July 2, before dawn.
The carriage traveling from Paradise City to Holy Spring City had already been on the road for more than a day.
Of course, calling it a "carriage" was less accurate than calling it a "Dragon Carriage." Paradise City was already close to the heart of the Parthian Ancient Kingdom, and with Sherlock not accompanying them this time, horses—which needed large amounts of water—would have struggled to maintain their body temperature in such heat. Their speed would not have been much faster than camels, either.
As they ventured deeper into the Parthian Ancient Kingdom, the sandstorms during the day grew increasingly violent.
The sandstorms along many routes had already reached the point where they blotted out the sky and sun. Anyone accidentally caught in one would lose their direction.
When time was not an issue, the carriage could hide inside a barrier and wait for the sandstorm to pass... But time was pressing now. If they rashly attempted to travel through a sandstorm, the rapidly flying sand would injure the horses' eyes and respiratory tracts.
So when the convoy left Paradise City, Iver had them bring along all the horses as well. All one could say was that horses were not particularly convenient for traveling through the desert.
The creature pulling the carriage now was Leviathan.
The sturdy protection covering Leviathan's body, resembling dragon scales, allowed her to charge into sandstorms without restraint. Even if sand entered her exhaust pipes, she only had to "cough" forcefully a few times to clear them out.
Even if they had to consider the carriage's sturdiness and could not race too quickly across the ground, they could still take flight with the carriage when the weather was clear, then find a dune to land on before plunging into a sandstorm.
A