The scorching sun scorched the Saharan Gobi relentlessly, the gravel and sand were baked hot, and the scorching air on the surface even distorted the light, refracting a shaky and flickering mirage in people's eyes.

Beneath a lonely rock mound, Julian and his Moroccan guide hide in the shadows of the rocks, discussing what to do next.

When the cavalry appeared, they knew that they should be saved, although they couldn't see the identity of the latecomer, but this kind of appearance of fighting directly without saying a word, it was obvious that they had a lot of grudges against the gang of bandits chasing them. However, Julian did not slow down and fight the latter, but instead ran harder.

Who knows if it's another group of bandits coming from behind, black eating black is very common in the Sahara, anyway, they will never stop until they are sure that they are safe.

As a result, the three of them ran for almost ten kilometers in one go, until they found that the horses were really a little unsupportable, so they found a shady place to stop and rest.

Now the three of them have lost all their luggage and supplies except for four horses and some sundries in the saddlebags, and even their survival is in trouble in this barren Gobi.

They had only three bags of water left, which the industrious Basaimu had filled in advance when he was resting in the Loire Springs, and this little fresh water was only enough for them to sustain them for two days. The problem is that they also have four horses with them, and these strong animals have to drink a lot of fresh water every day.

Unlike camels, horses need to consume several times more water per day, and in ancient times, cavalry, with its powerful mobility ability, could be mobilized in the shortest time to the place where force was most needed, and was regarded by the rulers as the most effective tool for ruling a vast territory. Therefore, most of the roads in the desert are radiated around the water source, and some important water sources will be heavily guarded, because it is more effective to control the water source in such a place than to control the road itself.

Before the advent of mechanical transportation, water had been a key constraint on the scale of trade in desert areas. Therefore, every time a new water source is discovered, the discoverer will try to keep it secret, because it is tantamount to discovering a road to wealth paved with gold, and I don't know how many merchants will do anything to obtain this information.

Abdul's advice was to return to the Springs of the Loire as soon as it was still dark, and if he was lucky, he might be able to recover some of his lost luggage, which the desert robbers liked to be worthwhile and less interested in their pile of bulky and cheap travel goods.

However, the two camels should not be able to survive, and the robbers may take some food, but these losses can be borne for now, and now that the dates are in the ripening season, they will not be in danger of starving to death for the time being.

Another important problem is that they did not bring out any extra clothes except for the clothes they wore during the day, and this coat alone could not withstand the invasion of the cold of the desert night, where the temperature difference between day and night was even as high as more than 40 degrees, and the heat during the day turned into a biting cold at night, and in some seasons, the temperature at night in the Gobi could even drop to minus one degree.

Abdul specifically stated that whether they could find their luggage or not, they should return to the Loire Springs, the horses were very expensive, and they had to replenish the water and physical strength they had lost before, and if they lost their mounts, they would not be able to get out of the Gobi alive.

Julian was a little depressed, he knew that Abdul's opinion was correct, and in such a harsh environment, it was all the more important to listen to these professionals, he had an important mission, in a sense his life was no longer his own, and in order to complete the task, he had to find a way to save his life.

To his dismay, it was clear that the trip could not continue, and he was unable to reach the original junction location within the scheduled time, which might have some impact on his superiors' plans. He couldn't tolerate failure on his first mission, simply because he had encountered a group of desert bandits.

To the surprise of the French, Abdul's words then gave him hope again, and the Moroccans told him that there was no need to turn back, and that if they lost their food and luggage, they could rush to the nearest nearby town, which was almost a day's journey from the Loire Springs, and that they should be able to hold on with their teeth.

As long as nothing happens to them, they can buy a new batch of supplies when they get back to town, and if they don't go all out, they should be able to reach their destination within the scheduled time.

Abdul's words were like a booster, which lifted Julian's sluggish mood again, and the Frenchman, who felt that he could not stay in this place for even a minute, urged the two disciples to get on their horses at once, return to the Loire Springs as soon as possible, and then rest well. However, the Moroccan dragged for about half an hour, and only after feeling that the horse had regained some strength did he regain his strength before resuming the return journey.

They followed the trail of their escape and walked back, and soon came to the bloody battlefield. The bandits' weapons, ammunition and personal belongings were taken away, leaving only the robbers and the carcasses of the slain horses lying on the Gobi Desert in the scorching sun. After only a few dozen minutes, a large area of blistering had already appeared on the surface of the skin of some corpses, and the color had become quite unappetizing.

"It's a strange situation here, and there's a good chance that the people who came after weren't bandits. Although the men were searched, their clothes and boots were still there, and the harness of the horses had not been stripped of them, which was definitely not the style of the desert bandits. It's more like...."Abdul turned his face to look at Julian. "It's more like the style of a colonial army."

"You mean those people are the military?" Julian asked in surprise.

"I've seen similar scenes before, the army doesn't need these unsightly trophies, they sometimes deliberately don't bury the corpses of the bandits, but just throw them on the Gobi and let them rot into a pile of bones, this method is used to intimidate other desert bandits, to be honest, sometimes it works, because if the corpses are exposed in the wilderness, the souls of these people will not be able to go to heaven." Abdul frowned, saying that he clearly had some problems with the army's approach.

Julian also felt that this was a bit excessive at first, this really didn't seem like something that the army of a civilized country would do, but then he thought, what does this have to do with him, these bandits lying on the ground, originally wanted to kill themselves, and these people must have already had their hands covered with the blood of innocents, he shouldn't give this kind of person a little sympathy at all, in his opinion, this method of dealing with it is very appropriate now, this group of damn villains should be rotten on the ground like this.

And now the question is not about these dead bodies, but about those who are alive, and now that the bandits have all been wiped out, where have those armies gone now.

"Will they also go to the Loire Springs, which are the only large water sources in the surrounding area, and not forgetting that their horses are also in dire need of water."

"Monsieur Julien, you are right, judging by the footprints, the direction in which they are going is the Spring of the Loire." Abdul looked down at the marks left on the ground by the cavalry.

"So what to do." Julian asked, with a stiff expression.

"It's probably the Border Patrol, they don't usually go deep here, maybe their original target was this gang of bandits, they tracked them all the way here, and they just happened to save our lives. From the footprints, it looked like there were at least thirty people, a large army. Abdul untied his turban covering his mouth and nose, took a water bag from the saddle, and raised his head to take a small sip.

"If it's the army, it's not too much of a problem, we're law-abiding travelers and we've been attacked by bandits, and I'll try to convince them to return the luggage we left in the Loire camp. The patrol was mostly black and Papar, and most of the leaders were French officers. If you, Mr. Julian, are willing to intervene, then there is no problem. Abdul passed the water bag to Basaimu.

"I don't want to show my head just yet, Abdul, I can't be in front of them, so everything has to rely on you. Abdul, if the matter is resolved smoothly, then when you reach the destination, I will give you an additional fifty percent of the original reward as a reward. After Julian finished speaking, he reached out and pressed the satchel behind his waist.

"I see, Mr. Julian, anyone can get into some trouble these days, I can understand that. Since you are so generous, then I would like to thank you in advance. You can go to the foot of the mountain over there and wait, and after I negotiate with the other party, I will come back to fight with you whether it is successful or not. If it really doesn't work, don't we have a backup plan before? Abdul replied with a smile.

"Then do as you say, I will wait for you at the foot of the mountain, may Allah bless you." Julian bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Mr. Julian, may Allah grant you peace, wait for us, and everything will be well." Abdul bowed slightly, then drove his mount in the direction of the Loire Springs.

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Today's second chapter is presented, and it is finally in time for the update period, and I originally thought it might be a little later.

I still ask everyone to vote for a monthly ticket, and the guaranteed monthly ticket at the beginning of the month is very important, and the author needs everyone's support.

I'm going to work harder this month, thank you. (To be continued.) )