Only God
Chapter 95 - 87: Across the Desert

Chapter 95: Chapter 87: Across the Desert

Compared to Basel, a relatively unknown figure, the other four members of the vanguard were much more illustrious.

Among them was one with royal lineage—Bandi.

Bandi was handsome, and although the people of Logos were naturally good-looking, Bandi still stood out remarkably.

Furthermore, he was skilled in slinging stones, spear-fighting, understood music and poetry, and was articulate. Given time, he was bound to become renowned.

But the people of Logos had a saying, "Apart from God himself, none of God’s creations are flawless."

Though Bandi had more virtues than the stars, his flaw was fatal.

He was the illegitimate child of King Dovlo.

Since the dawn of civilization in Logos, including King Dovlo and King Dertulian, there had been four kings in total. Among them, only the Sapo King had several wives; the others were monogamous.

Since King Yarlessto had only one wife, King Dovlo, his successor, was also expected to have only one wife.

Bandi was born from a clandestine affair King Dovlo had with a noblewoman, and the affair was exposed shortly after Bandi was born.

Fearing opposition from the nobles and morally compromised himself, King Dovlo did not acknowledge Bandi as his son, merely considering him of royal blood. As such, Bandi, being an illegitimate child, found himself in a very awkward position.

Not only was he ineligible for the throne, but also the major nobles within the Royal City were reluctant to associate with him and tarnish their family’s reputation. They even contemptuously referred to him as a bastard in private.

Due to his turbulent circumstances, Bandi volunteered to join the vanguard, hoping to redeem his reputation among the nobles.

On their way to the Kingdom’s border,

Basel and Bandi,

two bastards met,

and a new story was about to begin.

.........

"You’re... Bandi?"

Basel stammered, his speech always trembling.

"Yes, I am. You’re Basel, right?"

Bandi nodded slightly.

Basel sized up Bandi, who was as beautiful as a woman, a rarity even among the people of Logos.

"Yes..."

Due to his stutter, Basel was always economical with words.

Bandi had no intent to engage in much conversation either.

Accompanied by guards, the two headed to the Kingdom’s border.

A noble who reported to the King at the border received these two members of the vanguard team.

The noble led them to an outdoor stone table to meet other members of the vanguard.

The remaining three members were Shiri, a famous huntress known far and wide; Lemo, who was husband to Hiboli, and they worked together flawlessly;

and finally, a slightly shorter hunter named Lan Boxi, who was the one who previously reported about the Three-eyed Ape People to the nobles.

After the five vanguard members met and got acquainted with each other, they accepted the noble’s hospitality.

This noble, charged with defense against wild animals, took the five to choose weapons—mostly sharp bone knives, spears, slings, and clubs.

After choosing their weapons, the noble provided them with leather armor made from thick leather, which barely covered their chests and thighs.

Looking at the crude leather armor, Bandi muttered to himself,

"Primitive... if it were the copper armor from the palace..."

"Copper armor?"

Basel turned his head, surprised, and asked,

"What are you saying?"

Brass was extremely precious throughout the entire Logos Kingdom, and Basel had only seen it a few times in his life.

Could someone actually make armor out of brass?

Basel’s astonishment was simply beyond words.

"It’s nothing, just the King’s copper armor,"

Bandi turned back and said.

Basel clicked his tongue in wonder; if he hadn’t had a stutter, he surely would have grabbed this handsome young man and questioned him for a day and a night.

That was copper armor, after all!

In Basel’s mind, the best armor was made from mammoth bones and rock shards; next came armor made from mammoth fur or rhino skin and shards, and the poorest was the kind made from some unknown animal skin that he was wearing.

Copper armor... it sounded far superior to bone armor.

How exquisitely crafted it must be, and how good its protection must be!

What Basel did not know was

that due to the current immature metal smelting techniques of the Logos people, the so-called copper armor was just two large copper plates linked together, supplemented by mammoth bones and rock shards. In essence, it was a variation of bone armor.

The five-man vanguard, after a night’s rest, prepared their bags early the next day to enter into the wilderness.

Due to the need for farmland, the Logos Kingdom expanded very rapidly; during the reign of the Sapo King, the border of the Logos Kingdom was still forest.

Now, the border of the Logos people had crossed the forests and reached the harsh, uncultivable desert.

Following Lan Boxi’s lead, the vanguard entered into the vast desert where sand and stones were strewn everywhere. At first, Basel noticed that the stones under their feet were the size of thumbs, but as they moved forward, they became finer and smaller, eventually turning into grayish-yellow sand.

Among the group, three were experienced hunters, and Bandi, too, frequently participated in hunting and was very physically fit; only poor, destitute Basel found it hard to sustain such speedy travel in a land covered by yellow sand.

By afternoon, Basel could no longer keep up and fainted midway.

The group had no choice but to stop immediately and attend to Basel.

They camped there, waiting for the next day to continue the journey.

Beside the fire they had started, Basel slowly opened his eyes.

Hiboli stared at Basel; her deep blue eyes showed not a trace of sympathy, only disdain for this impoverished poet.

Without a doubt, Basel had slowed down the entire team’s progress.

Basel had to get up and repeatedly apologized to the other four.

His stuttering left everyone a bit shocked, and soon, all their faces became uneasily clouded.

How could they expect a man who couldn’t even organize his words to keep good records?

Soon, the silence of deep night fell, and it was time to sleep.

Basel hugged the wooden board inscribed with poems, filled with guilt as he fell asleep.

The group walked in the desert for a full seven days.

Even though the Logos people were physically superior to wild animals and moved at a rapid pace, the abode of the Three-eyed Ape People was located in an oasis deep in the desert, a surprisingly long distance away.

Walking laboriously through the desert, Basel paused briefly, lifted his head, and looked out over the vast yellow sand. On the horizon, a sharp corner faintly appeared.

"We’re almost there!"

Lan Boxi also saw the sharp corner and pointed saying,

"That is the Temple of the Three-eyed Ape People! Inside, they worship their divine, called Kagawus."

Hearing this, everyone looked in that direction, their confidence surged, and they quickened their pace. After a while, they finally arrived at the gathering place of the Three-eyed Ape People.