Attack

Lee roughly marked the location of the burial pit on the map and said to Tang, "We can't handle it on our own. We'll inform Luka when we return."

Luka, previously mentioned, was the governor of the Western Territory of the True Kingdom.

The True Kingdom's territory was divided into five parts: western, eastern, southern, northern, and central, where the capital City of Victory is located. Each region is overseen by a governor: Luka the west, Howard the east, Sun the south, and Lewis the north. Their superior was the Prime Minister Zero.

Additionally, each region had a Grand General leading local troops: Dragon the west, Zeus the east, Autumn the south, and Wayward the north. Their superior was the Commander Windyce. Autumn and Windyce are brothers.

When it came to the central territory, the King Young absolutely dominated this area. Zero was always by Young's side. Windyce occasionally patrolled the four territories to demonstrate Young's authority, and he stayed at the City of Victory most of the time.

Luka served under Zero but maintained a close friendship with Windyce. Adopted by Windyce since childhood, Lee was very familiar with Luka and regarded him as a sound uncle.

"Let's keep forward and meet up with the others," Lee said.

Ten days later, Lee could feel that everyone was tired. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened on the way, and they reached their destination at noon on the last day of the twenty-day appointment.

The site was Gady.

Gady was a small oasis in the northeast of the Big Desert. Each oasis was precious in the Big Desert, offering hope of life to humans. Gady was not actually controlled by the Falling-Moon Kingdom but a gray area.

Upon entering Gady, Lee was surprised by the bustle in Gady. In fact, Gady is very similar to the small towns around the City of Victory. There are houses made of thatch, mud, or stone on both sides of the road. All kinds of people set up stalls, traded, and lived here, creating a lively picture. In the distance, a small river flew into a lake, which supported the water supply for people. A consensus among all powers was to protect this lake. Otherwise, Gady would soon disappear from the map.

Strangely, the people here seemed particularly unhappy with them so much that they always avoided them on the street.

"What's wrong with them? Because we ride horses?" Tang was confused.

"Have you taken a shower recently?" Lee asked. He had just seen a plain-looking girl hurry past, covering her mouth and nose.

"We were in the desert!" Tang replied. He understood that it was the sour odor from their bodies that drew disdainful looks from passersby.

Following the marks made by his guards, Lee stopped in front of a large inn.

"Uh, beggars, again?" muttered a voice from an inn's waiter, leaning against the door frame as Lee and his group approached.

"Are you looking to stay?" The waiter greeted them with a forced smile, holding his breath.

"Yes, arrange rooms for us, please," Lee nodded toward the waiter. "Next to them."

The waiter glanced back, finding several burly men standing behind him.

"Alright," The waiter smiled with a pale face, hurrying out from the middle and then taking a deep breath.

Lee handed his horse's rope to Tang. Tang led others to the backyard of the inn to hitch horses.

"Not bad, surprisingly polite," Lee commented as he walked into the inn.

"We kicked his ass when we came here," one of his guards said.

"No wonder," Lee smiled.

Then he looked around and frowned, "Two groups? The rest haven't come yet?"

"I'm afraid so," one group header replied.

"Wait for them. Anything worth mentioning on the way?" Lee scanned his guards one by one. "Any discoveries?"

After a moment of silence, the other group header spoke up, "General, just sand. Even in a year, we might not find anything."

"I am not forcing you guys to find something, but exploring the desert, eliminating unknown dangers, and further improving the map of the Big Desert. It's better that you find nothing, which means those areas are safe," Lee said.

"Tang," Lee looked at Tang who was walking towards him. Lee continued saying, "Take a break here and wait for the last one group."

"Yes, General," Tang replied.

At night, Lee started to worry about the no-show group. He gathered the guards in his room and said, "Look, stay focused and don't underestimate potential risks. It is not as easy as you think."

Lee warned seriously. He stood at the window, looking at the faces of everyone. The dim oil lamp flickered, and everyone felt stressed.

Suddenly, an arrow shot into Lee's room through the window. At this moment, Lee was chilled. Relying on his fighting instinct, he just turned sideways. The arrow brushed past him, leaving a long wound on the left side of his waist. Then Tang blocked the arrow with his sword.

"Attack! Damn it!" Tang swore, "Five left, the rest follow me."

Tang led the guards out of the room, disappearing into the dark.

Lee leaned against the wall, breathing deeply.

One guard tore off Lee's shirt to check his wound, saying, "It's not too serious, but General, you have to bear with it."

"Just do it," Lee said weakly.

Then the guard took a small paper bag out of his chest, starting to sprinkle powder onto Lee's wound. The severe pain in Lee's waist made his forehead covered with sweat and his face turn pale. He almost fainted from the pain. Next, the guard tore off a piece of clothes and tied it around Lee's waist.

The injuries were contained, but the crisis was not over yet. In the process of dealing with Lee's wound, the remaining four guards watched around cautiously, protecting him in the middle. They felt that time passed by slowly, and every moment was extremely mentally suffering.

Unclear how long the time had passed, Tang returned with a waiter being bundled up. The waiter had received them during the day, and his name was Anthony.

"Is he the attacker?" Lee was much more conscious.

"We didn't find anyone suspicious around. The attacker ought to have been in the inn and did not leave. His room is the closest to us. So he is the most likely," Tang replied.

"Help, help!" Anthony was lying on the ground, scared and peeing.

"Shut up!" Tang roared and kicked Anthony in the belly. Tang then punched a table with a murderous look, and the table broke into pieces. As a soldier of the True Kingdom, he had never been provoked. This time, his superior almost died under his protection. Such a shame for him.

Anthony was terrified and did not dare to speak. He curled up into a ball, shivering.

Lee did not think this coward had the guts to kill him. He ordered the guards to help him to bed.

"Get the owner over." Lee thought for a while and said.

"The owner is not here," Tang replied, "Anthony said the owner had followed a caravan to Cactus."

"So you are in charge of the inn?" Lee asked Anthony.

Anthony cried and yelled, "Let me go, let me go, I have done nothing."

"Answer me, then I will free you," Lee said, and his face looked better.

"No, it is Lina, she is the person in charge," Anthony seemed to calm down.

During this time, all the people in the inn were arrested.

Lina was tall, thin, and looked to less than thirdty years old. Although being bundled, she was calm and emotionally stable. She was wearing a purple dress and didn't look very pretty.

"Dear guest, may I ask why you do this?" Lina actually asked first. She noticed that Lee was sitting on the bed and looked hurt. Also, she smelled something awful in the room and then glanced at Anthony with the expression of disgust flashed by.

"As you see, I was attacked by someone. The attacker is still at the inn. So one of you is the attacker. I will get him out and tear him apart."

Lee's tone was very calm. But Tang, who was familiar with him, could already sense his fury.