The search was over.
Nothing was found.
Aside from a pile of weapons, they found nothing else of value in the settlement.
Forget Map Fragments—even Stone Books or murals used for recording events were nowhere to be found.
They did find some tools for forging weapons. It was clear that, due to their nature, the Mad Clan preferred collecting weapons over anything else.
"It seems there won't be anything else to gain here."
"We can only check the next settlement."
"Do you know where the next settlement is?"
"How would I know? We'll just have to look."
"Easy for you to say. There are too many trunk passages here, and they're incredibly complex. Even if we scan the terrain and create a model, it'll take a lot of time."
"We're also running a little short on food. We lost a lot of supplies in the White Ghost Forest."
The scholars gathered together and began discussing their next move.
Just then, an angry roar rang out from outside the settlement.
It startled the scholars.
Luo Yan said to Bai?: "Keep an eye on them."
He piloted Zhurong outside the settlement himself, only to see Yao Yuan pinning an alien under its foot.
The alien was over thirty meters tall and looked as if it had just reached adulthood. Its skin was dark red, and white paint covered its body in patterns resembling totems. It was howling loudly.
"What happened?" Luo Yan asked.
Jing Yu's voice rang out over the communications channel: "I was patrolling here just now when I spotted this fellow sneaking around and spying on us."
"So I knocked it down. Captain, should I kill it?"
Luo Yan looked at the alien, then at the settlement, and said, "This settlement has been completely flattened. It probably isn't from here."