"Uh-huh, okay."

Vivian closed her eyes, remembering everything Luo De had instructed.

A moment later she opened her eyes,

"Sister has already informed Lawrence."

"Good."

Luo De nodded in satisfaction,

"Hurry up and eat, after that, I'll take you to catch the sea."

Luo De gazed at the sea outside the cave,

"With a bit of luck, the tide will be going out soon."

...

...

Northern Wasteland, the northwestern edge of Ice Blade Valley.

In the dusky evening, the dry yellow grass tinged with fresh green swayed with the wind.

Tucson sat behind a rock at the edge of the ravine, his eyes red, and in his sights appeared the desert scene through the eyes of his eagle.

The eagle swept over valleys and forests, searching for the targets Tucson wanted to find.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to be seen.

Tucson then opened his eyes.

Seeing his patrol team companions gazing at him with anticipation, Tucson shook his head helplessly,

"Still nothing."

After more than half a month of searching, the desert beneath his feet seemed cursed, so empty that it chilled the heart.

The patrol team captain, Lanier, was on the ground, wiping his hunting bow.

"More than half a month, and we've only found eight people."

He shook his head, his voice low, accompanied by a heavy sigh.

After the lizard monster invasion, Lanier led his team to handle the aftermath of Icebound Town.

Searching for survivors, burying bodies, and meanwhile, searching for useful resources in Icebound Town to bring back to Frost Leaf Town.

The lizard monsters mostly slaughtered rather than looting properties, and the ruins of Icebound Town yielded a lot of useful things.

Animal hides, farming tools, iron ore, as well as sacks, ropes, oil lamps, and daily necessities.

Lanier didn't keep track, but everything was carried away, and it wasn't a small amount.

And Lanier stayed, following Luo De's orders to continue searching for survivors in Icebound Town.

After all, in this season, there's not much food in the wild, and they would starve to death.

"Icebound Town... it's so tragic beyond words."

Others couldn't help but sigh as well.

Tucson smiled bitterly, "The whole town, only this handful out of hundreds."

For Tucson, the feeling was especially profound.

As a former savage, hundreds far exceeded his original concept of numbers.

Before, he couldn't even count that high.

"There aren't even many bodies, let alone living people."

Lanier stood up, "Let's go, back to the cave to rest, we'll search once more tomorrow and then head back."

Lanier didn't know if the lord would have them continue searching, but he had to return to report for now.

"Mm."

Tucson replied casually, stood up, and dusted off his pants.

The others nodded and stood up.

But at that moment, Tucson suddenly halted,

"Wait a minute!"

Tucson felt a stirring inside, sat back down immediately, eyes red, reconnecting with the eagle.

"There are survivors on the northwest desert path!"

His voice carried surprise, immediately disconnecting,

"Quick, follow me!"

Tucson sprang up and led the patrol team running towards the survivors.

After a long journey, they found the survivors Tucson mentioned in a mountain hollow.

Six survivors, ragged and carrying no supplies, huddled in the ravine gasping for breath.

Lanier looked at these six people, frowning,

"Why do I feel like they're fleeing toward Ice Blade Valley?"

Lanier was full of doubts, waving his hand, and led the soldiers to surround them.

At the moment they saw Lanier and the others, the six survivors visibly started.

Then a middle-aged survivor, terrified, knelt towards Lanier, crying out loudly,

"Soldier, sir, they're all dead! All dead!"

Lanier's brow furrowed when he heard this, and one of his subordinates immediately stepped forward and rebuked harshly, "What are you saying? You're the one who's dead!"

"No, no, it's Frozen Bone Wasteland!"

The survivor hurriedly explained, "The town there was destroyed by lizardmen, everyone was killed!"

"What? Lizardmen again?!"

Lanier stepped forward, grabbing the survivor's collar, "Did you see this with your own eyes or hear it from someone else?!"

"We saw it with our own eyes!"

Another survivor, voice hoarse and expression pained, "We were all from Frozen Bone Town, that night we went to the lake to fish, returned in the day to find the town filled with lizardmen!"

"My wife and child were killed!"

The survivor knelt to the ground, clutching his head and weeping, "I'm useless, I don't dare to avenge them!"

The others around him were moved and couldn't help but cry.

Lanier furrowed his brow, thoughts racing in his mind.

He then turned to his subordinates,

"You, go back immediately, ride and deliver the message to the forward outpost, have them report this to the Lord!"

"Understood, boss!"

The subordinate tossed the round shield to a companion, clutched the long sword at his waist, and turned to run.

Lanier turned his head, feeling a headache as he looked at the few people still crying,

"Shut up, all of you!"

Lanier knew they were sad, but the news of the Lizardmen was more important than their grief,

"You take me to that town now!"

"Huh?"

The surviving ones still crying were obviously taken aback, clear fear appearing on their tear-stained faces.

"No nonsense!"

Lanier's subordinate raised a long sword towards the survivors, "Our boss told you to lead the way, so hurry up and do it!"

Lanier also wore a cold expression, lifting his long sword,

"Lead the way, and I will reward you."

"Otherwise, meet your death here."

Right now, they were prioritizing Black Pine Ridge's interests, and they wouldn't care about threats, not even murder.

"I, I..."

The survivor stammered.

At this point, a filthy-faced boy stood up,

"I will go!"

"Alright, you then!"

Lanier nodded, glanced back at the others without paying them attention.

"Drop your stuff, let's go now!"

Lanier wasted no time, pulling along the boy, sprinting directly northwest without looking back.

Lanier was well aware that time was more crucial than gold coins at a moment like this.

There was no time to dally or rest; they traveled through the night to arrive within five or six kilometers of Frozen Bone Town by dawn.

Tucson released the eagle immediately, sending it flying west according to the boy's rough direction.

After a long time, Tucson's eyes turned red, reconnecting his consciousness with the eagle.

Tucson was in a rush, urging the eagle to quickly search every inch of the wasteland.

Lanier and the others were no longer as relaxed as before, staying vigilant against everything around them, to prevent any ambush.

Soon, Tucson saw Frozen Bone Town

— to be precise, the ruins of Frozen Bone Town.

Just like Icebound Town, Frozen Bone Town was now collapsed with traces of blood and flames consuming everything.

Various pots and pans were smashed into pieces, and there were all kinds of torn clothes and shoes on the street.

However, no corpses were seen.

And of the perpetrators, the Lizardmen, Tucson also didn't see them.

Tucson controlled the eagle to circle the area, still not spotting any Lizardmen.

Tucson immediately relayed everything to Lanier.

"What? Nothing?"

His eyes widened, filled with shock,

"How is that possible?"

"Could they have withdrawn?"

Lanier frowned, pondering, "We didn't see any trace of Lizardmen along the way either..."

"Tucson, could you check the surroundings again, especially hidden valleys or caves?"

Lanier cautiously reminded, "To prevent them from taking another route to sneak attack our Black Pine Ridge."

"Alright."

Tucson nodded heavily, starting to control the eagle to search again.

Yet even after another careful search, no traces of Lizardmen were found.

Tucson disconnected, reporting the results to Lanier.

He also mentioned his new discovery,

"I had my eagle scout at low altitude, and found clear cart tracks northwest of Frozen Bone Town."

Tucson speculated, "Those Lizardmen likely headed west."

Lanier gripped his long sword tighter, the mystery deepening in his mind.

"They don't intend to come to Ice Blade Valley?"

"Perhaps they're aware that Ice Blade Valley is already destroyed." Tucson suggested.

"But, don't we still have Black Pine Ridge?"

Lanier frowned, his mind racing, unable to come up with any explanation for the moment.

Back when Black Pine Ridge annihilated the Lizard creatures, the Lord always expected some Bloodscale Tribe retaliation.

Unexpectedly, they came here now.

"Do you know what's to the west?" Lanier asked Tucson.

Tucson shook his head.

Having spent his life in the Blade Mountain Range, it was only after becoming a subject of the Saint Master in Frost Leaf Town that he gained some knowledge.

Otherwise, he wouldn't know what lies to the west of the Frozen Bone Wasteland.

"To the west is Ice Breath Hills, Captain sir."

The boy suddenly spoke, "There's a small town there too."

"Could the Lizardmen be planning an attack on that town?"

Worry filled Lanier's eyes,

"No, this must be reported to the Lord immediately!"

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