“Friend, can you still talk?” Tie Zha asked the soldier calmly. The soldier slowly turned around and nodded weakly with his swollen eyes half open. It was not difficult to tell from the bloodstained bandages that the other party had beaten him for a long time before letting him go. Afterwards, Tie Ling brought over a chair, and the iron slag sat down to inquire about the situation in detail.

The patrol was attacked 35 kilometers away from Crimson Peak Stronghold. They were on routine patrol when they saw a few jeeps approaching from afar and were about to step forward to inquire when the other party opened fire. Three teammates of the same car were killed on the spot, and the driver survived by luck. However, the attackers beat him for nearly half an hour in a row. More than a dozen bones were broken, and his internal organs suffered serious injuries, accompanied by multiple internal bleeding. If it weren’t for the expensive and powerful treatment injection, the driver would probably have died.

After leaving the medical tent, Tie Zha and Tie Ling went to the command tent to discuss the plan with Hagrid, the Black Pig King, Lilith, and the others. Currently, Kui En was staying at Sand Wind Castle, while Zhao Wenke was still looking for partners in the Western Continent. Wang Hu, Mu Qianhe and the others could not openly get too close to Chifeng Stronghold, so there weren’t many people left here.

Since the identity of the attacker could not be determined, the process of discussion was very simple. Tie Zha decided to disguise himself as an ordinary patrol member and wait for the attacker to arrive at his door.

After resting for a few hours, he put on his power armor, put on his grey cloth robe, and called for the Black Pig King and Tie Ling. Then, he asked Hagrid to bring over a Viper Sandwagon and a bounty warrior who could drive. He hitched a ride around the outskirts of Crimson Peak Stronghold.

“Don’t let this daddy meet those bastards. I will crush their livers and crush their bones.” On the sand truck, the Black Pig King said fiercely as he stretched his muscles and stretched his fingers.

“Relax” Tie Zha patted the Black Pig King’s shoulder and said, “You can easily scare the target away like this.”

The Black Pig King immediately laughed and put away his ferocious gaze, putting on a wooden and dull expression. If it wasn’t for Tie Zha’s knowledge of him, he would have mistaken him for an honest, honest, and stupid fat man.

It was 41 a.m. Satt time. The sun was softer, the visibility was far away, and the temperature was not high. It was the most comfortable time of the day in Desert Five. Tie Zha and the Black Pig King chatted for a while, then closed their eyes and fell asleep. Tie Ling sat in the passenger seat and quietly looked ahead, keeping an eye on the changes in her surroundings.

A few hours later …

Suddenly, smoke and dust filled the horizon, as if a convoy was passing by. Tie Ling used her binoculars to observe for a while. There were more than ten large trucks with eight wheels. They were covered with thick canvas and could not see any goods. The front of the truck was stuck with a gray background. In the middle of the truck was a flag of a large tomato.

Tie Ling woke up Tie Zha, pointed ahead, and handed over the binoculars. Iron slag took the binoculars and looked at them for a few moments. He waved his hand and said in a deep voice, “Let’s go take a look.”

“Boom” The driver received the order and stepped on the accelerator forcefully. The sand truck let out a dull roar and accelerated towards the convoy.

“This is Crimson Peak Stronghold. Please stop immediately and accept your inquiry.” Tie Ling picked up the walkie-talkie, adjusted it to the public channel, and gave the order to the convoy.

“We are a caravan of the Big Tomato Merchant Guild. Please make it convenient.” They quickly replied.

“I repeat, please stop immediately and accept the inquiry.” Tie Ling said emotionlessly.

“What right do you have to order us!” Said the other side angrily.

“I repeat this one last time. Please stop immediately and accept the inquiry.” After saying that, Tie Ling carried the portable bazooka and stood up from the passenger seat.

“Wait! Don’t attack! Let’s stop!” Cried the other side in panic.

A moment later, the convoy stopped. A middle-aged man dressed in a black suit jumped out of the truck and trotted to the sand truck. He smiled and said, “Brothers, I am Ma Nan of the Big Tomato Merchant Guild …” As he spoke, he handed over his business card with both hands.

“This is the military jurisdiction of Crimson Peak Stronghold. Why didn’t you report it to us?” Tie Ling took the business card and asked coldly. According to the usual practice of the Silver City world, with the fortress as the center, within 30 kilometers was a “restricted military zone” and within 100 kilometers was a “military jurisdiction zone”.

Within the restricted military zone, no troops with weapons or more than twenty people are allowed to approach without permission. Otherwise, the stronghold can be regarded as a military invasion and be directly killed by the stronghold. Within the military jurisdiction, the passing teams had to obtain the consent of the stronghold side before they could pass through. However, this rule had a lot to do with the strength of both sides. For example, the Dawn Expeditionary Army never notified the local strongholds. No matter where they went, they would always march straight in, but no one dared to tell them the “rules”.

“We’ve already notified Storm Stronghold.” Ma Nan said. Since Storm Stronghold and Crimson Peak Stronghold were only thirty kilometers apart, some of the military areas overlapped, and there was no background in Crimson Peak Stronghold, he naturally ignored them. Then, he took out a small bag of silver coins and handed it over. Since he was caught by the other party’s patrol team, he was too embarrassed to barge in, so he decided to spend a little money to solve the problem.

“They are them, we are us. If you dare to barge in the next time, don’t blame us for being impolite.” Tie Ling didn’t go to pick up the money bag and just warned with a cold face.

Ma Nan hurriedly nodded and replied, “Yes, yes …” He cursed in his heart, “What’s there to be so arrogant about a new company with a background in Sandy City? It’s just an ant here. Our caravan of big tomatoes really wants to barge in. Do you dare to fight?”

Seeming to have noticed Ma Nan’s insincere words, Tie Ling narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “If you don’t believe me, you can give it a try next time.”

Ma Nan smiled apologetically and said, “How dare you …”

After asking, Tie Ling turned to look at Tie Zha, as if asking for his opinion.

“What’s your luck?” Tie Zha asked.

“This” Ma Nan couldn’t help but reveal a look of embarrassment. According to the Silver City World’s convention, the caravan’s goods were classified as trade secrets. The stronghold side had no right to investigate unless they wanted to enter the other party’s restricted military area. Afterwards, the few people in front of them didn’t seem to understand this logic. He thought for a moment, but it wasn’t a big secret, so he said selectively, “Medicine and food.”

“To whom?” Tie Zha continued to ask.

“Some small tribes of Elda people.” Ma Nan replied.

“Are there many people in Elda nearby?” Tie Zha asked.

“The closest tribe is more than 700 kilometers away.” Ma Nan pointed to the south and said.

“Thank you.” Tie Zha nodded and thanked him, then raised his hand to signal Ma Nan to leave.

“Good luck.” Ma Nan nodded and saluted. Then, he climbed onto the truck and commanded the convoy to continue forward.

After separating from the caravan, the four continued to patrol. As time passed, the sun became more and more intense. By 50 o’clock Sett time, the temperature had reached 39 degrees Celsius. No.5 Desert was the hottest place at noon. It could reach up to 42 degrees. If you were not careful, you would suffer from heat stroke.

The Black Pig King looked at the big fireball in the air and complained, “It’s so hot …” He wasn’t afraid of the cold, but he was a little afraid of the heat. When the temperature started to rise, he took off his coat and revealed his muscular skin. Because he was too fat, his muscles weren’t obvious. Instead, he had thick hairs, black and curly. He looked like a gorilla.

The bounty warrior who drove the car was drenched in sweat. The skin on his face glowed with oil, and sweat was dripping down his chin. Tie Ling also felt very hot. Her small nose was covered in sweat, so she could only drink water continuously and lower her body temperature by increasing the amount of sweat she exuded.

“Don’t you feel hot wearing this iron lump?” The Black Pig King accidentally touched Tie Zha’s exposed armor and was immediately burned. The surface temperature was almost enough to fry an egg.

“Not hot.” Said Tie Zha. There was an air conditioner in his power armor, so he couldn’t feel the outside temperature at all. Only then did he realize that the other three people were sweating profusely, so he said, “Find a place to rest and wait for the afternoon to act.”

Desert Five was dominated by the Gobi Desert. Plants were generally low, and when it was hot, there wasn’t even a place to hide. It took them more than half an hour to find a sparse Dead Sea Poplar Forest. He took off the canvas scroll from the car body, used the treetops to support the awning, and set up a few marching chairs to rest.

“This damn place is truly deadly.” The Black Pig King held a small fan in one hand and a sunshade hat in the other, desperately fanning the heat. At this moment, Tie Ling removed a rectangular box from the carriage and threw it in front of him without saying a word.

He opened the dark green canvas that was wrapped around him. It was a large iron box that felt ice-cold. The Black Pig King was pleasantly surprised. He pushed the lid of the box with his two thumbs and opened the box with a “Kacha” sound. In an instant, a burst of cold air pounced on his face. It turned out to be a pile of ice and glass bottles of beer.

The Black Pig King laughed loudly and threw one to everyone. Then, he bit open the lid of the bottle and poured it down fiercely. The cold beer flowed into his throat, as if it had transformed into thousands of fine streams, from his chest to his abdomen, to his limbs and bones. It was indescribably comfortable.

Tie Ling pulled out the straight machete from her back, knocked it with the handle of the knife, pried open the lid of the bottle, and drank it. Tie Zha reached out and brought her straight machete over. This knife was made from a protective steel plate made from tiger mecha on the ship back then. The blade was bright and radiant. It seemed that she often polished it.

“It’s a little small.” Tie Zha commented. This saber was made according to her size and strength back then. With her current strength, it should have long since been eliminated.

“Give me another one.” Tie Ling took a sip of beer and said.

“I’ll teach you what to do.” Said Tie Zha.

“No” Tie Ling stared at him and said firmly, “I want you to send me off.”

Tie Zha was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and nodded, “Alright.”

“I want Hagrid like that.” Tie Ling asked.

“Yes.” Tie Zha touched her hair and said.

Looking at his movements, the Black Pig King and the bounty warrior were both shocked. The normally fierce Tie Ling was like a docile kitten at this moment.