Chapter 286: Swimming in the Waves

Chapter 286: Swimming in the Waves

On the fifth night of our journey through the desert, the adults including myself, gathered together for a meeting. The sole purpose of this meeting was to discuss our destination, the oasis.

Our strategy had been to take a break and then fly in the sky, pinpoint the oasiss location, and proceed in its direction until it was time to rest again. This routine was supposed to guarantee our eventual arrival there.

Marcellus, just to confirm, there are no errors in your measurements, right?

Yes. Ive calculated it with astronomical observations as well, so theres hardly any room for mistakes. Even if I am like this right now, my mind is as sharp as ever.

Dont joke around An oasis that moves? Seriously?

Tigar looked up at the sky while folding his arms and let out a deep sigh. Despite it only being five days, we had become convinced of something inexplicable. We didnt know what caused it, but the oasis was moving.

It was on the morning of the second day that this suspicion first occurred to us. We had checked the direction before going to sleep on the first night, and just to be sure, we decided to verify the oasiss direction again the next morning. Thats when we noticed a slight deviation in direction.

At the time, we assumed it was within the margin of error. We understood that the place from which we had measured was not exactly the same place or elevation as before. We thought it would be enough to simply correct our position and move on. However, on the morning of the third day, we found that our position had shifted from the direction we had verified the second day.

Moreover, this deviation was bigger than the one we had observed between the night of the first day and the morning of the second day. Although we were only amateurs, we knew how to read a compass. So we couldnt help but wonder if such a significant shift was normal.

It was then that Magna half-jokingly said, Maybe the oasis is running away from us? We could only offer a wry smile in return but Chirik came to a different conclusion. He entertained the unconventional suspicion that it may not be that we are moving in the wrong direction, but that the oasis itself is moving away.

Even though I thought it couldnt be, I couldnt dismiss Chiriks idea out of hand, especially when his eyes sparkled with the possibility of an incredible discovery. To satisfy Chiriks curiosity, we decided not to move on the third day. Instead, we stayed in one place and took measurements from the same elevation at three different times: morning, noon, and night.

When I said that we needed more accurate measurements, Marcellus, Decius, and Asumi volunteered. Since they all served in the military before, they were skilled at calculating distances and such tasks.

Until now, they thought their role was minimal and assumed that a rough understanding of our direction would be sufficient. However, the changed circumstances made them realize that it was their time to shine. The knowledge and skills honed by the trios rigorous military training were now fully employed.

When they mentioned flying up to survey from above, Lorenz said he wanted to go too. It seemed that he had always wanted to experience the thrill of overlooking the desert from the sky. Although he had wanted to join us from the first day, he had been reluctant to say anything, perhaps out of consideration for the rest of us.

I was a little surprised to learn that Lorenz was still gauging his relationship with us, but I decided to take him and the others on board and fly to the sky. When Lappy and the others heard this, they also said they wanted to come, so it was an inevitable decision to take everyone to the sky.Upstodatee from n(0)/ve/lbIn/.(co/m

By the third day of measurements, it was clear that the oasis was indeed moving. To confirm our findings, we continued our observations for two more days which eventually brought us to today, the fifth day. The results conclusively showed that the oasis was moving at a constant speed.

Apart from the insects, nocturnal carnivores also gave us a hard time. These carnivorous creatures, which seemed to be related to wolves or dogs, were feeble enough that a slightly trained child like Magna could fend off a single one. The real trouble arose because they attacked in packs of dozens.

Each of the packs seemed to be led by an intelligent leader who was targeting our weak spots with great precision. Knowing they had no chance against us from the start, these creatures targeted the horses and oxen we had left resting away from the carriages.

While most of the pack distracted us by howling and running around, a separate group would attack the cattle and try to take them away. They were frustratingly sharp enemies.

But we had Shuu and Apao on our side. After transforming into their demon forms, they easily dispatched the separate attack team, and eventually the attackers gave up and retreated. Despite their relentless pursuit, we never actually suffered any casualties from these attacks, but their persistent chase caused many of us to lose sleep at night.

It was merely an irritating thing for me and my comrades, but that wasnt the case with the oxen and horses. They became scared and were unable to rest.

Without proper rest, the health of the cattle and the efficiency of the next days journey would be compromised. As a result, Asumi and the others were forced to slay the beasts night after night before they could get too close.

After overcoming these challenges, we finally reached the border between the gravel desert and the sand desert. The further south we traveled, the more sparse the vegetation became and the more the ground shifted from dirt to sand. But the transition was so gradual that we feared we would not notice until all plant life had disappeared.

So this is why the oasis moves.

It seems like desert is the wrong word. This is a sea of sand.

But the reality was different. There was a clear boundary between the gravel desert and the sand desert. This was because the sand desert that was spreading out in front of us was rippling like the waves of the sea.

The sands of the sand desert were in constant motion, creating what can only be described as sand currents, similar to sea currents. Within these currents, large rocks floated and they were slowly carried along by the flow of sand.

I really cant fathom the logic behind this phenomenon but at least the reason why the oasis move makes sense now.

That means the oasis is being carried along by the flow! The outside world is amazing!

No, I think its just this place thats special.

While Woodorrel was in awe of the flowing sea of sand, Chirik interjected with a dose of realism. Since Lorenz who was probably the most knowledgeable among us was eagerly jotting down notes, this meant that this anomaly was indeed exceptional enough to be the highlight of the travelogue.

The question now was how to reach the oasis from here. While I was thinking about this and watching fish leap from the sandy waves, I realized I needed to discuss this with the group Wait, there is fish here?! We need to catch them!