The temperature is getting higher and higher.

Shen Miao is afraid of the heat and doesn't like to go out. However, the temperature is too high, and food at home cannot be stored properly. The prey that is caught must be eaten on the same day, otherwise it will spoil immediately.

Shen Miao racked her brains and came up with a solution. She asked Qingchen and Jiuying to get some saltpeter, which she then made into ice blocks. By placing the food on the ice blocks, the food wouldn't spoil immediately.

The remaining ice was placed in various rooms, and the little ones didn't like going out anymore. It was so hot outside, nowhere was as cool as home.

Moreover, their mother could make honey ice cream for them using ice cubes. The honey ice cream was sweet and cool, and eating one would keep them cool for a long time. When other children from the tribe came to play with Da Bao and the others, Shen Miao would make it for them as well.

After they finished eating, the little ones stayed at Shen Miao's house and refused to leave. Of course, it wasn't just because of the ice cream, but also because it was cool at Shen Miao's house.

Shen Miao specially prepared a room for them to stay and play in, and even took out a watermelon from her space, cut it up and shared it with everyone.

In this way, several children from different families in the tribe were "tied" to their homes by Shen Miao. Shen Miao also specifically instructed them, "Don't run around outside. It's hot outside, and you'll get heatstroke."

Everyone lay on the straw mats, eating sweet watermelon, and said with a grin, "Aunt Chenmiao, we're not stupid. It's so hot, our toes will melt if we go outside."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Shen Miao smiled slightly. It's best not to go out; it's too unsafe outside lately.

After leaving the children's room, Shen Miao went to find Qing Chen and Jiu Ying. The two were having a serious discussion. Shen Miao sat down next to them and heard Qing Chen say, "...another village was attacked, several orcs died, and some children are missing."

Jiuying said resentfully, "These skeleton soldiers come and go without a trace, emerging directly from underground. It's not that we can't defeat them, it's just that their way of appearing is too cunning."

“Their attacks are unpredictable, but several nearby tribes have already suffered. We should also start preparing,” Qingchen said in a deep voice.

After listening for a while, Shen Miao asked, "Do the skeleton soldiers live underground?"

Jiuying nodded. "Yes, they catch orcs to eat, especially the cubs, so orcs are generally very wary of such things."

Shen Miao couldn't help but glance at the ground.

Qingchen noticed her actions and explained, "There aren't any underground here. They also need to survive. If they're going to look for them, they'll look for uninhabited underground places to live."

Shen Miao breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that they weren't coming. If they wanted to come, they would have to come from outside the tribe. This time was enough for them to prepare their defenses.

However, Shen Miao was still thinking too simply.

The skeleton soldiers arrived unexpectedly. Three days after their discussion, a female beast was washing clothes in the river when she was almost snatched away by the skeleton soldiers.

The female beast abandoned her clothes and scrambled back to the tribe, shouting, "The skeleton soldiers are coming! The skeleton soldiers are coming!"

The orc tribe was taken aback, not expecting the skeleton soldiers to actually arrive, and so quickly at that.

There were several loud bangs, and everyone slammed the door shut, too afraid to go out.

Shen Miao instructed the children, "Stay at home and don't go out."

The children disagreed, saying, "Mother, we can also fight the skeleton soldiers and kill them all so they'll never dare to come near us again."

"Alright, when you grow up, you can go and fight."

Shen Miao gave a perfunctory reply, leaving the snow wolf to watch over the cubs, while she prepared to go with Qingchen Jiuying to meet these ugly-sounding creatures.

But Qingchen stopped them.

“You stay at home, I will go with Jiuying.”

"I can too..."

Qingchen refused, stating without room for negotiation, "You stay."

Shen Miao stared at him for a moment, and finally gave in.

There weren't many skeleton soldiers this time; they were probably outposts sent to scout ahead. Qingchen and Jiuying easily dealt with them, but their expressions weren't good when they returned.

Shen Miao stepped forward and asked, "Didn't it go smoothly?"

"No, all those who came were killed." Jiuying shook her head.

"Then what's with those expressions?" Shen Miao laid out the prepared food and invited them to sit down and eat together.

Because there were still a few children at the dinner table, Qingchen and Jiuying didn't go into details, only saying that everything was fine for the time being. Erbao was eager to go and wanted Qingchen to take him along.

Shen Miao tapped him on the head. "You should focus on your training. Have you digested all the beast crystals I gave you?"

Erbao scratched his head and fell silent.

The higher the spiritual power, the harder it is to level up. Besides, the kids are still young, and practicing is too boring for them, so they only practice sporadically.

Hearing Shen Miao ask this question, he felt a little guilty, glanced at Qing Chen furtively, and silently ate his rice.

Fortunately, Qingchen was in no mood to deal with him. He finished his meal in a few bites, put down his bowl, and went out again. Qingchen took a walk around the tribe and instructed the orcs living on the edge to keep an eye on the surrounding area.

If you see skeletons attacking, leave immediately and shout loudly. The more people there are, the more confident you will be in dealing with the skeletons. If you really have no other choice, hide inside the house and don't go out.

The tribe was filled with fear and anxiety. Someone asked, "We can't stay inside either; they can jump in through the windows."

The windows are now only blocked by a few pieces of firewood, and can be easily torn open by hand from the outside, posing no obstacle to the skeleton soldiers.

Qingchen thought about it and realized that this was indeed a problem, but he didn't have a good solution for the time being. He simply said to the beastmen, "Then put more firewood in the house and block the windows tightly."

The orcs discussed for a long time, and before nightfall, they returned home early, locking their doors and hoping that the skeleton soldiers wouldn't come looking for them.

After Qingchen returned, Jiuying also talked to him and asked him for his opinion on the appearance of the skeleton soldiers.

In fact, the skeletons live underground and the orcs live on the ground, and they can be said to live in peace and harmony. They did appear once, but after that, something very serious happened.

Therefore, the appearance of skeleton soldiers is an ominous sign.

Their fighting ability is secondary; what's most terrifying is that no one knows what will happen next.

The two talked for a long time, but in the end they couldn't come up with any good solutions. They could only focus on defense, and as for what would happen next, they could only take it one step at a time.

“I spoke with the orc tribe today and told them to be very careful. I think they shouldn’t be running around too much these days, and the chances of them being hurt by the skeleton soldiers are extremely small,” Qingchen said.

Jiuying smiled wryly, "The skeleton soldiers can enter the house through the windows; the house can't stop them."

Qingchen said calmly, "That's why I had them prepare weapons and firewood in the house. If it really comes down to it, we'll have to fight the skeleton soldiers."