I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

The fifty soldiers were completely silent, communicating entirely through precise tactical hand gestures and brief instructions delivered via their headsets.

The Snow Wolf Special Forces spread out in a fan shape in front, with team members spaced about fifteen meters apart, to facilitate mutual support and maximize their reconnaissance range.

Their figures appeared and disappeared among the twisted trees and hanging vines, almost becoming part of this dark forest.

In the center of the group was the Fierce Tigers, whose members carried the heaviest equipment, taking deep steps with each one, yet their breathing remained steady and their rhythm perfectly intact.

Lin Mo was protected in the middle by the Eagle team members, while Long Fei was half a step to his side.

He gripped his rifle tightly, trying to keep up with the rhythm of this war machine.

Above, a drone emitted a faint buzzing sound, hovering like a falcon a hundred meters above the ground, transmitting everything below back in real time via an encrypted data link.

"Report: Drone thermal imaging has revealed the outline of a settlement at a distance of 900 meters, which matches the intelligence provided by 'Tianmen'."

Wang Hao's voice rang out on the public channel, calm and clear.

"Tianmen, please confirm if it's the indigenous village you visited before," Long Fei said to Lin Mo, turning his head to the side.

Lin Mo immediately approached the tactical terminal on the arm of one of the Eagles team members.

On the screen, an area composed of irregular heat sources was marked with a red frame, and it was barely possible to make out that it consisted of dozens of simple buildings of varying sizes.

"It's here," Lin Mo affirmed.

"The entire team halts and remains in place!" Long Fei raised his hand and gave the order.

The fifty-man team stood still, guns pointed outwards, forming a temporary circular defensive line in the muddy swamp.

"Snow wolves and tigers, establish forward positions, block all exits from the village, and be ready to provide fire support and reinforcements at any time."

"Yes, sir!" came the brief response from Captain Han Feng of the Snow Wolf Team and the sergeant of the Fierce Tiger Team through the earpiece.

"Eagle Squad, take a headcount and follow me into the village. The rest of you, hold your positions."

Long Fei's gaze swept over Lin Mo and the team members beside him:

"Remember, our primary mission is reconnaissance, not combat. No one is allowed to fire without my order."

"clear!"

Once the order was given, the large team quickly divided up the tasks.

Most team members began to use the terrain and the modules they carried to construct semi-permanent defensive fortifications and firing positions.

Long Fei, along with Lin Mo and eighteen others, formed a commando team and headed towards the village.

Just as they were about to leave the dense forest and step into the open area on the outskirts of the village, Lin Mo stopped in his tracks.

He turned to look at Long Fei, his face showing embarrassment and frustration.

"Captain Long, something's up."

"Speak." Long Fei's gaze did not leave the direction of the village.

"Language... we don't understand each other." Lin Mo lowered his voice:

"Last time, the system could translate directly, so I could understand what they were saying. But what I say, they can't understand."

Long Fei paused.

He turned to look at Lin Mo, his brows furrowing slightly. He raised his hand and pressed his temples with his index and middle fingers.

For the first time in a month, Lin Mo saw an expression that resembled a "headache" on this steel-willed instructor's face.

"Let's go take a look first."

Long Fei paused for two seconds, then made a decision:

"You go first. Eagle Team, listen up, put away your weapons, don't act aggressively, but maintain level one alert."

The team members immediately adjusted their posture, changing their rifles from the standard holding position to a guard position with the muzzle pointing downwards.

This small gesture greatly reduces the perceived threat.

Lin Mo took a breath, walked to the front of the group, and stepped out of the shadows of the woods.

The village was quiet, the wooden fence was somewhat dilapidated, and a few wisps of smoke rose crookedly from the holes in the thatched roofs.

He spotted that familiar figure at a glance.

Blacksmith Forging Stone Iron Fist, shirtless, wielded his hammer beside the open-air forge, striking the red-hot metal with crisp, rhythmic clanging sounds.

Hearing footsteps, Duan Shi stopped what he was doing, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm, and squinted at them.

When he saw that it was Lin Mo, his face, blackened by smoke, broke into a rough grin.

"Hey! Kid! You're back!" he shouted in the local dialect, his voice booming.

Lin Mo immediately translated the sentence to the team members behind him through his headset.

He said, "Kid, you're back."

The team members remained silent, only cautiously observing their surroundings.

The shouts of the stone-forging man startled the people inside the house.

The door of a thatched hut was pushed open, and a chestnut-haired girl in a coarse cloth dress rushed out.

It was Aria, the girl Lin Mo had saved last time.

When she saw Lin Mo at the village entrance, her clear eyes lit up, and her face was full of surprise.

"warrior!!"

She cheered, lifted her skirt, and ran barefoot, leaving a trail of small footprints in the mud.

Before Lin Mo could react, the girl, like a deer, threw herself into his arms and gave him a tight hug.

A refreshing herbal scent and the warm aura unique to young girls enveloped Lin Mo.

He froze.

The Eagles team members behind him also stirred for a moment.

Two team members instinctively reached for their weapons, but were immediately stopped by a stern look from Long Fei.

Lin Mo stammered into his earpiece, "She... is the girl I rescued last time!"

Long Fei's voice remained calm: "Keep the situation under control."

Arya hugged him for a while before letting go, but she still held onto Lin Mo's arm, tilting her little face up and chattering away.

"You're finally back! I thought I'd never see you again! I told Grandpa about you, and he really wants to see you too! Are you staying here this time?"

"Our village is safe! Those goblins won't dare come back!"

As Lin Mo listened, he quickly translated the audio into his headset.

"She said she thought she would never see me again... Her grandfather wanted to see me... and asked if I wanted to stay..."

Arya talked for a long time before realizing that Lin Mo was just looking at her without saying a word.

The smile on her face gradually disappeared, and she tilted her head, looking puzzled.

Lin Mo gave a wry smile; he knew now was not the time to explain the language issue.

He released his hand from Arya's grasp and took out paper and pen from his tactical backpack.

Under the curious gaze of the girl and her teammates, he quickly sketched the outline of a minotaur on the paper, adding a huge axe to its hand.

He handed the painting to Arya.

Arya looked at the drawing on the paper with curiosity, studied it for a moment, and nodded.

Then, in front of her, Lin Mo drew a simple knife next to the minotaur portrait, with the tip pointing directly at the minotaur's heart.

Arya's expression changed instantly.

The joy and enthusiasm of that reunion vanished without a trace, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over them.

Her face turned deathly pale in an instant, and her grip on Lin Mo's arm tightened involuntarily, her knuckles turning white.

"No!!" she cried out in a short, trembling voice.

She looked up at Lin Mo in horror, shaking her head vigorously.

"You're going to kill the minotaurs?"

Her voice was low and filled with deep fear.

"No!! Absolutely not!!"

"They're a hundred times more terrifying than goblins! They're monsters of the swamp, true demons!"

Arya's breathing quickened as she stared intently into Lin Mo's eyes, trying to make him understand the seriousness of the situation.

"They are brutal and bloodthirsty! The village's bravest hunter, Brother Ren's father, went to challenge the minotaurs and never returned!"

"And three years ago, a minotaur just got lost and wandered near our village, and it knocked down half of our village's fence!"

"Seven hunters went to drive it away, three died and four were seriously injured! We were no match for them!"

The girl's eyes were filled with tears, and her voice was trembling with sobs.

"Warrior, listen to me, don't go! Please, don't go! You'll die!"