Chapter 2: Rocky Beach (Part 2)

Ezek suddenly shouted from downstairs, “Twelve, Guo Twelve… Someone’s calling you!”
Guo Twelve got up and went downstairs. He saw Eson standing at the door. Guo Twelve asked, “Why didn’t you come in?”
Eson smiled bitterly inwardly. He was also afraid of Ezek, so of course he didn’t dare enter casually. Only after hearing this did he step into the room and look around curiously. The group had long been discussing and was very curious about Guo Twelve’s small building. As soon as he stepped on the thick carpet made of animal skins, his entire ankle sank into the soft fur.
There were only fur carpets and a low table in the room—nothing else. But just that fur carpet astonished him greatly. The room wasn’t small at all, over thirty square meters. The fur covered the entire floor without any seams, forming a single piece. Eson couldn’t imagine what kind of beast’s fur could be so large. Little did he know that on the Spell Continent, a mutated spell beast could be over a thousand meters long, and this piece of fur was merely a small fragment.
Eson carefully reported, “Lord, six members of the exploration team have returned…”
Guo Twelve asked, “What have they found?”
Eson smiled bitterly. “All the camps in the vicinity have been destroyed. There are no survivors, nor any valuables found.”
Guo Twelve wasn’t very interested in valuables, but he was keen on ores and asked, “Are there any ores or something like that?”
Eson shook his head. “The returning team found nothing. Each camp had piles of dead bodies.”
Guo Twelve was annoyed. He said, “Damn it! Who’s behind this… competing with me… Um, send signals to get the other teams back quickly. We’ll move forward.” With that, he went back upstairs.
Eson replied and immediately went to send the signals.
…
As the teams returned, a lot of information gathered. Without exception, each team found that all the bandits in the area had been wiped out. After discussing it, they concluded that a powerful force had entered the Karabaza Trail. Everyone was eager to leave, but it was still Guo Twelve who decided to go deeper.
No one dared oppose Guo Twelve’s decision. Although Ezek might have dared to, he wouldn’t actually do so. So the group continued deeper into the area. Once again, Wusi led the way.

Guo Shier found it amusing that someone else had the same idea as him. However, judging from the abandoned camp, this group was quite strong. They seemed to have taken captives as well, since there weren’t many dead in the camp—most of the others must have been captured. After a quick estimate, he figured they had taken at least two to three thousand people, indicating it was a large group. The Karabaza Trail didn’t produce food; most of their supplies came from plunder, with a small portion purchased from Edlu Fort. This meant it was impossible for large groups to form here—most were only a few hundred strong, with very few exceeding a thousand. Once a group reached a thousand members, the logistical challenges became too great. They seemed to have no storage space, so everything had to be carried on shoulders or horses. After crossing the most treacherous section, the terrain became flat, covered in vast forests. Wu Si said, “This is the most dangerous part. There are large grasslands in the forests here, making ambushes easy. It’s the most perilous area on the Karabaza Trail. Caravans are almost 100% robbed here. Then it depends on the strength of the caravan’s guards—if they can offer some gold or food, they might survive. Smaller caravans have a harder time; one misstep and their goods will be stolen.” Guo Shier asked, “How many groups are there here?” Yadelan replied, “I heard there are many, but I wouldn’t dare come here… Death comes quickly, but so does wealth. If you manage to rob a caravan, you can leave with a full load.” Essen said, “This place is called Butaban Forest. The groups that rob here are usually formed temporarily, but they’re often very strong.” Guo Shier asked, “Are there any suitable places to set up camps here? Oh, and do the robbery groups here… have any fixed camps? We could take one for use!” Essen broke into a sweat. After a while, he said, “There are few fixed camps in this area because there are many suitable locations to camp.” Yadelan said, “We’d better find an open area to camp. We’re too many, and… our supplies might run out soon. We need to find food quickly.” Wu Si, a veteran thug on the Karabaza Trail, said, “If you’re looking for a campsite, I know a great place—it’s also close to the Karabaza Trail, just a few hours away.”

The campsite was quickly found. Wu Si led the group to a stream, where there was a large, narrow clearing with a few sparse trees, surrounded by dense woods. Along the stream, there were piles of blackened stones—remnants of fires left by other groups, clearly indicating that this place was often used for camping.

Guo Shier said, “Send out scouts and sentries; this place isn’t safe.” As soon as he saw the camp, he realized it was a temporary camp suitable for surprise attacks. In other words, if they planned to operate along the Karabaza Trail, this camp was ideal, as it allowed for a brief stay before and after an attack due to its advantageous location. But at the same time, it was also dangerous—any group attempting to act would first focus on this camp.

Guo Shier added, “Yadelan, you’re in charge overall. Eisen, handle the sentries. De Da, take care of the temporary camp. Wu Si, your task is the most important—immediately send out teams, well, five people per team, to search within a hundred miles… If you encounter other groups, don’t startle them; return immediately to report. Understood?”

The men left to carry out their orders, leaving 200 people to set up tents. Yadelan took out his storage bag, fetched some food and salted meat, and sent dozens of former hunters out to hunt. There were many edible animals and beasts in the area, and hunting could help supplement their food supply.

Guo Shier and Ezek sat on aanimal skin mat. Ezek yawned boredly and said, “Shier, it’s so boring… What exactly do you want to do? Lead a bunch of good-for-nothings around aimlessly? Do you plan to rob caravans… No, if you wanted to rob caravans, you should have done it from the start. Ugh, I can’t figure out what you’re up to…”

Watching the busy bandits, Guo Shier sighed and said, “Actually, I don’t even know what I’m doing. It’s just for fun.”

Ezek was stunned. He said, “You bastard! You’re just teasing me for fun!”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “I just want to understand this world, so the most direct way is to blend in. Ordinary methods are too slow. Being a bandit allows me to integrate quickly…”

Ezek asked in confusion, “Why can being a bandit help you integrate?”

Guo Shier smiled slightly and said, “Bandits… Hehe, strength is what matters most. As long as you can subdue them, not to mention integrating, you can do whatever you want.”

Ezek nodded. “Hmm, that’s true. So after becoming a bandit, what do you plan to do?”

Guo Shier laughed heartily. “Of course it’s robbery! What else do you think I’d do?” He had no sense of belonging to this world, so of course he wouldn’t kill randomly. Robbery was just his method; his goal was to gather various materials from this world, and also to see if the skills related to talismans could be used here.

Ezekiel finally showed some interest. In fact, he wasn’t a mass killer either. To be precise, he should be classified as a maniac who ate people. Not because of how many people he had eaten, but because his purpose in fighting was to eat—killing was done for the sake of eating, it was his innate nature. He said with a smile, “The people here are too weak. Fighting them is boring. Robbery… hehe, I’ll give it a try. If it’s fun, I’ll steal more.”

Some team members brought various foods and placed them in front of Guo Shier and Ezekiel. Ezekiel glanced at them once and ignored them. He preferred the fresh meat of advanced mutated talisman beasts and alienated talisman beasts. After eating his fill, he could go months without eating again. How could such crude food interest him?

Guo Shier, on the other hand, didn’t care much. Although he was picky about food, he could eat ordinary food as well. A few pillow-like loaves of bread, a large bowl of thick soup, and two roasted pheasants—though their taste was rather ordinary, he ate them with relish.

In Ezekiel’s eyes, all this food was trash. He shook his head, lay down on the animal skin mat, looked at the sky, and sighed. Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly as he said, “Shier, stop eating. There are many people… gathering around…”

Guo Shier reacted almost as quickly. He too sensed a threatening presence. His soul trembled slightly as he emitted a spiritual wave, and his expression immediately turned serious. He shouted loudly, “Yadalan! Yadalan…”

Yadalan rushed over from not far away, asking as she ran, “What’s the matter?”

Guo Shier said gravely, “An enemy attack! Alert everyone immediately!”

Yadalan was shocked. She hadn’t noticed anything unusual at all. Instead of continuing toward Guo Shier, she immediately turned around to gather the others. At that moment, Wusi led groups of subordinates out of the woods, shouting, “Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Alert!”

Guo Shier said, “At least two thousand people… Hehe, I guess these are the bandits who were sweeping through the Karabaza Trail. Finally, they’ve come to deal with us.”

Less than half of the sentinels and scouts returned, and there were fewer than six hundred people in the entire camp. Over two hundred of them were killed or wounded, and those who couldn’t escape were captured. Yadlan assembled the troops quickly, arranging them into a combat formation, but in Guo Shier’s eyes, they were still just a ragtag crowd. Just as they finished forming up, large groups of bandits emerged from the forest. Ezekiel sneered and said, “Fools who don’t know fear.” Guo Shier said, “I wonder which faction this is from. They’re quite ambitious. Heh, it’s time to work.”