Tomioka's voice rang in their ears.
Almost simultaneously with the sound, the soldier captain felt a blur before his eyes, and a force like an iron clamp gripped his wrist, pressing his military saber, which he was about to draw, back into its sheath.
Tomioka had slid down from the sand dune and now stood between the King's Army and the grandfather-grandson pair, firmly gripping the captain's sword-drawing hand.
His gaze was calm as he looked at the soldier captain and repeated, "Stop."
The soldier captain was both surprised and angry. He tried to break free from this guy, but found that the other's strength was astonishing; that hand didn't budge an inch.
"You... what are you?! How dare you interfere with my business?! We are the King's Army!"
Tomioka didn't answer his question, his gaze sweeping over the other two soldiers who had also instinctively raised their weapons. Why would the army of this country draw their weapons on these harmless civilians?
A hint of confusion appeared in his heart.
Seeing that Tomioka didn't answer, the captain roared at the other two King's Army soldiers, "Attack!"
The two soldiers exchanged a glance, drew the curved sabers from their waists, and charged at Tomioka from left and right!
The blades reflected a dazzling light in the scorching sun.
Tomioka released his grip on the captain's hand. The moment the captain recoiled from the inertia, Tomioka stepped forward, holding his unsheathed Blade with one arm, and parried forward!
Clang! Clang!
The two soldiers felt a violent tremor in their wrists, and their curved sabers flew from their hands, arcing through the air and embedding themselves far away in the sand.
The captain had just regained his balance and drew his saber, intending to launch a sneak attack from behind.
Tomioka didn't even turn around, delivering a backhanded 'hand blade' strike directly to the captain's neck. He grunted, the fierce glint in his eyes instantly dissipated, and his body slumped softly onto the sand, losing consciousness.
The entire process was like a flash of lightning. By the time the two soldiers came to their senses, they only saw their captain on the ground, and the black-haired samurai quietly watching them.
"Why draw your blades on... unarmed citizens?" Tomioka asked, his voice calm.
The two soldiers looked at Tomioka, their faces full of surprise and a little fear. They didn't answer Tomioka's question, but just whispered to each other, their voices trembling:
"Wh-what do we do? This guy is too strong, we can't beat him!"
"No choice, let's retreat!"
"What about... that guy...?" One pointed at their unconscious comrade on the ground.
"Who cares about him! He's just unlucky! If he dies, he dies! If he dies, won't we be able to take over?" The other soldier looked at the fallen captain, a strange smile on his face, and turned to run without hesitation.
Then, the two stumbled and fled backward. After running a certain distance and feeling somewhat safe, they stopped. One of them suddenly turned back, pointed at Tomioka with a defiant look, and shouted:
"You... you guy! If you've got the guts, come to Cattleya! See how we deal with you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two began to run desperately without looking back, quickly disappearing behind the undulating sand dunes, leaving only the stunned captain and the still-shaken grandfather and grandson.
"Th-thank you! Benefactor! Thank you so much!" The old man, holding his grandson, was agitated. His goods were finally safe, and he was about to kneel before Tomioka.
Tomioka reached out and supported him, preventing the old man from kneeling.
The little boy also ran to Tomioka's side, looking up with his small face, his big eyes full of admiration: "Big brother, you're so mighty! You knocked them all down in an instant!"
Tomioka looked down at the boy. He didn't respond to the child's admiration, his gaze falling instead on the unconscious captain and the direction of the two soldiers who had just fled.
They actually abandoned their captain... whether it was drawing their blades or their sudden flight, their behavior was too strange... The old man wiped the corner of his eyes, looked at Tomioka, and introduced himself: "Thank you so much, my name is Martel, and this is my grandson, Batu. Benefactor, are you also going to Alubarna?"
Tomioka nodded: "Mm."
Martel's face immediately lit up with joy. Their direction was the same as the black-haired young man before them, so safety was naturally guaranteed. He quickly said, "Young man! That's great, we're also going there, so let's go together, it'll be good to have company."
However, he looked at the fallen King's Army soldier, a troubled expression on his face, "What should we do about this? Those two didn't even take their captain with them, just left him here..."
Little Batu, upon hearing this, just walked over indignantly and kicked the unconscious captain, though not with much force: "Hmph! The King's Army, everyone says they're bad people! We shouldn't bother with him, let him be buried by the sand!"
Tomioka didn't agree with the child's words.
His gaze swept over the camel's back. Besides the sacks, there was also an extra roll of thick hemp rope. He looked at Martel, "Let's take him with us."
Martel paused, then understood Tomioka's meaning.
He sighed and nodded: "Ah, even if he's a scoundrel, he's still a life... leaving him in the desert like this would indeed kill him."
As he spoke, he took the roll of hemp rope from the camel's back.
Batu was completely confused, pouting his small mouth, his face filled with unwillingness, "Why should we take this bad guy with us?"
Martel ruffled Batu's little head, holding a handful of sand, and said gently:
"Little Batu, if we leave him here like this, we'll become people who abandon someone in need, even if he's a bad person. Anyway, it's not far now, so why don't you get down and walk a bit, okay?"
Although Batu was still reluctant, he listened to his grandfather. He just pouted his small mouth even more, but still obediently helped.
Together with his grandfather, he firmly tied up the unconscious captain with the hemp rope, then laboriously lifted him horizontally onto the camel's back.
Martel patted the camel, comforting it: "You've worked hard, old friend."
Then, he turned to Tomioka, a simple smile on his face: "Young man, let's go. It shouldn't be much further until we reach Alubarna."
Thus, the four people and one camel formed a peculiar team, once again walking in the boundless desert... The sandstorm persisted, and the scorching air seemed to dry people out.
Tomioka walked silently beside Martel, while Batu followed beside the camel, occasionally stealing curious glances at Tomioka.
This was Tomioka's first time truly walking in the desert. Unlike the brief landing at Rapeseed, the feeling of being immersed in an endless sea of sand, completely enveloped by dry, hot air, was unprecedented.