The screams detonated the crowd's panic. Listening to the uproar around him, Tang Qi felt the sand beneath his feet trembling continuously.
He hurriedly looked down, only to find it surging deeper into the earth.
Including the Snakefolk, the allied forces all felt that the ground around them was no longer safe, and for a moment, they tried to flee farther away.
Leon said, "Keep them where they are. Have them move closer together."
Tang Qi initially looked toward Bella, only to find dazzling starlight bursting from her eyes.
The prism in her hand lifted her into the air.
She hovered above the sand dune, continuously chanting incomprehensible words, unable to stop.
"If you don't want them to die in the desert, listen to me." Leon's urging echoed in Tang Qi's ears again.
That finally dispelled his hesitation. "Everyone, move closer together! Reduce the gaps as much as possible!"
The bearing of [Hope Lighthouse] made Tang Qi seem like an unwavering pillar amid the panicked crowd. The more frightened people became, the more they trusted him, as though clutching the last branch before falling from a cliff.
After a brief moment of chaos, they were practically pressed against one another. The gathering of thousands made Tang Qi's chest feel tight, almost leaving him unable to breathe.
But that suffocating feeling lasted only a moment.
When Tang Qi felt the sand beneath his feet loosen, the allied forces that had only just calmed down erupted into cries again. "What's happening!? The sand's already over my knees!"
"Where's Fireforged? Why is Fireforged gone!?"
"We're collapsing downward!?"
Someone finally realized the truth. They were sinking continuously, as if they were inside a funnel.
They tried to recklessly pull their legs free, but their trapped limbs no longer obeyed them.
In less than two