In the middle of the night, a messenger ran into the tavern, panting.
"We won... we won!" He shouted in a hoarse voice, not bothering to take a sip of wine. "Sir, the Osha clan won!"
It would take about a day to return to the small oasis from the Land of Fire on foot. If two horses were exchanged, they could arrive on the same day. Obviously, as soon as the winner was decided, he hurried back to the oasis without stopping.
The whole "Skull Wine Cup" was in an uproar.
"Ha, I knew they would win!"
"What about the process?"
"Tell us, how did they win?"
"Was there still no casualties?"
Everyone's questions instantly surrounded the messenger. The high-quality fruit wine passed through the layers of people and was delivered to him with tacit understanding.
Thuram also felt relieved. No matter what, the stronger Osha was, the more comfortable his life would be as a member of the clan. Although he did not do it with his own ability, but... so what? It was not a heavy price to pay for taking his clansmen away from the status of half-dead and dead, and move to Iron Sand City.
He clapped his hands at the clansman. "Take a breather first, then tell everyone what happened in the duel."
"Yes!" The messenger moistened his throat with the fruit wine, took a deep breath, and said, "Both sides did not fight. The Wildwave clan and the Osha princess reached an agreement and voluntarily gave up the second position!"
"What?"
The tavern was quiet for a while, then burst into a heated discussion, as if the roof was going to be overturned!
"The two sides didn't fight?"
"Voluntarily gave up... is this a surrender?"
"Doesn't that mean that Osha is only one step away from becoming the leader of the clans?"
"Completing four holy duels in a row without killing a single person is something that has never happened before!"
"I also heard the news and rushed over."
"Haha, just like me. If it wasn't so sensational, who would want to leave the Silver Stream Oasis in such a cold winter?"
"Damn, I didn't come in vain!"
"A toast to the Three Gods of Osha!"
"To Lord Drow Silvermoon!"
Thuram was also stunned for a while, but he was not surprised by the news that the Wildwave clan had taken the initiative to retreat. It was easy to understand why they would temporarily stay in the third place to preserve their strength. When Osha and Wildflame fought each other badly, they would then look for an opportunity to return to the second place. It was even possible that they would covet the position of the first clan. After all, if they could retreat, it would be difficult for Wildflame to do so.
What shocked him was that the discussion in the crowd made him vaguely understand the purpose of his new master.
That group of people was quickly accumulating Reputation!
There had never been a holy duel that attracted the attention of so many Sand Nation people — the revenge of the Osha princess, the storm-like continuous challenges, no matter how many opponents there were... they always fought with four people, and the legendary battle record of not killing a single person. All of this seemed so incredible, and at the same time, it aroused people's curiosity to the greatest extent.
Although the holy duel was an important ceremony that determined the status and rights of the big clans, it was still a very distant thing for most of the Sand Nation. Some clans had never left the Silver Stream Oasis from their establishment to their demise, so naturally they would not care about the battle between the challenger and the big clans.
After all, there were always very few clans that could stand out from the numerous clans. A normal succession of power was not even as attractive as the news that Osha had been framed by Ironwhip. However, this time was different. A clan that had once been exiled and the daughter of the chief had been sold as a slave could still usher in an opportunity to make a comeback. This alone made most of the weaker clans unconsciously stand on the side of Osha. What happened after that was even more bizarre. Within a short span of a month, Osha had transformed from an unknown challenger to the center of discussion among the Sand Nation.
The densely packed heads in the tavern were the best proof of that.
Whether they held expectations or ridicule, or simply wanted to see how far Osha could go, at least Drow Silvermoon had become a household name. It was conceivable that when the last holy duel came, many people would go to the Land of Fire to witness Osha's battle to the top.
Of course, Thuram understood what such a reputation meant.
The previous clan leader who had spread his name throughout the Southernmost Region had almost unified the entire desert. Although he had fallen in the war with Graycastle, he had already vaguely assumed the posture of an emissary of the Three Gods.
Was this also the purpose of the new master?
The only difference was that this time Osha no longer had to fight against Graycastle — the power behind them was the northern kingdom that suppressed the Sand Nation.
"His Majesty Roland Wimbledon will bring an oasis and order to the Mojin Clan. "
Thinking of what Iron Axe had said, he suddenly realized that when Osha really became the leader of the clans, something earth-shaking might happen.
That might change the fate of the entire Sand Nation of the Mojin Clan.
*****
Two days later, in the outskirts of the small oasis, at the camp of the First Army.
"Your injury … is there no problem?" Huiyin looked at Ashes worriedly. The battle with the Blackwater clan had left her covered in blood — although most of the blood was from her opponent, she was not unscathed.
"Don't worry, it won't affect the next operation." Ashes carelessly untied her long ponytail. Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Coupled with her loose robe, she did not look like a soldier who had experienced many life-and-death situations. Instead, she looked more like a graceful and peerless beauty. "Leaf's herbs are also very effective. Most of the deeper wounds have already scabbed."
"They're just superficial wounds. An Extraordinary's physique is better than ours. After all, nutrition doesn't need to be supplied to the brain, muscles grow very fast, and skin is especially thick." Andrea shrugged. Andrea shrugged. "You don't know what she went through when she hunted the Church alone. She hid in a place where even rats wouldn't want to stay. She lived on rotting animal carcasses. She didn't die even then, not to mention such a small wound."
Ashes rolled her eyes and did not argue with her as usual. Instead, she leaned on the recliner and closed her eyes to rest.
"This is what a mature soldier should do," Iron Axe thought. "Apart from eating and fighting, the rest of the time should be used to rest, recover as much as possible, and face the next challenge with full spirit." "The other witches in Neverwinter may also be strong, but only a few can do this."
"No wonder His Majesty delayed the plan to wait for the candidate."
"What should we do next?" Echo asked.
"We've done our best according to His Majesty's instructions." Iron Axe recalled Roland's instructions before they left. Although some of the words were very difficult to pronounce, such as hype is the most important, create a topic as much as possible, create a legend of the duel, let the whole desert hear your voice, and so on... in short, it was to attract as much attention as possible. Now that there were more and more people coming from various Silver Stream oases to watch the holy duel, this requirement should be met. "What's left is to defeat Wildflame, and then you can say His Majesty's words in front of everyone in the Holy Land."
"I... understand." Echo was silent for a moment, then clenched her fists as if to cheer herself up.
"Don't worry, Lady Silvermoon. His Majesty doesn't require everyone to understand this immediately, so you don't need to feel too much pressure." Iron Axe comforted her. "Just spread your voice throughout the Land of Fire as usual. No matter how many people respond to us, the new order will eventually spread through the Silver Stream to the entire Southernmost Region."
Just then, Thuram opened the door and walked in.
After saluting the four of them in turn, he took out a letter. "The Wildflame clan has responded to Osha's challenge request, but... they require a designated person to participate in the duel."
"What do you mean?" Andrea frowned.
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