Chapter 309 - Petra
Feng immediately slammed its giant wings down.
WHOOOSH!!!
They shot up into the sky.
’’WOAH!’’
Several people desperately grabbed onto whatever they could.
Even Theo was forced to tighten his grip on Feng’s mane.
’Fuck!’ he thought, eyes widening. ’He wasn’t kidding about optimizing for speed!’
ROARRRR!!!
Another roar sounded behind them.
Owen’s bone dragon chased after Feng, pale-green flames exploding behind its body.
For a moment, it struggled to keep up.
Then emerald wind suddenly gathered around its enormous body.
WHOOSH!
Its speed increased dramatically.
Within seconds, the two enormous beasts were flying side by side.
’’HAHAHA!’’ Owen’s voice echoed through the wind. ’’NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!’’
Theo glanced over at the bone dragon.
Owen was sitting near the front, a huge grin plastered across his face.
Behind him, the remaining Church members desperately held onto the dragon’s bones.
’That idiot,’ he thought, shaking his head.
Then he looked further back, trying to find Nadia.
She was sitting behind Owen, her hair whipping violently through the air as she stared into the distance.
Theo’s expression grew more serious right away.
’Hopefully this is fast enough,’ he thought. ’I really don’t want to end up in the deadly sandstorms.’
The next twenty minutes passed in a blur.
Countless rock nests, dunes, and more flickered past beneath them.
Yet, the Desert Vultures didn’t once try chasing them again.
Theo kept looking around frantically.
A bad feeling had spread through his stomach, clearly warning him what he was in for.
And only a minute later, he noticed the sky rapidly darkening behind them.
’Oh... fuck,’ he thought, eyes widening.
A massive wall of sand had started swallowing everything in its path.
Even from a distance, Theo could see everything vanish beneath it.
’It’s already here?!’
At the same time, Nadia noticed it too.
Her face paled immediately.
’’We’re almost there!’’ she shouted desperately. ’’Please! Speed up!’’
Theo didn’t even need to say anything.
The emerald glow surrounding Feng and the bone dragon intensified immediately.
WHOOOOSH!!!
Both beasts shot forward.
The already-blurring desert beneath them became almost impossible to follow.
But even at their increased speed, the sky behind them continued growing darker.
Theo kept glancing back and forth.
’It’s catching up,’ he thought, gritting his teeth.
As the seconds slowly ticked by, everyone held on for dear life.
Then, Nadia suddenly started pointing to the ground.
’’THERE!’’ she screamed. ’’GO DOWN!’’
Owen immediately leaned forward.
The bone dragon folded its wings and began diving towards the desert.
’Feng! Follow them!’
Feng’s body began tilting down right away.
WHOOOSH!!!
Theo’s stomach dropped as they rapidly descended.
Within seconds, a huge rocky mountain appeared in the distance.
And carved into the center was the beginning of a huge sandstone building.
Nadia continued pointing towards it frantically.
’’THERE!’’
The two beasts shot towards the sandstone building.
As the distance rapidly closed, more of the ancient structure became visible.
Huge pillars depicting massive beasts stood before the huge entrance leading into the underground city.
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
’So that’s Petra...’
But he barely had time to take it in.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The sound behind them had become deafening.
Theo glanced back one last time.
The sandstorm was terrifyingly close now, even allowing him to see strange dark spots darting through it.
’What the fuck,’ he thought, a shiver running down his spine.
Theo could sense very clearly that something was swarming around in there.
Ahead, the sandstone pillars were growing larger by the second.
Only as they got closer did Theo notice the faint golden barrier surrounding the structure.
But there was no time to think about it.
Feng and the bone dragon shot straight towards the sandstone pillars.
WHOOOOSH!!!
They passed straight through the golden barrier.
The deafening roar of the sandstorm disappeared in an instant.
For a moment, Theo almost thought he’d gone deaf.
He quickly glanced back, only to see the sandstorm still rushing towards them.
Just then, Nadia’s voice rang out.
’’We’re safe,’’ she shouted, her voice filled with relief. ’’The barrier will keep the sandstorm out!’’
Theo let out a deep breath, relaxing for a moment.
But Feng didn’t give him much time to relax.
’’Contractor,’’ his voice echoed through Theo’s mind. ’’There are over a thousand people ahead.’’
Theo’s eyes shot wide open instantly.
’Over a thousand made it?’ he thought, glancing ahead.
By now, Feng and the bone dragon had already passed between the first few massive pillars.
A huge empty doorframe soon came into sight, and like Feng had said, countless figures stood behind it.
And they had long since gained their attention.
’’Owen!’’ Theo called out immediately. ’’Land here!’’
Owen glanced up and nodded once.
Both beasts began descending right away, landing just before the massive doorframe.
Theo jumped off right away, his eyes still locked on the people ahead.
Behind him, everyone else began doing the same.
The three groups slowly began forming once more, and now that they were in a safe area, those with healing elements finally began helping the injured.
After a moment, Theo glanced back at Feng.
’Go recover,’ he said internally. ’I’ll probably need you inside.’
Feng nodded once.
Within moments, a swirling emerald mass opened up, taking him back to the summoning space.
Owen’s bone dragon vanished into a pale-green mass only a moment later.
’’We’ve got a whole bunch of attention on us,’’ he said, casually walking over to Theo. ’’Not that it’s surprising... but still.’’
Theo nodded slowly.
With the way they’d arrived, it came as no surprise that everyone was hyper-alert.
Just then, a loud, familiar voice rang out behind them.
’’FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!’’
Theo and Owen both turned around slowly.
Nadia sat in the sand several yards behind them, staring furiously at the barrier.
’’Why the hell did the damn sandstorm have to come now?!’’ she cursed. ’’They’ve never come this close together before!’’
Raising an eyebrow, Theo couldn’t help but speak up.
’’I thought you’d be happy we made it in time.’’
Nadia’s head snapped towards him.
’’Oh, I’m very happy we didn’t die,’’ she said. ’’But I was supposed to drop you all off and go home!’’
For a moment, silence fell between them.
Owen slowly raised an eyebrow as he stared at her.
’’So? Just wait until the storm is over.’’
’’Oh, great idea,’’ Nadia replied sarcastically. ’’And what happens if it lasts another week? Or a month?’’
Before either could reply, she raised her hand.
’’Forget it,’’ she continued. ’’My father already told me what to do if this ever happened.’’
Theo raised an eyebrow.
’’And that is?’’
Nadia remained silent for a moment before reluctantly pointing towards them.
’’Stick with the group I brought here.’’
Owen’s eyes widened for a moment.
He immediately crossed his arms in front of him.
’’Absolutely fucking not!’’