Arcane Journey

Chapter 188 Ainook Desert
The sun is scorching, the sky is full of yellow sand, and the vast space between the sky and the earth is almost shrouded in dry heat.

Looking around, you can find that within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, there is no water, no livestock, no plants, and even the most common small animals such as scorpions and cobras in the desert.

Being in the middle is like being thrown into the furnace of hell. Not to mention strenuous exercise, even breathing is exhausting. If the skin is directly exposed to the venomous sunlight, it will not take a while to smell a faint smell of roasted meat .

This is the forbidden zone of life, a cursed and unknown land, this is the Great Desert of Ennook, the territory of the Netheril Empire that fell dozens of centuries ago.

Perhaps it was because of the disrespect and blasphemy of the gods that they were punished. Although Felin Mokui, the culprit who caused the desertification at the beginning, had long been deeply imprisoned deep in the ground and could not be free, this piece of land never recovered. It was thriving and prosperous at the beginning.

But in this barren and barren land, there are still traces of human activities.

The scorching hot wind whizzed and rolled in, mixed with the wind, there were not only sand and gravel, but also the serene and melodious crisp camel bells.

When the wind and sand calmed down a bit, a caravan full of dust appeared on the horizon.

The scale of this caravan was not small. Ten large sand sleds pulled by camels were loaded with various goods and marched in the middle of the caravan. There were no less than fifty accompanying guards around them.

These warriors stepped down and rode tall horses, wearing white linen gowns, leather ring armor, and hanging veils to cover their faces from the wind and sand, only two shining eyes were exposed.

Each guard has a scimitar and sharp sword pinned to his waist, and a compound bow and quiver are hung on the saddle, ready to be used at any time.

When you get closer, you can see very clearly that each sand sled has a certain mark painted on it with paint.

It was a white circle with a very scribbled 'Z' in the center.

If in the eyes of people who are very familiar with the situation in the great desert, they can recognize at a glance that this caravan belongs to the dark intelligence network - the Zhentarim Society.

The Zhentarim is a secret society originating from Zhentil Keep, a city in the northwest of the Luna Sea.

Their influence spreads across the northern part of the continent, and their influence in commerce and trade plays a decisive role in many regions and cities.

And the reason why they were able to maintain such a status was to a large extent because they controlled the black road.

This is an important commercial route across the Ennook Desert, along which there are very few desert oases.

Through the black road, the Zhentarim can transport all kinds of goods from the east of the continent to the major cities along the Sword Coast in the west and vice versa faster than all its commercial competitors.

Although it looks barren, for the Zhentarim and all its commercial competitors, the Black Road is undoubtedly a golden business route.

This golden trade route is anything but peaceful, no matter sandstorm, scorching heat, or severe cold in winter, it can easily crush those who have been hardened by the arduous journey.

Of course, no matter when and where, the greatest enemy and threat of human beings will always be human beings themselves.

Therefore, even though they have been walking back and forth on this commercial road for more than ten years, the caravan leader still dare not relax his vigilance every time he embarks on a journey.

"Actually, you don't have to be so nervous." Brian, who was sitting on the sled at the front of the caravan with the caravan leader, smiled confidently, handed the sheepskin water bag to him, and said:
"Drink your saliva to quench your anxiety. It can be seen that your guards are very powerful, and your security work is also thoughtful enough. No one with evil intentions can take advantage of you."

"Until I walk out of this deadly desert, I can't really relax." The caravan leader took a sip from the sheepskin water bag from Brian.

Using magic to keep the icy water sliding down the throat is indeed a rare enjoyment in this scorching heat environment. The thin figure and gloomy face of the caravan leader nodded to Brian to express his gratitude, and then said in a deep voice:

"Your Excellency, this is just the first time you have walked the dark road, right? Although as a wizard, your power is beyond my reach, but when it comes to the experience of traveling in the desert, you should listen to my story in Enuo Kerry rolled a full 20 years old guy's advice.

Regardless of anyone, if he wants to live in this hell for a longer period of time, then it is best to maintain vigilance at all times, and must not relax in the slightest.In this cursed land, there are too many factors that can kill people, for example..."

Before he could finish his words, bursts of sharp whistles suddenly blew without warning, resounding over the caravan.

The caravan leader whose speech was interrupted suddenly changed, grabbed his weapon and stood up like a conditioned reflex, and said solemnly: "Here we come! Everyone, get ready to fight, and you will soon see the cruelty and cruelty of the Ennook Desert." horrible."

"Is it the enemy?" Brian lifted his staff and stood up as if nothing had happened. There was no fear on his face, but a mysterious smile on his face.

At this moment, all the members of the Zhentarim's caravan are veterans who have experienced a lot of experience. What they should do when they are in danger has already fully formed their instincts, and there is no need for others to remind them.

They drove the camels to pull the sand sleds, ran up a small sand dune closest to the caravan, and arranged all the sand sleds and camels into a circular defensive formation.

The guards lined up, ready to meet the enemy with their bows and arrows. There was no noise, let alone the slightest panic. Everything was familiar and smooth, as if it had become commonplace.

This side has just made preparations, and there have been faint movements from the strong wind.

Immediately afterwards, a large group of dark clouds rushed out from the flying yellow sand.

No, those are not clouds, but cavalry!Hundreds of soldiers dressed in black gathered in groups and were galloping towards the caravan.

The soft sand absorbed the thunder and vibration when the iron hooves stepped on the ground, making the group of knights as silent as ghosts and ghosts, and they swept over.

Although it is not as powerful as when a formal knight charges, it is even more strange and unspeakable.

"Damn it, it's the Bedai barbarians!" Under the scorching sun, the caravan leader's face looked even more gloomy.

Holding the sword hilt in his hand, he jumped onto the roof of the truck, condescending to make his sight wider.

The group of sturdy cavalry dressed in black were the aborigines in the Ennook desert, the Bedai barbarians known for their bravery.

The Bedai are a nomadic people with a complex composition.

Strictly speaking, they actually have something to do with the Netheril Empire.

Although the catastrophe that year destroyed the entire empire, it did not immediately wipe out all the inhabitants of the empire.

In the following hundreds of years, several cities were established on the edge of the desert, and they all claimed to be the orthodox successors of the Nether Empire.

But with the passage of time and the continuous expansion of the desert area, these successors of the Nether Empire also gradually died out.

However, out of nostalgia for their hometown, they did not leave the great desert of Enook, but adapted to the new way of life and survived, forming what is called: the Bedai barbarians.

Hundreds of tribes, large and small, led by their respective chiefs, constantly migrated from one oasis to another, and rarely stayed in the same area for a long time.

The Bedai barbarians rely on issuing secret passes to make a living. Caravans without passes will be plundered by them, while caravans with passes can be guided by them.

They regard the ancient ruins as their residence, and regard the entire desert as their inviolable territory. However, the number of oases in the desert that can supply the needs of survival is extremely limited.

Moreover, the Bedai barbarians stipulated that all caravans must purchase passes from themselves, which also had a serious conflict of interest with the Zhentarim.

The hatred between the two sides is higher than the mountain and deeper than the sea. As long as they meet, no one needs to talk nonsense, and often they meet each other and start a war directly.

After the battle, there will be absolutely no 'captives', and no one will leave any alive for the other party.

In the nearly hundred years since the dark intelligence network opened up the black road, the caravan guards who died under the hands of the Bedai barbarians and the Bede barbarians who died under the hands of the caravan guards added up to at least tens of thousands.

Being here today, there is no doubt that number will increase again.

The dark cloud composed of hundreds of Bedai barbarians came very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it had already approached under the sand dunes.

The leader of the caravan drew his sword out of its sheath, slashed downwards forcefully, and shouted loudly: "Let the arrow!"

The bowstring rang, and the sound of breaking the wind was endless, and fifty powerful arrows were shot out like a torrential rain following the order.

In an instant, only the sad neighing of the war horse was heard, and seven or eight knights were shot by arrows and fell down on their horses, unable to get up again.

The dark cloud split into two in an instant, and the Bedai barbarian cavalry took advantage of twice the number of the enemy, outflanking them from the left and right.

The locust-like sharp arrow is fast and accurate, even if it is aiming on a galloping horse, and attacking from the bottom up, there is no deviation in the accuracy of the head.

The blood instantly dyed the yellow sand red, but the attack of the Bedai barbarians was really swift like the wind.

After two rounds of arrow fighting, a very loud whistle came out of the dark clouds, and hundreds of knights immediately drew their horses and circled half a circle, drew their knives out of their sheaths, and charged at the convoy.

At this moment, dark clouds suddenly covered the scorching sun sky.

A thick field of thunderclouds quickly coalesced over the Zhentarim guards, so that the entire fierce battle field became darker and darker.

"Crack!"

Immediately afterwards, a flash of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by an earth-shattering thunder, deep purple lightning, and lightning like a mad snake dancing. Accompanied by thunder, it descended like a divine punishment.

Accompanied by thunder and flashes of lightning, charred corpses jumping with deep purple arcs and emitting thick smoke were constantly left on the battlefield.

In just a moment, under the ravages of dozens of lightning bolts, only a few of the caravan guards of the Zhentarim were killed.

At the same time, the cavalry of the Bedai barbarians also came and slaughtered the remaining people.

A gust of blood splattered, the leader of the caravan stared wide-eyed, and fell to the ground on his back. The little leader of the Zhentarim did not see who accelerated their demise until his death.

"Transport all these goods back to Mokou Town." Brian looked at the Bedai barbarian leader who was walking towards him, and after giving him an order, he said to him, "Are you ready for what I need?"

When he and Helisite appeared near the desert, they happened to meet the Zhentarim caravan crossing the black road.

Since the Standing Stone Plain is adjacent to the Black Road, he managed to sneak into the caravan, and secretly notified the Bedai barbarians of the moose tribe who had joined him, and completed a small game of black eating black.

"My lord, we have already found the map you need." A stern-looking barbarian warrior took out a sheepskin scroll and said, "If your lord needs it, I can arrange a guide for you."

"My lord, I also heard that there are often human devourers around the Standing Stone Plain, and many tribes dare not approach there." The barbarian warrior thought for a while and reminded.

"I appreciate your kindness. I know the approximate location, so I won't bother you." Brian took the map, walked to the carriage, and met Hellist who just came out of it.

At this time, she was wearing a cloak trimmed with silver thread. After stepping out of the carriage, she put on the hood and lowered the brim of the hat unhurriedly to cover her fluttering silver hair and beautiful face.

Brian briefly explained to the Bedai barbarians, and then walked towards the Standing Stone Plain in the desert with Heliste.

"Look at the specific location." He handed the map to Helisite.

In the Sage Library in Silvermoon City, he borrowed a book left by the great arcanist Opus, and then asked Helisite to prophesy the items related to this book through the detection of psionic power .

Apparently, the location where her prophesied psychic power was displayed was the Standing Stone Plain in the middle of the Ennook Desert.

Helliste took the map, closed her eyes and meditated for a moment, then opened her bright eyes, stretched out her hand and pointed him to a location on the map, "It's here, absolutely."

Brian looked at the location she was pointing at, and found that it was Longbei Ridge in the Standing Stone Plain.

"I just checked carefully with the power of detection, and this place doesn't seem to be a place where the ruins of the floating city can be buried." Helliste thought for a moment and said to him.

"That's true." Brian nodded slightly, did not deny her statement, and then explained: "Actually, I mainly want to find a golem that has lost its memory, because only this golem can open the treasure in the ruins of the floating city .”

This is what he learned from the channel of the player group in the game world.

But he didn't know the exact location of the memory-lost golem, so he could only use the books left by the great arcanist to search for it through prophecy.

Because that golem was the most outstanding work of the great arcanist Opus during his lifetime, and he was also his closest partner.

"Let's go," Brian said to her. "Now, let's go straight to Longbei Ridge."

Helliste didn't move, but frowned her slender eyebrows, and whispered to him, "Brian, do you feel that we have been followed since we returned to the surface from the Underdark?"

"How did you know?" Brian turned around and asked curiously, "Or did you see or notice something suspicious?"

"Neither." Helliste shook her head slightly, and said in a rather affirmative tone, "For me, this is both art and intuition, and it is difficult to explain clearly."

"Then don't explain, I trust your intuition." Brian smiled, "Being able to avoid your detection, I believe that secretly tracking our enemies is not as simple as imagined."

"But..." He shook Helisite's hand, and gave her a reassuring look, "My intuition has already told me who this enemy is hiding in the dark. So, right now we just have to Just go on your way with peace of mind, and ignore the hidden enemies."

Helisite met Brian's confident eyes, and showed a comfortable smile on the beautiful face hidden in the hood.

Under the scorching red sun, the two figures walking together gradually merged into the yellow sand flying all over the sky.

(End of this chapter)