Versatile Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-466

The party of six humans and a wolf had already traveled a kilometer across the Drifting Sand River without them knowing. For some reason, as they moved further away from the bank behind them, they could not help but feel uneasy.

As they continued to journey forward, they could no longer see the shore when they turned back to look. They could only see white sands in their surroundings, with the same white sand particles lingering in the sky.

"I was told that the fine sand particles in the Drifting Sand River are heavier than usual, so the wind cannot blow them into the air. The white particles lingering in the air which we assume to be sand are actually the ashes of dead bodies, as they are lighter," Zhang Xiaohou spoke up, remembering something about the Drifting Sand River that some of his old comrades had mentioned before when he saw the nervous looks on everyone's faces, trying to improve the mood.

Chen Yi and Xinxia's faces turned pale when they learned that the sand particles that would occasionally brush their faces were actually ashes of dead bodies, making them extremely uneasy.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan both glared at Zhang Xiaohou, who had to mention something so inappropriate in a situation like this.

When Zhang Xiaohou realized that his intention to lift up the mood ended up worsening the situation, he uttered a hollow laugh and quickly shut his mouth.

Unfortunately, a gust of white sand was blowing in Xinxia's direction, and she subconsciously dodged aside when she thought it was the ashes of dead bodies, interrupting the channeling of her Psychic Spell.

Within a few seconds, tides of sand suddenly rolled in towards the party's front and back with dull roars. It was obvious that something was drilling out from the sand beneath them!

The tides covered a few hundred meters, boiling around them, resulting in a terrifying sight when glancing into the distance!

From the tides of sand, enormous creatures over five meters tall rose from the ground.

They were bigger and scarier than the ones the party had seen before. The sand sabers in the hands of the creatures were over three meters long, nearly twice the height of a human. The group could not help but shiver in fear at the horrifying sight of the giant creatures holding such long sabers in their hands!

Cold sweat slid down along the back of Mo Fan's neck, who subconsciously swallowed.

His mental stability was considered outstanding among the Magicians at his level, yet when close to a hundred White Sand Giants appeared out of nowhere, his hair immediately stood on end, as if he were standing in the deep abyss of Hell surrounded by devils.

Xinxia quickly closed her eyes and focused on finishing the Star Pattern of the Psychic Spell. She knew that if she messed up again, the whole squad would be wiped out here.

She could not afford to lose even the slightest focus.

It felt like Zhao Manyan and Zhang Xiaohou had turned into statues too, even holding their breaths. Meanwhile, Chen Yi, whose scalp had turned numb when she experienced an overwhelming fear she had never felt before, instinctively tried to cast a Spell to protect herself.

Mo Fan quickly tackled her to the ground without hesitation. "Are you trying to get all of us killed? Hide your Magic's presence at once!" he yelled at her.

Chen Yi regained some of her rationality, but her heart was still racing when she saw the White Sand Giants surrounding the party like a bastion of iron.

"Comfort!"

Without letting the team down, Xinxia successfully cast the Psychic Spell. Her voice seemed to be enchanted, which not only dampened the evil-foreboding presence of the White Sand Giants, but also calmed the fear in everyone's heart at the horrifying sight.

The group was left breathless. They never thought they would encounter even bigger White Sand Giants as they ventured deeper into the Drifting Sand River.

Although the White Sand Giants were not emanating Warrior-level auras, it went without saying that they were stronger than the White Sand Demons they had encountered previously. The area for a few hundred meters around the party was filled by the White Sand Giants, without any gap between them. It felt like they were surrounded by a magnificent sand castle built of the white sand.

Luckily, the three-meter-long sand sabers were not put to use. The threatening auras emitting from the creatures swiftly dissipated.

As the hostility went away, their bodies suddenly turned into soft sand and fell to the ground, returning to the boundless sand river.

The enormous White Sand Giants fell to the ground like dominoes, sweeping a huge wave of dust into the sky. The spectacular sight left the six humans that were standing in the midst of it bewildered.

The White Sand Giants completely disappeared a moment later, yet everyone's hearts were still beating rapidly.

They glanced at one another's pale faces, as they were still badly shaken despite being lucky enough to avoid the disaster. After some time, they finally uttered a relieved sigh each.

"Houzi, I don't want to hear any nonsense from you again," warned Mo Fan furiously.

Zhang Xiaohou came to a realization too. He swore that he would never say something weird to try lifting the mood ever again for the rest of his life.

Xinxia's face was slightly pale too, her cheeks covered in sweat. She spoke softly, "The White Sand Giants here have a purer lineage, and are more intelligent. I have to cast Comfort longer to erase their hostility, so try your best to protect me, to avoid my channeling being interrupted."

The group immediately nodded, while Zhang Xiaohou placed his hands in front of his mouth, as if he were trying to zip it up.

---

As the group continued forward, Mo Fan realized that Xinxia had been casting the Psychic Spell much more frequently, which implied that the creatures hiding in the Drifting Sand River nearby were more irascible. Mo Fan began to worry if Xinxia had enough energy to last.

Xinxia's face turned slightly pale from fatigue. The prolonged periods of casting the Psychic Spell had affected her to a certain degree. It was hard to tell how much longer she could last.

"Can you see the path ahead?" Xinxia asked Lingling softly, who was sitting behind her.

Lingling opened the map on her laptop and shook her head slightly, "The path we've taken isn't perfectly straight, we still have another three to four kilometers to go."

"I'm afraid my energy won't last until then," said Xinxia.

"How far do you think you can last?" asked Lingling immediately.

"At most two kilometers," said Xinxia.

The conversation between Lingling and Xinxia was clear to the others in the party too, and Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Zhao Manyan and Chen Yi were wearing somewhat interesting expressions on their faces.

At most two kilometers?

That was bad. The Drifting Sand River was pretty much a giant river filled with countless demon beasts. Without the Psychic Spell, there was no chance they could survive against the countless White Sand Giants.

Most terrifyingly, retreating was no longer an option, as they were at least ten kilometers from the bank they had come from.

They had no choice but to continue moving forward!