Chapter 2: Blazing Light Beast Hunters

Ding ling ling ling—

The clear bell sound kept reverberating beside Luo De's ears.

In a haze, he felt his body swaying continuously, rising and falling, a very familiar sensation.

It's a camel beast!

He was again thrown onto the camel beast's back!

Bad memories surged up instantly, and Luo De abruptly opened his eyes.

What met his eyes was a long face full of curiosity.

At the sight of the unfamiliar face, Luo De shuddered and instinctively threw a punch.

"Ouch—!"

After a miserable cry, with a thud, the young man staring at Luo De lost his balance and fell off the camel beast.

But he had no intention of getting angry; instead, he covered his eyes and shouted at the top of his voice, "Dixiya! He's awake!!!"

Dixiya?

Another familiar name.

Luo De, just waking from a coma, still felt a bit dazed; he turned around and looked in all directions.

The place he was now in was clearly a mercenary band.

Unlike the Tanite bandits who constantly thought of stealing money and women, and whenever idle would spout vulgar jokes.

Most of the mercenaries in this band had cheerful faces, chatting and laughing about serious matters; when they caught Luo De's gaze, they smiled kindly, also teasing the poor guy Luo De had punched away; occasionally a few with stern countenances, meeting Luo De's scrutinizing look, would nod slightly as a greeting.

Thud thud thud—

The camel beast's steps approached again, and a lightly dressed woman with black‑gold long hair appeared before Luo De.

She was a very beautiful woman, especially her icy‑blue eyes, which were practically soul‑capturing; her oily honey‑toned skin almost glittered in the sunlight, and her bare abdomen clearly showed eight‑pack abs, further attesting to her extraordinary prowess.

As she drew near, a faint fragrance came with her.

It was the scent of perfume powder.

In this harsh desert, being able to avoid sweat odor even under the blazing sun shows how valuable this perfume powder is.

This was still Luo De's first time seeing a person truly leap out of the game.

Oh, no.

It should be said this way.

This was still Luo De's first time, after jumping into the game, seeing the true player character.

Beautiful.

This was his first impression of Dixiya.

Indeed, as the acclaimed desert beauty, she had a delicate yet strong and powerful figure, and with her resolute handsome face, even though the timing wasn't right, Luo De couldn't help blurting out inwardly, "Really beautiful!"

"We met you when we passed through the Thousand Ravine Sandy Land."

"At that time you fainted; seeing you still had breath, we brought you along."

Dixiya chatted on, recounting in full what happened after the Blazing Light Beast Hunters found Luo De.

Fortunately, Luo De had no memory of that unconscious period, so these descriptions filled a blank in his mind.

From Dixiya's words, Luo De learned another thing.

That he had taken the wrong direction.

The place where the Tanite tribe captured him was not far from their camp, also within the Thousand Ravine Sandy Land; according to Luo De's panicked, direction‑blind escape route, he was just a step away from entering the Corridor of the Dead—a true death zone where ordinary folk who go in never come out.

Fortunately, because Luo De steadfastly headed east, he did not enter that deadly canyon.

Unfortunately, if he didn't change direction, he would never reach A Ru Cun in his lifetime, only be blocked by the sky‑covering Sand‑blocking Wall, and ultimately have to return helplessly to the desert to keep looking for a way out.

As for the reason he fainted:

It was because, while lacking food and water, he kept marching; his strength was completely drained, and his body, still recovering from serious injury, simply couldn't hold up.

Had he not encountered the Blazing Light Beast Hunters, who had just finished a mission and were preparing to return to Sumeru Cheng, Luo De would probably have perished in the endless yellow sands.

Dixiya was very talkative, and the other mercenaries of the Blazing Light Beast Hunters were also very talkative.

Seeing Luo De awake, they deliberately stopped to set up camp, prepared a modest feast for him, and celebrated that he hadn't died in the desert.

Mercenaries speak just like that—directly.

An inexperienced rookie not dying in the desert is indeed something worth celebrating loudly.

At night, the desert temperature is nearly twenty degrees lower than in the daytime.

Yet in the Blazing Light Beast Hunters' camp, one feels none of the chill that such low temperature would bring.

【Come sing with me, pick up your lute and sing with me.】

【Sing my blade, sing my crossbow, sing my torn headscarf.】

【No one's anger scares me, unless you provoke Dixiya.】

【Oh Dixiya, oh Dixiya, beautiful and mighty Dixiya, our treasure Dixiya.】

Gathered around the campfire, the mercenaries sang merrily, passing food and drink hand to hand; the lively atmosphere finally let Luo De let go of his last lingering wariness.

Although he knew the Blazing Light Beast Hunters were a legitimate mercenary band and that Dixiya was an earnest good person, the time spent fleeing for his life in the desert still instilled in Luo De a habit of guarding against everything.

"Luo De, help me chill this—this hot wine is undrinkable!"

"Help me too!"

"Me too, me too!"

"Make way, I'm first—I took his punch, so I must go first! If you want to fight over it, then let Luo De give you a punch too!!"

In just half a day, Luo De became familiar with these mercenaries; possessing the Ice‑element Vision and able to wield ice power, he also became a prized asset in their eyes.

The mercenaries liked to drink, but the daytime desert heat was extreme; the fruit wine they carried turned, after a whole day in the sun, into hot wine that was hard to swallow by night.

But now it's fine.

Luo De's addition let them also enjoy a sip of cool, refreshing fruit wine in the desert.

Speaking of this Vision.

Luo De couldn't help but recall when he first obtained the Vision.

When he first used the Vision's power, he counter-killed seven of the Tanit bandits chasing him, leaving only two who fled in panic upon seeing the situation turn bad, thus surviving.

"Is this the power of the Vision?"

Luo De opened his palm, gazing at the glass bead lying quietly there, feeling a stir in his heart.

He was a clueless rookie, and moreover a rookie whose stamina was nearly depleted and who was seriously injured, yet relying solely on this newly obtained Vision, he actually managed to nearly slaughter the Tanit tribe's battle-hardened warriors.

This power is truly intoxicating.

"There are still about seven days left; we'll reach A Ru Cun."

Dixiya carried a roasted pork leg, sat openly beside Luo De, and handed over her wine cup: "Please chill mine too."

"Mm, okay."

Luo De nodded.

The Flaming Light Hunter Beasts' return to Sumeru Cheng must pass through A Ru Cun, so he hitched a ride.

But a new problem has arisen.

"Just as Dixiya is now asking: "Where is your home? Looking at your skin tone, you probably aren't a desert person; are you from the rainforest region? Or are you an adventurer?""

"Where is home?"

This question left Luo De feeling confused, and a hint of unavoidable sadness appeared on his face.

His home is not here!

And he might never be able to return!!

"Could it be that your family was given to those bandits?"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought up your painful matter."

Dixiya is very adept at reading expressions; upon seeing Luo De's expression, she mistakenly thought his family had met with misfortune, and her words made him recall those unbearable memories again.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward.

"However Dixiya quickly took the initiative to break this sweat-inducing atmosphere: "If you have nowhere to go, you can settle in A Ru Cun; Kantisi will surely welcome you.""

"Settle in A Ru Cun?"

Luo De raised his head, his confused eyes gradually gaining a glimmer; after pondering for a long time, he sighed and said: "That's fine; it's better than wandering everywhere."

(End of chapter)