The Crimson Star Tribe camp.


    In the initial panic, Dous slowly regained his calm and continued recounting the travails of this journey as a traveling merchant: "...due to a sudden heavy snowfall, in order to reach the tribe quickly, we chose to traverse through the reeds of ta in. However, shortly after entering the reeds, we encountered a pack of Giant Tooth Wind Wolves."


    Dous smiled bitterly, visibly anxious.


    The Giant Tooth Wind Wolf, a true supernatural creature, and a pack animal at that.


    It''s the greatest threat to all tribes in ta in, but fortunately, these creatures typically show no interest in humans on normal days. They prefer to stay deep in the ins, hunting the terrifying supernatural creatures that dwell there as their food.


    Unfortunately, Dous and his group encountered the Giant Tooth Wind Wolves.


    He pleaded once more, "Lord Enzo, I beg you to help rescue myrades. I am willing to donate all the goods from this trip to you."


    Enzo frowned and asked, "Dous, have you discovered anything else?"


    Dous looked puzzled, "What do you mean by ''anything else,'' Lord Enzo?"


    Enzo replied, "The Giant Tooth Wind Wolf rarely appears in the outer areas of ta in, especially not in the extensive reed beds near the jungle. ording to normal circumstances, it should be impossible for them to appear there. Yet now, they have appeared precisely there. Furthermore, there''s abnormal behavior among the jungle beasts."


    These words made Dous''s face slightly pale.


    Apanying Dous, Heru couldn''t help but specte, "Lord Enzo, are you implying that some unknown change has urred, causing the Giant Tooth Wind Wolves and other beasts to behave abnormally?"


    Enzo shook his head, "I can''t be certain."


    At this point, Dous seemed to remember something and said, "Those Giant Tooth Wind Wolves were all wounded!"


    "Wounded?" Enzo half-believed.


    Dous affirmed without doubt.


    However, Enzo didn''t press for further details.


    After encountering the Giant Tooth Wind Wolves, Dous, Christina, and the others fell into despair. Despite bringing all the members of the me Association on this journey, they were facing dozens of these supernatural creatures, far stronger than the caravan members.


    In desperation, they had no choice but to seek help.


    Dous was the only option, as he was familiar with the routes in the vicinity.


    After paying a heavy price, Christina and the others managed to send Dous away from the wolf pack. Upon escaping, Dous ran frantically for a full day before reaching near the vicinity of the Crimson Star Tribe camp, where he was discovered and brought back by Heru, who was out scouting.


    However, there was still something that puzzled Enzo.


    He asked, "Dous, are you sure yourpanions could hold out for that long?"


    Even the strongest tribe in ta in wouldn''t dare im survival under the siege of Giant Tooth Wind Wolves, let alone Dous and his caravan, which had limited defensive capabilities.


    Dous truthfully replied, "Christina used a Scroll."


    Enzo became interested, "A Scroll?"


    Dous exined, "That Scroll cost tens of thousands of gold leaves. It can generate a circr protective shield with a diameter of thirty meters, capable of blocking attacks from supernatural creatures up to third-tier, but it onlysts for about two days."


    "I see." Enzo understood.


    He then asked Dous to wait for a moment and hurried to the nearbyke, calling upon Arceus.


    Nurtured by the totem power, Arceus''s body grewrger, and a small bulge appeared on its head, as if something was about to emerge.


    In contrast, Betta''s sleep grew longer.


    Especially after the first snowfall, Betta entered hibernation, sleeping deeply. However, as Betta''s owner, Enzo could perceive Betta''s changes.


    A violent force was brewing within Betta''s massive body.


    Arceus dipped its head into theke, emitting a hissing sound.


    Enzo directly said, "Arceus, I need to go to ta in and require your assistance."


    Arceus lowered its head, and Enzo climbed aboard.


    The journey to ta in was long, and ording to Dous''s description, Christina and the others wouldn''tst much longer. Time was of the essence, and Arceus''s speed was incredibly swift, much faster than theirs.


    Under Enzo''smand, Arceus avoided tribe members as it glided through the camp.


    Tribe members understood this was Enzo''s pet and were not surprised, merely marveling at Enzo''s strength. However, this frightened Dous, who only realized the severity of the situation after Enzo grabbed him and took him far away from the camp.


    "Mr. Enzo, is this a supernatural creature you''ve tamed?"


    Enzo chuckled, "This is Arceus. You can say hello."


    Saying hello?


    Dous shivered at the thought .


    However upon learning Arceus''s identity, he rxed.


    But now he realized a serious problem, "Mr. Enzo, what happened to the Battle squad you were leading?"


    Enzo automatically opened his mouth:


    Dous eximed in surprise, "Mr. Enzo, are you saying that you didn''t bring any other Battle squad members with you, just yourself and your pet Arceus?"


    Enzo nodded, understanding Dous''s concern, and reassured him, "Dous, don''t worry, it''s not a problem."


    Since the onset of winter, the tribal fire continued to grow stronger, enhancing Enzo''s totemic power. The third leaf on the life sapling totem was about to fully manifest, granting him new abilities.


    Moreover, the tribal fire itself was in the process of advancing.


    Once the advance wasplete, the reciprocal empowerment from the tribal fire would lead to a significant leap in Enzo''s strength.


    In other words, except for venturing deep into the forbidden zones of ta in or encountering tribes as powerful as Freya''s, Enzo was invincible in the jungle and its surrounding areas.


    The Giant Tooth Wind Wolves posed no threat to him.


    Dous, unaware of this, couldn''t help but feel pessimistic at the moment.


    However, regardless of the circumstances, Christina and the others must be rescued—they were among Dous''s few friends.


    All Dous could do now was pray inwardly.


    ...


    ta in, the Reed Marsh.


    Compared to ces like the jungle, Qaidam Lake, and Caucasus Mountain, ta in is thergest in terms of area. It''s primarily divided into the deep forbidden zones, the intermediate buffer zones, and the outer ins.


    Tribes like the Mpondo Tribe and Thorn Bush Tribe reside in the outer ins.


    There are several notable features in these outer ins, such as the Kadah River that traverses the entire ta in, flowing from deep within the in through to Qaidam Lake.


    Apart from this, there are reed marshes, wolf tail grasnds, and other distinctive terrains.


    Among these, some are characterized by their unique speciesposition, while others owe their uniqueness to peculiar topography. Overall, however, there is nothing extraordinarily special about them.


    Previously, Amy''s Red River Tribe inhabited the chaotic stone piles on the outskirts of the ins.


    The most striking feature of these stone piles is the presence of numerous massive rocks that appear abruptly on the grasnds.


    How these gigantic stones came to be there remains a mystery.


    These were much like how tribes residing in the outer ins are unaware of the secrets within the deep ins.


    It was the forbidden zone for humans.


    While Enzo and Dous hurried towards their destination, Christina and the others in the reed marsh had fallen into utter despair.


    Despite being sheltered by the golden protective shield, everyone understood it was only temporary. Once the shield dissipated, they would all be victims under the ws of the Giant Tooth Wind Wolves.


    "Damn it! We shouldn''t have listened to Dous in the first ce!" Roman cursed angrily.


    Fierro, on the other hand, adopted a nonchnt attitude. "Come on, Roman. As traveling merchants like us, encountering danger is par for the course. Out of every ten traveling merchants I know, eight have disappeared on some distant journey."


    Although Fierro''s words were true, Roman couldn''t ept the prospect of death.


    He could only look towards Christina.


    However, Christina had her eyes half-closed at this moment. Despite the freezing weather, sweat beaded on her forehead. Her mouth was clenched, as if enduring some unseen pain.


    Richard, standing nearby, noticed something amiss and asked anxiously, "Christina, what''s wrong?"


    Roman, Fierro, and other caravan members gathered around as well.


    Christina opened her eyes, her face pale, and said, "I''m fine. I was trying to see how Dous was doing, but I witnessed something bizarre."


    Suddenly, Christina smiled faintly and said, "Roman, Fierro, why don''t you start a fire and have a good meal."


    Roman and Fierro froze. Christina''s request was oddly timed, especially when they heard her next words,"I think we may not have another chance after this."


    They all realized something was terribly wrong and asked, "Christina, what did you see?"


    But Christina did not respond.


    She waspletely lost, sitting on the grass in a daze, letting the snowkes float on her and wrapping her up like a snowman.


    Others were helpless and could only wait quietly for Dous'' return.


    Time passed quickly, the heavy snow stopped falling, the moon peeked out from the clouds, and night fell.


    Under Arceus''s full speed, saving a lot of time, Enzo and Dous also arrived at the reed marsh. However, the scene before them sent shivers down their spines.


    There were no Giant Tooth Wind Wolves, no caravan members, no ves, no yaks...


    The golden protective shield stood out against the pitch-ck night sky. The flickering mes illuminated skewers of roasted meat hanging from branches, filling the air with fragrance... Everything seemed normal, except for theplete absence of living beings.


    What in the world could exin this?