Chapter 116: She is my mother

"Forget it, you don't have dragon breath." A single sentence from Lightning, the foul-mouthed broken-horned horse, extinguished Naigelis's fire.

"I'm a great Knowledge God, I'll have you know! I can't beat you, but can't I hire someone else to beat you up?" Naigelis fumed, though it knew it couldn't win a physical fight.

"Six thousand cavalrymen—that's no small number. But what do they have to slay a dragon? They can't even fly. Are you Huang Tong Dragons really that weak?" Lu Se asked, chin resting on his hand, puzzled.

"Weak? Bah! An adult Huang Tong Dragon is forty meters long. Back in my day, I grew to fifty meters. I could flatten you with a single toe. Don't go wetting yourself when you see one," Naigelis retorted indignantly.

"Sigh, we won't see one. They're almost extinct," Lightning lamented.

Naigelis suddenly shrieked: "Ao! Ao-ao-ao, ao!"

The bored Angel Skeleton and the Little Zombie, who had been drawing circles on the ground, snapped their heads up, tilted them, and stared at Lightning. Their expressions were identical to the one the Angel Skeleton wore right before unleashing a major attack.

Lightning felt an immediate sense of foreboding. "What did you tell them? Why do you speak 'Ao-Ao'? No... don't come over here! Ouch, not the face! Not the horn! Ouch!"

Lu Se covered his eyes, unable to watch. "Oh, you guys are really something. I can't bear to look. I'm going to keep watch." He scurried outside.

In this situation, going to "keep watch" was practically saying, "Hit him harder, I'll keep an eye out for you."

Lightning huddled in the corner, shielding its head, yelping as it was hammered. The space was too cramped; its maxed-out evasion stats were useless here, so it could only take the beating.

Naigelis vented its frustration, cursing, "Don't you know who I am? I learned it after hearing it a few times!"

Turning to Ang, Naigelis said, "Ang, there are too many sand bandits, and some are elite. They probably have a real chance of slaying the dragon. We can't let my kin die here. Please, you must help me find my kin before they do."

"Okay," Ang nodded.

"Put them inside, then ride me and fly over. We have to beat them there," Naigelis instructed.

Lightning poked its head out, struggling. "Ride me, ride me! I run three times faster than it flies! Ouch, not the horn! Not the face! Not there!"

Rather than being cornered and beaten, Lightning preferred to be ridden.

With Ang's command, the others reluctantly returned to the Restful Palace. Only Naigelis and Ang remained, mounting Lightning and taking a wide detour as they galloped into the distance.

After running for a while, ensuring the sound wouldn't be heard by the cavalry behind them, Lightning said, "Sit tight and hold on! I'm going to accelerate. Let this little dragon see the speed of a Son of Thunder."

"Yes, yes, 'Son of Thunder.' When we get back, I'll have the 'Lord' of Thunder give you some extra 'attention.' I know how to build a lightning generator; I'm sure the Purple Skeleton would love it." Naigelis emphasized the word "Lord" with a special tone.

Naigelis had figured it out: if it couldn't beat Lightning, it could certainly hire someone else to beat it up.

"Oh, no, no, no! Great Knowledge God, you are the epitome of love and tolerance. Please don't hold onto such minor offenses. Just watch Lightning perform. Sit tight!" Lightning's tone turned incredibly sycophantic as it galloped at full speed.

As it ran, sparks of electricity crackled from its broken horn. The faster it ran, the more intense the sparks became. Once they accumulated to a certain point, they discharged, striking the ground in front of Lightning and forming a web of silver snakes.

Lightning's next step landed on this web, and the electricity coiled around its hooves.

At that moment, it was as if it had connected to the earth's power. Lightning's hooves were electrified; every step sent sparks flying, and when they struck hard ground, they showered the air with embers.

With sparks and lightning trailing behind, Lightning's form became like a blur, moving faster and faster. Its hoofbeats grew lighter, and its movements became so graceful it looked as if it were about to take flight.

Any competent cavalry unit would set up forward scouts when camping, sometimes dozens of kilometers ahead to prevent surprise attacks.

However, in this vast desert, no enemy would dare raid them. A sentry wrapped in a cloak by a windbreak suddenly heard a commotion and felt a gust of wind. By the time he spat out the dust, there was nothing to be seen.

"Did... did something just run past?"

Lightning's speed was indeed much faster than Naigelis's small wings. By dawn, Ang saw a patch of green on the horizon—the first major oasis of the Desolate Desert: Hope Oasis.

Hope Oasis was the first large oasis upon entering the desert. Under normal circumstances, a caravan would need over twelve days of travel to reach it.

Of course, caravans were slow. A regular military march could reach it in five days, but for a ragtag army, there was no guarantee; they might even be slower than a caravan.

Regardless, Lightning had covered twelve days of caravan travel in a single night. It was worthy of the name "Lightning."

After the run, it gulped down three large buckets of clean Holy Water, panting, "Alright... the lightning generator... don't sell it to the Purple Skeleton, okay?"

Naigelis felt a pang of guilt. It was its own words that had pushed Lightning to run so hard. Although Lightning usually had a sharp tongue, it had certainly put in the work.

"Fine, fine, I won't sell it. Actually, you didn't have to run that fast. Sigh."

Once Lightning caught its breath, Ang released the others, and the group walked toward the oasis.

The edge of the oasis was a mess. Everywhere were crude shacks—pits dug into the ground, propped up by branches and covered with leaves and debris, with a small hole for crawling in and out.

These shacks were low, dark, and cramped, barely allowing one to stand straight. They blocked some wind but offered no protection from rain, and with no drainage, they would surely flood in a downpour.

But in the desert, if it rained hard enough to flood a shack, people would probably be happy anyway.

Most of the shacks were empty. A few had people inside, their large, dirty eyes peeking out curiously.

They were mostly children, big-headed and grimy, with the occasional elderly person. Not a single able-bodied adult was in sight.

As Ang's group passed, the children crawled out to watch from a distance, curious but afraid to approach. Lu Se waved at some of them and took out his most prized dried beet.

In a flash, Lu Se was surrounded by a swarm of children. The elderly people tried to stop them, but they were no match for the crowd.

Lu Se broke the dried beet into small pieces, giving one to each child. This high-sugar treat, sweeter than honey, made most of the children squeal with delight, causing the Angel Skeleton and the Little Zombie to join in the "Ao-Ao" chorus.

After calming the children, Lu Se waved at the elderly group from afar.

The elders hesitated before walking over. From a distance, they knelt and kowtowed to Lu Se, then approached with hunched backs, kneeling again once they reached him.

Naigelis mused, "It seems the hierarchy here is strict. They don't even dare to stand straight while talking."

The elders glanced at it with strange expressions, then quickly lowered their heads.

Their strange looks held curiosity and surprise, but not shock—as if they had seen a creature like Naigelis before.

Seeing their expressions, Naigelis felt a stir in its heart and asked, "Have you seen a creature like me before? Have you? I'm here to find her. She is my mother."