Seventh Chapter 760: Scorched Land

…

Flames erupted from the ground, like giant trees with outstretched claws. The surging tips of the flames were its branches, and the rolling thick smoke formed its leaves, connecting with each other to weave a vast black canopy.

Walking under the orange-red fire trees, Turam felt the temperature around him rising constantly. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his back became sticky. This place was like two different worlds from the cold desert outside. The cold wind of the Evil Moon could not erode the core area of the Great Earth Mother.

"Is this why it's called the Scorched Land..." The golden-haired goddess looked around with interest, "I didn't expect there to be such an interesting place in the extreme south."

After spending a week together, Turam had a preliminary understanding of the group that Iron Axe had brought. For example, the goddess who spoke was called Andrea, and she was skilled in archery. Her exquisite archery skills were unmatched even by the most experienced hunters among the sand people. Undoubtedly, she would participate in the upcoming Sacred Duel together with the powerful goddess Ash.

"Interesting?" Ash twitched her lips, "I just think this place is like a steamer. Ordinary people would probably become jerky after staying here for two days."

"I'm not surprised you'd say that," Andrea shrugged, "Lacking taste and style, you naturally can't appreciate the charm of this place."

"Aren't you going to wipe your sweat before boasting? You can't see any style with a sweaty face."

"Get away from me!"

Turam couldn't help but feel a sense of agreement with the golden-haired goddess. If asked what the most beautiful place in the entire extreme south was, it wasn't the Silver River Oasis that brought life and prosperity to the Mojin tribe, but the eternally burning Scorched Land and the Endless Cape. Although they were full of danger, they also symbolized great power, the abode of the gods, and the belief of the sand people. One was used to compete for status and power, showing the clan's bravery and tenacity to the Great Earth Mother; the other was used for sacrifices, hoping that the Child of the Sea could protect the people and inject more blood into the Silver River, allowing the desert to grow new oases.

Especially the Scorched Land, the entire area was sunken downwards, then slightly raised, like an inverted basin, large enough to hold several Iron Sand Cities. The eternal fire had hardened and solidified the surrounding sand, and walking on it was like stepping into a hall paved with stone bricks.

Apart from the wide and solid roads, there were black abysses and shafts on both sides, from which the geothermal fire spurted out, constantly baking this land. And the most shocking thing was the color—any sand person would be attracted by the magnificent and colorful hues of this place when they first entered the holy land: starting from the abyss, the rock walls on both sides presented a progressively changing crimson luster, which became dimmer the closer it got to the surface, like a piece of charcoal stone that was burning red and bright and then slowly cooling down.

However, once on the ground, the color suddenly turned into a brilliant emerald green, and the sand looked like it was covered with a layer of crystal-clear jade. It was a glassy substance formed by the re-crystallization of sand after being melted, reflecting a dazzling light under the illumination of the flames.

Further on was the eternal theme of this place—orange-red flames. Dozens of fire pillars gushed out in the basin, clustered around the high platform in the central area, as if welcoming the arrival of new challengers. That was also the core of the Scorched Land, the trial ground for the Sacred Duel.

Red and green alternated, plus the black water underground and the golden sand dunes in the distance, at first glance, it seemed like all the colors of the desert were gathered in this area. If it weren't for the Evil Moon, one could still see streaks of sunlight shining through the thick smoke. The only thing that could compare to such a scene was the Endless Cape with flames burning under the sea.

"I also think this place is beautiful... It would be better if there were no killings and bloodshed." His new master, Princess Zuer.Yinyue of the Aosha clan, suddenly said, "Like what Roland said, if it was just used for appreciation, it would definitely become a famous..."

"National Nature Park?" A small goddess, Hummingbird, continued.

"Yes, that's what he said when he was checking the devil's camp behind the Snow Mountain."

"As expected of a king, he thinks exactly like me." Andrea raised her chin.

"Come on, have you ever seen what he was talking about?" Ash sneered.

"Can't you use your brain to think if you haven't seen it? Judging from the literal meaning, it must refer to a place with magnificent scenery. Of course, people with shallow knowledge wouldn't understand."

"Tsk!"

Whether it was Iron Axe or the goddesses, they would inadvertently mention the name of the King of Graycastle during their conversations. Turam was very curious about what kind of person Roland.Wimbledon was, that both the sand people and the goddesses trusted him so much. Especially the latter, he remembered that traveling merchants had mentioned that the highly respected goddesses of the Mojin tribe were merely evil targets hunted by the church in the Four Kingdoms. However, judging from their attitude towards that king, it was obviously different from what the merchants said.

When the group arrived at the high platform, the warriors of the Bone Piercing Clan who had been waiting here for a long time booed, while the onlookers from other large clans looked on coldly—the Earth-shaking Thunder of Iron Sand City had undoubtedly caused them a great shock. Afterwards, Turam learned that the stone fortress where Lubaka, the chieftain of the Iron Whip Clan, lived had collapsed in an explosion, and his blood relatives and subordinates were buried in the ruins along with him, so that the six major clans suddenly became five, and they could not be replenished for a long time.

However, revenge was a matter of course for the sand people. The deep blood feud between Iron Whip and Aosha was not a secret. In addition, foreign warriors did not invade Iron Sand City, so Zuer.Yinyue's revenge was impeccable. Therefore, in addition to shock and fear, the other clans only had indifference left.

Unfortunately, they didn't know that Aosha's purpose this time exceeded everyone's imagination. Turam thought to himself, the Bone Piercing Clan was just the beginning, and the various clans present would eventually step down from the viewing platform and become the challenged—either defeat the opponent, or become Zuer.Yinyue's stepping stone.

The leader of the Wildfire Clan, as the arbitrator, walked up to the crowd, "Chief of the Aosha Clan, come forward to answer."

Zuer took a deep breath, took a step forward and said slowly, "I am."

The other party nodded expressionlessly, "Very good, this is not your first time participating in the Sacred Duel, you should understand the rules of the duel. The Bone Piercing Clan will send a total of twenty-two people to participate in the battle. Now choose weapons for your warriors. You are allowed to give up and surrender, but you must not violate the oath made to the Three Gods. Until there is no one standing on the field, the victor will win the qualification to enter Iron Sand City! Get ready to start."