Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Dumby pulled back its right hand. The scene beneath it was now one of chaos, as the Sand Monsters exploded spontaneously into clouds of sand around the people at the foot of the sand dune. The members of the group looked at each other in bewilderment, trying to wrap their heads around what had just happened.
Gao Peng silently gazed down at them for a moment before turning around and leaving the place alongside Dumby and the others.
“Someone’s on the other side of the sand dune,” said one of them who had managed to catch a glimpse of Gao Peng’s back disappearing behind the sand dune.
“He must have helped us,” said an older gentleman in the party pensively. “Should we go thank him?”
“Seeing how quickly he walked away, I don’t think he wants to be thanked,” said a woman.
“Tch, shows how much you know,” muttered the woman’s husband. “We should always remember to thank those who’ve helped us in life, regardless of whether they want to be thanked or not.”
When the party climbed up the sand dune, Gao Peng was nowhere to be seen. Some of them seemed a bit disappointed.
“Would have been nice to have an Ice-type familiar here with me,” muttered Gao Peng.
There was still too little diversity in the familiars he had right now. He could probably overcome any obstacle in his path if he had a powerful familiar for each element on his team.
He had once ran a couple of experiments on Sand Monsters and had been able to gather substantial information on them.
Sand Monsters were generally resistant to Electric-type attacks. While Dumby could take on the Desert Ruler on its own, there was no way it would be able to do so out here in the desert.
Then there was Flamy…
Gao Peng had noted in his most recent experiment that a Sand Monster would experience an increase in speed and agility when exposed to extreme heat. It would also not receive any noticeable damage from Fire-type attacks.
“Let’s hope we don’t run into the Desert Ruler out here,” muttered Gao Peng. This was the first time he felt the inconvenience of being at an elemental disadvantage so acutely.
When all this is over, I’m definitely going to catch an Ice-type familiar, decided Gao Peng.
Gao Peng spent the next three days in the gathering spot, trying to gain a better grasp of the current situation there.
“The Chang’an government has ordered everyone to evacuate from the Beihekou gathering spot before ten in the morning tomorrow. It won’t be responsible for anything that happens to those who fail to comply,” announced a megaphone that was attached to the roof of an army jeep.
The announcement echoed across the area. Everyone in the gathering spot heard it loud and clear.
After hearing the announcement, some of the people hurriedly packed up their things, ready to leave the place as soon as possible.
Others huddled together in a corner as they began planning their next moves.
After broadcasting the announcement around the gathering spot for half an hour, the jeep finally left the place.
The army was now about to make their move.
Back in Chang’an City’s military base…
“Still no news of Gao Peng?”
“Sir, according to our sources, Gao Peng was last seen asking around for a tour group that was headed for the Dali Desert. However, it would seem that he may have resorted to less legitimate means of travel, as no travel agencies in the region are currently offering that service, in compliance with the government’s travel ban.”
“Have you searched all the possible places he could be?”
“Sir, we’ve checked every inn in Chang’an. There’s just no sign of him.”
The senior commanding officer in a dark green uniform who had been lying on the sofa got to his feet. His hooked nose flared.
“Forget it then. Does anyone seriously think we can’t handle even two Lord-tier monsters without him?”
The subordinate officer sighed inwardly. If they were dealing with any other type of monster, his superior officer’s confidence wouldn’t have seemed so out of place. However, this was the Desert Ruler they were talking about. No one in this world had ever faced a Lord-tier elemental-type monster before and lived to tell the tale. According to the calculations made by the military statisticians, their chances of victory weren’t terribly high.
“Go make the announcement. Tomorrow at ten, we’ll be setting off a huge explosion in the middle of the desert. We’re gonna drive the sand b*stard out of its hole!”
“Sir, we won’t be able to evacuate everyone from the Beihekou gathering spot in time—”
“Yeah, that’s not what I want to hear. We’ve already issued the evacuation order. The people have more than enough time to pack up and leave. Anyone who’s still there when the bombs go off will just have to face the music,” interrupted the commanding officer with the hooked nose.
After a moment’s silence, the subordinate officer nodded. “Understood.”
Yang Lin was one of the rising stars in Chang’an’s military. He had a firm way of doing things and a rather tyrannical way of dealing with monsters. His boss, who had recently lost his grandson, had asked him to be in charge of this operation.
At first, he had been averse to the idea of recruiting Gao Peng. If it weren’t for his boss’s orders, Yang Lin wouldn’t be going through all this trouble to seek him out.
Another reason why he wasn’t that excited at the prospect of Gao Peng joining him in his operation was the possibility that he might take all the credit for vanquishing the Desert Ruler.
The youngest Lord-tier monster trainer in the world, whose only Lord-tier familiar was a walking bag of bones…
He didn’t think that a walking skeleton would be of much help here, even if it was a Lord-tier monster. His boss only wanted to use Gao Peng to draw his grandfather, Ji Hanwu, out into the open.
Will Ji Hanwu take the bait, though? wondered Yang Lin.
…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Missiles fell from the sky toward the far reaches of the desert in quick succession.
The resulting explosions could be heard even from the edge of the desert.
“Look at all those mushrooms,” said Da Zi in the air hungrily.
Gao Peng was speechless. Just how hungry can you be, you gluttonous centipede?
Three bombs were then detonated consecutively in the desert, setting off an explosion that covered 70 percent of the region.
The resulting heat from the explosion was capable of burning all the oxygen in the region.
An oxygenless vacuum was formed in the blast zone, causing anything that hadn’t already died from the explosion to suffocate within seconds.
However, Gao Peng didn’t think that this would be enough to damage the Sand Monsters or the Shatuoman Man-eating Earthworms.
The former was a creature made entirely of sand, while the latter could simply dive back into the ground. Gao Peng remembered from his experiments that Sand Monsters didn’t seem to need oxygen to sustain themselves.
An airless vacuum hung above the Dali Desert as soon as the explosion died down.
Silence reigned over sky and sand. Not a single sound could be heard from the desert. Suddenly, a wind howled angrily from the depths of the desert!
Gao Peng strained his eyes in the direction of the desert and saw that a sandstorm was now brewing on the horizon, completely blocking out the sun in the sky. Even though it was still morning, an unnatural twilight seemed to have descended upon the desert at that moment.
