Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 101 Ashes and the Awakening of the Sand People

The camp of the cannibals and goblin gangs was completely blown apart in the chaos of a hysterical scream and several tents being set on fire for no reason.

The campfire overturned, sparks flew, igniting the dry tarpaulin and also igniting nerves that had been stretched to their limit.

At that time, Kaga was not fully aware of what had happened.

There was even a hint of worry in my heart.

At their current pace of advance, they should be able to reach the territory of the Vast Ocean Territory in another five or six days.

According to Kaga's rudimentary understanding, in the last day or two, when the enemy senses they are approaching their territory and smells the scent of prey, they may launch a frantic attack, traveling day and night.

Just like when Little Kaga came to join the lord, he made a desperate sprint on the last leg of the journey.

Based on this, Kaga considered the remaining enemies and felt that the elimination speed was still too slow.

Yes, we still need to work hard and not let their dirty hands pollute the lord's tent.

The young centaurs lacked an understanding of the concept of morale. In fact, if it weren't for the desert environment, this bandit gang would have collapsed long ago.

Such a motley crew is easily shaken by even the slightest losses, and can be easily brought to collapse by minor casualties.

The fact that they haven't escaped yet has little to do with military discipline or the leader's abilities; they're simply trapped by this deadly desert.

They were attacked after traveling more than halfway through the desert. The way forward was shorter than the way back, so they had no choice but to keep going.

However, when the casualties reached a certain level, panic completely destroyed their reason. No matter what, these bandits refused to move forward any further and head towards that seemingly unreachable "hellish place".

Thanks to the bio-detection radar it carried, Xiao Kaga immediately detected the huge and chaotic "crowd" and began to turn around.

When the centaur assault team caught up from the flank, they found a completely disorganized force.

The camp ruins were in complete disarray, tents were roughly abandoned, broken supply wagons lay overturned beside the sand dunes, and debris was scattered all over the ground, quickly buried by the wind and sand.

The goblins wrapped their heads tightly in scraps of cloth, no longer caring about the scorching sun overhead, and trudged through the burning sand, one step at a time.

Behind them was a sparse line of people, small groups of stragglers, and lone, lost individuals, stumbling aimlessly through the desert.

Some of the wounded stumbled and fell beside the sand dunes as they walked, letting out hoarse cries and howls.

The fleeing gang lost their guide and had no sense of direction. They could only blindly follow their own kind in front of them, completely unaware that they had already strayed from their course.

To the south lies the vast desert, to the north the Qishan Mountains, and to the west... beyond the desert lies more desert, stretching for hundreds of kilometers.

Little Kaga tried firing a grenade at the fleeing group. With a loud bang, the guys scattered in all directions like cockroaches whose hiding places had been exposed.

Cries, pleas for help, and wails filled the air above the battlefield.

Realizing what had happened, Kaga immediately dialed the lord's hotline.

Upon receiving the report, Chen Mo put down the receiver without changing his expression.

Chen Mo has been under a lot of pressure lately.

It's not that I'm worried about not being able to defeat the enemy. With the support from my hometown, even if I'm just with a few skeletons, I'll be able to take down the opponent sooner or later.

His greater concern, however, came from the humans in his territory.

As soon as news of the bandit attack arrived, the mercenary teams temporarily hired by the territory applied to terminate their mission contracts.

“Your Excellency,” the mercenary group’s eyes darted around, but their tone was unusually firm, “the contract we signed was for guides and simple guards, not to risk our lives against a vicious gang of over six hundred!”

"Please allow us to take our leave. We will refund the difference in commission you prepaid, based on the actual number of days of service... Please forgive us!"

Next up are the Sandmen.

Lord Chen Mo still had the mindset of modern Dongxia: he would provide food for those who worked, and there was no reason not to feed them well.

As a result, during this period of time, a large number of young and strong people from the sand people came to the territory of the Vast Sea to serve as sentries, assistants, build infrastructure, and do odd jobs for the lord...

This is much easier than painstakingly tracking those giant insects in the desert and risking injury to capture them.

However, the lord's generous food supply policy did not truly make the sand people loyal.

On the letter Dongxia wrote to Chen Mo, she specifically highlighted this sentence in bold:

“They will praise your kindness and virtue, and turn to obey the orders of someone who can beat them.”

The sand people came up with all sorts of reasons: the sandworm breeding season was approaching, so they needed to prepare the nets in advance; they hadn't seen their families for a long time, so they should go back and visit them more often; working by the sea for so long had made their bones ache from the wind, so they needed to go to the desert to cool off...

In short, they were going back to their sandy nest, which was hidden somewhere in the desert.

There is also a centaur tribe.

Apart from a few hotheads like Kaga who shouted that they were willing to go through fire and water for their lord, most of the centaurs remained silent, quietly carrying out the work of moving, clearing, and excavating the territory.

Kaja, fuming, ran to Chen Mo to complain. He discovered that his uncles were secretly storing up food, perhaps preparing to run away again at any moment.

As the current leader of the centaurs, Kaga is facing the same situation as Chen Mo before. The core reason why he was able to take charge of the tribe was the full support of Lord Chen Mo. When the lord's position began to waver, Kaga's authority as the leader also became precarious.

For a time, people inside and outside the territory were restless, with a feeling that a storm was brewing and dark clouds were pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it.

Reality isn't a game, after all. Recruiting an army doesn't guarantee maximum loyalty or that they'll fight and bleed for you until complete victory. Each unit under your command will have its own thoughts, and most of the time, those thoughts are selfish.

Fortunately, Chen Mo has never relied on these guys.

The Eastern Xia Tactical Staff, far away in their "homeland," had already conducted detailed simulations of various possible situations that might arise in the territory and provided several contingency plans.

The final decision was left to Chen Mo.

After much deliberation, Chen Mo finally chose the method that would cause the least disturbance.

After experiencing this period of morale turmoil, he was somewhat hesitant to fully trust these guys. And this plan, in particular, minimized the spread of firearms.

In other words, the vast majority of people in the territory were not qualified to have access to or possess firearms.

There were only a few small centaurs.

Kaga's trust in the centaurs stemmed from his resolute decision. When he realized he couldn't mobilize his centaur brethren to serve their lord, Kaga angrily argued with the adult centaurs in his tribe. He then led a dozen or so of his companions away from the tribe and came to serve as the lord's guards.

"As long as I'm here, not a single goblin will be able to touch the hem of your robe!"

Chen Mo chuckled and patted Kaga's bald head: "Then, you go and clean up all those damned guys!"

During the several-day centaur training period, Chen Mo waved his hand and agreed to the mercenary team's request to leave. He didn't even ask them to return the remaining commission, but instead put forward a simple condition.

"If my territory remains unharmed after you return, then please transport some grain for me free of charge. Is that too much to ask?"

Upon hearing this, the mercenary captains felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They hurriedly patted their chests, pointed to the sky and the earth, and swore an oath to their respective gods.

On the Sand People's side, the lord also granted their request to return home for a visit, but with the same condition.

"If my territory wins this war, when the enemy flees, you sand people must be responsible for pulling those guys out of the sand. Can you do that?"

The elder of the Sand People knelt on the ground, trembling: "Thank you for the grace of the great lord. The Sand People... the Sand People are simply unable to fight against hordes of goblins. If the enemy scatters in the desert, the Sand People will surely capture them for you!"

"Alright, I'll let you go in a couple of days."

True to his word, the lord held a grand farewell ceremony for everyone two days later at the entrance of the temporary camp, with a roaring bonfire and the aroma of meat filling the air.

Before the event ended, Chen Mo waved and summoned Kaga's three-man squad.

Kaga removed all his armor, put on a light sun-protective suit, carried two tactical backpacks on his back, and had a long gun slung across his neck.

The most eye-catching thing was the hat on her head, which was sewn tightly by the maid, with a bright red star shining in the center of her forehead.

"Come on, little Kaja, say goodbye to your 'uncles and aunties.' Then, go and wipe out those nasty gangs for me!"

"Don't let them bother me again!"

Little Kaga raised its front hooves high, then slammed them heavily on the ground with a loud thud: "Rest assured, my lord, I will complete the mission without hesitation!"

"Go!"

In the days that followed, Chen Mo acted as if nothing had happened, cultivating and studying methodically and without any disturbance. Master Tang Si asked him questions several times out of curiosity, but he always brushed them off with a smile.

But some things are just so strange; a week later, the sand people returned.

Moreover, it returned in a way that no one had ever imagined.

The elder of the Sand People not only brought back all the able-bodied men of the tribe, but also piled the entire tribe, young and old, along with their jars, pots, and simple belongings, onto the back of the Sand Beetle, making it look like a grand migrating procession.

Under the watchful eyes of many, the Grand Elder staggered to Chen Mo, prostrated himself deeply, and reverently pressed his forehead against the lord's boot tip, his voice trembling.

"Great Lord of the Vast Sea...we offer you the humble loyalty of our entire Sand People."

"We will defend your territory to the death! Please... please forgive our past foolishness and absurdity... please... give us a chance to serve you!"

Chen Mo smiled calmly: "What, have you figured it out?"

"Yes, great lord, the sand people have received guidance from the desert god, and the invading enemy is about to collapse."

"We will set off ahead of schedule, and not let a single enemy who dares to desecrate the great vast ocean escape!"

Alright, the Grand Elder has received the message.

In the desert, the people have their own way of surviving and their own set of rules of conduct.

They are skilled at concealment, tracking, and observation. More importantly, the sand people in different places have a tradition of communicating with each other.

They all struggle to survive in the desert, and when people from the northern and southern deserts meet, they try their best to help each other.

After being attacked by the centaur squad, the Sand People in the gang used a special method of leaving messages to pass the news to the Sand People who were the main inhabitants of this area.

These desert dwellers have very sharp eyes. They are the first to react. Faced with an enemy with such a long attack range and extremely fast movement speed, they can neither hit nor catch up. So in the vast desert, no matter how many people there are, they can only be slaughtered by their opponents.

Even if they manage to reach the Vast Ocean Territory, as long as the enemy leaves, and they maintain this continuous attack, the entire bandit gang will ultimately face certain death.

The people of Shamin did not want to be buried alive with the dead.

(End of this chapter)