When Glan's fleet sailed into the estuary bay on the eastern coast of the Anawak Continent once more, the familiar camp was deserted.
The bonfires had long since gone out, the totem poles had fallen, and the only traces left were footprints weathered by wind and rain, along with scattered animal bones. His heart sank—Great Stream Tribe was gone.
He sent scouts upstream. After several days of pushing deep into the interior, they finally discovered a new settlement on the northern bank of a tributary.
The camp was crude, its fences low, and many of its tents had been barely pieced together from animal hides. What shocked him even more was the tribe's drastically reduced population. The group that had once numbered several hundred now had fewer than two hundred people left, most of them elderly, women, and children. There were barely any able-bodied men.
Beside the sacrificial platform in the center of the camp, he saw the old friend he had met during his previous visit—Egbert, the old priest of Great Stream Tribe.
The Minotaur, once tall and imposing, had become much more hunched. Black cloth symbolizing mourning was wrapped around his horns, and his eyes were still bloodshot.
"Ah, my friend, Glan... you're back." Egbert's voice was hoarse and low.
After exchanging greetings, Glan urgently asked why they had migrated.
Egbert slowly raised his hand and pointed toward the southern sky. "It's the Serdan People... They've grown more and more brazen."
Glan noticed that Egbert had once spoken of the horned people with reverence, using terms like "Superior Race." Now, he called them by name without hesitation.
The Serdan People he spoke of were residents of Andisia on the southern continent. Glan had visited that continent and had even been imprisoned by the Serdan People. Their civilization was