For this operation, there are 8 hired warriors, 2 hired warlocks, Oscar, Meng Hu, Qin Yue, a total of thirteen main members, and 10 ordinary mercenaries are hired to assist and ensure that everything goes well.

Near the demon cave, there is a village that can provide a place to stay and supplies. Oscar settled Alice and was ready to set off, but he saw Alice sitting in the study, dazed and depressed.

Alice was full of distress: "My ability is too weak to help the young master."

"Don't think so, your power is beyond anyone's imagination." Oscar sat down gently, touched Alice's head and said: "I hope you will always be ordinary and happy."

Alice wanted to go with him very much, but she was well-behaved and sensible, and she was afraid of causing trouble to everyone, so she didn't bring it up.

"What is it like outside?"

"You haven't been there?"

"Alice has never walked out of the city wall." Alice's eyes flickered, a little scared, a little curious, and a little yearning.

"Everyone says that the wild is full of man-eating monsters and cruel and evil demons. It is not a place for humans to live! I really want to become stronger as soon as possible so that I can go out and see it."

Fifteen years.

For fifteen years, Alice has never walked out of a palm-sized place.

Oscar was a little surprised: "This world is very exciting. Although it is dangerous, it is full of opportunities!"

Oscar picked up a pen and drew a big circle on the parchment. "Look, this is the northern continent, which is divided into several parts. The land alone is 93 million square kilometers. The human race is concentrated on the south side."

Oscar drew a small piece below.

Alice frowned and said, "So little?"

"Yes, the human race is distributed over an area of 20 million square kilometers, mainly composed of several plains.

Although the distribution is quite large, the Northern Federation actually controls less than 10 million square kilometers. Outside the human race's sphere of influence, there are primeval forests, wastelands, deserts, lakes, mountains, plateaus, oceans, ice fields and other rugged areas, which are uninhabited areas.

Take the Frost Plateau for example, there are thirteen alien tribes including orcs and frost trolls living on it, collectively known as the Thirteen Northern Tribes!"

Alice opened her eyes wide, "I have only heard of orcs!"

"This is because orcs are closest to us!" Oscar then drew other places, "The northern continent is not completely covered with ice and snow, there are also hot and rich tropical forests, warm golden beaches... This continent is also a small part of the whole world."

Alice's curiosity was aroused: "Do we have a chance to go?"

"Of course!"

This girl has always lived in a place the size of a palm, and she has no idea that the world is so rich and vast.

"Do you want to go outside the town?"

"Yes!" Alice was stunned for a moment, and quickly changed her words: "No... No! I can't hold you back!"

"Stop talking, pack up, and let's go together!"

"Really?"

"Nalan Yan has no cultivation, but she still runs around. The outside world is not as scary as you think. You will know if you go there."

Alice's white face, like a peeled egg, flushed with excitement, and she kissed Oscar on the face excitedly, "Master is the best!"

Oscar didn't think Alice was a burden. In fact, when Alice's potential burst out, it would be a stronger fighting force than anyone else.

This power cannot be used easily, otherwise it will put others, including Oscar, in a very dangerous situation.

Oscar will not let Alice participate in the battle.

Just take Alice out for a trip, and when passing by the village, leave her in the village.

For this reason, Oscar specially hired 10 more mercenaries to form a team to protect Alice. Oscar is not short of money, as long as Alice is happy, it is worth it.

"Sir, we have prepared horses, and we have several excellent Xiyuan wildebeests!"

Xiyuan wildebeests have a better name, called dragon scale horses, which are produced in the Xiyuan region of the north. They are a horse breed with a long history. Purebred dragon scale horses are all black, with fine scales on their heads and necks.

They have horns similar to deer on their heads, thick fur, and tall bodies. They are excellent military horses. The main source of income in the Xiyuan region is the sale of dragon scale horses.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Meng Hu, carrying a heavy gun and axe, carrying a quiver and a bow, riding a tall horse, said to Oscar: "We have set the route, and we will first follow the trade road to the Musk Ox Village 30 kilometers away."

Oscar was about to leave when a sound of horse hooves sounded.

"Sir Oscar, please wait!"

The crowd separated.

Wei Nan rode over on horseback, with a knight on either side.

Oscar asked with a surprised expression: "Mayor, what are you doing..."

Wei Nan pulled the reins, rode his horse slowly forward, and showed a kind smile. He bowed to Oscar and said: "Lord Oscar is a noble of Fire Bronze, but he is going to investigate the demons near Musk Ox Village to eliminate harm.

Musk Ox Village is a village under the jurisdiction of Baisong Town. Wei Nan's magic power is limited. He is a magician after all, and he is also the mayor of Baisong Town. He has not done anything beneficial to the people since he took office. This time, I will go to help no matter what!"

This is a great thing!

Wei Nan is by no means an ordinary person. He is a magician-level master who can't be hired even if you have money. With the addition of two elite knights, the team's combat power has been greatly enhanced.

"The mayor is going to eliminate harm for the people himself!"

"Support the mayor!"

"What a good mayor!"

The townspeople cheered and talked.

Oscar had no reason to refuse, but he felt uncomfortable in his heart. There is always something unpredictable about this person, so it is better to be a little cautious.

"Okay, let's go!"

"We have to get to Musk Ox Village before dusk!"

Amid the sound of horse hooves, the horses galloped through the vast wilderness. There are usually [straight roads] between towns, also called [lanes] or [trades], which are convenient passages for military or commercial use.

Rugged terrain plus snow, harsh environment, difficult off-roading, ordinary horses and carriages cannot travel, so this convenient passage is very necessary.

In addition, walking on the [straight road] is safer. There will be sentry posts at some important intersections of the straight road, commonly known as [straight road stations], to reduce the harm of robbers and monsters. But when the convoy or horse team passes the sentry post, they have to pay tolls.

The straight-line distance from Baisong Town to Musk Ox Village is only about 30 kilometers, and the actual distance is definitely more than that. If nothing goes wrong, it can be reached in more than an hour.

………

This place is covered with ice and snow half of the time, until late April, when the snow line begins to gradually rise, and the snow on the plain will completely melt. Although it is spring now, it is not April yet, and most areas are still covered in snow.

The ice and snow cannot resist the counterattack of life, and the season of revival has arrived.

In some areas, black soil is exposed, and some green is seeping out from the dense dead grass.

Thousands of snow geese are surrounding a meadow, as big as male geese, with snow-white feathers, pecking at berries in the snow. They build nests and lay eggs in the open space, and cunning snow foxes take the opportunity to shuttle among them and steal snow goose eggs.

In the distance, wild sheep are foraging in groups, like white clouds crawling on the hillside.

Alice leaned on Oscar's arms, ignoring the cold wind that hurt her cheeks, and stared at everything with wide eyes.

So empty!

So many animals!

Distant and mysterious icebergs, flawless and pure snowfields, lifeless grasslands, beautiful snow geese, cunning snow foxes, cautious snow sheep, strong musk oxen... Occasionally encountering snow wolves besieging sheep, snow leopards killing musk oxen, or seeing snow sculptures madly snatching and pecking at dead cows, it is very exciting and thrilling!

Oscar hugged Alice's soft body, shielded her from the wind, and said with a smile: "Do you like it?"

Alice was amazed and nodded vigorously: "There are many animals in the wild!"

"Yes, this is a rich land, the foundation of people's livelihood, of course, it is also watched by orcs." Oscar looked up and took a deep breath of cold air, sighing: "This world is very big! Musk Ox Village is coming, we will spend the night in the village."

Musk Ox Village has a population of 3,000, mainly hunting, supplemented by planting snow berries and rye, and the nearby resources are rich and the living resources are abundant. But recently, due to the chaos caused by demons, dozens of people have disappeared, and the village is shrouded in a shadow.

Wei Nan rode his horse to the front, looked at the villagers who had gathered, waved his hands and shouted: "Hello, villagers, I am the mayor of Baisong Town. This is Mr. Oscar. We came here to investigate the demons and monsters!"

The villagers did not cheer as expected.

They all looked questioning.

"Is this enough?"

"Several groups of adventurers have gone and never returned!"

"I don't think it will work..."

"Yes, those demons are so scary!"

Most villagers were not optimistic about them.

A middle-aged villager wearing cowhide directly stood up and shouted: "The demons are very fierce. You are only more than 30 people. It's too dangerous! If it's really the mayor, please send troops over!"

Wei Nan's face suddenly darkened: "Nonsense! How can regular troops be mobilized at will!"

The villager shouted: "Then you'd better not go! This is to die! The previous groups of people went and never came back!"

Wei Nan said unhappily: "What do you know, a village man? How can we compare with ordinary adventurers? Let your village chief come out!"

Oscar didn't say anything. His eyes swept over the villagers and then fell on Wei Nan, with a hint of doubt.

At this time, an old man came over with the help of several villagers. He was a villager from Musk Ox Village. He was obviously more knowledgeable than ordinary villagers. He saw that Oscar's team was not simple at a glance. He immediately staggered up and saluted: "I am the village chief of Musk Ox Village. I am a rough and ignorant man. I offended you. Please forgive me."

"Please give me the information about the demon cave." Oscar said to the village chief: "In addition, I want to check the remains of the victims."

"Of course, please follow me."

Oscar, Qin Yue, Wei Nan, three warlocks followed the village chief.

The others settled the horses and tidied up their residence.

In a simple thatched house, two bodies covered with linen lay on the platform. These were the villagers killed by the demon. Both were hunters who were killed near the cave.

The wounds were mainly scratches and bites, not caused by wild beasts, because there were obvious signs of pollution, and the body was black and rotten. Ordinary wild beasts and even demon beasts could not cause similar effects.

Qin Yue covered her nose and asked, "Was this killed by a demon?"

Oscar checked it once, covered the cloth again, and said while washing his hands in the basin, "Judging from the wound, it looks like a claw demon."

"I know this." Wei Nan stepped forward to answer, "In the literature on known demons, the claw demon is a common low-level demon of level 1, and its strength is not very strong."

Qin Yue showed disappointment, "After all this time, it turned out to be a level 1 demon. Doesn't that mean we can't get the demon crystal we want?"

"Not necessarily. Claw demons live in groups, and among them there are giant claw demons. Giant claw demons are level 2 demons, and level 2 demon crystals meet our usage standards!

If it's just a nest of claw demons, this mission will be easy." Oscar said here, and suddenly shut up, obviously he had something to say.

Wei Nan asked in surprise, "Is there anything suspicious?"

Oscar glanced at Wei Nan and said, "It's hard to say now. We'll know after the field investigation tomorrow!"