Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1748 Lost in the Desert
An outsider trespassed into his territory, triggering his restrictions. As a sandstorm arose, it also awakened the Undying King from his long slumber.

He was still not fully conscious. He had only been awake for a short while when he felt tired. He was completely dazed from sleeping for too long.

I went out to see what was going on, grabbed a mount, and then planned to go home and take another nap.

After respectfully escorting the Undying King back to his palace, the general, having received his orders, waved his hand, and his skeleton army immediately pounced on the snake-men who had been swept in by the sandstorm.

During this time, after realizing that something was wrong with the sandstorm, Hilke and Joseph immediately moved out of its coverage area as quickly as possible.

Then, looking back at the sandstorm that was still sweeping across the distance but had stopped spreading in their direction, Joseph looked at Hilke with lingering fear.

"Colonel, do you know what's going on here?"

"It feels like the effect of some kind of mantra spell."

Hilke frowned as he made a guess, while subconsciously pondering the matter.

In contrast, Joseph's focus was on something else entirely.

"Those snake-men are still inside and haven't escaped. Should we wait a little longer?"

Joseph was clearly torn between whether or not to check whether the snake-man was alive or dead.

Upon hearing this, Hilke simply shook his head.

"Never mind that, let's leave a marker nearby and get out of here first!"

Judging from the extent of the sandstorm's coverage, this is no ordinary tactic.

If they stay here and get caught up in something, they might not escape death either.

The problem now is that they've lost their way while hunting the snake people.

In an attempt to escape the sandstorm, they made another frantic dash, and by this point they had completely lost track of where they were.

[Damn it. Where did the giant eagle rider go? Did he perish in the sandstorm?]

In this situation, without the guidance of the giant eagle knights, their only hope of finding their way back was luck.

Just as Hilke was thinking this, the giant eagle rider flew out rather disheveled from the sandstorm in the distance.

To keep track of the situation, the Giant Eagle Rider flew at the very front, even above the Serpent King and the Desert Serpent.

As soon as the sandstorm swept in, he was immediately enveloped in it.

The impact of the sandstorm on them was far beyond what he had initially anticipated.

During this wave, the Giant Eagle Knight clearly realized that he almost died in that sandstorm!

Now that they had finally broken free from the sandstorm's reach, the giant eagle rider felt as if he had been freed from some invisible constraint. While feeling a lightness in his body, he and the giant eagle had reached their limit, and their bodies began to fall uncontrollably.

Even though it's all sand down there, falling from this height would undoubtedly mean certain death.

To avoid this tragedy, the giant eagle bravely spread its wings, barely slowing its descent, and glided into the desert.

Hilke noticed the fallen eagle rider and quickly led the centaur cavalry over.

After quickly confirming the vital signs of the knight and the giant eagle, Hilke breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's nothing, he just fainted."

But soon, Hilke's expression turned serious again.

Now, the Giant Eagle Knights are completely unable to guide them.

"In short, let's retreat in the opposite direction and get away from this area first."

As he spoke, Hilke gestured to Joseph and the others to take the unconscious knight and the giant eagle. The giant eagle knight was unconscious partly due to the impact of landing, and partly because they were indeed exhausted from trying to escape the sandstorm.

They remained unconscious for seven or eight hours, and by the time they woke up, it was already dark.

At this point, the vanguard led by Hilke and Joseph had completely left the previous area.

"How do you feel now?"

"Colonel, it's me."

The giant eagle knight, who had just woken from his coma, felt as if his body had fallen apart, and his consciousness was not very clear; he even had some memory loss.

Seeing this, Hilke gave him a direct reminder.

“You were riding a giant eagle when you fell from the sky.”

"..."

Hilke's words awakened his memory, and he quickly recalled what had happened before.

Seeing the giant eagle knight in this state, Hilke hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

Can you confirm our location now? Or is it possible for us to find our way back?

Faced with this question, the Giant Eagle Knight looked around.

The giant eagle riders mainly relied on aerial vision to determine their location, but once they were on the ground, in an unfamiliar environment, they were helpless.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ride the giant eagle up into the sky and confirm the location before I can know."

Hearing this, Hilke rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"Well, I have some bad news for you. The giant eagle fell from the sky and broke its bones. It probably won't be able to fly for a while."

Although Hilke possessed a bloodline-inherited 'Minor Healing Spell,' this skill was only suitable for treating simple wounds and was an emergency measure. The giant eagle's condition clearly exceeded the capabilities of the 'Minor Healing Spell.'

Given this premise, each soldier carried relatively limited supplies during their emergency support of the main force.

They've started strictly controlling the consumption of supplies, but it won't last much longer. If they can't find their way back, their situation will be dangerous.

Hilke had initially held onto a sliver of hope.

What if the giant eagle rider could determine direction without flying into the sky?

Now, his hopes have undoubtedly been dashed.

Having confirmed this result, Hilke called Joseph over to discuss their next steps.

Of course, although it was called a discussion, Joseph didn't really like to use his brain; it was mainly Hilke who was figuring things out.

Without hesitating for too long, Hilke quickly made a decision.

"We will minimize our daily resource consumption, remain in place, and await rescue."

They've lost their way and are wandering aimlessly. If they're lucky, they might be able to find their way back, but they're also very likely to stray further and further off course.

More importantly, physical exertion increases during movement, leading to an increased demand for resources.

By staying put, they can save energy, reduce daily energy consumption, and allow them to sustain themselves for longer periods with limited resources.

The main force knows that reinforcements have arrived. Now that they have disappeared while chasing the snake people, the main force will soon notice and will definitely come looking for them.

At this point, Hilke had completely placed his hopes on the main force.

(End of this chapter)