Late April.
In the desert, the fierce wind sweeps through, sand particles are flying, and the sky is covered with a layer of dark clouds. Looking around, everywhere is a world of yellow sand.
At noon, the dark clouds in the sky dissipate, the sun is high, and the boundless desert resembles a vast yellow sea, with thousands of points of light shimmering before the eyes.
In the wind blowing towards them, there is fine sand, along with warm air.
In the desert, it seems like an invisible giant hand is tirelessly pushing forward and surging the fine dust, peeling layer after layer of sand off, and quickly allowing the sand behind to cover up again.
In the boundless sea of sand, three people are slowly moving forward on the desert.
The three of them are wearing light yellow coats to protect against dust, very similar to the color of the desert, which can serve as a good camouflage.
These three people are Hakushi, Ruri, and Ayane, who have traveled a long distance from the Land of Demons.
After a thorough investigation by specialists, the coordinates of Roran have been confirmed, along with some basic information about the Land of Roran, which Hakushi has also mastered.
Upon obtaining this intelligence, Hakushi couldn't wait to bring Ruri and Ayane along to claim the Dragon Vein Power of Roran.
"Hakushi-kun, haven't we arrived yet?"
Ayane looked at the blazing sun in the sky, clearly not summer, yet the air was unusually sultry.
"According to the hints given in the route map, we will be there soon."
Hakushi patiently replied.
Ayane let out a long breath; traveling long distances in such hot weather is not good for a girl's skin.
"If you find it tiresome, you can go back alone."
Ruri, unlike Hakushi, did not have a good temper and directly said this to Ayane.
"Just joking, don't take it seriously. I just feel that in such hot weather, the moisture in certain parts of my body is about to dry up. Right, Hakushi-kun?"
Ayane asked with a smile.
Boom!
There was an explosion in the desert.
That was the result of Chakra colliding with each other.
The punch thrown by Ruri was blocked by Ayane's raised arm.
Under the feet of the two, at some point due to the previous Chakra explosion, a large pit had formed in the desert.
"It seems the lesson from a few days ago wasn't enough for you."
Ruri sneered.
"You can try again."
Ayane squinted her eyes and smiled.
"As a weakling, you still make excuses for your frailty. It's truly pathetic."
Ruri's disdainful and superior attitude made Ayane's facial muscles twitch, clearly infuriated.
Hakushi glanced at the two, shook his head helplessly, and continued walking forward.
Before reaching here, how many times had these two faced off during the journey?
In any case, Hakushi had lost count.
Thus, they traversed the vast desert, with dust swirling in the air, creating a desolate scene.
About two hours later, Hakushi stopped in the desert.
He stood at a relatively high position, starting to gaze into the distance.
"Is that Roran?"
Ruri and Ayane lifted the hats off their heads, and like Hakushi, saw the towering structures standing in the desert far away.
The buildings were extremely dense and reached heights of hundreds of meters, mainly white in color. From this direction, the building complex appeared narrow and long.
"Seems like this is indeed the case."
Hakushi took out a photograph, a picture taken by the investigators, and the buildings now appearing before them were identical to those captured in the photograph.
"I heard Roran is just a small country, struggling to survive, and gradually declining to the point of being unnoticed. But looking at this complex, it doesn't seem to be in decline."
Ruri's tone was filled with doubt.
While not prosperous, it certainly didn't appear to be impoverished either.
"That's what the information I previously saw said too. But since two years ago, things seem to have changed. Based on the information collected by intelligence personnel, a guy named An Lushan came to Roran two years ago, gained the trust of the Queen Roran, and became a minister. The current prosperity of Roran is due to that guy named An Lushan."
When Hakushi mentioned the name 'An Lushan', his facial expression was a bit complex.
Forget it; the Land of Demons could even create terracotta warriors as a term, the likes of An Lushan in Roran are not worth mocking about.
Though Hakushi still wanted to complain about the name.
"According to the information provided by the slugs, the Dragon Vein should be underground in Roran. Ayane, use your Byakugan to see how things are."
Hakushi turned to look at Ayane.
"Alright."
Ayane activated her Byakugan and began observing the underground of the Roran city.
"Have you found it?"
"Deep underground, there is indeed a very strong Chakra energy, guarded by a large number of puppet soldiers."
Ayane truthfully described what she saw.
"Puppet soldiers?"
"Perhaps they are used for war."
Hakushi didn't completely understand the entire situation in Roran, merely making such a guess.
After all, with the convenient energy like the Dragon Vein, it wouldn't be left unattended forever.
"In that case, let's first explore the situation. If we're quick, we might be able to seize the Dragon Vein Power before Roran's guards react."
Ruri and Ayane had no objections.
Hence, the three of them immediately took action.
◎
At the top of Roran's largest building.
In the splendid and magnificent hall, Queen Roran was sitting on the throne, summoning the Roran minister An Lushan to start deliberations.