Orka sat in the tent with a serious expression, waiting for Freya and Maffeo to return. The disappearance of an entire Bantu may be an innocuous loss to the Bantu people as a whole, but it is not the case for the hearts of the people. Every Bantu in the Snowy Lands of Ston lives in the shadow of the ice dragon Skasa, and although an agreement has been made with the principality, no Bantu can claim that they have the determination to defeat Skasa.

In fact, Orka didn't care if such a thing would shake his leadership position in the Bantu people, all he cared about was what kind of impact such a thing would have on the hearts of the current Bantu people. Fear is a plague that can spread to every corner if you are not careful. And in every corner, there are Bantu people who have lost their faith and are like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Such a thought made Orka can't help but shed a cold sweat, he needs the stability of people's hearts so much. He was willing to bet that if the Ice Dragon Skasa flew down from Kanak Mountain now, it would be a one-sided massacre against the Bantu people who had no fighting spirit in the camp in the snowy region of Ston and could only spend their days in confusion. Orka has always tried to avoid this kind of thing, but if such a thing does happen, he can only face it calmly.

Orka didn't like to wait, so he began to paced restlessly inside the tent. The sound of the cold wind blowing the curtain echoed in his ears, the sound of digging frozen ground with an iron pickaxe echoed in his ears, and even the sound of Renault striking iron echoed in his ears. But it was hard for him to focus on the voices right now, he just wanted to know when the two outsiders would be able to return with the news they wanted.

He continued to be in this mood for a long time, until the return of Freya and Maffeo. So when the two walked into the tent, Orka looked like a tight bowstring in their eyes. "Are you alright?" Freya asked tentatively, Orka had always struck her as serious, unsmiling, and as if she had been born in an ice sculpture. But now his face was full of unease, even a little trepidation.

Orka seemed to realize his gaffe, so he quickly adjusted his emotions and returned to Freya's impression. "I'm fine, so, what's going on?"

Maffeo took the wolf tooth necklace out of his pocket and handed it to Orca's hand, "That's all we found, I'm sorry. He figured that he didn't need to go into too much detail, as long as Orka saw the necklace of wolf teeth, he would understand the fate of the Bantu warrior who went to explore the cave that appeared out of thin air. Orka was silent for a moment, holding the wolf tooth necklace tightly in his hand. At this time, Maffeo came up with the idea of giving him some time to remember these Bantu warriors, but Orka's voice soon came. "Thank you for bringing their token back to me, and now, let's talk about that cave. ”

"No problem. ”

"What did you find?" Orka sat back in his chair, then motioned for the two of them to find a place to sit down.

Freya pulled out the note she had found and placed it on the table in front of Orka. "This is the note we found in the camp tent there, and it looks like their investigation went well at first. But then, something unexpected happened. ”

Orka picked up the parchment and read it, trying to restrain his emotions as much as he could, though that didn't stop the expression on his face from changing. "How so?

"Speaking of which, I've always wondered, what exactly is Riku referring to?" Maffeo asked.

"Liku is a Bantu language that means "white shadow" and is an ancient legend that has been passed down in the snow-capped mountains. Orka explained, though judging by his expression, he seemed a little difficult to accept that the note mentioned the word Riku. "But why—why did Riku, known as the White Shadow, appear? Is it because of the Ice Dragon Scaza?" he muttered to himself.

"Can you tell us a little bit about the legend of Riku?" asked Freya.

Orka looked up and nodded slightly. "The ancestors of the Bantu people used to say that the depths of some snow-capped mountains were extremely cold, and that there were frozen places where no living thing could survive. But Riku, known as the "white shadow", is different, and it is able to survive in that environment. The word Liku, no, exactly how it was discovered by our ancestors is not verifiable, but it is one of the oldest legends that have been passed down among our Bantu people. ”

"So, Riku is actually referring to a monster?" Freya confirmed to Orka.

"So to speak, but no one has ever fought the monster, and that's the most mysterious thing about it. ”

"Maybe we'll have that opportunity soon. Maffeo laughed.

"I admire your courage, to be honest, it was indeed my fault for underestimating you before, I hope you don't keep it in mind. Orka said apologetically.

"As you can see, we are not the ones who dwell on the words, let the past pass. ”

"I'm glad you can say that. ”

Orka slowly put the note down and pondered for a moment. He needed time to sort out everything that had happened there, and the appearance of the legendary Riku was definitely not an accident, which he believed had something to do with the awakening of the ice dragon Skasa. This is not a good thing for the Bantu, and while many brave warriors have the courage to take on the legendary monsters, he knows that blind challenges are simply a matter of death.

He set his sights on Freya and Maffeo, who he couldn't quite see each other as friends now. He thought that the other party's thoughts at this time should be the same. That being the case, it is inevitable to take advantage of each other. Although the positions of both sides are now unanimous, there is no one who will not fight for their own interests.

"Have you gone inside the cave to check?" Orka decided to make sure it didn't send them to the Ice Hell before using them.

"We were going to do that, but before we went in, something happened. Freya said regretfully.

"What accident?"

"I always thought it was weird, but that's the truth. The goblin pulls four catapults out of the cave and creates a defensive barrier on the outside of the cave. Surprised, huh? I don't want to believe it. With a look of disbelief, Maffeo described what he and Freya had seen there.

Orka grimaced, "Catapults, why do goblins know how to handle siege weapons?"

"What I do know is that they are everywhere. ”

"It seems that we will not be able to enter the cave without removing the defensive obstacles and catapults. Could it be that Riku had sensed that someone was trying to explore the cave it was in, and if so, then it could be proven that Riku was a sapient monster. Orca analyzed.

"That's the problem, I'm sure there's nothing that a few people can deal with. There's only one way to make that cave disappear, and that's to destroy Riku. Freya's face didn't show any waves, but he knew what Orca was thinking about.

Orka nodded, "I'll gather the elders and the shamans to discuss countermeasures, and you can go back and rest first." ”