Through the thin mist, Roland gazed at the endless cliff face before him. He shook his head gently and turned to the Guard Captain at his side.
"You are...?"
"You can call Dylan, sir."
"Alright, Dylan."
Roland looked at Dylan, who, despite being covered in wounds, was still struggling to support another soldier. He gave a slight nod and asked,
"Captain Dylan, do you know when this mountain range... when it appeared?"
"I’m sorry, sir..."
Dylan whispered a few reassuring words to the weak soldier in his arms before shaking his head in resignation.
"We..."
He glanced around at the soldiers, nearly all of whom were injured, and sighed.
"We were originally under orders from Dean Graham, in charge of logistics and transport."
"When we first entered the Land of Mist, the fog hadn’t spread this far. Later, supplies at the front grew tight, and we were ordered to turn back to find a missing transport team. But..."
His voice trailed off.
"I understand,"
Roland said.
Although Dylan hadn’t finished, Roland had already pieced together the general situation from the information provided.
’The mist had spread. The transport team was either cut off by this mountain range that appeared out of nowhere, or they got lost in the dense fog. They might have even been attacked and wiped out by Demons.’
’And Dylan’s squad...’
’...had also been trapped by the mist during their search. They had no choice but to make camp, unable to advance or retreat.’
Although Dylan hadn’t provided much crucial information, Roland had keenly caught a familiar na.
"You said... the one leading this expedition is Dean Graham?"
"That’s right."
"And the other Extraordinary Professionals?"
"I’m sorry, sir... I’m not too clear on that."
Dylan struggled to readjust his comrade on his shoulder. "This expedition into the Land of Mist to hunt the Wolf King that’s taken up residence here... there are three units in total," he said, his breathing heavy.
"We couldn’t pinpoint the Wolf King’s location beforehand, so the three units advanced from three different directions. We were supposed to rendezvous at a designated spot, but..."
A sorrowful look crossed Dylan’s face as he recalled what happened after they entered the mist.
"Ever since we set foot in this godforsaken place, we haven’t been able to make contact with the other two units."
"I see..."
Roland nodded slowly and asked a few more questions.
But Dylan held a low rank in the River Domain’s army—just a minor captain—so he couldn’t offer any more useful information.
Looking at the burly man before him, his face haggard with hunger and exhaustion, Roland let out a soft chuckle to lighten the tense atmosphere. He asked, half-joking,
"Captain Dylan, are you really so trusting, leading us to your camp? Aren’t you worried we might have ill intentions?"
"You’re joking, sir. How could you possibly..."
Dylan managed a weak smile, but as his eyes subconsciously swept over the people behind Roland, his confident expression faltered.
A haggard young man.
A strikingly beautiful woman who exuded a cold, distant aura.
And a...
...Beastman with dark red skin and protruding tusks.
’A group like this, appearing in the treacherous and unpredictable mist, certainly did seem out of place...’
But recalling the overwhelming power Roland had just displayed, Dylan quickly pushed the thought from his mind.
The captain, whose face looked simple and honest, coughed lightly and deftly changed the subject. His tone held a faint, almost unnoticeable hint of pride, but also a veiled warning.
"With your strength, sir, we would have been helpless if you’d ant us harm. Besides..."
He dipped his head slightly, as if in apology, then straightened his posture.
"Our camp’s new commander is exceptionally strong! Even soone of your caliber, sir... if you’ll pardon my saying so..."
He paused, adding emphasis to his words.
"...you might not be his match."
"Oh?"
Roland heard the warning in the captain’s voice, but instead of getting angry, he simply chuckled.
’In fact, their commander being powerful is actually a good thing for .’
’Right now, my tentative plan is to find the Pikachus and use what Tress described as sothing like a Space-Ti Spell to escape this predicant.’
’But it’s still uncertain whether I can find the Pikachus, or if the Fairy Queen Tress ntioned even has such power.’
’In comparison, following these stranded soldiers to find Graham seems like a much safer bet.’
’It doesn’t matter if the fighting on the front lines is intense.’
’I haven’t interacted with Graham much, but based on the glimpses of power he casually revealed during training, I can tell the Dean is every bit as strong as Gandar.’
’With a Transcendent like him in command, the worst-case scenario is simply the River Domain’s forces having to retreat from the Land of Mist.’
’Not to ntion, the other two armies led by Extraordinary Professionals have probably already joined up with Graham.’
’Therefore, the stronger this small unit’s commander is, the smoother our journey to et up with Graham should be.’
’As for the Pikachus...’
Roland lowered his head and glanced at the pouch on his belt.
Tress was peeking out, her two bright red eyes blinking.
’During their earlier conversation, the little creature had ntioned that the Pikachus in Cuiyan Forest were troubled by the mist encroaching on their ho, but they weren’t in any imdiate danger.’
’So, the priority is to ensure my own safety first. It won’t be too late to think about helping them after that.’
With that thought, Roland gently tapped Tress’s little head through the pouch. He then followed Dylan’s lead, walking slowly toward the camp.
Fortunately, they were at the edge of the Land of Mist, where the fog was quite thin.
With the towering mountain range beside them serving as a landmark, Dylan didn’t lose his way and successfully led Roland and his party to the camp.
The camp was even smaller than Roland had anticipated.
Through the thin mist, the figures of a few dozen soldiers could be seen moving about the crude camp.
A few tattered tents stood crookedly, so covered in crude patches.
A low, hastily-piled stone wall and sharpened wooden stakes ford a fragile, makeshift defensive line.
Most of the soldiers were wounded. They sat or lay about, their expressions weary and numb.
The campfire was little more than a few scattered embers, and the air was thick with the sll of dicinal herbs, sweat, and damp earth.
Broken weapons and patched-up Leather Armor lay scattered about, silently testifying to the plight of this battered, defeated unit.
Dylan gave Roland a slight bow before stepping forward to have a quiet word with the Guards at the entrance.
A mont later, he turned and led Roland’s party deeper into the camp.
Before they had gone far, they arrived in front of the best-preserved tent in the camp.
Before Dylan could announce their arrival, a despairing, heavily nasal wail suddenly burst from within the tent.
"How can there be so much to do?! Damn the supplies! Damn the mist! Damn the Wolf King! And all this never-ending paperwork and these reports!"
"I just wanted to deliver a ssage back to the River Domain! Whoever wants to be this damn temporary commander can have the job! I need an assistant... no, I need to be put out of my misery!"
As the voice rang out, the hand reaching to lift the tent flap froze mid-air.
Dylan pulled his hand back and glanced at Roland with an embarrassed, forced smile.
"Sorry, sir. Our commander, she... she’s been under a lot of stress lately... Look... how about..."
The Guard Captain wrung his hands anxiously.
"I’ll go in and announce you first, and then you can..."
"That won’t be necessary."
A slight smile touched Roland’s lips as he heard the familiar voice from inside the tent.
He shook his head, stepped forward, and, without waiting for a response, pulled back the heavy tent flap.
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