Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Fingers of the Desert
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The northern reaches of the Great Catastrophe lands were a barren expanse where vast deserts of nothing but sand dominated most of the terrain.
A harsh land so unforgiving that even the most notorious monster hordes struggled just to survive from day to day.
No one dared set foot there lightly, and the world called it the Great Desert.
Few clashes broke out between monster packs in this place, as they were all too busy battling the desert environment itself.
But then...
Shwaaaaa!
-Kieeeek!
The desert's apex predator, a sandworm, split clean in half, spraying hot blood across the sands.
Its massive carcass would serve as sustenance for the desert's flora and fauna.
Boom!
From between the neatly bisected remains emerged a man soaked in blood, flicking the gore from his blade.
"Huuuuh..."
Even drenched in blood, the man retained his dignified air as he steadied his breathing. His adjutant approached and offered a clean towel.
"Well fought, Eldest Young Lord. Your daily battles at the northern border have clearly paid off in your training."
"Thanks, Zodiac."
Swoosh!
Eldest Young Lord Alex Lichtenauer wiped the sandworm blood from his face with the towel his adjutant Zodiac had handed him.
Even with crimson gore streaming down his features, he exuded nobility—a true heir to the martial clan.
"Still, this place is vicious. I thought I'd seen plenty at the northern border, but without that path the dark elf told us about, breaking through this desert would've taken far longer."
"Well, if trash wants to claw its way back to life, it has to earn some merit, right?"
Fling!
Alex tossed aside the blood-soaked towel and shot back, his face now clean.
Ten days earlier, after the grand clash between the Golden Heaven, Mudflow, and Lichtenauer forces at the Beast Fields had wrapped up messily...
The three groups had agreed to a three-day regroup, then advance separately via the route provided by the dark elf Aelion.
The Great Catastrophe lands were so immense that converging at one spot for the push would be inefficient anyway.
But more than that, their trust wasn't deep enough to watch each other's backs.
Or rather, they had to worry about knives in those backs.
This whole mess stemmed from the Great Desert's schemes, sure—but until recently, they'd been swinging swords to take each other's lives.
And countless friends and comrades had died on those blades aimed at one another. That was no joke; it was cold fact.
Could they really wipe away that grudge overnight, staring at blades stained with their own kin's blood?
The three absolute powers judged it impossible.
Thus, the Lichtenauer Martial Clan, positioned outside the Great Catastrophe and kingdom borders, took the eastern route and advanced swiftly.
Gulp, gulp!
Alex drank from the water bottle Zodiac offered, gazing toward the center.
Somewhere there, his father and patriarch, Paon Lichtenauer, would be following at a measured pace.
"Well, if things keep going smoothly like this... no reason not to let them live. After all, I'm the one providing the biggest boost to our merits."
When the Lichtenauer Clan dispersed from the Beast Fields and reorganized near the Great Catastrophe border, Alex had strongly insisted he was the perfect vanguard leader.
The reason was simple and clear.
Having brushed death countless times along the northern border last winter, he knew the Great Desert's monsters inside out.
And as the clan's rightful heir, he was the most suitable.
Paon had accepted, and Alex was paving the way just as expected.
This sandworm was proof of that claim.
To the unaware, sandworms erupting suddenly from the desert were like assassins hidden in sandstorms.
"At this rate, ten more days should get us to the Dragon's Graveyard. Plenty of time to dig in before the Earth Dragon wakes...?!"
Rumble rumble rumble!
Alex, plotting the advance with Zodiac, widened his eyes at the sudden vibrations from the ground.
"Zodiac, what is this...?"
"No idea!"
Even amid their desert battles, they'd never felt an earthquake like this. As they panicked...
"Uwaaaaaah!"
A agonized scream from the scouting party ahead proved this quake was no mere tremor.
Turning toward the sound...
"...!!"
The desert surged toward them like a colossal tidal wave.
"Dodge, dodge it!!"
"Damn it, dodge where?!"
The warriors floundered in the unfamiliar crisis, and those caught in the sandstorm sank into the earth one by one.
"Aaaah!"
"Save me...!!"
Pure pandemonium.
The raging wave soon reached Alex and Zodiac's position.
"Zodiac."
In that brief moment, Alex calmed himself and called out steadily.
"Yes."
Zodiac replied with equal composure. Alex pointed at the sandstorm.
"Blow that wind away."
To an onlooker, it might seem a reckless order against a natural disaster, but Zodiac simply drew his spear in silence.
"As you command, Eldest Young Lord."
Vwoooom!
The spear blade, brimming with extraordinary energy, roared like thunder.
And then...
Shwaaaaa!
The swung blade cleaved the oncoming wave perfectly in two.
The natural disaster devouring warriors vanished in an instant—a display worthy of divine might.
Whooo!
Alex whistled in admiration at Zodiac's fearsome strike.
"As expected of the Divine Spear. Reliable as ever."
"Haha, you're too kind, Eldest Young Lord."
Zodiac demurred, but he had no need for such humility.
Divine Spear Zodiac.
In any other unit, he'd easily claim command, yet he was content as vice-leader of the Tiger Cloud Unit, proudly serving only Alex.
"W-We survived..."
The scouts sighed in relief, safe from the fierce sandstorm.
But that respite lasted a mere instant.
Spurt!
"Aaaah!"
Hordes of sandworms burst from below, assaulting the scouts and swallowing them into their bellies.
-Kieeeek!
"What?!"
This time, even Alex and Zodiac froze briefly, truly caught off guard.
In that split second, scout casualties skyrocketed.
Regaining his wits, Alex bellowed at the vanguard strike teams from his Tiger Cloud Unit.
"What are you all doing?! Get in there and handle it!!"
"Hahaha! Those humans must've been scared witless."
On a dune a short distance from the clan's vanguard path, Drakelas, sprawled and watching the scene, crowed in triumph.
"No way something as simple as a sandstorm could stop your martial clan humans."
He knew their prowess well enough to expect as much.
Had they been weak enough to get swallowed by a mere spirit-summoned storm...
Drakelas wouldn't even need to show up personally.
The sandstorm was just a smokescreen to mask the vibrations of the sandworm horde's charge.
Once the immediate threat vanished, even the strongest humans would let their guard slip for a moment.
And Drakelas's prediction hit the mark.
"Well, Paon Lichtenauer himself up front? No way he'd waste energy on kids' pranks like this... if he had any brains."
Paon Lichtenauer, patriarch of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan.
Golden Eye, lord of Golden Heaven.
Sea King, ruler of Mudflow.
Had those three absolutes led the charge, even the Great Desert's Fingers couldn't hold.
The Fingers were strong, but excluding ignorant Arckandor, they all fell short of the trio.
But Drakelas was certain.
Those three wouldn't step forward.
"Aelion, that traitorous scum... to prove his worth, he must've scraped together every detail, even down to when the Earth Dragon awakens."
He was sure, as expected.
If the three forces didn't know the awakening date, their advances wouldn't sync so perfectly.
They knew.
Thus... those three couldn't take the front now.
"Before the awakened Earth Dragon... even top officers, let alone absolutes, would just be hindrances, not help."
The Earth Dragon wasn't won by numbers.
They knew that.
So, to stay in peak condition, they had to conserve strength now.
That let Drakelas scheme boldly.
Had those three appeared unexpectedly, everyone in the Great Desert would've fled straight to the Dragon's Grave without looking back.
But Golden Eye and Sea King bore deep internal wounds from clashing over each other's lives.
And Paon, the South Continent's sole human worthy to face the Earth Dragon, naturally preserved his full power.
Prediction confirmed, Drakelas grew bolder.
"Without those monsters on the field, we've got nothing to fear!"
Better yet.
The longer their cautious advance dragged, the more the clan, Golden Heaven, and Mudflow forces would whittle away.
Those devoured lives would reborn as precious sustenance for the awakening Earth Dragon.
"Shall we dance a bit more?"
Snap!
-Kieeeek...!!
With Drakelas's finger snap, sandworms erupted not just at the vanguard, but at the rearguard opposite.
While eyes fixed on the front ambush, strike the rear again.
This layered tactic was Drakelas's intricately woven plan.
"Central with Paon might hold, but ordinary humans won't find sandworms so easy."
Drakelas smirked coldly at the impending slaughter.
Rearguard zone of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan forces.
Even for the Lichtenauer Clan, the supply-heavy rear was relatively weaker by nature.
With most lower strike teams clustered there, Drakelas's plan was perfectly timed.
If no one had anticipated it.
-Kieeeek!!
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
As a sandworm loomed with jagged maw, a low-rank warrior panicked and raised his shield.
But mere instinctual defense—fragile as a candle in the wind before a house-sized beast.
Just before the warrior became worm food whole...
Chiriririring...!!
Metal ground on metal, and the sandworm shredded into chunks.
Spurt!
"Get it together, all of you!!"
A booming voice snapped the warriors from chaos, drawing all eyes.
There stood Ian, twin swords in hand, posture proud and unyielding.
"How can you call yourselves warriors of the great Lichtenauer Martial Clan if you falter at something like this?!"
Did Ian's rebuke work?
"R-Right... Can't show this disgrace with the patriarch watching."
"Snap to it! Sandworms are big, but not unbeatable! Reform ranks!!"
Ian smiled slyly to himself at the sight.
'Letting that dark elf live... was the right call.'
Ian recalled Aelion's advice just before departure.
-Drakelas will target the rear for sure. Want merit? Station there.
-Why bother the rear when blocking the advance is priority?
-Of course.
Aelion had answered firmly to Ian's doubt.
-Hate to admit it, but that one weaves strategies in layers. He'll draw eyes to the front, then hit the rear once.
Following Aelion's half-doubted tip let Ian prove his prowess again to the clan's lower strike teams.
Ian's exploits reached Drakelas's eyes clearly.
As did Aelion traveling beside him.
"...Tch. So it was you after all."
Drakelas clicked his tongue, burning cold fury at Aelion.
By rights, the clan should've taken heavier losses.
But with Aelion seeing through his ploy, further ambushes lost meaning. Drakelas let it go.
"Fine. Greeting's over here."
Twirl!
Satisfied as the sandworms devoured warriors even while suppressed, Drakelas turned away.
Though partially thwarted, the storm and worms had inflicted damage in waves.
They'd be heated now.
Excited and tunnel-visioned... they'd create bigger gaps for later opportunities.
Swipe!
"Not sure about west and central. Hope they're managing..."
Drakelas muttered, gazing west.
Contrary to Drakelas's worry, west and central efficiently stalled Golden Heaven and Mudflow advances as planned.
Dragon Gorge, gateway from central Great Catastrophe to the Great Desert.
-Roooaaar!!
In the narrow natural chokepoint, a massive ogre hurled surrounding trees at lizardmen with earth-shaking roars.
Third Finger, Long Finger Tumgrok.
Thud!
Second Fiend Lucius faced the flying logs, swinging his gladius.
One swing sound.
Crack!
Dozens of trees shattered midair into splinters.
"Keruk! Tumgrok! How long you gonna play these childish games?!"
Lucius roared, ripping into the blocking ogre.
Tumgrok rivaled even him, a Second Fiend.
Yet here he was, chucking trees like a kid from afar, ignoring all pride.
Unbearable for prideful Lucius, especially after two blood-brother Fiends had died.
His mind filled with urges to butcher every Great Desert monster.
"Kuruk! Hilarious."
But Tumgrok just mocked Lucius's roar.
"Not just you—even those scary lizards want my head. You think I'd face you head-on? Even we dumb ogres know better."
In other words, Lucius lacked even that much judgment.
"...Keruk! Hold still. I'll have that greasy neck soon."
Fury boiling, Lucius bellowed across the field.
"Warriors of the Second Path, advance! Some losses are fine—tear those damn ogres apart!!"
The Sea King awaits my feats.
"Kerurrrruk!!"
Second Path lizardmen, as irritated as Lucius, charged with unified cries.
"W-Wait!! Lucius, something's off!!"
Fifth Dragon Regulus urgently called him back.
"Cowards, stay out!!"
With bad blood between Fiends and Dragons, Lucius ignored him.
And then.
Crunch!
The ground beneath the charging Second Path lizardmen collapsed rapidly.