Sauron rode his horse, galloping all the way deep into the desert.
Huangquan Ancient City lay seven hundred li from Tianye City, located in the southwest of the desert. It was already near the edge of the desert, with soil, water, and vegetation.
Long ago, it was not called Huangquan City, but Huangshui City.
Because there was a lake there, and due to the sand, the water appeared yellowish. The lake was not small, and being at the edge of the desert, although the land was still relatively barren, it already had some conditions for cultivation.
Hundreds of years ago, a defeated tribe from Xiliang wandered here, took a liking to the geographical conditions, and chose to build a city and settle here, naming it Huangshui City.
After that, the tribe continued to thrive in Huangshui City, mainly making a living by growing grapes and brewing wine. The tribe grew larger and larger, from a few thousand people to twenty or thirty thousand.
However, a hundred years ago, for unknown reasons, everyone in Huangshui City died overnight.
There was no attack and no natural disaster, yet the entire tribe of over ten thousand people died completely, wiped out.
Strangely, there were no wounds on their bodies, and when they died, they all looked peaceful, as if they had passed away in their sleep.
From then on, the city became a dead city. Some tribes had taken an interest in the place and tried to settle there, but without exception, they all died unnatural deaths, in exactly the same way as the previous tribe.
Not only that, many desert bandits, dismissing the fear of others, chose Huangquan Ancient City as their base.
But again, without exception, all of them died, with no cause of death found.
Thus, the city was renamed Huangquan City, representing a cursed city where anyone who entered would die mysteriously.
Now Yan Nai’er’s Silver Wolf death squad, in order to evade the pursuit of the Tianye allied army, had taken refuge in Huangquan Ancient City, showing how dire the situation was.
Everyone knew that entering Huangquan Ancient City meant death, it was a cursed place.
But if they did not flee into Huangquan Ancient City, once surrounded by tens of thousands of troops, they would be completely wiped out within hours.
Although both paths led to death, being able to live a few more days still meant hope.
So after Yan Nai’er was assassinated, she ordered the entire army to enter Huangquan Ancient City. In that way, out of fear, the Tianye allied army would not dare to attack inside, and the Silver Wolf Legion would have a few more days of survival.
…
Sauron bought three horses, switching mounts as he sped toward Huangquan Ancient City in the southwest.
Along the way, he encountered wandering warriors heading to join the final encirclement battle.
Although Huangquan Ancient City was terrifying, as long as one did not enter it, staying outside would not bring any curse.
The Tianye City allied army did not dare to enter and kill the Silver Wolf Legion, but they also feared the legion might escape, so they surrounded Huangquan Ancient City completely. Even with thirty to forty thousand troops, it still felt insufficient, so they spent large amounts of gold recruiting wandering warriors.
There was no need to actually fight, they only had to completely surround the city and prevent the Silver Wolf Legion from breaking out.
At most ten to fifteen days, the Silver Wolf Legion inside Huangquan Ancient City would all die. Then the battle would end in great victory.
Moreover, with food and drink provided, earning two or three gold coins in ten days was quite a generous reward.
So many bold wandering warriors went, and Sauron mixed among them without standing out.
He rode swiftly, overtaking the others. He wished he could fly to Huangquan Ancient City, as Yan Nai’er was in danger every passing minute.
After travelling three hundred li, Sauron took a slight detour to the Black Oasis, the base of the Viper Sand Bandits, and left several letters there. The content was simple, Tianye City is empty, opportunity must not be missed, time will not come again.
Regardless of whether the bandits would receive the letters, Sauron continued racing toward Huangquan Ancient City.
Because of his speed, he was almost alone in the desert, occasionally encountering messengers heading to Tianye City.
Suddenly, he heard rapid hoofbeats behind him, extremely fast, clearly a fine horse.
Turning around, he saw a black robed warrior galloping at full speed toward Huangquan Ancient City.
Upon seeing Sauron, the warrior’s gaze became alert, even showing killing intent.
This was not a warrior from Tianye City, but from a secret department of the Nu Lang Kingdom, possibly a subordinate of Tuling Duo. He must be carrying an important message.
Sauron immediately drew his bow, aimed with mental focus, and unleashed a dragon force strike.
Three arrows in rapid succession.
The black robed warrior was shocked and tried to dodge at full speed.
But Sauron’s arrows were beyond what a mid level warrior could evade.
Three arrows struck, two in the eyes, one in the forehead.
Without a scream, the warrior died instantly and fell from his horse.
Sauron dismounted, grabbed the fine horse, then searched the corpse.
As expected, he found a sealed secret letter.
He instinctively wanted to open it, but after a brief hesitation, he did not, and instead put it away.
He then stripped the armour, black robe, and mask from the corpse, and found a special black iron token.
This was a member of the Black Ice Bureau.
The Black Ice Bureau was the most mysterious and powerful secret organisation of the Nu Lang Kingdom, said to be omnipotent and omnipresent.
Sauron had once heard that a trusted guard in Bi Xiao’s family had been secretly turned by the Black Ice Bureau, leading to the exposure of a scandal.
Although the bureau was said to answer only to the king, the current situation seemed more complicated.
Tuling Duo was one of its members and had served it since age fifteen.
Putting on the armour, robe, mask, and token, Sauron disguised himself as a Black Ice Bureau messenger.
He buried the real messenger’s body deep in the sand.
By doing this, Sauron could gather information, move within the Tianye allied army, and enter Tianye City.
The ancient city was completely surrounded, no one could enter.
…
Mounting the horse, Sauron continued.
After three hours and another three hundred li, Huangquan Ancient City finally appeared ahead.
It was evening, night approaching.
What he saw first was not the city, but the vast Tianye allied army, over thirty to forty thousand strong.
Even ten thousand troops felt endless, let alone forty thousand.
The city itself was only about a thousand mu in size, more like a large fortress.
The army had completely surrounded it, camps everywhere, even constructing fortifications for a long siege.
More mercenaries and wandering warriors kept arriving, making the situation extremely dire.
Inside the city, there was complete silence, not even a guard on the walls.
Sauron felt a chill, the situation inside seemed worse than expected.
The Silver Wolf Legion had once been in a strong position, but after Yan Nai’er’s assassination, they had fallen into chaos.
Sauron could only pray her injuries were not severe.
He rode forward and said, “I carry a secret message for Yan Shuang, make way.”
An officer said, “Please wait, I will report.”
Sauron silently prayed that Tuling Duo was not present.
Soon the officer returned, “The City Lord invites you to the command tent.”
Sauron frowned, “I am delivering a message to Huangquan Ancient City, why must I see him?”
The officer said, “I only follow orders.”
Surrounded by eight soldiers, Sauron followed.
Inside the tent were City Lord Ji Gang and his men.
Ji Gang asked sharply, “Who is your superior?”
“No comment,” Sauron replied.
“For whom is the message?”
“No comment.”
Ji Gang explained they had to be cautious of spies and asked to see his token.
Sauron realised it was a test. Ji Gang had no authority to demand this.
So he remained firm, “No comment.”
Ji Gang relaxed, “Very well, you may enter the city.”
Still cautious, Sauron insisted on going alone.
Ji Gang allowed it.
…
Sauron passed through the army and entered Huangquan Ancient City.
Near the gate, an arrow was aimed at him. It was Fen Mo, an old acquaintance.
“Who goes there?” Fen Mo asked.
“A messenger from Nu Lang, here to see Yan Shuang.”
Fen Mo let him enter, but once inside, he was surrounded.
Fen Mo said coldly, “The last assassin came from the Black Ice Bureau. Since you are here, you will not leave alive.”
Sauron removed his mask, “It’s me, Lanling.”
Fen Mo was shocked.
“I need to see Yan Shuang immediately.”
After reporting, a commander named Tu An came and led him inside.
Along the way, Sauron saw injured soldiers lying everywhere, exhausted and despairing.
They entered a small building.
Sauron rushed inside and saw the figure on the bed. His heart trembled as he shouted, “Nai’er, I am back. How are you? Please be alright.”