Shane sat quietly on the skeletal warhorse, yet in Mira and her clansmen’s eyes, his presence was astonishing.
“Sir!”
It was Ksaz’s joyful cry that broke the somewhat solemn atmosphere. He immediately ran to Shane, stopped in front of him, and looked up, “It seems you received the sentinel I sent out. I originally thought I’d have to get closer to the oasis to see you.”
Shane dismounted. His gaze swept past Ksaz to Mira’s clansmen in the distance before he asked, “What’s the situation?”
“An old man…”
Ksaz’s voice softened slightly. “He collapsed on the road from exhaustion and was killed by a griffin.”
Shane nodded upon hearing this and consoled him, “It’s not your fault. You all did very well.”
Shane then raised a hand and patted his arm, signaling that there was no need for self-reproach. Ksaz nodded, straightened his back again, then turned and gestured towards Mira, “Come over! This is Mr. Shane Leynas, the one I told you about!”
“He’s the one who took in us homeless people!”
Mira’s clansmen exchanged glances, a hint of fear still in their eyes. However, out of trust in Ksaz, they shuffled forward a few steps. Mira stepped out from the group, stopped before Shane, and performed a human world etiquette, “Mr. Leynas, Mira of the Sandflow Tribe, thank you for saving our lives.”
Mira spoke the Imperial tongue well and seemed quite knowledgeable about human world etiquette, at least compared to Ksaz in the beginning.
Shane merely glanced at her and said, “No need.”
Mira’s body trembled. From Shane’s terse reply, she couldn’t discern the necromancer’s preferences or personality at all. She could only suppress her nervousness and look up, intending to continue communicating.
Just then, a few points of light flickered on the distant dunes, drawing everyone’s attention. Before long, a middle-aged man with dark green hair, riding a camel, slowly approached, leading other humans also on camels.
“A druid…”
Mira instantly recognized the druid. Although she had never seen one in person, she sensed it from the amiable natural aura emanating from him, exactly as merchants had described.
The druid’s appearance eased Mira’s mind slightly. After all, in stories, druids were beings capable of suppressing necromancers.
“How are things?”
Elon stopped his camel, slid off, and took a few steps to Shane. He glanced at Mira, who looked surprised, then saw the griffin corpses in the distance. “Four of them, really?”
“Good luck. Their attention was on the sand scalers at the time, and I took the opportunity to shoot them down.”
Shane raised a hand and pointed to Sara and her children in the distance, who were feasting on the griffin corpses. “With Sara and her children’s Petrification Rays, it barely took any effort.”
“Perfect, these griffin corpses can be an extra meal for them.”
Elon also saw Sara, his lips curling into a smile as he shook his head. He knew that in the Golden Sea, even earth stingers would turn and flee from griffins, as earth stingers had no means of attacking aerial targets.
While Sara and her children had a stable food supply in the oasis, like humans, they always needed more nutritious food, especially Sara’s children, who were still growing and had large appetites.
After a few silent reflections, Elon’s gaze fell upon Mira’s clansmen. He raised a hand to signal behind him, preparing to distribute the water and provisions they had brought. “Someone, bring the water and food…”
But just as his hand went up, Shane interrupted him before he could finish, “Wait!”
Elon turned his head to look at him, not understanding what Shane intended. Mira, standing before them, also watched Shane nervously.
Shane didn’t look at Mira. Instead, he turned and directly instructed his attendants, “First, have them rest in place. Give each person only a mouthful of water. Do not give them any food.”
“You…”
Elon was perplexed. Shane had specifically instructed them to prepare this water and food, so why was he now restricting it upon arrival?
He frowned, glanced at Shane, then turned to the sand scalers, ready to defend these poor people. But as he turned, the words caught in his throat.
He saw that Mira’s clansmen’s scales were mostly dull, some even showing slight cracks, and their faces were extremely gaunt—clear symptoms of dehydration.
Instantly, he understood Shane’s intention. He looked at Mira, who appeared confused, and explained with a smile, “Don’t worry, he’s helping you.”
Mira tilted her head, looking at Elon. With water and food right in front of her, she couldn’t process it immediately.
“Living in the desert, you should know the consequences of drinking a large amount of water directly after a long trek and dehydration, right?”
Elon patiently explained. This simple reminder brought Mira to a sudden realization, and her expression changed. “We’ve been running all day, and our stamina and water are at their limits. If we suddenly drink too much water, it could cause problems.”
“Exactly.”
Elon nodded, approving of the sand scaler leader. In this situation, she hadn’t let emotion dictate everything, appearing much more flexible than Ksaz.
“So, what you need to do now is rest first, then take a small sip of water to moisten your bodies. Once your bodies recover, you can drink and eat normally.”
As he spoke, Elon took a waterskin from an attendant behind him and handed it to Mira. “Since you understand, you can distribute it. After all, your clansmen trust you more than us.”
Mira nodded, taking the waterskin. She swallowed, her throat dry. Carefully, she untied the waterskin and, with trembling hands, brought it to her lips.
The cool pond water touched her lips and entered her mouth, instantly filling her oral cavity. But she didn’t swallow it immediately, remembering Elon’s recent warning.
So, when she felt it was enough, she stopped drinking, letting the pond water linger in her mouth.
Her eyes widened slightly. As her dry tongue moved in the pond water, she tasted a hint of sweetness.
This surprised her, and she instinctively swallowed the water.
The cool pond water slid down her parched esophagus, instantly moistening her shriveled stomach. In that instant, a cool sensation began to spread from her stomach throughout her entire body.
An incredibly refreshing and invigorating feeling rushed to her head with this sensation, making everything before her seem to become clearer.
She unconsciously let out a moan, “Such delicious water!”
Mira quickly snapped back to reality and looked around, finding her clansmen staring at her with wide eyes. Clearly, they had witnessed her entire sequence of actions.
Mira felt her cheeks flush. She quickly walked to a clansman, handed him the waterskin, and said in a low voice, “You, take a sip, just one sip!”
The emotion in her voice made it hard to tell if it was a threat or an attempt to hide her embarrassment.
The clansman, after glancing at Mira, carefully took the waterskin and took a gulp.
“Oh!”
He, too, instantly widened his eyes like Mira had, then his body softened like fresh snow meeting the midday sun, and he murmured, “It really is delicious.”
This single sentence undoubtedly ignited the desires of the others. Mira’s clansmen stepped forward, their eyes filled with anticipation.
While everyone’s attention was drawn to Mira and her clansmen, no one noticed that Eileen had slipped away to an unnoticed corner, staring at Shane’s back.
Rate on N.U.
