It seems that they had finally caught on that someone was butchering the small patrols, so they were withdrawn completely and instead sent out a couple of groups consisting of thirty riders and a few hunting hounds to find the murderers. Those squads could have proven a very hard task to take on at the start, but now he, Ghost, and Winter were infinitely more dangerous. Thirty men and a few hunting hounds could be considered a challenge only because he had to keep as many as possible alive.