Chapter 50

Thirteen iron-clad riders moved like ghosts through the western border of the tribe, entering the wilderness.

As the dawn gradually rose, looking ahead, it was almost an endless expanse of dark iron color. Occasionally, one could see a large area shrouded in a gray-brown fog, where everything was silent and lifeless. The harsh and wild living conditions of the wilderness made Zhou Lu frown.

A lean iron guard would occasionally jump off his horse, either grabbing a handful of soil and sniffing it hard at the tip of his nose, or finding some unnoticed clues in the crevices of rocks...

Whether they could rescue the thirteen miners was crucial to the peace of the entire western border of the tribe. To rescue the captured miners, they needed to track down the whereabouts of the sand bandits who had ambushed them the other day.

There were two ways to track the sand bandits. One was to enter the wilderness and find any group of bandits, capture a few of them, and interrogate them.

Of course, this was extremely dangerous.

The sand bandits were extremely vicious, and arson and murder were commonplace. If they wanted to capture some bandits, they would have to fight a hard battle. If they provoked a large group, being surrounded by hundreds of people, their escape would be very difficult. Moreover, the sand bandits in the wilderness were as numerous as cattle. Even if they captured some bandits, the bandits might not know the information they needed.

The other way was to follow the trail of the sand bandits who retreated the other day.

But that was also extremely difficult.

The sand bandits had retreated two days ago. In the harsh environment of the wilderness, many traces had been erased by strong winds, heavy rains, extreme heat, and poisonous swamps. Moreover, when the sand bandits retreated, they adopted a strategy of breaking into smaller groups, dispersing like a receding tide. Tracking them would be no easy task.

Zhou Lu secretly glanced at the iron guards and found that they were all calm, showing great confidence in the lean iron guard.

The lean iron guard moved as lightly as a cat, leaping onto a rock. To everyone's surprise, he picked out a small wooden bead, smaller than a fingernail, from a crevice in the rock with his two fingers.

Zhou Lu was greatly startled.

The wooden bead was a favorite decoration worn by the sand bandits, strung on silk threads and hung from their clothes. Zhou Lu really couldn't understand how the lean iron guard could make such a discovery while moving so quickly.

"Can his eyes bend?"

The lean iron guard took out a piece of animal skin with a partial map, studied it with Tie Mitao for a while, and finally pointed to one of the paths, whispering, "This way."

All the iron guards mounted their horses.

"No!"

Zhou Lu suddenly shouted, and everyone turned to look at him.

Zhou Lu didn't know why, but he felt a vague fear in that direction, as if a huge danger lay there. Zhou Lu wasn't sure if this fear was due to his sixth sense, formed by the perception of the world through the aura, or the emotions transmitted by the demonic fire in his dantian.

Anyway, he didn't want to go in that direction.

Zhou Lu looked ahead and pointed to another path, shouting to the lean iron guard:

"You're chasing the wrong way. Look, what's under that dead tree stump?"

Zhou Lu rode over and carefully removed a torn piece of cloth from under the tree stump, which was about ten zhang away. He then rode back and showed the cloth, which was typical of the material worn by the sand bandits.

Zhou Lu proudly proclaimed:

"I found this on that path. I think we should chase them in that direction."

Everyone looked at Zhou Lu with disdain.

The lean iron guard coldly snorted, leaped onto his horse, and turned back to say calmly:

"There are many sand bandits in the wilderness. This was left by another group of bandits earlier."

He didn't want to explain further and was about to move on. Zhou Lu,不服气 (unwilling to admit defeat), shouted from behind, "How do you know it's another group of bandits? How do you know the path you chose is the right one?"

Zhou Lu had a strong aversion to the direction chosen by the lean iron guard and subconsciously wanted to persuade him.

This time, the iron guards looked at Zhou Lu as if they wanted to write "idiot" on his face. The lean iron guard suddenly turned his horse, walked a few steps to Zhou Lu, and grabbed his collar fiercely, his eyes behind the ghost mask glowing with menace. He said in a cold voice:

"Remember, in the field of tracking, I am the master. You are nothing. You either shut up or let me stuff your mouth with cloth. Which one do you choose?"

Scared by the iron guard, Zhou Lu obediently closed his mouth, reluctantly following the group, muttering to himself, "Not even allowed to express an opinion? Just because your idea is right, everyone else's ideas must be wrong?"

The lean iron guard's face turned ashen with anger, but he couldn't argue with that annoying person.

None of the iron guards paid attention to Zhou Lu. The group galloped forward, the thirteen horses treading the uneven rocks as if they were on flat ground, dashing through the mountain pass and over a dead forest. Just as they emerged from the forest, a sudden sandstorm swept across the sky, enveloping the thirteen figures completely.

The sandstorm was so intense that one couldn't see anyone a few steps away.

Riding in the sandstorm, Zhou Lu shielded his eyes from the sand, spitting out the grit in his mouth and cursing angrily.

The further they went in this direction, the more Zhou Lu felt a growing unease. He was very reluctant to follow the group.

They found no trace of the sand bandits along the way. Zhou Lu muttered to himself, "Hmph, I told you you were going the wrong way, but you didn't believe me. Look, there's not even a trace left. What are you chasing?"

Caught in the sandstorm, the horses were struggling. After traveling such a long distance without finding any trace of the sand bandits, even Tie Mitao was beginning to doubt. Even if they were on the right path, the strong wind had blown away all the clues. How could they continue to track them?

In such harsh weather, could they really find the hideout of the sand bandits by tracking?

At this moment, only the lean iron guard was still moving forward with great determination.

The group struggled through the sandstorm, galloping for more than half an hour before the sandstorm gradually subsided, revealing a grayish-yellow sky. All thirteen of them were in a sorry state, with disheveled hair, dirty faces, and sand in their hair.

The road ahead was covered with yellow sand, making it difficult to proceed. Everyone was at a loss and slowed down their horses. The yellow sand had covered the road. How could they continue to track?

At this moment, the lean iron guard's face suddenly lit up with joy. He spurred his horse forward, galloping for more than thirty zhang, then leaped off and dug in the sand with his hands. Soon, he dug out half a sharp bone spear.

There was a mark of a knife cut on the tip of the bone spear.

The lean iron guard sniffed the bone spear hard and then waved the half spear, jumping back onto his horse excitedly, and whispered:

"Found it. It's exactly the trace left by the sand bandits the other day. The path we are on is absolutely correct."

At this moment, everyone except Zhou Lu was overjoyed, and Tie Mitao's eyes lit up.

The lean iron guard's almost miraculous tracking skills had renewed their confidence in the mission. Despite the harsh weather, he had found the trace of the sand bandits again.