Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Hank, expressionless, took out a small wooden tube engraved with isolation runes, which contained a dozen specially made bone skewers.

The bone tokens come in two colors: most are grayish-white, representing "staying behind," and only four are dark red, representing "reconnaissance."

Two reconnaissance teams, each led by two senior apprentices, were present. Apart from the two wizards, there were eighteen people on site.

Hank placed the lot-drawing container on the table, and the drawing of lots officially began.

"Wait, Bronzebeard, Anvil, and Ian Marcus, the three of you don't need to draw lots."

Bronzebeard seemed quite satisfied with the arrangement, muttering, "At least there's someone who understands."

The anvil simply nodded silently.

Sterling's voice completely eased the tension in Ian's heart.

He stepped forward as instructed, and he, Copperbeard, and Anvil each took a step back.

No one raised any objections; the three of them were far more useful in guarding the camp than in going to the battlefield.

If even exceptional talents are pushed onto the battlefield to face life-or-death decisions, then the situation has reached a point of no return.

As he understood the rules of war, core technical personnel in the logistics sequence, such as potion makers, rune masters, and alchemists, did indeed enjoy a certain degree of protection under non-extreme circumstances.

His sliver of hope became a reality, but what followed was not relief, but a deeper sense of oppression.

The "Furnace" camp is a logistics base and should be relatively safe, but it has now been pushed to the forefront by the defeat at the front.

Even highly skilled technicians are beginning to face indirect life-or-death decisions.

This battlefield is indeed completely irrational.

The drawing of lots began, and the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed like water could drip from it.

Hank, as the team leader, was the first to step forward, blankly pulling out a... grayish-white cigarette.

Lina followed closely behind, also dressed in gray and white.

Venomous Fang gritted his teeth as he drew a lot. His expression changed slightly the moment he drew it, but he quickly regained his composure... Dark red!

He cursed under his breath and stepped to the side representing "reconnaissance".

"Scarface" was lucky enough to draw gray-white, but his companion next to him, whose hand was trembling, drew dark red instead, and his face turned deathly pale.

One of Eleanor's guards also drew the Crimson.

Soon, the four "unfortunate ones" were identified: Venom, an apprentice named "Grey Rat" under Scarface, Rex, Eleanor's bodyguard, and a senior apprentice from the "Forge" camp.

The last person was named Leon Osborne, the only senior apprentice of the Osborne family in this camp.

Ian's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at her subtly.

The information Kenna brought back flashed through his mind again, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Leon seemed to notice Ian's gaze, turned his head, and nodded at him in a friendly manner.

Ian nodded slightly in response, his face expressionless, and then turned to look at the other three "lucky ones" in the room.

Sterling looked at the four of them and said in a deep voice:

"The four of you, Fang and Rex, will be in pairs. Hank will assign you operational areas and intelligence support."

The other team, "Grey Rat" and Leon, you two should elect a temporary captain yourselves.

The objective of the mission is to scout out and ambush the infiltration teams of "Blood Bat" and "Shadow Assassin," delaying their assembly and reconnaissance progress.

There's no need to force an annihilation; the main objective should be harassment and intelligence gathering.

Remember, your lives are more important than killing the enemy. If you find yourself unable to fight back, I will allow you to retreat to camp.

The contribution points for this mission will be doubled, and you will have two weeks of rest afterward.

The four men had different expressions: some were gloomy, some were fearful, and some were trying to remain calm.

The meeting ended in a somber atmosphere. Those who had drawn lots went off to prepare, while the others dispersed, their minds heavy with worry.

As Ian returned to the alchemy room, night had fallen.

The camp had expanded and the atmosphere had become more lively, but the tension had not lessened. On the contrary, it had become even more eerie due to the fear of the newcomers and the unease about the unknown.

He keenly sensed that since the meeting ended, there seemed to be a faint gaze occasionally falling on him.

The gaze wasn't sharp; it was more like a cold scrutiny and probing.

A glance comes from a shadowy corner or a gap in the crowd, fleeting and elusive.

"An illusion? Or..." Alarm bells rang in Ian's mind.

He kept a low profile in the camp and didn't make any enemies, so no one should be deliberately spying on him.

"The Osborn family? Is that you?"

The Osborn family, a bloodline with an unclear relationship with Nolan, has been investigating the truth behind Nolan's disappearance.

Nolan died at his hands. Although the matter was handled cleanly, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever.

Could it be that the family has already discovered his past and attracted his attention?

Ian's murderous intent began to rise. His experiences after transmigrating had become somewhat abnormal, and a careful investigation would reveal something amiss.

He remained calm and composed, maintaining his usual pace and demeanor, even nodding to a few apprentices he encountered on the road.

Back in the alchemy room, he did not turn on the lights, but stood silently in the shadows inside the door.

The advanced apprentice's strong mental fortitude, combined with the perception of the "Eye of Vigilance," is enhanced to its fullest extent.

Like an invisible spider web, it quietly spreads out the door.

A moment later, in the shadows of a corner where miscellaneous items were piled up, diagonally opposite the alchemy room.

He precisely captured an extremely subtle fluctuation of breathing and heartbeat, almost blending into the environment.

That person's concealment skills were so superb that they almost fooled the senses of an ordinary advanced apprentice.

However, Ian's mental strength, after several skill-breaking tempering sessions, had already surpassed that of an ordinary advanced apprentice.

He had just broken through to the next level not long ago, and his total mental strength had increased dramatically again, which made it easy for him to see through the subtle flaws.

"There really is someone here." Ian's eyes turned slightly cold.

Instead of alerting the enemy, he began to process the materials needed for tomorrow's medicine making, as usual.

The "Enchantment" wizard's hand worked silently, emitting extremely subtle sounds, no different from usual.

At the same time, he spared a sliver of his mind to carefully "listen" and "feel" that aura through the slight obstruction of the walls and clutter.

The aroma was subtle and murky, carrying a faint, earthy scent.

In stark contrast to the scorching, weary, or wary aura of most of the apprentices in the camp.

More importantly, Ian vaguely sensed a very familiar bloodline fluctuation from its energy fluctuations.

"The aura of the Rock Armored Demon Bear!"

Ian was very familiar with this aura; he had encountered it countless times while practicing the Bloodline Refining Technique.

A few days after he took the Rock Bear Potion, he had a faint earthy smell on his body, which was gradually expelled from his body after a few days and then became difficult to detect.

"Why didn't Leon have this aura before? Could it be that he didn't follow the family's bloodline path?"

He sensed with his mental power that, unlike his own deeply concealed aura, the rock bear characteristics on the other party were more outwardly apparent.

"It seems to be this family." Ian's mind raced.

The fact that the other party is currently lying in wait rather than launching a direct attack suggests that they are either uncertain or waiting for the right opportunity.

His eyes gradually darkened as he thought of Nolan's curse on him before his death.

"Dare to come to my door? You're asking for death!"