"Call me Commander!!!!!" Garrett insisted.

Garrett had gray hair and didn't look like a strong warrior.

"Battalion Commander, it's time to arrange the time to go up to Longshan."

Call me Commander!!!!

“Alright, then we’ll head up the mountain tomorrow morning.” Snake pulled out a notebook and wrote down the departure time.

“…” Garrett looked annoyed.

Snake simply couldn't understand why his own battalion commander always wanted others to call him regimental commander.

"Let's do it tomorrow morning. We'll be up the mountain in the afternoon, which will be good for clearing out the monsters," Garrett said, pursing his lips.

“Please don’t do that, sir. Our battalion’s combat effectiveness is the worst in the army.” Snake put away his pen.

"Don't get carried away."

Garrett, already feeling frustrated, became even more depressed.

"I'm a colonel, after all; my abilities are guaranteed."

“But the brothers aren’t strong enough,” Snake added.

"So we're just going to gather intelligence?" Garrett said, conflicted.

“It’s purely for intelligence gathering,” Snake nodded.

Since the incident in Vinipado, people have begun to realize that in addition to humans, orcs, elves and other Iron races, there are other intelligent races.

Not only are they intelligent, but their strength far surpasses that of the Black Iron type.

The bronze artifacts described in myths, history books, and relics are no longer ethereal existences, but real and tangible things that exist in the world.

If demons, angels, and sea creatures truly exist, then do the myths that exist above them also exist?

For example, a true dragon.

Besides causing panic, it also excited some people.

Unfortunately, excited people are often a little abnormal.

Because these people didn't even consider what the Black Iron race would face if a truly superior species existed.

Black iron species may face annihilation.

A few bronze-level beings are enough to destroy a city, no matter how many powerful people the city has or how thick its walls are.

"Snake, do you believe in the existence of Bronze Men?"

“Never seen him before.” Snake glanced sideways at Garrett.

"Our purpose in coming to Longshan this time is to find out whether a real dragon exists."

There is a Dragon Mountain near the Empire. If there are only sub-dragons on Dragon Mountain, then it's fine.

But if the legendary dragon really existed, then the empire would not be able to remain so calm.

Therefore, the empire sent troops to Longshan.

The primary task is not combat, but reconnaissance.

“Even if we do see one, how will we know if it’s a real dragon?” Garrett asked.

No one has ever seen a real dragon, so who can guarantee that what they see isn't a sub-dragon?

The lethality of a powerful sub-dragon is no different from that of a true dragon; both can instantly kill a group of people.

“I reckon once I see it, I’ll understand,” Snake sighed.

"Phew, my worldview has been completely shattered. Now they're telling me that myths are all true."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Battalion Commander."

"It's the regimental commander."

Snake knew perfectly well that the mission was to target their battalion.

Our battalion felt like it had been dragged out to be cannon fodder.

However, there was no other way; the army couldn't possibly send out its elite troops first, so the bottom-ranked battalions would naturally go first.

Garrett and Snake's battalion happened to be at the bottom.

"Let's drink while we can! Deputy Battalion Commander Snake, let's go for a drink!" Garrett raised his hand and suggested.

“Please don’t do that, sir. We might lose this life-threatening mission tomorrow.” Snake flatly rejected Garrett’s proposal.

"That's what the commander demanded!"

"You're just a battalion commander."

"Call me Commander!!!"

---

Garrett ultimately didn't get to drink; Snake wouldn't give him any.

Although Garrett was the battalion commander, Snake still had a lot of authority.

It's probably a matter of seniority.

Garrett was promoted to battalion commander because of his military achievements.

Snake was quite magnanimous; he didn't mind being outdone by a mere kid.

They usually take good care of this unreliable battalion commander.

By midnight, several hundred people had gathered.

The line just looked a bit crooked.

Garrett covered his face, looking at the unwanted formation.

Going up the mountain like this, won't half of us get ambushed and killed by the dragon?

Snake was also a little frustrated.

The discipline in this battalion is really bad, and we haven't been able to get it under control no matter what we try.

The former battalion commander was an easygoing guy, which led to a consistently lax discipline within the battalion.

Garrett, having just become the commander of a battalion, was unable to effectively manage it.

Snake, on the other hand, was willing but powerless.

He wasn't the kind of guy who could be ruthless. If Snake could make an example of someone, the discipline wouldn't be so bad.

"Although I knew beforehand that discipline in the camp was poor."

"But after we actually gathered them all, we realized the odds were incredibly low." Garrett's lips twitched.

"Ahem." Garrett suddenly coughed.

This attracted the attention of several hundred people below.

"Do you know who I am to you?" Garrett's expression turned serious.

The soldiers below began to whisper among themselves.

“Battalion Commander?” a soldier tried to say.

"Wrong!!! I am your commander!!!!!!!" Garrett shouted coldly.

A terrifying aura erupted from Garrett, his energy transforming into a tangible wave of air that surged outwards.

The soldiers below were so frightened that they dared not move for a moment.

"I'll ask you one more time, who am I to you?"

"Commander..."

"Huh? I can't hear you?" The aura suddenly surged, and the guy closest to Garrett felt his heart stop.

"Commander!!!!!"

"That's right! I am your commander! Get up the mountain!!!" Garrett waved his hand and set off up the mountain.

On the way, Snake glanced at Garrett.

This method can temporarily put soldiers on high alert, and their discipline will improve slightly.

In fact, Garrett's actions just now were a kind of implicit demonstration.

In this way, at least during their time in Longshan, discipline within the camp wouldn't be too lax, and their chances of survival would be greatly increased.

Although it didn't last very long.

“Commander, please don’t threaten the soldiers by calling you commander.” But Snake couldn’t help but remind Garrett. Snake walked up to Garrett as he led the battalion forward.

“Someone reported that several adventurers are following us,” Snake said softly.

Garrett paused, lost in thought.

"An adventurer, huh?" Garrett frowned. "What kind of adventurer would accept a quest from Mount Shanglong?"

"If they don't do anything unusual, then leave them alone," Garrett instructed.

"But if they do anything out of line, expel them."

"Understood, Battalion Commander."

“Call him Commander,” Garrett added.

---

The adventurers following Garrett's group were, of course, Bray and a few others.