Chapter 297 - Sandstorm Approaching?!
Nearly ten minutes passed before the Fire Ant finally moved.
It’d wrapped the corpses up in a strange nectar-like liquid before dragging them underground with it.
RUMBLE!
The ground shook as it burrowed back into the giant dark hole.
Within seconds, the massive B-rank creature had disappeared underground.
Even so, nobody wished to move yet.
Everyone simply stared at Nadia, who continued staring at the sand, waiting for her to give the signal.
Only after another two minutes passed did she finally raise her hand.
’’Alright,’’ she said. ’’We move now.’’
’’Walk in pairs of two and make sure you follow my footsteps exactly.’’
Everyone immediately nodded.
Before long, they slowly made their way down the dune towards the area where the ant had just been.
Unlike before, the Dragonfang and Imperial Church groups had changed places.
Theo’s group, however, remained all the way at the back as per usual.
The closer they got, the more gruesome the scene became.
Large patches of sand had been completely melted into dark glass, while pieces of weapons and armor were scattered everywhere.
Theo’s gaze briefly landed on a half-melted sword sticking out of the ground.
’Those people didn’t even get a chance to escape,’ he thought. ’Were they a bunch of silver cores or something?’
A normal B-rank would’ve been something five gold cores could take on.
He couldn’t see such a group dying without resistance to a single B-rank Fire Ant.
’A shame,’ he thought, shaking his head. ’This place is far above a normal silver core’s paygrade.’
’But alas... the things we do out of desperation for money.’
Theo knew there’d be plenty of these scenes happening all around the place.
’It’s better to just ignore it,’ he thought, letting out a sigh.
Step by step, their groups continued forward.
The pace had dropped considerably compared to the day before as everyone made sure to remain extra careful.
At first, Theo couldn’t understand how she was deciding where to walk.
The sand looked exactly the same everywhere.
Yet every few dozen yards, Nadia would suddenly change direction, sometimes even walking almost completely sideways before continuing forward again.
’What does she see that I don’t?’ he wondered, raising an eyebrow.
He focused more closely on the ground.
After another fifteen minutes, he finally started to notice it.
Some sections of sand were slightly sunken compared to the rest.
The difference was tiny, barely noticeable unless someone specifically knew what to look for.
’So those are the tunnels?’ he thought. ’Say, Feng, can you sense how many creatures are even down here?’
Feng remained silent for several seconds.
’’Too many to accurately distinguish,’’ it finally replied.
Theo’s eyebrows rose slightly.
’Whoa, that many?’
’’Yes,’’ Feng answered calmly. ’’Their presences overlap throughout the tunnels. I cannot give you an accurate number.’’
Theo let out a low whistle as the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
He continued even more cautiously, nearly tiptoeing forward.
For the next forty minutes, the groups continued in almost complete silence.
Occasionally, faint vibrations traveled through the sand beneath their feet.
Nadia would immediately halt the group while pressing her ear against the sand.
Sometimes, they’d be forced to wait a long time, while other times they’d continue right away.
Eventually, Theo noticed the sunken patches of land becoming less frequent.
’We’re almost out,’ he thought, heart pounding.
After another ten minutes, Nadia finally turned around with a large smile on her face.
’’Alright,’’ she announced calmly. ’’We’re through.’’
Several people immediately let out relieved breaths.
Owen dropped his shoulders dramatically.
’’Thank fuck,’’ he muttered as he let out a deep sigh. ’’I never want to walk over this shit again.’’
Jim nodded frantically.
’’Agreed,’’ he said. ’’I felt like I was having a heart attack the entire time!’’
Theo chuckled lightly as he shook his head.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but glance back at the desert behind them.
’What a ridiculous place,’ he thought.
Just then, Nadia’s voice rang out loudly, attracting everyone’s attention.
’’We’ll rest here for half an hour,’’ she announced loudly. ’’Eat something, drink some water, and make sure you’re ready to continue.’’
Without hesitation, several people dropped their bags and sat down on the sand.
Theo’s group did the same.
Owen raised his hand in Theo’s direction right away.
’’Cold Coke,’’ he ordered.
Rolling his eyes, Theo used his ability to summon a Coke for him.
’’Anyone else?’’ he asked.
Lyra, Jim, and Iris all raised their hands at the same time.
Theo stared at them blankly for a moment.
Finally, he let out a deep sigh before tossing several towards them.
While everyone began eating and drinking, Nadia walked away from the groups with narrowed eyes.
She climbed onto one of the taller dunes nearby before stopping near the top.
Green mana immediately gathered beneath her.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Several thick vines burst up out of the ground, lifting Nadia higher and higher into the air.
Within seconds, she stood two dozen yards above the dune.
Theo glanced towards her briefly before looking away.
He assumed she was simply checking their surroundings.
But barely ten seconds later... Nadia’s face had drained of all color.
’’Everyone up!’’ she shouted as she jumped down.
Confused stares landed on her right away.
Even so, no one dared to disobey.
’’Break’s over!’’ she shouted again. ’’Pack up and be prepared to run for long distances.’’
As Nadia began gathering her own items, everyone understood something was happening.
’’What happened?’’ someone from Dragonfang immediately asked.
Nadia remained completely silent.
Her mind had already started running several calculations.
’We’re already over halfway,’ she thought. ’Continuing to Petra is a far better idea.’
’And with that approaching, we won’t have to be so cautious of the Desert Vulture nesting grounds.’
Only after Nadia had gathered her own stuff and noticed that everyone else had done the same did she snap out of her thoughts.
She pointed straight up at the sky.
’’A sandstorm is gathering,’’ she quickly explained. ’’So from now on, we’ll be using everything we’ve got to get to Petra.’’