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Chapter 172 Entering the Mountains

After leaving Murphy City, the terrain gradually turned into hilly areas, and the trees on the roadside gradually became denser. After dozens of kilometers, the team entered the mountainous area. The concrete road paved with cement lime pebbles turned into a dirt road from the moment they entered the mountain.

, the speed of the team also slowed down.

After traveling for a day, the mercenary group rested near a village in the evening. The team did not enter the village, but found a campsite outside the village. The chef lit a bonfire in the camp to make dinner, and the rest of the people set up their own tents.

After dinner, Nathan arranged for a night watchman. Usually outsiders did not need to be on night watch, because near the village, one night watchman was assigned each at midnight. If it was in the wilderness or a high-risk area, there would be two night watchmen.

One night passed. After packing up in the early morning, the team continued to set off. They were on the road throughout the day. When the sun was about to set, they finally arrived at Chesang Town. The mercenary group passed through the small town of Chesang and arrived at a farm outside the suburbs. At this time, the sky turned dark.

It has darkened, and the setting sun is about to be blocked by the mountains.

The team stopped outside the farm. Nathan dismounted and pushed open the fence gate and walked towards the wooden building on the farm. He knocked on the door in the porch. An old man opened the door and came out. The two exchanged a few words. Nathan turned around and said

With a gesture, the mercenary group entered the farm.

That night, the mercenary group set up a bonfire and camped on the wheat drying field outside the wooden building of the farm. According to the result of the communication between Nathan and the farmer, Mr. Tim, Tim would summon several other farmers to his house the next day to bring him to his home.

Report more detailed information to the mercenary group and answer the mercenaries' questions. According to plan, the mercenary group will enter the mountains to search for the murderer in the afternoon.

The next morning, four other farmers came to Tim's house and held a meeting with the combatants of the mercenary group in the living room of Tim's house to report the situation.

According to farmers, livestock have been found killed and dragged away for several months.

The mountains near Chesang Town are high and there are large grasslands on the mountains, which are very suitable for grazing livestock. Several farms nearby are mainly used for grazing cattle and horses, and there is relatively little wheat planting. The first person to discover that the cattle and horses were missing was Tim.

Mr.'s ranch.

First, there were sporadic disappearances over many days, and no bodies were found. The livestock carcasses were all dragged away. The traces were followed into the valley forest area, where there were many small rivers and streams. The traces disappeared quickly. Mr. Tim thought it was wild animals.

The wolf dragged away the carcass and didn't pay much attention to it. He just sent a few more shepherd dogs.

But soon other farmers also discovered that livestock were missing. Later, livestock were even killed and towed away every day or two. Previously, livestock were attacked during daytime grazing, but they were never encountered in person.

Usually there was no one on duty, but later it developed into attacks in the middle of the night.

The grazing livestock are driven into pens for the night and guarded by shepherd dogs. Logically speaking, it is impossible to steal the livestock without alerting the shepherd dogs, but the shepherd dogs did not sound the alarm every time!

After the incident, it seemed that the sheepdog was so frightened that it hid in the corner and trembled!

The fence thicker than the wrist was cut directly! These signs indicate that the murderer is definitely not a wild wolf!

Several farmers were a little panicked! They felt that the situation was serious.

So these five farms joined forces and went to Chesang Town and nearby villages to recruit four hunters who hunted in the mountains all year round to form a hunting team. They followed the traces into the mountains to look for clues. However, these hunters disappeared after leaving the farms!

To this day, 11 days have passed, and there is still no news about those hunters. Tim and the others issued a commission to the Murphy City Mercenary Guild almost a week ago, but this mission is very dangerous at first sight, mainly because the local hunter team has disappeared.

This incident made the mercenary group who wanted to accept the commission feel afraid, so the commission was pending in the mercenary guild for several days without being accepted, until Nathan stepped forward to accept the commission.

After understanding the details, Nathan negotiated with the farmers and determined the reward for finding clues about the missing hunter. Then the mercenary group organized their equipment in the wheat drying field and prepared to set off.

The coachman untied the wagon and put the reins on the two horses pulling the cart. The food and necessary items were loaded in the pack and hung on the back of the horse borrowed from the farm. After entering the mountain, the terrain was rugged and there was no carriage.

The carriage was temporarily stored on the farm as the roads were drivable.

The combatants carried all the equipment on their bodies and wore leather armor for close combat. Steven did not have leather armor and did not want to wear leather armor. He felt that this outfit was enough. He held the spear in his hand and carried it on his back.

He carried a straight knife on his back, and put camping tents, sleeping bags and other items in his backpack and tethered them to the horse's back.

The chef also rode a horse with his simplified cooking tools. He, the coachman and all the combatants made a total of 9 people and 10 horses.

The team walked out of the farm and headed toward the mountains along the path.

They first arrived at the pasture where livestock were grazed during the day. The terrain here was higher and it was on the mountainside of a large mountain. Going down the valley was a dense forest. According to the topographic map provided by Mr. Tim and comparing it with the map he brought with him, Nathan

Lead the team in the direction where the livestock was towed.

The livestock that were killed and dragged away all disappeared in the same direction. This direction was also the direction deep into the mountainous area. Under the guidance of the shepherd boy, they went around the back of the mountain and walked down the valley. This was the departure of the missing hunter team.

Find directions for clues.

It was already noon. Everyone took out jerky and semolina bread from their backpacks and ate with the water in their water bags while slowing down. There were no roads on the mountain anymore, only some shallow traces indicating that they had been there before.

Some people have passed by here intermittently.

The schematic map Tim had given them previously marked a rough search area, which was behind several large mountains. They needed to go around the mountains along river valleys and slopes, relying on compasses and topographic maps to reach their destination.

No local people dared to lead them. Since the disappearance of the hunting team, no hunter in Chesang Town dared to enter the mountains again.

Linton, who was a scout along the way, walked at the front of the team. He and the team always stayed about 50 meters away. When it was time to determine the direction, Nathan would catch up with him. The two would take out the map and compass to check the terrain and position, and adjust the direction of travel.

At this time, there was no way to go, and the team could only keep the general direction and move around the obstacles.

Another task of the long-range attacker is to hunt animals in the wilderness as supplementary food for the team's dinner. It is a bit stressful to just carry dry food. Continuously replenishing meat on the road can ensure the team's combat effectiveness, so the long-range attacker of the mercenary group

All have hunter skills.

But until after 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I still saw no various animals that should be common along the way. Not to mention large herbivores such as bison, deer and antelope, even small animals such as hares and squirrels were rarely seen.

arrive.

This situation is obviously very abnormal!


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