Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1291 - 1289: A Bet!

It can be said that many soldiers in the Red Maple Cavalry Group have complaints about this transfer, with Mario being the most disgruntled.

Mario is an ordinary soldier, thirty-five years old this year, and the reason for his complaint is that he was just three Sika Kingdom heads away from a promotion, and now the plan is disrupted.

You must know, for him to get promoted from Private to Lower Centurion is a crucial step, almost a qualitative change. If successful, it might not show much in the Red Maple Cavalry Group, but once he retires, the treatment he receives would be vastly different from that of ordinary soldiers—after all, by then, he would be a Centurion!

This would almost guarantee him a worry-free life in the latter half of his life.

And he is not young anymore, having finally encountered this wartime opportunity to earn merit. If he lets it go, who knows if he’ll encounter it again? If his luck is poor and he never gets the chance until he retires, he’d have to struggle for his future with the rank of a Private.

Damn!

The more Mario thought about it, the angrier he became.

He really hoped that this time, the Sika Kingdom would be tougher and not form an alliance after just a few battles like before.

He also felt a bit dissatisfied with his commander, who usually was very strict, scolding their small and large team leaders like sons, and training ordinary soldiers like grandchildren. But at critical moments, how could he be so weak?

This transfer task is said to have been conveyed from above to the Army Commander, who then assigned it to the commander, and the commander just agreed.

Damn it, why did the commander agree so easily? Why didn’t the commander just stand up to the Army Commander?

As a result, they lost their hard-earned battle merits and ended up searching for a tunnel entrance all night in a godforsaken place.

Damn tunnel! If they could find it here, he’d write his name backwards!

Mario sat on a stone in the camp that painfully pressed into his backside, feeling more agitated the more he thought, but after a while, he calmed down by adjusting his mindset.

Because... it was time to eat.

Yes, eating is always a pleasant matter.

The food was distributed, quite decent, with bread and meat soup. Mario soaked the bread in the meat soup and ate it heartily. While eating, he noticed the commander walking out of the camp tent, signaling for the small and large team leaders to gather, seemingly to deliver some new orders.

"Gulp!"

Mario gulped down a mouthful of bread, feeling a bit excited, guessing: Could it be a new order from above, preparing to transfer them back to the front line to fight the Sika?

If so, and they act quickly, they might catch the last battle to annihilate the Sika, earning some merit, and then his promotion to Lower Centurion would have hope. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Thinking this, Mario happily held out his bowl to the side, saying, "Another serving!"

When Mario was about to finish his third serving of food, he saw the small team leader from his squad returning from the temporary meeting with the commander, looking a bit glum.

What’s going on?

Mario, while stuffing the soaked bread into his mouth, was puzzled. Normally, after receiving a transfer order, the small team leader should be happy, right? Could it be that the commander handed the task of packing up the camp to their squad, asking them to clean up before leaving? That would be tiring, but acceptable...

Pondering this, Mario saw the small team leader approaching.

The small team leader’s sides of the face were stiffly bulging out like two lumps of meat, and he glanced at the small squad of soldiers, including Mario, wolfing down their food, and announced sternly, "Eat quickly. After eating, we have to continue searching for the tunnel entrance."

"What!"

Mario was stunned and, in a hurry, swallowed a fist-sized piece of bread without even chewing.

"This isn’t right, leader!" Mario put down his bowl and shouted, "We’ve searched all night and found nothing. What’s the use of continuing to search?"

"Why are you in such a hurry!" The small team leader glared, his face bulging as if the lumps of meat were about to pop, yelling like he was going to eat someone, "I’m not even rushed! You think I want this? But with orders from above, what else can we do but execute!"

"Stop complaining. Soon the Black Rock Cavalry Corps and Stemos Cavalry Group will join us in the search. The range includes yesterday’s area and extends ten miles north. It’s said that whichever of our three groups finds the tunnel entrance first will receive a great merit, and the first person to discover the tunnel entrance will have their rank increased by three levels."

Rank increased by three levels? Even if it were ten levels, it wouldn’t matter. He didn’t believe there was any tunnel here.

Mario thought, curling his lips in dissatisfaction but dared not say it in front of the small team leader. The small team leader looked too terrifying when wanting to eat someone, and since he hadn’t had breakfast after being called to a meeting, Mario feared if he spoke out, the small team leader might just bite him.

Sigh, truly annoying.

Mario reluctantly picked up his bowl from the ground and started eating again.

After eating about five servings, Mario felt his stomach was somewhat full and was about to eat five more for padding but didn’t get the chance—breakfast was over, and the search operation began.

Damn it! He ate too slowly!

Mario, half-starving, started working with his comrades, feeling a bit annoyed, while quietly muttering as he searched.

"Really, what are they thinking up there? Wouldn’t it be enough to use second-line troops for the search? Why call us here? Don’t they know this is a waste of manpower? Are all those up there pigheads?"

"You better watch what you say." A comrade with half-missing teeth spoke, "The overall commander of this war is Soron Bonaparte, you know? Do you think General Bonaparte is a pighead? Aren’t you afraid a thousand fans of the General will suddenly appear and beat you up?"

Mario, hearing this, shrank his neck and quickly explained, "I didn’t say General Bonaparte is a pighead. I don’t think General Bonaparte would ever issue an order for us to search here. The command almost certainly came from some court moron who’s too high on themselves, giving orders randomly despite knowing nothing, resulting in us being sent here. He’s the pighead!"

"Careful with your words," a crooked-mouthed soldier leaned over, "what if there really is a tunnel here?"

Mario looked around, glanced at the nearby village, and stepped forward, reaching a piece of empty ground. He stomped hard and jabbed his longsword forcefully downward, stirring as he spoke to his comrades, "Do you think there’s a tunnel here? Who’s the fool, you or me? Are you willing to bet? If I lose, I’ll only eat three... four servings every meal in the future. I’m telling you, there’s absolutely no tunnel here, and the person issuing the order above is definitely a pighead... sigh!"