Tails carried his bags on his back, dragged his body that had just recovered from a serious illness, and walked behind the camels of the caravan wheezing.

Although the sand under his feet was still stagnant, although the skin wrapped in sackcloth was still wet and uncomfortable, and despite the scorching sun, the boy's heart was much calmer.

None of them.

"I'll tell you, Kanze, I tell you really," said the rookie mercenary, walking beside the camel in front of him, and said excitedly to the big man from the North, Kanze, who was also in the "Dante's Great Sword":

"What I'm talking about is definitely a sure thing...... Think about it, how dangerous the work we do, it is equivalent to tying our lives to the belt of our trousers, and we must pay attention to the frequency when we put the urine and shake the chickens, and worry about whether we will shake our heads down, maybe one day we encounter a hard idea, and we can't go back, then your wife and daughter will not have to cry to death, and then ......be poor and sorrowful."

"Fuck you, fast rope," Kanze, who was already impatient, carried a two-handed sword, stepped over a piece of gravel, and gave the chattering fast rope a roll of the eyes in disgust: "Didn't your mother teach you not to curse others?"

Tails raised his head and looked at the camel caravan winding in front of him, the merchants talking before and after the caravan, and the mercenaries on horseback in the distance, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

Compared to a person who has no hope, solitary imprisonment is like a painful trek in the desert.

You can see people, you can meet people, you can hear their conversations with each other, happy or sad......

It's just wonderful.

Fastrope shook his head desperately.

"I'm just using an analogy...... But think about it, if you take out this money and bet it on Tampa now, if you go back alive, he will return ninety percent of the money to you, and if you die, Tampa will pay ten times as much to your family, then you won't die a meaningful death - eh, don't, good Kanzer, good Kanzer, good Kanzer, handsome Kanze, don't do it! I'll make an analogy, eh, don't, woo......"

Tails shook his head and took a step to withdraw his gaze from the beaten fast rope.

"It seems that the recovery is good," said a mercenary who had returned from patrol, wearing a thick turban, and kicked off his horse beside Tails, and replaced it with a walk, so that the horses that were scurrying under the scorching sun rested, "But after all, you have just recovered, so you don't have to force it, you might as well stay on the back of a camel." ”

Big Dean removed his turban, revealing his sleek head, and tied a grappling axe back to his shoulder.

Tails smiled at the bald-headed mercenary, "I think it's good to do some restorative exercises." ”

"I think what he means," McGee, with the twin knives on his back, rode behind Big Dean with a blank face, not looking at Tails, "and if you fall again, we won't have time to waste time on the burden." ”

Tails watched in embarrassment as a tattooed McGee rode past them to take a shift with his companions.

"I don't think he likes me. ”

He looked at McGee's back and couldn't help but frown.

"Obviously, you can't turn everyone into your fans," Dean looked thoughtfully at his companion who was walking away, "especially McGee." ”

Given his past experiences, McGee is wary. ”

"Before he gets acquainted, he suspects every stranger. ”

Tails barely managed to squeeze out a smile.

It was the third day after he was rescued by the caravan.

Dante's Greatsword is a small and small team of mercenaries: the little warrior "Breeze" who is responsible for finding his way As soon as he returned, he fell asleep, Hubert, a former smith from the City of Steel, smiled shyly, the big-bellied Allenbian Haken kindly asked Tails if he was married (if not, he wanted to introduce one of his seven unmarried sisters to Tails), the Northlander Kanzer was rough and sloppy, and always liked to pat people on the shoulder, and the whistle-blowing shooter Ponga glanced at Tails and ran to pee, plus Fast Rope, Old Hammer, McGee, Hearthfire, and Big Dean and the leader Louisa Dent - At least for the duration of the journey, they had eleven professional mercenaries working day and night, protecting the small caravan of twenty men and twenty-three camels safely across the desert to the famous Tower of the End.

Tails sometimes wonders: is such a small number of people really enough to protect the caravan?

"Of course, we're strapped for a few dozen bands of sand thieves," Dean said to him, "but the armed caravan itself says a lot: are the sand pirates willing to take the risk of taking on our eleven heavily armed professional killers?"

"Maybe they can win, but it will definitely cost a lot, and there are not many people left, and the next robbery may be their end. ”

"That's what we're all about, and it's also the way mercenaries survive, deterrence is greater than despair, after all, we're not death squads - except, of course, those hundred-man regiments that fight full-time. Dean shook his head.

Tails was grateful for their rescue and rear, especially after the terrible sandstorm the day before yesterday— In the gray field of vision, the terrible sound of the wind in his ears was breathtaking, Tails couldn't even hear the words in his own mouth, he could only hold his head to dodge, the sand that couldn't stop howling and whistling was more terrible than the blade, they desperately hit all targets exposed to the air, and drilled into every crevice they could, the force was so great that it almost scraped away Tails's flesh and skin, thanks to the experienced caravan hiding in the shelter, they were able to survive the crisis by the camel caravan in a circle- He understood that he could walk in the terrifying desert for four whole days before fainting, and then encounter rescue, the side effect was only a little dehydration, mania and desert hallucinations, which was really a great luck for the desert god.

Thinking of this, Tails smiled at Dean, "Thank you, Dean, for saving my life - even if I'm a stranger, it's likely that I'm a spy for the Sand Pirates." ”

Dean paused for a moment, then smiled lightly.

He hung the horse on the hook of a camel in front of him, and deliberately stretched a rope to prevent the smell of the camel from affecting the horse:

"Take care of each other—this is the credo of the merchants and mercenaries who live off the desert. ”

Dean let out a breath and sighed slightly: "Many years ago, Wya, I was like you—of course, I was much older than you are now—and I was at the end of my life in the desert, desperate to die. ”

He shook his head, "It's Dante, I mean Louisa's father, old Dante, who redeemed me from the ferrymen of the Prison River with zeal and persistence, even though they themselves were terrible at the time. ”

"People always have to lean on each other, lean on each other – Wya, that's what Dante told me. ”

"One cannot survive alone in the great desert. ”

Tails nodded thoughtfully.

I see.

"So you got into the 'Dante's Greatsword' and relied on them," Tails said silently, "that's why you saved my life—even if it was risky." ”

Dean looked at the sand dunes in the distance and nodded slowly.

"In the Great Desert, if we don't help each other, we will only be swallowed by the Desert," the bald-headed mercenary patted his mount:

"You've seen sandstorms, and in the face of the most terrible black storms, even life-and-death enemies will find a chance to coexist and escape—rest assured, Waiya, we'll get along well on this stretch of the road, and you'll be able to get home and your loved ones and let go of your worries. ”

Tails sighed, "Thank you." ”

Dean smiled and didn't say anything.

Yes, Tails said silently: he had no choice.

Drought, heat, sandstorm, cold, if he left alone, he would die in this unforgiving desert in just a few days, compared to this caravan with experience, supplies, protection, and clear routes, following them is undoubtedly the right choice.

You can only get to their destination and then make plans.

Tails sighed inwardly.

They've got to go back to the Blade Tooth Dunes, to the Western Wilderness, right?

Tails was distracted and almost hit the camel in front of him.

The boy was surprised to realize that the caravan had stopped.

"What's wrong?" Tails looked at the camel caravan lined up in front of him, but he couldn't really see it, so he could only ask Dean beside him strangely.

But Dean just frowned and didn't answer.

"Dean!"

"You've got to come and see this!"

With the peculiar muffled sound of horses' hooves stomping in the sand, the mercenary's pathfinder, the small "breeze", galloped past many bewildered merchants, and stopped their horses in front of Dean with an anxious expression.

He said anxiously, "What did Luisa find in front!"

Dean's face changed.

The bald-headed warrior picked up his single-edged fighting axe and stepped onto his horse with a solemn face.

"McGee, fast rope, grab your weapons, get on your horse and follow me!"

"Kanzer, you and Hubert stay where you are, stay vigilant, especially the back slopes of the dunes on either side!"

His orders were decisive and swift, and the mercenaries acted without hesitation.

What's wrong?

Tails grabbed the time crossbow with a little nervousness, watching the stern-looking mercenaries ride past the caravan and head in the other direction.

He was not the only one who was suspicious, the rest of the caravan looked at each other in disbelief, and Tails even saw someone unload their goods with a pale face and mount a camel, apparently ready to run away if something went wrong.

Ten minutes later, McGee and Fastrope returned, but their faces were a little heavy.

The caravan continued to depart.

"Dean and Luisa have gone to the leader of the caravan, and they need to discuss it. ”

Under the side knock of Tails, the fast rope stiffened his face and whispered to the boy, "Not far away, we found a small camp. ”

"But all the people inside are dead. ”

Tails was shocked.

"How did you die?"

Fast Rope led the mount sullenly and followed the caravan: "Killed." ”

Tails frowned, looking at the uncomfortable fast rope suspiciously: "What?"

"Who did it?"

"I don't know, that's a bad thing. ”

But Fastrope then rolled his eyes, and looked at Tails' eyes with a flash of smugness.

"You're coming to the desert for the first time, lucky Whya," Fastrope sighed, and coughed pretendedly, "Besides temperature and drought, and of course, sand, there are two most famous threats to the desert. ”

He leaned his head over and said mysteriously, "Orcs, and bonemen." ”

Tails looked grimacing.

"They tend to gather in their own tribes, with their own livestock and territories, move from season to season, and when threatened, they go out in droves. ”

Tails subconsciously clenched the time crossbow under his armpit: "You mean, it was ...... who killed those people"

"No, no, no. ”

Fast Rope shook his head and looked very experienced: "Even if you are unlucky and fall into the hands of a slightly larger tribe, you will not necessarily die, according to experience, the barren bones will estimate your price, and the orcs will weigh you for two catties, and then decide whether to sell you or sell you - or sell you after you are done." ”

As a rule of thumb?

Tails looked at the troublesome fastrope with a strange expression.

"Sell?"

Tails coughed and repeated, "Where to sell?"

Fastrope smiled pleasantly.

"Do you know Caligli?"

"Caligli?" Tails was slightly stunned, feeling as if he had heard of this place somewhere.

"Yes. ”

Speaking of this, Fast Rope's eyes lit up: "Kaligri, the legendary desert city...... Some say it's an impregnable fortress deep in the desert, others say it's a large camp where several tribes move with the seasons, some say it's an ancient underground city that lasted for thousands of years, occupied by desert people, and even say that Caligli is the playground of an evil dragon in the desert who likes to watch people kill each other. ”

Tails froze for a moment.

"There is ...... in the desert Dragons?"

But the fast rope just waved his hand impatiently: "Don't interrupt me...... In short, Calligri, the most mysterious, lively and dangerous place in the desert, where the bonemen and orcs are frequent visitors, and legend has it that there is a strong relationship with several large tribes of the desert. ”

"Once you're captured, whether it's a boneless or an orc, they'll sell you there, turn you into a slave, someone else's property, and before you can move, they'll make you fight, prostitute yourself, do whatever you can to make a profit, and please the big guys in the desert......"

"But. ”

Fast Rope's eyes were grim, and his words changed suddenly: "Whether it is an organized orc or a boneless, it is not the biggest concern of the desert caravans - they are at least orderly, they have their own rules, no matter how incredible those rules may seem, and sometimes, some tribes welcome caravanserans. ”

Fastrope narrowed his eyes and raised his index finger: "But in case you meet the sand pirates......"

"Outlaws who have fled from the outside into the desert, scum and madmen who have run to the end of their rope and have nothing to lose. ”

Fast Rope's expression became terrifying: "Then you can pray to the god of desert or the sunset and the moon - they don't know what it means to be soft, what it means to be captive, and what it means to show mercy to their subordinates." ”

Tails looked at him wistfully.

But the fastrope isn't over yet: "Even worse, you've run into the exile......"

"Exile?"

Fast Rope narrowed his eyes and nodded: "The most dangerous existence in the desert is both desolate bones and orcs. ”

"They have been exiled by their tribe for their mistakes, and they have always walked alone—but don't forget, these are terrible warriors trained in the great tribes, strong, and experienced, and they walk in the desert as if they were walking in their own homes. After losing the protection of the tribe, they gradually lost their principles and rules, and suffered from the scorching sun and sand all year round, becoming cruel, vicious, and tyrannical, and had to join forces in order to survive, and even joined forces with sand thieves, but the threat was far beyond that of ordinary sand thieves. ”

Fast Rope's expression and tone rose and fell with his words, looking colorful and lively.

His voice was gloomy: "They often have no bottom line, and in order to survive, they even do something beyond imagination." ”

"Something beyond imagination...... Tails mused, "for example?"

Fast Rope's face tensed.

I saw him take a deep breath, tighten his neck, and mysteriously burst out a few words in front of Tails: "Cannibalism." ”

Tails breathlessed.

"So, everyone has been rumoring that there are people eating people in the desert, and even children will be sold into the desert and eaten by the bonemen or orcs......"

"It's true," Fastrope looked at him coldly, "or partially." ”

"Waiya, it's very dangerous in the desert, good people, maybe tomorrow you won't breathe anymore. The voice of the fast rope is full of melancholy: "The fear of death occupies our bodies and minds all the time"

"So, to overcome this fear, Wya, we have a way to ......"

Tails looked at him stunned, suddenly feeling that something was wrong.

I saw Kuairope cough: "Let me tell you, there is a tavern owner named Tampa in Blade Tooth Dune, and he promised that as long as you save a sum of money with him, if you go back alive, then he will return it to you ninety out of nine, and if you don't go back alive......"

Right now.

Syllable!

A heavily armed woman suddenly appeared behind them and slapped the back of the fast rope on the head!

"Ahhh

"Fast rope, stinky boy!"

The mercenary's captain, Louisa Dante, angrily slapped Fastrope's head, knocking him to the ground.

"It's rare to see people who are going to drum up your crooked money-making business!"

"And!"

"Don't bluff people with your hearsay three-legged cat knowledge!"

(End of chapter)