Chapter 98: Surprise Attack

Evening had come; the afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded, slowly bringing the quiet of night. In the desert at night, as the night wind rose, the temperature began to drop gradually.

Here it was already a desert, an endless expanse of sand.

Stars hung in the sky, mischievously winking; under the twinkling starlight, the Dwarves' faces were reddened by the furnace fire, sweat streaming down their cheeks. They paid no mind, wiping with their sleeves and continuing their work.

The gold had fully melted and been poured into molds; the Dwarves waited for it to solidify, then slipped it into their pockets.

The Dwarves were still very fearful; they feared the plan would fail, and even more feared that their god's prophecy might be wrong.

Chen Hao and Feng Yan arrived. Seeing the Dwarves' work continue unabated, they nodded and shouted, "This is for your freedom. Trust us; this assault will surely win!"

In the dead silence of night, the wind brushed Feng Yan's hair. He gazed at the starry sky, then let out a sneeze.

"Ah—!" Feng Yan hugged himself, looked up at the massive World Tree, and said to the Chen Hao beside him, "I think I have to cut this thing down."

Chen Hao nodded, smiling, "Whether we cut it or not is secondary; the main issue is whether they'll take the bait."

Feng Yan heard this and realized that was the real concern, but the Dwarves now forced him to decide fate by gambling.

Feng Yan sighed, saying softly, "I hope our coin toss doesn't land tails up."

Chen Hao nodded and fell silent.

The wind rose, lifting the yellow sand into the sky; the grains turned into murderous demons.

Everyone wanted to survive, and to live brilliantly. Feng Yan thought so, glanced at the sheltering spots around, and slowly left with Chen Hao.

Feng Yan watched Wang You's sleeping face and asked himself why he had fallen for a character from a game.

He thought for a long time but found no answer. Now, looking at her face, he gave a faint smile and, self‑deprecatingly, said, "Maybe because she's my ideal lover."

Jin Meng fetched a blanket from the Dwarves; Feng Yan took it, covered him, then stood and stared at the moon now hidden by the swirling sand.

At that moment, eyes that had been watching him all along—though the sandstorm obscured his silhouette—still stood there, and she muttered to herself, "You, what actually happened? What am I? I've been waiting for you to say that line."

Lin Xiyan tucked her hair behind her ears and went into her own cabin.

On the other side, beyond the city walls, the Li Guo garrison.

The soldiers stood upright, inspecting each passing traveler and merchant ship.

All the merchants seemed to understand the rules; they produced their money bags, pulling out a few gold coins or other jewels. The soldiers instantly smiled and, like dogs, let them go.

The soldiers held the gold coins in their hands, idly twirling them, and leisurely approached the Officer, handing over the collected coins. The Officer smiled, unaware that the soldier had just slipped one away with his finger.

This was a trick every city‑guard soldier knew: after taking the merchants' tips, they kept a small portion for themselves and later gave it to their families.

The garrison Officers, however, took away the vast majority of the gold coins; the soldiers were angry but could not show it.

After all, they were friends or thugs under the king's command.

They swaggered, accustomed to bullying with the king's petty cash.

"Come, come, drink!" three Officers sat at a table, bottles in hand, drunk and reeking of alcohol.

At this moment the garrison Officers, as usual, drank while waiting for merchants; they skimmed a few extra tips from them, then ordered a subordinate to fetch a pot of wine from a tavern in the city.

A few of them ate and drank together, and after getting drunk they played fist‑games; the night passed like that. Guarding the city gate wasn't a respectable job, but the accumulated tips became a decent fortune.

The city‑guard soldiers survived on those tips; their lives weren't glamorous, but they weren't short of food and drink.

The Officers drank wine and ate meat, and when the meal was served they played drinking‑fist games; thus a day passed.

The soldiers, eyeing the Officers' leftover cold dishes, grabbed the empty wine jars, smelled the lingering aroma, and poured the contents straight into their mouths!

After the Officers left, the soldiers crowded onto the wall, their sole aim the remaining sip of wine. They enjoyed it, watching the soldiers scramble for the drink, and a few of them joked about it up there.

The soldier Officer pointed at the soldiers fighting over the wine jars, smiling, and said to the other two Officers, "Gentlemen, what do these soldiers look like now?"

The two Officers laughed, said nothing, just shook their heads and slowly descended from the wall.

The wine jars were empty; all the soldiers returned to their posts, guarding Li Guo through the night.

Night's arrival left everyone weary; they yawned and took turns on duty.

The soldiers listened to the incessant cicadas inside the city, feeling restless, and looked at the scene before them—a desert filled with swirling sand.

Even at night, the sand swirled; even hearing a sound made it feel terrifying.

The soldiers believed that nothing dangerous would happen at the night gate; the gate was coated with a thin layer of gold, gold rivets studded the doors, and daylight made it impossible to look away.

The gate remained shut, so no one could enter; this was the soldiers' unanimous belief.

But they forgot something crucial: two adventurers had vanished from their nation.

At that moment the soldiers noticed something odd—gold seemed to rain from the sky!

The gold was minted into coin‑sized pieces; the Dwarves used some of their blankets, tearing them into rags to wrap the coins, achieving a decent result.

At night the soldiers carried torches, tossing the coins in handfuls, using the torchlight to search for whoever had thrown them.

Ding—, the coins clanged on the ground, and at that moment the soldiers completely lost their combat ability.

They had become useless husks, honor gone, eyes fixed only on money.

The soldiers began to brawl over the coins; Feng Yan's face grew heavy, and he said to Chen Hao, "See? This is what Li Guo has become—now they've completely lost any fighting spirit."

Feng Yan and Chen Hao calmly dealt with the city gate, then let it down.

Feng Yan thought it over, then entered the enemy's camp. He slipped closer, while bounty hunters still guarded the area.

The Officer laughed heartily, and a woman serving wine asked, "What's wrong? Officer, is the Feng Yan you mentioned really that impressive?"

"No, I'm not as good as him!" the Officer, clearly still drunk with flushed cheeks and reeking of alcohol, blustered with the woman in his arms, then collapsed into her embrace.

But the next second he was hoisted up; he wanted to rage, but looking at the people before him, he was reduced to a deflated punching bag.

Feng Yan grabbed his hair, yanked his head up; the woman screamed in terror. Feng Yan drew the Black Sword, pointed it at his throat, and coldly said, "You'd better stay quiet, or I don't know if your head will still be yours next second!"

At that moment the Officer bit Feng Yan's arm; Feng Yan winced, then released him.

Feng Yan looked at his bitten arm, the bite marks deep, occasional pain flaring. He muttered to himself, "A dog's bite? But this dog seems to only eat gold coins."

"Help! Help!" the Officer shouted, seizing a chance to flee, but another adventurer, who had been waiting, struck him with a bang, and the Officer collapsed to the ground.

"Looks like a waste!" Chen Hao said, a bit disappointed.