Chapter 39

Inside the tent, it seemed as if time had stopped.

Red Socks tried hard to explain to Suldak, "Captain, I really didn't see any native girl!"

Suldak quickly put on his trousers, bare-chested, and walked out of the tent, holding the wet animal skin in his hand.

The other warriors in the tent also climbed out of their sleeping bags, too hurried to put on their armor, and followed Suldak out of the tent.

Morning light filtered through the dense leaves, illuminating the forest. Dewdrops hung from the leaves of flowers, grass, and trees, sparkling with a rainbow of colors in the sunlight.

Suldak walked around the tent but found no trace of the native girl. Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly saw a shallow puddle under a pine tree with several small footprints. They were clearly a woman's footprints, with delicate arches and five evenly spaced toes, resembling dandelions floating in the air.

Next to these disordered women's footprints were some men's footprints.

Although the footprints in the mud had been washed away by the rain and were now very blurred, the faint traces were enough to reveal a lot.

Red Socks stared blankly at the footprints, not knowing how to defend himself.

Fortunately, He Boqiang stepped forward and gestured to Suldak. The other warriors looked at the two men in confusion, but Suldak quickly understood the meaning of He Boqiang's gestures.

"Are you saying you saw the native girl last night?" Suldak asked.

He Boqiang nodded and gestured to indicate that he had left.

"Are you saying... she left last night?"

"Do you know where to find her?... You don't know, you can only look for her?" Suldak guessed as he continued.

Suldak quickly grasped the general situation: "The native girl sneaked in during the rainy night last night, but was discovered by He Boqiang, so she fled in a hurry."

Suldak's face turned serious as he gathered all the members of the second squad.

The twelve warriors of the second squad gathered around Suldak, who then said solemnly, "Alright, the task Baron Sidney gave us was to find Sir Bajialegilgud in the forest."

Suldak continued, "We didn't expect to find any clues, but now that we have... "

The warriors took turns looking at the animal skin, realizing that the message on it might be true.

Even if it wasn't true, the native girl must have information about Sir Bajialegilgud.

Therefore, the second squad's mission must continue.

Suldak paused, then looked around and said, "According to orders, once we find Sir Bajialegilgud, we must ensure his safety. Every swordsman is a valuable asset to the province of Benan, so regardless of whether the message on the animal skin is true, we must investigate. If we find Sir Bajialegilgud, we must immediately rescue him!"

Suldak spoke with determination.

The warriors' smiles slowly faded, and they all looked at Suldak.

Suldak continued, "Before that, I need someone to return to the camp to report. As usual, we'll draw lots to decide who will go."

Saying this, Suldak took out an iron pot from the tent. The warriors removed their identity tags from their necks and threw them into the pot.

When he reached He Boqiang, as an unofficial member of the squad, He Boqiang had no identity tag.

Suldak placed the pot on the ground, removed his own tag, and said to the second squad, "As the captain of the second squad, I must stay, so I'll use my tag to replace Xiaodak's. If I draw my tag, then Xiaodak will return to the camp to report..."

As he was about to throw his tag into the pot, He Boqiang stopped him.

He Boqiang gestured, reminding Suldak that if he left, who would lead the way to find the native girl.

He Boqiang wanted to shout at Suldak, "Idiot."

"Alright, I understand."

Suldak wiped the sweat from his forehead awkwardly.

He stirred the tags in the pot and randomly picked one.

He looked at the front of the tag and called out to the young bearded man, "Kagel, step forward!"

"Yes, Captain," the young bearded man Kagel stepped out of the crowd, making Red Socks look at him enviously.

Suldak hung all the squad's loot on Kagel and said, "Take our loot and return to the camp quickly. Report to Baron Sidney that we have found clues about Sir Bajialegilgud."

"Yes, Captain," Kagel replied, standing up straight.

...

Kagel, carrying a large backpack, set off alone along the mountain ridge.

The rest of the warriors, led by Suldak, returned to the Yan Sai Lake where they had caught the Tim fish.

After a night of rain, the river was murky, filled with broken branches and leaves blown by the wind, and the water level had risen significantly. The shallow ford that had been there was now completely submerged.

However, He Boqiang's guess was correct. The native girl, wrapped in an animal skin, was standing by the river, seemingly considering how to cross it.

When the second squad emerged from the forest, she became panic-stricken, taking a few steps back and almost stepping into the river.

He Boqiang, walking at the front, saw that the native girl was afraid, so he held the animal skin in his hand and showed it to her.

He then gestured to her, and to the surprise of the second squad, the native girl understood. She stopped retreating into the river and stood still, speaking in a strange tone that He Boqiang couldn't understand.

He Boqiang was taken aback, thinking, "What are you saying... I can't understand you either!"

He Boqiang tried pointing to the animal skin in his hand, and the native girl nodded seriously.

She then lowered her guard and allowed He Boqiang and the second squad to approach her.

The slender native girl was only wrapped in a simple animal skin, like a minimalist halter top and mini skirt, revealing a pair of honey-colored legs. Suldak coughed loudly in the squad, and the warriors finally moved their eyes from the native girl's alluring chest.

She pointed to the animal skin in He Boqiang's hand and then turned and walked into the river, leading the way.

The river was wide, but the current was not strong, and the deepest part only reached the native girl's slim waist.

The second squad followed the native girl and quickly crossed the river.

Suldak had been worried about Tim fish attacking the squad, but no Tim fish appeared until all the warriors were ashore.

The native girl walked barefoot through the forest, familiar with the terrain, choosing the easiest paths.

Despite this, she still had to stop frequently, allowing the second squad to keep up.

First, they entered a cold fir forest, then passed through a hollow tree trunk about ten meters long. After walking for half a day in the dense forest and crossing three mountain ridges, they finally stopped near noon.

She stood barefoot on a large rock. Red Socks, standing below the rock, looked up and felt a rush of heat in his nose.

He Boqiang jumped onto the rock, and his field of vision suddenly became very wide. A lush valley appeared before him, and the rock was at the top of the valley cliff. Standing on the rock, he could see the entire valley.

The native girl skillfully climbed down the cliff using wild grape vines.

The second squad had no choice but to follow her. The grape vines were not very sturdy, and they had to use both hands and feet to prevent the vines from breaking. They safely reached the bottom of the cliff, where there was a large crack in the rock. The native girl skipped into the crack...