Lord Handanar

Chapter 3: Healing

During the days He Boqiang spent recuperating in the tent, he roughly understood this world through the colorful memory fragments floating in his mental world. Among these fragments, what struck He Boqiang the most was not the bizarre nature of this world, but the years of repetitive practice. Swinging swords, blocking with shields seemed to have become a conditioned reflex. There was also a gentle, freckled blonde woman, and a sea of fire capable of burning everything.

He Boqiang referred to this star-filled void as his mental world. When he closed his eyes, lingering memory fragments would continuously appear, merging bit by bit into his body. This feeling was not one of possession, but of integration.

He discovered that the original owner of this body, named Qiang Bach, was born into a noble family in the northern city of the Empire. As the second son, without the right to inherit the title or lands, his father, the Earl, planned for Qiang Bach to enter a high-level warrior academy to strive to become a war king. This would allow him to inherit a set of magic rune armor and a warhorse from the family treasury, becoming an armored knight.

Qiang Bach did follow the Earl's plan, but an accident occurred just as he was one step away from becoming a war king. He joined a group called 'Wind Chasers' and during a mission, a sorcerer kidn*pped his companion. In the pursuit, Qiang Bach was trapped in a sea of fire. Although he was rescued by people who arrived later, his body suffered severe burns, seemingly losing the chance to advance further.

This part of the memory was chaotic. Later, for unknown reasons, Qiang Bach began to travel around. Unexpectedly, he encountered demons in the dense forests of the northern slope of the Grosen Forest in Handanar County. As a knight with a spirit of sacrifice, Qiang Bach bravely decided to cover his companions, and under severe injuries, a demon's body coincidentally fell on him.

Perhaps from that moment, the body's original owner, Knight Qiang Bach, had died, and the person who Surdak rescued from under the demon corpse was He Boqiang, who had traveled to this world.

Outside the camp, the sound of chaotic footsteps echoed again. Recently, small-scale battles frequently erupted near the Handanar County forest camp, with displaced demons often emerging from the dense forest to attack nearby strongholds.

The 57th Heavy Armored Infantry Brigade, stationed at the foot of the forest, often suffered harassment from these demons. Surdak and the entire Second Squad, including Baron Sidney, had been out for nearly a day and a night. Just when He Boqiang, drowsy and nearly starved, thought he was at his end, the soldiers of the Second Squad, wearing heavy armor, entered the camp. Exhausted, they collapsed onto the rawhide mats in the tent with their armor.

The last to enter the tent was Captain Sam. As the oldest heavy infantryman in the 57th Brigade, veteran Sam had many survival skills to teach these young soldiers. His heavy iron boots, reeking of blood, stopped next to He Boqiang's face. Holding a long knife sheathed in leather, he drove all the soldiers out of the tent.

"Everyone, come and have a bowl of hot soup. Even if you want to sleep, take off your armor first, or the straps might cripple your arms and legs."

Sam chattered endlessly while helping the other soldiers remove their armor. When idle, he talked so much that one might want to cut off his tongue.

Surdak, holding a large wooden bowl, struggled to He Boqiang's side and sat down on the moisture-proof felt spread on the ground. He checked He Boqiang's breathing and, feeling a faint breath, relaxed.

He Boqiang weakly opened his eyes and glanced at Surdak. He felt immense gratitude for the soldier who had rescued him from under the demon corpse.

Surdak, untying his iron boots, said to He Boqiang, "I tell you, buddy, you're like an indestructible cockroach. You look a bit better, just a bit pale."

He skillfully tied the heavy iron boots together and hung them at the tent's ventilation opening. A gust of wind brought in a rich smell, reminiscent of snail soup, permeating the tent.

Surdak, having freed his feet, did not rush to remove his heavy armor. First, he took out a greasy black cloth and meticulously wiped the blade of his military knife before sheathing it.

He then leaned down, supporting He Boqiang's head, and fed him a little hot soup.

With food in his stomach, He Boqiang felt the intense pain in his stomach subside, only to be replaced by pain in other parts of his body.

Surdak, oblivious to He Boqiang's agony, whispered, "You wouldn't believe what we encountered last night. A large group of demons passed through our defense area. Thankfully, they weren't targeting us, or we would have been doomed. When will these nerve-wracking days end?"

It seemed all he needed was someone to listen, not expecting a response from He Boqiang. He then took off his heavy chainmail and tossed it into a corner of the tent.

Covered in the scent of blood, Surdak seemed not to notice it. He carefully took out a palm-sized piece of black rune leather from his pocket, showing a triumphant expression, and excitedly said to He Boqiang, "But our squad ambushed a lone demon. The lion's share, of course, went to Baron Sidney, but we also made a small fortune, heh heh..."

After saying this, Surdak gave He Boqiang another sip of hot soup.

"You need to get well soon!"

Seeing the thick piece of demon skin, He Boqiang finally realized that the enemies these soldiers faced were not humans but demons several times stronger than humans. No one told him where these demons came from, as if their existence was taken for granted.

During his recovery in the tent, the other soldiers of the Second Squad would also bring him food from outside, mostly oatmeal and meat soup. Sometimes, a careless soldier would bring him a piece of roast meat, cutting it into small pieces and stuffing it into his mouth.

The next day, Surdak would scold the soldiers if he found the roast meat still in He Boqiang's mouth, unable to swallow.

He Boqiang slowly recovered amid this painful ordeal, gradually coming to grips with this dangerous new world.