Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 367 Selling Swords

Thales sighed in frustration.

The next moment, the sand scorpion realized that the destruction of its nest was not the worst thing.

Above it, Thales, his face contorted with rage, held his cane down, pressing it down hard on the scorpion as he struggled with his inner turmoil.

Finally, Thales swallowed hard, his throat parched, and made up his mind.

He pulled out his JC, first cutting off the scorpion's stinger, and then, amidst its frantic struggle, ended its life with a single stroke.

"The Desert God brings no disaster, the Desert God shows no mercy," he said to himself, grabbing the heroically sacrificed sand scorpion and holding it up to his face, as if trying to console himself.
"Thank you for your sacrifice."

"The hero Scorpion who saved the Starry Royal Family and the Star Kingdom"—he added to himself.

Strangely enough, Thales felt much lighter after saying those words.

Perhaps because they hadn't spoken to each other for so long, he looked at the scorpion twitching unconsciously and had a feeling that they were communicating.

Thinking of this, Thales suddenly realized something.

He dared not think any further, closed his eyes tightly, and painfully and laboriously bit the sand scorpion into his mouth.

"Crack-"

What the hell!

With his first bite, Thales' face contorted in pain.

The "magical" taste and aroma enter his sensory nerves through the taste buds on his tongue and the friction of his teeth.

"Crack-"

Second bite.

Plump, juicy, crisp, chewy, and life-saving—Thales desperately thought of these words, forgetting the strange texture in his mouth, and bit into the two protruding scorpion pincers.

"Crack-"

It felt like a fruit shell covered in a foul, fishy smell.

Mmm, as you chew, bursts of salty, moist juices inside.

It filled my mouth and seeped into my throat.

"Wow--"

And... soft meat with an equally strange taste.

Hmm, shouldn't he clean its internal organs first?

Finally, suppressing the churning sensation in his stomach, Thales convulsively swallowed the "thing" in his mouth.

Feeling a faint, unusual sensation in his abdomen, Thales wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a soft "whoosh."

He raised his head, expressionless, and looked once again at the indifferent and unfeeling desert.

Ha ha.

Now... he's part of the desert food chain too.

Thales thought with a touch of sadness.

Once there was a first time, there was a second: Thales rummaged through the sand and chased out a trembling, pale-colored spider.

He frowned, but still cruelly cut off its head, put the whole thing into his mouth, and began to chew.

"Zi la..."

Hmm—the texture and taste seem alright?
If you bite open its belly...

"puff--"

……

I'm wrong.

I shouldn't have thought that way.

I was really wrong.

Thales swallowed it with tears streaming down his face.

A few hours later, in the slightly cooler evening, Thales set off again.

This time, his steps were much lighter.

Until the next rest stop.

Thales caught a big, innocent-looking lizard in a poorly concealed hole.

This time, he happily gutted it, and since it was night, a fire had to be lit so that Thales could enjoy a roasted lizard.

After the meal, his hunger gradually subsided.

In fact, Thales even misses the taste of eating it raw.

The moment Thales ate the scorpion, he felt that he was different.

It was as if he was instantly accepted by this place.

such a pity……

Thales touched his stomach and shook his head regretfully.

The rattlesnake from a few days ago...

How could it have gotten away?

The food problem is solved—as long as you don't care about enjoyment and taste, human resilience far exceeds our imagination.

With a slightly better mood but still the same loneliness, he closed his eyes on the fourth night.

But soon, on the morning of the fifth day, Thales faced a new problem.

He didn't have enough water.

Thales was anxious as he shook the leather water sac so hard that not a single drop of water could be poured out.

How to do?
Collecting dew with stones at night wouldn't work—at least not enough to last him through the day.

As for the water source... Yesterday, Thales tried digging down to the roots of a plant, but even after digging two meters deep enough to bury himself alive, all he found was sand, which was at most a little cold.

On the contrary, I sweated quite a lot.

Ironic.

To be honest, Thales had made ample preparations for the possible high temperatures after entering the desert, but in reality, the prince, exposed to the scorching sun, did not worry about the heat or suffer from heatstroke; instead, he was concerned about food and water.

Thales touched his chapped lips and began to frown.

Water source.

He had to find a new water source... With this heavy heart, Thales continued his journey under the rising sun.

Soon, the symptoms of dehydration appeared on his body.

Thales' mouth was getting drier and drier, and he felt that every step he took required a huge amount of energy.

He insisted on breathing through his nose—Greeves had told him before he left that this would help him retain the necessary moisture.

His emotions became increasingly calm and sluggish.

I'm so thirsty.

Thales thought in confusion.

Every cell in his body was protesting against his master's exploitation.

I'm so thirsty.

think……

Drink water.

water.

But not long after, when the sun rose to a tricky angle again, Thales's hand went limp, and he lost his balance and fell to his knees!
He began to feel dizzy.

An alarm bell rang in the prince's mind.

Oops.

Dehydration?

Or is it heatstroke?

Thales shook his head vigorously to clear his mind.

In short, he needs rest.

We can no longer linger in the sun, wasting energy and water.

He looked up and squinted at the scorching sun.

Thales was both tired and thirsty.

But he knew he couldn't sit down and rest now; the sand under the sun was incredibly hot, and increasing his contact area with the sand would only cause him to lose moisture faster.

We need to... find the next rest stop...

Thales, somewhat confused, took the next step.

step.

Another step.

Each step felt like a thousand pounds.

His throat was burning.

The mouth is rubbing.

My whole body felt weak.

But he can't stop.

can't stop.

Thales stumbled and staggered to the next resting spot—the shade of a willow grove, where he could escape the scorching sun.

He rested for a while, recovering his strength in the shade.

Thales even began to seriously consider whether he should survive on his own urine.

But at that moment, Thales raised his head.

He was on a high slope, looking down at the plains below.

He was stunned.

On the horizon, in the distance, a glimmer of light appeared.

That is……

The prince stared blankly into the distance, at the shimmering light reflected in his vision, his heart trembling uncontrollably.

That is……

lake?

Thales suddenly stood up!
He couldn't help but enter his hellish senses to confirm the distant place in his vision.

That's right.

It's a reflection from the lake!

There's a lake ahead!

There is a water source!
The prince, who had narrowly escaped death, suppressed his excitement.

But he couldn't even wait for the sun to completely set before setting off.

Based on his experience over the past few days, even though it was within sight, it was still such a long distance that it would take at least an hour to walk there.

One hour.

It only takes one hour.

Thales took a deep breath, strode forward, swung his cane, and walked toward his hope.

One step, two steps...

Fifty steps, one hundred steps...

One thousand steps, one thousand five hundred steps... over one sand dune, and then another.

One shrub, and another shrub!
Very soon, very soon!
As he got closer and closer to his target, Thales became increasingly excited.

Water, water, water!
My goodness, haha.

He was saved.

Thales chuckled inwardly, his emotions fluctuating.

The desert god is free from calamity.

May the Desert God be free from calamity!

He thought to himself: That's right, the desert never brings disaster without reason.

Raphael was right; the weak fear disaster. In the desert, only by abandoning weakness can one...

Talent...

Talent?

But Thales gradually became anxious.

He didn't know how long he had been walking.

But he was aware of the number of steps he had taken.

It seems like... it's been more than an hour, hasn't it?
Thales gritted his teeth, licking the blood from his dry lips, and persevered onward.

His whole body started to ache and feel sore.

It can even cause numbness.

But he can't stop.

Thales stared at the water source in front of him and pressed forward with all his might.

can't stop.

Why haven't you arrived yet?
Finally, the sun slowly sank, and dusk arrived.

The surroundings became cool and shady.

Thales gasped for breath, trying to stay upright amidst waves of dizziness.

But his spirits had also completely broken.

Without him.

In his field of vision...

The water source before him, the lake before him, the hope before him…

Disappeared.

sand.

There was only sand.

Thales trembled as he stared at the empty horizon before him.

He trembled and shook his head vigorously, feeling his vision begin to blur.

The stunned prince suddenly realized what was happening.

What he saw during the day, what he longed for, what he strived to reach with all his might...

It's not a lake.

That's not a lake.

It's an illusion.

Also known as: mirage.

The next moment, the prince's vision went black, and he collapsed in the desert.

Lost consciousness.

Sinking into deep darkness.

Mr. Wu, we have completed the evidence collection for this accident... We have thoroughly reviewed the surveillance footage from that day... as well as the scene itself, including possible skid marks and eyewitness accounts. All the evidence points to...

We are still reviewing her medical records, including her mental state, which is why we are here today to take a statement from you. However, you'd better be prepared...

No, no, Mr. Wu, please don't get agitated. After all, you're still in the hospital... We're just saying there's a possibility; everything is still under investigation...

I don’t know how long it took.

It feels like a lifetime.

Or perhaps... in an instant?

[Perhaps, I mean perhaps, Mr. Wu, your girlfriend took you for a drive that day, maybe she went to...maybe to...]

[...suicide.]

The next second, Thales was jolted awake!
"what!"

He took a deep breath, shouted, and woke up from the boundless darkness!
My heart pounded with fear.

"Oh, oh!"

“Take it easy, kid, you’re severely dehydrated,” a shrill male voice called out. “Dean, Dean, come quick!”

"He's awake!"

Thales opened his eyes shakily, and what he saw was a blinding bonfire.

And the bustling crowd around.

It's...night now?
Weak and confused, Thales thought to himself.

As he awoke, the noise around him grew louder: teasing, arguing, and talking.

It was so noisy it gave him a headache.

A long, narrow face squeezed into my field of vision.

It was a red-haired man in his twenties or thirties, wearing leather armor and covered in freckles. He was somewhat dirty, and his eyes darted around erratically, looking rather comical: "My God! I knew you'd come back to life..."

The redhead was overjoyed and vigorously rubbed Thales' face, making the latter dizzy again: "Dean, we can talk to him about the reward for saving people..."

"Get out of the way, quick rope, stop shaking him!" A mature male voice came from afar, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

"You're not helping."

The owner of the voice seemed quite authoritative, and as he spoke, the surrounding noise gradually subsided.

The man named Quick Rope stopped bothering him.

That mature voice came again: "Here, have a drink."

Thales felt his head being lifted up and a hard object being stuffed into his mouth.

The moisture in his mouth slightly confused him.

and many more.

water.

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

It's water!

He instinctively struggled, snatched the water bag with both hands, and desperately sucked the liquid inside.

Gulu, gurgle, gurgle...

Thales gripped the water bag tightly in his hand like a madman.

Oh my goodness.

Water, water!
He had never felt so strongly before that water was a gift from heaven.

"Slow down, one sip at a time," the dignified and mature voice was gentle as it supported Thales's back and gently held the water bag, controlling the speed at which Thales drank.

"You've just recovered, you can't drink too fast."

Finally, a few minutes later, Thales released the water bag and leaned back, exhausted.

He recognized the owner of the mature voice: a rugged-looking bald man in his thirties with a fine stubble beard, dressed in leather armor like "Quick Rope," and gazing at him with deep, thoughtful eyes.

"Thank you, thank you," Thales said weakly and with difficulty.

He then realized that he had been rescued.

He did not die in the desert.

Under the cover of night, his savior, the bald man named Dean, smiled in the firelight: "Very good."

"You look much better."

Just now.

"Hey, Dean!" A shrill voice suddenly ripped through the air, like a germaphobe seeing a cockroach.

The surrounding area became agitated again.

The third voice, sounding rather slick and old-fashioned, came from afar, carrying a slight hint of displeasure: "I heard you've been meddling in other people's business again, picking up some trash on the road—I strongly protest against you. Although I respect you, you need to understand the risks of this journey and prioritize our safety..."

Thales frowned slightly. He saw the first red-haired man named Quick Rope to enter Thales' field of vision sigh.

He said to bald Dean with a bitter face, "Oh my god, it's Sepp—that swindler, he's here again."

Bald Dean looked up and frowned slightly.

"I'll go and negotiate with him."

“And you have high hopes for him, Quick Rope,” Dean said calmly, his mature voice giving people a strange sense of reassurance, “waiting for Louisa and Old Hammer to come back and relieve him.”

Dean stood up, and Thales then noticed that the burly man was heavily armed with tools, from knives to ropes, strapped to his slanted leather belt.

His figure moved away from the firelight and towards the shrill voice.

Thales struggled to sit up and leaned against the bag on his back.

He looked around and was surprised to find that the fire in front of them was not the only one. There were several other campfires around them, each surrounded by a number of people. They were dressed in different ways: some had their faces covered with headscarves, some were wearing leather armor, some were covered in trinkets, and some were sitting in a pile of miscellaneous items, gesturing and talking animatedly.

Many people looked at him curiously.

Further out, more than twenty camels knelt down to rest, happily chewing their food.

Thales stared blankly at the strange camp.

This……

He looked up at the red-haired, freckled young man opposite him, named "Quick Rope"—the man was also staring at him with interest.

"Where am I?" Thales asked with difficulty, feeling his tongue heavy.

Kuaisheng was slightly taken aback.

"Where?"

He scratched his freckled nose, then his eyes lit up. He grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and rubbed it between his fingers: "Of course you're in the desert!"

"Are you still half asleep?"

Seeing the sand in Quick Rope's hand, Thales had an idea.

He is still in the desert.

but……

“So,” Thales muttered, staring at the rope.
"who are you?"

Upon hearing this question, Kaisen's eyes lit up, and his expression changed drastically, switching between several different looks in an instant.

"who are we?"

He seemed to be hesitating.

Thales looked at him suspiciously, urging him on with his eyes.

After a long pause, Quick Rope finally made up his mind, his hesitant expression vanishing, and he answered happily and decisively, "We..."

The impetuous Quick Rope, beaming with excitement, uttered a statement that astonished Thales:
"We are sword dealers!"

(End of this chapter)