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

"Detonate."

Zhang Yi pressed down with his thumb.

"boom--!"

The pile of rotten wood and rubble at the north gate exploded instantly, sending dust and smoke billowing more than ten meters high.

Immediately afterwards, a series of muffled explosions echoed through the city.

The commotion was caused by the Claymore mines left by the Tigers being triggered.

"Go! Don't look back!"

Long Fei's voice rang out on the channel, leaving no room for argument.

The exoskeleton hydraulic pumps hummed in unison as the black steel column charged straight into the dense forest to the north.

Behind them, the mournful meows of a cat, mixed with the echo of an explosion, were quickly left behind.

Lin Mo held the gun, his breathing rapid but steady. The heart rate reading on the HUD head-up display remained at 110.

"Two at three o'clock."

As soon as the eagle's cry faded, the thermal imaging in Lin Mo's field of vision locked onto the two orange-red heat sources behind the bushes.

To the naked eye, there were only withered yellow leaves.

But in the thermal imaging, the two cat demons that were preparing to ambush the enemy had nowhere to hide.

"Pfft! Pfft!" Two soft, muffled sounds.

The QBZ-191 in the team member's hand only vibrated slightly.

Two streams of black blood spurted out from behind the bushes, and the two heat sources quickly cooled down.

"Kill confirmed."

Throughout the entire process, the team did not even slow down.

After last night's fighting, these sporadic skirmishes were hardly a warm-up for them.

As the sun rose higher, the fog gradually dissipated.

The trees ahead suddenly thinned out, and the ground turned into an undulating meadow.

"stop!"

Ryan, who was walking at the front, suddenly raised his fist.

The entire team froze instantly, raising their guns in unison in perfect unison.

"What?" Long Fei stepped forward.

Raine didn't say anything, but bent down, picked up a fist-sized stone, and threw it forcefully at the seemingly unremarkable patch of grass.

"Snap—!"

The turf suddenly burst open, and two rows of huge, serrated iron clamps snapped shut, sending sparks flying.

The stone instantly turned to dust.

Several Snow Wolf team members instinctively shrank their legs.

"The hunting grounds of Shigu Town."

Ryan pointed to the peaceful meadow ahead, his voice strained:

"There are traps, pitfalls, poisoned nets everywhere, and those damn alchemical bombs. Nobody dares to go here except hunters."

"There are also traps outside Fernwall Village, but the traps here are much more ruthless. That's why the cat demons and goblins don't dare to come here."

He drew the bone blade from his waist and glanced back at the steel warriors behind him:

"Follow in my footsteps, and don't make a single mistake."

"Single column, follow," Long Fei ordered.

The group lined up in a row, carefully following in the footsteps left by Renn.

Lin Mo looked down at a very thin thread at his feet, which was connected to a row of sharp wooden stakes on the treetop next to him.

With just a slight flick of the toe, those wooden stakes would swing down in unison, piercing right through a person.

After passing through this death zone, the view suddenly opened up.

A huge gray rock town stands on the plain.

The granite city wall, which is more than ten meters high, is covered with knife marks and claw marks. The cracks in the wall are filled with black mortar, and dark red runes can be vaguely seen shimmering in the sunlight.

"arrive."

Raine sheathed the bone blade back into his waistband, visibly relaxing: "This is Stoneholdt."

Before even entering the city gates, a wave of noise hit us.

"Fresh tusked boar! Freshly bled!"

"Buying herbs! Hemostatic herbs, moonflower, high prices!"

The massive city gates were wide open, and two squads of guards clad in leather armor were lazily leaning against the wall, inspecting passing merchants.

When this all-black armed force appeared on the main road, the once noisy city gate fell silent instantly.

All eyes turned to them.

The exoskeleton armor gleamed with a cold, matte sheen in the sunlight, and the blue visors on the fully enclosed helmet exuded a chilling aura that kept strangers at bay.

Especially the sound of their synchronized footsteps, crunching on the gravel road, carried a sense of oppression.

"stop!"

A guard captain gripped his spear, his Adam's apple bobbing, and stood in the middle of the road: "Who goes there?"

"It's me, Old Buck."

Raine stepped out from behind Long Fei and patted the captain of the guard on the shoulder.

"Raine?"

The guard captain paused for a moment, then his eyes widened: "You're not dead, kid? I heard about Fernwall Village..."

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes darted warily towards the steel warriors behind Renn:

"These... tin cans, did you bring them back? What mercenary group did you come from? They don't look like friendly people."

Show some respect.

Raine's smile faded, and he lowered his voice: "This is the adventurer who helped us wipe out the cat demons. A truly ruthless character."

The captain of the guards gasped and looked Long Fei and Lin Mo over again, his expression changing, especially when he saw the black blood still smeared on their gun barrels.

"Since it was you who brought these people... go in." The captain of the guard stepped aside and waved for them to pass: "Don't cause trouble in town."

The procession passed through the city gate.

The prosperity of Shigu Town far exceeded Lin Mo's imagination.

On both sides of the wide stone-paved road, there are rows of rugged stone houses.

The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat, mixed with the sour smell of cheap beer and a strong smell of coal smoke.

"Jingle bells—"

The sounds of hammering echoed throughout the room.

In an open-air blacksmith shop by the roadside, a dwarf with a braided beard was wielding a large hammer, and amidst the flying sparks, a battle axe was taking shape.

"Are they dwarves?" Lin Mo asked in a low voice over the channel.

"I think so~" Long Fei also looked around curiously!

The surrounding crowd automatically parted to make way for them.

Whether it was the adventurer carrying a greatsword, the merchant in a long robe, or even the laborer pushing a wheelbarrow, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the group with complicated expressions.

"Look at that," Ryan pointed to a stall by the roadside.

The stall owner was holding up a withered black paw and hawking it to the onlookers: "See this? A cat demon's paw! Two silver coins, no bargaining!"

"Two silver coins for one paw."

Raine turned to look at Lin Mo, his tone strange: "If we chopped off all the claws of those cat demons we killed last night, we could buy half this street."

Lin Mo twitched the corner of his mouth.

Last night, we were so focused on overwhelming the enemy with firepower that we didn't have time to chop off their claws. Besides, most of the cat demons were blasted to smithereens by those heavy-firepower maniacs.

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Lin Mo patted the magazine at his waist.

The group headed east along the main road.

The further you go in, the taller the buildings become.

Until a black castle appeared on the horizon.

It was a fortress built against the mountain, with towering spires and a suspension bridge hanging high above.

At the highest point, a banner depicting an anvil and a warhammer fluttered in the wind.

"That's the mayor's castle."

Renn stopped and pointed to the enormous structure:

"Graham Anvil. A greedy, stubborn, but trustworthy old adventurer."

Long Fei raised his head and, through his tactical mask, locked his gaze on the figure peering down through binoculars atop the castle tower.

"Take care of your attire."

Long Fei's voice rang out on the channel.

"Click—"

All team members simultaneously straightened their chests, raised their weapons, and their exoskeletons emitted a synchronized mechanical clicking sound.