Chapter 1260 - 618: Inquiry and News_3

Seeing his reaction, the young man squinted his eyes in delight, even tilting his chin up a few degrees without realizing it.

Unfortunately, he still overestimated how much weight time gave these Legendary Figures.

Most of Anlun Province was indeed conquered by Grove; in a sense, the land they were standing on now was precisely where the Willmot family first rose to prominence.

But... after all, that was already something from several hundred years ago.

Coupled with the deliberate downplaying by certain parties, for the soldiers currently stationed on the Kingdom’s border, simply knowing that such a person once existed was already the limit.

If he wanted to use that to gain any special treatment, then unless orders came from above, he could only rely on the weapon in his own hand to fight for it on the battlefield.

At most, during idle chatter with comrades, he could boast that he’d been recruited as the retainer of some young master from the so‑called "Silver Lake Shield" family.

Chances were he’d even be mocked by his comrades for bragging too outrageously.

It may sound a bit like Hell to say this, but if Zanfri really wanted to use his identity as a "Silver Lake Shield" descendant to gain any advantages in Anlun Province...

Then perhaps he should consider those barbarian tribes living deep in the border hills.

One would think they wouldn’t mind "warmly entertaining" this tender‑skinned young master who claimed to hail from the "Silver Lake Shield" family.

Just moments ago he’d been elated by the Captain’s reaction, only to find that after the initial surprise there was nothing more forthcoming; his mood plummeted, and Zanfri grew quite anxious, as if he wished to immediately educate everyone present on his ancestor’s glorious deeds.

But before he could open his mouth, his grey‑haired elder forcibly tugged him back down.

Withdrawing his gaze, Xia Nan turned his eyes back to the recruitment squad’s Captain before him and asked:

"What’s the situation at Blood Castle right now, is there a war?"

"I’ve heard others say that it used to be very rare to conscript adventurers into the army?"

Hearing this, the Captain couldn’t help but show a wry smile.

"It’s Demons, sir."

"Starting from the beginning of this year, for reasons unknown, the frequency of Demon appearances near the border has kept rising, and many of them are extremely aggressive types that actively attack Humans."

"Our side at Blood Castle has taken heavy casualties and is in urgent need of reinforcements."

"As for why we’re specially recruiting adventurers..." The Captain’s gaze shifted from Xia Nan to the Scorpion-tailed Lion’s corpse nearby, glanced twice, then moved back, the meaning already clear without needing words.

When the enemy consists of dangerous Demons, adventurers who regularly deal with them are naturally the best candidates for conscription.

At least, that was how his superiors explained it to him.

"If it’s just a shortage of manpower, shouldn’t the Kingdom be transferring forces from other regions?"

Xia Nan frowned slightly, puzzled.

"They... they should have, I think." The Captain replied, his tone hesitant and equally confused. "I’ve got an orderly friend; over the past half‑year he’s led squads out many times, some on long trips, some on short ones."

"But there never seems to be any follow‑up. The fortress shows no sign of reinforcements, we can only watch the training grounds grow increasingly empty while the infirmary gets more and more crowded, with beds lined up all the way into the corridors."

"I’m just one of the ordinary soldiers; I don’t really know the details. My apologies, sir."

Xia Nan committed the answer to memory, planning to think it over carefully and review it on the road ahead.

Following his original plan, Xia Nan shifted the topic to Barbarian Fugang.

"At Blood Castle, have you seen a tall barbarian named ’Frogon’?"

He hadn’t yet described any distinguishing features when, as soon as the words fell, the Captain before him picked up the thread:

"Is he the one wearing a Wolf Skin Fur Cloak and traveling with a Winter Wolf?"

"Oh?" Xia Nan raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

The Captain nodded repeatedly.

"I’ve seen him, sir. I have."

"But not at Blood Castle—rather, it was a few days ago, on the road we took toward Salt Rock Port."