The wind had already begun to change.
Shane stood by the pool, watching the dunes. The air there was warping at a visible rate. He could feel the wind brushing against his face growing harsh, carrying a cutting sensation like a blade.
“Sir, everyone is ready!”
Ksaz approached Shane to report, holding a makeshift plow. Behind him stood the others, already prepared.
Elon was still bare-chested, clutching the seven Living Soil Pouches he had previously taken from Sern. Karu and five other sand scalers held shovels, with bundles of wheat straw resting at their feet.
Shane took a deep breath and began, “When we resisted the quicksand before, we relied on soul bones and the plants we sowed. But this sand spirit is different from the quicksand. It isn't just a matter of the water element.
“So this time, we will take a three-pronged approach. Elon, you'll be in charge of the plants. Use the Living Soil Pouches to make the existing plants grow rapidly—the more mature, the better. Greenery will not only lock in the soil's moisture but also stabilize the mana particles in the air.”
Elon nodded without a word, tightening his grip on the Living Soil Pouches.
“Ksaz, take your clansmen and the undead I summon to lay down straw checkerboards in the open spaces inside the oasis and the gaps between the plants, using the method I taught you.
“Plow crisscrossing furrows in the sand, then insert the wheat straw, leaving ten to fifteen centimeters exposed above the ground. Make it thick in the middle and thin on both sides to reduce the wind speed near the ground as much as possible.”
Ksaz's scales shimmered with a golden light. His eyelids fluttered open as he nodded. “Understood, Sir!”
“And as for me...”
Shane said, turning toward the outer areas he had been observing for some time. The wind speed there was noticeably faster than in other spots, causing the sand to swirl on the surface. “I will raise bone walls at the wind channels and the points where the magic turbulence is most severe. This will disrupt the wind's direction and help suppress the chaotic state of the mana particles.”
At this, Shane looked at Sara nearby. She stood there quietly, her stinger tail raised high. “Sara will help me use petrification to secure the bone walls to the sand.”
Then, he swept his gaze over them once more and said solemnly, “Let's begin!”
The moment his voice fell, the three of them went into action simultaneously.
Elon walked to the edge of the pool. Stepping onto the damp sand, he tore open the first Living Soil Pouch. Unlike before, he reached in and grabbed a handful of grey powder.
Then, with an emerald-green glow emanating from his palm, he pushed his hand forward. The powder, enveloped in the green light, dispersed into the air, turning into dozens of fine beams of light that rained down evenly upon the sandy ground.
Immediately, the branches of the Red Willows on the sand trembled. Their leaves unfurled rapidly, and the branches stretched outward, new segments of vibrant green sprouting one after another.
Their roots dug deep. In just a few breaths, the plant belt, which had still looked somewhat sparse, became noticeably denser.
As two Living Soil Pouches were completely drained, Elon's face turned pale, and fine beads of sweat began to bead on his forehead. Yet, he did not stop, stepping forward toward the next area.
“Faster, faster!”
He muttered under his breath, his movements growing swifter. Under the nourishment of the Living Soil Pouches, the seabuckthorn-like shrubs near the pool, the Red Willows, and the Suosuo all grew at a frenzied pace.
Meanwhile, on Ksaz's side.
He gripped the handle of the plow, kicked off with his back leg, and charged forward like an infuriated bull.
Behind him, a straight furrow over ten centimeters deep appeared. One of Shane's skeletons followed closely, laying the wheat straw over the furrow. Another skeleton used a shovel to press the straw into the trench, and finally, the other sand scalers, led by Karu, packed the sand tightly around the straw.
Soon, through Ksaz's efforts, the straw checkerboards radiated outward from the pool, weaving into a dense grid of horizontal and vertical lines that covered the sandy ground near the entire oasis.
Ksaz plowed lap after lap. His heavy breathing was exceptionally clear amidst the howling wind, yet his pace never slowed.
A fine layer of sand and dust had already coated his scales, but he paid it no mind, continuing to stride forward.
Karu squatted beside a newly completed straw checkerboard, packing the sand around the straw with his shovel. He looked up at the darkening sky and called out to Ksaz, “The wind is getting stronger!”
Without turning his head, Ksaz shot back, “Then work faster!”
Meanwhile, Shane was standing at a wind gap on the outer edge of the oasis.
The wind here was incredibly fast, and the grains of sand stung as they pelted his face. He could only squint, raising his hand to trace a rough area. One after another, bone walls began to rise from the sand.
The bone plates were set in pairs, angled at about eighty-five degrees to each other, forming V-shapes or inverted V-shapes.
Shane squatted beside a bone wall that had already been erected, feeling the change in airflow after it passed through the wall. Not only had the flow slowed down, but it also created localized turbulence zones—areas of chaotic, swirling air currents.
“This is exactly the feeling.”
Shane stood up and looked at Sara beside him, pointing at the bone plates. “Help me secure them.”
Sara let out a short hiss. Her tail stinger rose, and a ghostly green light instantly shot from its tip toward the junction of the bone plates and the sand.
Where the light landed, the sand rapidly solidified into a hard, greyish-white surface, firmly locking the bases in place.
“Next spot.”
Shane did not rest. He mounted his skeletal warhorse and galloped toward the wind gap on the other side of the oasis.
The wind grew stronger, but no one kept track of time, nor did anyone look up at the sky. Everyone kept their heads down, focused on their tasks.
“The area around the pool is secured!”
“The straw checkerboards have covered more than half!”
“The western wind gap is set!”
Only a few brief reports drifted through the wind.
Gradually, the wind was no longer a gentle breeze. Grains of sand stung exposed skin like tiny needles, but no one cared. Everything was a race against time.
A few hundred meters outside the oasis, at the top of a sand dune, Olen was riding his metal lizard away from the camp when he spotted an unexpected figure.
Sern Lancaster.
She stood at the peak of the dune, her body shrouded in a sand-resistant robe, staring directly toward the oasis.
Olen watched her, then guided his metal lizard closer. “Since you've helped so much already, why not see it through to the end?”
Sern did not answer, but her cat ears could be seen twitching beneath her hood, showing she had heard him.
Seeing no response, Olen did not press further. He simply looked up at the falcon circling in the sky.
Through the falcon's vision, he could see the actions of Shane and the others in the oasis.
The outlines of the straw checkerboards spread across the sand. The plants, shimmering with emerald light, swayed constantly in the strong wind. One after another, greyish-white bone walls stood tall at the wind gaps.
Even with the naked eye, it was clear that the wind around the oasis had indeed been somewhat mitigated.
Olen shifted his gaze to Shane.
The man looked pale and frail, completely lacking the presence a powerful spellcaster should possess. Yet, the sheer determination in his eyes reminded Olen of something.
That blurry figure surfaced in his mind once more. A bright light shone from behind, obscuring the face, but the words that rang in his ears were incredibly clear: “Teacher, some things just have to be done by someone.”
These words had not only changed that figure, but they had also changed him.
Olen looked back at the oasis. The wind and sand had already whipped up a greyish-yellow barrier, closing in from the edges of the oasis toward its center.
Rate on N.U.
