The relevant people quickly gathered at the location where the scout claimed to have found the target wood.
Because he had to arrange for a large group of people to move, Uzov arrived one step later. When he arrived at the destination, he saw the craftsmen belonging to Grand Duke Carvey, bringing their apprentices to identify the wood.
The wood found was suspected to be the target silver camphor. It permeated the air, and the strong smell was its characteristic. But this time, it was to be used as a wardrobe for nobles. Just like the magic materials used by mages, even if they were of the same species, there were still differences between what could be used and what could not be used.
For example, hollow and crooked necks could only be used to make small objects and could not be used to make large objects. In addition to the poor quality, there were also some defective magic materials that had extremely uneven distribution of power. If they were to be used, only a part of it could be used. Similarly, they could not be used to make large objects. Some picky mages would even directly abandon such defective products.
Sometimes, after the cutting, the processing was not up to standard, resulting in a situation where the wood could not be used. It was like the skin of a magical beast was not done well, and the skin was equivalent to being wasted.
That was why experienced craftsmen were needed to do the appraisal and professional lumberjacks were needed to deal with it. It was not something that could be casually chopped by any adventurer and brought back of the same species of wood that could be used.
But luck was good. After the duke's master craftsmen appraised and confirmed that the scattered silver camphor trees in front of them could be used, the group of people prepared to cut down the wood.
But whether or not they could cut down trees in this forest was not up to these craftsmen and lumberjacks, but up to the consent of the guards. In the mysterious and dangerous areas, the guards who were hired to protect the lives of others had the right to decisively abandon the suicidal employers and leave on the grounds of protecting their own safety when the employers did not cooperate with what they thought was safe.
Although such rules seemed cruel, how could the people who were paid to do not agree to what the master who paid wanted to do? There was no contract spirit at all!
In fact, in such a dangerous place, it was nothing new for the guards to break the legs of their employers who had no combat power in order to survive and attract the pursuing magical beasts.
Anyway, those who could leave the forest alive were all accomplices. No one could speak of the ugly acts they had done when they encountered danger in that forest. And the people who died in the forest had no way to come forward and complain about the betrayal.
Therefore, instead of testing the character of the guards, it was better to say the ugly words in advance. This could also stop some of the old masters from seeking death in various fancy ways. Because I've already made it clear that in the dangerous wilderness, if you don't f * cking do as I say, please die. That way, some people will be more restrained.
In the Lost Land, loyalty was the most valuable thing, but it was also the least valuable thing.
Therefore, even though the craftsmen belonged to the Grand Duke's team, they only asked the loggers to make preparations and did not actually start work. Putting aside those stubborn acts of courting death, they also hoped to have a safe working environment in the dangerous area. Therefore, it was impossible for him to ignore the suggestions of the guards and insist on his own opinion.
Uzov, who was one step behind the others, did not go forward to take a look at the silver-striped camphor after he got the wood of the target tree. He brought along two or three of his good friends from the alliance and patrolled the surroundings.
"What do you think about setting up camp here?" Uzov asked his friends.
The leader of the guards, who had a considerable position in the Turtledove Alliance, followed Uzov around and of course understood what his good friend wanted to see. Therefore, he quickly answered the question, "Although it is not the most ideal environment, there is still some time. There should be no problem if we set it up properly. "
After getting the same opinion, Uzov ordered, "Good, then let's set up camp here for the night. We will start the cutting operation tomorrow morning. "
They could prepare to rest early, and no one would express any dissatisfaction. Moreover, even if they started the cutting work immediately, it would be night time when everything was done. It was better to do it tomorrow morning. Therefore, everyone quickly cleaned up the environment and set up a temporary camp.
At this time, the young scout groped in front of Uzov, rubbed his hands and asked with a smile, "Boss, how about I go back and look for that bear? I heard that bear paws are delicious, but I haven't eaten it yet. "
Uzov slapped the back of the young man's head and said, "If you go back alone, I really can't be sure who ate who. Don't think so much, just look around with those old hands. No one will leave the team and look for something that might not even be there. "
"That bear is not there?" The young man asked innocently.
"It has four legs, so it won't stay there foolishly and wait for you to go back and kill it. Don't think so much, learn from those old hands. They are people with real ability, and even I learned a lot from them. "
"Okay."
At night, the camp in the forest was quite lively. Although there was no wine, as a member of the Turtledove Alliance, there were few who didn't know how to play the zither and sing a few words casually. Moreover, this wasn't some serious military operation, so everyone ate and played in a relaxed mood.
Of course, the guards outside were still quite serious. This was because they didn't want something that shouldn't have happened because of a mistake made by the guards when they were relaxed. They had to pay an equal price for what they wanted in return. This was the basic spirit of the alliance.
Beside the campfire, the few female warriors, including Mabel, were naturally the targets of everyone's attentions. But regardless of whether it was the female adventurers or the Dark Elf Malcolm, they were able to handle such matters with ease. Of course, there were also those who liked them who went into the depths of the forest hand in hand and returned after a while. Perhaps some people were envious of a short-lived marriage, but that was all.
The people from the technical guild, regardless of whether they were allies or not, were already used to making friends and naturally integrated into the relaxed atmosphere of the guards.
On the contrary, the craftsmen from the Grand Duke's team were somewhat arrogant and couldn't let go of their emotions. A few young men looked enviously at the position of the few women, but when the old man in the lead stared at them with his vertical eyes, they shrank back as if they had withered.
When the hustle and bustle of the camp gradually subsided, everyone except the campfire found a place to sleep. Uzov sat beside Mabel, who was still awake.
The dark elf said jokingly, "Are you lonely, or do you feel cold and need me to warm you up?"
Uzov said with a wry smile, "I want to ask about the matter you mentioned during the day. It's someone under the Grand Duke, right? "
"Oh, looks like you're not blind." Mabel showed an admiring expression.
"That kid is following the master. But his actions don't seem like a young apprentice at all. Many things are too deliberate, making it very obvious. If I still can't tell, then I've lived in vain. " Uzov lowered his voice and said, "I just want to confirm with you whether the one you found is the one I said."
Mabel didn't have Uzov's mysterious attitude, but she still said softly, "If there's no one better at acting, then the one you and I found should be the same."
After receiving the dark elf's reply, Uzov nodded slightly at a member of the Turtledove Alliance not far away, and the other party quietly turned and left. If one didn't pay attention, they wouldn't have noticed the connection between the two.
Mabel looked at the man in front of her with interest, as if she was meeting him for the first time. Being stared at by such a beautiful woman for so long, no matter how thick-skinned Uzov was, he couldn't help but cough lightly, trying to hide his embarrassment. But he still asked, "Why do you keep staring at me?"
"I always feel that your people are very used to doing this kind of thing." Mabel was referring to the secret method of communication that she just saw.
Uzov smiled shyly at such a doubt and said, "I've done this kind of thing many times in the past. I've always entered the territory of other nobles, thinking of a way to save this person, save that person. There haven't been many serious adventures. "
Mabel also remembered that the Turtledove Alliance's main policy was to help each other, but in reality, it was a group of people who had offended nobles helping each other. Then, because of this kind of behavior, they would offend new nobles, or their original enemies would be even more deeply offended. It was a perfect vicious cycle. This was also the reason why the Turtledove Alliance didn't have a good reputation in the eyes of most people.
As if to ease the awkwardness, Uzov said, "But although I know there's a spy, I still can't guess what he might do. After all, in such a dangerous place, it's too easy to set someone up. "
Using her slender arm to support her sharp and beautiful chin, Mabel threw a coquettish glance and said, "Do you need me to help you ask him?"
Uzov wasn't naive enough to think that the dark elf was just going to fish for information. So he asked, "Can we not be discovered?"
"It's impossible to not be discovered when one person is missing. But as long as it's well arranged, there's still a way to explain it. "
Mabel had of course considered using a woman's greatest asset to fish for information. If it was done in a safe and comfortable place, the chances of success would be very high.
But this was a place of life and death, and those who were sent here were not the kind of people who would let down their guard with warm words. And they didn't have the time to fish for information, so naturally, they had to use all kinds of swift and decisive means to obtain information in the shortest time possible. But by doing so, there was no way to leave a person intact.
Uzov considered the dark elf's suggestion for a while, then shook his head and rejected it. He said, "I don't know why the other party is targeting us. Is it because of the boss, or is the Technology Guild attracting attention? Is it Grand Duke Carver behind it, or is it someone else? I want to know these answers more than what kind of trap he intends to set. But if we're too hasty, there's a high chance we'll get the wrong answer. "
Mabel nodded in agreement to Uzov's concerns. The person who came was a man of sacrifice, and it wasn't impossible for him to say some false information to confuse the public when he knew he was exposed.
Uzov had another layer of consideration and said, "Besides, we don't have any conclusive evidence to prove that the person intends to set a trap and betray us. What if all this is just a misunderstanding? Even if it's not a misunderstanding, how do we explain it to others, or even to the Grand Duke himself? Or do we have to treat them all equally and deal with them as traitors? If it turns out that all this is just us being paranoid, how much effort will it take to get things back on track? So my idea is to wait for him to expose himself. Until then, we just have to be on guard. "
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