Of course, arranging for the Third Battalion to garrison Zalingei first did not mean the main force had to set out immediately. By the time the Seventh Infantry Regiment reached Zalingei, it was already three in the afternoon, so leaving the next morning would not be too late.
Even if the Darfurians in Zalingei wanted to send word to Sultan Alidinar in Fashir, they could not possibly be faster than the East African Army. That was the advantage automobiles brought.
Thus, the Seventh Infantry Regiment planned to rest locally for the night before proceeding to Fashir.
As for Zalingei's residents, faced with an army as utterly unfamiliar as East Africa's, they could not even muster the thought of resistance. After all, many things possessed by the Seventh Infantry Regiment lay beyond their understanding.
The only thing they recognized as a firearm was the Mauser rifle. Yet apart from the Darfur main force in Fashir, no other region of Darfur currently had firearm units. To oppose East Africans with religious faith and cold weapons—heh, only lunatics would do such a thing.
Of course, if they knew what the East African government had arranged for their future, they likely would not think that way. The East African government had not prepared them a "ticket to the future."
The next day, after a sound night's sleep, the Seventh Infantry Regiment officially set out toward Fashir.
Led by a Zalingei guide, they traveled without incident. In Darfur, what the East African Army feared most was getting lost. They were unfamiliar with the land, and wherever they looked, there was nothing but a boundless sea of desert.
Before noon, Fashir City formally appeared before the eyes of the Seventh Infantry Regiment's main force.
"That up ahead is Fashir City. Sultan Alidinar and the main