Chapter 48: The Spine of the Giant Stone That Supports Mount Tai

As wide as an eight-lane highway, with room for subways running back and forth on either side, the sandworm's maw swallowed everything indiscriminately—sand, ships, it didn't matter—like an endless abyss. And Suhyun, leaping straight into its path, looked pathetically small, like a rat darting in front of an oncoming train.

Plenty of fools had set out to hunt sandworms, but few had the guts to face one head-on and still commit. And among those brave souls, even fewer had ever left a meaningful mark on the beast. Just as you'd call someone trying to stop a tsunami single-handedly not courageous but idiotic, anyone challenging a sandworm deserved the same label.

But in a fantasy world, individuals existed who could triumph over tsunamis alone. Tales of swordsmen slicing cliffs in half with a single stroke. Wizards summoning floods that swept everything from barren plains. Warriors holding off armies of tens of thousands by themselves. In this world where mana flowed, a single person could conquer nature, match its power—or even surpass it. And Suhyun was one such person.

When Suhyun pulled the [Crown of the Desert Thief] from his inventory and placed it on his head, he felt dominion over the surrounding desert grant itself to him. Pathetic compared to the sandworm's own command, perhaps, but it was enough. He'd never planned to subdue the sandworm with this borrowed authority anyway—just trip it up a little.

"As the ruler wearing the Crown of the Desert Thief, I command you—seize my enemy's feet!"

At his order, the sands that had been shoving the massive sandworm along began to slow, bit by bit.

The colossal sandworm couldn't move quickly like other beasts, relying on bristles like an earthworm or friction like a snake. It manipulated the surrounding sand with mana to propel itself forward. Now, with its control divided, it started to lag.

A sandworm born with draconic mana—however faint—had instinctively ruled the sands since birth. For the first time in its life, robbed even partially of that birthright, it thrashed in irritation and rage. It was like a worm wriggling after being stepped on, but on this scale, it could shatter any human fortress.

Hot desert winds tore against its rugged carapace, howling threats as it whipped about. But Suhyun had anticipated it, casting his spell without hesitation.

The ice-embellished sand crown sucked in the surrounding sands, transforming them through magic into a colossal pillar. An octagonal behemoth, forged as if melted in subterranean fires and tempered with the weight of a mountain, its tip slammed into a gap in the sandworm's carapace.

Boom!

Compared to the sandworm's bulk, the stone pillar seemed razor-thin, like a strand of pasta colliding with a thick sausage. Normally, the sausage would snap the pasta without effort. But speed and perfect perpendicular impact let the pillar shatter the carapace and hold firm.

Undaunted by the size disparity—which made his own body look like that flimsy pasta—Suhyun fused the flaking carapace into the pillar with magic. Refined over eons from metals devoured in the desert, the sandworm's shell was prime material. The weakest outer edges shattered and absorbed, turning the pillar's tip a deep indigo, like the worm's senses. With it, Suhyun battered the thrashing length of the beast.

Thicker than Suhyun himself, the pillar counted as a staff in his hands. Batting aside the sandworm's flailing body counted as parries. That boosted the worm's received shock by 40%, cut the pillar's by 30%, enhanced durability and speed, and lightened the felt weight for Suhyun.

As the sandworm whipped and shed more carapace, Suhyun absorbed it into the staff, boosting durability—and struck while it paused, weary. The pillar, till now minimally blocking, spun wide. Whirling over desert sands, the [Crown of the Desert Thief] aided it with borrowed dominion. Winds pushed, desert mana mingled with Suhyun's Heavenly Demon Qi, gathering at the tip.

To the sandworm, it looked like a feeble pasta flick—barely worth dodging. But on contact, everything changed. Riddled with openings useless against humans, the technique shone against overwhelming mass, cracking mountains as its name implied.

Boom!

The sandworm's body buckled in half; sands erupted like a bomb blast below.

"Kieeeaaaaah!"

Seeing it scream in agony, Suhyun poured everything into the follow-up. Each swing channeled his full-body power—slow, clumsy, but laden with weight. Empowered by the crown's borrowed desert might, the staff grew heavier as the worm lost sand control.

Vast mass and length made each swing threaten to shatter the pillar amid shrieking protests, but Suhyun repaired it mid-attack with skills and four spells.

Endlessly refined from architect-mages' spells, the quartet complemented like puzzle pieces. Cracks at the pillar's waist from striking? [Mass Redistribution] lightened the tip to ease stress; [Endless Stone Thread] threads from melted sands locked it tight; [Stone Absorption Enhancement] filled with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worm shell; [Stone Restoration] seamless-blended boundaries. Fueled by [Preservation] mana, the once-fragile pillar accelerated, withstanding speed stresses and impacts, growing denser.

Kraaaah!

Attacks escalating from pasta to chopstick, club, beam, bat—the sandworm finally bared its ultimate weapon: jaws lined with softening mysticism. Muscles coiled; it lunged snake-fast to crush the pillar.

But to Suhyun, versed in monsters, it was predictable.

A basic reversal—re-grip thrust to overhead smash. Scaled to pillar size, it was cataclysmic. Laden tip crushed down via Heavenly Demon Qi; tail-end shoved up. Weight shifted rearward; it spun full circle, smashing the charging maw.

Impact drove Suhyun's hands into the pillar, cracks spiderwebbing. But [Stone Absorption Enhancement] claimed shell and fangs; [Stone Restoration] mended. By rebound, the pillar was tougher; the worm's head shed teeth and shattered plating in chunks.

Shell weakening the worm; pillar strengthening, mana-devouring. Even this dim brute sensed wrongness. Draconic-blooded apex of the sands, untouchable, unbreakable jaws—yet here, a foe matching, surpassing it. Terror surged; it flailed to flee.

But sand dominion stolen in panic, it couldn't match prior speed. Sands clumped, shoving it topside; adhered, immobilizing. Like a lifelong landwalker plunged deep-sea, it floundered—then raged mana skyward.

Kieeeaaaaah!

Raw mana output wrested sand control brute-force; it burrowed to escape. Glancing blows mid-flight enraged it further.

"Even a sliver changes your life! Attack!"

"One fang equals its weight in gold!"

Ships, scenting blood from Suhyun's pressure, swarmed for scraps. Prey emboldened by weakness? Insulting. Lifelong unchallenged, it forgot Suhyun, lunging at the vessels.

"Tch."

Suhyun, tracking via spell for a breather, felt the worm veer—not fleeing, but devouring attackers.

"Morons?"

No idiot could ignore: their weapons couldn't dent draconic hide. Even potent, shots dwarfed scales. Piercing? Nonfatal to primitive anatomy. Reckless against vague vitals. Scoffing, Suhyun stowed the [Spine of the Giant Stone] pillar, awaiting the Radiant Sandship.

Spectators afar, it approached post-"flight." Grappling hook dropped; Suhyun boarded.

He bellowed on deck: "Hard to port—full rudder!"

"Aye!"

Helmsman cranked left; as they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠peeled away, the sandworm erupted rightward, swallowing the fool ship. Alchemical desert-shark bone keel, sand, white oak—tougher than steel—snapped like twigs. Crew vanished into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the gut.

Captain's folly, crew's price—but no time. Exposed flank prime target. Hasina and sailors spied shell-shattered weakness, unleashing.

Anti-desert-monster arsenal pelted raw flesh. Tiny wounds on vast bulk—but first ever marks. Crew roared.

"We can take it!"

From lowliest deckhand to captain, hope gleamed in eyes aboard the Radiant Sandship.