Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The black mushroom cloud ahead of them continued to grow. Anyone that raised their eyes could see that half of the sky was now shrouded by it. If they followed the cloud further into the distance, they would find their entire view covered in darkness, making them afraid to advance any further.
“This route should be a lot safer. The Lamias are not a fan of the wet sand outside Cairo. The sand is good at holding rainwater, making it muddy. The Camel Beasts might slow down, but it’s better than being feasted on by the demon creatures,” Halla told them.
A few ladies gasped in fear when Halla mentioned being feasted on. The old man burst out laughing after seeing their reaction.
“Don’t worry, those Lamias are nothing but weak insects to my students. Just brace yourself when the time comes; you will be fine as long as you don’t run too far in fear,” Vani spoke up calmly, displaying his leadership.
“Haha, I won’t dare to go any further even if I’m paid ten times the money!” Halla declared.
The merchant nodded too. He glanced at the students of the European University Institute with a smile.
“Humph, they are just a bunch of students. I bet they will be the first to run away if anything happens,” the leader of the hired mercenaries said.
Mercenaries were responsible for the safety of the convoy, yet the others suddenly disregarded their importance. It might even affect their pay for the job. The merchants might argue that they did not even do anything at all, so they did not deserve to be paid. It would result in a great loss to them!
“Hehe, I believe you’ve met the students of some inferior schools. You can’t possibly compare their students to our students from the European University Institute,” Mentor Vani proclaimed.
The leader of the mercenaries fell silent, obviously still in a bad mood.
——
The convoy had reached the wet sand. It was indeed very inconvenient for the Camel Beasts to walk on. Ferrero suggested that everyone travel on foot, but Halla quickly advised against it. “You definitely can’t travel on foot! The Lamias are similar to spiders, their senses are in their legs! The hairs on their legs can feel vibrations on the sand and the ground. Different living creatures will produce different vibrations when they are walking. The Lamias can clearly distinguish between humans and other living creatures. They aren’t that interested in the Camel Beasts, and won’t bother attacking even if they detect the Camel Beasts’ presence, but humans are a different story! They will immediately gather towards the spot and chase after us by following our footsteps, regardless of where we run to!”
The students of the European University Institute were startled by Halla’s explanation. Even Ferrero blushed, as even a high-achiever like him was more clueless than a traveler in the desert!
“I see!” Mo Fan immediately realized something.
He had come across the Lamias just a few days ago. He had noticed that the Lamias had outstanding tracking ability. They could find him even when he was hiding behind a rock!
He had learned something new today!
“That means we can only ride the Camel Beasts… that’s going to be quite a hassle,” Vani observed.
“Try not to dismount from the Camel Beasts if you can. Trust me, no matter how strong you are, once you set foot on the ground, thousands of demon creatures will be heading your way. When that happens, you will regret underestimating the ancient creatures of Egypt. They are a lot scarier than you can imagine!” Halla said.
The leader of the mercenaries harrumphed coldly. He spat out the stalk of grass he was chewing on to the ground and said, “So you better listen to us when the time comes! Don’t try to be a smartass and cause us trouble!”
The students did not say another word. It was their first time coming to the mysterious land of Egypt. They were indeed unfamiliar with the situation.
That being said, they did not really treat the warnings seriously, either. The gap between the Intermediate Level and the Advanced Level was quite huge. These people had no clue how powerful Advanced Mages were!
—
The wet sand was a little sticky, and the Camel Beasts started to slow down further. They were no faster than ordinary camels now.
Thick black clouds hovered above the convoy in the sky. A rotting, foul scent lingered in the air. Many people were covering their mouths and noses with their scarves.
“Make sure to stick together and follow me! If you stumble into demon creatures, don’t engage until after they attack us!” Halla reminded the others. Everyone could tell that they had entered a high-risk area from his tone.
Cairo’s safe zone was still a distance away. They cautiously followed the wet sand towards Cairo while using the scarce plants as cover.
They were still some distance away from the battlefield, but the demon creatures would not necessarily stay in the vicinity of the warzone. They liked to roam aimlessly, especially those who had lost their way.
“Be careful, a Snake Mountain is three kilometers away from here. We don’t want to attract their attention!” Halla lowered his voice, as if the demon creatures could hear him from three kilometers away.
“What is a Medusa Mountain?” Mo Fan promptly asked.
“The Medusae live in packs, and enjoy intertwining with one another. A female Medusa normally has around eight male Medusae wrapped around it, so when a slightly bigger female Medusa occupies a certain area, it will attract lots of big male Medusae to the area. These big male Medusae are very attractive to the little female Medusae, which means lots of small male Medusae will eventually wrap around those little female Medusae. Therefore, they continue to stack on top of another until it’s difficult to distinguish between them, and they will form a Medusa Mountain!” Halla explained.
“That’s insane!” Mo Fan exclaimed.
“Take a look there; can you see the outline of the Snake Mountain?” Halla pointed in a certain direction inland. It was a little hazy in the distance.
Mo Fan took a harder look and noticed a strange hill in the mist. Its outline was constantly wriggling. He could even see things falling and rolling down from it. His skin started crawling when he imagined the Medusae coiling around one another as Halla had described!
“The Gorgons have sharper senses, while the Medusae are sensitive to the presence of alien species. I brought you all here mainly because the wind is blowing in the opposite direction of where we are heading. It will prevent our scent from being blown to where the demon creatures are,” Halla said.
“I see,” Mo Fan nodded. He had learned something new once again!
It totally explained why an experienced Hunter was a lot more important than a strong Mage. They would be in a lot of trouble if they somehow attracted the attention of the Medusae!
“That’s weird… did you notice the mountain moving?” Mu Bai suddenly spoke up.
“That’s normal, it’s made up of snakes!” Halla said.
“No, I mean, they seem to be spreading…” Mu Bai went on.