Jingle-jingle, jingle-jingle~
The camel bells sent a ripple of "life" through the ash-gray sky, but it was quickly swallowed by the endless haze. Nothing had changed, yet change had indeed occurred.
Have you ever seen the camels of the Border Wasteland?
Or rather...
Uduna?
In the grassland tongue, it means "tenacity." Of course, in the grassland language family—a blend of divine language and the tongues of various primitive tribes—it only carries the meaning of "tenacity" when attached before a specific noun.
When used alone, it becomes a proper noun, referring solely to this kind of camel—
They were silent, with enduring brown eyes.
They had no fur.
Their hides were black, wrinkled, and utterly unyielding, like tanned leather. Warriors who often patrolled the Border Wasteland would sharpen their blades directly against them.
Within their towering humps, they stored vast amounts of food and water—sometimes, warriors driven into a corner would cut them open for sustenance. Food and water were secondary; what mattered most was the Soul-Life power contained within.
Human cultivators used Soul-Life Stones to resist the ever-present rejection and erosion of the desert. Uduna did not need them. Uduna could generate Soul-Life power on its own to contend against the desert. This was also proof that Uduna belonged to the Human Race rather than the Devil Race.
Life belonging to the Devil Race did not fear that kind of "desiccation." They were themselves a part of that "desiccation." The life activities of all Demonic Beasts, together with the environment, formed that "desiccation."
Ordinary warhorses were simply unqualified to cross the Life-Death Line and enter the Border Wasteland. Even powerful demon horses required the power of Soul-Life Stones to withstand the environment once they entered.
"Uduna" was the most common beast of burden here.
For countless millennia, they had carried