Chapter 11: Beneath the Desert

With the addition of the three harpies, Li Mingxing's side found the battle much smoother. Although their own attack power was unimpressive, the elastic attack bombs in their hands proved to be formidable weapons. No matter how they threw them, the bombs always landed precisely where the harpies intended. Upon noticing their arrival, Li Mingxing offered a suggestion: throw all the attack bombs they carried straight into the mouths of the sandworms.

The harpies didn’t question Li Mingxing’s request. Each had six attack bombs, and together, they blew apart four sandworms right down the middle. Only the red sandworm was tougher; even after being hit by three bombs at once, it managed to survive. Had Li Mingxing’s two iron golems and the zombie known as the Flesh Golem, as dubbed by Razak, not awakened at that moment, the red sandworm might have escaped.

Yet, even with Li Mingxing and the three harpies, it seemed they couldn’t quite stop the ever-reddening sandworm. Just then, Li Mingxing noticed several dwarves standing up amid the sand dunes. These dwarves, unaware of what had transpired, were searching for their weapons. The sandworm spotted them almost immediately, abandoned Li Mingxing and his group, and lunged at the dwarves.

Li Mingxing quickly ordered his iron golems and the zombie to intercept, but their movements were painfully slow. Left with no other option, Li Mingxing charged ahead himself. As he reached the sandworm’s path, he saw, to his astonishment, more than a dozen green eyes appear atop the creature's head.

Had Li Mingxing been a native of this world, he would have known what it meant for a sandworm to grow eyes, but he remained oblivious, attacking it as he would a common sandworm. At that moment, the sandworm suddenly split into seven smaller sandworms. Three lunged at Li Mingxing, while the remaining four attacked the awakening dwarves.

The assault caught Li Mingxing completely off guard. Of the four dwarves, only one managed to fend off the attack; the other three were swallowed whole. Just as the three sandworms finished their meal and prepared to assist their kin, a sudden light flashed nearby.

A sandworm that had just devoured a dwarf was sliced clean in two, and a battered dwarf crawled forcibly from the creature’s belly. From inside another sandworm came a series of explosions, and then a dwarf grenadier emerged, musket in hand, muttering, “Trying to mess with me? You must be mad.”

Upon seeing the sandworm sliced in half, the grenadier calmed somewhat and addressed the other dwarf, “Blackstone Hero, you’re awake too.”

“Yes, this has been the worst setback I’ve suffered since I began adventuring,” replied the Blackstone Hero, hefting his battle axe as he stepped forward to help Li Mingxing deal with another sandworm. “Who would have thought my luck would be so poor? After charging into the whirlwind, I was struck by a giant elephant and knocked out cold. But perhaps it’s for the best—it showed me my weaknesses and where I need to improve.”

The Blackstone Hero spoke as he hacked at the sandworm before him, reducing the much-shrunken creature to fragments with his axe skills. By then, most of Li Mingxing’s troops had recovered, and in the blink of an eye, the remaining sandworms fell to his forces.

Li Mingxing finally relaxed, taking a moment to assess how many of his people had survived. Besides themselves and the sandworms, others had arrived with the whirlwind. Despite the chaos, Li Mingxing’s losses were not severe: aside from three two-person flying carpets and the deaths of two dwarves and four battle leopards, everyone else had survived, thanks in large part to their sturdy constitutions and the brief time each had spent in the whirlwind.

Even the giant elephant controlled by the great hero of the Nomads managed to stand up with everyone’s help. It was clear that, after a bit more rest, this newly advanced Tier Three elephant would be able to move freely.

However, those swept up by the whirlwind before them were not so fortunate—none survived. Among the casualties, Li Mingxing saw two giant elephants, around twenty blue- or silver-skinned warriors, nine stone golems, and a man in magic robes. As for goods, there were even more: the jewels Li Mingxing had loaded onto the elephant’s back, piles of blankets, weapons, armor, mechanical parts, and more.

Midalin, who had been feigning death all this time, was now rummaging through the cargo, searching for anything useful for Li Mingxing and his troops. She quickly found several treasures, one of which even convinced Li Mingxing that the goddess of luck favored him.

It was a scimitar crafted entirely from adamantine, engraved with countless magical runes. With his current skills, Li Mingxing couldn’t decipher their purpose. Fortunately, Midalin, being a local, had studied enough to recognize the items of this world. Carefully retrieving the scimitar, she explained, “This is the legendary Whirlwind Blade. See those patterns along the edge? They mimic the wind-blown sand, and most of the runes are wind-based, similar to the ascension arrays beneath each city. They can propel sand in a particular direction, making this blade invaluable for desert combat.”

Still, the weapon was of little use to Li Mingxing, who, in his scorpion-lion form, couldn’t wield such arms. Yin Haitao, on the other hand, showed interest and took the scimitar from Midalin for a test.

Watching Yin Haitao swing the blade, Li Mingxing shook his head. While Yin Haitao could handle daggers and short blades adeptly, the scimitar was a special weapon—not something one could master by simply waving it about. Eventually, Yin Haitao realized he couldn’t wield the Whirlwind Blade to its full potential and handed it back to Midalin for safekeeping.

Just as Yin Haitao relinquished the blade, a desert warrior hired by him stepped forward. “That’s a treasure. With it, I can reach Tier Four. Since it’s useless to you, why not let me have it?”

Li Mingxing glanced at the man. “If he can’t use it, I could give it to one of my three puppets. You’ve done nothing for me, so I’m not handing over such a priceless item.”

Hearing this, several desert warriors moved to stand behind the speaker, clearly intent on “discussing” the matter with Li Mingxing. But as they gathered, a shadow suddenly appeared overhead. They barely had time to look up before one of their number was pierced through the skull by a long spear.

The rest hadn’t even reacted when a silver web enveloped them, and then the black spear struck like lightning, impaling each captive through the head. After dispatching these bold warriors, Li Mingxing watched as Yin Haitao casually collected their fallen spirit coins and addressed the remaining fighters, “There’s no room for dissent in my army. I operate in the shadows, and I don’t have many chances to offer you, so think very carefully.”

With that, Li Mingxing handed these men over to Yin Haitao, who understood his intentions perfectly. He showed no mercy to those with rebellious thoughts, forcing them onto flying carpets and sending them out in all directions.

On each carpet, Yin Haitao left a sheet of parchment and a pen—rare materials he’d managed to purchase in the aerial city, ideal for his cartography skills. He hoped this method would help him map the area.

In the end, he was disappointed. Of the dispatched carpets, only two returned. The maps drawn on their parchments were so chaotic that, even to Yin Haitao’s trained eye, it was impossible to discern the routes.

The other carpets vanished without a trace. Both Li Mingxing and Yin Haitao suspected their occupants had died in battle or met some misfortune. As Yin Haitao prepared to tidy up the maps and send his elite thieves to scout further, another carpet returned.

This one carried two desert warriors, each wearing a strange smile, and behind them floated two masses of fiery red flame. These flames were peculiar, standing nearly three meters tall, with a golden ring at one and a half meters, dividing them into upper and lower halves. The lower fire seemed to propel them forward, while the upper portion transformed into whip-like weapons to attack.