"Is that village ahead called Tieshi Village?"

Looking at the dilapidated village not far ahead, Kane asked the figure beneath him.

"Yes, master." The map floating in mid-air showed the spot representing Kane and his team now overlapped with the target location.

After resting in the fortress for a night, Kane and his team set out early for their second task, investigating the demon squad rampaging within the second line of defense.

They obtained information about villages destroyed by demons and corresponding map indicators, so they followed the figure to rush to the first destroyed village.

Upon entering the village, everyone dispersed to search for any possible information or traces.

This village was destroyed nearly two weeks ago, precisely when the demons launched a massive assault on the first line of defense.

According to the gathered information, this village was merely a common human settlement with no peculiarities or special products.

However, the village was not very close to the second line of defense, but rather in an area between the second and the first lines of defense.

All this information implied that the village was simply unfortunate to be chosen by the demons.

The entire village had already been burned by demons upon departure, with hardly any complete buildings remaining; the most intact ones had collapsed and turned black from fire.

Walking through the village, slight dried bloodstains were visible in the soil and some places.

The bodies in the village had already been buried by the first patrol to discover the site, but only half the bones were found, the other half seemed to have been taken by the demons.

It's not just this village; another burned village shared the same fate.

Moreover, according to recent news Kane's team received, another village encountered the same disaster two days ago.

The count of destroyed villages reached three.

Close to ten thousand civilians have been killed or are missing.

Everyone in all the gathering points within the second line of defense is now in a state of fear.

Volcano Fortress's legion hasn't refrained from dispatching soldiers to track these demons; they just haven't seen even a shadow of the demons, only knowing they are rampaging and leaving traces.

Due to intense frontline battles with demons, more troops couldn't be sent for sweeping searches and blockades.

Now, with the first line of defense completely breached, even fewer soldiers are available for these operations.

Ultimately, such tasks had to be handed over to mercenaries participating in the holy war.

After searching the entire village, everyone gathered together, shaking their heads silently.

No one had found even a trace of useful information.

Forget it, let's check the other two destroyed villages to see if there's any useful information, as quite some time has passed since the first village was destroyed.

Upon arriving at the second village, the situation was still the same, with no useful information.

Quickly, they headed to the third village, which had been destroyed just two days prior; some remains hadn't been properly handled yet.

From afar, a squad of soldiers patrolling around the village was visible.

Upon seeing Kane and his team, the squad of soldiers immediately took up their weapons cautiously, slowly approaching.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The soldier leading this squad seemed to be the head, wearing a helmet, concealing his appearance.

"We are mercenaries tasked by Commander Sakerem to investigate the rampaging demons here."

Following this, Kane displayed the commander's military sign handed over by Sakerem.

The leading soldier approached, inspected the sign, then handed it back to Kane.

With a salute by thumping his chest with his right hand, he addressed Kane and his team, "Commander, sir."

Kane nodded, then dismounted with his teammates.

A few soldiers promptly came over to take their horses and lead them away.

"What's your name?" Kane asked the leading soldier.

The soldier immediately approached, removed his helmet, and replied, "Reporting to the commander, my name is Chidi, a squad leader in the garrison corps. What are your orders, sir?"

Based on the squad leader's voice, one might think he was young, but the face beneath the helmet was that of a middle-aged man.

"Chidi, was it your squad that discovered this village destroyed?"

"Yes, sir. Two nights ago, while conducting a routine patrol, we saw this village's fire from afar. When we arrived, there wasn't a single living soul left."

Listening to Chidi, Kane nodded, then proceeded into the village with his team.

As they entered, a strong odor of decay hit them, causing everyone to wrinkle their noses in disgust.

Observing their reactions, Chidi quickly spoke, "Due to manpower shortage, we only cleared out some relatively intact bodies, but haven't yet dealt with the thoroughly fragmented ones."

"More than half the people in this village aren't accounted for either?" Kane asked casually while observing the village.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, you can go about your duties. We'll wander the village to see if there are any clues."

"Understood, if you have questions, just call out my name loudly."

Kane and his teammates spread out again, searching for traces throughout the village.

This time, only some outer and central houses in the village were destroyed, while some in the middle were left unscathed.

They carefully examined bloodstains all around the village, along with some yet uncleared residual flesh.

The deaths occurred entirely within the village, none outside, and scattered around without signs of gathering together.

Soon, Kane and his team had checked the entire village and returned to the entrance.

Chidi and his squad were waiting for Kane and his team there.

"Did you find any clues, sir?"

To Chidi's query, Kane shook his head, then asked, "With reports of demon rampages circulating, were any militia arranged for vigilance or patrol?"

"Yes, sir. Even without demon rampage reports, all villages and towns themselves have militias for patrol and vigilance, let alone with already circulating reports of local demon rampages."

After hearing Chidi's answer, Kane nodded, led his horse, and left with Meizike and the others from the village.

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