Batuer didn't hesitate for a moment, turning to his equally solemn brothers behind him and roaring, "Let's go! Back to the city immediately!"
With the command given, there was no longer any hesitation. Fifteen Steppe Bandits agilely mounted their horses, disregarding the fact that their warhorses hadn't rested well all night, and fiercely spurred their flanks, whipping their horses' rumps.
The exhausted Steppe horses let out a mournful cry, then burst forth with their last reserves of strength, their four hooves flying, transforming into fifteen streaks of lightning, galloping madly towards New Rivadin in the west.
The return journey was even more silent and frantic than their arrival.
In everyone's mind, that terrifying fortress built from Skeleton and yellow sand echoed repeatedly, as did the soul-freezing gaze from the depths of the black cloud, and the ghostly undead knights shrouded in thick black mist, moving like specters.
These were not the Ghost Light Bone Armor Cavalry or Black Arrow Tower Dynasty Skeleton Archers they had encountered before, whom they could outmaneuver with their superb horse archery skills; these were a new, higher-level creation of death.
Their speed, strength, and the suffocating pressure they exuded all declared one fact—in front of them, their proud elite scout team was as fragile as a few ants on the sand.
The wind howled mournfully in their ears, and the swirling dust was like a funeral shroud. Batuer lay prostrate on his horse, feeling his heart sink heavily.
This was no longer a simple reconnaissance mission; what he brought back was a warning from hell, capable of threatening the very existence of Deherim!
...
New Rivadin, Lord's Hall.
The morning sun shone through the window, scattering onto the smooth stone floor, illuminating several solemn figures standing upright.
Shen Mu sat on the Lord's throne, his fingers gently tapping the armrest, his gaze calmly fixed on Batuer below, who had just galloped back from the Eastern Desert, covered in dust and exhaustion.
To his left stood General Bestour.
At this moment, this usually steady general's brows were tightly furrowed into a 'river' shape, and the expression on his face was one of unprecedented solemnity.
"You mean, a necropolis constructed entirely of Skeleton and sand has appeared deep in the Eastern Desert, only three to four hours' ride from here? And it's covered by a huge, ominous black cloud?" Bestour's voice was low and hoarse, as he repeated Batuer's report word by word, trying to make sense of this incredible intelligence.
"Yes, General! Lord!" Batuer knelt on one knee; although his body trembled slightly from the extreme exertion of the ride, his voice was exceptionally clear and filled with undeniable certainty: "It's absolutely true! We saw it with our own eyes! That castle is enormous, its walls are embedded with countless Skeleton, and it's sickeningly evil!"
He took a deep breath, seemingly recalling the terrifying chase, a hint of lingering fear flashing in his eyes: "And there are undead knights in the castle! They are completely shrouded in thick black mist, and their mounts are some kind of mutated Skeleton beast. Their speed... their speed is astonishing! Faster than our fastest Kujit warhorses! We only approached slightly and were chased by them. If they hadn't given up after a certain range, none of us fifteen would have made it back!"
"Black Mist Knights..." Shen Mu's fingertips stopped tapping. He murmured the words, his eyes deep.
He remembered the descriptions of the survivors, the war between the Ghost Light Dynasty and the Black Arrow Tower Dynasty, and this suddenly appearing third party. It was clear that this power entrenched in the Skeleton castle was the root cause of all the anomalies in this area.
A new, more powerful undead faction!
"Lord, this is no small matter!" Bestour stepped forward, his expression extremely serious: "According to Batuer's description, the mobility and aggressiveness of this undead force far exceed any enemy we have faced before. An undead fortress that can serve as a base means they can continuously generate troops. Once they decide to advance west, our Deherim will be the first to bear the brunt!"
"I understand." Shen Mu nodded. He stood up and walked to the huge sand table map.
This map was drawn by his own hand, meticulously marking New Rivadin, Long City, and the surrounding explored terrain.
His finger pointed to the wooden model representing New Rivadin, then slowly moved east.
Three to four hours of riding, for those Black Mist Knights, probably wouldn't even take two hours.
This distance was too close!
So close, it was like a Sword of Damocles, hanging over New Rivadin, ready to fall at any moment.
"We cannot sit idly by." Shen Mu's voice was not loud, but it echoed clearly in the hall, carrying an undeniable decisiveness: "Passive defense will only make us lose all initiative. I must go and see for myself, to understand the true nature of that castle and the real strength of those Black Mist Knights."
"Lord, that's too dangerous!" Bestour immediately objected, his face filled with worry, "You are our core; how can you personally risk danger! Please allow me to lead an elite unit to scout!"
"No." Shen Mu shook his head, looking firmly at his trusted general, "Bestour, I can only rest assured if you hold down New Rivadin. Moreover, there are some things that only I can accurately judge by seeing them myself." A strange light flashed in his eyes: "That black cloud, that power, I need to personally experience the strength of its 'spirit world rules'."
Hearing the word "rules," Bestour fell silent.
He knew this was the Lord's unique, irreplaceable ability. In this world eroded by spirit world rules, insight into "rules" was far more important than mere troop assessment.
Shen Mu turned around and looked at Batuer, who was still kneeling: "Batuer, you and your brothers have worked hard. Go rest first, get the best warhorses, and resupply. In an hour, you will serve as guides and accompany me on another expedition."
"Yes, Lord!" Batuer's eyes burst with fiery light; his previous fear and exhaustion were replaced by a strong sense of combativeness and honor.
To follow the Lord into battle was the highest honor for every warrior!
"Bestour." Shen Mu's gaze turned to him again, and he began to give instructions in a steady tone, "From the city guard, select thirty fourth-tier Khergit Mounted Archers and twenty fifth-tier Kujit Veteran Horse Archers. Also, have the Holy Tree Knight Order prepare; I need ten Holy Tree Knights to accompany me."
Bestour's heart tightened.
Kujit Veteran Horse Archer, those were elite fifth-tier troops, the backbone of Deherim's cavalry, each capable of fighting ten men.
And the Holy Tree Knight... that was Shen Mu's sharpest sword, a true trump card!
Each of them wore expertly crafted plate armor mixed with mithril, and wielded mithril-infused knightly lances, making them natural bane to evil.
"Yes! I'll arrange it immediately!" Bestour said no more, bowed in acceptance, and quickly departed.
The air in the entire Lord's Hall seemed to ignite at this moment.
A tense and exhilarating atmosphere of preparation for battle quickly spread from here, throughout New Rivadin.
...
An hour later, New Rivadin's east gate slowly opened.
An exquisitely elite cavalry unit, under the morning sun, rode out from the shelter of the city walls with synchronized hoofbeats.
Leading the way were fifteen Steppe Bandits, their spirits completely renewed.
They had changed to strong, well-fed new Steppe horses, with bulging saddlebags hanging on both sides of their saddles. At this moment, they were riding forward, chewing large bites of fragrant cheese and wheaty black bread, occasionally tearing off a piece of oily dried meat to stuff into their mouths, then washing it down with a large gulp of clear water from their waterskins.
The food, imbued with pure "spirit world rules" power, was rapidly restoring their physical and mental energy consumed by the night's escape, making their previously somewhat listless eyes sharp as eagles once more.
Behind them was a square formation of fifty Khergit Mounted Archers.
They wore light yet tough layered Kujit armor, carried powerful composite short bows and full quivers of arrows, and had Nomadic Scimitars hanging at their waists.
The formation was neat, silent, with only the steady rhythm of horse hooves forming a heart-pounding torrent. Among them, twenty Kujit Veteran Horse Archers, their eyes were more seasoned, their equipment more refined, and the fierce aura emanating from them was like unsheathed blades.
And at the core of this force, surrounded like stars around the moon, were ten tall, statue-like Holy Tree Knights.
They were the Holy Tree Knights!
They rode magnificent Holy Tree warhorses, a head taller than the Kujit's Steppe horses, with sleek, explosive muscle lines.
The knights wore full plate armor that shimmered with mithril's unique soft luster. Fine, elegant runes were inscribed on the armor's seams and the Holy Tree emblem on their chests, flowing with a faint glow in the sunlight. They did not hold weapons in their hands, but had knightly lances over three meters long securely hung on special saddle racks. The spearheads glinted with cold light, and the spear shafts were also entwined with golden patterns, exuding a sacred and pure aura.
Their faces were covered by tightly fitting visors, revealing only calm and resolute eyes, as if nothing could move them.
Shen Mu rode directly in front of these ten Holy Tree Knights.
He did not wear heavy armor, only a close-fitting outfit, appearing calm and confident. His presence was the soul of this unit, the source of everyone's confidence.
Although this force of seventy-five people was not large in number, the elite aura it exuded was enough to make any enemy tremble with fear.
They were like a perfectly honed blade, about to be unsheathed, striking purposefully towards the ominous Desert in the east.
"Let's go." Shen Mu waved his hand, and the speed of the team increased.
The team moved extremely fast. Led by Batuer and the others, they quickly deviated from the road and re-entered the desertified land, which was increasingly eroded by spirit world rules.
More than two hours later, the familiar ruins of the village appeared in the team's sight.
"Lord, it's there!" Batuer pointed to the ruins ahead, turning back to report, "That's where we met with Chen Ping and his group last night."
At this moment, figures flickered within the ruins.
Chen Ping, seven dwarves, and the more than twenty survivors were busily packing their few belongings. They were bagging canned goods, biscuits, clothes, and other items they had found in the warehouse with rags, preparing to embark on their journey to Deherim for survival.
When Shen Mu led this elite cavalry unit, appearing like divine soldiers descending from the sky outside the ruins, everyone was stunned.
Chen Ping and his followers frantically stopped what they were doing, their faces filled with shock and awe.
Especially when they saw the Holy Tree Knights in mithril armor, who seemed to have stepped out of myths, they didn't even dare to breathe.
"It's... it's Lord Shen Mu!" Chen Ping was the first to react. He quickly stepped forward, and under the wary yet curious gazes of the dwarven warriors, he respectfully bowed deeply to Shen Mu on horseback.
"Welcome, Lord!"
The survivors behind him also followed suit, bowing and greeting, their voices filled with excitement and gratitude.
"No need for formalities." Shen Mu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the things they were packing—those Blue Star Humans native foods considered treasures in the apocalypse: canned goods, compressed biscuits, bottled water.
He dismounted, took a heavy burlap bag from an attendant, and threw it to Chen Ping.
"Take these to eat on the way."
Chen Ping fumbled to catch it, opened it, and saw it was filled with golden cheese, thick black bread slices, and oily dried meat. The familiar, unique aroma imbued with the power of "spirit world rules" wafted out, making the seven dwarves behind him collectively swallow their saliva, their eyes bursting with longing.
"As for those things..." Shen Mu casually glanced at the native canned goods and biscuits they were packing, and said plainly: "They contain no 'spirit world rules' power. For these spirit world creatures, no matter how much they eat, it only fills their stomachs and cannot replenish true consumption. For us Blue Star Humans, it's also useless. These rootless foods are not worth caring about; throw them away, don't let them take up space."
His words were an understatement, yet they stirred up a storm in Chen Ping and all the survivors' hearts.
In their eyes, those canned goods were the foundation of their survival to this day, more precious than gold. Yet, in the mouth of this powerful Lord, they became "worthless" trash that could be discarded at will.
This strong contrast made them realize even more deeply how terrifying the power and resources Shen Mu possessed were. This was no longer a simple difference in strength, but a crushing superiority in the level of life itself.
"Thank you... Thank you, Lord, for your generosity!" Chen Ping was so excited he was incoherent. He knew what this bag of food meant to his dwarven followers.
It was not just food, but strength, and hope!
"You should set off as soon as possible, head west to New Rivadin. Once there, give my name, and General Bestour will settle you, and then send you to Deherim." Shen Mu did not engage in much small talk; his time was precious.
"Yes! We'll leave immediately!"
Shen Mu remounted, no longer lingering. He nodded to Batuer: "Continue to lead the way."
"Yes!" Everyone turned their horses, shook their reins, and once again followed Shen Mu's figure, charging rapidly towards the direction shrouded in black clouds.
