On the Road

When they first set off, Annie had asked Richard how they were going to get through the blockades of other tribes and rendezvous with the Dwarves.

The Lord's answer was simply to walk right in.

"Since it's a blockade formed by several mutually hostile tribes, it's bound to be full of holes. We just need to follow the gaps and walk in," he explained specifically, fearing Annie wouldn't believe him.

At first glance, this explanation seemed fine, but on second thought, it presented a huge problem—to guard against each other, the various tribes would certainly dispatch a large number of scouts. There would definitely be holes, but the real difficulty lay in finding those holes without being discovered by the scouts.

Annie, originally planning to watch a comedy unfold, didn't say anything, but the comedy never materialized. Instead, the more she observed, the more puzzled she became.

She discovered Richard had a very peculiar item.

It was a telescoping tube made of two iron cylinders of different thicknesses, with a white crystal lens inlaid at the very front and back. The middle was connected by threads, allowing it to shorten or lengthen by twisting the two halves.

The Lord himself often held this object, looking through it, and then directing the team to advance, retreat, turn, or halt. When he was busy, Hert or Gunther would occasionally take over, also observing and directing.

As a result, the entire team's journey became very peaceful. The agile Barbarians, the strong Centaurs, and the mysterious Shamans all seemed like mere travelers passing through the vast wilderness. Ahead of them was always the unchanging sea of grass and earth; they never encountered a single scout to disturb them.

After two days of observation, Annie was basically certain that the secret lay in this telescoping tube.

Her curiosity grew like wild grass in the rainy season, until at one point, she could no longer suppress it.

As Richard was about to put the tube away after using it, she deftly took it and eagerly pressed her eye to the lens.

Distance warped in an instant. A moss-covered recumbent ox-shaped stone in the distance appeared before her eyes, every detail perfectly clear.

She didn't utter foolish words like, "How did that stone suddenly get here?" Instead, she immediately grasped the profound mystery: this telescoping tube could extend one's vision.

Annie had to admit she was shocked. Someone could actually achieve an effect that even expensive magic items struggled to replicate, simply by combining the inherent properties of materials.

Most of the time, the Half-Elf thought the Lord of High Mountain Keep was a muscle-brained brute, his brain shrinking as his muscles proliferated. But occasionally, seeing sporadic flashes of wisdom from him, she couldn't help but suspect he was a philosopher skilled at hiding his true self.

For example, the unique Earth Dwelling architecture, and now this "Eagle-Eye Scope" in her hand. Its structure wasn't overly complex, but the ingenuity it contained was truly remarkable.

"With this thing, it'll be very easy to spot enemies in advance," Annie said, twisting the two parts of the tube as she looked through it, discovering that this action could actually adjust the extent of the vision extension.

She quickly became addicted to this novel toy, holding it like a child and looking around in all directions.

"Don't you dare break it!" Richard grumbled, trying to snatch the scope back. He had worn out a pile of lenses just to painstakingly put together this one usable treasure.

"We're all in the same boat, so why bother with 'yours' and 'mine'?" — This was what the Lord had said the day before yesterday when he blew his nose into her handkerchief.

Richard put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes, feeling both angry and helpless.

"So that's what the white crystals were for," Annie said, reluctantly returning it after she had played enough.

Bayleaf Lake was about a three- or four-day journey from High Mountain Keep. Relying on the scope, the first three days of travel went smoothly. However, the last few dozen miles were the most densely populated combat zone for the wilderness people, and there was no way they could pass through safely with just the scope.

"My Shamans know Obscuring Mist," Richard said, pointing to the Ogres in robes, a rare instance of him proactively explaining something to Annie.

The Hum-Ha Duo originally had an intelligence of two. After becoming Shamans, they happened to be in a turbulent period with bandits rampant. Their initial level wasn't high, but they gained a few levels by following the guards and had now reached four.

By human standards, this intelligence level was, regrettably, still considered mentally deficient. But by Ogre standards, it was astonishing.

Even among the mentally deficient, there were degrees. The Hum-Ha Duo could now at least be considered relatively intelligent among them.

They had learned to be quiet, rarely doing anything outrageous anywhere, and could barely grasp the Lord's commands. For them personally, this was a small step, but for the entire Ogre race, it was an absolute historical leap.

Obscuring Mist, after all, wasn't a higher-tier invisibility spell; it could only obscure sight and not directly achieve invisibility. So, Richard chose to traverse the final stretch of the journey at night.

The expedition team patiently hid in the tall grass until the sun set and night fell.

Heaven favored them; it was a night of dim stars, with a light, scattered rain falling.

Ha, one of the Hum-Ha Duo, began to chant clumsily. As the spell preparation phase gradually approached its end, looking out from within, it was as if a crystal dome was slowly descending from above.

This was a perfect plan for sneaking through—Obscuring Mist's concealment effect was already good, and with the cover of night and the rain curtain, it would be impossible to notice anything amiss without getting close and observing carefully.

However, the area of effect for the newly appointed Ogre Shamans' spells was very limited, and the High Mountain Keep expedition team was a bit too numerous. The only solution was to squeeze in tightly.

"Come on, come on, don't just stand there. Form up like we practiced before."

The Lord took a deep breath, settling his qi. Even the warriors, who had stood firm against mountains of corpses and seas of blood, seemed a little hesitant.

Annie finally understood what Richard meant by precisely calculating troop strength—the entire company crowded around the Ogre Shamans, desperately squeezing into a circular area. The meager space left was truly only enough for a slender Half-Elf.

"Advance!" Richard rolled his eyes, getting elbowed by the burly men around him.

Only Annie, as a woman, received a slight advantage with relatively ample space. Otherwise, everyone else, even those as strong as Hert or Gunther, couldn't help but feel as if their feet were off the ground. Everyone could only take tiny steps, inching forward.

Fortunately, their suffering didn't last long.

The team had only covered half of the planned journey when they heard faint sounds of fighting ahead. As they continued to advance and the distance closed, the sounds became clearer.

"One side is Dwarves! I hear Dwarven, they're still holding out!" Annie quickly assessed.

She had frequent contact with Dwarves, so she could understand some of their language.

At everyone's strong request, Obscuring Mist was immediately dispelled. In any case, the battle was already raging ahead; no one would notice this clandestine group of outsiders for a while.

The High Mountain Keep squad followed the Lord, moving forward in the dark, hiding in an unusually dense patch of grass.

About a mile further ahead was the Dwarf tribe's encampment.