Chapter 29
The lack of the sun that should hung high in the sky, made the sky look like it had melted and turned into a blazing inferno. The scorching heat was oppressive, beating them down mercilessly and baking the air until every breath felt like inhaling smoke. The heat of the desert its oppressive weight felt in every labored breath the group took. Sweat beaded on their foreheads and soaked their robes, their footsteps dragging across the fine, golden sand that shifted under their weight.
Even the magical beasts soaring above them, great bird-like creatures with wings as broad as sails, offered little relief despite their best efforts.The massive creatures cast wide shadows over the group, their vibrant, radiant feathers shimmering with faint magical auras, soared above them, their vast wings creating patches of shade that danced across the sand. Yet the momentary shade they provided only emphasized the sweltering temperature, trapping the heat beneath their wings like an oven.
"These birds makes me feel more like their reminding us were being cooked alive instead of helping" A bobbed haired female mage grumbled, her voice heavy with exhaustion. She wiped her forehead with a damp sleeve, her enchanted cooling amulet failing to counter the oppressive heat.
"They’re trying their best," a mage said, though his tone lacked conviction. He fanned himself with a charred piece of parchment, his frustration evident. "This isn’t ordinary heat. It’s infused with magic."
"We should have chosen a different path," one cultivator muttered, his face flushed as he shielded his eyes from the glaring sun.
"There was no other path," Liang Feng, the crown prince, said firmly. Despite his composed tone, his face glistened with sweat. "This heat is testing us, just like every other challenge we’ve faced so far."
Han Qing walked at the front, his sharp eyes scanning the shimmering horizon. "Save your strength," he said coldly. "Complaining won’t make it any cooler."
"Is it just me," Someone groaned, wiping sweat from his brow, "or does it feel hotter under their shadows?"
"It’s not just you," one of the younger cultivators muttered, his voice hoarse. "I think we’re being roasted alive."
A magician wearing light silver robes fanned himself with a conjured breeze, though it quickly dissipated in the oppressive heat. "These birds are supposed to help," he grumbled, glaring upward at the creatures. "What’s the point if they can’t even keep us cool?"
"They’re doing their best," Liang Feng, the crown prince, said evenly, though his own face was damp with sweat. "The heat isn’t natural, like what the mage said, it’s infused with magic. Nothing can fully block it."