The foundation of the Sand People tribe lies in two things: the Oasis and the Shatuo beasts.
"Roar!" Accompanied by an angry battle cry, Qing Shui jumped onto the back of a Sand Tiger.
She raised a sharp knife high with both hands and fiercely plunged the blade in.
The knife sank completely in, and blood gushed out suddenly.
The Sand Tiger wailed and roared, tumbling down the dune.
Qing Shui clung to the Sand Tiger's fur with her left hand, while her right hand pulled out the knife and kept stabbing fiercely, the two rolling down the dune entwined in battle.
Qing Shui, pinned down by the Sand Tiger on the soft sand, felt too exhausted to move, but the rustling noise in her ears told her the Sand Spirits—those creatures made only of water and sand—were on their way, and she needed to leave quickly.
She pushed off the Sand Tiger, stood up, took a couple of breaths towards the glaring sun, then bent over, hoisting the Sand Tiger's corpse onto her slender shoulders.
The blood of the Sand Tiger flowed onto her, absorbed by her bronze skin, rejuvenating her spirit and strength.
She carried the Sand Tiger, struggling back up the dune.
Atop the dune, the last Sand Tiger was pinning a tribesperson down, growling low at them—she could almost feel the hot breath from the tiger's mouth!
"Haah!" The Sand Tiger on her shoulder was thrown, toppling the last one.
Her gaze drifted, quickly locking onto her giant sword that had been knocked away, her bare feet flying over the sand.
It was too late; the giant sword had fallen too far away!
"Swoosh!" Qing Xi drew her bow, a rare Divine Archer of the tribe, her arrow striking precisely at the neck of the Sand Tiger.
Useless, the Sand Tiger would not fall to a mere ordinary arrow.
Qing Shui heard the roar of the Sand Tiger, the wind sound of its leap, the tribe's screams... Who could it be? Who would be killed by the Sand Tiger?
Qing Shui ran, trying to forget everything behind her, knowing that only by getting the giant sword could she save more people!
The giant sword was just three meters away; her feet slipped and her body slid forward.
She grabbed the hilt, relying on the weight of the giant sword to rotate her body, while dipping her shoulder, she hefted the giant sword and sprinted towards the Sand Tiger.
She took two steps.
"Ha... Ha..." She stood still, out of breath.
Her head felt numb as she watched the girl with a gun from Earth press it against the back of the Sand Tiger's head.
The Sand Tiger, bold enough to hunt Sha Tuo Beasts, was pinned down by the long, slender gun, squirming like a sand shrimp, unable to move an inch.
"Brother," the girl looked back at a man reveling in the view from atop a Sha Tuo Beast, "should we catch one for research?"
Without an Oasis, the Sand People tribe that dwelled on Sha Tuo Beasts did not build permanent houses; they were always migrating, capturing Sand Spirits for water and hunting Sand Beasts for food.
In the desert, there's no such thing as being without a home; everywhere was sand, everywhere was home.
This fight had left two dead, four seriously injured, and nearly everyone who had joined the battle had minor injuries—after the battle ended, Qing Shui, who thought she was unscathed, discovered a cut on her forearm.
She pressed her hand over the wound, absorbing the water from the blood with her palm.
Tribespeople unable to fight went down the Sha Tuo Beast using baskets; they had to deal with the prey before the Sand Spirits arrived.
Qing Shui walked over to Li Qianxia.
"... Thank you." The voice was very soft.
Taking a breath, she added, "But I won't forgive your brother for this."
"It's okay, it's okay," Li Qianxia slung the long gun over her shoulder, "It's my first time meeting a girl who hates my brother, it's totally fine."
The Sand People carried the three Sand Tiger corpses and the wounded warriors onto the hanging baskets, returning to the Sha Tuo Beasts and quickly leaving the spot.
"Those two... are we just going to leave them there?" Li Qianxia and Qing Shui stood on the last hanging basket, looking down at the bodies lying quietly on the sand.
"In life, we feed on Sand Spirits and Sand Beasts; in death, we become their food. Only in this way can the souls of the deceased be guided by the Wind and Light Blessing, and those who live gain the Blessing."
"In this respect, you are more admirable than Earth people," Li Qianxia couldn't help but say.
Qing Shui snorted: "Of course! Your Earth people's invasion is doomed to fail!"
"... You also saw the gap in strength between us, why are you still so confident?" Li Qianxia did not mean to boast, "Qing Shui, I can assure you, as long as you heed my brother's words, whether we succeed or fail, we won't lay a hand on you or your tribe."
She didn't want Qing Shui to invite death by resisting.
She was well aware of the brutality of this mission; if her brother indeed made a move against Qing Shui, she wouldn't plead for mercy.
"I understand." Qing Shui thought of the droplets disintegrated by the blue rays, her grip on the sword handle weakened, "but you will fail for sure, the Blood Sand Tribe you're heading to next has top-tier Divine Chosen!"
Li Qianxia was about to say something when her gaze suddenly swept to the distance, where countless Sand Spirits swarmed over the two bodies.
"Wind and Light Blessing." She heard Qing Shui's soft whisper beside her, gentle and mournful, unable to imagine it originated from the valiant giant sword-wielding girl.
...
"Lord Black Mist," Yafeiluna reported to Li Changzhou, "The Blood Sand Tribe isn't the nearest large tribe, but the worst of the nearest large tribes, that girl was lying."
She had used "Torture" to interrogate a sand thief.
"Bad's good," Li Changzhou was unconcerned, "There'll be no psychological burden, any method can be employed."
The Sha Tuo Beast trampled over the sand, moving through the desert, step by step towards the Blood Sand Tribe.
At dusk, from within the houses on the back of the Sha Tuo Beast, the scent of food being roasted wafted out.
The vast desert, with three massive beasts moving along, smoke rising from the back of the beasts against the backdrop of the gold-melting sunset—a scene so magnificent and full of life, offering a sensation of tranquility.