Chapter 41: Keep Your Secrets
While Lulunaka was tending to Tours' wounds, Patin and Olga, who were sitting on the side, would always look at Tours' wounds. Such gazes are not direct or frequent, but Tours can still spot them. The few of them sat at the same campfire, and no matter what they did to each other, it was always difficult to hide from each other.
"I don't think there's anything nice about a wound. "You two seem to be experienced for a long time, but your reaction looks like some of the recruits I've brought with you. Why?"
Tours was indeed curious. He had brought many recruits, most of whom had only experience in street fights before joining the army, and some had never even seen blood. These recruits, after their first battle, either change dramatically, die on the battlefield, or leave the team and return to their homes shivering. After a battle, there is always someone who needs to take care of their wounds, and for recruits, this is another test. It's not a good thing to be hurt, both for the injured person and for the person who sees it β the injured person gets both mental and physical pain, and the person who sees the pus-draining wound on the sidelines is both psychological and hygienic discomfort.
It's no surprise that recruits feel pain and discomfort at the sight of their own or others' wounds. If it is someone else's injury, some people may have some curiosity or excitement in addition to discomfort and fear. It's not a strange thing, animals are beastly because of blood, and they, whether mortals or elves or dwarves of these ancient species or subspecies, are animals after all, just more intelligent animals. And such "animals", when they see blood for the first time, will always breed all kinds of emotions and feelings, whether good or bad.
But this obviously doesn't apply to Patin and Olga. Tours didn't think that Patin and Olga were in a soft posture that had been practiced in the academy or manor for more than ten years before going out, their eyes, and every move, were like battle-hardened warriors, not fledgling rookies. Such a person should not pay too much attention to a wound, and it is also a stranger's wound.
When asked about this by Tours, there was nothing awkward or unnatural about Patin and Olga. Olga spoke first, "This is an arrow wound, right?"
Olga, an old man with a gray beard and hair, seemed to have a pair of clear, piercing eyes, and Tours was a little surprised by this. "Yes, you see that?"
Olga didn't answer immediately, but seemed to think for a moment before continuing: "Except for some strange weapons, only arrows can make such wounds. You're in luck, arrows...... It's rubbing the bones. If the bones are not broken, then they can be raised. β
"Can you see so many things? I didn't expect that. Turce was even more surprised, just looking at the small hole in his arm where the blood had clotted into a black lump, he could see so much. Is this the experience of the elderly?
Olga shook her head, as if she still had something to say, but in the end she didn't say it.
Before Olga could continue, Patin took over and spoke to Tours. "Your burqa is torn, and it looks like a fierce battle. β
Tours figured that if he was not mistaken, Patin was referring to the rag on his armor. The front of the burqa was rotten, only the back side looked fairly intact, making what had once been a burqa now look like a scavenger's rotten cloak. The front of the burqa was torn, revealing the armor inside. On the top of the breastplate, there is a badge that has been scratched for the most part.
The robes and insignia on the armour were proof of which regiment Tours belonged to. As for now, the tattered burqa and the spent badge no longer prove where he belonged to a soldier, or to which legion he once belonged. The ripped robes and the badges scraped off during the battle were once a disgrace to Tours and his troops, but now a blessing for Tours. That invincible legion is gone, leaving only shame and defeat.
Turce was once part of the Legion, but now he probably no longer belongs to the Legion - or rather, the Legion may no longer exist, and he is no longer a member of the Legion. There is only one deserter here who wants to escape death and the battlefield, and he is called Turce.
It wasn't something Tours wanted to talk about, and the reason why the tattered burqa and badge seemed to him to be a good thing was that it kept him away from a lot of unwanted stares. The news of the rout must not have reached the King's Castle yet, so he can still hurry back to his family to protect them while the King's Castle is still in chaos. When he reached the edge of the forest, when he left this dangerous place, he would take off his armor and bury his burying in the forest, where he would be buried as a soldier, with his troops and his legions. If he can return to King's Castle safely, perhaps he will have to consider leaving the country with his family.
Before that, in this temporary resting place, Tours noticed that a man named Patin seemed curious about his identity. This is not something that Tours is happy to see.
"You belong to the army of the Double Eagle Empire, right?" asked Pattin, but his tone didn't seem very convinced. Turce wanted to deny him, but in such a turbulent year, in such a place, it would be too unbelievable to say that he was not a soldier of the Double Eagle Empire, and no one would believe him in such a lie. Although the burqa and insignia that represented his status were ruined, there was no doubt that he was an Imperial, whether in appearance, clothing, or armor, unless he was a traitor or a spy.
Either way, it was more difficult for him to accept than the identity of a deserter.
Eventually, Turce nodded and acknowledged Pattin's words. "Yes, I'm from the Empire, but ......"
Then, his words were interrupted by Lulunaka, "Of course you are from the Double Eagle Empire, no matter who asks, no matter what you answer, the truth is the same. For me, it's enough to know that you're a friendly Imperial, and as for other things, maybe it's important, but for us travelers, it's all just a story that belongs to this place, not ours. Didn't you say that you don't want to reveal your secrets? I think it's better to stick to it than to be pried open with a little prie. By this time, Lulunaka had already redressed his wounds. Tours admits that the feeling of being cleaned with clean water and then wrapped in a clean, soft strip of cloth is indeed much stronger than if he had done it himself, and it seems that Lulunaka is not lying, she does have a good way of treating her wounds.
Lulunaka knotted the strip of cloth and continued, "Look at the people sitting here, there is no one else except you who have the physiognomy of an Imperial. As long as you're not blind, no one can't see that you're not an Imperial. β
"My eyes are a little bad, and I may not be able to distinguish them. Olga said. It wasn't so much that he had bad eyes, but that his words sounded more like he was looking for steps for them and Toursβno one here would care who he was, and no one would be interested in his secrets and what intentions he had. At this time, Patin no longer continued to ask Tours, just see that he was good, and no longer speak.
This was something that Tours was happy to see, and he was grateful to Lulunaka for saving him from the siege.
Hearing Lulunaka's words, Tours looked around at the people around him. Whether it is Olga or Pattin, just by looking at their appearance, it is completely impossible to be his compatriots. A very distinctive character of the inhabitants of the continent of Yilan, those nomads like to wear part of their hair into pigtails, and Olga is no exception, and Pattin's words, Tours thinks that he should be from some country in the west or north, which also makes Tours a little concerned about Pattin's identity. The two children sitting on the campfire in front of them, although Tours couldn't really see it, thought that they wouldn't be Empire, and that would be too strange.
As for Lulunaka, she was the only one, and Tours couldn't figure out where she came from for a moment. She didn't look like an Imperial, but Tours couldn't tell where she came from. This smiling girl is not ugly, but it feels ordinary, and it is impossible to see the distinctive features.
It's a weird girl, but it's friendly. Tours thought about it for a moment, and realized that he could only sum up Lulunaka as a person, and could not find more words or words to describe her.