Chapter 103: Scouting the area.

Marcus delegated efficiently, directing Elena to prepare the fire while another archer began butchering the largest scorpion. The smell of cooking meat soon filled the air—not exactly gourmet cuisine, but filling enough.

After consuming their simple breakfast, Ethan stood to address his team.

“Alright everyone. We’re going to explore the surrounding areas. Stay within a kilometre’s radius—I need intelligence, not heroes.”

His gaze swept across each face, ensuring attention.

“Your mission is scouting, not combat. Fighting comes later.”

“If you spot anyone from another territory, immediately hide. Do not—and I mean DO NOT—engage.”

The emphasis carried absolute command. “Other Junior Lords are just as dangerous as powerful monsters, possibly more so.”

Humans think strategically. Monsters rely on instinct.

Elena raised her hand tentatively. “How do we identify other territories, my Lord?”

“You can tell if you look for artificial structures, organised camps, or people wearing equipment too advanced for random desert wanderers.”

Ethan gestured toward their own modest facilities.

“Observe from maximum distance. Count numbers, assess threat levels,”

“How long do we have for scouting?” Marcus inquired, already calculating patrol routes.

“An hour. Return here regardless of what you find.” Ethan’s expression hardened.

The archers checked their equipment with thoroughness. Bows strung, arrows counted, water containers filled from their accumulated supplies.

“Any questions before deployment?”

Silence answered him, though tension was visible in every posture. First real mission beyond the protective barrier’s safety.

Time to see what they’re really made of.

“Move out. Stay sharp. Stay alive.”

His subjects departed through the barrier’s edge, spreading into the desert like shadows against golden sand. Ethan had split them into two teams—one north, one east. Marcus led the stronger unit with one archer, while Elena commanded two others.

They were positioned in that specific direction, which meant mutual support if emergencies arose.

Ethan watched them disappear beyond the dunes before turning south.

His senses swept the terrain as he moved.

The desert stretched endlessly, punctuated by wind-carved rock formations. Five hundred meters from his territory, the landscape remained barren—nothing but sand, stone, and the occasional dried vegetation clinging to life.

Then, some movement caught his eye.

Two shapes emerged from behind a cluster of boulders, their chitinous bodies gleaming like polished bronze.

Desert Striker Scorpions, both High-Bronze rank, their poison-dripping stingers already raised in threat displays.

Perfect.

The creatures rushed forward with surprising speed, their eight legs churning sand into clouds behind them.

Screech!

Massive claws snapped at empty air as they closed the distance with predatory precision.

Ethan didn’t move.

The first scorpion launched itself through the air, claws extended like spears aimed at his throat. In that frozen moment, Ethan’s speed was put on display.

His body blurred.

The scorpion’s attack met nothing but displaced air. Before it could process what happened, Ethan’s hand punched through its carapace like paper, crushing it in a single motion. Black ichor exploded outward as the creature’s body went limp mid-flight.

The second scorpion barely registered its companion’s death before Ethan appeared beside it.

With one casual swipe of his hand, he severed its head from its body with a clean slice.

Both corpses hit the sand simultaneously, their death throes already fading. Steam rose from the fresh kills as desert heat met cooling blood.

Ethan stored both bodies in his spatial ring without ceremony.

The two scorpions dropped him 10 units of wood and 10 units of stone.

The materials flowed directly into his territory reserves, eliminating the need for manual transport.

That’s quite convenient. I like it. I don’t need to worry about transport, it flows directly into the reserves.

He continued south, his senses alert for additional threats or opportunities. The desert revealed little beyond scattered rocks and the occasional bone bleached white by sun and time.

There were no territories, no other Lords and certainly no immediate dangers.

Five hundred meters clear.

At the kilometre mark, everything changed.

The transition was immediate and surprising.

Sand gave way to rich, dark soil.

Towering trees erupted from the earth like pillars supporting a green canopy that blocked the desert sun. Vines hung in curtains between massive trunks.

“A jungle next to a desert?”

Ethan frowned at the impossible terrain shift.

What if another Lord controls that territory?

The jungle’s depths concealed countless threats. Visibility dropped to mere meters beyond the treeline, creating perfect ambush conditions for anything lurking within. Venturing inside would be foolish, and there was no need to venture just yet.

Stick to the mission parameters.

He marked the location mentally and turned west, following his planned route. Twenty minutes of careful movement revealed more of the same—empty desert punctuated by rock formations.

No signs of civilisation or territorial markers.

Good. No immediate neighbours to worry about. The only problem is that jungle.

The return journey quick, with Ethan activating his speed talent.

The protective barrier’s blue glow welcomed him home like a beacon of safety in the hostile terrain.

Elena’s team had already returned, their faces flushed with exertion but alive. Three figures stood near the summoning gate, weapons clean and accounted for.

Marcus’s team remained absent.

I guess an hour was an overestimate for that mission.

“Report,” Ethan commanded as he approached Elena’s group.

“Eastern perimeter clear for eight hundred meters,” Elena responded immediately. “We spotted movement further out—possibly beasts, but maintained distance as ordered.”

“Any signs of other territories?”

“None, my Lord. Just desert and scattered wildlife.”

Ethan nodded, relief mixing with lingering worry about Marcus’s delayed return. The first scouting mission had revealed both opportunities and unknowns—exactly what he’d expected from this dangerous realm.

Marcus seemed competent, but competence meant nothing if they’d encountered something beyond their capabilities.

Every minute of delay increased the probability of loss.

Ethan withdrew the two carapaces of the scorpions.

Thud.

The two scorpions’ bodies dropped on the sand as Ethan commanded Elena and the others to remove the important pieces and cook them for lunch, whilst he checked out Marcus’s team.

Elena and the others tried to offer help, but he rejected them, saying there was no need.

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