Genshin Impact: Rise of the Desert

When Ivan regained consciousness, all he saw was the ceiling, and then he was slammed to the ground.

"Oh my god!" Ivan screamed.

Although Ivan's current physical condition means he wouldn't be seriously injured even if he fell from a height of ten meters, a fall is never pleasant.

Before Ivan could even get up, someone rushed up to him: "Boss! You're finally back! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Ivan shook his head and looked at the newcomer: "Esen? What's wrong?"

"Boss! The scouts report that the Thousand Rock Army is less than two hundred li away from us. According to the scouts' estimates, they have a full three hundred thousand troops!" Esen said anxiously. "Three hundred thousand troops! That means each of us has to fight ten enemy troops with far superior weapons and equipment. Why hasn't Lord Bai arrived yet?!"

Scouting is a high-ranking profession, and scouts occasionally take on the role of spies.

Therefore, an excellent scout needs to understand the enemy's culture and ethnicity, and be able to estimate the approximate number of people in a vast sea of ​​people within ten seconds.

One must be physically capable to avoid being surrounded by enemy forces. One must be extremely loyal to the organization to prevent leaking information if captured. Furthermore, one must be fast and able to endure prolonged hunger.

In short, the pay of each elite scout is no less than that of a centurion, and may even be slightly higher.

"Let me think about it."

If we assume the distance is less than 200 li, we'll use 100 li as an estimate. The marching speed of ancient infantry on Earth was approximately 30 to 40 li. Teyvat has various gadgets that can increase speed, and the Thousand Rock army that came to pursue them was also elite, so we'll use 50 li as an estimate.

If they abandoned their baggage and forced a march, they could cover about 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers), but considering that they would be fighting, they certainly wouldn't force a march.

Ivan thought for a moment and said, "They should arrive here in about two or three days... Esen, organize the men and prepare for street fighting. Also, find me a few swimmers to train with!"

Without asking why, he turned and left.

After a while, Esen returned with an unusually interesting expression.

He only brought one person with him.

Dixia.

It's that woman again, damn it!

Ivan asked, "No, she's the only one in our entire army who can swim?"

Ye Xian slapped his forehead and covered his eyes: "Boss, have you forgotten that we are desert people? Where is there any extra water for us to swim in? Some people are lucky if they can swim in shallow water. She is the only one in the whole army who can swim well."

Dixia laughed and said, "What, does Danyu look down on me?"

Ivan didn't actually like Desia because she was too much of a saint and always disagreed with him. In peacetime, she'd be a great friend, but in wartime, it was a stretch...

Ivan tried to calm himself down and said to Dixia, "Come with me! Esen, go and prepare for street fighting."

After a while, Ivan selected a group of gilded warriors whose bloodlines were clearly of good quality, judging from their appearance.

The soldiers, bewildered, followed Ivan out of Yilongbu and arrived at the northern beach. Scouts were stationed there, observing daily to see if the wealthy man had arrived.

"Chanyu," the scout bowed to Ivan, placing his hand on his chest, "what are your orders?"

Ivan waved his hand: "It'll be a bit tough for you these days. You and the brothers take turns keeping watch. Come back and report when you see the giant steel ship, understand?"

Seeing the scout nod, Ivan turned to the crowd and said, "I know you're all getting impatient here, and I'm impatient too, but half a month has passed and Master Bai still hasn't come!"

"According to reports from the scouts on the beach, small boats come here almost every day, take a quick look around, and leave. It's obvious that they are the man of the Bai family."

“Dolly Sangmahabai is a cunning businesswoman, I know what she’s thinking. She’s thinking that once I fight the Thousand Rock Army, I’ll have fewer troops and then she can control me more easily.”

"To be honest, I could give her more money and more privileges. But the worst thing she could have done was try to outsmart me. Trying to outsmart me is nothing in itself, but it will kill many people!"

"Now, let's get in the water and have Dixia teach us how to swim, learning as we go! Find Dori Sango Mahabay's boat, steal it, and go home!"

Ivan's words caused everyone's eyes to turn bloodshot.

Dolly Sango Mahabayi! You deserve to die!

Desia frowned, and after thinking about it carefully, she realized that Dolly was really capable of doing such a thing.

Dixia once had a leisurely job in Sumeru City: ensuring the safety of a young lady suffering from Demon Scale Disease. It was called being a bodyguard, but it really just involved playing around with her.

The young lady's name is Dina Zede. She has suffered from the Demon Scale Disease since childhood, and even slightly strenuous exercise makes her feel unwell. As a result, she is depressed, but it is said that she received a blessing from the Little Lucky Grass King and is a loyal follower of the Grass King.

Dixia's enthusiasm and cheerfulness entered her heart, making Dina Zede gradually become more cheerful. Slowly, Dina Zede began to entrust some things that she wanted to do but could not do herself to Dixia.

For example, singing loudly, dancing, swimming, etc.

It was around that time that Dixia learned to swim at the swimming pool in Sumeru City.

At that time, she also met Kavi, a scholar from the Order of the Church. Dixia and Kavi got along very well, and thus she learned that Kavi had been deceived by Dolly many times and was heavily in debt.

Kavi's meals were very frugal, which greatly diminished Desia's impression of Dolly, even though Dolly's original impression of Desia wasn't much better.

But because of her job, Desia has to put on a smiling face for Dolly, which is painful to think about.

Teaching people to swim wasn't difficult; the soldiers quickly mastered the rudimentary swimming skills and followed Ivan into the depths of the sea.

Dixia was different; she wasn't a gilded warrior and couldn't stay in the sea for long. After sending Ivan out of the shallow water, she swam back. Even so, spending five hours in the water back and forth was still uncomfortable.

When Dixia came ashore, she looked at her manicured nails, which were now badly corroded by the seawater, and her skin, which was swollen from being soaked in the water. She couldn't help but worry about the warriors who had gone out to sea with Ivan.

Then, Dixia went to a high place and stood with the scouts: "Where have the Chanyu and the others gone?"

The scout pointed ahead: "There!"

Dixia squinted and observed the direction the scout was pointing for a while before she finally saw the person.

Five hours and they've only swum that far. When will they ever find Dolly?

Dixia was extremely anxious but there was nothing she could do.

Now, the fate of the entire desert expeditionary force was once again in Ivan's hands.