At the same time, in the backyard of the Grand Casino in Cairo.
"Is everyone ready?" Captain Hiloma winked at the players of the Sphinx team and then boarded the sand ship.
"Wow." Albert looked at the rather impressive small sand boat from a distance. Although the boat was small, it could accommodate at least a hundred people, and the Sphinx team sent only the main players to the competition this time.
With the second army of more than a dozen substitutes, this ship must be able to accommodate the entire team, so it is certainly more than enough.
Albert also saw Father Sphinx. Father Lion and Siroma got on the boat together. The two walked side by side, and their relationship seemed to be quite close. Of course, this statement was compared to those in the team.
For the orcs who respect Father Sphinx so much that they don't dare to walk in front of him.
"The whole team is the only one who is not afraid of Papa Sphinx, Captain Shiloma?" Albert couldn't help but asked curiously.
"Of course," Gusta, the tiger man responsible for playing the center position, came over and said, "You should already know, most of the players on this team were originally slaves or destitute homeless people living in the
Thanks to the shelter of Father Sphinx, Egypt was able to survive. But that guy Shiloma is special."
"Special? What's the special method?"
"He was not a slave in the first place, but came to Egypt as a bodyguard of a bunny caravan. But he was a gambler by nature, and he even made money while gambling, and was finally caught in the Cairo Casino. According to tradition
, the people at the casino originally wanted to chop off his left hand. But his father let him go, thinking that Hiloma was smart and a useful talent, so he paid a lot of money to let Hiloma join the club and play for the Sphinx.
Effectiveness------The situation is somewhat similar to yours, little tiger."
"Heh." Albert hummed in a low voice, and then he and Mutt walked onto the sand boat.
The ship's engine roared, and the backyard gate opened at the same time. The sand boat rushed out of the private dock of the Cairo Casino in an instant and entered the sand sea. The weather in the desert was as clear as ever, and the morning sunshine was not too harsh, it was even.
The ground fell on the deck of the sand boat, giving people on the deck a chance to enjoy the morning breeze.
Albert looked around and saw all the Sphinx players doing some gentle warm-up exercises on the deck. He himself did not dare to neglect and started running on the deck.
"What are you doing?!" Unexpectedly, Mutt immediately stopped the tiger angrily.
"Uh, I'm... jogging."
"You shouldn't do strenuous exercise three hours before a game! What if you accidentally strain a ligament?!"
Albert immediately became unhappy: "You brat! I have my own score for my own body. How much exercise is considered strenuous exercise? Do you think I don't know that? You are not my mother. You need it everywhere."
Take care of me, meow?!"
"I'm just doing it for you! You don't seem to have a clue about how athletes usually exercise! Since I'm your personal assistant, I feel it's necessary to point this out to you! Did I do something wrong!?
"
"Relax, kiddos!" Phileos happened to pass by and saw Albert and Mutt quarreling. He quickly stopped the fight: "We are both big people, can't we be tolerant to each other?"
"But this guy wants to take care of everything, even my running. I'm almost becoming his slave!" Albert complained angrily.
"Then you are indeed wrong, Mutt." Phileos glanced at the cat boy.
"I'm telling him what to do to exercise properly in order to win the competition!" The cat boy was scolded and felt very unfair.
"Then what you said is wrong, Mutt." Phileos said calmly: "Mr. Albert is the helper we invited back, but he has no obligation to participate in the competition. He has the right not to interfere in today's event."
Competition, we also have the right not to carry out our routine training at all, and to go our own way completely. We must not force Mr. Albert to do anything he doesn’t like to do, as Father Sphinx ordered.”
"But……"
"If you are not convinced, you can go to dad and ask for clarification." Phileos rolled his eyes at the cat boy: "Your job is only to assist Mr. Albert and teach him appropriate training methods. Don't overstep your authority."
To take control of his life."
"Okay, okay..." Mutt drooped his ears and couldn't say a word.
Phileos glanced at Albert's waist again: "Why are you still wearing weapons?"
"We were targeted, Phileos." Albert subconsciously touched the sword at his waist and shrugged: "Yesterday, we were assassinated in the elevator and at Mutt's house."
Twice. Fortunately, I reacted quickly enough, otherwise I would have been crushed to death by the elevator or died in the sea of fire. In short, I will never walk outside bare-handed again. No matter how many lives I do, I will not die!"
"Really?" Phileos paused thoughtfully: "This kind of thing has never happened before. Are other teams afraid of [Sandstorm King] to this extent? Interesting.
"
"It's not interesting at all!!" Albert and Mutt complained in unison.
"Haha." Phileos laughed dryly, and his expression became serious again: "Do you have any idea which group of people did it?"
Albert shouted: "How is it possible! I'm not familiar with your dark American football games!"
"Perhaps it is the Ghana Black Diamond Team, our opponent today." Mutt touched his cheek and whispered: "They are famous for their despicable fighting methods. They take various stimulants and hide them in protective gear.
Weapons, in short, as long as they don't get caught fouling, they dare to do anything."
"No way? Even the Ghana Black Diamond Team can't be so bold?" Phileos looked a little stunned.
"Or maybe it's the teams we will encounter in the future, God knows." Albert hummed: "But given time, the answer will always be revealed."
"Yes." Phileos nodded, "Before then, you have to be careful. By the way, do you need to arrange a bodyguard for you, Mr. Albert? For example, let a strong man like Gusta follow you.
It would be nice for you to have someone to take care of you in an emergency."
"No! No need, really no need!" Tiger hurriedly refused: "It's definitely not a pleasant thing to have a large group of men following you wherever you go! Look, I already have an extra wordy person here.
I’m just a little follower, I don’t need more!”
"But this kid Mutt is not a combatant. He has no combat effectiveness at all, and he has not received professional combat training..."
"Anyway, I don't need his protection," Albert said casually, "If anything happens, I will protect this kid."
"Who wants your protection..." Mutt's whole body suddenly trembled, and he turned his face away while humming.
"Huhu. Well, I'll leave it to you, Mutt." After speaking, Phileos patted Albert on the shoulder and left.
"Mutt, are you okay? Why is your face so red?" Albert glanced at the cat boy in confusion. Mutt's face was as red as a ripe apple.
"Yes, it's just a bit of heatstroke." Mutt covered his face, trying not to let the tiger see it: "Leave me alone!"
The tiger tilted his head in confusion.
At that time, several orcs who were not dressed as athletes but were wearing leather armor and were fully armed passed by. Judging from their outfits, they seemed to be the guards of the sand ship.
"So this ship is still guarded," Albert couldn't help complaining.
"Because sailing in the desert may encounter many dangers, such as desert sharks or sand sea pirates." Mutt replied while still looking away.
"I've heard about the Desert Sharks, they are just a bunch of mindless beasts." Albert thought of Bedivere's previous description, and he could probably understand how dangerous the Desert Sharks were:
"But what kind of ghost are the pirates of the Sand Sea? ------Father Sphinx is obviously a dangerous person, and there are still people who dare to take advantage of him. Are they too impatient to live?"
"So you don't understand." Mutt shook his head disdainfully: "The Sand Sea pirates are a group of idiots and desperadoes. They fear nothing and no one. Even the former Pharaohs don't take it seriously. As long as they fight with them on the sand ship
If our sailing routes overlap, these damn pirates will rob, kill and burn them. The only way to deal with these shameless gangsters is through violent confrontation. Negotiations or intimidation are useless."
"It's meow." Albert took a closer look at the group of fleet guards. The guards were all fat and strong, and their equipment was considered to be well-equipped. Their swords, guns, swords and halberds were sharpened to a cold light. Considering that the Sphinx
Dad is also on this ship, so this level of security is definitely necessary. Although the strength of the Sand Sea pirates is not yet known, there should be nothing to be afraid of, right?
Click! An inexplicable banging sound above their heads attracted everyone's attention.
Blah blah blah blah!!!
The sand boat's solar sail suddenly made a series of cracking sounds, crackling like broken glass, which made people feel cold.
Albert looked up curiously. While they were talking just now, a big hole had been punched out of the sand boat's solar sail by something. The gray-black sail was originally a collection of fragile silicone plates.
After such a smash, dozens of cracks were produced near the hole, and they continued to extend as the sand ship sailed!
"Oh, my God!" Albert couldn't help but exclaimed. As an adventurer, he had extremely rich adventure experience and could already sense that something bad was coming quietly.
Sure enough, more light bombs roared from high in the sky, falling like raindrops on the sand boat's solar sail!