Chapter 143: Tense Silence
More hours passed.
The air shimmered from the overwhelming heat, turning the sand beneath their feet into an endless sea of golden death. Walking on it felt like traversing on a large, heated cooking pan.
Sweat oozed down everyone’s faces, with their bodies aching from the sheer effort walking under the merciless sun took. Even the most physically capable among them felt it—the slow, creeping exhaustion clawing into their very bones.
The accursed waiting only made things worse.
There had been no attacks for hours. No sand worms, no undead horrors, nothing. Just silence. The longer it stretched, the more unbearable it became.
No one trusted it.
Kaiden felt his grip tighten on his war axe. His instincts screamed at him. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t mercy but a setup, made to lull them into a false sense of safety. However, he couldn’t do anything about it. The only thing that could help was forcing whatever monster he was sure to be laying an ambush for them out into the open, but he had no means to do so.
Just as he was cursing under his breath, it happened.
It started with a single, quiet thump.
Someone collapsed mid-step, hitting the sand face-first. At first, no one reacted. Everyone was too drained to process it. Then, someone turned toward the direction of the sound. "Hey... you okay?"
No response.
They rushed over, flipping the man onto his back. His eyes were wide, his lips parted, but he wasn’t breathing. A faint trail of blood leaked from his mouth.