Chapter 523: Ruins of the Divine Kingdom

The souls of over a hundred desert trolls were converted into more than twenty energy units.

It wasn't much, but Lei En was satisfied.

When the desert trolls appeared earlier, the Soul Eye saw them clearly; these trolls are sentient beings, but their civilization has regressed to near‑beast level. Their souls also contain a spark of faith, but it is faint, and they do not know which deity they worship, barely feeling any divine authority.

Trolls are the oldest race in the world; their beliefs are diverse, with deities ranging from extremely lofty to unbelievably low.

Some troll tribes revere not true deities at all, but merely a powerful beast possessing divinity, not even a demigod.

These desert trolls are exactly like that.

At least judging by their spark of faith, it is certainly not a strong deity, unable to cross planes to cause trouble, perhaps not even noticing when its followers vanish.

Thus, it could swallow souls without any restraint.

"Chief," Lei En suddenly asked, "does Atas have many desert trolls?"

"Very many," De Jike didn't know why Lei En asked that, but replied, "Desert trolls are one of the three most numerous intelligent races on Atas, a bit more than those evil halflings. Yet, even combined, desert trolls and halflings don't compare to the mantisfolk; they may be less than a tenth of their numbers."

"Since the collapse of our lord's holy kingdom over ten thousand years ago, the mantisfolk have seized many regions of Atas thanks to their numerical advantage; they are also one of the dangers we may encounter."

"However, Atas is vast and its resources are barren; the three races together may number only a few million, scattered sparsely. If we are cautious, we can avoid the enemies."

Lei En nodded in understanding.

He didn't intend to avoid the enemies; it would be best if they all gathered so he could kill them all and convert them into energy.

Earlier De Jike mentioned the mantisfolk; these gigantic insect beings are merely unrefined semi‑intelligent creatures, barbaric and brutal, apparently also worshipping a deity of unknown identity. Then there are the halflings; Atas's halflings are completely different from those of the Prime Material Plane—here they are terrifying cannibals with no civilization at all.

Millions of evil beings without faith or worshipping weak deities, in Lei En's eyes, are essentially millions of power banks!

He felt a slight stir; this trip certainly wouldn't harvest many souls.

He must devise a way to return at any time later.

In the high tower of Weizelan's floating city, Reslin opened his eyes, ending his meditation. He teleported out of the room to Gela Morgan Castle, entered the warehouse of the mechanical alchemy chamber, hauled out a large quantity of magical alloy and alchemical materials, and began forging silver‑plated teleportation array plates.

On the Dying Sun Plane, Lei En's party pressed forward swiftly.

Along the way, they encountered several more attacks.

Both desert troll ambushes and monsters lurking in the desolate underground were easily wiped out by Extreme Warriors; a volley from the Bolt Gun turned them into shredded flesh.

Their souls were also absorbed by Lei En, providing over thirty energy units.

In the past, Minotaurs would have had to endure one or two hard fights, slowing their advance, but the presence of Extreme Warriors made them feel safe for the first time on Atas. They need not act themselves; under the terrifying power of the Bolt Gun, no enemy could approach the squad.

Even not long ago, the party encountered a migrating mixed‑blood group of Darkrock Giants.

Darkrock Giants are among Atas's most powerful monsters; this group numbered over ten, with the strongest leader reaching legendary Mid-stage, and another legendary Early-stage female giant.

If only the Minotaurs relied on themselves, casualties would be inevitable.

Yet after two squads of Extreme Warriors opened fire at full force, they wiped out almost all the Darkrock Giants in half a minute. Their hard stone hides were no match for the Bolt Gun; a single shot could carve a half‑meter deep cavity, and three shots could blast a head clean off.

The two legendary Darkrock Giants, battered by a hail of fire like a storm, charged wildly at the squad, only to collapse over a hundred meters away, their six‑to‑seven‑meter‑tall bodies shattered into a pile of rubble.

Throughout this battle, the Minotaurs never had a chance to act.

They fully witnessed the might of the Extreme Warriors, especially the power of the Bolt Gun in their hands, their eyes filled with yearning.

Lei En had someone use Soul Stones to capture the magical souls of two legendary giants; the remaining giant souls were all converted into energy, totaling over fifty units.

After two sleepless, relentless days of travel, the party reached the edge of an endless desert and halted to rest.

Lei En gazed into the distance; even with the Soul Eye pushed to its limit, the desert's end remained unseen.

The endless yellow sand, illuminated by the dying sun, emitted a faint golden glow, brightening the sky considerably; the scorching air warped slightly like a haze, obscuring distant view.

"My lord."

De Jila stepped beside him and said, "This is the Orithas Desert; it covers more than seventy percent of Atas. The Holy Beetle Demon Soul you seek, as well as Ansebi Lingqin, lie within this desert, and the deeper you go, the more dangerous it becomes."

"What kind of danger?" Lei En asked.

"Mantisfolk, trolls, many powerful desert monsters," De Jike replied solemnly, "but the greatest danger is not them; it's the sand worms."

"Sand worms are numerous and appear in large packs,"

"They lurk beneath the sand, able to approach targets silently and strike suddenly, making them extremely hard to defend against."

"The weakest sand worms are about the size of earthworms; an ordinary person can crush them with a single kick, but sand worms grow larger and stronger, becoming massive. I once saw a legendary sand worm that could swallow a Kodo Beast in one bite!"

"Mantisfolk call the largest sand worms 'Sand Worms', their size comparable to actual sand dunes. Their hide is thick and flesh dense, regeneration astonishing; they can regrow severed limbs and possess extremely high magical resistance, even Seven‑Ring Spells struggle to harm them."

Lei En's eyes twitched as he heard, "Seven‑Ring Spell, are you sure?"

"Confirmed," De Jike nodded gravely, "I wield Holy Light Spells beyond the Seven‑Ring level, but when faced with sand worms, I can only flee."

Lei En clicked his tongue in disbelief; sand worms couldn't be Saint Rank beings, could they!

"Sand worms lack sight, but their hearing and tactile sense are extremely sharp; they can hear sound waves and vibrations from several miles away. Once in the desert, we must slow our pace a bit, reduce movement, lest we disturb the sand worms."

De Jike glanced at the Extreme Warrior's Bolt Gun and warned, "The Bolt Gun's noise is too loud; avoid using it if possible. If you must fire, you must finish the fight quickly and leave immediately; you cannot linger in one spot."

"Alright, I'll tell them," Lei En nodded.

After half a day's rest, the party set out again.

Stepping into the desert felt like entering a furnace; the temperature rose seven or eight degrees instantly. The Minotaurs' thick manes and armor forged with Holy Light Power quickly became scorching, causing sweat to pour, throats to parch, and they had to drink water repeatedly for relief.

The Kodo Beast's four hooves were wide and thick, distributing weight on the sand, but moisture drained too quickly, inevitably slowing its pace.

After half a day's march, they only encountered a nest of sun‑spotted vipers that burst from the sand to attack; the Extreme Warrior reacted swiftly, cleaving them into several pieces with a greatsword.

Other than that, no other danger was encountered.

No mantisfolk were seen, not a single desert troll, and the most terrifying sand worms were nowhere to be found.

But De Jike dared not relax his vigilance; riding a Kodo Beast at the front, he adjusted direction several times and finally arrived safely at the first destination.

Lei En gazed ahead; everywhere was monotonously yellow, with rolling dunes stretching far beyond, all built of sand. The Soul Eye extended his view, piercing the hazy scorching air, and he vaguely discerned a ruin amidst the sea of sand.

It was a field of broken walls and shattered pillars, massive broken stone columns lying in the sand, surrounded by remnants of rock walls, with scattered rubble within a few miles and a broken obelisk.

Up close, it became clearer.

The ruin's scale was immense; although only crumbling stones remained, one could imagine how magnificent it must have been in its prime, like the dwelling of a celestial deity.

Lei En discovered many ancient and simple symbols remaining on the steles, walls, and stone pillars; despite countless years of wind and splendor, they could still be vaguely distinguished, a large part of them being ancient giant demon script. Using a translation dictionary, he barely managed to read out a few words and phrases.

He suddenly turned his gaze to De Jike, finding the tauren chief's expression extremely complex, sorrowful and anguished.

"This ruin is a fragment of my lord An Se's divine kingdom."

De Jike said in a low voice: "After his divine kingdom collapsed, it split into countless fragments that fell all over Atas, most of them turning into ruins in the desert."

"So that's how it is." Lei En suddenly realized.

"These ruins retain my lord's divine power, attracting creatures that drifted out of the divine kingdom to nest; the Holy Beetle is one of them." De Jike waved his hand, "If we go into the ruins to search, there's a good chance we'll encounter Holy Beetles—they are numerous, and in any group there will definitely be two or three at Mid-stage or above."

The party approached the edge of the ruins and stopped.

De Jike carefully observed the yellow sand in the ruins; the Holy Beetles' nests are built underground, with entrances usually beneath those steles and foundations that have been soaked in divine power.

Soon he made a discovery, pointing at a broken stone.

"I'll lure them out."

De Jike had the others retreat a bit, took out a Sun Crystal, infused it with holy light power, making the crystal shine like a light bulb, then threw it far away.

The Sun Crystal fell on the yellow sand not far from the stone; a few seconds later, the desert within a hundred meters boiled like boiling water, giant beetles burrowing up from below and scrambling toward the Sun Crystal, the scene looking somewhat terrifying, sending chills down the spine.

"Holy Beetles!" Lei En's spirit lifted.

(End of Chapter)