Chapter 295: We do that and we’d be handsomely rewarded!

“Mhm-mhm, it seems I’m a bit tired already…”

“That’s not it, Ganzasu. You’re not seeing things. I understand why you have trouble accepting it, but I really did fly in the sky riding that thing.”

Afterward, Queen Maribel introduced us.

“They had saved us from a pack of Evil Hyenas. They’ve mentioned they came from somewhere outside of the desert. As for this mysterious power they have, they say it’s thanks to a Gift.”

“A Gift? You mean that nearly legendary power…?”

Apparently, no one in the desert kingdoms had a Gift.

Which probably stemmed from not having anyone who had the [Oracle] Gift, the Gift needed to perform the rite of blessing on someone.

Our village was lucky enough to have Millia, but since it was an extremely rare Gift, a place needed to have a large population before one could even expect it to appear. It wasn’t impossible, just improbable.

To give an example, no one in the beastmen settlements had such a Gift.

By the way, as long as one had the potential to bear the [Oracle] Gift, it seemed like they could unlock it by their own, without anyone performing the rite of blessing on them. At least, that was what happened with Millia.

And once there was at least one who had [Oracle], increasing the number of Gift-bearers in an area becomes possible.

“Anyway, how many have arrived so far?”

“…at the moment, about 50 people.”

Ganzasu-san seemed to have trouble answering Queen Maribel’s question.

“50, huh…”

“Of course, much like Your Majesty, I’m certain many more would arrive soon! They’re the best our kingdom has to offer, after all! They’re used to marching in this desert!”

Ganzasu-san asserted so, but honestly, the situation looked quite grim.

Without the proper preparations, crossing this desert was no easy task, even for soldiers who were accustomed to the locale.

If they were going to take back their kingdom, Queen Maribel’s side needed fighting power. I had no idea how much fighting power the other side had, but it was probably safe to assume that 50 soldiers wouldn’t be enough.

Almost like fate was kicking them when they were already down, a terrible report came in.

“E-enemy attack! A group of what seems like sand raiders are headed this way!”

“What did you say!? How can that be!? Has the location of this place been leaked to the enemy…!?”

We hurried to confirm the report and sure enough, we saw a group approaching our location as they left behind clouds of sand.

The sand raiders seemed to be riding a large sled that was being pulled by something.

“That monster is called a Sand Lizard. It’s normally very violent, but those sand raiders have somehow found a way to tame it.”

Thanks to their body that was well-suited for traveling in the sand, the sand lizards were able to advance on top of the sand easily and swiftly.

Moreover, the sleds they pulled were large enough to fit ten people, yet they moved forward as though they weren’t pulling anything.

At any rate, there were 6 Sand Lizards and each was pulling a sled. In other words, an enemy force of 60 people was probably what we should expect.

“Hyahaaa!! They found us!”

“Look! The queen’s over there!”

“So that’s the woman we gotta nab! We do that and we’d be handsomely rewarded! Gyahahaha!”

Each of the sand raiders made weird noises.

They’re…not very bright, are they?

“Damn! We must fight back! Their numbers mean nothing against our walls! Show those traitors the might of Enbala’s soldiers!”

Queen Maribel shouted so and the soldiers replied ‘Oooo!’ loudly and in unison.

And so, on top of the hardened-sand wall, we waited for the attackers to arrive.

“Hyahaa! Think that weak-ass wall can protect you!?”

“Sand lizards! Keep charging and smash that wall!”

“““Shaaaa!!”””

The sand raiders whipped the sand lizards and the latter charged forward with more force.

“““What!?”””

“G-get away!”

Given that the sand lizards were about 5 meters long each, their sped-up charge would likely demolish the wall made of sand right away.

Realizing that the enemies were intent on making the monsters collide with the wall, Queen Maribel gave that command. Just as about they were about to get down though…I transformed the sand wall into one that was made of stone.