"What is that?" Zack asked Merlo.

Merlo stood near him, eyes wide open, and only replied a few seconds later.

"I don't know, but something is telling me that that is our goal," Merlo said.

Even as far as they were, it was clear that what was in front of them was a large oasis. Compared with its surroundings, the oasis was full of green and life, with many plants in it.

"Let's go and camp there. I bet we will be much more comfortable in there," Walt suggested.

"I don't think that's the best idea," Zack said.

"Why not?" Walt asked surprised.

"I'm with Zack. Being an area with so much vegetation, I bet that there is some magical beast there that we will need to fight before being able to camp there, so it would be better to save that battle for tomorrow after we rest." Merlo said."We have come this far. Let's not rush it at the end."

"Alright, alright. Let's prepare the camp then," said Walt.

After that, they prepared the camp, and in less than two hours, they were already resting. The night went by without anything happening, and the next day, the group began to move to the oasis.

They advanced with hope, as they knew that in that oasis they could find what they had been searching for the whole expedition. With a bit of luck, they would find something interesting in the oasis that would make their efforts worthwhile. In the worst case, whatever they find would be worthless, but at least they would be the first expedition that managed to reach the center of the Yanan Desert.

If after that they reached the other side of the desert and managed to create a safe route through it, the possibilities would be infinite, as they would find even more areas the further they went into the continent.

In less than half an hour, the group was about to enter the oasis.

As soon as they neared it, they felt a strange aura around the vegetation. Most of the plants radiated vitality, and most carried fruits and berries on their branches.

"So much food!" exclaimed Walt surprised.

"And every single one of them seems to be a spiritual plant. This could cost a fortune!" said Merlo as he examined one of the closest fruits.

Suddenly, a loud rumble sounded between the vegetation before a feline figure appeared in front of the group.

It was a lion with a flaming red mane. It was not only double the size of a normal lion, but also its mane began to catch fire as it got angrier.

In less than ten seconds, the lion's mane converted into a cloud of the blaze. With another of its roars, another three figures appeared from the inner area of the oasis, which were three lionesses.

The lionesses ran to the side of the lion as their fur began to shine.

"It seems like we are going to have to fight those things if we want to enter the oasis," Zack said as he unsheathed his sword.

"There are some fruits that look tasty. Let's hunt these beasts as soon as possible so we can eat them. " Walt said as he looked at a fruit that was hanging from a tree.

As they were already used to fighting together, the group arranged themselves in formation to fight with the beasts. While the warriors fought with them in melee, the scholars did their best to assist them with various spells from a distance.

Zack, as one of the stronger individuals in the group, if not the strongest, began to fight with the lion while the group separated and killed the rest.

Even though the lionesses were bigger than the lion, this one was able to launch fire attacks with its mane, which caught Zack by surprise when he had to dodge a torrent of flames that came from its enemy's mouth.

Even so, he didn't have much difficulty fighting against it, as the fire that he used to attack was the flames that formed its mane, and as it only regenerated over time, so it couldn't be used indefinitely.

Once the lion's flames became just embers, the fight became much easier for Zack. Even though the beast was strong and agile, Zack managed to dodge every one of its attacks while hurting it little by little, so when the rest of the group finished the lionesses, they helped him hunt down the lion.

After eliminating the pack, the group continued entering the oasis. Even though there were some birds that were magical beasts near a lake, they didn't seem to be dangerous or to even bother the group's presence, so they decided to let them be.

In no time, they prepared a camp and began to inspect everything that was around them.

As for Zack, he sat down under a palm tree to recover from the fight, when he saw a glowing fruit that caught his attention.

He didn't know why, but he felt the impulse to stand up and eat that fruit.

'Maybe this is why I had to come here.' He thought to himself when he got his hands on the fruit.

Without a second thought, he took a bite from the fruit, and soon after, he began to feel how revitalizing energy flooded his body.