Free Web NovelChapter 174: Chapter 174: Lockdown in Dune City
She pressed her lips together and completely ignored their teasing, staring stubbornly at the sand instead. But their whispers only grew louder.
"Ignore us all you want," Mo Ruyin teased. "Your ears are red."
"I am not listening," Yue Yue muttered.
Lian Xin leaned closer. "That is exactly what someone in love would say."
Yue Yue could not take it anymore.
She quickly picked up the basket and started stuffing pastries into their hands.
"Stop talking and eat!" she said firmly. "If your mouths are full, you will not gossip."
The girls burst into giggles.
"Alright, alright!" Sha Li laughed as she took a bite.
Soon, soft sighs of satisfaction replaced the teasing.
"It is so good..."
"This is delicious!"
Yue Yue stared at the pastry in her hand with disbelief. She had never eaten something like this before. In the primitive beast world, such delicate food did not exist.
"I read the recipe in a book from the palace caretaker," Yue Yue explained softly. "I just wanted to try." ƒгeewёbnovel.com
She had not expected it to taste this good either.
The girls continued praising her, crumbs on their lips, laughter filling the golden air.
The sunset deepened.
Then...
A faint vibration trembled beneath them.
At first, Yue Yue thought she imagined it.
But the ground shook again.
The baskets rattled and sand started shifting everywhere.
The girls froze.
"What was that?" Anya whispered.
Before anyone could answer, several warriors from Dune City rushed toward them at full speed. Behind them, a few male mates of the females also appeared with tense and alert faces.
"Females!" one warrior shouted urgently. "This place is no longer safe. We must escort you back immediately."
The air instantly turned cold.
"What happened?" Lian Xin asked, her voice shaking.
The warrior’s expression darkened.
"We have sighted a massive sand polluted beast."
Everyone was stunned. Silence fell upon them. They were too shocked to even speak.
A polluted beast?
In this territory?
The peaceful sunset suddenly no longer felt gentle. The sand beneath their feet trembled once more.
The warriors quickly surrounded the females and began escorting them back toward Dune City.
The peaceful picnic atmosphere had completely vanished.
Sand rose in restless waves beneath their feet as the ground continued to tremble. The sunset glow now felt ominous instead of warm.
Then Yue Yue finally caught sight of the thing that made the warriors panic.
Far in the distance, a massive figure burst through the dunes.
Its outer layer looked hard as steel, reflecting the dying sunlight in cold metallic flashes. Sand flew violently around its enormous body as it moved.
The ground shook with every step.
Its red eyes glowed hideously in its armored face, and a long, sharp snout protruded forward, so pointed it looked capable of piercing through walls, shields, even buildings.
Yue Yue’s breath caught.
"It is so big..." someone whispered.
A warrior cursed under his breath.
Without hesitation, one of the orc warriors shifted. His body expanded and twisted, feathers bursting out as he transformed into a giant eagle.
"Hurry!" he shouted. "Climb on! This is the fastest way!"
They had not brought any high speed vehicles. There was no time.
The females were quickly lifted and helped onto the eagle’s broad back. Strong talons dug into the sand as he crouched low.
"Hold tight!"
With a powerful flap, he launched into the air.
Wind roared past them as they ascended rapidly toward Dune City. Below, the massive polluted beast tore through the desert like a living disaster, dunes collapsing under its weight.
Yue Yue clutched tightly to the feathers beneath her hands.
From above, the scale of it became even clearer.
The creature was enormous. But then... her heart nearly stopped.
On the horizon, beyond the first beast, tiny dark dots began appearing.
One.
Two.
Three.
More and more. They were moving and heading straight toward Dune City.
Before they even reached the city walls, a sharp, piercing sound echoed through the air.
Loud sirens began wailing across Dune City.
Yue Yue flinched. "Why is there an alarm?"
One of the females beside her held tightly to the eagle’s feathers and spoke quickly, "It means the entire city is entering lockdown. All females and children must go into the underground basement shelters."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"This is not good. We do not face this often... but it is not completely rare either. The sand beasts are usually lazy. They hardly bother us."
"Then why now?" Yue Yue asked. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
The female’s expression darkened. "Someone must have provoked them. Otherwise they would not move toward the city."
The sirens grew louder as gates began sealing shut below them. Warriors ran across the walls. Defensive barriers flickered to life with faint blue light.
"The siren is to warn everyone," she continued. "Once lockdown begins, no one is allowed outside."
Yue Yue swallowed.
So fierce?
She looked back at the massive beast charging through the dunes, its steel like body tearing apart the desert.
This place... was far more dangerous than she had thought. She had believed it was hidden and safe. But now she wondered...
Had they built their city so close to the deadliest beast lair because it was also the safest place? No empire would dare approach here. No spies would survive long enough to tell the tale.
After all, these people lived under secret identities. They had no communication with the four empires at all.
Maybe danger was their shield. She was still lost in thought when suddenly...
A flash split the sky.
Something white streaked forward at lightning speed toward the approaching monster, wrapped in brilliant golden light.
Yue Yue’s mouth fell open.
"What—"
Before she could finish, another figure shot out from the city walls. This time darker, colder, but equally fast. It followed the first beam directly toward the beast.
"What is that?" she whispered.
The female beside her stared with wide eyes.
"It must be Prince Xing Luoye and Prince Xing Luoguang. They have received the news. They are heading to the battlefield."
Yue Yue’s heart skipped violently.
Her gaze returned to the sand beast. It was enormous. Its armored body looked indestructible.
Can they really fight that? It was so big and scary... suddenly her heart started pounding with fear.
