A day of preparation quickly passed, and the following morning, Charles and Zara set off.
It would take about three days to reach the Atacama Desert.
During those three days, Zara provided Charles with detailed information about the Atacama Desert.
If one word were to describe it, it would be "complex."
The Atacama Desert is the birthplace of the Serpent People and also their largest settlent today.
After the collapse of the Serpent Empire, the different tribes of the Serpent People were scattered across various desert oases.
Although Aria is the legitimate heir of the Serpent Empire's royal family, she still lacks the influence to unify all of the Serpent People.
Furthermore, as her curse grows deeper, her condition continues to deteriorate.
This has caused the Serpent tribes, centered around Aria, to fall into internal strife.
As a result, Aria is even less able to unify the Serpent People and rebuild the Serpent Empire.
"I rushed to find you because the situation is already dire," Zara added after explaining the internal affairs of the Serpent People.
Charles, of course, understood.
"You did the right thing. The situation within the Serpent Empire is indeed dire. If Aria's condition isn't improved, the Serpent Empire will collapse completely," Charles summarized.
Aria nodded heavily, then began to speak about information beyond the Serpent People.
Apart from the Serpent People, the other major power in the vast desert is the Stellar Empire.
When the Serpent Empire still existed, the Stellar Empire had already been fighting against it at the edges of the desert.
After the collapse of the Serpent Empire, the Stellar Empire expanded its influence deeper into the desert.
So Serpent People tribes even chose to cooperate with the Stellar Empire. This not only greatly strengthened the Stellar Empire's power in the desert but also threatened Aria's position.
The Serpent People have not been completely defeated by internal and external troubles simply because of infighting within the Stellar Empire itself.
The military faction, led by the crown prince of the Stellar Empire, hopes to bring the entire desert under military control.
This would allow the military to seize all the resources within the desert for themselves.
Naturally, such an idea has t opposition from the Stellar Empire's administrative system.
The Pri Minister of the Stellar Empire, through the dispatch of administrative officials to the various oases in the great desert, has brought these oases under his control.
Under his subtle guidance, these officials have covertly and overtly resisted the military actions of the Stellar Empire.
This has led to a balance of power between the Serpent People and the Stellar Empire in the vast desert.
Apart from these two major powers, there are other intelligent beings in the desert.
However, the strength of these beings is not particularly formidable, and due to the harsh desert environnt, the resources they can obtain are extrely limited.
In addition to these communicative intelligent beings, the great desert also contains ancient ruins and hidden monsters. Of course, there are also mystical beasts that can form contracts with Beast Masters.
After gaining a basic understanding of the Atacama Desert, Charles quickly formulated an action plan.
For him, the top priority was, of course, to quickly deliver the Tears of an Angel to Aria.
Only when Aria's condition improved could he proceed with the next steps.
The next phase would naturally involve searching for the promotion materials for his mystical beast.
The Blood of the Demigod could likely be obtained from Aria, while other promotion materials could be found in the mineral veins beneath the desert.
During this process, he wouldn't mind causing so trouble for the Stellar Empire.
After all, the crown prince of the Stellar Empire had already been his enemy for a long ti.
Once all of this was done, he would have to head to the headquarters of the Cyber Academy.
He couldn't continue to linger outside the academy's headquarters. Going to the headquarters of the Cyber Academy was the only way to further enhance his strength rapidly.
The ti on the journey passed quickly. After only two and a half days, they reached the entrance of the Atacama Desert.
This was Charles' first ti arriving at the desert entrance, and he stared ahead at the vast expanse of yellow sand with a conflicted expression. The intense heat made him feel uncomfortable.
"The environnt of the Atacama Desert is even worse than I imagined! With such high temperatures and a lack of water, can life really survive here for long? How did you Serpent People build such a vast empire in such a harsh environnt? And the Stellar Empire actually values this desert so much—they're willing to go to great lengths to fight you for this barren land!"
The harsh environnt of the Atacama Desert far exceeded his expectations.
Mousie, who was standing beside him, had hidden in the shade, while Mia and Max were cooling each other down. Only Little Gold remained completely indifferent, looking adorably clueless.
"The environnt of the great desert is indeed harsh, but there are so oases within the desert. Our Serpent Empire is built around these oases. The conflicts between the Serpent People and the Stellar Empire also revolve around these oases," Zara quickly explained.
Charles nodded.
"Alright then! Please continue leading the way. Let's get to the queen as quickly as we can!"
At Charles's urging, Zara quickly led the way ahead.
Traveling through the hot desert was an excruciating ordeal.
Even though Charles had brought along tools to help adapt to the desert environnt before setting off, these tools ultimately didn't offer much assistance.
After a whole day, Charles finally saw the shadow of an oasis in the distance.
"That oasis ahead... is that the one where the queen is located?" Charles asked Zara, anxious and excited.
"Yes! We've finally arrived! This is the oldest oasis of our Serpent Empire, and it is where every emperor of the Serpent Empire has been crowned—the Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis!" Zara was equally excited.
She had finally returned to her holand, and this ti, she had brought along help that could save the Serpent Queen.
The two of them hastened toward the oasis.
At the edge of the oasis, they were stopped by a pair of Serpent People soldiers.
Zara showed her identification, and the Serpent People soldiers escorted them into the Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis.
Zara's return stirred up a lot of excitent among the people within the oasis.
The Serpent People in the oasis gathered around to watch Zara, and it didn't take long for them to notice Charles's presence.
A human had appeared in the Serpent's Eye Lake Oasis, which shocked the Serpent People.
"Why is there a human here?! Has the Stellar Empire already invaded the oasis?! Is our mighty Serpent Empire about to face total annihilation?!" one of them exclaid.
"Don't be ridiculous! This human ca with Lady Zara. He must be the helper Lady Zara brought along, right?" another person said.
"A helper? Humans are completely untrustworthy! Have you forgotten the tragic fate of the Serpent tribes that trusted humans?!" soone shouted.
"Did those senile old priests let Zara bring this human into the oasis? Have they completely lost their minds?!" another person added.
"Quickly go and notify General Sost! Tell him to arrest this human imdiately! He must be a spy!" soone else cried out.
The Serpent People chattered among themselves, discussing Charles.
The vast majority of the Serpent People were filled with hostility toward Charles.
After all, they had been fighting against the Stellar Empire for so long.
The discussions among the Serpent People civilians naturally led to no conclusion.
Charles, walking behind Zara, was not hindered in any way, as all the Serpents knew that Zara was Aria's most trusted guard.
Under the escort of the Serpent People soldiers, Zara and Charles made their way deep into the oasis.
The deepest part of the oasis was a clear, pristine lake.
This lake was Serpent's Eye Lake, and the entire oasis was nad after this very lake.
"According to our Serpent People's ancient legends, the first emperor of the Serpent Empire was born from this very lake. He unified all the Serpent tribes and defeated all the other intelligent species in the great desert. Ultimately, he founded the great Serpent Empire," Zara excitedly explained as they passed by Serpent's Eye Lake.
She truly believed in this legend and was also convinced that Serpent's Eye Lake possessed divine power.
Charles, too, paid great attention to Serpent's Eye Lake.
The lake emitted a mysterious power that seed to calm his emotions and ease his mind.
Serpent's Eye Lake must hold a great secret! Charles thought to himself.
Although he was eager to uncover the mystery behind Serpent's Eye Lake, he knew that for the Serpent People, the lake was sacred, and he could not act recklessly.
After passing through Serpent's Eye Lake, the group finally arrived in front of a massive pyramid.
The pyramid's large door suddenly opened, and two Serpent priests, dressed in splendid ceremonial robes, quickly erged.
Their gazes swiftly scanned Zara and Charles.
"I've brought the helper! And I've found the item that can lift the queen's curse! High priests, don't waste any more ti! Let's go see the queen imdiately!" Zara spoke urgently.
The two Serpent priests did not imdiately grant permission.
They quickly turned their gaze to Charles.
"You brought a human as your helper?" the priest on the left asked slowly.
"I already told you before we set off! Why are you asking this now?!" Zara replied, slightly irritated.
The priest on the right spoke slowly, "This is for the safety of the queen. Who can guarantee that he is not a spy from the Stellar Empire?"
As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere grew tense.
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