Lord of the Oasis - Chapter 113
Chapter 113: Orders to Destroy the Well
“Whoa —”
Kant tightened his grip on the reins, and his warhorse finally slowed down as he moved forward.
The Sarrandian Horsemen and the desert bandits beside him also slowed down their horses and gathered around Kant. Some of them held their machetes tightly in their trembling right hands, and their expressions were extremely cold.
They had just experienced a battle, and the enemies who dared to block them were crushed.
Even now.
These bandits from the Sarrandian desert were in disbelief.
They didn’t understand why these Jackalan Heavy Infantrymen were so confident that they dared to face the spear of the cavalry head-on when the cavalry was charging at its maximum speed.
If they spread out, they wouldn’t be annihilated in the first round of charging.
That was why Kant’s men’s right hands were trembling.
It wasn’t because they were excited, nor was it because they were afraid. It was because of the reaction force when they came into contact with the Jackalan’s Heavy Infantrymen during the charge. It caused their right hand and arm, which had been well trained, to suffer a considerable impact.
It would probably take two to three days for them to fully recover.
They could continue charging at such a large scale and intensity, but their arms would suffer irreversible damages.
Fortunately, the battle had already ended.
“It’s over.”
Kant’s voice sounded with a hint of fatigue.
They had traveled all the way here and had to go into battle before they had time to rest. Most of their energy was used up.
The thirty or so Jackalan that dared to resist were killed on the spot.
The three hundred low-level Jackalan around them fled in great disorder. They didn’t even dare to resist before vanishing into the vast sea of sand around them. They seemed to have suffered severe psychological trauma, so they couldn’t organize a counterattack in a short time.
In fact, no Jackalan organized a counterattack.
No one would go on a suicide mission, even the savage, and uncivilized lower-level Jackalan.
They all knew fear.
“Lord Kant, do we still need to chase after them?”
The Sarrandian Horseman beside him spoke.
The surrounding Sarrandian Horsemen were also eager to give it a try. Their eyes swept across the dunes around them and were gleaming with undisguised excitement and obvious intention to kill because they felt that they had reached a critical point.
A quantitative change would cause a qualitative change. This was considered the critical point of rebirth.
However, Kant rejected their request to pursue, “There’s no need.”
Slowly letting out a breath, Kant ordered in a deep voice, “Let our caravan come over. Let’s rest here and set up a temporary camp. Those fleeing Jackalans could never outrun our Warhorse. I don’t want any accidents to happen.”
“Understood,” An elite desert bandit nodded and immediately rode his horse towards the dune where they were charging from.
When they charged, they left behind the caravan and the peasants.
The single-humped camels loaded with supplies and the peasants holding a long scythe were not the valiant and invincible cavalry on the battlefield. They could not even fight the low-level Jackalans holding a spiked club, not to mention the high-level Jackalan warriors.
Kant no longer needed the low-level infantrymen to risk their lives for the future.
These Sarrandian Light Cavalrymen were enough to deal with most of the problems.
Soon, the 10 peasants hiding behind the dune carried long scythe in their arms and led the 10 single-humped camels down the dunes. Joy was written all over their faces, they knew about the victory of this battle.
“Set up the tents.”
Kant looked at the empty space around them. At the same time, he gave detailed instructions, “Go and check the well out. I hope there’s no problem.”
“Understood.” The accompanying peasants immediately took action.
The elite desert bandits also dismounted and helped setting up the tents. At the same time, they also found some temporary stoves and started to prepare food. They had not eaten breakfast yet and were starving.
The Sarrandian Horsemen were responsible for cleaning the battlefield.
Even without Kant’s arrangement, they could still do their jobs in an orderly manner.
The tent was set up.
The sandpit inside was done.
The old tent was set on fire. With the addition of the wood they brought, the temporary grill was officially completed.
Slices of bread, dried meat, and dried sausage were placed beside the bonfire to be heated up.
Together with a few date palms, breakfast was ready.
Of course, everyone also had a piece of date honey sweet, which had just been made successfully yesterday. The delicious and sweet taste filled their mouths, and the soldiers, who were used to eating salty and hard dried meat, were very satisfied.
There was also cool well water from the well, which was used by the soldiers, who had traveled for a long time, to clean themselves up and to scrub their bodies.
With this kind of leisure, it did not feel like a war, but more like an outing.
This was the treatment of a victor.
After breakfast, Kant also washed up a little. The cold well water was applied on his face and body with a towel. The tiredness from last night’s journey seemed to have been washed away, and after this enjoyable battle, he became energetic.
He walked toward the well nearby.
The edge of the well was blackened by the fire, but the water wheel that was burned had been replaced with a new one.
It seemed to be changed by the high-level Jackalans.
The water was not only needed to keep their bodies hydrated but also to wash their body hair. Compared to the low-level Jackalans who didn’t know what etiquette was, these high-level Jackalans cared more about their appearance.
“Lord, we can’t keep this well.”
The Sarrandian Horseman behind Kant said with a solemn tone, “This will become the enemy’s aid.”
“That’s right,” Kant nodded.
The high-level Jackalans had appeared here again. Asage, the captive, said that the expeditionary army would soon appear in the south of the Nahrin Desert, and this well would be their first stop.
It would probably take 30 days to cross the edge of the Devil’s Land that had no water or vegetation.
Even if they brought a large number of supplies, those would probably be used up when they were here.
The expedition army of the Kingdom of Grey Mane would urgently need to replenish their water supply. This well was two meters in diameter and was directly connected to the underground water. The well that was once able to meet the needs of close to 2,000 Jackalans would be a life-saving straw to them.
It would also be the greatest help in conquering the Oasis Lookout.
Oasis Lookout was the most suitable outpost, and those Jackalan definitely wouldn’t give up.
“I must destroy this well.”
Kant made up his mind.
He could have the caravan bring more water sack to solve the drinking water problem, but he wasn’t willing to let this well become the enemy’s supply station.
Leaving the well would be irresponsible and would lead to the most serious consequences.
Fortunately, they discovered it in time and sensed that the expedition army of the Kingdom of Grey Mane was coming. They only needed to dig up the edge of the well and pour a lot of sand into it. They could level the well with the surrounding ground, and no one would see any traces of it.
And if Kant won the battle in the future, or if he wanted to continue to develop this place, he only needed to look for the well carefully.
The walls of the well were all ready-made.
By then, they only needed to dig along the stone walls of the well and dig up the sand again. This well, which was connected to the underground water, would continue to exist in the desert and become Kant’s aid.
Of course, only Kant knew about this.
Those low-level Jackalans could not tell the exact location of the well.
This would make the expedition army of the Kingdom of Grey Mane, who reached the southern part of the Nahrin Desert after a long journey, helpless. They would continue to advance toward the Oasis Lookout with their exhausted bodies. Eventually, they would be destroyed by the desert, and Kant’s victory would be achieved.
They did as they were told. The peasants and cavalrymen who had finished their breakfast came over to help.
After replenishing their sacks with the well water, they started to cover the well up.
It did not take much effort to fill a well in the desert. The amount of sand on the surrounding dunes was immeasurable.
Sacks of sand were poured into the well and blocked the bottom of the well.
This was not a small project.
They worked from the morning until noon. After resting, they continued to work. When it was almost afternoon, more than 60 people finally completely filled the well with sand. They even tore down the stones that formed the wall of the well and threw them inside. They continued to fill the well with sand until the place was completely flattened and no traces of the well could be seen.
They continued to rest. After eating dinner, Kant ordered, “Let’s go.”
They had other important matters to attend to after a busy day.
They still needed to clean up the Jackalans in the natural salt mine. The linen sacks carried by the 10 one-humped camels had to be filled up with coarse salt, and only then, was their mission accomplished.
Taking advantage of the dusk, they continued to move forward in the desert.
As the stars appeared, the coldness had already penetrated through their clothes, it was unbearable.
After they had traveled nearly half the distance, Kant ordered them to set up camp.
They didn’t know if there were still Jackalans at the natural salt mine, or if there would be more high-level Jackalans. Therefore, it was critical to maintain their energy and physical strength on their way to the salt mine was
Nothing happened during the night.
They woke up early the next morning.
After breakfast, they went on with their journey and soon arrived at the salt mine in the morning.
In the vast desert, the white salt and alkaline land spread to the horizon. These were all precious resources formed after the salt lake dried up.
Kant looked around and didn’t find any Jackalan.
However, the tents they destroyed the last time they came and the bodies of the Jackalans had disappeared.
The exact situation was unknown.
However, according to Kant’s understanding of the Jackalan that lived in the desert, when they were hungry, even their own kind would be listed on their menu. So, they would not care at all about eating corpses.
“Peasants, collect the coarse salt. Hurry up.”
Kant turned his head and ordered. At the same time, he said in a deep voice, “Sarrandian Horsemen, stand by. Desert Bandits, spread out and scout.”
“Understood!” Everyone replied.
Kant had less and less time left.
He needed to improve his strength as fast as possible.
Kant was not confident about relying entirely on the protection of the current Oasis Lookout when the expeditionary army from the Kingdom of Grey Mane arrived. After all, he did not know how many troops there would be.
However, since these troops could carry out expeditions, they would definitely be in large numbers and would not be too weak.
