Jack was incredibly fl.u.s.tered when he heard the scouts' report. He couldn't help but chuckle in defeat as he said indeed. Although they looked like country bumpkins the villagers farming on the herbs were actually incredibly strong. Any one of them could be recruited as a captain in his armies and radiated a valiant aura. This was not something his weaker soldiers could notice but how could an expert like him possibly miss it? But yet here they were, captain class warriors, going about the lowest of manual work. Then there was the totems. Just what frightening magical knowledge would be required for such a powerful warding effect? At the very least it meant this unassuming village had a frightening shaman at the helm, and not just one counting how many were made. The more he looked around the more frightened he was. These unassuming herbs were not simple at all. They all radiated Qi. What did it mean for a herb to radiate Qi? This was a cultivation herb garden! So apart from a shaman there was also an alchemist! Such rare spirit herbs, they were always guarded fiercely by wild beasts which treated them like treasures. To gather all of them in one place... Jack didn't dare think any further. If it was him, such a large garden would require the sacrifice of heaps of able men.

"Sorry to bother Nyasanga clansmen, we are the royal army of Her Highness Queen Leiss, we are just passing through on our way back to our ship." Jack politely bowed to the elderly man supervising the herb garden. With his high cultivation, even though he spoke quietly his voice projected clearly to everyone there. Immediately, all the soldiers were confused and turned to look at an unassuming old man sitting on one of the fences. What on earth was this? Just passing through? Didn't they completely wipe out the previous clan on this mountain? Why was the commander being so polite even bowing to such a nobody? Could he afford to receive such a bow? Even the scout who had just reported back was completely dazed. It could be said that with the Ice Queen around they could be as high handed as they wanted without consequence. "It's no trouble sir, feel free." the old man nodded back. The soldiers eyes almost popped out of their sockets and nearly rushed over to beat some sense into the old man. "Can you bow back, do you who this is?" the scout was fuming in his mind. Of course he didn't dare utter a word in front of his commander. "Set Off!" Jack commanded. The army grudgingly headed up the mountain giving the villagers cold stares. Further up the mountain they found that the mountain path had actually been widened and flattened evenly and couldn't helped being shocked. Previously when they came down this route it was incredibly narrow and they had even lost supplies from carts falling off the side of the mountain. That was only three months ago, just who were these Nyasangas? They suddenly understood why the commander was so cautious.

Further along up the mountain they came across a mine. Numerous villagers were going in and out of a large cave with pickaxes and shovels. But this wasn't the thing that grabbed their attention. The carts filed with ores coming out of the cave were being pulled by Golden Bears! These beasts were the overlords of this particular mountain. They were at least three times larger than ordinary bears with golden fur that shone with a metallic gleam. What made them troublesome was their preposterous strength and high defence. Ordinary weapons would not make it past their thick tough fur. It was like striking a metal wall, and once it struck back it was like being clubbed with a stiff muscular bat of a paw. Ordinary men would die instantly and cultivators would be heavily injured. Their army had taken along detour just to avoid a golden bear nest previously. Jack's eyelid was already twitching. To use golden bears as beasts of burden, just where was their pride as beast overlords? He hurriedly led his army forward before they became any more traumatised.

Presently they came around to the location of the Han Clan, were they had previously exterminated them. It was previously a cave system with footpaths connecting the caves, but arriving there now it looked completely different. The caves were no longer crooked dark holes in the mountain but smooth archways with perfect semicircular finish. There were beautiful runic patterns carved into the cave entrances and even a few with totems protecting the entrance. The pathways between the caves had been widened and flattened as well as interlinked intricately. They linked in the middle to form a large circular central square. The square had what seemed to be reinforced stone all through and the most intricate runes Jack had encountered so far. There were even precious stones set intricately in the patterns in the square in various locations. Right in the centre was a smooth sphere set in the middle of the patterns. The overall effect was visually stunning. Not just Jack but the whole army froze in shock at he entrance to the Clan. Just what on earth was this transformation? Wasn't it only three months since the Han clan was wiped out? The Leiss Empire's caravan had already come to a complete stop. The Ice Queen was surprised and decided to alight from her carriage to see what the delay was about. She assumed that the corpses of the Han Clan had probably become undead ghosts and zombies and wanted to deal with it to save time. However, even she couldn't help but gasp the moment she stepped down and looked in front. A beautiful mountain town was right in front of her where there was previously cavesystems. At this moment a burly middle aged man approached the caravan. He was very tall and well built and wore a tiger skin as a cape. The other villagers gave him way respectfully and it was clear he was a senior person. He walked up to Jack and lightly bowed "I'm Chief Saito Nyasanga, welcome to the Nyasanga Clan" he said with a smile. Jack and the Ice Queen both immediately narrowed their eyes almost to a squint. This man was very very strong!