Yes, the enemy.
The hearts of the six desert robbers were awe-inspiring, and the standard spears were already tightly grasped in their hands.
Just in front of this sandy road, at the end of the moonlit line of sight, there are seven or eight black shadows standing on the sand dunes beside the road, motionless, as if they are staring at them.
"Ready to fight."
Kant's voice sounded, and he also took off the light crossbow on his back.
Pulling the bowstring hard, the sharp iron crossbow arrows were already resting on it. With his raised arm, he pointed at the figure on the sand dunes in the distance, and lightly pulled the trigger with his finger.
The desert bandit also untied the cloth pocket on his back, and the thick handle of the short javelin appeared behind his neck.
These bandits in the desert are better at throwing right away.
They were all ready for battle.
"Be careful."
Kant was also reminding, and at the same time rode his horse slowly approaching.
It is still a safe distance, so they dare to continue to approach. This is the confidence of the cavalry, because once they realize that the enemy's strength is too strong to resist, they will immediately retreat.
Come and go like the wind, super mobile, this is the cavalry.
But their caution was ignored by the shadows standing on the sand dunes.
It was as if they were just standing on the sand dunes, motionless, watching Kant and the others quietly, without any movement at all, let alone the sound of the enemy.
"My lord, something is wrong." A desert robber said.
Looking at the sand dunes, these robbers who are good at fighting in the desert have not been frozen by the low temperature, and their thinking is still quite flexible.
Looking at the black shadow above, they instinctively noticed something abnormal.
"Let's take a closer look."
Kant nodded, and he was also aware of this, but he still whispered: "If there is a situation, retreat immediately."
"Understood." The desert robbers responded.
They walked slowly along the desert road and continued to move forward.
As the distance approached, Kant frowned, and his eyes were fixed on the black shadow in the distance.
Facts proved that he was right. Although his vision was blurred by the night, Kant was absolutely sure that the seven or eight standing shadows were jackals.
A head like a beast, covered in hair.
These are the distinctive features of the wolf man. Kant, who had already had a fierce conflict with them, would not admit his mistake.
But at this time, his brows were furrowed.
"Why do those jackals on the sand dunes feel a little strange?" he asked.
"Yes."
The desert bandits nodded at the same time, their faces solemn.
In their eyes, these gnolls who were getting closer and closer were quite unnatural at all. They stood with their heads down, as if they were tied to something!
The bright moonlight shines, making the sand dunes more clear.
Kant's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's..." He couldn't help blurting out, and the emotions in his heart fluctuated violently.
"My lord, be careful!"
The desert bandit behind him kicked the horse's belly, and the six of them moved forward quickly, holding their spears tightly, and scanning their surroundings vigilantly.
Simply, nothing abnormal.
There aren't any enemies either.
They all breathed a sigh of relief, but their eyes looked up at the sand dunes again, still terrified.
Because right on the top of the sand dune, there were indeed seven gnolls, with fangs in their lower jaws, gray fur all over their bodies, jackal-like heads, and human-like bodies.
But now, they are really tied to wooden posts.
Thick and long hemp ropes bound these jackals tightly, from thighs to chests and abdomens.
"what happened?"
Kant still held the light crossbow tightly in his hand, but slightly kicked the horse's belly.
The war horse under his crotch had a tacit understanding, feeling this force, and the forward speed became slower.
The desert robber behind him had the same solemn expression, staring at the seven gnolls. Someone said, "They are all mummies. According to the temperature in the Nalun Desert, they have been tied to them for at least a week."
"One week?"
Kant narrowed his eyes: "Is this punishment?"
"It is estimated to be an execution." The desert robber replied.
If it wasn't for execution, then the jackals on the seven wooden pillars would definitely not be dried into mummified corpses.
This kind of appearance of being directly tied to a wooden pillar and then brutally sunburned to death by the scorching sun of the Nalun Desert is comparable to the cruelest punishment.
"But why, they will be executed?" Kant frowned more and more tightly.
But he was not afraid. Instead, he glanced vigilantly at the sand dunes in front of him, and told the desert robbers behind him, "Come on, let's go and have a look!"
Anyway, they are cavalry, without any fear.
With the two legs of those jackals, they couldn't catch up with them.
And Kant didn't believe that these gnolls would really find that seven of them would come here.
In order to ambush them, such an obvious trap was specially set up.
Obviously, if this is the case, it would be good for those gnolls to attack the sentry oasis directly. Compared with the fast-moving cavalry like myself, the fixed-point villages obviously have bigger targets and more gains.
"drive!"
Kant shook the horse's reins, and tightly clamped the horse with his legs.
The light crossbow was aimed at the front, but when they all rushed to the top of the sand dune, they didn't encounter any enemies.
Kant looked at the grinning mummified Gnoll in front of him, and couldn't help frowning: "Their deaths are really miserable."
"He died in the sun." The desert bandit nodded, "I didn't drink any water."
All ethnic groups and races in the desert have experienced this kind of punishment.
The Sultanate of Sarande used to have this kind of punishment, but it was dealt with vicious enemies or prisoners who committed some unforgivable crimes.
"It's sad."
Kant turned his gaze elsewhere. The function of these mummy is to deter.
Died miserably during life, and will be used after death.
But he didn't feel any sadness, because these were gnolls, and they were his enemies. If possible, Kant would even be willing to let all these wolves be sunburned to death, which would save him a huge trouble in the early stage!
"That... that is..."
Looking around, Kant looked around.
But when he saw the north, the direction of the sand dune horizon, his eyes widened suddenly: "It's saline-alkali land!"
Kant couldn't help exclaiming.
Just to the north of the sand dunes, under the bright moonlight, patches of sea-like white are spreading, as if they are about to rush towards this side and swallow the entire desert.
This is exactly the saline-alkali land that Kant and the others were looking for!
And this also proves the statement of the desert robbers that there is indeed a natural open-pit salt mine here!
"This is real."
Kant swallowed, his hands holding the light crossbow were clenched tightly.
Perhaps in the eyes of modern people, this is just a pile of useless saline-alkali land, and the salt accumulated on it is also inferior coarse salt. Except for industrial use, it will not enter the lives of ordinary people at all.
But in this medieval antiquity, it was a luxury.
In Poland in the previous life, there was an underground salt mine. For hundreds of years, the edible salt of the entire European continent was produced, and it also brought 30% of tax revenue to Poland every year. This shows the huge profits of the salt industry!
"My lord, the tent over there."
The desert robbers opened their mouths, and they found an anomaly,
On the edge of the saline-alkali land, nearly forty or fifty dilapidated tents were being set up there.
It looked like those jackals again!
(end of this chapter)