From atop a low hill, Velin gazed into the distance. The vast forest covered at least thirty square kilometers, stretching endlessly like a boundless sea of trees.
He secretly counted himself fortunate. Luckily, he only needed to look for dead trees. Otherwise, with his strength alone, it would have been like searching for a needle in the ocean.
Velin then gave the order, dividing the exploration party's more than four hundred knights into over eighty teams of five. They were to venture deep into the forest and search the soil beneath every dead tree for any possible clues.
The four hundred-plus men departed on their orders, leaving only Kyle and six guards at Velin's side.
Seeing this, Kyle volunteered. "My lord, I would also like to join the search."
Velin looked at Kyle, then nodded slightly and granted his request.
Compared with himself, Velin believed Kyle would create more miracles.
As time passed, more and more strange objects were brought before Velin.
The objects were decayed and ruined, exuding an air of rot. There were corroded iron hammers, rusted short swords, damaged armor, and even White Bone. They lay there silently, as though recounting their former glory.
Looking at the pile, Velin had someone bring over a stone, chipped off its pointed end, and used it as a seat before beginning to sort through the items himself.
From noon until the morning of the third day, Velin finally selected six items.
These objects gave off a mysterious glow that drew everyone's attention.
A Broken Sword emitting a faint glimmer, an old yet perfectly preserved book, a damaged white crystal, a section of white branch, half a mage's staff, and a pitch-black sphere.
These six items represented the results of fifty hours of effort by Velin's subordinates.
After returning to the