"They, they actually!!!"
Everyone's eyes were wide open and they were too shocked to say a word.
The group of zombie monkeys that originally rushed towards them actually retreated!
Balohard touched his hair and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"I know, little brother Chen Tao was saved by Mengtos' divine bead, so the breath of Mengtos still remains in his blood!"
At this time, Chen Tao realized that the black bead had been used to save his life.
He touched the blood on his face and murmured to himself, "No wonder the zombie monkey was so scared after scratching my face just now. If it is true as Commander Barlow said, then we don't have to Don’t worry about these damn things anymore.”
"Anyway, they've retreated, let's leave quickly!" Liang Shaokai touched the sweat on his forehead, he almost peed from fear just now.
He didn't want to die in a place like this.
"Let's go. Whether we can get out or not is still unknown. This place is in the middle of nowhere. If you get stuck here, no one will come to dig you up if you become a fossil."
Chen Tao composed himself and continued to climb up.
It was pitch black in the tree hole, and every time they did something, an unpleasant smell rushed into their mouths and noses, and their lungs were clogged as if they had inhaled countless amounts of sand.
After climbing for so long, Chen Tao and the others gradually got used to the smell.
Several people continued to follow the growth direction of the rhizomes of the Devil's Willow. Almost every rhizome had been hollowed out by the zombie monkeys, and some had even been dug into the sand.
Fearing that the sand holes would collapse, a few people did not dare to drill those sand holes, but instead followed the thick branches all the way up.
Their speed is very fast, and no one wants to stay in such a closed place for a long time.
When you get tired of climbing, stop to take a breath, and then continue climbing.
Chen Tao didn't know how long he had been climbing. Until a glimmer of light appeared in front of him, he was still looking for the branching tree hole out of habit.
The place where it came out was on the crown of an extremely thick tree. One side of the main trunk was broken, revealing a large hole less than half a meter thick, and half of the sand had been buried in it.
It took a lot of effort for several people to get out of the narrow tree hole.
Looking around, the originally vast Forest of the Dead was now reduced to a few bare thick tree trunks, scattered and extending into the distance.
There were no clouds overhead, and the sun was still shining brightly in the sky, making people's hair curl up in the sun.
Chen Tao had never thought that the scorching sun above his head could be so kind.
"It seems that the storm has stopped, and Tatunaan has been buried in the sand again." Balohad blocked the scorching sun above his head with his hands, with an indescribable complex look in his eyes.
He looked around for a while, and finally knelt down towards the end of a deserted sand dune, leaning his body piously on the hot sand, and said nothing for a long time.
Seeing his actions, Chen Tao and others also raised their eyes and looked in that direction.
Under the scorching sun, the low and high sand dunes are undulating, glowing with a faint golden light in the sun.
No one spoke.
It took a while before anyone spoke.
"What should we do next?" Liang Shaokai scratched his chicken coop-like hair and held the backpack that contained a lot of things tightly in his hands, as if he was afraid of being snatched away.
Chen Tao looked at Barrowhard.
"My people are all outside Makami City. Let's meet them and take you out of the desert." Balohad looked in another direction, "If we can get out of here alive."
At this time, their position was still within the range of the Forest of the Dead, and a few of them sorted out the few supplies in their backpacks.
The most precious thing in the desert is water.
And the combined number of them only had half a pot left, and each of them could only take a few sips.
As for food, several people rummaged through their backpacks and only found a bag of compressed biscuits.
"It will take at least three days to get out from here." Balohad said.
"Forget it, if you can come out alive, you are already Amitabha Buddha." Haozi divided the compressed biscuit in his hand into four parts, "Here, let's share it."
"I should be able to hold on." Chen Tao endured the fatigue and tried his best to smile.
With no water or food, three days is already considered the limit.
What's more, the physical strength of several people is running low.
They took a short break, each taking just a small bite of the cookie and a sip of water.
What follows is hell.
At first, Chen Tao thought that three days was nothing, but on the second day, the thirst and hunger already made him unbearable.
The sun was scorching hot, and without the shelter of the tree canopy, people were so nakedly exposed to the scorching sun. Their throats felt as dry as if they were about to burst, and there was only one thought left in their minds.
go out!
When they arrived at Maca Lost City, it was already the afternoon of the second day.
The maze-like Maka Lost City was mostly buried in sand at this time.
Of the large and small stone hills and pillars that originally stood, only some small raised sandbags are left. Occasionally, you can see some isolated stone pillars. From a distance, they look like countless tombstones stuck on the sand dunes.
Balohad walked at the front, standing on a towering sand dune to identify the direction.
Under the scorching sun, the sand is churning with heat waves, and everything is illuminated by a colorful halo.
The bright light and heat wave made it difficult for people to open their eyes, and Chen Tao already felt like he was going to die.
My stomach was so hungry that I lost consciousness, my mouth felt like it was on fire, and my throat was too dry to say a word.
Chen Tao didn't know how he persisted until the early morning of the third day.
At the moment when the sun rose, I saw countless black shadows shaking at the end of the sand dunes.
"You haven't gone out yet..."
Looking at those dark shadows, Chen Tao couldn't help but feel a little desperate. He didn't know how many lonely stone pillars he saw along the way.
Everyone has reached their limit and may collapse at any time.
Finally, Liang Shaokai, who was walking at the end, was the first to fall down, and his body rolled down the sandy slope several times. The backpack he was holding tightly finally took off his hands and rolled down the sand dune with him.
"Liang Shaokai..." Haozi murmured, but was accidentally hit by Liang Shaokai's body and fell down without any movement.
"Haozi, Liang Shaokai!" Chen Tao moved his cracked mouth, his face covered with dry skin, "Commander Barlow, how long will it take..."
He has reached his limit.
Before Balohad could answer, his vision went dark and Chen Tao fell down uncontrollably.
In a daze, someone seemed to shout a few words, and then his body seemed to leave the sand.
Then, nothing is known.
clang clang clang.....
When Chen Tao opened his eyes again, he seemed to be sitting on a cradle.
It took him a long time to get used to the shaking of his body. There was the tinkling of camel bells in his ears, and there were also some vague human voices.
"Am I dead...?"
Chen Tao tried his best to open his eyes, and then he realized that he was lying on the back of a camel.
"This is......"
Looking at the people around him wearing white robes with masks hanging on their chests, Chen Tao suddenly woke up.
It's them, the Guards!
We are saved!
Chen Tao tried his best to sit up, and soon, someone discovered him.
"you're awake?"
"Great, he's awake, tell Lord Barlow!"
Someone handed over a kettle. Chen Tao licked his chapped lips, raised his neck and took two sips, which made him cough.
The water the guards gave him was salted.
When a person is dehydrated, the balance of body fluids and electrolytes in the body is destroyed, and a large amount of sodium and potassium ions are lost. If a large amount of water is drunk at once, the concentration of sodium and potassium ions in the body will be lower than the normal level, causing hyponatremia. In severe cases, it may even directly lead to die.
Although it was a little salty, Chen Tao felt that this was the best water he had ever drunk in his life.
He has never had such a strong possessive desire for water like this, and he can't wait to soak himself in it.
"Okay, don't drink too much!"
A man reached out and grabbed Chen Tao's kettle. When he looked up, it was Balohad.
"Commander Barlow, you're okay!"
"Well, don't worry, they are both fine. Fortunately, we met Torque and the others in time. Otherwise, we would all be dead."
Chen Tao solemnly paid a Tatuna salute to the guards around him. If it hadn't been for them, he might not have been able to get out in this life.
"Where are we going?" Chen Tao asked.
"Go to our place to recuperate and recover first, and then we will find a way to send you away from here."
"Well, thank you very much, Commander Barlow."
With the camel, food and water, Chen Tao felt like he had lived again.
Soon, Haozi and Liang Shaokai woke up one after another.
The group rode camels and traveled through the desert for a day and a night before arriving at the place Balohad and the others said.
This is a small desert tribe far away from the town
In the thousands of years since Tatunaan disappeared, the defenders who stayed in the desert gathered together and formed their own small tribe.
Balohad said that their ancestors found a fixed sea nearby, and relied on the efforts of countless generations of guards to build it into a small oasis suitable for living.
During the time when there was no war, they sat together, farmed and raised animals, and sometimes went to surrounding towns to exchange for some daily necessities.
Simple and peaceful, it silently guards this desert full of mystery and unknowns.
As night fell, Chen Tao and the others received warm hospitality from the guards.
The huge bonfire made everyone's face blush, and everyone gathered together, eating tender roast lamb and drinking Tatunaan's unique strong wine.
Singing and dancing, it was peaceful.
Looking at the old and young people around who were blushing from drinking, Chen Tao felt an indescribable sense of stability and calmness in his heart.
Tatunaan, which has disappeared for thousands of years, has been continued in this way. These last Tatunans carry the hopes of generations.
It is hard to imagine that there is such a pure land in the noisy and complicated modern society.
Chen Tao didn't know when he returned to his room. When he woke up again, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
After eating enough and sleeping enough, people are energetic.
The setting sun was hanging precariously on the horizon, and the people in the tribe were busy with their own business.
Haozi and Liang Shaokai were still fast asleep, and Chen Tao did not wake them up.
As he walked on the road, everyone greeted him warmly, and Chen Tao naturally responded with a smile on his face.
Chen Tao didn't stop until he reached the edge of the ancient sea.
The sun shines slantly on the water, making the waves sparkle like a layer of sparkling diamonds.
Chen Tao saw a familiar figure from a distance.
It turned out to be Barohard.
At this time, he was wearing a loose short coat and feeding the camels.
His skin is dark and his bare arms and chest are covered with tattoos.
"You're here!" Balohad waved to Chen Tao.
"Commander Barlow, these tattoos are..." Chen Tao looked at the tattoos on his body and felt inexplicably familiar.
"This is Tatunaan's map." Balohard didn't hide it at all.
"When the prince returned, in order to let the guards remember the location of Tatunaan, he had all the routes tattooed on his body. Everyone here will have these maps tattooed since childhood."
"Can I take a look?" Chen Tao asked tactfully. Chen Tao was sure that the tattoo on Balohard's body must have been seen somewhere.
Balohard responded and pulled his shirt open directly.
Looking at the tattoo on Balohard's body, Chen Tao was stunned.
"This is......."
