"Yes, no camels, only horses. If the quantity is insufficient, we can purchase more from other merchant groups."

Jonathan clutched the gold dust in his hand, spitting towards the horse merchant incessantly.

It had to be admitted, greed had its advantages; at least in negotiating prices, one certainly wouldn't suffer a loss. Though Jonathan's face was etched with reluctance as he handed over the gold dust, his coat pockets were weighted down with heavy gold bricks—the payment Zheng Zha had given him for handling matters.

In less than an hour, the two separated groups of team members had completed their tasks. Under the offensive of pure money, the merchants in the market displayed several times the enthusiasm of normal days. Whether it was for the Ma Wu mounts or the general supplies for food and drink, everything was completely prepared within mere minutes. The group wasted no words, grabbed their fresh water and provisions, mounted their horses, and rode toward a small warehouse at the edge of the market.

The bearded man in black led the group, pushing open the warehouse door and stepping inside. The warehouse was empty, save for the floor. The bearded man grasped a chain on the ground and gave it a hard yank, instantly opening a passage beneath the floor. Simultaneously, two rifles extended from the newly revealed tunnel.

The bearded man quickly barked a couple of commands. Two figures in black hurried out of the passage. They bowed slightly and respectfully to the bearded man, who merely nodded once in acknowledgment. He then turned to Zheng Zha and the others: "Gentlemen, please follow me."

"All the weapons are hidden down here."

The underground storeroom wasn't large, but the sheer quantity of weaponry displayed inside was astonishing. It seemed virtually every weapon available in that era could be found, short of cannons—even a heavy machine gun stripped from an aircraft was present, mimicking a scene straight out of a script.

The bearded man rummaged through the selection for a while.

In the end, he chose the heavy machine gun salvaged from the aircraft. After that, he stuffed his person with several sticks of explosives.

Once everyone was fully prepared, Xiao Honglu spoke urgently: "Let two of them accompany us. Once we leave the market, have one take a portion of the communicators to find the main force. The other, taking the remaining communicators, will advance toward the City of the Dead at half our speed. We will proceed as planned, riding three horses in rotation to reach the City of the Dead as quickly as possible. Whether they have arrived there ahead of us or not, we will give them a surprise."

"That's the arrangement." The group departed the desert market once more. To guard against the possibility that members of their own team might be under mental control, they could only resort to entrusting the communicators to two unrelated individuals, splitting into two separate advance teams. As for the rest of the company, including the almost entirely combat-ineffective Xiao Honglu, everyone switched to riding the three horses, pushing relentlessly day and night toward the City of the Dead, determined to arrive before the Yin Zhou Squad could acquire the Sutra of Resurrection.

"This is the third time passing through here. I hope there won't be a fourth," Zheng Zha muttered to himself, sitting astride his saddle and gazing at the boundless yellow sands before him.

Eve smiled upon hearing this. "That’s not quite right. If we fail to see this scene a fourth time, doesn't that mean we will all perish in the City of the Dead? We absolutely must see it a fourth time."

Zheng Zha smiled and said no more. In truth, only those in the Reincarnation Squad could truly understand his words. Once their mission was complete, they would return to the 'Main God' space, meaning they would never have a chance to witness this scene again. If they were to see this desert panorama a fourth time, it could only signify mission failure, or perhaps they were being pursued after a retreat—either scenario was enough to spell total annihilation for them.

"Besides, I am tired of running away. I might as well gamble everything now. Life or death, it will be settled in the City of the Dead. All the conflicts began there, so let them conclude there!" Zheng Zha glanced at the Spatial Ring on his hand. Several high-explosive grenades had recently been added to it. Qi Teng's corpse wouldn't rest comfortably, so after discussion, the group had buried him on a steep slope outside the market upon leaving. Zheng Zha had taken those high-explosive grenades with him.

"Let everything end there!" The three horses pushed forward day and night. The sheer hardship was unimaginable to outsiders; the entire body felt as if it might shake apart, and the posterior was throbbing with soreness and numbness. It was only due to Zhan Lan's physical enhancement spells that everyone managed to persevere. The journey to the City of the Dead, which should have taken several days, was brutally compressed into just one day and one night. After encountering ambushes and the 'Yin Zhou' cavalry on the road, they found themselves drawing ever closer to the City of the Dead.

It was around four or five in the morning. They were less than an hour's ride from the city, enough time to arrive before the sun rose over the City of the Dead. However, gradually, everyone felt the ground and the surrounding environment begin to tremble, and this vibration grew increasingly distinct. As if sensing something, everyone looked behind them. But in the pitch-black night, nothing was visible beyond a hundred meters. Only Ling Dian spurred his horse toward a nearby small sand dune. Standing atop it, he looked far into the distance, then shouted down to the group below: "A vast plume of dust is rising far away! It doesn't look like a sandstorm—the dust is only rising about one or two meters high. It's the Mummy Guards! So many Mummy Guards! And they are moving so fast!"

From Ling Dian’s enhanced vision, the skeletal Mummy Guards moved with terrifying speed. They knew no fatigue, no pain, no death. These thousands of Mummy Guards sprinted across the desert, covering several meters with each bound; their speed was almost comparable to a horse at a full gallop. The sheer momentum of so many charging Mummy Guards was terrifying enough.

Before Ling Dian finished speaking, another cloud of dust billowed up not far ahead of the Mummies. Within that dust cloud was the thundering sound of hooves—nearly ten thousand black-clad cavalrymen charging diagonally toward the Mummy Guards. The distance was so great that if Ling Dian's enhancement hadn't been the solidified Druid's Eagle Eye, he wouldn't have seen this even during the day. Upon spotting the black-clad cavalry, he quickly turned his horse back toward his companions.

"Is that so? They've arrived quite quickly! Everyone, speed up! Let's give them a surprise!" Zheng Zha shouted loudly, then took the lead, driving his horse toward the City of the Dead at a gallop.

No matter what, the group finally reached the outskirts of the City of the Dead as dawn broke. Bathed in the golden sunlight, the entire City of the Dead appeared magnificent and captivating, as if it had returned to its prosperous era in ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. It was undeniably majestic enough to shake the soul, yet at that moment, the group had no time for awe. They followed Zheng Zha in a desperate rush, finally breaching the walls of the City of the Dead just before a dozen aircraft appeared overhead.

Hiding in the shadows of several stone pillars, they waited until the planes had completely passed before emerging. Zheng Zha immediately asked Ling Dian: "Is there any way to snipe those planes down?"

Ling Dian sighed: "Impossible to take them all down. If it were just a few planes, it would be entirely manageable. The power of the Gauss sniper rifle is immense, but the reloading process is incredibly cumbersome. We could manage perhaps two or three shots at most—enough to force a few planes to land roughly. The reason so many planes appeared simultaneously was likely to prevent us from sniping them."

The others sighed in unison, lamenting the waste of such a perfect opportunity as they watched the planes recede into the distance. Zheng Zha took a breath: "Then, as previously discussed: Ling Dian and Zhang Heng, you two work as a unit. Ling Dian, you are responsible for sniping that blindfolded Indian woman; Zhang Heng, you must protect Ling Dian's rear. Remember, one shot and retreat immediately—regardless of whether you hit the target, you must leave instantly. The rest of us will enter the underground mausoleum together and immediately begin searching for the Sun God Statue. Once found, fire a signal shot." Zheng Zha repeated the plan they had settled on earlier. He then walked toward the entrance of one of the tombs. Before entering, he turned to look back at Ling Dian and Zhang Heng. Ling Dian was scouting for a suitable sniping position, while Zhang Heng continuously adjusted his British longbow. Both men were silently making their final preparations. In that brief turn of the head, a sudden cry of alarm rose from the group behind him. Before he could turn back fully, a sharp pain seized his neck, and he was lifted into the air by a pair of hands clamping down on him.

At the tomb entrance, a hand formed entirely of swirling dust abruptly materialized. As the surrounding sand continuously focused, Imhotep slowly took shape. Holding Zheng Zha aloft, he hurled him violently toward the entrance of the mausoleum. With a sharp crack, Zheng Zha was flung by the force, smashing through the crumbling wall and tumbling into the interior, followed by the incessant sound of metallic impacts from beyond the broken barrier.

The bearded man in black and Zhang Jie were closest. Both opened fire on Imhotep with their rifles, but the spiritual-type bullets that proved ineffective against him in Cairo would certainly fare worse now with standard ammunition. The bullets seemed to strike sand, immediately knitting back together after impact. Even O'Connell, gripping his rifle, only managed to widen the bullet holes slightly; the result remained unchanged. Imhotep stood unscathed, roaring loudly as he dissolved into a swirling sand hurricane.

Zhao Yingkong reacted relatively quickly. She barely managed to draw her Netherfire Fang when the hurricane formed by Imhotep swept into the tomb. This weapon, highly effective against spiritual entities, was useless. The group could only watch helplessly as Imhotep vanished into the mausoleum. At that very moment, with a loud boom, came the sound of Ling Dian’s Gauss sniper rifle as he pulled the trigger toward his target.

Leaping...