39 Sacrificial Stab (1/2)
The next couple of days went smoothly. They managed to leave the desert, and every youngster, Xue Wei included, was brimming with curiosity as they observed their surroundings.
They had lived in Tiankong City their entire lives, and the desert was located next to it.
Although they had left the desert, the warm weather persisted, and all of them were sweating to keep up with the Captain.
”I don't feel good about this trip,” The captain said to his next-in-command as they rushed forward as fast as the youngsters were capable of following.
”We've already encountered a giant Sand Snake in the middle of the desert, which is the safest of all the areas. We already lost one hundred and sixty-nine youngsters, and that is before we've even reached the bandit-infested areas or the forests filled with magical beasts that'll attack us at night.”
”Us guards will be able to keep our little lives, but those youngsters will be in mortal danger time and time again.”
”I know that it will help those who survive in becoming less of a weakling, but at the same time I cannot help but feel that something is aiming for us. My senses are tingling and have been since we began. There is a constant danger looming over our group.”
Hearing the captain speak, the next-in-command was pale. He was after all an Earth Warrior. If something that threatened a Sky Warrior was present, it meant that they, the leaders of the group, would also be in significant danger.
”Do you have any idea as to why this is?” the next-in-command asked the captain, but the latter shook his head.
”I don't know,” he said honestly. ”I have had a bad feeling since we left Tiankong City so it might just be my bad nerves and the knowledge that we will experience some battles throughout our journey.”
”Although humans, in general, are on the same side, there will always be bandits, and these bandit groups number up to a couple of thousands of bandits in each group.”
”Such bandit groups will not be scared away by our numbers. Those little nobles will have quite a bit of treasure on them, and although we guards will be hard to deal with, they will have enough people to keep us occupied while they charge at the youngsters.”
The next-in-command was quiet. He had also transported youngsters more than three times, but he had never experienced as bloody a start as now.
”Maybe we might get lucky,” he sighed eventually. ”We can do nothing but hope that our luck will return. If it doesn't, then we will fight to the best of our ability.”
”One of the recruits is quite strong, too. I saw him fight against the snakes; he killed hundreds of them, but the downside was that it looked as if he was enjoying himself.”
”We need strong warriors, but those that lose themselves to the fight are not necessarily great warriors, as they rely too much on instincts and not enough on their senses and a calm mind.”
The captain nodded his head, ”I have heard about him. He is that piece of trash who turned genius overnight. I guess he is filled with pent-up frustrations from when he was treated like trash and as a result releases his feelings while fighting. After a bit of time, he should be able to keep himself under control again.”
”But although he is strong, he is at most equal to a weak Earth Warrior. This in itself is already a great achievement for someone in the Ordinary Warrior rank, but at the same time, it might not be much help against the bandits. Still, his survivability compared to the others is much higher, since he even managed to escape from He Tong.”
The two spoke with low voices, and no one else could hear what they said. It was no problem for them to talk and move at the same time as their strength was far above the typical youngsters that were running and thus they often discussed the situation.
The group marched past a barren land that bordered to the desert. Dry grass was on both sides of the road, and little vegetation could be seen on the flat ground, as everything had withered because of the high levels of sunshine and low level of humidity.
The gravel on the road crunched under their thousands of feet, dust was kicked up, and some coughed as they had no water with them.
From time to time, the entourage would make stops at small streams to fill their canteens. Those who did not have canteens would drink their fill and hope to last until the next time they had a water stop, which was roughly once a day.
They had no food with them either, but they had slain thousands of Sand Snakes, and many had brought some of the meat with them. Although it could not last long, it could last longer than mortal beast meat, and so far it was still fresh.
Making fires and roasting the snakes was the option of many of the youngsters in the group, while Xue Wei just stuck to his dried meat.
They were relatively safe in the open landscape of the barren land. It was flat and stretched out as far as the eye could see. No one was capable of making an ambush here, only some underground beasts could cause some problems. However, just as before, if beasts were on their way, then the ground would tremor to warn them.