Lord of the Desert

Chapter 382 defection
In May of the 30th year of Zhenghe, the summer solstice thunderstorm broke out in Huaiyang State, and the wind was filled with moist summer air.

At this time, all the fragments of silver wood left by Dachengyu in Tingtao Valley had been dug up and sold, and the story of Prince Huaiyang arresting people for forced labor had completely failed.

Rumors spread everywhere, and no one believed that the person who was taken to Yunlan City was still alive.

But believe it or not, the royal court continued to capture prisoners as usual.

Fengyunding’s appetite is even bigger, and it consumes 10,000 people a month.

Although the Tianfeng Army has not yet attacked the city, the continued blockade of the entire city has seriously shaken everyone's confidence.

Especially on May 17, when the Baisheng Army claimed that Duan Tiannan had killed Gong Zhengping and publicly sent his head back to Yunlan City...

May 25th.

Late at night, one hundred and fifty miles northwest of Yunlan City.

The moon was foggy white and turbid, like the blind eye of a blind person.

In the center of the plain, a bonfire was nailed into the ground like a yellow wedge.

A group of Tianfeng soldiers gathered around the fire, most of them were sleeping with blankets on, while a few were awake; further out, a dozen people tied with chains were lying in a mess.

They were combed out from the nearby mountains and forests, which took a lot of effort on the part of the soldiers.

Only a few months into spring, the people north of Yunlan were captured or escaped, and there are only a few villages left.

The short soldier on night watch checked the prisoners as usual - he was strong but awkward, especially when he bent over to check the chains and met a pair of numb eyes.

It is like a puddle in the swamp reflecting the night, like a cave hiding the wind under a barren mountain.

At the end of the line sat a thin, dark woman.

Her arms were bruised by blue marks from the iron chain, and she was holding a child in her arms - the child was wearing a colorful round hat made of rags, and his black and white eyes were clearer than today's blind moon.

After looking at the soldiers for a moment, the child suddenly burst into laughter.

The vast open space was suddenly penetrated by the clear laughter, which was actually thrilling.

The soldiers couldn't bear it any longer, and they fled back to the campfire, panting, and sat down, staring at the fire.

"What's wrong with you? What the hell?"

The tall and thin companion asked.

The short soldier said nothing, lowered his head and looked up, staring blankly at the warrior standing on the rock with his hands behind his back dozens of meters away.

The man's name was "Huang Yuzun". He was the leader of the Han Di Sect in Yun Lan City, a master of the Xiantian Erhe, and the military supervisor of the team. At this moment, he was looking at the rain clouds in the distance that were moving like living things, and the forked lightning that was constantly appearing and disappearing in the clouds.

Because the rain clouds were too far away, the thunder and lightning could not be matched, and they were so faint that they sounded like snoring coming from the earth's crust.

"What's the hysteria?"

The tall and thin soldier was frightened and beat his companion severely.

The latter suddenly lowered his eyes, pressed his chest and murmured: "I feel sad."

"Who doesn't feel uncomfortable in this world?"

The tall and thin man asked back in a low voice.

"To live you must endure..."

He was adding wood to the campfire when his arm was grabbed.

"I want to escape."

The short soldier spoke in a whisper, sticking his chin out towards the prisoners.

"Let's take them together..."

A spark rose from the campfire, flashed for a few seconds, and died silently in the night.

"Are you crazy?"

The tall and thin man gasped in surprise.

"Who can come out now without a family member or child detained in the city? If you leave, where will they be?"

This is a good reason, used countless times by the Tianfeng Army.

"Aren't they also waiting to die now? How are they any different from these people? Isn't the wall of Yunlan a large chain?"

The short man's voice became more intense.

"That Bald Mountain has eaten up everyone else, and sooner or later it will eat us too..."

He couldn't stop talking, but found that his companion's face was pale and his teeth were chattering.

When I turned around, Huang Yuzun, who had been watching the thunderstorm from a distance, was standing beside me without me noticing.

"If you want to kill me, just do it."

The short soldier suppressed his fear and spoke bravely.

"Why should I kill you when you haven't escaped yet?"

Huang Yuzun sneered when he heard this.

"You're not the only one in the world who has such a heart."

Lightning flashed in this person's eyes, slender and shining like silk.

······
The next day, at the hour of Mao.

The cold light of the early morning turned the entire plain into an iron blue.

Balls of dust floated on the horizon, and the lashes left by the storm were scattered all over the place.

The Tianfeng Army's cavalry set out to the southeast, carrying the captives, moving as slowly as a crawl. They had been out for ten days, and even if they had not captured enough people, they had to return, otherwise it would be easy for misunderstandings.

The current Yunlan City is very afraid of misunderstandings.

An hour later, the sun became very hot.

Huang Yuzun grabbed the saddle, feeling uneasy.

He glanced at a few ugly vultures with flesh-red heads and necks scalded by boiling water, which were following the team with their wings spread and hopping.

A goshawk was circling high in the sky, casting a shadow as black as a hole.

Huang Yuzun could not find anything unusual until the shadow stopped circling and continued to grow larger.

He looked up and squinted his eyes, and saw a black shadow descending from the sunlight. During the high-speed dive, its wings were shed like a strong wind tearing apart clouds, revealing a sturdy human figure.

The man held the knife in both hands, and the narrow blade was infused with internal energy, which burst into a three-meter-long flaming blade.

"Be careful, it's Chisha coming!"

Huang Yuzun roared, picked up the black iron mace, and flew up from his horse.

The sword and mace collided, creating a thunderous gust of air that distorted the atmosphere for several feet.

The warhorse convulsed and fell.

Huang Yuzun flew back several feet, with the long mace in his hand broken and crooked.

"The Myojin is in your hands indeed!"

He threw away his weapon and took a step forward.

More than a foot deep under the feet, the true energy is rushing through the earth, but there is no trace of it on the surface.

Fortunately, the sand world has its own sensitivity.

Hong Fan stepped back and dodged the suddenly rising spike.

More than ten feet away, the Tianfeng army ordered their men to form a battle array, drew their bows and prepared to shoot, but something happened at their elbows and armpits.

The three soldiers exchanged glances, suddenly drew their swords, selectively chopped down several targets, and retreated to the captives.

The team's already fragile organization suffered a severe blow.

The quarrels and shouting among the soldiers did not develop into further fighting. Instead, they seemed to have found a way out to kill time while waiting for the final verdict.

The battle on the other side never stopped.

Huang Yuzun slammed his fist on the ground, and the soil surged like waves, crushing the orange-red gravel and pushing back the incoming sand thorns.

Hong Fan swung his hand and chopped with flames. The high-temperature gas blasted through the earth wall, leaving a circular molten gap.

Huang Yuzun was unable to dodge the attack completely and burned his forearm.

He was no match for his opponent in terms of killing methods.

"He is the best among all the geniuses, but I don't know how good he is at fighting?"

Huang Yuzun said as he controlled his true essence to condense armor - this method was similar to the Huangsha Armor, the surface was as fine as topaz, with cracks and gaps, but the changes in softness and hardness were rough, and stone chips fell down when it was in use.

Seeing the opponent approaching, Hong Fan also put on his armor and fought while retreating.

The fire knife and the rock fist quickly exchanged dozens of moves.

The sand armor was deformed and then repaired, but the topaz was covered with black knife marks.

The difference in strength, speed and reflexes brought by the warrior realm cannot be compensated by external objects, and Hong Fan obviously suffered more attacks.

But with the Mingshen in hand, he could harness his innate spiritual energy like a Qi realm warrior, enough to normalize the use of methods such as the Seven-Step Cage and Hot Wind Hell, and his combat power more than tripled.

After fighting for several minutes, Huang Yuzun continued to be exposed to high temperatures, the fire in his body gradually accumulated, and he finally fell into a disadvantage.

At this time, a few more horses galloped over from a distance. They were Wu Yuan and his men who were acting together with Hong Fan.

Upon seeing this, Huang Yuzun withdrew without saying a word.

Hong Fan did not pursue them, and together with several new arrivals he dealt with the stubbornly resisting Tianfeng Army.

"Why didn't Young Master Hong chase after him just now?"

Wu Yuanteng took action and asked.

"In the previous fight, Huang Yuzun and I were about 60-40, but I felt that he didn't use his full strength and was just looking for a reason to end the fight."

Hong Fan said this while looking at the eight Tianfeng soldiers who had defected earlier.

"What are your plans?"

"I am willing to serve Chisha!"

A short and strong soldier bowed in response.

"Okay, but you don't need to work for me. Work for the Hundred Victory Army."

Hong Fan replied.

He broke the shackles on the prisoners, ordered everyone to remove the equipment of the dead and load it onto horses, and then dug a pit and buried the bodies on the spot.

Everyone rode back north.

The team went away, vultures circled and made noisy sounds, and soon groups of wild wolves appeared on the horizon.

They dug up a new grave and divided the spoils among themselves.

(End of this chapter)