Entrance to the Ruins!

Northern Military Camp, Service City. Early morning.

More than two hundred explorers had assembled on the open ground outside the camp, ten squads lined up in formation.

Huang Yun stood among the ranks of the seventh squad, wearing a mask as he waited quietly.

Most of the people around him wore all manner of masks or face coverings as well. The occasional few without them were unfamiliar faces, making it impossible to tell where they came from.

The middle-aged commander stood atop a platform and gave the final mobilization speech. It was nothing more than the same words repeated countless times: stay safe, maintain contact, and register any treasures found for distribution.

After he finished, he waved a hand to signal their departure.

The group set out, heading west along the main road.

The procession of over two hundred people stretched for nearly half a mile.

Cavalry cleared the way at the front, infantry guarded the flanks, and the explorers traveled through the middle on foot or horseback.

Huang Yun walked with the seventh squad, neither hurried nor slow, casually observing the fellow travelers around him.

After roughly half a day of travel, the terrain began to change.

The flat farmland gradually gave way to rolling hills. Farther west, the hills turned into wasteland and exposed rock.

In the distance, the outlines of an endless mountain range could vaguely be seen, its gray-brown slopes gleaming with a dry luster under the afternoon sun.

Near dusk, the group reached the valley where the ruins lay.

A royal army was stationed at the valley entrance, its tents arranged in neat rows and its banners snapping in the wind.

The soldiers had set up barricades and sentry posts at the mouth of the valley, sealing off the entire area tightly.

From afar, Huang