"Bringing you bad news." Gilbert sat down next to Austin among the soldiers, and said with a complicated expression.
"What?" The soldiers all put their heads in front of Gilbert and asked.
"You're going to be on your way again." Gilbert said with a relaxed smile.
As soon as the voice fell, the captains of each team came over and called everyone to gather.
"Ah." After the soldiers sighed, they stood up one after another. Go to your respective teams.
"Are you tired today?" Gilbert raised his head and asked Austin who was leading him.
"It's okay." Austin said with a smile, "How about you, how far have you run?"
"Not very far," Gilbert tried to recall, then shook his head and said, "I can't remember."
"Looks like you're doing fine," Austin responded.
"Hehe." Gilbert laughed softly. Didn't say much.
The exhausted elf soldiers landed on the ground, and the surrounding Calradian soldiers immediately surrounded them and supported them.
"For the rest of the journey, everyone walks forward. Remember to pay attention to the movement of the grass around you." Abel instructed.
"Yes!" The soldiers replied in unison.
"Today's journey is almost over, please persevere." Abel cheered.
He also noticed that several soldiers were on the verge of collapse and needed the support of those around them to barely move forward. But since we have persisted to this point, we cannot leave loopholes for others to exploit.
Claremont walked to Abel's side and suggested, "Go slower next time."
Abel pursed his lips and nodded.
Relieved, Claremont returned to the rear of the array, standing side by side with DeWitt.
"It's really hard for Abel." DeWitt said with emotion as he looked at the slowly advancing army.
"Hmm." Claremont couldn't help agreeing.
In terms of daily marches, Abel did more for the scouts than either of them.
"This road, the further I go to the back, the more uneasy I become." DeWitt said.
"Yeah." Claremont also felt the same, and said, "However, it's a good thing to be afraid. At least it proves that we are very aware of our current situation."
"Alas." DeWitt sighed and said, "I hope we can successfully complete our mission and return to Dherim safely."
"Of course we will go back." Claremont said with firm confidence: "Once we have the information about the disappearance of the dwarf craftsman, we will go back together with the elf soldiers who stayed on the edge of the island and waited for us."
There are still many places suitable for camping near the volcano, after reaching the ideal safe zone. Abel stopped immediately and directed the soldiers to start building the camp.
Most of the soldiers still had a lot of physical strength, and after the weak soldiers were settled, they immediately began to set up camps.
Although Gilbert didn't know how to do this kind of work, he also went to the soldiers who fell aside and lit a bonfire for them.
"Thank you." The soldiers felt a rush of heat coming towards them, opened their eyes vaguely, and thanked Gilbert.
"It's nothing, you guys have a good rest." Gilbert shook his head and said, "Wait here for a while, and the tent will be built."
"Yeah." The soldiers moved their bodies, sat down by the fire, and nodded.
Gilbert crouched down and warmed himself by the fire with them.
A bright ice crystal floated onto his palm, but it was quickly melted.
"Is it snowing?" Gilbert raised his head and looked at the night sky.
Spot large flakes of snow falling from the sky.
"Gilbert! Your tent has been set up." At this moment Austin strode up to Gilbert and said, "Huh? Is it snowing?"
"Yeah." Gilbert stood up and raised his head, and said to Austin: "It's the first time I've seen snow on this island."
"Really?" Austin asked. "I thought only Dherim rarely snowed."
"Really," said Gilbert. "Have the tents been set up yet?"
"Yeah." Austin nodded and said, "Go in and have a rest, and I'll call you later when the dinner is ready."
After saying this, Austin looked at the soldiers sitting around the fire.
Gilbert noticed his movement, and immediately suggested: "Let me help you help these soldiers into the tent."
"Huh?" Austin raised his head in surprise when he heard Gilbert's words, and then agreed, "Okay."
Without saying anything more, the two joined hands to help the weak soldiers into the tent.
A fire had already been lit in the camp that took care of these people, and the temperature in the room became very warm.
Other soldiers who had finished their jobs also came to help.
After everyone has been busy for a while, the dinner in the back kitchen has also been prepared.
"Finally you can have hot meals." Austin said happily, rubbing his sore shoulders.
Because of the snow, a simple canvas shed was set up in the open space of the camp. Everyone put the dining table together. Noisily waiting for the food to be served.
The soldiers in the back kitchen are always the first to eat, because they need to wash the kitchen utensils with clean water non-stop after serving the soldiers' meals on the table. This is especially true in winter, because sticky boards are easily frozen.
A plate of turkey was served first, and the soldiers erupted in cheers.
During the Chinese New Year at the end of the year, every family will have such a dish on their dinner table.
"I didn't expect to eat this dish in the wild." A soldier shouted.
"The soldiers in the back kitchen really have a heart." Austine sighed.
Gilbert, who only started to eat human food not long ago, has never tasted this dish. He tugged on Austin's sleeve and asked, "Is this delicious?"
"It's delicious." Austin nodded and said, "You'll know when you try it later."
Gilbert nodded reassuringly.
Some of the soldiers on the seat couldn't help but stretch out their knives and forks to the turkey on the plate. At this time, a soldier among the crowd asked, "Where are Captain Devitt and the others?"
"That's right. Let the captain come and eat with us." Jeb advocated.
The soldiers with quick winks immediately ran to DeWitt's camp and brought over DeWitt and Clement who were chatting.
"Just start eating. What do you want us to do?" Claremont said with a smile as he walked to the long table.
"Captain DeWitt, Captain Claremont, Happy New Year!" The soldiers said in unison to the two of them as discussed in advance.
(end of this chapter)