Chapter 53 Scorpion Army

A familiar voice sounded behind her. She turned around and saw Ali and several other orcs walking quickly towards her.

Ali was holding up several plants. As they got closer, Yuanyuan could see the plants clearly: flat leaves, small white flowers, and yellow centers—exactly the same as the herb she was looking for.

Yuanyuan's eyes lit up, and she immediately ran over.

Ali handed her the herbs in his hand. "I saw them while hunting today. They were in a shady spot on the other side of the oasis. We searched for a long time before we found these two. Do you think they are what you are looking for?"

He went out to search with a few people as soon as it was light today.

I only just got back now.

Yuanyuan took the herbs and was about to ask the system if it was true?

The answer was negative.

"ah?"

"Isn't this exactly what you told me?"

These are similar wild plants, but they have no medicinal value.

The flower stalks of the sand-core grass are covered with white down, while the outer skin is smooth...

Yuanyuan stared wide-eyed and looked closely. Sure enough, she didn't see any fuzz on the flower stem. She had been so focused on the flowers and leaves that she hadn't noticed this difference.

"Thank you, Uncle Ali, but this isn't what I'm looking for."

She looked at Ali, a little embarrassed, but still spoke up.

Ali's smile froze, and he scratched his head in frustration: "How could this happen? We found it exactly as you described."

The witch doctor took the herbs and examined them carefully, but he couldn't see anything different about them either.

Yuanyuan told him the differences, and everyone looked surprised.

Ali scratched his head. Luckily, he wasn't a witch doctor, otherwise he might have picked the wrong herbs and accidentally killed someone instead of saving them.

"If it's not this, we'll have to look further afield. I remember there's a rocky mountain to the east with a pool at the top; it might be there."

The area around the village is strategically important and protected by a pack of centipedes, so few orcs venture there.

After listening to the witch doctor's analysis, Yuanyuan's heart sank, and the hope that had just been ignited was extinguished again.

The centipede mentioned by the shaman is actually a giant centipede.

She is most afraid of large centipedes.

Seeing that she looked unwell, the others offered their comfort.

"Don't rush."

"We don't go there often, but Ali and his gang are the bravest; they'll definitely make it!"

Ali patted his chest and assured her, "Yuanyuan, don't worry, I'll take the tribe's strongest warrior tomorrow and we'll definitely bring you the herbs you need!"

"Thank you everyone, I know what real sand core grass looks like, I'll go find it with you!"

"no!"

Ali refused without even thinking, "It's too dangerous. There are centipedes there, and quicksand pits too. You should stay in the tribe and wait."

"I'm not afraid."

Yuanyuan puffed out her little chest, "I can protect myself, and only I can accurately identify the real herbs. If you make a mistake again, it will be a waste of your time."

The chieftain and the shaman exchanged a glance, and finally nodded.

Let her go.

Ali, you protect her the whole time, and arrange for a few more brave men to accompany and protect her. Make sure Yuanyuan is safe.

Ali wanted to say something, but the clan chief stopped him.

...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the group set off.

Ali carefully lifted Yuanyuan into the basket on his back and carried her away.

Yuanyuan sat obediently in the basket, holding the little wolf.

The small snake was coiled around her wrist, occasionally flicking its tongue.

The mornings in the sandy area are not hot, and are even a bit cold, with the wind making a "whooshing" sound as it blows across the dunes.

Yuanyuan hugged the wolf cub and huddled in the basket on her back. Looking out through the gaps, she saw the endless sand dunes like golden waves, stretching as far as the eye could see.

After walking for two hours, the sun gradually rose higher, and the sand became unbearably hot.

Yuanyuan took out a bottle of mineral water from her basket, unscrewed the cap and drank it herself first, then fed it to the wolf cub and the snake cub.

Finally, he took out five bottles and gave them to Ali to distribute among them.

"Uncle Ali, stop and have some water first."

Ali stopped and didn't take it. "Keep it for yourself. We brought camel milk, it's thirst-resistant."

"I still have some left. Everyone has worked hard, so let's each have a bottle."

Ali then put her down, and the others stopped as well.

"This is mineral water, it's sweet and tastes great."

This was the first time Ali and his friends had ever seen bottled water; the tiny bottle was smaller than the palm of his hand.

Ali unscrewed the cap and took a sip. The sweet taste slid down his throat, and the heat instantly subsided.

He paused for a moment, then shared the water with his companions, saying, "It's such clean water, and it even has a faint sweetness. You should try some too."

The group of people all turned on the lids and drank, unable to help but exclaim in surprise.

"Such a small bottle, yet it quenches my thirst so well!"

"It's so clean, even cleaner than the lake near our village, there's no mud or sand at all."

"Yuanyuan is amazing, she managed to get such good water."

Yuanyuan giggled at the praise and sat back down in the basket.

The wolf cub was curled up at her feet, and the snake had crawled from her wrist to her calf.

Ali weighed the empty bottle in his hand, reluctant to throw it away, and carefully put it into the animal skin bag.

"This thing is really sturdy; we can keep it to store water later."

After a short rest, the team set off again.

After walking for a while, the little snake suddenly stiffened all over, its tail tip taut and straight.

"Hiss hiss hiss!!"

Yuanyuan's heart tightened. "Uncle Ali, be careful! There's danger ahead!"

Even without his prompting, the orcs' intuition was sharp, and they too noticed the anomaly.

Ali stopped and signaled for everyone to be on guard.

Sure enough, after walking a dozen meters forward, the sand under their feet suddenly began to loosen, and an orc accidentally stepped into the sand, sinking half of his body into it.

"Watch out, everyone! It's quicksand!"

"Ah Bing, grab my tail!"

The other orc immediately transformed into a half-beast, half-human, half-snake form, and Yuanyuan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

This...this quiet Uncle Adong, who's never said much, is actually a rattlesnake!

With Uncle Adong's help, Uncle Abing was quickly pulled up.

"Yuanyuan, squat down and hold on tight."

Aji said, and rushed forward first.

The others quickly followed.

If you keep walking, you can see a few trees scattered around.

Looking up, you can see mountain peaks.

"It's just ahead, everyone be careful not to be ambushed by the centipede."

However, instead of encountering the centipede, they encountered a swarm of sand scorpions.

"Beware, it could be a swarm of sand scorpions."

Ali gave a low shout.

As soon as he finished speaking, sand scorpions crawled out of the sand pile in droves. Each one was the size of a football, with a shiny black shell and a stinger on its tail that gleamed coldly in the sunlight. They quickly swarmed towards them.

Ali couldn't transform into his beast form while carrying Yuanyuan on his back. Yuanyuan felt a chill run down her spine when she saw the dense army of scorpions.

Seeing that the others were struggling to cope, Ali told Adong about Yuanyuan.

"Adong, Abing, protect Yuanyuan, I'll deal with them!"

Adong quickly took the basket and put it on his back.

The snake lashed its tail at the scorpion that lunged at it.

Ali and two other orcs and a swarm of sand scorpions clashed.

Sand scorpions are fast and ruthless; their stingers can leave a red mark on animal hides.

Yuanyuan saw that Ali's arm had been scratched by a large sand scorpion. She was both anxious and scared. She took out a small pistol from her spatial storage and started shooting.

But there were just too many scorpions.

It's impossible to finish.

Her hand got sore after a short while.