1207 Man-Eating Sand (1/2)
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The desert was icy cold at midnight. It felt like they were walking in a world of ice and snow. Their faces hurt when the wind was blowing on their faces, which had stiffened due to the cold.
The team moved out before daybreak. When the sunlight first appeared, the warmth it brought was extremely comfortable. However, in less than an hour, their bodies were soon complaining about the scorching heat.
It was just how a desert was. They were pleasant places to visit. It was the reason why most Hunters avoided going to deserts!
Lu Fang took out the map. ”If we keep heading this direction, we should find a meandering river of sand. We should be close to the relay station once we follow the river to its lower reaches.”
It was called a river, but all that was left was a deep ravine. Not a single drop of water was left. In addition to it, the sticky sand was extremely difficult to walk on.
The meandering river of sand was an important landmark for their journey. It took the team quite some time to find it. They almost thought they had lost their direction.
They just needed to follow the river from here on without worrying about if they were heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, the river was not as peaceful as it seemed.
”Did anyone notice that the sand is soft and sticky here? If we were walking slower, our bodies would slowly sink into the sand… it won't be a problem here, but once we reach the lower reaches, the sand there is going to feel like mud in a swamp. We have to move at a certain speed to stop from sinking into the sand,” Mo Fan said.
Mo Fan had collected some information about the place, particularly about the meandering sand river.
”Can't we harden the sand?” Wang Jiuming asked, glancing at the Earth Mages on the team.
The Earth Mages shook their heads, ”It's very difficult to control the sand here. We can't even use Earth Waves here.”
”That's going to be a problem.”
”I'm already trotting here, but it still feels like I'm sinking into the sand.”
”Let's pick up the pace then.”
The team of more than ten people left deep footprints along the river bed. Their legs were soon covered in sand, and the more sand their legs were covered in, the heavier their steps were. It was not much of a hassle for a short period, but the team was running along the river bed for half a day...
”Give me a hand, give me a hand, I'm sinking!” a Hunter in charge of logistics suddenly yelled at the back of the team.
The others looked behind and saw half of the man's legs had already disappeared into the sand. It was as if he had stepped into a pit...
”Laosi (the fourth eldest), what are you doing? Pick up your pace, we'll all sink if we don't maintain our speed!” Ge Ming said.
”I...I...AH! Something is grabbing onto my legs!” Li Sichong suddenly yelled like a drowning man screaming for help.
Li Sichong had sunk into the sand because he was not moving quickly enough. If the others were to slow down, they would sink into the sand too! The sand in the area turned out to be deadly. It would wrap around anything that had sunk into it and hold them in place firmly to stop them from breaking free. The force was comparable to the strength of a Warrior-level creature's jaws. It was the scariest part about the sand river!
”Nothing is grabbing you, you have sunk too much into the sand. Hang in there, I'll pull you out!” Ge Ming maintained his speed and made a u-turn to help the man.
”I'll do it,” Mo Fan said.
If they waited until Ge Ming made a u-turn while trying to maintain his speed, Li Sichong's head would be under the sand by then.
”Telekinesis: Invisible Claws!” Mo Fan gathered his focus. The silver energy turned into a huge claw grabbing at Li Sichong's upper body.
”Rise!” Mo Fan dragged the man out of the sand with his will. However, he immediately felt some resistance, preventing him from dragging Li Sichong out with his first attempt. It was a huge shock!
Li Sichong had only sunk halfway into the sand, but the force of the sand grabbing onto him was equivalent to the combined strength of a hundred demon creatures grabbing onto him firmly. Mo Fan initially thought he could easily drag the man out of the sand with his Telekinesis, but it failed!
Mo Fan immediately focused and strengthened his will.
”AHHHH! It hurts!” Li Sichong suddenly screamed out in pain. The expression on his face showed that he was serious.
”Houzi, find a way to scatter the sand!” Mo Fan quickly yelled at Zhang Xiaohou with a grim look.
Zhang Xiaohou immediately realized how serious the situation was. He summoned a gust of wind, blowing him into the air. He then cast the Eyes of the Rock Demon to resist the force of the sand.