Chapter 115: They Are Here to Slay Dragons

"Sword... Sword Saint! Martial Spirit transformed into a sword? High-Rank Sword Saint!" A dozen or so mounted sand bandits, watching Luther on the dune ahead stuffing dried beets into his mouth with both hands before summoning a sword of Qi with empty palms, all felt their legs turn to jelly.

Transforming Martial Spirit into a sword is the hallmark of a High-Rank Sword Saint. How could this be a noble young man who read too many knight novels? This is the protagonist of a knight novel, and one with heaven-defying luck at that; otherwise, a Sword Saint so young?

The sand bandits who had originally charged forward with fierce momentum, some turned their horses and fled in panic in all directions, while the rest's legs gave way, they flipped off their horses, slid to their knees, prostrated themselves with five limbs on the ground, raised their hands high, and shouted loudly: "We are here to respectfully escort several distinguished guests and wish our guests a smooth journey."

Luther sneered: "You are truly enthusiastic, it turns out to be this kind of enthusiasm. Perfect, I will also show you my enthusiasm..." As he spoke, he was about to stuff another dried beet into his mouth.

Lightning beside him interrupted him: "You just want to take the opportunity to eat dried beets. These guys don't need your full strength. If you don't act now, they won't be able to hold back over there."

On the other side, the Little Zombie was pulling the Angel Skeleton with all its might, but the Angel Skeleton shook it off forcefully, took a step forward, and pushed both hands ahead, yet nothing happened.

Turning its head in confusion to look, eh, where did the wings go?

Tilting its head to think for a moment, it suddenly remembered that Ange had taken the wings away, so it quickly ran to Ange, raised both hands above its head, and made a flying gesture: "Whoosh whoosh!"

Ange shook his head.

"Awooo~" the Angel Skeleton made a small sound.

"Awooo!" Ange called out firmly.

The Angel Skeleton turned away in dejection, but soon, it cheered up again, raised its small fist, grasped the holy light, and was about to charge forward.

However, looking up, it saw a pile of corpses on the ground, while Luther was sprinting after those fleeing sand bandits in the distance, his feet moving so fast they left afterimages, kicking up a rolling cloud of sand dust.

"Awooo!" The Angel Skeleton got angry; it hadn't hit anyone in over a month. The Little Zombie tried to pull it over, but it punched the Little Zombie in the eye socket.

Ten-plus minutes later, Luther returned with empty hands, looking disdainful: "These guys didn't have a single copper coin on them; no wonder they had to come out to rob."

"How do you know they didn't have any? Maybe they just didn't bring it. Would robbers carry money on them when they go out to rob?" Lightning argued.

"You just don't get it. Judging by the situation, some guys not only bring it, but they bring their entire fortune, because they don't trust their companions. But none of these people brought any; either they are poor, or the gang is very fixed and they have established trust with each other."

"You know a lot?"

"Of course, I am a man who once dreamed of becoming the King of Thieves; sand bandits are also thieves." After patting his chest, Luther ran back behind the distant dune and dragged all the horses and flags back: "Let's just pretend to be sand bandits; these sand bandits are too weak."

The proposal to pretend to be sand bandits was rejected, but the horses were led away, with one person riding each, and the rest being led on foot.

Lightning walked while grumbling angrily: "Didn't we agree on one horse per person? Why are you three still riding me? Does Luther even count as a person?"

Lightning carried the three guys, leading more than ten horses, galloping deeper into the desert.

Absolutely no one would dare to enter the desert so rashly like them; without water or food, even a Sword Saint or a Archmage would only starve and die of thirst on the road.

But they wouldn't; the only ones here who need to drink water and eat food are Lightning and Luther. The food in the Palace of Rest is enough for them to eat for several years, and water is not a problem at all; Ange can create it on the spot.

Although the water element in the desert is very thin, it doesn't matter that Ange's magic power is infinite; even if he condenses one milliliter per second, in one hour that's three thousand six hundred milliliters, and after twenty-four hours a day, it's enough for Luther and Lightning to take a bath.

What bothered them the most was actually the sun during the day. Ange was fine, but the Little Zombie and the Angel Skeleton were so scorched their souls were withering, and the little sapling was also drooping, but they were unwilling to return to the Palace of Rest; the lingering aura there made them very uncomfortable. Ange had adapted for over a thousand years and still wasn't very willing to approach the palace complex.

Unless everyone went back, but Luther and Lightning absolutely refused; Lightning even put it out there: "I, Lightning, son of Lei Ting, today, even if I get sunburned to death, even if you dig a pit and bury me, I won't go in."

Looking at the two listless guys, Ange helplessly stopped: "Dig."

The Little Zombie immediately perked up, extended both palms, hooked its fingers forward, and with surging soul power, quickly manifested two hoes on its palms.

After a bout of dog-paddling digging, it quickly dug a large pit in the sand pile, but the sand was too loose; when dug too deep, the surroundings collapsed, turning it into a cone-shaped sand pit.

"Don't you know the Earth Splitting Technique? Use it," Nai Ge Li Si projected into Ange's soul and said.

Whoosh, Ange suddenly became a section shorter; looking down, his two legs were sunk into the sand, buried up to his knees.

"Uh, your Earth Splitting Technique makes the elements loose, right? You reverse it, make the earth elements gather, won't that solidify? Solidification Technique, the most basic earth magic."

"Oh." Ange cast a Solidification Technique under his feet; the loose sand grains immediately condensed into sand blocks, freezing Ange's feet inside them.

Nai Ge Li Si didn't know whether to cry or laugh, nor whether to call him stupid or smart; he could use a spell after hearing it once, yet he would make such a basic mistake. If this were his student, Nai Ge Li Si felt he would definitely shorten his life by several decades.

Ange didn't pull his feet out but stood there, continuing to cast magic on the sand grains beneath his feet. Earth magic was the type of magic he was least proficient in; after all, he only needed to loosen the soil once a year, and in over a thousand years, he had only loosened it a thousand-plus times.

However, his powerful element control and endless spiritual power allowed him to wield any low-level magic as if it were an extension of his own arm, learning it easily.

The continuous casting of Solidification Techniques into the ground did not immediately solidify the sand grains; instead, they spread into the surrounding sand grains according to Ange's will.

For a level-one spell, the dissipation speed is very fast; if Ange cannot let it take shape in time, the magic power will rapidly diminish.

However, Ange's casting speed was too fast; even his not-very-proficient earth magic could reach two casts per second. Everyone felt that the element reaction in the sand pile beneath their feet was becoming more and more active.

Within three minutes, a full two hundred and sixty-plus Solidification Techniques were smashed into the sand; with a thought from Ange, those already active earth elements instantly changed according to his will.

Everyone only felt a sudden heaviness beneath their feet; the sand pile instantly sank three meters and hardened into solid sandstone ground.

The sunken area was a square five meters long and five meters wide, perfectly straight and vertical; even the four walls were solidified together, becoming a recessed square space with flat walls, ready to be sold without even needing plastering.

Everyone was stunned, and Nai Ge Li Si was no exception; it could see more things, so the shock in its heart was even stronger.

"Magic delayed concentrated explosion integrated molding technique, hey, don't tell me you realized this yourself?" Nai Ge Li Si's voice burst directly out of Ange's soul, condensing and vibrating in the air, exploding into a roar that everyone could hear.

Ange tilted his head, obviously not understanding what it meant.

The others understood even less, looking over in confusion.

Nai Ge Li Si calmed its emotions; don't blame it for being excited. Although Ange was indeed very powerful and possessed a Divine Core, some things cannot be achieved just by having great strength; the Integrated Molding Technique is one of them.

"Do you know how buildings are constructed?" Only Luther here might know, so everyone looked at Luther simultaneously.

"Uh, chiseled out with iron picks, some are built by stacking stones," Luther said, racking his brains.

Well, knew I shouldn't have asked these people; the Abyss of Rest doesn't even have a single 'normal' house.

"Normal houses are grown by earth mages," Nai Ge Li Si said.

Grow? Ange immediately perked up; the sun-drooped little sapling also perked up: Forcefully—Grow—Forcefully—Grow—.

"By mobilizing earth elements through earth magic, grow a pillar, grow a wall, solidify, grow a roof, solidify, finally grow the entire building; such a building is a seamless whole, sturdy and durable. Buildings like the Palace of Rest and the World Transfer Station were likely constructed using this method."

"But this construction method is fine for small buildings; what about large buildings? A mage's magic power is limited; the amount of earth elements he can mobilize at once is only enough to grow one wall. If built separately, they would need to be glued or wedged together, and they wouldn't be a seamless whole."

"What about those support pillars and beams that cannot be glued or wedged? At this time, the Integrated Molding Technique is needed."

"Ten or even dozens of earth mages work together, casting spells collectively to activate the elements, while a mage among them who has learned the Integrated Molding Technique controls it, completing the integrated molding and solidification of a massive building in one go."

Luther, Lightning, and others listened with blank faces: "Sounds very impressive, but I can't say exactly where the impressiveness lies."

"Hehe, gathering the power of all mages to cast together is a command technique; the Integrated Molding Technique is the baton of a mage corps. The overall commander of a mage corps must master the Integrated Molding Technique," Nai Ge Li Si said decisively.

Luther and Lightning finally understood, gasping in shock: "Command technique of a mage corps? Oh my god, can my lord be the commander of a mage corps?"

"Hmph, if it were only that, would I need to be this shocked? Think again — what did he just do on his own? He cast several hundred spells, and he didn't even need to bring any mages; he himself is a whole battalion of mages." Lord Nai Ge said.

Luther and Lightning gaped wide, already at a loss for words.

"But… sigh." Lord Nai Ge let out a breath.

"But what?" Luther wished he could punch it right in the eye — he hated it most when people played coy.

"The strength of a mage battalion is determined by the level of its commander. If the commander is a Great Mage, then it's a Great Mage battalion; if it's an Archmage, then it's an Archmage battalion; if it's a First-Rank Mage…"

Everyone looked at Seeing Ange, recalled that all his spells were First or Second Rank, and sighed together.

"Boom, boom…." The sunken square space suddenly began to tremble.

Luther tilted his head and listened for a moment, his face changing drastically: "Not good — it's hoofbeats, hoofbeats of a large force. A massive cavalry is rushing toward our position at high speed."

Lightning said, somewhat puzzled: "That can't be right. The sand is so loose that even a large cavalry force couldn't make that much noise unless they're very close." As he spoke, Lightning braced his front hooves against the wall and poked his head out to look. Beyond the reach of his sight, where was any cavalry?

"No, it is cavalry — a massive cavalry." Lord Nai Ge said urgently: "We're now inside an integrated space solidified into the ground, which amplifies vibrations from far away. They should still be some distance from us. Ange, quickly put the horses outside away; let's hide first and see what's happening."

Seeing Ange leapt out, tossed all those ten-plus horses into the farm of the Resting Palace, then rapidly scraped the surrounding gravel into the pit, quickly solidified a roof, and filled it over with sand.

Just as the last patch finished solidifying, a vast rolling cloud of sand appeared on the horizon, and before long a black line rose up from the horizon.

The thundering hoofbeats passed less than a kilometer from the pit Seeing Ange had dug, the vibrations so great they nearly shook the sandstone pit apart.

"I counted — roughly over six thousand cavalry. Their gear is all over the place, doesn't look like an army, more like bandits." Luther quietly poked his head out to take a look.

Lightning gave a start: "Over six thousand cavalry? Are they the accomplices of those sand bandits you killed?"

"Couldn't be, right?" Luther said: "We only killed a dozen or so of them — would they send over six thousand cavalry to hunt us down? How could that be? Unless I killed their leader, but those guys were so weak, how could they possibly be the leader?"

The rumbling hoofbeats suddenly and rapidly faded.

"They seem to have stopped. I'll go out and take a look."

Using the dunes for cover, Luther quietly slipped up onto the largest nearby dune and looked down. A massive cavalry force was beginning to pitch tents at the foot of the dune, apparently preparing to spend the night there.

He counted — indeed close to over six thousand people. Among them, a small portion looked like elite regular troops, with uniform equipment, full armor, horse armor, and weapons, each with two horses — roughly over a thousand men and over two thousand horses.

Among them were also five or six special carriages, clearly magical vehicles at a glance.

The rest were ragtag cavalry with mismatched gear, looking just like a band of bandits — in spirit, bearing, and camping skills far inferior to that elite unit.

The sky slowly darkened. Luther took advantage of the night to slip down, and eavesdropped on the tents at the edges that had people in them. Just as he was quietly listening, a head popped up not far behind him, tilted to one side, without any greeting.

When Luther had eavesdropped enough and gathered the information he wanted, and quietly slipped back, that head also quietly withdrew.

Returning to the underground space, he found one Seeing Ange missing.

"Where's my lord Ange? Where did he go?"

Lightning pointed to a corner — there was an extra hole there. In a moment, Seeing Ange crawled out of the hole, gave a shake, and the sand grains on him went rattling down.

Lord Nai Ge said smugly: "We've been right behind you. Ange's limitless mana makes burrowing through loose sand no problem at all. But when we saw you over there eavesdropping, we didn't come closer. What did you hear?"

Luther pressed his lips together with a strange expression and said: "These people are here to slay a dragon."

"What? Slay a dragon? Slay a dragon in the desert? Could it be…?"

Luther nodded: "Yes, the Bronze Dragon."

"Kuabadah, Ange, let me out, I'll go kill them. Let me out — one breath from me and I'll incinerate them all."