Chapter 4: Partners? Section 8

Black Hair’s plan was insane, but it actually had a good chance of success.
Although magic-guided civilization had reached its peak, traditional transportation methods had long become obsolete. Massive floating transport ships capable of interstellar travel and carrying large loads were now the main means of transport. Yet on the planet Xek, where deserts covered 80% of the surface, ancient caravans remained one of the cheapest transportation options—just with magic crystal-powered vehicles replacing the livestock of ancient times. This gave sand pirates room to operate.
But Black Gold was a huge merchant guild, and even with such inexpensive transportation, it employed numerous mercenaries as guards—far beyond the reach of ordinary sand pirates. Ever since the last group of sand pirates who tried to attack a Black Gold caravan were completely wiped out by a squad of five magic-guided mechs three years ago, the sand pirates near Berin had come to recognize Black Gold’s black triangular flag and dared not engage them directly.
Of course, for some madmen, it was another story.
According to the information gathered by Sulei, every three days, Black Gold sent a caravan loaded with weapons from Berin to the fortified city of Kara in the north. The escort consisted of a standard team of seven mercenaries, along with one light reconnaissance mech, four standard combat mechs, and two support mechs. The caravan was mainly composed of three extended puppet worms. Judging from the cargo, its value was likely over a million. As long as nothing went wrong, the loot from a single raid would suffice for Black Hair’s needs.
Thus, Black Hair’s target was immediately determined.
“Black Hair, you’re not planning to wait for them right here, are you…”
On a tall sand dune over 200 kilometers north of Berin, a lazy voice suddenly spoke. Then, a head covered in sand poked out, using the dune’s height to look into the distance. Its blood-red pupils narrowed slightly, showing signs of impatience.
“Why not? Blood Pupil, this is a place the caravan must pass through. Why do you think it’s not a good idea?” Behind Blood Pupil, Black Hair sat quietly, fiddling with some oddly shaped small parts while answering casually. Beside him, Sulei was busy building a fire pile—probably planning a picnic for the night, if nothing went wrong.
“Of course it’s not!” Blood Pupil turned, casting an indifferent glance at Black Hair with furrowed brows.

“In such an open area, how can you stop them from escaping? The Black Gold caravan isn’t made of fools—they won’t wait for us to seize their goods. Moreover, the open terrain will cost us our advantage in close combat, leaving us torn to pieces by those seven mechs.”
As a seasoned assassin, Blood Pupil clearly considered himself an authority on ambush tactics. That’s why he was extremely dissatisfied with the campsite chosen by Black Hair.
Indeed, this dune, being the highest point within fifty kilometers, was an ideal vantage point for observation. But as an ambush location, it was far from satisfactory. Under the scorching desert sun, it was impossible to maintain any secrecy at all. Blood Pupil didn’t think his old-fashioned magic mechs truly had invincible capabilities that could defeat even the strongest foes.
Countless battles, countless assassinations—such an undefeated record couldn’t possibly be achieved by luck. Even without precise calculations, Blood Pupil could estimate that the chances of failure for this mission were terrifyingly high at 97%.
“Heh, maybe you’re right,” Black Hair said, his fingers moving swiftly as he assembled those strange parts into a semi-covered helmet before turning back. “But there’s always an exception.”
“What exception?” Blood Pupil was stunned, the cold light in his eyes dimming slightly.
But this time, Black Hair didn’t answer him. Instead, he stood up and headed straight toward the back of the dune. There, two massive mechs—one red and one black—stood quietly, their cold metallic surfaces emitting a chill even in such a scorching desert.
In the distance, a huge sandstorm gradually appeared on the horizon……
Han Ba was a minor mercenary, belonging to the Fourth Mech Division of the Belin Sand Mercenary Group. Though young, he had already fought in countless battles. He had been present in almost every fight since the formation of the mercenary group. Over time, his combat instincts had become ingrained in his blood. After hundreds of battles against sand bandits, his achievements had earned him the rank of division leader.
Yet right now, he wasn’t feeling happy at all.

For the Sandstorm Mercenary Group, which had signed a long-term escort contract with Black Gold, this mission was far too simple. Escorting a puppet worm to the fortress city of Kara was originally a task only novice mercenaries would take on. But for some reason, the group leader assigned him to this mission and allowed him to use the group’s most advanced Type 2 Assault Mecha. This made Hanba feel deeply dissatisfied. Good heavens, didn’t the group leader know that this trade route had already been secured countless times by them? Not to mention sand pirates, not even a shadow of a sand worm could be seen. Hanba could swear on his life that it was the safest trade route on Shek Planet—even the giant floating ships weren’t this secure.

Being given such high-end equipment and the best mercenaries on such a safe route, yet only tasked with escorting a puppet worm—Hanba was almost certain his group leader must have suffered brain inflammation and cerebellar atrophy to make such a decision.

Of course, he wasn’t stupid either. Hanba also realized clearly that the puppet worm he was escorting this time was likely not as simple as usual. So, despite how annoyed he was by this mission, when he saw the towering sand dunes in the distance, he still cautiously sent out the reconnaissance mecha to conduct routine surveillance.

But before he could give the order, a shrill buzzing sound already filled his mecha’s cockpit.

“What!?” Hanba’s face paled as he looked in the direction indicated by the radar…

On top of the distant sand dunes, a pitch-black figure had just emerged from behind.