Magic? My Iron Torrent will sweep it all away!

Chapter 209 Winning Hearts and Minds—No, Winning Beasts' Hearts!

If it's about money, Warwick definitely can't accept it.

Those cunning Holy Humans have tricked them many times, and they don't know if the Great Xia people will do the same, but it's always better to be careful.

Lin Mo chuckled upon hearing this and waved his hand, saying:

"Don't worry, this is how we treat our guests in Great Xia; we don't want your money!"

Seeing this, Warwick had no choice but to agree and expressed his gratitude.

He had no choice but to agree, because the soldiers of the Great Xia had already quickly set up rows of neat tents for them.

Many of the orcs showed a complex mix of gratitude in their eyes.

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Lin Mo headed straight for the orcs' temporary camp.

Last night, the orcs had already followed the example of the Great Xia soldiers, neatly packing up their tents and placing them aside.

They will carry it on their backs when they march.

The commander of the Daxia people said that during the training period, these tents would be entrusted to their safekeeping, and they should be careful not to damage them.

At that moment, Warwick was having breakfast with his people.

They pulled out a dark, hard piece of bread from the leather pouches at their waists and gnawed on it expressionlessly, using the water from their water pouches.

Seeing Lin Mo approach, and curiously looking at the food in their hands, one of the orcs grinned and, to thank them for the tent from the previous night, enthusiastically offered them a piece.

Lin Mo reached out and took it. It was black in color, hard to the touch, and had a few coarse black animal hairs still on it.

I took a sniff, and a smell that was a mixture of sweat and blood hit my nostrils.

Lin Mo: "..."

He suppressed his discomfort and looked at Warwick, who was standing in front of him, to ask first:

"What is this?"

"Dry rations," Warwick said, swallowing the food in his mouth.

"It is made by crushing animal meat, skin, internal organs and bones together, mixing them together, drying them in the sun and roasting them."

Lin Mo frowned:

"Why not just grill the meat chunks directly?"

Warwick paused, then sighed.

"Lord Lin Mo, our homeland is being constantly encroached upon by the demons, and we no longer have enough prey."

"No food should be wasted."

"These things are enough to fill our stomachs and give us the strength to wield our weapons."

The orcs around him continued to silently gnaw on the "stones" in their hands, their eyes numb, as if they had long been used to it.

Lin Mo fell silent.

He turned around and whispered a few instructions to the guards behind him.

The guard immediately turned and ran away.

Before long, several kitchen vans arrived, their chimneys billowing steam and filling the air with the rich aroma of meat porridge and meat buns.

All the orcs who were eating their dry rations stopped abruptly.

They all looked up at the same time, sniffing hard, their Adam's apples bobbing uncontrollably, their eyes filled with longing.

Lin Mo pointed to the kitchen truck and said to Warwick:

"Commander Warwick, have your men line up and get their food."

"How can you eat this? You're not getting enough nutrition. We're about to enter the Misty Forest, which is fraught with danger!"

Warwick shook his head.

"Thank you for your generosity."

"But we're here to cooperate, not to beg. We appreciate your tent last night, but we can no longer accept your food!"

Lin Mo waved his hand.

"Commander Warwick, don't overthink it. I'm a commander too."

He turned his head, pointed to the Great Xia camp not far away, and continued:

"My soldiers have entrusted their lives to me, so I must ensure they are well-fed and clothed. I cannot let them bleed and weep!"

"This is not charity; it is our responsibility as commanders to every soldier!"

Lin Mo's words struck Warwick hard.

He looked at the human in front of him, who was much younger than himself, and then looked back at his tribesmen who were staring longingly at the cooking cart while clutching rotten rations in their hands.

These people were the elite of the tribe, brothers to whom he had entrusted his life and honor.

They followed him on his arduous journey to carry out this difficult mission without a single complaint.

But did I feed them enough?

Did you make sure they were dressed warmly?

No.

He could only feed them dry rations mixed with bone fragments and fur as they fought desperately against the ferocious demons.

Warwick's tense body slowly relaxed.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

A look of guilt appeared on the face of this seventh-level expert.

Lin Mo smiled.

He looked at Warwick, then glanced at the orcs whose eyes were filled with longing but who were stubbornly holding back their movements.

"Let's all line up."

"From today onwards, Da Xia will be responsible for your food during the training period!"

Warwick's body stiffened, he opened his mouth, and finally bowed deeply to Lin Mo.

He turned around, his voice trembling slightly, and gave the order to his people:

"Everyone, line up for food!"

"One at a time. If anyone misbehaves, I'll snap their neck!"

"Awooo—!"

The surrounding orcs erupted in deafening cheers.

They rushed forward, but then restrained themselves and formed a long queue in front of the kitchen cart. Although the queue was crooked, no one cut in line.

White meat buns, rich soy milk, golden fried dough sticks, sweet steamed cakes...

Every dish of food exuded an aroma they had never smelled before.

A minotaur warrior stuffed three buns into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like small mountains, and boasted to his companions indistinctly.

Another werewolf warrior held a bowl of soy milk. He first took a careful sip, then tilted his head back and gulped it down in one go, even licking the soy milk stains off his lips.

Many orcs even received rice dumplings!

Seeing this, Lin Mo became curious and asked Wu Suowei, the guard beside him.

"Reporting to the commander, today is the Dragon Boat Festival."

Wu Suowei explained:

"Chief No. 2 specially ordered it to be prepared and delivered by transport vehicle on the last day of the teleportation portal. He told us to steam it and eat it today, as a way to celebrate the holiday."

Upon hearing the words "Dragon Boat Festival," Lin Mo felt a slight stirring in his heart and a touch of emotion.

"Chief No. 2 is very thoughtful."

Just then, he saw a burly bear-man warrior examining a fist-sized rice dumpling.

He first brought the zongzi to his nose and smelled it, then carefully took a bite of the zongzi corner, along with the bamboo leaf.

He chewed a few times, his expression changing from doubt to surprise, and then he started shaking his head, clearly finding the taste good.

Finally, he stretched his neck and swallowed the mouthful of glutinous rice mixed with bamboo leaves with difficulty, then chuckled and stuffed the rest of the rice dumpling into his mouth.

Lin Mo: "???"

He strode forward and patted the bear-man warrior on the waist.

There was nothing we could do; the other party was simply too tall and imposing.

"Wait, you can't eat the outer layer. You have to open it up and eat the inside," Lin Mo shouted.

The bear-man warrior blinked and uttered a low, chewing, indistinct sound:

"Respected people of Great Xia, thank you for your food. I think it's delicious, I like the taste, why throw it away?"

"This outer layer is leaves, not food," Lin Mo explained.

"We bear-people eat leaves," the bear-people warrior said, puzzled.

"Can't eat it... is it poisonous?"

Lin Mo was taken aback before remembering that there were indeed bears that ate bamboo on Earth.

Oh no, I forgot about that.