In the middle of the mountains, the sound of people shouting could be heard from the wooden houses that were built.
These wooden houses were built recently. The broken parts of the wood were relatively new. The wooden houses were arranged here, and it looked like a mountain village that lived in seclusion in this uninhabited place.
Thick wooden pillars more than ten meters tall had been erected around the perimeter, forming a wall that blocked some of the smaller wild beasts outside. On top of the tall tower, there were three slaves with tanned skin. They were standing there and looking in three different directions.
In the open space, huge beast bones were thrown there. The bones were so white that there was not a trace of flesh left. They had been disassembled to the point that their original appearance could not be seen. Only the eye holes and nostrils above let people know that this was the head of a giant beast.
The bones, horns, and teeth that were suitable for polishing weapons had been dismantled. The sound of polishing bones and horns could be heard everywhere. Although most of the weapons they brought out were metal weapons, they had consumed a lot. The conditions here were limited. They could only repair some of the metal weapons that were not seriously damaged. Those beyond the repair range could only be put aside. Without weapons, they could not survive in this place full of fierce beasts and dangers. Compared to stone tools, bones, horns, teeth, and so on were more convenient. The slaves in charge of polishing were running back and forth with a variety of tools. They seemed very busy.
Compared to other people's movements, there was a small open space in the middle of the wooden houses. No one dared to run around here, let alone shout loudly.
There was a bonfire in the middle of the clearing. Pieces of beast bones with meat were being roasted there. Fat dripped into the bonfire, making sizzling sounds.
A middle-aged man who was relatively fair sat beside the bonfire. The other slaves were either wearing tattered sackcloth or wrapped in blood-stained animal skins, but this middle-aged man was wearing very clean clothes. It was also linen, but the cloth on his body was woven more carefully. The texture was obviously different from the others. There were some scratches at the corners of his clothes, but there were no holes at all.
At this time, the middle-aged man was frowning, looking at a drawn animal skin roll in his hand.
There were some simple drawings on the animal skin scroll. The dark green triangular shapes were mountains, and the shapeless large green areas were forests in other places. Among these green areas, there was a sandy yellow line passing through them and finally ending at one place.
It was a simple map. The line on the map was the route their team had taken. One end of the line was where they had entered the forest, and the other end was where they were now.
After making sure that he had not gone the wrong way, the middle-aged man's brows furrowed even deeper.
Several senior slaves standing next to him bowed their heads and only used their peripheral vision to carefully pay attention to the person sitting on the stone and looking at the map. They knew that the other party was in a bad mood, so they didn't dare to say anything, for fear that they would say something wrong and cause the anger of this person.
"It's here. There's no mistake!" The middle-aged man sitting on the rock murmured. Because of the fluctuation of his emotions, his feet stomped on the ground, creating a foot-sized hole in the weeds under his feet.
The slave standing next to him lowered his head even more.
The smell of meat permeated the mountain stronghold. The slaves who were guarding or busy in various places sniffed fiercely. The smell of meat made them obsessed and stimulated the secretion of saliva. However, even if they wanted to look over there, they still resisted the urge to turn their heads and stared at the work in progress in their hands. They didn't dare to look around.
At this time, there was movement at the entrance of the mountain stronghold. A team of twenty people came back from the outside, either carrying or dragging small prey.
The middle-aged man who was staring at the map suddenly looked up. The team who had just entered the temporary mountain stronghold saw the other party, and their eyes were averted. They didn't dare to look at the other party directly.
The middle-aged man holding the animal skin roll had a flash of expectation in his eyes. Soon, it dimmed and was followed by a rapid rise in anger.
"Still can't find it? How can it be?! Why can't I find it?! "
The middle-aged man, whose eyes were red with anger, shook his arm and wanted to smash the animal skin roll in his hand to the ground. But the moment before it fell, he paused and kicked it vigorously.
The animal skin roll couldn't be thrown away. It was an important guide for their operation. But he couldn't vent his anger. He was unhappy and could only kick the grass on the ground.
The grass that was higher than his knees was kicked to pieces.
"If you can't find the green-faced fanged beast, why are you venting your anger on grass?" A lazy voice was heard.
The middle-aged man holding the animal skin roll heard this voice and the corner of his eye twitched. He didn't look in that direction. He turned his head and shouted at the slaves who were standing next to him, "Keep looking for it! If you can't find it, you don't have to go back!! "
When they heard that they couldn't go back, the group of slaves wailed in their hearts. They didn't dare to delay. Those who came back before this hurriedly ate something and set off again. The slaves who were polishing the horns and bones moved even faster.
For many people, the desert was a land of death. It was dry and windy, and it was rare to see a bit of green. It was so desolate that people would avoid hearing about it.
But for these slaves, even if the food in the desert couldn't be compared to the forest full of trees and beasts, they were already used to it. Many of the people in the group had been slaves for generations. Servility was engraved in their bones. Other than being slaves, they didn't know what else to do. Moreover, in these people's eyes, Rock Hill City was their home. It was the place they were loyal to. It was also their belief. If they couldn't go back, it was the same as asking for their lives.
Now that Rock Hill City was the overlord of the desert, the slaves of Rock Hill City shared the glory and became even more loyal to Rock Hill City. The people who were sent out were all loyal to Rock Hill City, so there was no need to worry about their betrayal.
Of the five hundred people who came out, more than a hundred died or were injured because of various dangers in the forest. Fortunately, they found this place. Unfortunately, the place marked on the map was the destination. They searched for a few days and still couldn't find the target.
The middle-aged man returned to the fire and sat on a rock to sulk. He was too embarrassed to go back if he couldn't find the green-faced fanged beast. But there was no other way. Was he supposed to turn the mountains upside down to look for it?
After taking a few deep breaths, the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask, "Robber Four, how's your side?"
"Didn't find it." These three words were just like this person's attitude. He was completely indifferent. He was not in a hurry and was very comfortable as if he was playing. He seemed to be enjoying it.
"Then why aren't you looking for it?!" The middle-aged man squeezed the words out from between his teeth. He really didn't understand why Shi Shu wanted to find the robbers. What else could they do other than steal? Eat?
Robber Four slowly walked to the fire and sat down. He picked up the nicely roasted ribs and started eating without caring about the heat. As he ate, he mumbled, "If it was so easy to find, you people from Rock Hill City wouldn't have only found three in a few hundred years."
"Oh, right, Shi Shi." Robber Four suddenly remembered something and said, "There are tribesmen following us."
To Robber Four, the robbers were different. They weren't slaves and they weren't traditional tribes. He was also very satisfied with the current state of the robbers. He felt that he was better than the average tribe. So, when he talked about tribes, he usually referred to other tribes and not robbers.
"Tribesmen? So fast?! "Shi Shi didn't expect the tribesmen to find them so quickly. They wanted to steal the green-faced fanged beast?!
Feeling the murderous aura from Shi Shi, Robber Four still spoke slowly, "Actually, we don't have to care about them. Maybe they can help us find the green-faced fanged beast."
Hearing this, Shi Shi's eyes flashed. He didn't say anything, but he agreed with Robber Four. They had been here for a few days and hadn't made any progress. Maybe the tribesmen could find something?
After finishing the meat, Robber Four didn't stay any longer. He walked out of the village and into the dense forest outside. The slaves on guard acted as if they didn't see him.
In the forest, the humid air dispelled the heat brought by the weather. Under the branches that covered the sky, there was a refreshing breeze.
Robber Four walked in the forest. Most of the weeds on the ground were taller than his waist. Walking in the forest was like walking in a sea of green.
There weren't any slaves from Rock Hill City here.
"How is it?" Robber Four asked.
Five steps away from him, on the trunk of a big tree, the silhouette of a person slowly appeared.
"I couldn't find anything." The person who came down from the tree said in a puzzled tone, "The slaves only know that they are here to look for something. They don't know anything else. But I can confirm that Shi Shi is in a hurry. What is the use of the green-faced fanged beast? "
"If Shi Shi didn't say, we wouldn't know. But we don't have to move for now. Whether the slaves find the green-faced fanged beast or the tribesmen find it, it's a good thing for us. "
"Understood."
As he spoke, the person jumped up and ran forward, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
A long, dark green polypede suddenly stood up from the thick grass. Its two pincers expanded to an exaggerated angle and pounced towards Robber Four who was standing in the grass. But in the next moment, the person standing there disappeared.
The polypede that stood up half of its body missed its target. The two antennae on its head spun like antennae, as if it was searching for something. When it couldn't find anything, it gave up on its prey and dived back into the thick grass.
From afar, among the waves of green grass, some of the leaves were swaying. It was like a ripple on the surface of a lake. Then, the swaying of the leaves became smaller and smaller until it stopped.
The forest returned to its previous tranquility.
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