...

At that moment, Lynch felt like he was caught between two erupting volcanoes.

The military officers and clerks who had been rushing by noticed the situation, and their paces slowed considerably, a gossipy glint sparkling in their eyes.

Some even feigned nonchalance as they stopped, pretending to look down at the documents in their hands while secretly straining to hear.

’This is getting out of hand!’

Lynch enjoyed a bit of gossip, but he had no desire to become the subject of it.

He quickly tried to stop them in a low voice, "This isn’t the place to talk."

With that, he quickly led them away, found a reasonably clean-looking inn nearby, and got two good, adjacent rooms. He also prepaid for their meals, asking the innkeeper to prepare some food.

After Lynch quickly washed up and put his Shadow Protection Robe back on, he went down to the inn’s small, first-floor dining area. He found Amadis and Avril already sitting on opposite sides of a square table by the window.

The table was already laden with a sumptuous meal: steaming roasted meat steaks, mashed potatoes, a thick mushroom soup, soft white bread, and more...

But neither of them had started eating. They were still glaring at each other from across the table.

Lynch paid them no mind. He sat down, helped himself to the food, and began to eat heartily.

After finishing a whole steak and several pieces of white bread, he picked up his mug of ale, took a large gulp, and asked in a casual tone, "Amadis, how are things in your war zone? I heard it’s not looking too optimistic."

As far as Lynch knew, Amadis served in the North Wind Legion’s Fourth Battle Group, the [Iron Wall Battle Group]. Her military rank was Captain, and she commanded an elite unit of over a hundred soldiers.

The [Grey Stone Pass Fortress] where they were stationed was located northwest of Orlando City, over three hundred miles away in a straight line.

It was a vital transportation chokepoint connecting Valencia and the Sardinia Province, as well as one of the key defensive lines against the northern incursions of the Blue Scarf rebels.

Sure enough, the moment he brought up serious matters, Amadis’s expression turned grim.

"Yes, it’s really not optimistic," she said, taking a sip of water. "Sardinia Province... is basically done for. Those rebels from the Draenei Brotherhood have won over a lot of disgruntled local nobles and displaced people, and their power has been snowballing. Now they’re splitting their forces and constantly launching probing attacks on the Valencia Province’s border."

Her brow furrowed deeply. "We’re under a lot of pressure at Grey Stone Pass. We’re harassed by small enemy squads almost every day, and from time to time, they launch probing attacks with several hundred men or more."

"Among the rebels, aside from the incited commoners, there’s also a mix of fierce bandits, fallen mercenaries, and even... the influence of the Catastrophe Sect, the Shadow Hand, and those goblins from the venture capital companies. Their equipment and combat strength are not to be underestimated."

"What’s more troublesome..." Amadis said worriedly, "is that things aren’t peaceful within Valencia either. The Blue Scarf’s infiltration is severe. They’re stirring up rebellion and creating panic everywhere, and many bandits and robbers are taking the opportunity to wreak havoc."

"Our Fourth Battle Group has to both defend the pass and periodically split our forces to clear out the rebels popping up in our rear. Our troops are stretched thin, and our supply lines are often threatened."

She sighed. "I came to the military headquarters this time for two reasons. First, to officially complete the paperwork for my promotion to Battalion Commander. That’s right, ’thanks’ to the tight situation on the front lines and high officer casualties, I got promoted. I’m now the Battalion Commander of the Iron Wall Battle Group’s Sixth Battalion."

But speaking of the promotion, she showed no hint of joy, only a sense of resignation.

"Second, I’m here to request resources from headquarters on behalf of our Battle Group. Weapons, equipment, provisions, medicine, Magic Materials... we’re short on everything. Those fat cats sitting in the rear think we’re on vacation at the front lines. They’re stingy when allocating supplies, and the paperwork is ridiculously complicated!"

Her tone was tinged with anger. In truth, it was only thanks to her status as a young noblewoman that they were even being stingy; otherwise, the quartermaster’s department might not have given them a single thing.

After all, the Iron Wall Battle Group was said to be a "commoner battle group." Its current commander was a formidable general who had started as a commoner Soldier and fought his way up the ranks. Through accumulated military merit, he could now barely be considered a titled lord.

But such a title was mostly just for show; it was hard to say if it even came with an actual fief.

This was also why the Iron Wall Battle Group had urgently promoted Amadis and sent her to procure resources.

But even so, procuring those resources was no easy task. Which of the men who managed to become a quartermaster head wasn’t of noble birth?

Besides, the North Wind Legion was full of young masters and ladies from noble families, and quite a few of them actually held titles. The quartermaster head couldn’t just eagerly hand over all the supplies every time a young lord or lady showed up, could he?

Lynch, on the other hand, was also a commoner, but he was from the academy faction and had his mentor and the dean backing him... otherwise, he wouldn’t have obtained that minor title of Imperial Knight so easily.

After a moment’s thought, Lynch changed the subject, smiling as he congratulated her. "Amadis, regardless of the circumstances, being promoted to Battalion Commander is still a good thing."

He also noticed that the aura emanating from his senior had stabilized at Tier Two and was even a bit more potent than his own. Clearly, she had achieved this rank some time ago.

He had to admit, his wealthy senior’s talent was truly impressive.

If Lynch didn’t have his own ’cheat,’ he’d most likely still just be an apprentice, holed up back at the academy~

His current rapid advancement was mainly due to using his skill panel to raise the level of his Basic Meditation Skill. This made his Meditation efficiency far exceed that of his peers, further boosted by the Ghost Moss Tea that his mentor, Annabella, would "feed" him from time to time.