Gan Shuo was devouring the curry in his bow and took a big bite of soft breath. After being selected by Fan Rui, fifty-three people were given armor and weapons.
Gan Shuo chose a shield and a sword, while his comrades, Liao Zhenya and Zhen Yang chose a spear. They heard a briefing about class and talent yet unfortunate for them as they could not get those right now.
After the briefing, they were now grouped into a group of ten, mixed with the soldiers of the empire to balance their strength.
As of now, they would have their last meal before going for the battle. The three people were put into a different group, "Why would they put me in another group? We have a group synergy as a team," Gan Shuo grumbled after he finished a bowl of curry and the bread.
"To balance the group," a bowl was placed on the table as Cao Yuntai sat within the newcomers, "If all the weak are put into one group, they will be less likely to survive in the battle. They may die before the healer can heal them."
The older man decided to mingle with the newcomers after hearing a group of survivors arrive.
"We have healers?" Liao Zhenya was the first one to react when she heard the word "Healer".
"Yes, you should have seen the Commander of Healer Division by now. I heard she was the one to welcome you guys and most of our healers are unique as well," Cao Yuntai tore the bread and dipped it into the curry.
"Huh!?" The three stopped eating and recalled their memories. Cao Yuntai said, "she" which meant the Commander was a girl. There was indeed one girl that welcomed them, a girl and a giant moth.
"So the beauty is the Commander of the Healer Division?" Gan Shuo blurted out.
"Yes, and the beast with her is also a Healer. They come from the Light Bombyx Mori Tribe and all of them can use [Heal]," Cao Yuntai nodded his head and smiled at Gan Shuo, "But don't you dare to have a thought on the Commander, she is Lord Shaoyang's wife."
That was a piece of important information for sure, 'The first lesson of the day, Don't offend the Lord's woman!'
"Sir, can we have an extra?" Gan Shuo realized that his bowl was already empty. The curry and bread were delicious, the last time he ate something like this was months ago.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce my name. My name is Cao Yuntai, you can call me Captain Cao or Captain Yun, either way, is good for me. As for the extra, you should ask our cook if there's an extra or not. However, I advise asking for an extra sneakily, if everyone follows you and asks for an extra, it will trouble our cooks," Cao Yuntai winked at Gan Shuo.
The three were about to stand up and greet Cao Yuntai, but Cao Yuntai spoke first, "Just act normally since this is a break time," he smiled at the three.
"Then I will excuse myself. I am going to ask an extra," Gan Shuo nodded and left with his bowl. People were too focused on the meal to notice Gan Shuo was bringing his empty bowl for an extra.
Liao Zhenya and Zhen Yang were not expecting a Captain to join them to have a meal together.
After the briefing, they were aware of the rank in the army. The official army was called Tarrior, and a Captain was a hundred-men commander. As for them, they were the lowest rank, part of the Militia Force and Recruit was their rank.
Above Recruit was Tarrior, above Tarrior was Elite Tarrior, and above Elite Tarrior was Grand Tarrior. Above that, the two did not know.
To be a Squad Captain, they should be at least at Elite Tarrior. There were certain conditions to be met before they could get promoted to Elite Tarrior.
"My name is Liao Zhenya, and he is Zhen Yang. We are the survivors of Huzhou City, Captain Cao," Liao Zhenya remained respectful as she introduced her name and Zhen Yang.
Zhen Yang bowed his head toward Cao Yuntai to show his respect. Without the talkative Gan Shuo, their meal was quite stiff even though the cause of the atmosphere was eating casually.
Two minutes later, Gan Shuo came back with a filled bowl and also a piece of bread, "Not only is the cook a super beauty, but she is also very kind to me. Zhen Yang, why don't you try to see her? If I don't have a wife myself, I would try to get close to her."
"Does the cook you are talking about have violet hair?" Cao Yuntai asked Gan Shuo.
The middle-aged man nodded his head, "Yes. Does she already have a husband, Captain Cao?"
"Yes, and Our Lord is her husband. So you should never make a move on her. So far, no one dared to make a move on Lord's wives, but don't think you should try it. Lord Shaoyang is amicable most of the time, but you don't want to anger him. Because the people who tried to anger are dead," Cao Yuntai smirked at Gan Shuo who almost jumped out of his seat.
That was so scary to come from Captain Cao's mouth easily. Gan Shuo swallowed the curry in his mouth forcefully and got closer to Captain, "Can you tell me who Our Lord's wives? I still want to see my daughter grow up."
Cao Yuntai told them about the women associated with Tang Shaoyang. He did not want these newcomers courted to death over something that could be easily avoided.
"Also, don't try to make fun of Lord Shaoyang over those two!" Cao Yuntai pointed his finger at Kairu and Pride who were standing at the corner, minding their food without caring about the others.
"If they heard you making fun of Lord Shaoyang in the back, a few of your bones will break for sure," Cao Yuntai grinned, "There's another one, but he's not here."
Gan Shuo attentively listened to Captain Cao's advice. While this looked like a trivial thing, it was surely important information they should know.
"Alright, it's almost time. Enjoy your last meal," Cao Yuntai smiled mischievously toward Gan Shuo.
"I don't hear it wrong, right? Captain Cao said this will be our last meal?" Gan Shuo suddenly became nervous.
Liao Zhenya shook her head. But she received information about this Lord Shaoyang. The Lord was lascivious for sure. He had eight women, and all his women were holding an important position in the Empire.
The talkative Gan Shuo quickly overcame his nervousness as he remembered something, "Zhenya, you are quite beautiful yourself and our Lord seems to have a fetish on breast, and you have it as well. Why don't you show yourself in front of The Lord, maybe he would fancy you? You don't have to risk your life with this low recruit in the battle," he joked at Liao Zhenya.
"Be careful of your few bones. If those two hear what you just said…" Liao Zhenya did not finish it, but Gan Shuo immediately covered his mouth. The last meal for the battle was over, now the army moved together toward Hangzhou.
On the way to Hangzhou, Gan Shuo was looking around, "Are we sure to head toward Hangzhou with just this?"
He was pretty sure that the number of the army did not surpass two thousand people. Yet, they initiated the attack on the city with over ten million population. Hangzhou at least had twenty million zombies. Fighting those zombies with less than two thousand people was the same as suicide.
Sure, they had over a hundred moths that could heal them. Sure, they had giant apes to their force, but the difference in their numbers was just too big. No matter how he looked at the situation, he could not see the chance of them winning the battle.
"Did we make the right decision to join the Empire? I feel they are more like a bunch of lunatics!" Gan Shuo blurred those words out.
While Liao Zhenya, Zhen Yang, and he were in a different unit, they were in the same team. Gan Shuo was speaking to his friends.
"I think we can win this!" All of sudden, the man with a few words, Zhen Yang responded to Gan Shuo.
"What? How do you know that we can win?" He questioned his friends.
"Just a hunch!" Zhen Yang responded shortly.
Gan Shuo shook his head, 'It was true that if you stay with lunatics, you will turn into one.'