Chapter 1106: Chapter 1093: The Endless War Chapter 1106: Chapter 1093: The Endless War The breeze blew softly across the plains, the golden wheat undulating with the wind. A farmer, wearing a bamboo hat, straightened up from the rice paddies. He watched the arriving winged person with amazement before bending down again.

Even after their King’s marriage, winged people from afar became increasingly common, but it hardly mattered to the locals; life remained largely unaffected.

Life continued as usual—trying to stay fed and warm still depended on one’s own hands. Yet, there were some changes regardless.

A winged person in a dark blue uniform flew over from the distant sky. Rather than leaving swiftly as others had, he circled around, seemingly identifying the terrain.

Soon, he confirmed this was his destination and quickly descended, “Who is a family member of John Deer? I have a letter from him.”

“Hm?” From the winged person’s words, an astute old farmer straightened up from the wheat field, looking towards the hovering winged person above.

“I am his father.”

“Is there someone who can verify that you are John Deer’s father?” the winged person asked earnestly, flying swiftly in front of the old farmer.

“Hey, do I need to prove my son is my son?” The farmer chuckled upon hearing the winged person’s question.

“Yes, you need to prove to me that John Deer is your son; otherwise, I cannot hand over his letter to you,” said the winged person, looking quite young and serious.

“How am I supposed to prove that?” The old farmer’s face showed confusion, as this was his first encounter with such a request.

“You could present any document related to John Deer’s identity, such as a birth certificate.”

“Birth certificate? A birth needs a certificate now? What kind of toy is that?” the old man remarked, clearly puzzled.

“This is a new policy implemented after the Emperor ordered a national census. Every newborn must have a birth certificate issued by the local government. Those not previously issued must also be completed,” the winged person explained.

“But this is the countryside, and we barely have one or two village officials. Who’s there to issue me this birth certificate?” The farmer was genuinely stumped, his eyes revealing a longing as he stared at the parcel held by the winged person.

“If all else fails, you could have someone else vouch for you,” the winged messenger reluctantly replied.

“That’s easy, just ask around; everyone knows John Deer is my son.” The old man’s face wore a smug expression. His son in the army had always been a source of pride, as the land he now farmed was earned through his son’s military service.

“I will need to spend some time to verify this; do you mind waiting a moment?”

“Sure, go ahead and ask anyone you like,” the old farmer said cheerily, indicating he did not mind at all.

The winged person quickly flew around, asking about a dozen farmers in other fields before returning to the original spot. He then solemnly unfastened the parcel from his chest and handed it to the eager old farmer, who had lost interest in farming by then.

“Let me see what’s all in there.” The excited old farmer rapidly unpacked the parcel, finding a letter and a hefty wooden box.

On opening the box and taking a quick peek, he promptly closed it—inside were all large-denomination gold notes, unquestionably another of his son’s rewards from military merits.

However, the farmer, already unconcerned about food and warmth, paid no attention to the banknotes; his focus was entirely on the letter in his hands.

“Um, young one with the wings, can you read what it says here for me?” After opening the envelope, the old farmer’s face immediately showed embarrassment because he could not understand any of the written words.

“Certainly, that’s part of my duty.” The winged messenger, who had not yet left, nodded. Helping to read the letter was also part of his job responsibilities.

“Great.” The old farmer handed the letter to the winged messenger.

“Father: You don’t need to worry about me at home, I am doing very well in the army…” The winged messenger read out the words on the envelope, sentence by sentence.

Nothing unusual, just a young man who had joined the army describing his experience. Like most family letters, the content was all about sharing good news and not the bad, focusing on the positives.

Thus, as the old farmer listened to the contents of the letter, his eyes gleamed with joy, his mood exceptionally cheerful.

“…I have obtained two enemy heads in this conflict…” It was still all good news, the young man describing to his father the process of earning military merits, but this had the old farmer sweating profusely.

“…Father, make sure to take care of your health, remember to eat well, drink and sleep well, drink plenty of hot water.”

With the last words of the family letter read slowly, the winged messenger looked up at the old farmer, who was still worried about his son’s process of gaining military merits.

“I’ve finished reading the letter from home, and if there’s nothing you need, I’ll just…” After completing all his tasks, the winged messenger was ready to leave.

“Young man, why are there so many battles to fight? Since my son joined the army, I’ve received seventeen letters from him, and each time he says he’s in battle. Why don’t these wars ever end?”

“…” The winged messenger did not respond upon hearing this but instead showed a look of envy before slowly saying, “Your son is a capable man.”

“Capable my foot, back home he only knew how to stir up trouble and fight with others; if he wasn’t fighting with one, he was fighting with another.” Upon hearing the winged messenger’s words, the old farmer cursed with a laugh, but an unmistakable smile spread across his face.

“Only officers above the rank of scholar-official are permitted to have their letters delivered by someone like me. It’s your first time seeing a messenger like me, which indicates that your son’s status in the army is improving. The higher his rank, the safer he is in the army.”

“Is that so? But safety isn’t absolute, is it? Although I live in this impoverished backwater and am nothing but an ignorant farmer, I know that even generals can perish in battle.”

“The battlefield is never a safe place,” the messenger sighed, but his eyes showed little fear, instead displaying a kind of eager anticipation.

“Young man, you know the battlefield isn’t safe, yet you still want to go?”

“Yes,” the winged messenger answered decisively.

“Why?” The old farmer’s eyes showed confusion. “As the nation grows stronger and stronger, no matter what you do, as long as you’re willing to work, you won’t starve. So why would you want to push your way into the battlefield?”

“Because it’s the only place where I can change my birth circumstances. My father only gave me a pair of wings, but I want to give my descendants much more.”

“I see, no wonder then,” the old farmer scratched his head. “If you’re not afraid of dying, the battlefield is indeed a good place to seek fortune.”

“Yes, but I don’t meet the recruitment conditions right now,” the messenger said with a look of dejection in his eyes.

“With those large wings behind you, you don’t meet the recruitment conditions?” The old farmer examined the young man’s snowy white wings and couldn’t help but express his amazement.

“To join the army these days, one must at least have completed the Initial Awakening, otherwise the military doesn’t want them.”

“You haven’t awoken yet?”

“No.”

“Then where did those wings behind you come from? Normal people don’t have such things.”

“I was born with them; I am one of the winged people.” The messenger smiled awkwardly, as this wasn’t the first time he had had such a conversation. He found that residents within the former domains of Gai Nation often expressed similar incredulity.

“Oh, is that so!” Realization dawned on the old farmer’s face, but soon he marveled anew, “The military’s recruitment standards are getting higher and higher. I remember twenty years ago it wasn’t like this; back then, as long as you were physically able and neither blind nor deaf, you could almost certainly enlist.”

“But not anymore. The Emperor has stated that the army must become more elite, and those without sufficient strength are sent home.”

“Then why hasn’t my son been sent home?” a look of frustration appeared in the old man’s eyes.

“This means your son is very strong. If people of your son’s rank and position were sent home, there wouldn’t be many of us left to serve in the army.”

“Our nation is becoming stronger with each battle. Twenty years ago, I remember after each battle how officials would go door-to-door collecting grain and then issue us IOUs.

Now, if it weren’t for the letters from my son, I wouldn’t even know there was a war going on at the front lines.”

“Since the Emperor and the Empress got married, our nation is said to be the strongest in the world,” the messenger said, his eyes revealing pride and self-satisfaction upon hearing the old farmer’s words.

“If we are already the strongest nation, then why are we still fighting? If we’re the strongest, surely no one would dare provoke us,”
“This…” The winged messenger faltered, unsure how to explain.

“We have land, houses, and more money saved up than I could spend in this lifetime. We seem to have everything, but when will these wars end? When will my son come home?” the old farmer questioned.

“…Such matters are only known by the Emperor and the Empress,” the winged messenger said with an embarrassed chuckle.

“Maybe our nation still isn’t strong enough?” the old farmer asked the winged messenger, almost as if talking to himself.

“I need to go deliver this letter now, take care and rest,” said the winged messenger, who, feeling overwhelmed, flapped his wings and swiftly left the scene.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read