Bain slowly shook his head, "Some escaped and scattered, hiding in the mountains or the Icefield Mountain Range."
"Alright, in a while, mark out the places where your tribe might have gone."
Luo De instructed, "Rein will help find your tribesmen and bring them to my territory for resettlement."
The Icefield Mountain Range is inaccessible in winter, ordinary people simply cannot withstand the extreme cold.
However, the surrounding mountains can be searched thoroughly.
"At your command, noble Lord."
Bain respectfully bowed again.
Luo De nodded, "Alright, go rest, tomorrow youāll continue your journey."
"Yes."
Bain responded obediently and respectfully withdrew.
"You should rest too, Rein."
Luo De pointed to Gang Le squatting on the ground, "Bring him along too."
"Yes, Lord."
Rein nodded and then asked, "Where is Knight Chris? We deceived him earlier; I should apologize."
Earlier, due to Luo Deās plan, Rein and Gang Le followed orders to fabricate lies to Chris.
Although it was to deceive the Lizardman monitoring Chris, Rein felt it was better to explain briefly.
Luo De didnāt bother further, pointing to the cave behind,
"His eyes are covered, heās in the cave behind."
"Alright."
Rein pulled the somewhat exhausted Gang Le and headed towards the cave in the ravine.
...
...
The next morning.
As the sun rose, Luo De led the team to embark on the return journey.
With Chris present, Luo De did not hide his movements and openly marched through Razor Plain with the team.
Soon Tucson reported, some Lizardmen were found trailing them in a ravine five kilometers to the east of the team.
Luo De paid no mind.
Because Gang Le and Rein would teach them how to make corpses.
This time Luo De took back only thirty soldiers, leaving the rest at Razor Plain.
In addition, Luo De also left fifty Turtle Shields found at the Sea Abyss Wizard Tower for temporary use by Gang Le and his group.
These shields could even block Luo Deās finely forged edge, and the ordinary Long Spears of the Lizardmen couldnāt pierce through.
In Luo Deās eyes now, Lizardmen were as valuable as Gold Coins, and he wanted Gang Le and Rein to quickly establish an advance post at Razor Plain.
Once a defensible advance post is established, troops can be stationed and food stockpiled there.
Subsequent hunting, arable land cultivation, and mineral development will be more convenient, rather than launching an expedition each time.
Luo De hadnāt traveled through the Northern Wasteland for a long time.
He felt no fatigue; instead, he felt relaxed, as if he were on vacation.
Aside from the slightly annoying cold, there was nothing else unpleasant.
This time, aside from the things Gang Le brought back and the Yak People, Luo De harvested thirty-three Lizardmen corpses, nineteen Lizardmen captives, and thirty-six Mixed Blood captives.
If indeed as Baron Blom claimed, those fifty-one Lizardmen corpses would be worth over a thousand Gold Coins.
Luo De made a significant profit on this trip.
The reason for fifty-one is that Luo De did not intend to keep the Lizardman captives.
Lizardmen are too wild to be tamed; making them work would require more overseers, which isnāt worth it.
Itās better to kill them for money.
Of course, Luo De temporarily wouldnāt kill them directly.
Firstly, they can march on their own, without needing people to transport them.
Secondly, Luo De wondered if someone might be interested in keeping live Lizardmen as slaves.
Keeping some alive for when Man Xiu and the Dawn Societyās caravan arrives might fetch a high price?
Luo De believed some of the great nobles might have peculiar tastes.
If one were to keep a rare Lizardman as a pet, wouldnāt that be something to boast about?
Of course, these were just Luo Deās speculations about noble preferences.
Anyhow, with plenty of dried meat stored, even if humans canāt eat it, using it to feed a few Lizardmen isnāt an issue.
Luo De led the team for two days, safely exiting Razor Plainās territory.
The Lizardmen trailing Luo Deās team posed no trouble; after a few ambushes by Gang Le and Rein, they fled, leaving behind a dozen corpses.
Luo De had anticipated this.
The interrogated Lizardmen revealed that while the Bloodscale Tribe had unified all the Ice Lizardmen, they were now in conflict with the Seal People of the Ice Sea.
The Ice Lizardmen live in the mountains and seem to have no conflicts with the Seal People living by the sea.
The interrogated Lizardmen didnāt explain why.
Luo De speculated that the Bloodscale Tribe might want to control those Seal People tribes, so they could obtain food and salt from the sea.
If it was a Human Lord, Luo De might assume they wanted to develop a maritime route, but he was unclear about the Lizardmenās specific situation.
But even with just these two things, itās enough for people to fight desperately.
Additionally, there are other alien races in the Icefield Mountain Range, which prevents the Lizardmen from deploying all their forces to fight Luo De.
In this regard, Luo De had to thank the Western Allianceās restlessness, which temporarily freed the southern part of Black Pine Ridge from concern.
After passing through Ice Blade Valley, Luo Deās team reached the border sentry post to rest.
Kres did not stay but went directly to the place Luo De had arranged
āthe former underground cave of the Earth Ear Race.
It was well-hidden; if not a subterranean race, one couldnāt find him there.
However, Luo Deās plan to spend the night at the sentry post was also thwarted.
When he rode Night Fury to the foot of the sentry post, the patrolling soldiers hurriedly ran out,
"Lord, news came from Frost Leaf Town three days ago, the wheat you wanted has appeared!"