North Africa, Adus.
Across the vast, boundless Gobi Desert of Adus, a train continuously belched thick smoke as it sped forward, its roar echoing through the wilderness.
Rust and worn scratches were visible everywhere on this train, and dirt and dust covered it from the engine to the tail, indicating it was an old train that had been traveling for a long time in the harsh environment of Adus.
Most of the carriages on this train were freight cars. In these open freight cars, people sat densely packed, wearing yellow-grey uniforms made of coarse cloth. Firearms were placed beside them, and each person rested with their eyes closed, waiting for the steel beast beneath them to transport them to a distant place. They all seemed to be soldiers.
In the front section of the train, there were several passenger carriages. In a private compartment of one of these carriages, Dorothy, dressed in a long robe, sat in a seat, gazing out at the desolate landscape rushing past the window. Opposite Dorothy was Nefernefer, dressed in a similar style.
"I didn't expect to return to Adus so soon. This barren landscape really isn't comfortable to look at…" Nefernefer said with a sigh, looking at the desolate scene outside the window, and Dorothy slowly responded.
"The climate here is just like this, there's nothing that can be done. But perhaps drought and yellow sand haven't always been the appearance of Adus. A long time ago, the climate here might have been much wetter than it is now, at least an environment where lightning could be easily triggered."
Looking at the almost cloudless sky and feeling the extreme difficulty of summoning lightning, Dorothy said so, and as she spoke, she took out a book and began to read it. Nefernefer, after hearing Dorothy's words, also spoke thoughtfully.
"An environment more suitable for lightning… Miss Dorothy, do you mean that in the Second Epoch, under the rule of the Judge of Heaven in North Wu, the environment might have been completely different from now?"
"Heh, that's just my guess. There's no evidence yet, after all, the Second Epoch was seven thousand years ago." Dorothy chuckled and then replied, turning a page in the book she held. Nefernefer, after pondering for a while, then scratched herself and continued to speak with a frown.
"Ugh… I'm a bit itchy? I feel like finding a place to shower. This train isn't like the one we took before, there's no place to shower…"
"This is a troop transport converted from an ordinary freight train, so it naturally can't compare to a luxury passenger train like the Desert Arrow. It's already good that we have these private compartments. Think about the soldiers crammed in the back, and you'll feel much better." Dorothy said while reading her book. After hearing Dorothy's words, Nefernefer stopped complaining about the train's environment and instead asked.
"By the way, Miss Dorothy, where are we now? When will we reach our destination?"
"We've been out of Monte for two days. According to the itinerary, we should reach Dosa tonight, where you can find a place to shower. However, our final destination is Karnak, and there's no direct train there. We'll need to follow a camel caravan, and the journey might be even more uncomfortable then, so you'd better get used to it."
Dorothy then said to Nefernefer, who, upon hearing that there was still a long way to go without a train, immediately looked disheartened.
"Ah… with such a big sun, there won't even be a car then? No way…" Nefernefer said with a touch of despair, looking at the blazing sun outside the window. Seeing the slightly noisy Nefer, Dorothy couldn't help but wave her hand and speak.
"Senior Sister Nefer, your grandfather galloped across North Wu years ago, how can you call this little difficulty a hardship? Go back to your own compartment and reread your grandfather's notes, adjust your mindset, and don't complain again when we set off."
"Ugh… okay."
Listening to Dorothy's words, Nefernefer stood up, then swayed slightly as she opened the compartment door and exited. After Nefernefer left, Dorothy couldn't help but let out a long sigh, looked out the window, and began to murmur.
"It's finally almost time. I wonder what the current state of Rahman's Royal Tomb is like… Being within the sphere of influence of the Savior Faction's armed forces, and possibly already targeted by the Coffin of the Underworld, I have a feeling the situation won't be good…"
Ever since realizing that the Coffin of the Underworld Cult might also be coveting the treasures within Rahman's Royal Tomb, Dorothy immediately decided to end her rest and wait in Kankdal, choosing to return to Adus and head to the location of Rahman's Royal Tomb to confirm the current situation.
Due to the unstable domestic situation in Adus, transportation between Kankdal and Adus was restricted. Dorothy went to great lengths, taking advantage of Robert's extradition back home and the chaotic situation in Kankdal, to forge orders from the Kankdal government, tricking a train crew into driving out, and then taking this train from Kankdal all the way to Monte, one of the major cities within Adus. During this time, she also contacted Sadi using the "Voyage Log of the Literary Sea."
Dorothy contacted Sadi as a member of the Judge of Heaven Church, claiming that the Church had obtained the exact location of the tomb of Rahman, the founding king of the Baruch Dynasty, and had heard from some legends that Rahman's Royal Tomb might contain precious treasures from the First Dynasty. Therefore, she wanted to ask Sadi for help to jointly excavate Rahman's Royal Tomb, with her side only taking a small portion of the items inside the tomb, and all remaining treasures could be taken back by Sadi.
Dorothy knew that Sadi had just driven the Baruch royal family out of Adus. These royals, as they left, had almost completely divided and taken away the wealth accumulated by Baruch over a century. What they couldn't take, they destroyed. The mining industry and the small amount of industry, which were the economic pillars of Adus, were severely damaged. Numerous mines across the country were blown up and destroyed by the king's army during their retreat, and the few factories met a similar fate. When Sadi's regime took control of Adus, it inherited an extremely poor and desolate country, with very bad economic conditions and severe material shortages. Just maintaining the army was already a struggle.
After Adus fully restored peace and declared its break with heresy, it urgently needed to conduct business with foreign countries to import food and alleviate its domestic material shortages, and to repair the mining and industrial sectors destroyed by war. However, this required a large amount of capital, and Adus's accumulated wealth and foreign exchange had all been taken by the Baruch royal family. Without money, these matters were very difficult to handle. Therefore, Sadi would definitely be troubled by the lack of funds, and the contents of Rahman's tomb might alleviate the situation he faced. Dorothy thus concluded that Sadi should help with this.
And sure enough, shortly after Dorothy contacted Sadi, he immediately replied that he was willing to help. However, upon hearing the exact location of Rahman's Royal Tomb, he was momentarily a little stumped.
For no other reason than that Rahman's Royal Tomb was located in a valley called Dead Eagle Valley, and the closest Adus city to this valley was called Karnak, which was currently under the control of a group of loyalist armed forces of the Savior Faction.
This armed group was the most deeply infiltrated by the Savior Faction within the Adus Revolutionary Army, one of the few armed forces where almost all members, from officers down, were members of the Savior Faction. It was the most loyal and powerful local force of the Adus Savior Faction.
The commander of this armed group was named Shihab, a zealous and somewhat cunning man, deeply trusted by Muhtar. After Muhtar's death, he remained highly vigilant towards Sadi. Sadi's trick of luring him to Adis with high positions and generous salaries had no effect on him. He stayed in his troops' garrison in Karnak, actively prepared for war, built fortifications, and allied with other revolutionary army forces leaning towards the Savior Faction, but he did not attract too many people due to Sadi's divisive tactics and disguise.
As Shadi began the internal purge, local military officers were lured to Addis and arrested in successive batches, while pro-Savior armed units, left leaderless, were disbanded and reorganized team by team. A small number of Savior Faction armed forces that had been wary of Shadi were suddenly attacked and eliminated on the same day.
Due to Shadi's decisive actions, the Savior Faction influence within the Addus Revolutionary Army was rapidly eliminated, with very little remaining within a short month. It was at this time that Shihab, who occupied Karnak, openly opposed Shadi, raising his arms and proclaiming himself the successor of Mukhtar. The scattered remnants of the Savior Faction forces throughout Addus immediately and swiftly converged on Karnak, joining Shihab's ranks. This made Karnak the Savior Faction's last bastion within Addus.
Based on Shadi's explanation, Dorothy learned that the purge across Addus had entered its final stage. Among the remaining Savior Faction armed forces, only Karnak posed a significant threat; the rest were negligible. To resolve this final internal threat in Addus, Shadi had begun deploying additional troops to Dosa, the city closest to Karnak. This was also Dorothy's current destination and the final stop for this train.
After arriving in Monte, Dorothy received Shadi's support and obtained the identity of a Special Advisor to the Addus Revolutionary Army. Dorothy had the Corpse Puppet Ed assume this identity, with Nefnis serving as his assistant. Shadi personally cabled the Revolutionary Army commander in Monte, instructing him to give the Special Advisor high priority treatment. Under the Monte commander's arrangements, Dorothy and Nefnis thus boarded a troop transport vehicle heading to Dosa, and they were about to arrive now.
'According to Shadi, Dosa has now assembled a large number of Revolutionary Army troops loyal to Shadi, totaling nearly 40,000, led by excellent commanders. They hold a significant advantage over the Savior Faction forces in Karnak. Yesterday, they marched toward Karnak to attack the forward positions. If all goes as expected, they should be able to clear Karnak's outer defenses and complete the encirclement of Karnak today.
'In that case, even if the city of Karnak isn't breached, the surrounding areas will be controlled by Shadi's forces. It will be much more convenient for me to go to Dead Hawk Valley. With Shadi's troops as backup, I will have much more confidence, even if I run into people from the Underworld Coffin.'
Dorothy pondered this, then looked up at the sun gradually setting in the sky, anticipating the arrival of the terminal station... Dosa is located in western Addus and is the largest city in the western region of Addus. The Rotten Wood River, which originates in Central Ufega, flows through here, providing the resources necessary for urban development. It is the center of western Addus, with all major roads in western Addus connecting to it, and it is one of the few Addus cities that possesses a railway.
During the night, the scorching sun sank below the horizon, and the moon rose from the east, accompanied by the howling, cold night wind. The city near the river was dotted with sporadic lights. Although the brightness was far inferior to Kankdar and the cities of the main continent, it was the only light visible from high altitude across this large expanse of nearby land.
Inside the Dosa railway station, the lights were bright. On the long platform, a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of a main continent military officer stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distant, dark end of the railway alongside several guards. His expression was focused, and he waited intently.
Accompanied by a roaring sound from the darkness, the railway began to tremble. Amidst the rhythmic mechanical clanking, a steel behemoth, spewing black smoke and dissipating steam, emerged from the darkness and drove steadily toward the platform.
Upon seeing the appearance of the train engine, the middle-aged officer and the guards beside him watched intently as it gradually slowed down, finally stopping the long train behind it next to the platform. Seeing this, teams of soldiers in the train's freight carriages immediately jumped down onto the platform. The reception staff who had been waiting on the platform stepped forward to guide the disembarking soldiers out of the station. In an instant, the previously quiet station became lively.
After seeing that the reception process was proceeding smoothly, the middle-aged officer shifted his gaze forward to a passenger carriage. As he watched, the carriage door opened, and two guards stepped out, standing on either side of the doorway. Next, a white man wearing a trench coat and a top hat, with a high nose and deep eyes, stepped out. Behind him was a young woman wearing a long robe and a veil, carrying a suitcase, who appeared to have North Wu ancestry.
"Hello, may I ask if you are Mr. Nei?"
Speaking Farano with an unfamiliar accent, the middle-aged officer extended his hand toward the white man who had stepped off the carriage and asked. The man smiled slightly upon seeing this, then extended his hand to shake the officer's, and replied in fluent North Wu.
"I am. Mr. Adan, I have been ordered by the General to come here and provide you with some assistance."
The man called Nei said this to Adan. After being slightly surprised by the other man's language proficiency, Adan also switched to his own more familiar North Wu language.
"Ha, I didn't expect Mr. Nei to speak North Wu so well. It seems communication won't be a problem in the future. We are short-handed in all areas here, so your arrival is timely. You haven't had dinner yet, Advisor, please come with me to eat. This is an emergency situation, so there won't be any lavish delicacies. Please bear with the simple fare."
As he spoke, Adan made a gesture inviting him forward. Nei nodded upon seeing this, then followed Adan out, and together they left the railway station.
Along the way, Adan began briefly introducing the current situation within Dosa city. Nei nodded as he listened, and when Adan finished, Nei asked in return.
"Mhm, I generally understand the situation within Dosa city. However, Your Excellency Adan, I would also like to know the current status of the troops that went ahead to attack and clear Karnak's outer defenses. Was the enemy's resistance fierce?"
"Well..." Hearing Nei's words, Adan was momentarily speechless, and his expression shifted slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke.
"Mr. Nei, to be honest, the troops we sent to clear Karnak's outer defenses encountered an active counterattack from the Karnak enemy, suffered heavy losses, and are currently on their way back."
"What... an active counterattack... heavy losses... Don't your forces have an absolute advantage over the enemies in Karnak? They dared to actively come out and engage? And they even repelled the troops... and inflicted heavy casualties?"
Nei said, astonished, while Adan replied with a look of bitterness.
"Yes, the troops I dispatched certainly had an absolute advantage over the enemies in Karnak; clearing the outer defenses should not have failed. But nobody anticipated that the Karnak defenders suddenly received reinforcements!"
"Reinforcements? Could it be that Savior Faction heretics from abroad have come to assist?" Dorothy, controlling Nei, asked in surprise, while Adan replied with a look of panic.
"No, it wasn't the Savior Faction! It wasn't even people! It was dead people! It was the undead! A sudden, massive army of dead people appeared out of nowhere! A huge mass of corpses and skeletons that couldn't be killed by bullets, thousands upon thousands of them! They charged forward carrying guns! My troops couldn't withstand them at all!"