Chapter 739

Chapter 739: Desert Bandits

On the Western Continent, formerly the Kingdom of Falcon.

Yellow sand filled the sky, with dust and sandy soil swirling in the wind. This was a dry and scorching world.

The sun scorched the glistening sand particles, making them hot and boiling. At noon, a camel caravan was walking over the hills, heading towards the distance.

They precisely calculated their journey and finally reached a desert oasis before dark to rest.

This was a sheltered spot, surrounded by sandy hills, with a crescent-shaped lake in its midst. The lake water was clear, resembling a mirror under the scorching sun, splendid beyond compare.

Unlike the silence during the day, it became lively at night. Many residents or travelers emerged from their tents and mud-brick houses, gathering in the market to trade goods and exchange information.

These caravans from afar carried goods from various places, piled together and illuminated by torches, reflecting alluring colors.

There were sugar blocks, grains, and utensils from Clancia, fur blankets and smoked meat from the ancient Gufia grasslands, exquisite bows, curved knives, and alchemical creations from the South, as well as exotic wines, special dried fruits, and luxurious silks from distant overseas lands.

Although the desert was barren, the Falcon interior, amidst the high cliffs, produced valuable metals and gems. If traded elsewhere, these would be priceless.

But today, the most bustling spot in the oasis wasn’t the stalls selling goods but a tall tent. Outside this tent hung colorful flags, and music played from small drums and strings, attracting people.

“Admission is ten silver coins per person. Please line up and don’t push,” a bald, lean man shouted through a megaphone, standing in front of a group of guests waiting to enter.

“Is it really so popular?” asked a traveler newly arrived here, dressed in clothes that suggested he came from the North.

“Haha, you wouldn’t understand since you just arrived. That’s the famous Fenghua Opera Troupe,” a companion with slightly darker skin wrapped his arm around him, pointing to the metal flower spinning in the wind atop the tent.

“The former Blue Falcon Songstress came from this troupe,” he raised his arm to greet someone familiar in the distance.

“You won’t be disappointed. How about we go take a look?”

“Alright, let’s go see then.” The traveler hesitated briefly before agreeing, joining the queue with his friend.

Compared to the noise outside, the dressing room inside the giant tent was somewhat quiet.

Candles burned quietly, and a graceful young lady was slowly applying eye shadow. She had smooth, light brown skin and wore very revealing clothes, except for a purple gauze skirt covering key areas, and copper bells on her wrists and ankles.

“Are you ready, Lingxin? The show is about to start,” a girl with a single ponytail of blonde hair entered, wearing a black male suit with a white silk scarf tied neatly at the collar.

“Yes, Lanli,” the girl nodded, then put on a veil and a sapphire forehead ornament, stepping out of the dressing room.

At night, accompanied by the light drumbeat, the music box beside emitted melodious sounds, and the performance inside the giant tent began.

A flexible young lady danced gracefully on stage, her cocoa-colored skin glowing under the firelight. The copper bells on her wrists and ankles made delicate sounds as she danced freely.

Her slender arms spun several copper rings nimbly, moving between her arms, slim waist, and ankles, sometimes throwing them into the air, then flipping her body on stage to catch them with her ankles and throw them again.

Watching this beautiful

Vibrant dance movements drew intermittent enthusiastic cheers from the audience below, their eyes entranced, following the figure of the young lady.

In this passionate dance, the girl shone like the sun, her veil revealing a pair of lively eyes that sparkled like the most beautiful gems in the world, captivating all who watched.

After some time, as the performance neared its end, beads of sweat appeared on the young lady’s forehead, glistening under the candlelight. The audience had already turned into a sea of joy, waving colorful ribbons and swaying their bodies to the rhythm.

Late at night, after the show ended, the guests slowly trickled out of the massive tent, resembling a soccer field, and gradually returned to their accommodations for rest.

“Wow, Lingxin, we’ve struck it rich. We’re rich~”

Lanlire sat amidst a pile of gold and silver coins, cheering loudly, with little stars twinkling in her eyes.

“Alright, come down now. You must be tired standing all night,” Lingxin said, holding a warm cup of milk tea while resting on a wooden chair.

“And we need to pay the troupe members their wages too; everyone contributed a lot.”

“Mmm, I understand. But seeing all this money makes me so happy,” Lanlire said, hugging Lingxin and rubbing against her.

After their conversation, Lingxin and Lanlire tidied up and went to sleep.

In a campsite in an oasis, in the dark of night, three people were whispering.

“That opera troupe made quite a fortune tonight. What if we…” One person, with a black cloth covering his head, whispered, his narrow eyes gleaming with greed.

“Heh, indeed a good target, and that girl, tsk tsk, is truly exceptional,” another said, licking his lips, his desire growing.

“But it’s not easy to act here; official forces are strong, and taking them away afterward wouldn’t be simple.”

“I know. So we need to send someone to follow them, preferably halfway through, intercepting both the people and the goods,” the third person, more cautious, said.

“Yeah, but I heard this opera troupe is quite famous. Might our group not be enough?”

“There’s no such thing as not being enough. If needed, we can get support from the boss.”

“But if the boss comes, that beauty might not be ours to enjoy,” another said, somewhat reluctant.

“Heh, look at you, so small-minded. How could you be so attached already? We’ll see how far this goes. Let’s just take them first,” the first person said.

“Yeah, only way. But let’s probe first, see if we can manage without calling the boss.”

After a few more words, the voices faded, and the tent fell silent.

Three days later, the Fenghua Opera Troupe set off again, entering the vast desert.

After traveling through the desert for a day, they arrived at the foot of a large hill.

Before the troupe could continue, three horsemen appeared on the hilltop.

First came three figures with their faces covered by black cloths, followed by about ten riders, then dozens more, until nearly a hundred masked riders stood atop the hill.

A whistle sounded, and the masked riders charged down swiftly, reaching their maximum speed.

Seeing the riders armed with curved swords, the opera troupe members cried out in alarm, causing many camels and horses to panic and run around.

The cries grew louder, accompanied by mocking whistles.

Seeing this, the crowd in the troupe abandoned their cargo and scattered on horseback, trying to avoid being slaughtered by these bandits.

“Hahaha, a bunch of cowards! I even prepared so many people,” the leader laughed, feeling triumphant.

But just as he was reveling in his victory, a sharp crack echoed, and a flower of blood bloomed on his chest.

In disbelief, he looked at the unstoppable flow of blood before him, his face filled with shock.

Gan fell, landing in the sand.

“There are guns!” A cry of alarm rose among the bandits, many of whom began to hesitate.

“Of course, I’m a renowned alchemist. It’s normal for me to carry a gun.”

Seated in the carriage, Lan Li adjusted the wooden stock of her gun, aiming at one of the enemies, and pulled the trigger again. Then, the smell of gunpowder erupted, another bullet shot out, piercing through the enemy. She then pulled back the bolt, ejected the spent shell, and loaded another bullet into the chamber.

“Go after them! Just a single gun, what’s there to fear?” One of them, seeing the continuously firing carriage, gritted his teeth and gave the order again.

Immediately, the sound of hooves echoed once more, raising clouds of dust as they charged towards the desert-bound group.

Gunshots rang out intermittently, blood blooming among the bandits before they were felled to the ground.

But such attacks didn’t last long. After losing four men, this group finally rushed to the abandoned caravan.

“Sigh, if only I could reload faster,” Lan Li sighed, watching the enemies closing in. She grabbed the barrel of the gun, flipped out, and fired another shot before jumping onto a nearby horse, galloping away.

“Chase! Catch her, I’ll teach her a lesson tonight!” The remaining leader, seeing Lan Li’s face, revealed a greedy and lustful gaze.

“Well, I must thank Uncle for his help,” Lan Li urged her horse forward, looking at the bandits catching up, but showed no fear on her face. Instead, she continued to load ammunition.

She squeezed her legs around the horse, turned her body again, and another bullet was shot out, piercing through one of the bandits.

Brass cartridges were occasionally pulled from the bolt, bounced off, and landed in the desert. Then, Lan Li reached for the magazine on her thigh, took out one of the bullets she had polished herself, loaded it into the chamber, and kept firing.

This pursuit lasted for several minutes. Another dozen bandits were taken down by Lan Li, but the remaining ones became more cunning.

They would occasionally lie flat against their horses’ sides to hide, while the crowd spread out, making it difficult for Lan Li to hit them.

“This is troublesome,” Lan Li wasn’t worried about missing, but rather that her bullets were running out.

But at this moment, her reinforcements arrived. A streak of light like a phantom flashed across the desert, followed by blood blooming among the bandits.

“Woah, Lingxin has finally come to save me,” Lan Li exclaimed joyfully, seeing the bandits being swiftly defeated by Lingxin.

In the academy, Lingxin was known as the West’s Godspeed. Although the world had changed, Lingxin’s strength had recovered to Level 5, which was more than enough to handle these Bandits of Sequence 2-3.

As for Lan Li, she was currently at Sequence 4. Without saying, it was because of the new technology from Clancia that distracted her, leaving her unable to focus fully on her studies.

However, this led to the creation of many new alchemical devices, and the fire gun in her hand was a product of her own modification.

“Hmm, we lost some time bringing everyone to a safe place,” Lingxin replied briefly, then continued fighting.

The sound of weapons clashing echoed in the desert. Seeing they couldn’t beat Lingxin, some of the bandits blew special whistles.

Not long after, a black figure appeared on the hill. Unmasked, he held a long curved saber, charging down on his warhorse. Though alone, he was like a tidal wave.

The blade flashed sharply under the sun, reflecting blinding white light. This figure arrived instantly, his saber slicing through Lingxin’s copper ring, then engaging in rapid combat with her in the desert.

Oops, wrote too much. Well, there will be updates later, but you all can go to sleep earlier.