The people of the Alliance, numbering fifty to sixty thousand, faced the thirty thousand soldiers of Loulan, quickly overwhelming them with their superior numbers.
Soon, the news of the Loulan princess's capture reached the ears of the Loulan king in the great hall.
"What! My daughter was captured by them? How is that possible?"
The Loulan king looked shocked and disbelieving.
His daughter was unstoppable, no one could match her, so how could she have been captured so easily?
It was simply preposterous.
"It's the curse of Jingjue, and traitors from Jingjue have joined the Alliance to deal with our Loulan."
The minister exclaimed excitedly.
After he finished speaking, the Loulan king seemed to understand.
No wonder there were rumors of Jingjue wanting to attack them before; it turned out to be deliberately spread by those Jingjue traitors.
The goal was to prevent Loulan from cooperating with Jingjue, to keep the two apart.
The king, realizing this, slammed his thigh in anger.
They had sought good relations with Jingjue precisely to avoid being cursed by them.
Loulan was strong, but they couldn't withstand such insidious tactics.
"Report..."
"They demand we open the city gates, otherwise, the princess will be utterly destroyed!"
"Report! We only have twenty thousand elite soldiers left."
The scouts reported one after another.
The king then stood up decisively.
"I will lead the charge myself!"
He declared, waving his hand and brandishing his golden sword as he strode out.
"Your Majesty, you have a hidden ailment..."
"If it concerns the survival of our nation, what does a hidden ailment matter?"
He waved his hand again and personally led the charge.
Due to the curse, several of the black-clad figures had already perished, and the remaining were weak and unable to cast further spells.
The Loulan king's strength was not insignificant; at the level of a Grandmaster, he could withstand them.
Seeing the king also join the fray, Zhang Tian shook his head.
The outcome was already decided; it was practically impossible for Loulan to win.
Then, the scene shifted, and days later, on the battlefield, Loulan resisted desperately, even the common people joining in the defense, managing to hold off several attacks.
The Alliance's soldiers were running low on supplies.
But just as they were about to repel the final assault, they dragged out the Loulan princess.
By now, the Loulan princess was disfigured, her armor removed.
Only a red cloth remained to cover parts of her body.
Seeing his daughter in such a state, the Loulan king's fury erupted.
"Boss, where do you think the armor ended up?"
Fatty asked.
Zhang Tian shook his head; there was no way he would know at this point.
"Open the city gates, and once we merge, I promise, we can go back to how we were, laughing and talking."
A rough-looking man said, a smile on his face.
"If you refuse, our female general will be reduced to bones and fed to the wolves."
He declared. The king looked at his daughter and took a deep breath.
He thought of the people in the city; if he lost, what would become of them?
For the sake of his people, the king did not agree.
Following this, as they had said, the Loulan princess was beheaded, her body left in the desert, and the place where her body was dumped was precisely the mist-filled area Zhang Tian had encountered before.
The Loulan princess's resentment transformed into anger, and that area became a formation. The more people died, the stronger the formation became, and the greater the Loulan princess's resentment grew.
As for the white camel, it was the Loulan princess's mount in life. It couldn't bear to see the Loulan princess in the desert, killing innocents, and had always tried to rescue those trapped.
Unfortunately, the white camel's abilities were limited, and many people still died in the mist.
"Boss, so this is how the mist was formed. No wonder Brother Two sensed an evil aura back then; it was the Loulan princess."
Fatty said.
Zhang Qilin had stared at the mist for a long time.
He felt something was wrong, but he never realized that the Loulan princess wasn't in Loulan but was left in the desert.
In the end, despite the Loulan king's desperate resistance, he couldn't withstand the Alliance's massive assault.
Loulan fell, and the Alliance plundered and burned the city, utterly destroying Loulan.
The vision before them, of a prosperous kingdom, was merely the king's dying fantasy.
He conjured the most beautiful moments before his eyes, while the most painful ones were buried in the palace, buried in his heart.
The scene shifted.
Zhang Tian and the others' clothes returned to their original state.
And before them was the scene of the Alliance plundering the city.
They were madly looting Loulan's resources.
The once glorious palace had been trampled and reduced to ruins.
"Boss, look at that."
Fatty pointed into the distance.
They saw the Loulan king, pierced by many arrows, being carried by people from the Alliance and placed into a coffin.
Although they had occupied the capital, the Loulan king had been benevolent to them, and for their own reputation, a grand burial was in order.
Finally, the king was buried beneath the Loulan palace, accompanied by countless treasures, including a set of Loulan princess's armor.
No one could wear this armor, and given that the Loulan princess was the foremost female general of the desert, revered by all, they buried the armor along with the king to save face for the Alliance.
After witnessing this, the scene vanished, replaced by white mist all around.
At the scene, the spectators erupted in comments.
[Damn, poor Loulan.]
[I hate the saying, 'pitiable people must have hateful aspects,' but few know that after that, there's another saying: 'hateful people must have tragic suffering.']
[Sigh, at least they buried the king.]
[Brother, have you heard of benevolence? If they hadn't buried him, the Alliance's reputation would be ruined, and the Alliance would surely disband.]
[Damn, a bunch of hypocrites.]
[No wonder there was mist when we passed through Loulan before; it was the Loulan princess there.]
[By the way, the cloth on the Loulan princess just now looks a bit like what Zhang Tian and the others picked up.]
[No wonder the expedition team didn't find the princess's remains; who could find them?]
The crowd was in an uproar.
They never imagined that the inconspicuous mist held the key.
At this moment, online, the Desert rankings were updated.
Undoubtedly, the Loulan princess ranked first.
Furthermore, the Loulan princess gained a large following online.
Fighting for her country until the very last moment, even her spirit of slaying a thousand cavalry with a single blow, drew countless people's attention.
[What a pity, the Loulan princess is dead.]
[Sigh, I'm reminded of Mulan.]
[Mulan serving in the army in place of her father was also a heroine.]
[However, it is a pity that Loulan was destroyed, but its destruction was inevitable. Besides benevolence, you must also have strong means.]
A wave of discussion ensued online.
Many felt it was truly a shame that Loulan was destroyed.
At this moment, the scene continued.
In the image, the scenery before Zhang Tian and the others had changed.
Before them, yellow sand swirled.
A gentle breeze swept by, and a fine mist of sand kicked up dust on everyone.
Where was the prosperous kingdom now?
Vast expanses of desolate ruins lay before them.
The houses and formerly luxurious buildings were all dilapidated.
And looking before them now, they still stood at the city gate, but the majestic gate had disappeared, replaced by a small earthen wall.
"I almost don't want to leave this illusion," Hu Bayi murmured.
Shirley Yang nodded.
"Sigh, the contrast is too great."
"It's all the trace of time," Zhang Tian sighed, wondering if the old blacksmith could still see it.