Chapter 2448

The early breakfast ended unhappily. Uno hadn't shown any strength from beginning to end, maintaining an attitude of obeying the Sand Emperor in everything. In reality, he held military power very tightly. Sometimes, people who seemed harmless and smiled on the surface were like fierce dogs in secret.

Uno controlled military power, Karos controlled finance. One could imagine how difficult it was to deal with the two of them after they joined forces. Even the Sand Emperor could only use Karos to tie Uno, making this fierce dog look like a lapdog.

After Su Xiao left Rosai Palace, he returned to the small inn where he had stayed before. Caesar was already waiting here.

Su Xiao had promised at the early breakfast to capture Segona City within seven days. Not to mention anything else, just marching to Segona City would take five days. The remaining two days were for rest. Soldiers weren't machines. If they attacked Segona City immediately after marching at full speed for several days, morale would be very low.

It seemed there were two days left to attack Segona City, but that wasn't the case. Su Xiao hadn't taken over those 20,000 soldiers yet. At present, these 20,000 soldiers were still in Uno's hands. Su Xiao absolutely didn't believe Uno wouldn't play any tricks.

If Uno delayed the handover of the 20,000 soldiers, Su Xiao might be delayed in Sand City for one or two days, which could lead to his seven-day time limit being up just as he arrived at the border.

Su Xiao checked the quest list. As the center of power in the Sand Flame Kingdom, Sand City was full of opportunities, and the probability of triggering side quests was even higher.

【You have triggered side quest: Grand Commander.】

【You have triggered side quest: Capture Segona City.】

【Side Quest: Grand Commander】

Difficulty Level: lv. 57

Quest Information: After obtaining the official position of Grand Commander, command at least 5,000 or more Sand Flame Kingdom soldiers.

2. In the Tree Arena, the Hunter may be matched with competitors from the Void, Transcendent Native Worlds, and all Paradises.

Quest Reward: Blood-Bathed Glory (★★-tier Title).

Quest Penalty: Luck attribute permanently -5 points.

【Side Quest: Capture Segona City.】

Difficulty Level: War-type side quest, difficulty fluctuates greatly.

Quest Information: Capture and completely occupy Segona City.

Quest Deadline: Seven natural days.

Quest Reward: "Gray Soul" structural analysis diagram (knowledge-type record).

Quest Penalty: Lose the position of Grand Commander, all attributes -15%, permanently exiled from the Sand Flame Kingdom.

Two side quests: one rewarded a two-star title, the other rewarded a knowledge-type item whose use was temporarily unknown.

Regarding Segona City at the border, Su Xiao had already learned some things. It was a fortress city with a commoner population of about 3,000. Those living inside were, of course, Peru dwarves.

Don't underestimate it because of the commoner population of Segona City. The soldiers stationed there were over 50,000. Those 3,000-plus commoners served the soldiers, opening shops and the like in the city to ensure that Peru soldiers could be stationed there year-round.

Besides soldiers and commoners, there were many slaves in Segona City—slaves from the Sand Flame Kingdom who were all coolies.

A fortress city with 50,000 Peru soldiers stationed—it seemed the number wasn't large, but once fighting started, it wouldn't be like that.

The Sand Flame Kingdom had attacked Segona City many times. The most ruthless time, they deployed 170,000 soldiers, wanting to break through Segona City in one go, but returned in failure. 170,000 soldiers died, leaving only 90,000, almost killed until they fled in defeat.

Wanting to capture Segona City with 20,000 soldiers was almost impossible, not to mention the seven-day time limit.

Precisely because it was impossible, Uno and Karos were willing to hand over 20,000 soldiers. The friendship—whether true or false—between Su Xiao and the Sand Emperor made Uno and Karos very wary, so they were willing to use 20,000 soldiers as a price to eliminate Su Xiao, this hidden danger.

As for the position of Grand Commander, under normal circumstances, Uno and Karos would never loosen their grip. It was the situation that forced the two to loosen their grip. In the situation this morning, if Uno said anything else, it would be a direct provocation to the Sand Emperor's authority.

What needed to be completed first at the moment was to take over the command of the 20,000 soldiers from Uno. There was no need to worry about this; Uno's people would find him soon. If the other party could endure that kind of itchy, unbearable torture, Su Xiao could afford to wait.

Knock, knock, knock.

The inn room door was knocked. After Caesar opened the door, a man wearing half-body scale armor and with silver hair walked into the room.

"Grand Commander Kuku-Lin Bai Ye, I am the newly appointed Deputy Commander, Berne Avare."

The silver-haired man, Avare, stopped at the door. He looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of handsomeness, Berne Avare could definitely rank in the top twenty in Sand City.

"..."

Su Xiao sat by the window, watching the pedestrians passing by on the street below, completely ignoring Avare. He had let Bubu Wang and Baja calculate against Uno, and Uno's side clearly couldn't hold on, so they sent Avare.

Su Xiao had just taken over the 20,000 soldiers, and the Deputy Commander was already arranged. Under normal circumstances, the Deputy Commander should have been chosen by him personally, rather than appointed by Uno.

Inside the room, Avare coughed lightly. He could be said to be in high spirits. He had been promoted five levels, from Military Commander directly to Deputy Commander by special promotion.

Avare had already learned the basic situation from Uno's confidant. Hearing that he was to attack "Segona City" with 20,000 people, Avare's legs felt a bit weak. That was seeking death. As a garrison soldier in Sand City, he had never seen the scene on the front lines in his life. Yet this morning, surprise and horror had come at the same time.

Avare's first thought was hatred—hatred for being dragged into the water. Then he thought, since this Grand Commander had issued a military order to capture Segona City within seven days, why not let this Grand Commander die in an "accident" before reaching Segona City?

In that case, there would be a reason not to attack Segona City. The Grand Commander was dead, so why not hurry back to Sand City? After all, those 20,000 soldiers were his, Avare's, subordinates.

Horror turned into surprise. Avare understood. That lord appointed him as Deputy Commander to eliminate a thorn in his side. As long as it succeeded, perhaps he would be the new Grand Commander.

Avare felt that the peak of his life was beckoning to him, which made his mood even more pleasant, except for his throat being a bit itchy.

"Cough, cough~"

Avare coughed dryly, his gaze darting to the tea on the table.

"Are you thirsty?"

Su Xiao supported his cheek with one hand, his gaze still watching the pedestrians passing by on the street.

"The subordinate is not thirsty."

Avare raised his chin slightly.

"We're all our own people, don't be polite."

"Then the subordinate won't be polite."

Avare stepped forward and grabbed the teapot to pour into his mouth.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

With a thud, Avare collapsed to the ground. The teapot fell and rolled to Su Xiao's feet.

Su Xiao couldn't even be bothered to calculate against such a disposable pawn. He had just arrived in Sand City and had offended the High Priest and the Minister of Administration. Someone poisoning him—wasn't that very normal? Avare was just unlucky. Su Xiao hadn't asked him to drink that cold tea; he had just said "We're all our own people, don't be polite."

Such a time bomb—it was better to eliminate it early. If this guy couldn't think straight and led the soldiers to mutiny not long after leaving Sand City, the loss would outweigh the gain.

"Caesar, go notify Uno and say that I express my deep apologies for Avare's misfortune, and send some gifts over. The cheaper the gifts, the better."

"Gifts? Let me think."

Caesar felt some heartache in his eyes. For him, giving gifts was on the same level as being stabbed.

More than an hour later, Caesar returned with a slightly chubby man. This man also wore scale armor. Rather than saying he was a soldier, he looked more like a merchant.

Avare had just died, and the new Deputy Commander had arrived, still appointed by Uno. Before those 20,000 soldiers were completely handed over, Uno had this power. After all, it was military power taken from him.

The newly appointed Deputy Commander was clearly much more obedient. After all, the previous one had died too miserably, dying suddenly in less than an hour.

"My lord, I am..."

Before the new Deputy Commander could finish, Su Xiao waved his hand. Seeing this scene, the new Deputy Commander's heart skipped a beat. Not needing to know his name—did that mean he wouldn't live long either?

Su Xiao naturally wouldn't eliminate this new Deputy Commander in a short time. Although both were appointed by Uno, the Deputy Commander couldn't be changed too frequently. Changing one every hour was too exaggerated. At the very least, he had to persist until changing one every day; that was barely justifiable.