Chapter 45

The cleanup of the battlefield proceeded in an orderly manner, with the results from one area after another being reported slowly.

This unexpected raid by the sand bandits left many people puzzled.

Sand bandits are a general term for the uncivilized primitive tribes and habitual criminals roaming the wastelands.

In the wastelands, the number of sand bandit groups is countless, as numerous as cattle. Large sand bandit groups can have several thousand members, while smaller ones can have a dozen or so banded together to rob.

The sand bandits live in barren lands within the wastelands, surrounded by fierce, man-eating beasts, with no resources for life or production. They cannot farm, cannot herd, have no rivers, and no mineral deposits. They also have to endure volcanic eruptions and toxic mists from time to time.

Therefore, robbery is the only means for the sand bandits to survive.

They not only rob the tribes occupying fertile lands but also rob other sand bandits. Brutality, greed, and bloodlust have almost become synonymous with sand bandits.

They are like locusts in the wastelands, bringing disaster wherever they go.

However, the sand bandits have a fatal weakness: their severe lack of iron weapons.

Without any mines to dig, they have no raw materials to forge weapons. During battles, most sand bandits hold the hard bones of fierce beasts, sharpened at the ends to serve as bone spears. Occasionally, they might snatch a few weapons from battles, but these are all kept by the sand bandit leaders, leaving nothing for the ordinary bandits.

When fighting against hunters with sharp weapons, they are at a great disadvantage. No matter how fierce the sand bandits are, they cannot withstand the lack of proper weapons.

In every battle with the hunters, if one hunter dies, five or six sand bandits often die.

Therefore, when the sand bandits invade and rob the wealthy tribes, they usually aim for quick battles, grab what they can, and run, never lingering.

But this time, the sand bandits unexpectedly engaged in a fierce battle with the Tian Yao clan hunters for nearly half an hour, leaving over a hundred corpses, suffering heavy losses. It was truly incomprehensible what they were up to.

What was even more baffling was that they did not rob any food or minerals. The sand bandits on horseback had no loot baskets on their backs.

What was their plan?

The casualties among the clan members were also reported. Lei Meng frowned as he read through the detailed list written on the soft animal skin. Each set of data represented a tragic story of a family destroyed, a heart-wrenching tale of blood and tears. Lei Meng felt extremely heavy-hearted. It was unbearable for him as a hundred-man commander to see his people suffer such heavy losses in the area he was responsible for.

... Two hundred and seventy-three felt tents were destroyed by fire, with all their contents burned to ashes.

... A total of three hundred and eight incomplete clan member bodies were found, awaiting identification.

... Thirteen miners are missing, with no bodies found.

"Hmm?"

Lei Meng's finger suddenly stopped on that line, his facial muscles twitching. He looked up and saw the other eagle-wing hundred-man commanders standing not far away, directing the aftermath. His heart raced as he quickly ran over and gathered them together, pointing out the detail he had just seen.

The information on the animal skin made the hundred-man commanders realize that something was seriously wrong.

Several of them looked up from the animal skin, their eyes filled with shock: Could it be...

They speculated that it was highly possible that the sand bandits had accidentally discovered a mine in the barren lands deep in the wastelands.

The sand bandits, lacking mining experience, could not exploit the treasure mountain, so they had to resort to a major operation, suffering heavy casualties to kidnap over a dozen experienced miners.

This was the only explanation for why the sand bandits, despite suffering heavy losses, did not rob any food.

The faces of the hundred-man commanders all changed.

If the sand bandits found and mined the ore, and mass-produced iron weapons, their overall strength would increase dramatically. Sand bandits armed with sharp iron weapons would be a nightmare for the western border of the clan.

...

All the military forces on the western border of the Tian Yao clan were fully mobilized. After a full day of on-site investigation, battle reconstruction, and a night of reasoning by the strategists, all the clues further confirmed Lei Meng's and others' suspicions.

The next noon, in front of the large tent of the Sky Erosion Mine Cave's Eagle Wing Sixth Team, countless armed hunters stood guard, their weapons gleaming, creating a stern and deadly atmosphere that made bystanders tremble and stay away.

Inside the tent, a long table was lined with people.

The hundred-man commanders of the Eagle Wing and Fox Hunt armies, three thousand-man commanders, a military equipment supervisor, two military merit recorders, and several relevant weapon masters, including the Eastern Pavilion Master of the Array Fire Pavilion, Old Wall, Xiaoluan, and Zhou Lu, were all present.

The atmosphere was quite serious.

The military equipment supervisor has the privilege of directly communicating with the clan's Elder Pavilion on the border, so in the event of a major military incident, the supervisor can issue orders on behalf of the Elder Pavilion, enjoying the highest command authority.

The tall and fat military equipment supervisor, Sopero, straightened his neat leather collar, his face solemn, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd, and he spoke in a low, deep voice:

"Our analysis has been transmitted to the Elder Pavilion through the barbarian array on the sacrificial tower. The elders take this matter very seriously... The elders believe that if the sand bandits obtain iron weapons, our western border will never have peace. Therefore, the Great Elder has personally issued two barbarian blood orders: first, the thirteen kidnapped miners must be rescued at all costs, and the sand bandits must not be allowed to master mining technology; second, we must determine which sand bandit group discovered the mine and where it is located."

"Barbarian blood orders?"

At the mention of the barbarian blood orders, many people in the tent were visibly moved.

It seems this is a major issue, and the Elder Pavilion has deemed it a matter of clan security. Once the barbarian blood orders are issued, it means that the local military must do whatever it takes to complete the task.

The tall and fat Sopero supervisor paused, frowning, and continued:

"To complete this barbarian blood order mission, after detailed research by our western border military equipment department, we believe the most important step is to send a elite reconnaissance squad deep into the wastelands to determine which sand bandit group carried out this raid and to find the specific whereabouts of the missing miners."

"Once all the information is clear and the detailed map of the sand bandit camp is obtained, we will send a large group of hunters deep into the wastelands to eliminate the bandits and rescue the miners..."

The hundred-man commanders in the tent were agitated. They knew that a major battle was about to begin.

And before the major battle, the success of the reconnaissance squad would be a critical factor.