Second, a no man's land. The Frost Howl clan had clearly reached the city gates but suddenly withdrew, and the Resistance Alliance's scouts only lingered in the surrounding areas.
Both major forces deliberately avoided this place, and there must be something suspicious about it.
Skala had no evidence, but his intuition told him it was very likely related to Tuke.
Third, geographical location. This place was the convergence point of several branch roads in Southern ZulDrak. Controlling it was equivalent to controlling those small tribes.
Although they could achieve basic self-sufficiency, they still needed to trade to obtain better living conditions.
Thinking of this, Skala squatted down, picked up a stone carved with the remnant patterns of a Mammoth totem, and sighed:
"You were supposed to be a symbol of abundance and resilience, but now only silence remains."
"And this, precisely, is the opportunity for my Lord to take the next step from here."
He spoke as he strode towards the camp.
—Dividing line—
At dawn, Skala led his people to the half-collapsed stone totem house.
The fire a few days ago had almost destroyed the entire building; now only a few charred stone pillars barely remained.
Siye kicked away a shattered fragment of a mural, still bearing charred paint, though now no one could tell what it originally depicted.
"Clean it up," Skala said, stepping over the threshold. "Rebuild it from the foundation."
Gollon swung his battle-axe, chopping down a remaining pillar. "This rotten place didn't completely collapse."
The other hunters began clearing the charred stones.
Toka quietly cleaned a corner, then suddenly stopped.
The flagstone beneath his feet was carved with familiar spiral patterns, so he stood up and called to Skala, "Captain, something's up!"
Skala first nodded, then glanced around, ordering, "You all keep cleaning for now, leave everything usable."
He walked over to Toka, finding that the young hunter had already lifted the flagstone, revealing the entrance to an underground chamber.
Skala descended with a torch, Toka following closely behind.
The chamber was not large, its walls covered with bizarre spiral runes that, in the torchlight, looked like countless twisted mouths.
Traces of fire scorching still remained on the central stone platform.
"This smell… it's so good," Toka suddenly sniffed, looking confused.
Skala squatted down, his finger tracing the scorch marks on the surface of the stone platform.
A peculiar burnt aroma entered his nostrils, making him freeze instantly—this smell was too familiar.
Twenty years ago, the dried deep-sea creature his father brought back from the north smelled exactly like this after being roasted over a fire.
At that time, all the children of the tribe gathered around the fire, scrambling to get a small piece…
"Captain?" Toka's voice pulled him back to reality. "What are you thinking about?"
Skala stood up, discreetly wiping away the scorch marks from his fingers: "Nothing. Clean this place thoroughly, especially these runes. This can be converted into a more private prayer room or confessional later."
When they returned to the surface, Gollon was waiting for them at the entrance. "Strange, why is there a scent that's both unfamiliar and a little familiar?"
When that food was shared back then, Gollon was already a youth, so he didn't get any.
Siye glanced at the two who emerged from the secret room. "It must be something that burned during the previous fire."
"If it's related to Tuke, should we investigate?"
Skala shook his head, his hand unconsciously pressing against the divine emblem on his chest.
He vaguely felt the emblem heating up, but he wasn't sure if it was psychological.
When he had gone down just now, Skala had realized that it was precisely the source of divine power he had sensed.
Clearly, the Dragon God had done something here, but he wisely chose not to delve deeper.
Surely, he hadn't had a barbecue here, right…?
"Keep working," he said curtly. "We need to get the shrine's framework up before dark."
Toka looked at him as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately turned to carry stones.
At noon, the first new pillar was erected.
The base was stabilized with stones, and the pillar itself was still salvaged material from the old Italk totems, only its surface had been stripped clean and re-carved with Obsidian's divine emblem.
It wasn't ornate, nor was it adorned with gold or silver, but it was grand enough.
Skala stared at it for a long while before continuing, "We'll erect two more today."
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