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Another black-haired youth continued, "The desert terrain changes without any pattern, so it should ideally be surveyed every six months. Unfortunately, the military department of the 'Mercenary Empire' seems to have misappropriated the funds for such surveys. Not only have they failed to send people to conduct timely surveys, but even the maps purchased from the adventurers' guild are a decade old. While these maps might suffice for major trade routes, they are completely inadequate once you venture into the complex desert terrain. This is precisely why you got lost two days ago."

"Hmm..." The old general was slightly embarrassed. Among the several human empires, the internal affairs of the 'Mercenary Empire' are arguably the most chaotic, and it's not something to be proud of. However, after only a brief moment of hesitation, the revered general made a decision and nodded, "Very well, I will take your advice. As long as we can return to the capital safely, your commission will be doubled."

These soldiers of the 'Mercenary Empire' were part of the army that accompanied the 'White Night Knight' Heinz in escorting the 'Ten Realms Crimson Lotus Sword' back to the capital three days ago. Due to the ambush by the 'Holy War Martial Emperor' Katherine, half of the fifty-thousand-strong army was lost, and the remaining soldiers scattered in all directions. Normally, with the discipline of a regular army, even if they suffered a temporary defeat, they should have quickly regrouped, especially since they were on their own territory. However, among the tens of thousands of fleeing soldiers, a small group had no plans to rejoin the main force. Instead, they formed several small squads and retreated deep into the desert in various directions.

These squads were tasked with hiding the 'Crimson Lotus Sword.' They were loyal soldiers directly under the command of the 'Mercenary Empire's' royal family, assigned the most critical roles in the contingency plan. Of course, out of the nearly twenty squads, only one actually held the divine weapon, while the others were decoys meant to cover their tracks. As for who carried the real divine weapon, none of them knew, to prevent enemies with mind-control abilities from uncovering the truth.

The current squad was one of these. Communicating in the desert is challenging, and they were fleeing desperately, so they had no idea that Katherine had not pursued them, nor did they know about Chen Xuanfeng's earth-shattering feat. They simply continued toward the most barren parts of the desert. In fact, even if they had received some news, they wouldn't know if it was false information spread by the enemy. Regardless of its veracity, as long as they successfully returned to the capital, 'Star Shattering Abyss,' according to the plan, it would be a great achievement. Why bother with unnecessary concerns?

However, this squad was rather unlucky. Both of their original guides were killed by the shockwaves from Katherine's ambush. Once they entered the desert, they discovered that the maps didn't match the terrain at all. Although they were well-trained elite troops, their skills in desert travel were quite lacking. As a result, they got lost on the first day itself. It wasn't until they encountered a group of young adventurers that they managed to determine their bearings and realized they had strayed from the planned route by more than a hundred kilometers. According to the original plan, the movements of each squad had to be kept absolutely secret, and anyone they encountered had to be silenced. However, the experienced general leading the squad recognized that this adventurer group was formidable, and if a fight broke out, it was unclear who would silence whom. Moreover, they lacked the confidence to reach the capital without a guide. After some discussion, they decided to hire the adventurer group to accompany them. This way, they not only gained a guide but also eliminated the risk of the adventurers leaking their whereabouts—a win-win situation.

As for the adventurer group, it was none other than Xi Luo and Morova, whose tracks had been discovered by Chen Xuanfeng at the adventurers' guild. Besides these two young Sword Masters, the group included a magic apprentice, a thief, an archer, and two heavily armored tower shield warriors with astonishing defensive capabilities.

By standard adventurer team standards, this group was somewhat lacking. They lacked a cleric for healing support, and their magical offensive capabilities were weak. However, Xi Luo, who had been trained as an elite by the Holy Light Temple since childhood, possessed divine light magic skills that surpassed those of ordinary clerics. The other Sword Master, Morova, was a master of both martial arts and magic, with his fire magic reaching the seventh level. With these two in the group, the team was not lacking in any significant way.

Although the two groups had joined forces, they remained wary of each other. Xi Luo's group didn't know the identity or mission of the soldiers, and the general's group was unaware that they had two top-tier Sword Masters in their midst. If either side had revealed their true capabilities, it's uncertain whether they could have cooperated.

However, just as the two groups were discussing the next day's travel route, the thief on watch duty suddenly alerted them that someone was approaching the camp.

The alert came quickly, but the approaching group was even faster. Almost as soon as the alert was issued, the sound of hooves pounding the sand echoed in the distance. Based on his military experience, the old general immediately judged that it was the sound of at least a hundred knights advancing.

"Who goes there? Halt immediately, or we will be forced to defend ourselves!" the old general shouted, standing up and addressing the shadowy figures of the knights in the moonlight. Though he spoke sternly, he felt a sense of relief, as it was clear that the newcomers were not orcs (since orcs have no mounted troops), which was far better than being confronted by the terrifying Lion Tribe Sword Saint.

"Bold words, Mordanu! Don't you recognize me?" a sharp voice called out from the group of riders. The tone was quite rude, but upon hearing the voice, the tense soldiers suddenly relaxed. In fact, half of the warriors even lowered their weapons and knelt toward the middle-aged man at the front of the group.

Not far away, Xi Luo, who had spent two years in the desert but was not a native desert warrior, naturally didn't recognize the newcomer. He turned slightly to Morova beside him and asked, "Who is that? Such a presence."

The red-haired Morova frowned slightly and replied, "That's 'Sand Emperor' Cato, one of the empire's top ten Sword Masters. He's said to be close to the royal family and holds the title of marshal in the military, though he doesn't lead troops. I didn't expect him to appear here, and it seems he's come specifically to meet our group. It looks like our employer this time has quite the background."