As a venomous snake, I evolved into a god through devouring.

Kasper told Simba to stay where he was, while he quietly and quickly climbed up the nearest trees to a higher place.

Simba, below, carefully retreated to the base of the tree where he was, keeping watch over the surroundings for him.

Kasper's eyes have been enhanced with evolution points, and his field of vision has subtly surpassed that of humans, allowing him to see the movements of others before they are even discovered.

At the same time, snakes are a species that is quite deceptive.

Any human being with a modicum of common sense would not believe that an ordinary snake, facing them from a hundred meters away and possessing no extraordinary abilities, is spying on them.

Therefore, he can confidently and boldly spy on human activities.

At the edge of Caspar's field of vision, a well-armed cavalry unit marched towards him along the road.

"What are they here for?"

According to Caspar, this avenue protected by meteor magic leads to Herka, the largest fortress city in human history, which is the border between the Empire, the Flesh and Blood Court, and the territory of the Frost Giants.

Every six months or so, troops would travel along this road to the fortified city for troop rotation.

However, the cavalry not far away did not number in large numbers. Although their equipment was excellent, their discipline seemed very lax, and their marching speed was slow. They did not seem to have any urgent mission.

Kasper had never seen what the Empire's elite troops looked like, but the Empire was such a behemoth that it couldn't possibly rely on an army like that to defend its territory.

"Let's take another look."

Kasper was never short of patience, and he would not leave until he saw the army leave with his own eyes.

The approaching cavalrymen were unaware of the thoughtful gaze emanating from the jungle.

The lead knight wore rather flamboyant bright silver armor, his helmet casually hanging from a hook on the side of his warhorse.

He had a rather upright appearance, with a angular face and strong features. His black hair was slightly curly, and his lake-blue eyes revealed a hint of listlessness and weariness.

Just then, a rider from the rear quickened his pace and came up to his side, half a body length behind the black-haired knight, and spoke to him.

"Captain Finn, we're very close to Broken Blade Town now. At our current speed, we'll arrive in a little while."

"Um."

"Although this investigation mission to Broken Blade Town is simple, please remain vigilant. Attacks from monsters and fantasy species are becoming increasingly frequent, and the Lightfall defense mechanism has been operating under high load for a long time, which may lead to temporary malfunctions."

"Um."

"However, what's even stranger is that after the Red Dragon was shot down last time, the attacks temporarily stopped, so..."

"Raymond."

The knight who was reporting the situation hadn't finished speaking when he was interrupted by Captain Finn, the black-haired knight at the front of the group.

"Don't you get bored from rambling on about these things? They're completely irrelevant."

Upon hearing Finn's words, the young man named Raymond was taken aback, and then a look of confusion appeared on his face.

Seeing Raymond's expression, Finn suddenly felt a little annoyed and waved his hand.

"Step down."

Upon hearing his superior's order, Raymond had no choice but to slow his horse's pace and rejoin the main force.

Snickers could be heard from the surroundings from time to time. Although he couldn't hear them clearly, Raymond knew that his actions had drawn ridicule from others.

He felt distressed and increasingly confused.

Because of his outstanding academic performance at the military academy, he was directly appointed as the deputy captain of a cavalry squad after graduation.

This was also his first time accompanying his superiors on an expedition. Before setting off, Raymond did a lot of research, not only carefully reviewing the information on the Lightfall Avenue, but also synthesizing the information on all the attacks in recent months and conducting a thorough analysis, from which he found several noteworthy inconsistencies.

Why...

"I already told you, it's no use."

A voice beside him interrupted Raymond's thoughts.

A strong smell of alcohol wafted from the side, and Raymond frowned.

"Joseph...didn't I tell you that drinking is forbidden on the march?"

"You're right, but it's just fermented wheat juice."

The man next to Raymond looked much older than him, probably in his thirties. His body swayed with the movement of his warhorse, and he paid no attention to the vice-captain's reprimands. Instead, he raised the jug in his hand.

"Want a bite?"

"Get out of here."

Raymond really disliked the old soldier named Joseph beside him.

The latter had served in the Duchy's cavalry regiment for nearly ten years and had considerable skills, but had never been promoted.

It's probably because of these bad habits.

Raymond's barbed refusal did not anger Joseph. He grinned, gulped down two more mouthfuls of wine, and only spoke after letting out a satisfied burp.

"I know what you're worried about, it's just because you haven't seen the true purpose of this operation."

Do you really think the gentlemen sent out cavalry to gather intelligence or protect the safety of civilians in the surrounding area?

"What do you mean?"

Joseph lowered his voice.

"There's no need to deploy a full-fledged army for a mere injured young red dragon. A few veteran adventurers with arcane scrolls and good teamwork are enough to take it down."

The investigation was just a pretext; our real purpose was to skim off their profits.

"Those unruly adventurers have probably already dismembered and sold the Red Dragon. They're rolling in gold coins now. If they don't take advantage of the situation now, when will they?"

And the villages along the way, who only have shelter because of the main road, only pay a pittance in taxes each year. It's time they learned some manners.

"Otherwise, why isn't Captain Finn interested in what you're talking about?"

Raymond found this absurd and was about to speak when Joseph grabbed his wrist.

The former tried to pull his hand away but failed twice. He looked up in surprise and met Joseph's gaze.

"Listen to me if you don't want to die!"

The latter had sharp, clear eyes, and a deep voice like the growl of a lion; he showed no trace of being a drunkard.

"Our team's goal from the beginning has always been to levy extortion and extortion. Only you, a fool who has been set up without even realizing it, are still kept in the dark."

"Take a good look at the equipment of the other people around you. Is that what you should be equipped for dealing with powerful magical beasts?"

Raymond paused, then glanced at the others around him.

When Joseph's words were confirmed by his own eyes, Raymond's face suddenly turned pale.

"No, how could that be?"