On an unnamed peak outside Big Bird City, two men stood straight, gazing at the dark silhouettes of mountains stretching beyond sight.
Both wore soft armor underneath their clothes. Sunlight striking the gold-plated armor would have cast a dazzling golden glare, but fortunately, they wore bearskins and leopard hides over it, concealing their identities as men destined for wealth and distinction without attracting attention from passersby or alarming the birds and beasts.
Unfortunately, such disguises could fool only the eyes of dull-witted animals, not those of men.
The sword at one man's waist, plated in gold, inlaid with jade, and studded with alternating rubies and sapphires, and the fine bronze halberd planted beside the other's feet and held in his hand, were plainly beyond the means of any hunter. Not only ordinary village hunters, but even hunting families that had lived off this land for over five hundred years could never have owned either of these priceless weapons.
To say nothing of the fifty men standing in two ranks behind them, similarly disguised but carrying weapons of exquisite workmanship worth more than gold.
These fifty men were personal guards. Their steps were perfectly synchronized, their eyes cold and stern, and they stood on the peak like fifty icy stone statues. Each carried thirty arrows on his back. Their heads had a six-sided diamond shape, complex to manufacture and costly to produce. The shafts were polished exceptionally smooth and plated with metal, while the fletching was perfectly symmetrical. Their expense was obvious at a glance. Compared with ordinary, inferior arrows, these offered more than five times the penetrating power and smoothness of flight, enough to make anyone using them exclaim with delight, "A fine arrow is priceless."
Both men had rugged faces and sharply defined features. Even the combined icy presence