The abandoned mine.
In just one day, the guards had built a temporary outpost near the mine.
Lucius stood at the entrance to the outpost, studying a rolled beast-hide map in his hands.
The terrain within five hundred li and the location of every settlement were clearly marked.
His gaze settled directly south of the mine, where a Steel-Toothed Demon settlement stood.
Steel-Toothed Demons were bulky creatures covered in iron-gray bone plates, capable of spraying highly pressurized acid from their mouths.
The settlement was small. Its strongest member was a commander at the peak of level five, with roughly twenty thousand mid- and low-level demons under its command.
Farther south lay three or four scattered groups of wild demons, with no organization or lord. Their strongest members were only commander-class.
Lucius put away the map. Sela crouched on a nearby rock, holding a freshly caught Earth Lizard Demon Beast and idly roasting it with flames.
The earth lizard writhed a few times between her fingers, then stopped moving.
"Have you found anything on your end?" Lucius walked over to her.
"No." Sela tossed the charred centipede aside and dusted off her hands. "Ironspine's patrols have only come by once in the last ten days, and that was just a routine visit."
"This round of conscription has been too heavy," Lucius said flatly.
"More than half of Ironspine's troops have been taken away. He'll probably turn his attention to us."
Sela looked up at him. "You want to make a move?"
Lucius did not answer directly. "We could take the nearby Steel-Toothed Demon settlement first. Its leader is only a Level-Five Commander. Do you think it's worth attacking?"
Sela scoffed. "Do you even need to ask?"
Lucius nodded. "Go. Take three hundred guards and attack tonight. Keep it clean."
Sela rose