"Your Majesty the Duke, please forgive me for saying something unpleasant. We can't delay it any longer."
Several staff members pointed sadly at the densely packed tents and goods behind.
"Our team is huge, and we have brought so much heavy cargo and your gold, silver and jewelry. We can't walk fast."
The sandstorm seemed far away at this moment, but if we didn't leave, it would be too late.
After a while of earnest persuasion by several people, Grand Duke Langston reluctantly ordered the team to set off.
To the south, the ruins of Luoxi.
There are more than two hundred brand new mounds in the ruins. The north wind blew, and the smell in the air was finally no longer nauseating.
Behind the hill in the south, nearly a thousand caves appeared at some point, densely packed like a hornet's nest.
Lei Ergu, Datou and others hid inside and ate and drank.
"Not to mention," Lei Er said with emotion, "Beixiong is not good at making weapons and leather armor, but the food and wine are quite good."
Matthew remained silent, his heart bleeding silently.
These are all the food and goods that his caravan brought over thousands of miles.
Now he was letting a bunch of big-headed soldiers eat and drink for free, and he was heartbroken.
"Old Ma," Lei Er punched him, "It's just some dried meat and wine. Why are you crying?"
"After the sandstorm passes, we'll go look for the salt lake. Then it won't be up to you to choose what's popular and spicy?"
"Yes, yes." Matthew nodded and rolled his eyes.
The salt in the salt lake cannot be eaten directly, it must be purified first.
In this way, we don’t know when the salt will be sold, so how can we enjoy the delicious food?
But at this time, everyone is a knife and I am a fish.
It was a great blessing to be alive, and Matthew didn't dare to think about it.
At this time, Ren Ning got into the cave and shook off the sand all over his body.
"The wind and sand are getting bigger and bigger." Lei Er sensed, "Old Ren, I don't know when Grand Duke Langston will arrive here."
Buzz!
The cave fell silent.
Everyone's ears pricked up, including Matthew.
Xiliang's combat strength is only about 800, while Grand Duke Langston has more than 40,000 men.
No matter how you look at it, it’s impossible to lose.
As long as they come here, they might be able to regain their freedom...
Ren Ning glanced at Matthew.
Under the golden finger, the color of this guy changed from green to yellow again.
It seems that he still doesn’t give up.
"I have met Grand Duke Langston." Ren Ning sat down in the middle: "He was born with a noble status, so he only sees himself and never cares about others. At the same time, he is also a complete lazy cancer patient."
"Unless he knows for sure that we have been destroyed by Andre, he will not be willing to leave south until the last moment."
As for now.
If he hadn't been fighting the sand beasts in the Pearl Oasis, he would probably have seen the three hundred people who had fled back.
In the desert to the north.
Archduke Langston's team formed a long line, one foot deeper than the other, walking southward.
From time to time, some people would look back at the wild sand in the sky with a look of panic on their faces.
drive!
There were soldiers on horseback chasing after him in a hurry.
"Your Majesty Duke, it's not good." He shouted loudly from a distance: "The sandstorm has reached about a hundred miles behind us. The wind is so strong that the entire sand mountain is pushed southward."
Wow!
The crowd was so frightened that they whipped the horse's buttocks and camel's feet hard to force them to speed up their pace.
Hundreds of miles!
Grand Duke Langston also panicked.
The team has been walking for almost two days and has not yet gone a hundred miles.
If Shashan catches up, won't they all be buried in the sea of sand?
"Your Excellency, you have a distinguished status, why don't you take the first step?" A staff member lowered his voice, "Keep the green hills here, so you don't have to worry about running out of firewood."
"Damn it." Duke Langston was furious. "All my gold, silver and jewelry are on the camel behind. What should I do if I lose them?"
cough!
The staff member shrank his neck and said, "I heard that camels have been walking in the desert for many years and have the ability to hide from the wind and sand. Maybe they will follow..."
At this moment, someone came back on horseback from the front.
Bah bah!
The man spit out several mouthfuls of sand and wiped the thick ash from his face before saying, "Your Majesty, we met Viscount Andre's team about twenty miles ahead who came back to report the news."
"They lost their way and kept spinning among the sand dunes in front of them. If we hadn't arrived in time, I guess..."
He will probably die of dehydration soon.
"Nonsense." Grand Duke Langston felt cold in his heart and couldn't help roaring, "The reporting team has returned to the Pearl Oasis several times, how could they get lost?"
"Where's Andre, what happened?"
"According to them, the Viscount has died in battle..." The messenger explained in detail what he had heard.
For a moment, everyone around was panicked.
There are strong enemies in front and wild sand behind. They were caught in the middle, not knowing what to do.
"Your Excellency," Barry walked over with an anxious look on his face.
He has been leading business trips all year round and is most aware of the horrors of the desert.
"This sandstorm is really rare. With my many years of business experience, whether I camp here or return to the Pearl Oasis, it will be a matter of life and death."
He pointed to the south, "There may be strong enemies in the grassland ahead, but they are also afraid of sandstorms and have to avoid them. As long as we can reach the grassland, there is still a glimmer of hope."
"So I suggest that the team speed up immediately. Even if the horses and camels are exhausted, they must get out as soon as possible. Otherwise..."
Otherwise the whole army will be annihilated.
Grand Duke Langston had lost his mind and quickly grasped Barry's life-saving straw. "Barry, Chief Merchant, how far is this place from the Xiliang Grassland? Can we still get out?"
Barry looked left and right, recognizing his surroundings.
"It's still a little far away from the grassland. If the team works hard day and night, they will be able to reach the Xiliang Prairie in four days."
Four days!
A group of people looked back to the north with despair on their faces.
The sandstorm behind was only a hundred miles away, which would not leave them four days.
cough.
Barry coughed awkwardly.
"Your Excellency, Barry has been leading the caravan north and south, and he is used to calculating distance and time at the speed of camels. So it doesn't need to be as long as four days."
"You..." Archduke Langston almost cursed.
His hands kept shaking, and he was so angry that he shook the riding crop in his hand and almost wanted to give Barry a whip.
However, after looking back at the northern skyline, I had to give up.
"How long does it take to run on horseback?"
"Calculating the high-class war horses, we can see the grassland at noon tomorrow at the earliest."
But it is estimated that many war horses will be exhausted.
Of course, Barry didn't say this.
"Really?" Grand Duke Langston was surprised and happy.
"Listen to the merchant chief of Bari. Abandon all infantry, camels, goods and slaves. All cavalry and caravan guards obey the order and follow the Duke with all your strength, all the way south."
"quick!"
As for the goods, jewelry, infantry and slaves behind, just leave it to fate.
The order was passed quickly.
Some people cried with joy, and some cried with despair.
Not long after, amidst the noise, the hoofs of horses raised up yellow sand all over the sky.
More than 5,000 cavalrymen and more than 300 guards from Bali's caravan whipped the horses' buttocks hard and fled south like a whirlwind.
Twenty miles was not that far originally.
But every step you take in the desert sinks deeper into the sand.
The mounts were already running very hard, but it also took a lot of effort.
"Your Majesty the Duke." Of the 300 people who escaped, only about fifty were still alive, and they hurriedly came up to greet them.
"roll!"
Barry, who was leading the way, whipped him hard.
There was a muffled sound, and the guy blocking the road was immediately whipped away.
Grand Duke Langston and his entourage behind them turned a blind eye and continued to rush south without stopping.
