The steep stairs seemed to be endless. Jonah soon exhausted his strength. His legs were numb. He could only follow Danny in front to mechanically lift his legs and drop them. Lift his legs and drop them. He used the artifact Siela Pina as a walking stick.
Use it. Even so, it is still farther and farther away from the men of the Stewart family.
The only thing to be thankful for is that every time he walked up a hundred stairs, the Tantuha guide stopped and knelt on the ground devoutly to pray to the worm. The prayer with harsh syllables would last for three minutes. This gave the astrologer apprentice
A precious moment to breathe. If it hadn't been for this short rest, Jonah's lungs might have burst due to lack of oxygen.
"Huh...how high is it still?" After the fifth rest, he continued to set off. Jonah climbed up the steps with difficulty. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked out of breath. The steep and narrow steps were like entanglements.
The ribbon on the main peak. When you raise your head, you can only see the peak covered by clouds and mist. It is impossible to estimate how long the way out is.
"At the current speed." Hannah replied from behind. "We can barely make it to the top before dark. Fortunately, it is now a windless period. The danger of climbing will be much less. Otherwise, the northeast wind will
Our speed will slow down another 30%."
Danny stopped and laughed condescendingly at the weak St. Bollen man: "That won't work, cargo friend. The long day has just begun. If you are hungry, I have wheat cakes for lunch here. Do you want some?
.Or just give you a camp bed."
Jonah ignored him. He gritted his teeth and climbed up the steps. "Huhu... Hannah. There is no one left on the 'Bactrian Wind'. Huhu... Is it okay?"
The current head of the Stuart family glared at his brother and motioned for the talkative man to shut up. "It's okay. The tunnel of the queen worm node is completely dark. For so many years, no one has dared to create any light in the queen worm's body. Either crawl.
Afterwards, the Insect Spine will meet the sailboat on the opposite side. Or, stay in the cabin and listen to the voice of the Desert Mother. No one dares to make any mistakes."
"Then...hehe. No one knows what will happen in the tunnel." Jonah became interested.
"Humph. Everyone knows it." Danny answered this time. "You'll understand when you get to the other side."
Jonah was very dissatisfied with his pretentiousness and grunted dissatisfied. At this time, the native guide stopped, knelt down, and fell to the ground. He began to pray for the sixth time. Jonah sat down on the steps and gulped.
Breathing heavily, he accidentally glanced outside. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't pay attention while he was immersed in climbing. At this moment, he found that he was hundreds of yards in the air. Half a foot away was an empty abyss.
The astrologer's apprentice quickly moved his buttocks and pressed his whole body against the rock wall. He wiped away cold sweat with lingering fear.
Viewed from this height, the sand-eating worm is as small as an ant. The majestic outline of the sand-eating worm spreads out endless shadows on the vast desert, pushing the bright yellow sand to the horizon.
Danny sat on the upper step and gasped: "It's so high. Don't think I am a child of the desert. In fact, I have always had a dream. That is to grow wings and learn to fly. Think about it. Flying freely in the air, overlooking the endless
How exciting it must be to see the humble crawling beings in the sea of sand..."
Jonah nodded and said to himself that I have tried that feeling. The "Lame Henry II" aircraft modified from a steam puppet robot sent him from the Astrology Tower in the Red Clay Plains to Cherry Ferry, nearly a thousand miles away. But During the entire flight, fear and confusion occupied his heart. Jonah had no time to experience the feeling of flying. After he fell, the steam puppet aircraft was probably taken by his father as his own. I don’t know where it is now.
Hannah walked between the two men, lifted up her cloak and sat down: "Stop dreaming, brother. Your only chance to fly into the sky in this life is to become the food in the stomach of the four-winged moa."
Danny said anxiously: "Don't underestimate me. I have an idea. It is to capture the four-winged moa and install a control device on the back of the bird. The power of the moa can completely lift the weight of an adult. This idea It was approved by Lao Bei. Lao Bei said that if I catch a live four-winged moa, he can help me complete the operating system..."
"Come on, come on." Hannah waved her hand and turned to Jonah: "So far, I haven't discovered the existence of the fourth element. What about you?"
"I haven't found it. If there is that kind of special landform on this pilgrimage route, the guide must know it. But you asked her before setting off. She didn't know." The astrologer apprentice thought for a while and said.
"Climb to the top of the peak. Then start searching from the north side first." Hannah repeated the policy of the trip.
After a brief chat, the guide took the three Western Continentalers and continued upward. This was a painful experience that Jonah did not want to look back on. There were many times when he thought that his legs were filled with lead and could not move even one minute. The body's The load has reached the limit. But the physical energy that is obviously exhausted has exceeded the limit again and again. His boots that are almost soaked can leave footprints on one step after another. He keeps up with Danny Stewart's pace step by step.
Finally, before the sun set, the group reached the top. The main peak of the Backworm Ridge is in the shape of a non-standard pyramid. The top of the peak is a basically flat stone flat. There is a huge semicircular granite altar in the center of the flat. As soon as the Tuha guide reached the top of the peak, he knelt on the ground and crawled towards the altar on his hands and knees. A sacrifice was held here not long ago. The brazier in the center of the altar was still emitting green smoke, which represented the Tantuha people. Eighteen spears of the tribe were planted around the altar. The faded tribal flag fluttered in the wind on the spears.
Danny climbed up the last step. He fell to the ground with a plop and his bag. He was gasping for breath for a long time and couldn't get up. Yona held Sila Fina on his back and climbed to the top after him. The west-slanting sun shone brightly. He caught the eyes of the astrologer's apprentice. After walking in the shadow of the queen for a day, he finally saw the golden Matlactili hanging in the sky again.
The male member of the Stewart family used all his strength to raise a thumb: "... Cargo friend. Huhu. I am very impressed with you... cough cough cough..."
Jonah sat down next to him. "I don't know where the strength comes from... Huhu. If I carry your big package, I might not even be able to climb a hundred steps..."
Hannah was the last to reach the peak of the Backworm Spine. She also looked a little tired. The blond hair on her temples was wet with sweat and stuck to her rosy cheeks. "Rest for half an hour. Then move to the north side." Stewart Contemporary The head of the family gave the order. "Sailor, translate for the guide."
At this time, Danny didn't even have the energy to argue with his sister. He coughed twice and shouted a few words at the indigenous guide. The Tantuha woman was lying in front of the altar in humiliation, talking to herself, ignoring her employer's words. call.
Jonah lay down. The hard rock under him was more comfortable than the softest velvet mattress at the moment. Sweat flowed into the corners of his eyes, making his eyes sore. He closed his eyes and sighed: "Huh...I'm lying down now." The greatest creature in the endless sand sea...the mother of all sand-eating insects...can't feel her movement at all..."
"Hahaha. That's awesome." Danny imitated him and lay down on his back, letting out a comfortable moan.
Hannah looked at the two men. A half-smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. The smile quickly disappeared. Her right hand reached into her cloak and quietly held the handle of the magic pistol "Summer White Sakura". She turned her head slightly and stared at the pilgrimage road. The final step.
The eternal wind of the endless sand sea blew. The windless period was over. No one climbed to the peak after them. Hannah took two steps forward in confusion. She looked down at the long and narrow stairs. The road in the shadow was empty. One person. Pilgrimage is usually performed in the morning. No one chooses to go on the pilgrimage road at noon, because that means spending the whole night on the Back of the Worm.
"It's an illusion again." Hannah seemed a little hesitant. She slowly let go of the pistol and sat next to the two men. Her eyes were still scanning the road.
This time, the Tantuha woman's prayer took a full fifteen minutes. After replenishing food and water, Danny Stewart's spirit perked up. He kept walking around, looking around, looking for the location of the treasure. Before he lost his patience, the guide finished his prayer and stood up. He said something to Danny. The sentence was very long. Jonah could see the solemn expression on the dark-skinned face of the indigenous woman.
"She said we can move on. But..." Danny seemed taken aback. He considered his words. "But this morning the high priest of the Lumei tribe made sacrifices here. It came from the cracks caused by burning animal bones in the brazier. Look. Something ominous is going to happen soon."
"Ask her for details. Aren't the Lumei tribe my father's mortal enemies? They are also here." Hannah stared at the hesitant guide with her narrow and cold green eyes. There was deep alertness in her eyes.
The man from the Stewart family quickly uttered a string of meaningless syllables. The native guide shook his head, nodded again, and replied with a few short sentences.
"She doesn't know the details. As the third daughter of the tribe's sacrifice, she can only simply identify the animal bone sacred mark. She can't interpret it in detail. As for the high priest of the Lumei tribe, she represents the Lumei tribe from the eighteen tribal flags. The position of the dark blue and white striped flag was guessed. Only people of the high priest level who embark on the pilgrimage have the right to hang the flag on the top of the spear." Danny translated. "I think she is telling the truth. She is from the Kaiea tribe. She has always been at odds with the Rumei tribe. Otherwise, she would not be able to help us."
"Why is that tribe called Rumei the mortal enemy of the King of Sand Bandits?" Yona couldn't help but interrupt.
"After the dead ghost dad came to the Endless Sand Sea, the first person he robbed was the Lumei tribe." Danny Stewart mentioned this past event. He seemed a little proud: "In the days when there were no sailing ships, he robbed the Lumei tribe. It caused a lot of minor troubles. After the "Bactrian Wind" was built, the minor troubles turned into a full-scale war. More than 30 mobile buildings were destroyed by the fire of the three-masted sailing ship alone. "The Director of the Lunatic Asylum "The title of "The Endless Sea of Sands" started from that time."