A Spearman's Luck

A dense layer of clouds hung in the sky, casting the whole heavens into gloom, as though heralding wind and rain.

The terrain of Bluewild Forest was rather winding and convoluted. Even though Lucio knew the way well, it still took him nearly five hours to lead Chen Rui to the Venomous Lands. It was a stretch of mountain forest where the vegetation was darker in color and the ground rugged and uneven. Along the way, they could see quite a few white bones buried beneath soil and fallen leaves, most of them human.

Lucio slowed his pace, his expression growing increasingly tense. In an exceedingly cautious voice, he lowered his voice and said, "Lord Richard, we've already entered the Scorpion Lions' territory. We could be discovered at any moment. If you intend to set traps, we can't go any deeper."

"Set traps?" Chen Rui was taken aback, revealing a thoughtful look. "I want to confirm something first. Are there definitely Scorpion Lion eggs in that Venomous Rock Cave?"

"The Scorpion Lions in Venomous Rock Cave are a male and a female. Three months ago, the Blazing Fire Squad encountered the female Scorpion Lion when she was about to lay eggs. Aside from two who escaped by sheer luck, the rest were killed by the male Scorpion Lion." Lucio's tone carried a bleakness born of shared pain. "By now, the female Scorpion Lion should have laid her eggs safely. Priest Mana is from the Church of Light, and after learning the news, he immediately offered a reward. Although the payment is generous, the mission is simply too difficult. Even the strongest mercenary group in town, the Holy Feather Mercenary Group, didn't dare accept it."

The Yangshao Kingdom's territory was not particularly vast, but it was quite famous among the various