Chapter 172: Chapter 171: The Remains of the Tribe

"Is there something you need?" Colin asked.

Speaking alone with a face like that did make him a little nervous.

Ale walked to his side. Her slender, pale fingers gently adjusted the blanket behind her thighs as she sat softly on a nearby rock.

"I have some things I’d like to interview you about."

"Interview?"

’Are you some kind of weird tabloid reporter?’ Colin grumbled inwardly.

"Yes, Mr. Colin." Ale took out a small notebook and a high-quality charcoal pencil, similar to a modern pencil. "Why did you step forward just now to take on that Druid?"

"Because there are only two of us in the party who are good at close-quarters combat. I definitely couldn’t have stopped that white bear—only Kase could. So if someone was going to stop that guy from Casting, it had to be me."

"A combination of reason and courage..."

Ale muttered as she wrote in her notebook.

"May I ask, does your sword have any special meaning?"

"This one? It’s a Magic Weapon I found in a Scorpion-tailed Lion’s lair."

"No, the other one. Don’t people usually only carry one sword?"

"This was a gift from an old veteran. It belonged to a brave soldier who gave his life to cover the escape of his father and the other villagers," Colin said honestly. "It’s my backup weapon, for when I lose my grip on the Giant Sword."

"I see... a Hand Half Sword with special significance."

After she finished writing in her notebook, Ale asked again, "Back in the Divine Hall, why did you take the book about the Ancient Empire?"

"I was just interested, I guess."

Even though they’d been through a life-or-death battle together, Colin didn’t feel the need to bring up the matter of the Elven ruins. Mostly, he was just too tired after the big fight to get into a long-winded explanation.

"Hmm... a coincidence." Ale scribbled in her notebook again.

Colin asked in return, "Speaking of which, why did *you* take that book?"

"I’m a Half-Elf from the Silver Star Court. We’ve also been affected by the winter disaster, so I decided to leave the forest and investigate."

Ale continued, "Specifically, the cause of this winter disaster could be some evil Divine Artifact, or it might be influenced by something else... The Ancient Empire is one of the possibilities."

"Is that so? But the Cultists and Hill Giants and the like in the south also seem to have become suddenly active. Do you think they’re connected to what’s happening here?" Colin asked, unable to help himself.

"Oh? Tell me the details."

Colin had no choice but to briefly recount what he had seen and heard on his recent missions.

"How come I’ve never heard about this?" Ale tilted her head as she looked at her notebook.

"This isn’t the kind of thing you can just publicize. Imagine if the slums of Thousand Masts City found out. Some people, whether out of stupidity or malice, would use it as an opportunity for personal gain."

Colin recalled a memory from his body’s original owner. "When I was a child, I saw a widow get falsely accused by her neighbors. That was also a time when Cultists were active.

In the end, the widow was burned as a witch without any kind of trial. The people who did it just wanted to seize her inheritance—which wasn’t much, really. Just a house and some furniture."

"The human world is so complicated," Ale sighed.

She sounded exactly like Kase when he complained.

While silently retorting, Colin said, "Is the world of Elves not so complicated?"

"It might be because of the social distance. Our treehouses are all very far apart, and everyone just minds their own business. But I don’t know the specific reason why."

Ale leaned closer and continued, "So how am I supposed to find out about this kind of news?"

Colin could feel the warm breath from her words on his face. He could smell a pleasant floral scent, along with a fragrance like sun-dried blankets.

’Does this Half-Elf have some secret way of bathing out here?’

He gave a noncommittal answer, "Get out more and interact with people."

"Mm, well, thank you for your advice anyway." After saying this, Ale briskly walked back to her spot to sleep.

’What a strange person...’ 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Colin thought to himself as he gazed out at the snowy plains under the aurora.

With everyone taking turns on watch, the night passed quickly.

The group remained holed up in the cave to rest for a few more days, only setting out again after they had fully recovered.

Although their stay was a bit longer than expected, they had at least managed to supplement their food supplies. With the Protective Talisman from the Snow Elf, they didn’t have to worry about starving to death in the wilderness.

Bypassing the previous rock crevice, the sled continued its ascent up the valley.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Kase’s voice came from the front. "The snow here... looks like no one’s walked on it in a long time, Colin."

He followed this with a few ragged breaths.

Colin said, "They must have gone into hiding to lie low."

Not long after, the sled reached a natural ledge halfway up the mountain. A few stone walls had been built upon it, along with a wooden watchtower.

Now, however, the watchtower was empty.

And at the entrance to the stone walls, half-buried in the snow, were... bodies.

Colin glanced at Kase’s back and swallowed hard.

The sled slowly came to a stop, and the group jumped off to inspect the surroundings.

Due to the extreme cold, the bodies were still well-preserved.

Most of the bodies at the entrance were Wild Wolves, with a few white bears among them. Broken spear tips and Arrows were stuck in all of them... Colin recited the Spell for [Flaming Arrow], using the Flame in his hand to melt the ice from the weapons’ surfaces.

"These are Bronze Artifacts, same as the ones on those ancient Skeletons. So does that mean *they* were the trouble the Frost Druids ran into?" Colin said.

He dug through the surrounding snow and, sure enough, found some Skeleton fragments.

"It’s very likely. These risen Skeletons encroached on Lady Rime’s living space, causing Her to want to expand Her sphere of influence to the south..." Ale took out her small notebook and started scribbling.

Orelia, meanwhile, walked over to Colin, tugged on his sleeve, and said, "Mr. Colin, we should probably check on Mr. Kase."

Colin turned and saw that Kase had already gone inside.

He quickly followed.

Behind the stone walls was a cave. In the center of a small clearing at its entrance stood a small tower built from over a hundred stones, each marked with a white handprint. A Long Spear was embedded in the top of the tower. Five small, multicolored flags made of Beast Hide were tied to the spear’s shaft, with their other ends connected to the surrounding stone walls.

The stone tower looked like a large Orc Ancestor Stone.

The ground was also littered with bodies. Aside from a few that looked like Frostland Druids, there were also several dead Orcs.

Kase was standing before a large boulder in the middle of the platform, staring at the white handprints on the stone tower.

Colin tilted his head to look inside the cave.

It was just as desolate inside. Beast Hides, bone ornaments, and other such things were scattered on the ground. He could also see patches of frozen blood on the floor.

Clearly, the scene deeper inside the cave was not going to be a pleasant one.

’The Orc Tribe couldn’t be...’

Even Colin, who had never met this tribe, felt a pang of sorrow. After all the trouble, connections, and money spent, for it to end in nothing... One could only imagine how terrible Kase, who had grown up here, must be feeling.

Colin patted Kase’s shoulder and said, "Kase..."

"There’s one last chance, Colin." Kase’s voice was frighteningly calm. "I just looked. There aren’t that many bodies in the cave. I know the tribe has a hiding place nearby. It’s like you said, they went into hiding to lie low."

"Then there’s nothing more to say, Kase." Colin nodded. "Let’s go."