BXBX NOVEL Chapter 856 856
With awed expression, Marcus and Mrazivý watched the boundless sand eel sink back into the desert.
As colossal of a beast as it was, the vast desert was still able to hide it.
For nearly thirty minutes the sand boats stayed still, and everyone kept silent and on-guard.
But when it became clear that the boundless sand eel was not coming for them the tension in the air began to settle.
"To think that we would run into the king of the desert. I cannot tell if we are supremely lucky or unlucky." Haidar said, staring out into the distance where the colossal beast had disappeared to.
Hearing this Marcus turned towards the man, surprised that he had heard of the beast that had just appeared before them.
"You know about that boundless sand eel?" Marcus said, not hiding his interest.
However, it was Haidar\'s turn to be shocked by Marcus.
"Yes, I have heard about it from my grandfather and other old sand sailors. But are you telling me you know what that creature truly is? It has many names among those that sail the deserts of Aezam, but I have never heard it called a boundless sand eel."
"This is our first time encountering such a beast, but Mraz was able to appraise it and said that is the name she got back. We also found out that it is level seventy-nine." Marcus said.
Taken aback Haidar could not believe that they had been able to successfully appraise what was known as the king of the desert.
Not once in the history of Aezam had anyone who survived witnessing the appearance of this beast that roamed the entire nation ever have the ability to successfully appraise it.
"I know this may be rude of me to ask since you are our esteemed guests, but could you record what information you? It will prove invaluable to our entire nation." Haidar said, shamelessly making his request.
Amira moved to rebuke him, but Haidar was not going to back down.
"Lady Amira, you should understand after witnessing it just how powerful and dangerous that beast is. There are tales about it among those that travel through the desert going back hundreds of years. Any information we can get on it would be a great boon to Aezam. I am sure even the grand elders would be grateful."
Understanding Haidar\'s point, Amira pursed her lips and bowed towards Marcus and Mrazivý, asking that they record whatever they had learned from appraising the boundless sand eel.
"I don\'t mind, but it is up to you Mraz. You are the one that learned all the information." Marcus said.
Shrugging her shoulders, Mrazivý was fine with writing down the status of the boundless sand eel. It even sounded like completing this small task would help foster good relations with the higher ups of Aezam. It made sense that they would want to know about a beast that was basically the equivalent of a roaming natural disaster.
When a piece of paper and a pen were brought to her, Mrazivý wrote down the entire status of the beast known as the king of the desert and handed it over to Amira.
Though as she read through it, she began to shake and looked ill.
"Are you certain this is correct? How can such a beast even exist?" Amira said, obviously stunned by the status of a level seventy-nine epic grade beast.
Naturally at only the age of nineteen and having lived a fairly sheltered life Amira had never come across a creature like this and seeing its status put onto a sheet gave her a perspective into how powerful it really was.
Certainly, everyone would hear about powerful beasts and monsters that could easily level cities, but it was something else to see what the numbers behind such an entity were in comparison to the average person.
"Its level is certainly high sure, but it is only an epic grade beast, and an unintelligent one at that. A mythic grade beast in the mid sixties is probably more dangerous." Marcus said.
He was pretty certain that in terms of overall power that any of his beast companions would come out on top of the boundless sand eel.
Its physical stats were greater than any of theirs, but that was about all the king of the desert had going for it. The skills it had were not all that impressive.
"Have you encountered many creatures stronger than that?" Amira asked, a looked of utter terror in her eyes.
At first Marcus almost responded saying "Yeah loads.", but Mrazivý elbowed him the side to keep him silent and spoke instead.
"No. it is very rare to come across anything that strong. If it was common, I doubt the world would be able to properly function.
This seemed to calm Amira down, even if it had been a lie.
"Captain, we are ready to get moving again." One of the crew members said, noticing the lull in conversation.
"Good. We have already lost a bit of time. If we want to make it to the next town before sunset, we need to hurry." Haidar said, wanting to escape the current conversation. He knew that continuing to talk about the dangerous creatures that lived in the world would only cause everyone to be racked with fear. Well, everyone except Marcus and Mrazivý who could be ranked among the beasts and monsters capable of leveling entire cities.
Quickly the three sand boats that had made abrupt stops started up again and they continued their journey through the desert towards Aezam\'s capital.
Tonight, they planned to stop in one of the oasis towns that were dotted through the desert as places where travelers could stop.
The one they were going to tonight was called Ladhidh and was known for the fruit trees and tasty fish that populated its fairly large oasis.
"Looks like we are not the only ones stopping here tonight." Marcus said, using his enhanced vison to gaze at the town\'s entrance.
Sitting out front he could see what looked like a dozen and a half sand boats that were docked just outside the town.
None of these sand boats were close to as well made as the one they were currently on, being made out of a light wood instead of mithril.
Hearing what Marcus had said, one of Amira\'s guards took out a spyglass and took a look for himself.
However, it was already starting to get dark and despite his best efforts he could not find any markings determining the allegiance of these sand boats from their current distance.
It was not until they had gotten closer and were already spotted that it became clear who these sand boats belonged to.
"Damn it. Those boats belong to the Nubah. They are a rogue clan of thieves. What the hell are they doing here in Ladhidh!?" Amira\'s head guard shouted when he recognized the flags the sand boats were flying.
Unfortunately, now that they were only about a kilometer away from the town that had apparently been overtaken by brigands, it was too late for them to change course unnoticed.
A few of the docked sand boats belonging to the Nubah clan started up and began making their way out to meet them.
If they were to turn around their far superior sand boats could certainly outrun their pursuers, but not for long.
It was nearing the end of the say and the magical wind engines were low on the mana that had been supplied at the start of the day.
In order for them to refuel they would need to stop, and that was not an option right now.
"Captain Haidar, what do you recommend that we do?" Amira sked, wanting his expertise in this matter.
"If we were just a trading vessel ten our best bet would be to stop and willing hand over thirty percent of our cargo. The Nubah normally let people go if they do that and do not put up a fight. However, seeing as how they have been brazen enough to attack a town under the Eazim Clan\'s protection, I doubt that we will be let off so easily. Our best option it to wait and fight. Our sand boats have superior defenses, plus your skilled guards aboard. We may be outnumbered, but the threat the seven boats coming for us poses is less than the sand shark we encountered earlier." Haidar said, a confident grin on his face.
He was sure that the rogue clan coming for them would not be a match for his sand boat.
There was also the fact that Marcus and Mrazivý were aboard that gave him a high level of assurance. From their earlier displays of power, it was obvious that they could clear up some rabble without breaking a sweat.
"Looks like things are getting interesting. It has been a while since I last cracked down on any bandits." Mrazivý said, cracking her neck and picking out which sand boat she wanted to attack first.
"Please wait. This is not like the earlier incident. There is no need for either of you to get in involved. I am sure that the crews of our sand boats and my guards can clean up this rabble. It is my duty as a leading member of the Eazim Clan to punish outlaws like these that think they can get away with terrorizing the people." Amira said, fixing a glare at the fast-approaching sand boats.
"Are you sure? We can probably help you clean this up much faster." Marcus said.
"Yes. We cannot be relying on foreign guests to clean up our internal problems." Amira said resolutely.
Sighing, Mrazivý decided to stand down despite the fact that she was a bit excited. She did not want to trample over the pride and determination that Amira had displayed.
Following suit, Marcus sat down next to Mrazivý, and instead of joining in just watched. If things went beyond the capabilities of the crew and Amira\'s guards, he was ready to step in.