Chapter 89: The Wind and Sand Are Too Strong, Don't Talk
"Sandora Great Lizards!"
Lily gripped her sword hilt, calmly stating, "They never hunt alone; they always appear in pairs…"
Regarding Sag's plan to head to Rainbase and Alubarna, as the navigator, her natural course of action was to gather local intelligence.
The deserts of Arabasta were not entirely safe. Even locals wouldn't easily traverse unknown areas; there were established paths.
But for speed, they were taking an unfamiliar route, effectively crossing the deep desert.
She knew about the Sandora Great Lizards and their habits, and had even made some precautionary preparations.
However, before these preparations could even be taken out, they had already failed (as the camels were eaten).
These lizards were huge; their pupils alone were as tall as a person. Saliva dripped from their massive, sharp teeth. If one took a bite, let alone camels, even these people would likely perish in the lizards' mouths.
But they weren't necessarily that strong…
Seeing the lizards open their giant mouths about to charge, Lily was just about to draw Shirai when she suddenly paused again.
"Get down!"
Buzz!!
The sky suddenly seemed to press down. The blowing wind, sand, and the nearby river water almost stopped at this moment.
The two large lizards, poised to attack from left and right, lowered their heads at this instant, pressing their entire bodies flat against the ground. Upon closer look, they were even trembling.
"Now, initiating Plan B for crossing to Rainbase. No camels, so we use lizards."
Sag walked up to one lizard. "Give me a ride, take me to Rainbase. You can do that, right?"
Within those eyes, the scarlet glow stared intently at the lizard, causing the giant creature to nod in a very human-like manner. It even sank most of its body into the desert sand, leaving a layer of its back exposed, seemingly wanting to make it convenient for them to step onto its back.
"Very good."
Sag nodded, stood on the head it exposed above the desert, and said to the others, "Get on. We're changing transportation methods to reach Rainbase."
In this regard, Sag had backup plans. Especially after hearing Lily's investigation about the strange creatures in the desert, he had even more options.
Camels were the first option. Once eaten, find the creature that ate the camels. Whoever ate them was responsible!
Having Haoshoku Haki allowed him to be this domineering!
These strange creatures, even if their brains were only the size of a kernel and they didn't have the high emotions of Sea Kings, it didn't matter. As long as they could feel the pressure, it was fine. Sag hadn't expected to use them for long anyway; just reaching Rainbase was enough.
As for how to get back…
Rainbase would have everything!
The subordinates, located in the desert, climbed onto the lizard's back with fear and trepidation. As for the other lizard, although no one touched it, it didn't dare leave either, instead staring eagerly at its paired companion.
These creatures always appeared in pairs; they died together too.
Sag didn't care about these things. Seeing that his subordinates were all on the back, he looked down. "To Rainbase, head west. Don't stop until I tell you to. Even if you run yourself to death, don't you dare rest!"
Rumble!
The huge purple lizard re-emerged onto the desert surface, quickly moved its four limbs, and directly kicked up a cloud of dust in the desert, disappearing extremely quickly from the sight of those guarding the ship.
This was much faster than camels.
High-speed movement inevitably brought inertia. Without something to hold onto, one would definitely be blown away. The subordinates quickly grabbed onto the bumps on the lizard's back, preventing themselves from being thrown off during the high-speed movement.
Sag stood atop the lizard's head, arms crossed, completely unconcerned about the oncoming wind and sand. He let the wind and sand blow through his hair tips and fur cloak, leaving behind an upright figure for the crowd, making his subordinates even more worshipful.
As expected of Captain Sag!
Lily even walked from the back, which was like a hilly slope, to the top of the head, facing the wind and sand, and said to Sag, "Sag, at this speed, we'll reach Rainbase in one or two hours."
No response.
Lily turned her head to look at Sag, discovering his expression was solemn, not uttering a word, just staring straight ahead.
Was there something ahead?
Lily subconsciously looked forward. This endless desert, vast and empty, stretched seemingly without end. Walking here, even with a direction, one would likely fall into stagnation and confusion due to the endless desert.
As a desert region, it was naturally sparsely populated. Otherwise, with this area, how could the population not reach ten million?
"Sag, I heard the standing army here has a million soldiers. One in ten people becomes a soldier in the army. If there are too many people, your Haoshoku…"
Dealing with a few thousand people was one thing, but against hundreds of thousands of soldiers, was Haoshoku Haki really effective?
That number was simply too large.
If they entered Alubarna and were still entangled by soldiers, relying solely on these few dozen people, they couldn't possibly fight against so many. No matter how well they could fight, their hands would grow soft (get tired/hesitate).
Sag's eyes moved slightly, glancing at Lily. The indifference in his eyes seemed to tell her that no matter how large the number, he didn't care.
Lily lowered her head and smiled. "That's really your style. A determined plan only has alternatives, no failures, huh…"
"Ah?"
Sag said strangely, "The wind and sand are too strong, I can't hear clearly. What did you say, Lily?"
She had been moving her mouth non-stop by herself just now; wasn't she afraid of getting sand blown into her mouth?
Lily paused, stunned. Her fair face, which had been somewhat serious, seemed to be roasted by fire, a blush rising. She twitched the corner of her mouth, veins popping on the hand gripping her sword hilt. She immediately turned around and went back onto the lizard's back.
Pearl thought there was some danger ahead. Leaning against a bump on the lizard's back that felt like a breakthrough, he was just about to speak, "Lady Lily…"
"Shut up!"
Lily glared fiercely at him. "The wind and sand are so strong, don't talk to me! Otherwise, I'll throw you off!"
"Yes!" Pearl, glared at like this, felt pain all over his body and couldn't help but shiver.
During the high-speed movement, none of the dozens of people spoke. Perhaps because of Lily's terrifyingly low aura, they didn't even dare to drink water, just waited quietly.
Considering the inconvenience of returning, although they temporarily had lizards, he didn't increase the number of people. He seemed to remember Rainbase having crocodile mounts, but it would be troublesome if there weren't enough. It was better to maintain the current number.
After a little over two hours, the lizard's speed gradually slowed down. Ahead, the outline of a city appeared and gradually approached. Upon reaching the city's side, the foremost giant lizard finally stopped. And behind it, the lizard that followed also stopped its steps, just quietly looking at Sag.
This city, situated in the desert, looked much more magnificent than Nanohana. Especially in the center, there was a huge building resembling a pyramid, topped with the symbol of a golden crocodile.
The headquarters of Arabasta's hero, the Shichibukai, Crocodile, was here.
At the same time, it was also the largest casino in Rainbase – Rain Dinners.
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