Chapter 229: Let the Camel Lead (Edited)

His drastic action startled Hermione, as well as the others in the camel caravan. Everyone who had been taking a nap shouted upon hearing Tom's voice.

"Yodel, what did you say?" Dr. Hunter struggled to sit up from the shadows, his eyes still closed as he rested when he suddenly heard the words. He looked at the sky, which continued to burn.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Alan, who had been disturbed from his sleep, said.

But old Yushadu was startled, he rolled off his camel, stared into the distance, found his view blocked, and immediately ran towards the top of the dune. Alyosha followed him with a serious expression.

When they reached the dune, Yushadu looked into the distance, and Alyosha handed him a telescope while holding another one, scanning in various directions.

"There..." Elder Yushadu poked Alyosha in the arm, pointing him in the right direction, and gasped breathlessly, desperation in his voice, "It's divine punishment!"

Alyosha looked in the direction indicated and saw a thin yellow line at the edge of the desert. He raised the binoculars and saw that it was a sand wave of unknown height.

"Let's go!" Alyosha made the decision to run in the opposite direction, not knowing if he would survive being caught in that sandstorm.

Old Yushadu sighed, knelt down, and prayed for a while, then jumped and rolled down the dune seconds before Alyosha did. It was fortunate that he was wearing a robe and his face wrapped in a turban; otherwise, he would have been hurt.

"I said, don't make a scene. I still have a degree in meteorology. I can assure you there won't be sandstorms in the coming days..." Alan reassured Tom confidently, unaware that he had a double degree.

The group's confidence plummeted again upon hearing him say that.

Sara still had the courage to joke, "Little friend, if Alyosha tears your behind, I can give you a band-aid."

Tom didn't pay attention to her, he quickly checked his camel's luggage to make sure nothing was lost in the bumps. He had more faith in his divination talent or crisis sense than in someone with a degree in meteorology.

Even if his wand were broken and his magic stripped away, with his great common sense, he could still be called the god of actions and games or a good diviner.

At that moment, old Yushadu and Alyosha came running one after the other.

The elder took three steps toward his camel, grabbed the saddle blanket, and leaped onto it—the camel stood up! It was two meters tall, and the elder climbed it in one go.

"Let's go!" With a quick squeeze of his camel, it galloped.

Tom pulled Hermione towards his camel, grabbed her by the waist, and lifted her up. Then he climbed up himself, urging his camel to rise and run.

Only then did everyone wake up, searching for their camels and mounting them in a hurry. The group then left the refrigerator in a rush.

Old Yushadu's camel was the "leader" of the herd, and when the "leader" camel ran, the others followed, so the camels carrying supplies went on their own.

As the camel ran, Tom realized the reason why this animal wasn't a regular mount—it was full of bumps! Even with a saddle blanket, it felt like he would be thrown off any minute. He could only let Hermione hold onto him tightly as he directed the camel.

A quarter of an hour after the camel race began, the yellow sand became visible in the sky.

Only then did Dr. Hunter remember something important and rushed ahead, shouting, "Where are we going, old man?"

Old Yushadu turned his head and answered loudly, "I don't know, let the camels decide!"

Hal Hunter: !!!

He almost fell off the camel in shock. So now the whole team is running blindly?!

It's no wonder that the old man had the impression that there was no shelter against the sandstorm in the area. The intensity of the sandstorm at this moment was unlike anything Elder Yushadu had ever seen in his life. In his opinion, even if they dug a hole and built a sand wall, they couldn't stop such a sandstorm—it was a natural disaster that could sweep away even a massive sand dune! It was a true divine punishment.

Yushadu was glad that Peter and his gang had paid everything in advance.

The wind was faster than running.

Although the camels were running as fast as they could, they were still flesh and bone, and after the initial surge, their pace slowed down, and they ended up being overtaken by the sandstorm.

Tom had mixed feelings at that moment: his divination had been accurate, but if things continued this way, he was going to lose his life! Was the purpose of divination to know his death hours in advance?

The sandstorm had caught up with them, and everyone had experienced what it meant to have a "change of color"—the sky, which had been blue just moments before, had now turned yellow.

Faced with death, the camels showed an astonishing desire to survive and continued running madly. The wind grew stronger around them, and the air filled with fine sand that, even with their hoods wrapped around their faces, seeped through every crack. At the same time, visibility became so scarce that Tom could only see the figure of Dr. Hunter in front of him, and nothing beyond.

No longer caring about the possibility of being seen by others, Tom took out his wand, conjured a rope, and tied themselves together.

Suddenly, Dr. Hunter fell off the camel in front.

Tom and Hermione watched as he tumbled to the ground and disappeared. Tom could feel Hermione's arms around his waist tighten for a moment, and he looked back, but Hermione shook her head at him.

The wind was too strong. Running with a camel is close to death, and getting off a camel to save people is very important. Uncle Hal is very important, but...

But certain death is only for Muggles, and the divine punishment from the desert gods doesn't work on wizards.

Tom untied the rope, shook Hermione, and jumped off the camel's back. Hermione reached out to grab him but missed, only tearing a corner of Tom's robe.

A sharp pain shot through his fingernails, but Hermione didn't even notice; she just stared at the torn scrap of robe in her hand. Her glasses suddenly fogged up, and Hermione held onto them tightly. She wanted to jump off the camel's back, but the last traces of sanity made her huddle on it, feeling the warmth of the saddle blanket.