Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1336 - 122: Desert Storm

Chapter 1336: Chapter 122: Desert Storm

’Crack, crack’ the sound was incessant, as the sand and gravel carried by the ferocious wind pounded relentlessly against the skeletons of the outermost mounts, producing dull thuds. However, as soon as these sounds emerged, they were torn apart by the wind and dissolved into the howling gales. At times like this, the great advantage of the skeletons became evident. Sandstorms in the desert were fierce, and the winds could easily blow a person away while the sand and stones wrapped in them could reduce an ordinary person to shreds. Being in the middle of a desert storm was very dangerous, just like the blizzards on the Perpetual Icefield, but for the skeletons, such hazards simply did not exist. Most of the spaces between their bones allowed the wind to pass through, so the forces that could blow away living creatures had no effect on skeletons hunched on the ground. Even the blade-like gravel could not leave any marks on the bones filled with the energy of death. Thus, in the middle of a desert storm, these skeletal beasts and skeletal riders were as if they were just taking a regular rest, completely unconcerned by the most terrifying natural disaster of the desert.

The living beings huddled in the innermost circle were actually the ones who had it the toughest; they tried very hard to counter the desert storm. On the Skyboat that brought the young ladies to the desert, they had already read a lot of material to familiarize themselves with the customs and taboos of adventuring in the desert. Therefore, before the storm hit, everyone was lying flat on the ground, hugging the sand. Not only that, each person had also piled up a mound of sand over their heads, hiding their heads behind it to minimize the impact of the storm on their bodies.

Freya’s face was pale, having experienced the ice storm on the Perpetual Icefield, Her Royal Highness had developed a subconscious fear of overly strong winds. Her face would turn extremely pale whenever she encountered violent winds. Clearly, the last time she got lost on the Icefield, although she found a safe house in time to save her life, the experience had left a deep psychological shadow. However, the other girls understood Freya’s situation; in everyone’s eyes, any one of them would probably not have done any better than Her Royal Highness at that time, and certainly could not have managed, like Her Royal Highness, to just turn pale.

"We should dig a pit in the sand, then we could shelter from the wind," suggested Freya, pressing tightly against the sandy ground. It was only possible to convey her voice to her teammates nearby by staying close to the ground—if one were even slightly higher, the speech would be carried away by the violent winds, turning into an incomprehensible jumble of noises. Her Royal Highness had already learned from the material how to speak during a desert storm and shouted while lying on the ground, "Hide in the pit, and no wind is to be feared, haha, I’m simply too clever, ptui, ptui, ptui, I hate this sand."

"So clever indeed," Vivian retorted, barely able to make out half of her mouth, but still insisted on mocking, "Why don’t you carve a tombstone for yourself and set it next to the pit you’ve dug for yourself? That would be even smarter. You idiot, do you want to bury yourself alive in the desert? The sand and wind are strong enough as it is, and you want to make a pit that will make them slow down and settle? You are truly a genius."

"That’s still better than being blown away by the storm," argued Freya, as the quarrel did not stop them from seeking shelter. She hugged her head and lay down, already covered with a thin layer of fine sand. Each time she spoke, a lot of sand would pour into her mouth, but Her Royal Highness could no longer care about that and curled up shouting, "I think I’m about to be blown away. I’ve been dieting too fiercely recently; my weight has dropped from three digits to two, and I just can’t stand up to this level of wind."

"Shut up, idiot," Vivian yelled disparagingly, "Right now, you weigh as much as three of me and you still dare to say you’re light. Who gave you the courage? Besides, I’m not even worried about being blown away, so what are you worried about?"

"Of course, you’re not worried, idiot," Freya retorted with equal sharpness. "You’re not the one lying there by yourself. If you hadn’t been pinned down, you’d have flown off to who knows where by now."

Indeed, Freya wasn’t wrong, Vivian wasn’t lying there on her own. As the desert storm was approaching and everyone lay down to take cover, right after the girls had just settled, Pannis lay down next to the mage girl, using his arm to shield her beneath him, and with his other arm, he also protected the little skeleton that, out of excitement at seeing such a big storm for the first time, intended to run around everywhere. The girls were all stunned, then Catherine smacked herself hard on the head. She knew she had overlooked the most important issue. Although Vivian had recovered now, the muscle atrophy from over a decade was not so easy to overcome, and the current Vivian weighed at most thirty kilograms. Her slender body would have had a hard time enduring such a hurricane, but fortunately, Pannis had not overlooked this issue, thereby preventing a tragedy. So, Catherine, emulating Pannis, wrapped Annie in her arms and was gripped by self-reproach.

The mage girl, shielded by Pannis on top of her, although she had been in such close contact many times before during adventures, felt her heartbeat speed up more than ever this time. Vivian’s face turned red, her big eyes curved into two crescents with a hint of shy pride. She nuzzled comfortably into Pannis’s embrace to find the most comfortable position and then began her battle with Freya, not caring at all about the other girls’ gazes, which were even colder than the storm. As for how much of the meaningless quarrel between the two girls was due to jealousy and how much was to distract Catherine from her guilt, only they themselves would know.

"The storm is starting to die down," Pannis abruptly intervened, interrupting the quarrel between the two girls. His ears twitched, and he suddenly asked, "Mr. Ghost, the storms of the Spirit World’s desert come quickly and leave quickly, but whether it’s the same here, I’m not too clear. According to your experience, how much longer will this desert storm last?"

"It’s pretty much what you said." The talking head of a ghost not far in front of Pannis, the welcoming and passionate Mr. Ghost, had burrowed directly into the sand when the desert storm arrived, leaving only his head exposed. Although it looked extremely eerie, he perfectly avoided the trouble brought by being too light. The ghost counted the time and nodded, "The center of the storm has passed. In another two or three minutes, it’ll be clear."

"That’s the best news I’ve heard all day," Pannis said, his arms twisted as he knocked on each of the two heads in his embrace, sounding quite annoyed, "You two stay put and stop wriggling around, especially you, Vivian."

"Mew." Vivian held her head, emitting a whimper like a kitten, but her eyes were filled with joy.