Quarry

Zhang Yang was eager to create the Iron Wall Battle Rune, but there was actually an even more important reason: he wanted to take Wu Yuan with him to begin the Hero's Trial.

But the Hero's Trial would be extremely dangerous. To prevent himself from dying inside, he had to prepare more life-saving measures.

For example, a higher-quality Imprisonment Spear; for example, armor and shields enchanted with the Iron Wall spell; and, of course, enough mana. This miraculous power had always lingered in Zhang Yang's mind.

"Village Chief, good news! We've discovered a stone mine."

Just as Zhang Yang stood before the Wood Demon Tower, preparing to begin refining demon blood once again, a soldier came running back in excitement to report.

"What? Which direction? How far away?"

In his excitement, he no longer cared about refining demon blood. A stone mine was extremely important. It was essential for building a true castle and city walls, rather than the fortress made of earth and giant timber they were using now.

"Reporting to the Village Chief, it's southeast, about sixteen or seventeen li away, in a valley. There are traces of mining inside as well. Captain Wu Yuan sent me back to report because he suspects it may have been mined by that Great Horned Deer."

At this, Zhang Yang immediately understood. At the same time, a crude terrain map rapidly formed in his mind.

Ten days ago, the place where he had first appeared in the forest was about five kilometers due south of the village. He had then turned northwest for roughly two kilometers, where he encountered the Spider Lord and spent the night there, encountering the Earth-Walking Wood Demon.

The direction from which the Earth-Walking Wood Demon had come was northwest or due north.

Their group had fought the Earth-Walking Wood Demon and finally killed it about three kilometers southwest of the village. They had then encountered the deer demons there, and finally fled all the way to this place to establish their village.

Now, a quarry belonging to the deer demons had been discovered six or seven kilometers southeast of the village. Did that mean the deer demons' village was actually due east, southeast, or due south of this quarry?

Could the Jackalmen's village also be within this area, no more than fifty kilometers away?

"I have to go see it myself. This matter is of great importance. Although the deer demons' village was already completely looted by the Jackalmen, there might still be something to gain."

With that thought, Zhang Yang immediately summoned four Archer Captains and four Shieldsman Captains. He also gave Qin Yidao special instructions, ordering him to lead the remaining fifteen Archer Captains in guarding the fortress.

Outside the fortress, Zhang Yang also reminded Liang Short-Legs, the leader of the logging squad. He, too, had several Shieldsman Captains with him.

As for the Training Ground and the Residential House, there were also more than a dozen Captain-Level Soldiers stationed there. With such strength, unless they encountered powerful enemies like the deer demon or the Jackalman village chief, there was nothing to worry about.

Afterward, Zhang Yang took nine soldiers and sprinted all the way there. This time, they did not need to worry about encountering minor monsters. For one thing, many of the minor monsters nearby had already been cleared out. For another, with a powerful village apparently established nearby, many solitary minor monsters no longer dared approach.

Of course, this was not absolute. More than once along the way, Zhang Yang saw a Level 4 black panther perched atop a towering tree canopy. Then, upon seeing them, it turned and ran, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"If every monster in this forest is a deserter who survived after the holders of Village Building Orders failed or were erased, or the descendants of those deserters, then things are going to get interesting."

After more than half an hour, Zhang Yang's group smoothly reached the valley. Surprisingly, there was little vegetation here. One side was a rocky mountain, while the other was an earthen hill. The so-called quarry had been built on the rocky mountain, where the marks of excavation were clearly visible, along with dozens of enormous stones roughly one meter square. They had all been cut free but had not yet been transported back.

Following the excavation marks, they could see a crude road extending beyond the valley.

"Village Chief."

Wu Yuan came forward, his expression excited. "I just took some men to scout this road leading out of the valley. After leaving the valley and continuing south for three or four li, then circling around a hill, there's a vast stretch of cleared flatland. It's three li wide from east to west and ten li long from north to south. The Great Horned Deer's village is there. Since the terrain is far too open, I didn't dare venture any farther."

"As for this quarry, I examined it carefully as well. I believe the miners here should have been mountain monsters, though I still don't know how that Great Horned Deer controlled them. There's more. Based on the traces here, we've determined that the mountain monsters mining the stone should still have been here before yesterday, but they all left afterward. There are no traces of battle at this place either."

"So I boldly speculate that they may all have been recruited by the Jackalmen."

After listening to Wu Yuan's analysis, Zhang Yang nodded. "Let's go see the legacy the deer demons left behind."

Following the valley southward, there was indeed a road worn into the ground by countless footsteps. Judging from the traces, it had existed for at least a year.

A dozen or so minutes later, after circling around a small hill, the view suddenly opened up before them. What an enormous empty stretch of land.

It was flat and level, probably close to ten square kilometers. Yet this open ground had clearly been cleared by hand, because traces of freshly felled trees could still be seen along the forest's edge.

In the center of the flatland, the first thing they saw was a peculiar castle that had not yet been completed. This castle and human castles were entirely different concepts.

Human castles were built for defense—for better defense—so they were all extremely sturdy, with tall walls surrounding them.

But the deer demons' castle was different. There were three tall towers in the middle, with stone walls radiating outward like rays, perhaps more than a dozen of them. Seen from the sky, if one ignored the three towers, it looked much like a pattern of rays spreading from the sun.

It had no defensive function at all.

However, considering the Great Horned Deer's physiques and their singular style of combat, this design seemed reasonable. With nothing obstructing them, the Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry could charge out like a tidal wave. Especially on such a vast plain, whoever came would die!

Zhang Yang observed it very seriously for several minutes, then rubbed at his aching molars. From a human perspective, the Great Horned Deer's village made him feel utterly insecure.

He did not even feel like walking over to inspect it now.

"Wu Yuan, what do you think?"

"Reporting to the Village Chief, this place is a perilous position for warfare." Wu Yuan shook his head, equally cautious.

"Then we withdraw!"

Zhang Yang was decisive as well. But just as they turned to leave, a rumbling sound suddenly rang out from the woods several li away opposite them, like an earthquake. When they turned around, everyone's soul nearly flew from their bodies.

Two or three hundred Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry burst from the dense forest. They surged forward like a tidal wave, clouds of dust billowing behind them, terrifying beyond compare.

"Run!"

Zhang Yang shouted. He could not help feeling incredibly fortunate that he had restrained his curiosity. If they had suddenly encountered these Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry on that flat, empty ground, then let alone their few dozen people—even a hundred Captain-Level Soldiers would probably have been forced to their knees.

They could not afford to provoke them. They absolutely could not.

The hundreds of Heavy Armored Deer Horn Cavalry rumbled all the way to the edge of the forest before stopping their pursuit. They merely let out triumphant bleats.

They were not stupid either. Once they entered the forest, it would be anyone's guess who would deal with whom.

"It seems that the Jackalman village chief didn't gain much here either. Thinking about it, that deer demon really died a frustrating death. Such a vast foundation, and with one moment of carelessness, it has all turned into a nest for wild monsters. A warning from the past!"

Zhang Yang could not help warning himself.