Guards in the Woods

Meanwhile, in the woods to the left of Nalant's party, a figure was hiding behind a large tree, peering at them through the thicket.

Damn it, I've been discovered! I need to get back and report this quickly! The figure observed the movements of Nalant and his men, realizing he had likely been spotted.

He was highly alert, his body beginning to retreat slowly while he took great care not to make a sound.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Just then, a few bees flew over his head, but they did not catch his attention; it was perfectly normal for mosquitoes and insects to be buzzing about in the jungle.

Once the buzzing of the bees faded, the man had already retreated more than ten meters. Just as he turned to flee toward the southwest, a whistling sound suddenly pierced the air beside his ear.

Whoosh!

Thwack!

"Ah! My leg!" Following a scream, the man immediately collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony as an arrow was now embedded in his thigh.

"Quick, go over and drag him here for me!" Hearing the screams from the woods, Nalant gave the order.

Soon, Quick and the guards hauled the man out of the forest.

"Who are you, and why have you trespassed into Storm Territory?" When the man was brought before him, Nalant's brow furrowed.

The man was fully armed, equipped with a longsword and leather armor—hardly the gear of an ordinary commoner or a petty thief.

This world was extremely poor; often, the subordinates of minor knights could not even afford leather armor and swords, and it was common to see men heading to the battlefield armed only with hoes and wooden pitchforks.

"My Lord, I am a guard for Baron Quinte. I accidentally lost my way and wandered in here. Please, I beg you to let me go; Baron Quinte will certainly pay you a reward for my release."

Because of the pain, cold sweat was already beading on the man's forehead, and he pleaded with Nalant upon hearing his question.

"Lost your way?"

Nalant remained expressionless after hearing this, simply turning to Quick and saying, "Quick, he's yours!"

This lie might have fooled a three-year-old, but it could not fool Nalant.

If he had truly been lost, the man should have come out early to declare his identity upon seeing them; after all, a simple mistake was not a major offense.

However, he had monitored their group for several minutes, and upon being discovered, he had attempted to flee deeper into the woods. If he had nothing to hide, no one would believe that.

Since he refused to tell the truth, Nalant did not mind using some methods.

Furthermore, seeing this guard, Nalant had many suspicions; the disappearance of the serfs some time ago was likely not the work of a Magic Beast.

"Yes, My Lord!" Upon hearing this, Quick flashed a bloodthirsty grin at the man before dragging him into the nearby woods. Soon, several wails echoed from the trees.

The wailing did not last long before Quick hurried back out.

"My Lord, he confessed. He is indeed a guard under Baron Quinte, but he didn't wander here by mistake. He was sent to stand guard because there is a newly built camp belonging to the Barony of Quinte in the Buffer Zone not far ahead!"

After a pause, Quick continued, "He also confessed that the serfs who went missing some time ago were not snatched by Magic Beasts, but were abducted by them!"

As I thought. What is that bastard Quinte trying to do? Nalant's hypothesis was confirmed. He had not expected Baron Quinte to be so bold as to reach his hand into Storm Territory; this was the kind of thing that could trigger a dispute between Count Tulip and Earl Blackiron.

Moreover, since Storm Territory now belonged to him, Nalant would not tolerate outsiders running wild on his land.

"Did he say what the camp in the Buffer Zone was built for?"

"My Lord, he only said that there is a Yellow Sprite inside! He knows nothing else!"

"A Yellow Sprite? Doesn't that imply a mineral deposit?" Nalant was startled. A Yellow Sprite was the most precious of all sprites; even if it only revealed a salt mine, it would be enough to make a fortune.

Ding! Storm Territory is your domain. Baron Quinte sending men to operate on your land has already harmed your interests!

System side quest: Determine the location of the camp!

Quest reward: New plant variety!

Just then, the long-absent voice of the system echoed in Nalant's mind.

Hmm, the system finally has some movement, but the reward is a new plant variety?

Nalant did not dwell on it; he certainly needed to investigate, so he asked Quick, "In which direction is that camp?"

"My Lord, it is in the boundary Buffer Zone, three miles ahead!"

"Very well, we set out to investigate! Leave two guards to tie him to a tree and keep an eye on him!" Nalant ordered quickly.

"Yes, My Lord!"

Soon, the party began to advance, and ten minutes later, they arrived at the boundary three miles away.

However, Nalant did not see a camp at this boundary, as the roads nearby were flanked by dense, ancient trees. Only a boundary stone weighing several thousand pounds stood in front, with the words 'Count Tulip Territory' carved into it.

"The camp must be in the woods of this Buffer Zone!" Nalant looked toward the dense forest beyond the boundary stone.

The Buffer Zone—as the name implied—was the unmanned boundary area reserved between the territories of nobles.

This was a product that had evolved to avoid disputes between nobles.

In name, the Buffer Zone did not belong to either party, but to the suzerain they both served.

For instance, the Buffer Zone between Count Tulip's territory and Earl Blackiron's territory belonged to the King of the Duchy.

However, most Buffer Zones were narrow strips of land about three kilometers wide, and the suzerains who held the rights to them did not truly manage or develop them.

At this point, the vassals would form a tacit, unspoken rule: they would split the Buffer Zone in two, developing and utilizing their respective halves, with the only requirement being that no camps could be built and no troops could be stationed there.

If this were violated, it would be a breach of the unspoken rule.

"Sherry, have your bees scout the forest!" The reason they had been able to quickly locate Quinte's scout earlier was precisely because of Sherry's bees.

Nalant had truly discovered Sherry's real utility today; before becoming a powerful beast tamer, she could perfectly serve as an excellent scout.

"Understood, My Lord!" Sherry nodded excitedly, then whispered a few words to several bees, which buzzed as they took to the air.

The Buffer Zone was filled with dense forest, and if they had used manpower to search, it would have taken a significant amount of time, but for the bees, they only needed to fly a few dozen meters high to have an unobstructed view.

Only a few seconds passed before several bees immediately flew back.

"My Lord, the bees tell me there is a camp in the woods ahead!"

"Very good! Everyone, follow me! We are going over to investigate now!"

Following the lead of the little bees, Nalant and his men trekked into the forest.

After only four or five minutes of travel, the area ahead suddenly opened up; the dense forest that had originally occupied the Buffer Zone had been completely cleared, replaced by a camp constructed from wooden stakes.

Though called a camp, it was more akin to a simple fortress, with the outer perimeter enclosed by a wooden wall made of five-to-six-meter-tall logs.

The wooden wall not only allowed people to walk along the top, but every ten meters or so stood a towering watchtower, and in each tower, a Longbowman could be seen keeping watch!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As Nalant and his men appeared at the edge of the clearing, the sentries on the wall spotted them, and immediately, the urgent sound of an alarm bell rang out from within the camp.