When we looked up, we saw that several mechanical birds had appeared in the sky above us.

"They're here! They're really here!" I couldn't hold my excitement as I could feel the blood rushing to my brain.

A total of five mechanical birds were flying in circles in the air above us. Everyone remained hidden beneath their cloaks, not daring to make any movement. Our simulation devices were perfectly covering us with a projection of the terrain, even protecting us from heat-based scans. Thus, the mechanical birds were unable to notice us.

Soon, more and more mechanical birds appeared in the sky. At one point, there were dozens of them up there performing a detailed scan of the area. After more than 10 minutes, the mechanical dogs appeared as well. Dozens of them started roaming the lands, with most of their focus on the two mountains by the path.

At that time, the advantage of hiding on our mountain was unveiled. Because we were surrounded by several taller bare mountains with no path up, the mechanical dogs couldn't search our area. In any case, I believed that the barbarians had not expected a counter-ambush at all.

After the mechanical creatures searched the area for about half an...