"How far are we from the next oasis?" Tang Dou spread out the map and asked.

"Eighty miles southwest from us, there is an oasis about the size of Bour's economy, but it's close to Stormsand, so it's uninhabited. A hundred miles further south from there is Storm Sand City, which was originally a gathering place for sand thieves, but later I heard that it was captured by sand wolf bandits. I don't know if it's specific! Edward said, pointing to the map.

"One hundred and seventy miles north of us is the Tulu Oasis, the largest in the desert besides Anduma. There are two deep lakes, forming the trend of the lake hugging the oasis, the overall area is 80 square kilometers, the habitable area is more than 20 square kilometers, and the population is about 50,000. Because it is a necessary place to go to Anduma, it is also an important line of defense to defend Anduma, where 20,000 troops are stationed all year round! Once we got there, it was total! Edward's hand pointed to the Tai Chi-like area on the map.

There is the Tulu Oasis, which means "to embrace" in the ancient desert language. The Tulu Oasis is an oasis surrounded by lakes, which is rarely seen in the desert. It is said that the Tulu Oasis was originally an ancient river channel, but after the river course was changed, only this part of the Tulu area remained.

"Is it safe to get here?" Tang Dou touched his chin, his eyes flickering.

"Brother Di, is there anything wrong?" Donald could see that Tang Dou's expression was wrong.

"I'm thinking. Why are the sand wolf thieves so arrogant? Everyone knows what such an action of the sand wolf thieves will bring to the sea and sand desert, you have been running desert business all year round, it should be very clear, because of the appearance of the sand wolf thieves in the past two years, the business in the desert has been difficult to do, right? Tang Dou asked.

"Indeed!" Edward nodded, "Since the appearance of the Sand Wolf Thieves, business in the desert has become more and more difficult. The last time we went to Anduma, prices had tripled, and if we continued like this, Anduma would be broken! ”

"This is strange, Anduma's strength is not weak, and 20,000 troops can be arranged in Tulu, so in Anduma, it will not be less than this number, right?" Tang Dou said.

"Well, Anduma has 30,000 garrisons and 10,000 guerrilla troops! The power is strong! Donald nodded.

"Then this is interesting, why would such a strong Anduma let the existence of the sand wolf thief exist? In a sense, the average sand pirate is the result of being let go by Anduma, wandering in the desert, both as a sand thief and as a defender. I remember that the sea sand desert has long been listened to and disobeyed, right? The Purple Gold Kingdom has been unsuccessful in trying to regain control of the Haisha Desert for so many years. This definitely has something to do with the deal-you-go-between Anduma and the sand pirates! ”

"So on the other hand, why wouldn't a sand wolf thief who didn't follow the rules at all be wiped out by Anduma? You must know that the existence of the sand wolf thief has affected the stability of Anduma! Tang Dou looked at the map in front of him thoughtfully.

"It's not that Anduma doesn't want to, but that he can't do it. Sand pirates aren't that easy to eliminate! Donald said.

"You're wrong. It's not easy to eliminate the sand pirates, but it's no problem to eliminate the sand wolf thieves. Because the sand wolf thieves are rule-breakers, then they are not only the enemies of Anduma, but the enemies of all the sand thieves who obey the rules. If Anduma really wants to eliminate the sand wolf thieves, then as long as they send a note, all the sand wolves will take action to limit the area of movement of the sand wolf thieves. You must know that the desert is different from the grassland, the grassland can be stationed anywhere, and the desert can only be stationed for a long time in oases and ancient cities. ”

"How many oases are there in the sea sand desert? A hundred? There will be no more than two hundred, except for those small oases like Boul, there will be no more than fifty groups like the Sand Wolf Thieves stationed, and how many of these fifty are originally occupied by other sand thieves? Therefore, it is not difficult for Anduma to deduce the location of the sand wolf thief. Even you can hear the gossip that Storm Sand City is the stronghold of the sand wolf thieves, will the people of Anduma not think of it? ”

"As long as some medium and large oases are guarded, the sand wolf thieves will have nowhere to go, even if they are sleepy, they can trap these guys to death. And although the sand wolf thieves are as good as the clouds, there are no masters in Anduma? Tens of thousands of troops can't make a team that can confront the sand wolf thieves head-on? ”

"Therefore, the existence of the sand wolf thieves is not because Anduma can't kill them. It's that Anduma doesn't want to kill them! Tang Dou finally concluded.

"This, is this possible? What's in it for Anduma not to destroy the sand wolf thieves? Edward looked shocked.

"The benefits? The benefits are beyond our imagination. What is the benefit, we will only know if we really get in touch with that secret! Tang Dou sighed: "Tulu Oasis, I don't think it will be too peaceful!" ”

"So what should we do? If we don't go to the Tulu Oasis, our supplies won't last to Anduma. And according to what you said, it is not safe for us to go to Anduma. Are we going to die this time? Donald had a look of disgrace on his face.

"Tulu may be in danger, but Anduma is not. At least on the surface, Anduma can't make a move on us. If Anduma dares, it means that they are ready for everything. But now it seems, it's not! Tang Dou touched his chin and said.

"Ready for anything? What, what to prepare? Edward asked, puzzled.

"What do you say? The sea sand desert stretches for thousands of miles, and its existence itself is a natural barrier, which is both that of the Zijin Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Shinra Kingdom. What if one day, this barrier is no longer a barrier? Or is someone trying to use this barrier to sell at a price? People, there are always a lot of desires/desires! Tang Dou sighed faintly: "Okay, let's rest." By the afternoon, we'll have to continue our journey overnight! ”

With that, he went back to his room to rest.

Edward and Donald sat in the hall silent for a long time, and after a while, the two finally came back to their senses and understood what Tang Dou was alluding to.

"Could it be that Anduma intends to ...... alone" Edward's pupils widened, his face incredulous.

"Maybe, it's true!" Donald had to admit that this speculation, although absurd, had its inevitability.

At noon in the Haisha Desert, no one dared to act outside, not even sand pirates. The temperature of more than 50 degrees will turn the entire desert into a high-temperature hell, and even the demon beasts that have already adapted to the desert climate will burrow into the sand to rest at this time. Whoever appears at this time is killing himself.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun began to slowly set westward, and the blazing temperature was somewhat relieved, and some of the most heat-resistant monsters or animals began to appear in the desert.

Under a sand dune, six men emerged from under a piece of gravel.

"It's really two heavens of ice and fire. It's a pity that we can't just let the sand scorpion move in the tent, otherwise it will be much easier for us! Tang Dou shook his head and sighed.

"It's already our luck to have such a compression tent." Edward said: "If I can survive this time, I will buy a tent like this anyway, it is so convenient!" ”

"Hmph, let's survive it. Besides, it is still a question whether the business in this desert can run after surviving! Tang Dou didn't give Edward face at all.

Edward was too embarrassed to say anything more, and smiled awkwardly.

Donald sounded the beast's horn, and the sand scorpion hidden under the sand layer soon came out again, and the group of six people hit the road again. Because of the six people and fifteen riders, they can take turns changing mounts, so that everyone can run until the early hours of the morning, until the temperature has completely dropped to zero at night, and the sand scorpion can not run before stopping to rest.

Speed is life, and everyone knows that, so no one complains.

Three hours after Tang Dou and the others left, a team appeared where they were staying.

Sand wolf thieves.

"Archon, the traces here indicate that they have only been gone for about three hours. Expect us to catch up with them in the evening! After some inspection, the gerbil said with certainty.

"Chase!" Immorton said in a deep voice.

Unthinkable to the average person, Immorton was able to make his troops march in the desert at noon. Not too fast, and not able to last all noon, but as long as they dodge the hottest time between twelve and two o'clock, the sand wolf thieves can begin their march. That's why they were able to go from being more than six hours away from Tang Dou and them at the beginning, to only three hours away now.

Without Tang Dou and them knowing, the sand wolf thieves are getting closer and closer to them.

In Tang Dou's original design, if the sand wolf thieves wanted to catch up with them, it would be possible at least after they passed through the Tulu Oasis, but because of Immorton's ability, this time was greatly shortened.

The desert weather is always hot and cold, and as night falls, the temperature drops rapidly, and before midnight, the temperature has dropped to freezing.

Although the sand scorpion is a demon beast, but some of the characteristics of the scorpion are unavoidable, in the case of zero degrees, the sand scorpion will not be frozen to death, but it will also lose most of its vitality, and it needs to drill under the sand to rest.

Just like at noon, Tang Dou found a sand dune, and then buried the entire tent in the lower half of the dune, only exposing the top of the tent, and after everyone went in, he turned on the stealth function to avoid being discovered to the greatest extent.

There was nothing to say all night, and at five o'clock the next day, the people got up again, and they were to take advantage of this time to travel a little longer, and then rest at twelve o'clock at noon.

"Don't move!" Tang Dou called out to Donald, who was about to be the first to go out.

"What's wrong?" Donald asked, puzzled.

"Whisper, we're being overtaken!" The tent just filtered out the breath inside the tent and didn't let it spread, but it didn't filter the breath from the outside to come in, so Tang Dou sensitively found that there were people around the tent. (To be continued.) )