Duke certainly hasn't forgotten that one of the requirements for their assessment task was to submit a map of the Desert Lizardmen tribe, with annotations on the distribution of defensive forces.

In each Desert Lizardmen tribe, there exists a leader comparable to an Official Wizard, which is definitely an existence that the Wizard Apprentices cannot contend with at this stage.

However, Black Sail still asked them to create such a map, clearly not to destroy a Lizardmen tribe, but merely to test their reconnaissance abilities.

Duke had already reached a consensus with Simon and the others: they must not attract the attention of the Lizardmen tribe, nor could they get too close to it.

With their strength, if noticed by the Lizardmen leader, they probably wouldn't even be able to escape.

The more prudent way is to keep a certain distance while completing the map drawing.

Abel is obviously the best candidate for this task; his Eagle Eye Technique is just for reconnaissance work.

When Duke initially saw this assignment, he intended to use the Shadow Insect; although it would be slower, it could still accomplish the mission.

Later, after learning that Abel possessed the Eagle Eye Technique, this method naturally became more direct.

As for the task of killing four Desert Lizardmen, they temporarily set it aside.

They were to stay here for ten days, so there was no rush to complete that task.

They also couldn't take action near the Lizardmen tribe; if any Lizardmen escaped, they would face the pursuit of the entire tribe.

The examination had just begun on the first day, and they didn't want to spend the remaining time being hunted.

Abel remained in Eagle Eye state, continually monitoring the movements of the two Desert Lizardmen.

They followed far behind, maintaining a distance all the time.

In the desert, sand dunes undulate, and a kilometer distance is actually very far; the Lizardmen's tracks were long out of sight.

Abel's magic power was also rapidly depleting, and after drinking a potion given by Duke, he managed to replenish some.

Duke may lack other things, but he has plenty of potions at his disposal.

Abel even suggested giving him magic stones, but Duke naturally refused, since Abel was expending effort for the entire team's task.

After a while, the team stopped because they had already discovered a Desert Lizardmen tribe.

Five kilometers from the oasis, there was an expanse of barren wasteland, teeming with bizarre rocks, where the Lizardmen tribe was established amidst the peculiar stone forest.

These immense stones were of fantastic shapes, the result of years of wind erosion.

Viewed from above, the tribe lies at the center of the stone forest, with two entrances and numerous stone houses inside.

The houses varied in size, encircling the largest stone house at the center.

Abel calculated that this tribe should consist of at least sixty Desert Lizardmen.

The complex terrain within the stone forest provided these Lizardmen with excellent lurking spots; after observing for a long time, Abel identified seven covert sentry points.

These Lizardmen evidently possessed considerable intelligence, constructing a very tight defensive line.

They also had multiple patrol routes, seemingly patrolling twenty-four hours a day.

Abel narrated while Simon noted down details, the map gradually became richer, clearly illustrating the layout of the Lizardmen's defensive forces.

Soon, the sun set, night fell, and the temperature dropped sharply.

After thorough inspections, Abel confirmed there were no omissions and ended the Eagle Eye Technique.

The entire process had lasted over an hour, consuming two Basic Magic Recovery Potions.

The completed map was quickly duplicated into three copies, one for each person.

The purpose of this was to prevent the map from being lost if the person holding it were unfortunately killed, ensuring others could still submit their task.

All four were well aware they had to be prepared to face death upon coming here, as no one could guarantee they would definitely survive.

A gust of night wind blew, bringing the piercing cold of the night; no one knew why it was so hot during the day yet so cold at night.

Duke even suspected whether the wizard hosting the assessment intentionally made the temperature this low, which seemed somewhat unreasonable.

He himself didn't mind; due to his high physical stats, this temperature had little effect on him.

It was different for Simon and the other two; though the physique of second-class Wizard Apprentices was much stronger than ordinary people, they were still far less robust than Duke.

At night, the temperature quickly dropped below zero, and Simon and the others each took out leather jackets from their Space Rings to ward off the night's chill.

"We need to find a place to take shelter; I'm afraid the weather will turn worse," Simon glanced at the night sky with some concern.

Abel said, "I just saw a dry riverbed on the right with my eagle eye; there should be a place to shelter from the wind."

The group didn't delay, immediately heading in the direction Abel had pointed.

The wind grew increasingly fierce, carrying countless sand grains.

The dry riverbed soon appeared before them, an extremely wide riverbed, its winding course heading into the unknown.

Duke and the others jumped down and found an indentation in the riverbed bend, where the wind was much reduced.

After sitting down there, they all felt their bodies somewhat limp; a day of high-intensity desert travel under such high temperatures had pushed their bodies to the brink of exhaustion.

Duke was in the best condition of the group but was still somewhat fatigued due to excessive physical exertion.

The four quietly took out water and some dry food, replenishing their strength, without speaking, as if they lacked the energy to talk.

"We've completed one of the tasks now; what are your thoughts on the other?" Duke asked.

Simon contemplated for a moment and said, "Utilizing that oasis seems like the Lizardmen would often send people there to fetch water; we could ambush and kill them there."

Duke pondered briefly, "We can do that, but we must ensure absolute success and prevent them from escaping. Also, we may have at most only two opportunities."

"After we kill the first batch of outbound Lizardmen, others may come to investigate. If neither batch returns, they will surely know something happened, and we must quickly flee this place before then..."

Duke then carefully discussed specific plans with Simon and the others, trying to be thorough.

However, how effective it would be in execution, no one was sure.

Since they hadn't fought the Lizardmen before, and the intelligence on parchment was quite rudimentary with no specific information.

Duke and the team could only prepare to respond as best they could, adapting to circumstances as they arise.

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