By the time the battle ended and the number of injured was tallied, a total of more than 30 soldiers had suffered various degrees of cuts and corrosive injuries, and the number of deaths was 17.
Most of them were killed by the sharp claws of the Sand Devils. Although their acid was terrifying, the soldiers' armors and shields had blocked most of it.
A young guard with red and swollen eyes reported the number of casualties to Aslan and Locke.
Half of the dead soldiers were from the Imperial Guards and the Secret Guards.
The former was because they were in the front line of the Sha Zhao's attack. The latter was because the Shadow Guards were only wearing leather armor. When the Sha Zhao's acid came in contact with it, it corroded a large part of their skin.
Commander Aslan led the soldiers to clean up the battlefield and cremated the corpses of the soldiers who had just died. They had the responsibility to bring these 'dead' soldiers back to their country in the future.
Angelina also got out of the carriage and consoled the soldiers who had just gone through a tough battle. However, she was soon invited back into the carriage by the stubborn shadow guard jarl. Although the scarabs had retreated, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't come back.
Apart from the soldiers who were busy, the Magicians in the team were not idle either. Everyone took out bottles and cans from their magic robes. Some were powders, some were green liquids, and they poured them all around the camp. The liquids immediately evaporated into gas, and with the powders, a pungent smell filled the air.
Although the casters didn't mention it, he guessed that it was a potion used to repel monsters.
The sandstorm at night in the Ridson Desert was coming again. Locke had experienced it a lot during this period of time.
Just as he was about to order the soldiers to find a place to hide from the sandstorm, a few casters came to the door.
"Captain Locke." This was an old man with a thick white beard and long white eyebrows. Coupled with his friendly expression, it seemed that this Magician was easy to talk to, and in fact, that was indeed the case.
"What's the matter? Master Ante. " Locke asked. The white-browed caster was the only one among the six casters in the delegation that he'd interacted with more often.
"We hope that your soldiers can help us collect the shells and acid sacs of these sand puppets," said the old magician Ante.
These casters didn't belong to the army. Instead, they were supported by the Faustian royal family. Although they had a high status, they had no right to command the soldiers.
The sandstorm was coming, and a strong hurricane was approaching their convoy. Locke hesitated. Was it worth it to let the soldiers risk their lives to collect these useless things for the casters?
Anter noticed his hesitation and said, "We can use silver coins or potions to exchange." Anter winked at him.
What an interesting old man. Locke smiled.
"All soldiers! Now that you have nothing to do, go and collect Sha Zhao's limbs! "Locke shouted." Go! "
Everyone knew that Locke was the third-in-command in the convoy. No one objected, and the soldiers quickly got to work.
The sandstorm was coming, so he didn't have time to ask the soldiers to identify the scarab's shells and acid sacs. He collected them all and let the casters sort them out themselves.
Aslan didn't object at this time. He was busy too. He was carrying the green scarab that Nolan had frozen. It was half the size of a human, and Locke got goosebumps just by looking at it.
Through the ice crystals, Locke could see every burr on the green scarab's eight legs. Coupled with the petal-like mouth and countless sawtooth inside, Locke was worried that he would vomit if he looked at it any longer.
The moment before the sandstorm arrived, the soldiers collected every piece of sand they could see. Then, they leaned against the carriages, hid in a place that was leeward from the wind, and crawled into their sleeping bags.
Ever since they entered the Ridson Desert, the convoy no longer set up tents. Each soldier was given a sleeping bag.
Tonight's sandstorm was stronger than the previous few nights. The strength of the sandstorm only weakened a little the next morning.
As the sun rose above the horizon again, the soldiers who had been buried in the sandstorm for the whole night came out again.
The wheels of the three-metre-tall carriage had completely sunk into the sand after only one night.
Mornings and evenings were the best times of the day in the Ridson Desert. The servants in the convoy started to cook for the nobles, while the soldiers pushed the buried carriages back to the surface.
Locke, who hadn't slept well all night, opened the curtain and jumped out of the carriage. Of course, he didn't have to squeeze into a sleeping bag like the soldiers. There were so many carriages, so there was always room for him.
Not only did Locke not sleep well, the whole convoy probably didn't sleep well last night. The sudden invasion of the scarab made them realize that in addition to the harsh environment of the Ridson Desert, there were many creatures hidden in the dark that were ready to make a move.
After talking to Aslan about the aftermath of the casualties, Locke went to look for Ante.
The ground was covered with sand again, just like before. Who would've thought that a thrilling battle had taken place here not long ago?
He knocked on the door of Ante's carriage and waited quietly outside.
Ante seemed to have just woken up. Locke only heard a mutter outside the carriage. After a long time, Ante, who was wearing a nightgown, opened the door of his carriage.
"Master Ante, you're so comfortable!" Locke laughed. It had only been a few hours and the old caster had already changed into his nightgown. Last night, even Locke, who had always been insensitive, slept in his armour.
Ante ignored Locke's teasing. "Come in!" He waved his hand and got into the carriage first.
Locke then bent down and entered.
Anter's carriage was more like a small alchemy laboratory. There were many reagents that Locke couldn't name on the wooden table in the carriage. There was a thin blanket and pillow next to the wooden table. It was probably where Anter slept.
"This is your reward!" Ante threw a very heavy bag of money to Locke. Locke opened it and saw that it was filled with about three hundred silver thalers.
"And this!" Ante took out three light red potions from under the wooden table and handed them to Locke. "Red sand potion, here!"
Locke took it and looked at it carefully. Locke had heard of the name 'red sand potion' from Yoshk a long time ago. It was a very popular potion among impetus cultivators like him.
Not only could it slightly increase the speed of impetus cultivation, but it could also increase one's strength by more than thirty percent in battle. Of course, there were also some side effects, but that didn't stop knights from chasing after it.
As soon as he got the two items, Ante started to send his guests off. As soon as Locke stepped out of the carriage, he heard the door close behind him. It seemed that the caster was either catching up on his sleep or going to do his experiments.
In the end, Locke distributed the three hundred silver thalers to the soldiers. Although the royal guards and shadow guards were treated well, their monthly salary was five silver thalers at most. It wasn't a lot of money, but no one rejected it.
As for the red sand potion, Locke gave it to the squad jarls that he usually served. These jarls varied in strength from mid-rank Knechts to low-rank Knechts. They had been with Locke for so long, so he couldn't treat them badly.
As for how they distributed it, it was none of Locke's business.
He had long known that the red sand potion had serious side effects. In addition to causing a short period of weakness, it could also cause some irreparable damage to the body. If he were to use potions in the future, he would definitely choose those with no or minimal side effects. The red sand potion was not within his consideration.
After patrolling the area, Locke returned to Angelina's carriage.
Angelina was fiddling with her pet that hadn't hatched yet.
Dozens of purple scales were placed around a giant greenish-grey egg. The egg was a metre tall and glowed faintly.
Angelina pressed her ear to the giant egg and said excitedly, "My pet is talking to me!"
Locke was speechless. "It's still an egg. How can it talk to you?"
"This is mental communication unique to casters. You don't understand!" Angelina rolled her eyes.
Locke placed his hand on the wall of the giant egg and felt strong pulses coming from inside. He believed that the scorpiondrake was about to hatch.
"How much longer?" Locke asked.