This time, the Blue Beetles were here mainly for an important resource.
A few days ago, the Blue Beetles and the Vipers had their eyes on a place. That place was the stronghold of another desert bandit group. There was a hidden underground spring there. Although they could not see anything from the surface, they received news that there was an underground palace built by a slave master in secret.
Many slave masters liked to build underground palaces. However, there were not many suitable places in the desert to build underground palaces, so there were very few underground palaces. After the slave master built the underground palace, he discovered that there was water seeping through somewhere in the palace. Finally, he discovered that there was an underground spring there!
Although the underground spring was not big, it was a precious resource in a place like this where there was a shortage of water. After all, not every underground palace could encounter such a thing.
It was no doubt a pleasant surprise to encounter such a thing. However, the slave master did not spread the news. Instead, he executed all the slaves who discovered the spring and kept it a secret for himself. He even sealed the underground palace and treated it as a hidden treasure that belonged to him. Later, due to the changes in the desert, the slave master escaped to the underground palace with his people. He planned to use it as a temporary stronghold to develop his power. However, his slaves betrayed him. One of them broke through his shackles and escaped his control.
The slave master was killed and the underground palace was seized by the slave who broke through his shackles. He gathered some of the escaped slaves and eventually developed into a desert bandit group – Tianshui.
"Tianshui" was another name for rain in the desert. Therefore, when people heard the name "Tianshui", they did not think too much about it. The desert people's desire for rain was well known. No one found it strange that a desert bandit group would choose such a name.
However, many people did not know that they actually wanted to use the name "Underground Spring" because the spring below the underground palace was their source of life. It was their hope. However, that would be too straightforward. If they said it out loud, people would be able to guess what was below. They were not that stupid. Therefore, they chose the opposite of "Earth", "Sky".
Tianshui's power also developed quickly. However, the secret was not kept for long. The desert bandits that were gathered were not united. Even if the secret was only known by a few leaders of Tianshui, it was made known to everyone because of an internal conflict. Slowly, other desert bandit groups found out about it through some means.
'Blue Beetle' and 'Viper' were just two of them, there were many more who had their eyes on that place. Not long ago, Black Sand had approached Yiken with the intention of working together to take down the Sky Water Underground Palace. If they were to go alone, even if they managed to take down the palace, they wouldn't be able to hold it for long. Bloody battles between desert bandit groups were always filled with casualties. It would consume too much energy and it wasn't worth it.
After careful consideration, Yiken decided to give it a try. The place they used to live in was no longer suitable. The spring there was shrinking and would probably disappear in the near future. The Blue Beetle was now growing stronger. As the leader, Yiken had to think for the future. His ambitions weren't limited to this.
Therefore, Yiken brought his men here to negotiate with Black Sand. The trust level between desert bandit groups wasn't high. If they wanted to work together, they had to first discuss the distribution of resources. If they couldn't come to an agreement, there was no need for cooperation.
The two bandit leaders walked into a stone house made of sand and stone. This was the heart of the small town and it was also the most 'luxurious' house in the town. Most of the houses in other parts of the town were made of sand and stone. Even if they were made of sand and stone, there weren't many stones. However, stones were the main building material here. It looked sturdier and taller than other houses. The only one who could live here was Black Sand, the leader of the desert bandit group.
Although it couldn't compare to the slave masters' place, Black Sand was still satisfied to have his own 'mansion'. He also believed that he could build an even more luxurious palace in the future, just like the slave masters in the past.
Black Sand led Yiken into the house. The two leaders had a discussion but the others didn't enter. It involved some secrets that they didn't want others to know. With Tianshui as an example, even if they were from the same gang, they couldn't fully trust each other. Therefore, Black Sand suggested that only the two leaders would talk in private while the others waited outside.
Yiken didn't object to this.
However, after entering the house, to Yiken's surprise, Black Sand didn't bring up the topic of cooperation immediately. Instead, he talked about something else.
"A few days ago, we, the Vipers, added a newcomer," said Black Sand.
Yiken looked at Black Sand, waiting for him to continue. It was common for newcomers to join a desert bandit group. It wasn't unusual but Black Sand must have brought it up for a reason.
"He's from that side." Black Sand pointed in a direction. Yiken understood. It seemed that the newcomer came from the other side of the sea.
The desert bandits liked to rob people from the other side of the sea. Firstly, people from other tribes wouldn't step into the desert. Only people from the other side of the sea would come here. Secondly, people from the other side of the sea always brought along many unique items such as gold wares, more exquisite clothing and so on. They liked to rob these people.
"The newcomer, in order to seek protection, gave me this to show his sincerity." Black Sand pulled out a golden sword from behind the stone chair. There were some words on the sword that they couldn't understand but that didn't stop them from admiring the patterns. The patterns engraved on the sword looked mysterious, accentuating the preciousness and rarity of the sword.
Black Sand turned the hilt and swept his gaze over to Yiken. Then, he gripped the hilt tightly and slashed downwards.
The blade sliced through the air with a sharp whistling sound. Then, it hit a rock beside him.
With a crisp sound, the rock that was the size of a human head split into two.
Yiken's pupils contracted and his body tensed up. He knew that Black Sand was showing off and intimidating them at the same time.
A good weapon was also a great help. These people who were once slaves and later broke through their shackles were actually not that far off in terms of strength now. Otherwise, they would not have been in a situation where there was a balance of forces instead of directly annexing them. The weapons they usually used couldn't compare to this sword at all.
Because of this sword, the two men who were originally evenly matched began to lean towards one side.
However, after Black Sand slashed the sword, he returned it to the chair. His goal had been achieved. He believed that the next negotiation would be easier. He didn't plan to attack the Blue Beetle directly. He didn't have absolute confidence in killing Yiken even if he had this' legendary sword '. Moreover, in order to take down Sky Water's underground palace, he still needed to cooperate with the Blue Beetle. The purpose of intimidating them earlier was just to gain more benefits during the negotiation.
While the leaders of the two major desert robber organizations were secretly discussing their cooperation, in another part of the small town, a place where captives were kept.
There were a few people locked up in a low, sandy house. These people were either captured during a battle or robbed. There were several types of captives here. The first type were those who were important and were temporarily locked up here to await the leader's follow-up decision. For example, the five captives who were captured yesterday.
The other type were those who were useless. These people were locked up here and wouldn't receive any food. At most, they would be given some water mixed with sand to ensure that they wouldn't die immediately. However, these people wouldn't be locked up here for long. They would be brought out soon and become food for the desert robbers.
There wasn't much to eat in the desert so humans became food too. To the slaves, irrelevant people were no different from other beasts. Therefore, they would eat them when they were hungry. There was no psychological pressure and it was even natural for the desert robbers.
One of the Vipers who was guarding there was sitting in the shade, avoiding Yang Guang's exposure to the sun. He yawned and glanced around occasionally, listening to the movements of the people in the house.
After another yawn, the man felt that something seemed to be moving under his feet.
There were often some small beasts in the desert and they were used to this situation. Therefore, the man calmly moved his feet away and took out his dagger, intending to see what was below. It would be good if it was edible.
The thing under the sand was getting closer and closer. The man raised the dagger in his hand, waiting for the right time to stab down.
However, the thing under the sand seemed to have sensed the danger on the ground. Just as it was about to climb out of the sand, it turned and went in the other direction.
Not wanting to give up on the possible food in front of him, the man got up and chased after it. Anyway, there were other people guarding here and it wouldn't be a big deal if he left for a while.
After the man left, the sand on the sand bulged and a dozen black beetles the size of a palm drilled out from the ground. Behind them, Shao Xuan pushed the sand aside and drilled out from under the sand.
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