July 14, 2230 hrs, Trinka Village, under Ante Army control.
Wang Zhong came out from the Corps Command and looked at the reddish hue on the horizon.
Even though it was already his second year through the portal, he still found the sight of a sunset at ten at night quite novel.
While he was marveling at it, Nelly’s voice reached his ear, “All done? Want some supper?”
Wang Zhong turned to look at Nelly, “Oh, sure. Didn’t you used to prepare supper every day for everyone at the staff headquarters? Why have you stopped doing that?”
Nelly shrugged, “Because the girls who used to help me prepare the supper are now at Ye Fort and didn’t come with us.”
Wang Zhong was shocked, “Those things were prepared by other people? And here I thought you did it all by yourself!”
Nelly gave him a look that said she thought he was clueless, “How could that be possible? There are hundreds of people at the headquarters; preparing a supper for everybody is a major task. It’s just that the servings for senior officers and staff were pushed out by me in the end.”
Wang Zhong, “Eh? I always thought the supper was a labor of love hand-made by ‘Loli Mom’!”
At that moment, Wang Zhong felt like a child who had just discovered Santa Claus was actually Dad and Superman in “Digar” was just an actor in a suit.
Nelly looked at Wang Zhong, “Don’t call me Mom. If you want to eat now, then I’ll have to make it personally.”
Wang Zhong, “Then I want frosted cookies and milk.”
“Don’t have them. I can only use our military supplies as ingredients! How about SPAM, rye bread, and vodka?”
Wang Zhong scratched his head, it seemed that frying sugar to cook braised pork was Ceres’s unique skill. No, there was something else more important to confirm.
“Nelly,” he asked seriously, “did you also use our military supplies for last year’s supper?”
“Mm.” Nelly nodded.
That meant the variety of food in the supplies was not as extensive as last year.
He wondered if the supply situation would be even worse next year.
Seeing Wang Zhong deep in thought, Nelly said, “A lot of our food supplies are locally sourced, and this place is poor, so that’s why. If you were in Yarvik, I could get you frosted cookies, biscuits, or other tasty things.”
Wang Zhong, “Ah? Is that so? Wait a minute, you know what I was thinking?”
Nelly raised her right hand and twirled her forefinger around her temple, “I can think too, you know. Connecting the question you asked with the previous topic, it’s easy to understand what you mean.”
Wang Zhong, “So, am I overthinking it? Is our food supply actually okay?”
Experience tales with empire
“Mm. Last winter was indeed difficult, but we have recovered since then.”
So that was it.
Just as Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, he saw Popov leading Sufang, along with several unfamiliar aunties, into the courtyard of the command post.
Upon seeing Wang Zhong, Sufang immediately lit up with a bright smile.
Nelly watched her with raised eyebrows.
Popov took the initiative to speak, “This is Sufang, a high-ranking nun who has just arrived. She—”
“Let me do it,” Sufang stepped forward and saluted Wang Zhong, “Honorable General Rocossov, by the Grand Patriarch’s orders, I have led the Druids from the Folklore Society to assist in the war.”
Wang Zhong: “Druid what now?”
“Druids.” Su Fang repeated.
The Folklore Society and Druids? Wang Zhong closely observed the group following Su Fang, and by their age, they indeed could pass for “Swamp Witches” and “Forest Priestesses.”
As for looks—With a bit of makeup, their wrinkled faces could easily land them roles as evil witches on some CRPG set, especially the kind that lived deep in the swamp and ate children.
However, their clothing was quite modern, more fitting for a guest role as an investigator on the neighboring Cthulhu set.
At this point, the leading auntie spoke up, “No wonder the general looks so puzzled, I said we should have come in full costume.”
Wang Zhong: “Costume?”
One of the aunties put down her leather case, opened it, and showed Wang Zhong the contents.
Inside the case were necklaces strung with dried chicken feet, tattered cloaks, voodoo dolls, and other items emanating an aura of malevolence.
Wang Zhong: “If you had come dressed in these, I might have ordered the guards to shoot at you.”
Popov placed a hand on Wang Zhong’s shoulder, “Relax, these are our researchers, just like the quantum physicists at the Physics Institute, all dedicated to unraveling the truth behind mysterious powers.”
“Using dried chicken feet to unravel it?” Wang Zhong retorted.
The auntie displaying the chicken feet said, “Physicists talk about de Broglie waves, Planck’s constant, things we don’t understand. But look, even without diving into those arcane matters, we can still explore the patterns of mystical forces.”
Another auntie chimed in, “It’s all about extensive experimentation, then summarizing the findings.”
Wang Zhong: “Alright, alright, I get it. The Church doesn’t want to put all its eggs in the physics basket, so you’ve got some other things going on, right? I bet there’s also an Institute of Esoteric Studies.”
Su Fang: “Yes, that exists. And there’s also a Scripture Institute, mainly studying the impact of reciting scriptures on mystical forces, changing the cadence and tune of recitation every day. By the way, I read their journal every issue.”
Wang Zhong nodded, “I’m quite clear on the Church’s efforts in deciphering mystical forces now. What I want to know is, what are you doing on the frontlines?”
The chicken feet auntie: “We’re here to help you win with druidic spells. We have mastered some Druidic Spells and are using a more scientific approach. If we use them on the battlefield and win, it could deliver a significant blow to the Sanctified faction.”
Wang Zhong: “I thought the Sanctified faction was already wiped out—”
He hadn’t finished his sentence when he remembered the Prussian who had been driven mad with fear.
Perhaps the Sanctified faction still had a market; they were just staying hidden.
Wang Zhong: “Alright, I think I more or less understand the Grand Patriarch’s intention. What can you do? Summon Ents? Or perhaps call forth a murder of crows to darken the sky, grounding enemy air forces?”
Su Fang laughed heartily, “General, you are really amusing—er…”
Su Fang stopped, examining Wang Zhong’s expression, “You’re not joking?”
Wang Zhong: “I just think, if Divine Power can guide rockets to track enemy planes, then summoning Ents doesn’t seem so far-fetched.”
“Unfortunately, such things that only exist in legends are beyond our capabilities. Don’t expect us to summon Forest Wraiths to attack the enemy.” The auntie shook her head, “But if you want a fog that lasts two hours, we can still achieve that.”
Wang Zhong opened his eyes wide, “Say that again, what can you summon?”
The auntie: “With the ritual materials we’ve brought, we can summon a fog that lasts two hours. We have replicated the phenomenon three times already, on the plains at the bend of the Suhaya Weili River between 907 and 909, all three experiments were in the summertime. The ‘spell’ we used is also from the local Druidic faction.”