Chapter 226: Desert Trek

Balin was once again sent out as an envoy to seek an audience with Tutankhamun III, the Tomb King who now ruled Quata. This young Dwarf advisor knew he struggled to achieve merit on the battlefield, so he was willing to risk diplomacy to reap glory.

After Settra awoke, he defeated the other Tomb Kings and re-divided the lands; for the skeletons, conditions that limited where the living could dwell, such as the presence of water sources or habitability, were no longer important. Thus, every king managed to be allotted a piece of territory.

The effect of the papyrus sealed by the Immortal Emperor was immediate, and the Dwarfs were quickly granted authorization to build a small port. Most of the Dwarfs were qualified craftsmen, and they completed the work almost overnight.

A large amount of supplies was unloaded from the sailing ships, and after Sinuoli offered some gift money, Tutankhamun III generously dispatched his Kuluozhanche to transport the supplies for the Dwarfs.

After all the supplies were loaded, Panuosen prepared to return. Sinuoli had been thinking it over for several days, wanting to speak but hesitating; he did not know if the Prince of the Sea Gate before him was worthy of trust. But in the end, his desire for the Artifact parts overcame his vague concerns.

Sinuoli entrusted Panuosen to take a secret letter back to Cousin Tomi, the content of which was to collect intelligence for him in the Old World regarding the Nine Books of Nagash. Collecting such blasphemous books was a taboo everywhere.

Grimnir's Thunder roared as it departed, but Auerte-Yanmei remained behind under the recruitment of Buluokesen. Sinuoli had purchased two Dwarf Helicopters, but he lacked experienced pilots.

This was not due to a lack of charisma; the clansmen willing to leave the earth and embrace the sky were among the most adventurous, even in the most open-minded Jiliuguan. It was simply that King Selending of Zhufuba refused to let them go.

To train a qualified pilot, one must first learn a vast amount of theoretical knowledge, then undergo hundreds of hours of flight training to finish; the resources required could be said to be the highest among all combat units.

Even though Sinuoli spent Revival Points to cast the Vigorous Effect on King Selending, he was only willing to provide some Apprentices who had not yet completed their full training. These Dwarfs could only be said to know how to fly; as for how to execute reconnaissance and combat missions, they had absolutely no experience.

The addition of Auerte-Yanmei well compensated for this deficiency; he was an experienced aircraft pilot and Engineer.

Under the guidance of a Tomb Prince acting as a guide, the Dwarf army chose to set out in the desert at night when the temperature was lower. But even after avoiding the torment of the scorching sun during the day, the march was still not smooth.

The Dwarfs were too heavy and easily sank into sand pits with every step, while in contrast, the skeletons were extremely light. The guide in front ignored obstacles and took the route with the shortest straight-line distance, but there were many places where Sinuoli's subordinates could not pass.

Stopping and starting, they only advanced a dozen kilometers in one night; after the sun came out, the troops stayed on the shaded side of the dunes. The wind and sand erosion tormented the force of three thousand, as neither the Dwarfs, Humans, nor Amazons had experience marching in the desert.

Fortunately, this was the very beginning of the expedition, the troops' morale was high, and provisions were sufficient, so they endured until Twilight before setting off again. Such a force even attracted quite a few Undead creatures in the desert.

Jackals, sand lizards, scorpions, and the like hid in the shadows, harboring evil intentions toward Sinuoli's subordinates. These fellows were nothing but skeletons now; they had lost the fear of living beings, but still retained their instinct for bloodthirst.

The Dwarfs and Knights kept their armor on and were not injured by these resurrected beasts, but the warhorses and Amazons suffered some losses. Sinuoli also noticed a bear, which was the mount of Andemuge, but this Ranger also had no experience marching in the desert and had not yet shown anything extraordinary.

After another night of marching, the great canyon finally appeared before them. The army entered under the scorching sun and found a cool mountain hollow to rest.

"Pah! Prince, once we take Gaoyuanbao, we must come back and fix this damn road!" Henlide spat and sat down on the ground; this burly man had eaten plenty of sand along the way.

"Indeed, if you want to be rich, build roads first!" Sinuoli himself was unaffected, as the Master-level Passage Rune on his Stali Boots allowed him to walk as if on flat ground. But seeing his subordinates' hardship, he felt anxious in his heart, thinking of countermeasures while also being grateful for the generosity of Krag the Grim.

"Send the Helicopter out! See the situation at Karag-Hongyun Shan!" Sinuoli looked at the red horizon and issued the order. Red Cloud Mountain was an active volcano, named for the magma gushing from its crater that turned half the sky red.

Karag-Hongyun Shan was the southern gateway to the middle section of the World's Edge Mountains; once past Coffin Canyon, one reached the Nan Shijie Bianyuan Shanmai. It was a fortress carved into the mountain; Red Cloud Mountain came first, and only later did the tombs of the kings in Coffin Canyon appear.

If Sinuoli wanted to further explore the Nan Shijie Bianyuan Shanmai, he had to first bring Red Cloud Mountain under his control. For a long time in the foreseeable future, he would have to use water transport through Coffin Canyon to Quata to communicate with the outside world, and this fortress guarding the canyon could not be lost.

The Helicopter pilots wiped away the sand and dust, performed simple maintenance, and took off. Half an hour later, they returned.

Watching the approaching Helicopter, Sinuoli could not help but sigh slightly; the Rune telegraph he developed made the already scarce Rune Smiths even more sought after, as after all, no one could charge the Rune telegraph, which could only transmit simple information at a time.

This directly resulted in Sinuoli, the vice-president, being a lone commander in the association; he had no Apprentices of his own, and the process of hiring other Rune Smiths was not smooth. Everyone knew that Sinuoli would take the lion's share of the profits from this expedition, especially regarding unique items like Runes and treasures.

So, since everyone was earning money, why not accept employment nearby in the core regions of the Dwarfs? Compared to working as a subordinate for Sinuoli in unknown lands, the status was higher and it was safer.

"What kind of things are in the fortress now?" Sinuoli asked, looking at Auerte-Yanmei who had just stepped off the Helicopter.

"Greenskins! A Greenskin warband."

"Greenskins? No rats?" Sinuoli muttered.

"Rats? I'm not sure, if those Skaven are there, aren't they underground? Should we..." Auerte-Yanmei was stunned upon hearing this; he didn't know for a moment if the presence of rats was a reminder from some ancestral god.

"It's fine!" Sinuoli stood up. According to his memories from his past life, Karag-Hongyun Shan should have a fellow wearing red Plate Armor—Queek Headtaker—but it seemed it was not yet time for that fellow to appear. If possible, Sinuoli would not mind not even giving it the chance to appear.