Gloria and everyone stayed still and silent until about four or five hours passed, when they were completely sure that the danger had passed, they quickly headed to the last cache, although obviously they did so in such a discreet way that the enemies would not even be able to notice them even if they had left more people behind…
Gloria carefully walks in the small depression while making signs to everyone, when she clearly sees the auxiliary camp they have set up here she realizes how well planned everything was by the lizardmen, this unlike the caches not only has the same food warehouses and other useful things, but also has stables with mounts and beasts still in them, some guards and more buildings…
Fortunately for everyone Gloria detects that there is only one mystic realm grade 4 advanced stage leading the remaining troops, then Gloria speaks to Alexei: "Commander Alexei, I will take care of the leader, do you mind if you take care of the second in command?"
Alexei replies calmly while nodding: "It is just a lizardman at the peak of the third grade of the mystic realm, it is not a great nuisance, but what do we do with the mounts and beasts?, personally I think the young master would be interested in taking them with us."
Gloria thinks about it a bit remembering how the lizardmen mostly controlled their combat beasts and mounts and says: "Do you have any of these small medals?"
Alexei sees a piece of wood with a rudimentary metal carving and says: "Those things?, yes we have several, we do not know what they are for, but what do you need them for?"
Gloria answers simply: "I think they are the key to their domestication process or at least subordination, because besides the giant wood-scaled lizards that are intrinsically linked to the alphas, the others do not seem to have much command power over them."
Alexei scratches his head saying confused: "But could that not mean that they have tamers like mortals?, I mean they could have the taming skill or beast taming."
Gloria shakes her head: "Although it is possible, tamers are too valuable to send them in an exploration group, to such a distant vanguard, besides the reason why I suspect these medals is because every time a group of beasts is commanded by the lizards there are always about three or four that possess this medal and take it out shortly before giving orders."
Alexei then narrows his eyes and compares it with his recent experiences: "Now that I think about it, you may be right, but how do they do it with just this?, I do not feel anything inside, it does not even seem like an artifact or a semi-artifact."
Gloria then speaks saying: "I really do not know either, we could ask Feicui Long later, his disciple or the group of believers of the emerald-golden dragon god."
Alexei then nods and takes his axe, the glory of the frozen golden lion together with his shield, the pride of the frozen golden lion and modulating his breathing he prepares himself taking momentum to attack, Gloria does not lag behind…
Then they raise their right hand Gloria begins to count, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1… then she starts running holding her sword, this time she refuses to use the crimson flashing steps, with her hand on the sword, she quickly cuts using crimson flash of the sword.
The lizard leader is quickly surprised and tries to counterattack but it is not possible, the last thing she sees while holding her large combat axe similar to a bardiche, with both hands about to counterattack, is a crimson flash, very thin similar to a thread…
And boom, her body collapses split in two, the rest of the lizardmen are alerted, while Alexei using thunderous strike of piercing ice with brutal force splits in two the second in command who was distracted drinking some kind of strange alcoholic beverage.
The rest was a piece of cake approximately 30 combatants versus the miserable 10 lizards were easily defeated…
Gloria orders the usual, that the useful resources be collected and sends a message to Emma's team with the sound transmission stone that Feicui Long refined and gave them to communicate turning it into an artifact similar to a necklace or a bracelet.
…
Emma's side has been hunting exploration groups without ceasing, without exaggeration not counting the large group they defeated, which was made up of 3 exploration groups, they have defeated another 7 and 5 reinforcement teams…
Emma at first did not take this much as a threat to her lord's plans, but each exploration group is equivalent to 5 lizardmen, in just those 10 groups they killed 50 lizards and each reinforcement group has 10 lizardmen, not counting the shadow spears which they killed all of them, it would be a total of 100 lizardmen and with the spears 105.
Added to the giant wood-scaled lizards there were 10 and some other beasts that some groups bring with them which counting them were 35, a total of 150 individuals!
That is why she is a little worried, because the original estimate was 500 troops or a little more not counting beasts. If they are counted at most they could reach 700 or 750, but now… now it appeared that there are at minimum a total of 1000-1500 troops and with the beasts 2000 enemies would not be an impossible number…
Emma sighs and is glad that her lord is so wise to not have a direct confrontation, after all, although her lord and his disciple have under their command 210 golems, 800 undead, 5 energetic beasts of their own, 70 troops and 27 people helping among which she is included.
In addition, obviously taking into account the 10 contracted creatures that are under the control of his 35 personal guards, being 350 extra troops and the 3 contracted creatures assigned to the army commanders and to the people close to him, which are 13 people, being then a total of 39 extra creatures for combat.
And lastly adding the few pact beasts like Molly and Lea, those of Lady Isabella, those of the twins, that of Lord Alexei and Miss Irina are 7 pets… and the group of strange hawks that the lord hides and frozen rock golems are a total of 25.
A total of 1533 troops or combatants, but taking into account that 10 of the guards stayed in the town it would actually be 1433 troops, so even with all that they would still be outnumbered by a not very small number of almost 600 troops, indeed Emma's worst prediction is fulfilled.
So thanks to the decision of her venerable lord, they did not have to face a serious situation where they were outmatched in raw power…
While analyzing the situation she feels a call from the sound transmission stone on her collar and a message emerges: "Miss Emma, this is Gloria, we need your help, can you come urgently with your team?, we are at the last cache, the one that is further north, it is the one that is in a small depression."
Emma is a little confused it is the first time they contact her for her help, but even so she cannot hesitate much, but before looking on the map where it is she asks: "Of course Miss Gloria, may I ask what you want help with?"
Gloria immediately replies: "It is simple I want to see if you can identify something strange in some objects that we have, since you are the only free team around here and with that capacity, we ask for your help earnestly."
Emma then replies: "Understood, we will go quickly."
Taking out the map she looks for the point she mentions, of all the points marked as caches only 8 remain unmarked, the rest have an X, this is because the supply destruction group has to report at the end of the day which and how many they destroyed to update the maps, since they have not yet sent the update, there are still 8 caches.
Emma looks at the one that matches the description and sees a very lonely one, but that is relatively close if they march a little faster, so standing up and having rested enough she gives the order: "Everyone, it is time to go, the crimson fire wolf group requests our help!"
The troops who have finished eating and were chatting calmly quickly straighten up and begin to gather everything, in these last 9 days they have fully understood the personality of Miss Emma.
She is young yes, she is very extroverted and kind, also, but she is extremely strict and on top of that… she is a little too fervent when it comes to the young master, they do not understand well why but well, it is almost as if he were a saint of the temple of the emerald-golden dragon god, but no one dared to ask out of mere respect.
…
Gloria waited for hours in the auxiliary camp, risking facing a danger of an enemy that she does not know if it will return, but when she saw the armor of the temple of the emerald-golden dragon god very identifiable by that dragon helmet and those three peculiar colors, emerald, amethyst and topaz, with that she already knows that Emma has arrived.
Emma raises the visor of her helmet and greets Gloria with a happy handshake and says to her: "I am glad that you and your team are well."
Gloria smiles back saying: "Likewise Miss Emma, I am glad that you and your team are well."
Emma then goes straight to the point while making signs to Mila, who approaches curious much more confident than before and says to her: "Well Miss Gloria, can you show us what you wish to review?"
Gloria takes out one of those strange medals and hands it to Emma, Emma examines it from all sides and even injects her energy, but not much happens beyond lighting up a little…
Emma is about to say that they probably were nothing of importance… until Mila takes it from her hands, she could feel it a familiar energy for her very close and says: "This… this is the aura of a creature of draconian origin, possibly a subdragon."