As the intelligence said, the ruins buried underground in the desert are huge.
It's like there are many ancient countries with huge cities and cities spread over tens of thousands of square kilometers.
But not all places with city ruins are worth exploring. Most of the team are experienced hunters, who more or less understand the value of distinguishing ruins, and can be regarded as half-archaeologists. Civilian houses are short and are the most severely corroded by wind and sand; those large buildings with different specifications at first glance are the key places to look for.
Of course, many of them are empty cities with only ruins.
Occasionally, some clay pots and corroded metal objects can be found in the sand, which are of little value.
President Catherine of the "Redwood Chamber of Commerce" doesn't seem to have any intention of collecting those yellow and white things. Money doesn't mean much to her.
Occasionally, she passed by some places where there might be property, and she did not stop the hunters in the group from digging. But it didn't take much time. After a short rest, we continued traveling.
It stands to reason that this is the first time that this ruin has been discovered. No one knows what is inside, so they can only discover it as they go. But Ren didn't know if it was his illusion. He always felt that President Catherine seemed to know some routes and seemed to be looking for something.
... .
The first day was nothing and I spent almost the whole day walking.
The wind and sand in the desert are mesmerizing, and you climb over one dune, and then another, endlessly.
But fortunately, everyone is an extraordinary person and has brought enough supplies. This intensity is still very easy for everyone. Apart from encountering a few scattered waves of low-level zombies along the way, they encountered no danger and were directly killed by the Hunters who had been sharpening their knives for a long time.
In the evening, everyone found an ancient city ruins with a thick broken city wall to camp.
The camp is surrounded by weathered adobe bricks, and the ground is also tamped loess. There is no need to worry about a skeleton arm suddenly appearing from the wall in your sleep to grab you. Even if you encounter a large-scale zombie tide and monsters, there are still places that can be defended.
The tents were pitched in the camp, fires were lit, and the sky gradually darkened.
There were no magical beasts or hunting in the desert, so everyone made do with the dry food they brought with them.
Ren dug out the dried meat and bread he had brought with him, and sat at the door of his single tent to eat. He didn't hang out with others, which made people feel a bit lonely.
Surprisingly, while eating, President Catherine actually walked out of the main tent holding a basket full of fruits. Her son Gannicus, who carried a silver gun, followed behind.
This young master from a wealthy businessman seemed to have never participated in wilderness hunting. When he first entered the desert, he seemed extremely excited and interested in everything. From time to time he poked scorpions and lizards in the sand with his spear. But as the day passed, the interest faded away. This was not the same as the wilderness hunting operation he had expected. After walking for a whole day, he encountered no treasures and no battles that would allow him to show off his skills. Everything was peaceful and boring.
Catherine seemed intent on teaching her son how to behave, and asked him to follow behind her with a large basket of fruit. Then each tent asked the team members about their status and gave them two fruits.
Ren had already seen them, but when the lady came over, he was still surprised by her polite attitude.
Catherine looked at Ren, handed out two big berries, and said politely: "Mr. Nicholas, you have worked hard today. I brought some fruits, but not too many, please don't dislike it..."
Fresh fruit is a luxury item in the desert.
Oh no, as long as it is a normal wilderness hunting operation, it is a luxury product. Although storage rings are almost standard equipment in high-level extraordinary ones, that precious cubic meter of space is not used to store luxuries such as fruits. It's too heavy to carry on my own, and it's not easy to store. As for vitamins? Wild vegetables in the wilderness can solve the problem.
The more the person in charge of a large chamber of commerce is, the more sophisticated he is in handling matters.
I have to say that just because Catherine could remember the names of every hunter and was so polite to deliver fruits to her doorstep, she gained a lot of favorable impressions.
Leaving aside the relationship with the "Black Gold Chamber of Commerce", after taking over the fruit, even Ren had the idea of doing his best to fulfill the contract.
It's a very clever way of dealing with people, but it doesn't make anyone feel uncomfortable at all.
"Thanks."
Renn nodded and said nothing more.
Katherine also responded with a smile, turned around and walked towards the other team members.
... ..
Because of the [Black Tide], the number of sentries is overmatched.
Except for the benefactor Catherine, everyone worked the night in three shifts. As early as dark, the first wave of sentries had already gone to the outside, on the battlements and outside the city walls.
Renn was assigned to the second batch and was on duty at midnight.
The night was getting darker and it was still early to go to bed. Everyone gathered around the bonfire and started chatting.
"Hey, it's probably because of the S-class zombie wave the night before. There are actually no living zombies in this desert. Our hunting this time around was pretty easy..."
"It's hard to say. Some living corpses are not that sensitive, or they are unable to get out of certain underground spaces such as 'underground palaces' and 'caves'. There may be very troublesome existences..."
"If we really encounter an underground palace, we will make a lot of money. I heard that the mountain of gold utensils found was an underground palace."
"Yes. Our current hunting team is no worse than those large hunting groups. As long as we don't encounter large high-level zombies, it is still very easy to deal with..."
"Eh... didn't the intelligence say that there are a lot of big bugs in this desert? We don't seem to have encountered any..."
"Maybe it's because of the insect repellent powder we brought. When the first batch of people encountered the strange bugs, they seemed to be unprepared. We brought a lot of insect repellent powder... "
"..."
The hunters chatted and slapped each other, and Catherine and her son would occasionally interrupt.
Probably because of the fruit just now, the hunters were obviously not that enthusiastic about the sponsor.
At this time, a hunter asked: "Mrs. Catherine, where are we going? I think we walked all day today and didn't do much digging. It seems we have a predetermined destination?"
This is also the issue that hunters are most concerned about.
After all, the final harvest is the “dividends” that everyone will participate in.
The team walked around for a day today and encountered several city ruins, but almost all of them had not been excavated in depth. This is different from their usual hunting practices.
When Ren heard this, he also became interested. It seems that he is not the only one who feels this way, everyone feels this way.
He also turned his face slightly and cast his gaze over, wanting to hear how the president would respond.
“I’m not going to hide it from everyone, there is indeed a general direction.”
Originally, it seemed like the team members were overstepping their bounds by asking about the funder's lie-hunting plan, but Catherine seemed to have expected this.
With a full smile on her face and no displeasure, she explained to everyone: "Now that we have determined that this desert is the ruins of the ancient Monkel country. It is an ancient country, so there must be a royal city or something like that. A large building complex. But the cities we discovered during the day were not large, so... I guess there must be a larger group of ruins somewhere in the desert."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, vaguely guessing what she wanted to express.
After pondering for a moment, Catherine continued: "And it happens that I have done some research on the architectural layout of ancient cities. So I guess that there may be a 'royal city' level city! Now we are one day behind the first batch of people who came in. , if you delay in these small towns any longer, you may miss the opportunity to reach the big city first. Therefore, I rushed a little faster today, thank you all for your hard work... "
There was something she didn't say. If there was a large temple, it must be in a large city like the "King City". This is also her biggest purpose in teaming up for this adventure into the wilderness.
This was said very politely, and it clearly explained the direction and purpose of this hunting trip.
"Oh... So that's it."
Everyone suddenly understood after hearing this, and the little grudges in their hearts caused by the hasty rush disappeared instantly.
At this time, Catherine added: "Of course, I am just guessing, and there may not necessarily be ruins of the big city. However, even if the royal city is not found, when we come back, we can follow the marks left to excavate these small cities. ..”
After all, the hunter is still a good character for Tu.
With this statement, everyone felt at ease. It turns out that it’s not that we don’t dig, but that there is a priority.
After the topic was discussed, the atmosphere became more and more harmonious.
... ..
Lady Catherine's son Gannicus seems to be more interested in martial arts.
Now I can hardly chat with the hunters anymore, and I have gotten to know a few veteran hunters in the group. The young man couldn't hold back his strong energy and asked Sordo, who was also using a gun and shield beside him, for advice: "Senior Sordo, you are also following the shield fighting route. I would like to ask you for advice."
The tone sounds a bit naive and childish, but it also shows the upbringing and upbringing of a large family.
"Oh? Master Gannix is so interested?"
The bearded middle-aged man named Sordo raised his eyebrows and glanced at him.
In the past, Soldo used to lead a hunting group of twenty or thirty people, but because he was attacked by a high-level monster a few months ago while hunting, and suffered heavy casualties, he immediately broke up the group. Later, he didn't regroup, he just joined a temporary team and barely got by.
"Yes."
Gannix nodded and said: "My teacher said that extraordinary people who hunt in the wilderness all year round have very powerful practical skills. Please give me some pointers..."
Sordo also showed some interest: "Master Gannix, I saw that your marksmanship was taught by famous experts. May I ask who your teacher is?"
Gannicus called out a name: "Sam Aurora!"
Sordo heard the name very familiar, turned his eyes, and immediately asked: "The first Holy Shield Knight of Vasacodo Province, [Dragon Spear] Sam Aurora?"
Among the high-level extraordinary beings who use knight spears in this world, there are a few mountains that cannot be ignored, and this is Sam Aurora.
Gannix said with a proud look on his face: "Yes!"
Huh.
Not far away, Ren was slightly surprised when he heard this. This Gannicus is actually Uncle Sam's disciple? No wonder he felt that this guy's gun-shield move looked familiar.
"Since we are senior Sam's disciples, we can never give him advice. But we can communicate."
The dignified young master of the "Sequoia Chamber of Commerce" lowered his attitude and asked for advice, and Sordo was naturally willing to give some advice. Although he has not broken through to the third level, his many years of wilderness hunting career have allowed him to accumulate a wealth of practical experience and have considerable combat power.
When it comes to communication, it naturally involves discussion.
Gannix is a standard junior and senior model. His martial arts and breathing skills are all advanced, and he plays with confidence.
The two of them were going back and forth, and the fight was quite lively.
But Renn also saw that Sordo was very skillful from beginning to end, which was considered a good deal. The sparring might be comparable, but if it comes to killing someone, Gannix would probably be stabbed to death in two or three encounters.
There was not much entertainment in the silent night, but this competition was a lively one for everyone.
Bang, bang, bang... The clang of shields and spears resounded through the night sky.
"good!"
"Master Gannix, what a gun!"
"..."
After all, he was the sponsor, and the audience cheered for the young man.
Renn looked very interesting and shouted a few words from time to time.
Probably infected by the intense atmosphere of this competition, all the hunters had itchy hands.
At this time, Renn approached the bald hunter in the tent and asked, "Brother, I think you also followed the 'Fighter Sequence'. Which boxing style did you learn?"
Although there are more than a dozen melee-type supernatural beings in the hunting group, they are really pure fighters, that is, Ren and the [Martial Arts Master] named Tam next to them.
You can tell the difference by looking at the weapons. Only pure fighters will only equip gloves.
Most of the others carry weapons with murderous intent, including swordsmen, swordsmen, axemen, hammer warriors, shield warriors, and light-armored swordsmen.
Renn responded: "I have never been a serious teacher. I have learned a little bit here and there, but I am mixed but not good. Brother Tam, what about you?"
Tam: "Brother, I'm being humble. I'm probably a few years older than I am. I learned the boxing techniques from Grandmaster Qiang Hu of the 'Bahu Martial Arts School' in Glory City, so I can barely be considered an outer disciple."
Renn: "Oh? I also went to the 'Bahu Martial Arts School' to learn boxing, but I only learned it for ten and a half days. Grandmaster Qiang Hu's secrets are unparalleled and powerful, and I left a deep impression on him."
Tam: "I have been studying for several years. I originally had the opportunity to learn one and a half arcane martial arts from the teacher, but I didn't take it and didn't learn it after watching it."
After a pause, he added, "How about we both come and try to help each other?"
Hearing that he wanted to spar, Renn politely refused: "Forget it, my boxing style is very complicated and I can't control it well. Many of my moves are not suitable for the stage and can easily hurt people."
At his current level, there was little point in competing with ordinary hunters. If he really had to use his full strength, he would easily injure someone.
Tam didn't mind what he heard, and joked: "Haha... You are not a 'street fighter' who learned the actual combat style? Do you have any tricks like spreading lime?"
Renn smiled and said: "I know a little bit about them..."
"Hahaha... A move that can kill the enemy is a good move. There is nothing that can't be put on the table."
Tam laughed, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
"..."
After a while, the competition ended and everyone returned to their tents to rest.
Darkness swept across the entire desert, and only the place where everyone camped had a glimmer of light. They had no idea that several sneaky figures had already taken advantage of the night to come over.