Clyde cast his eyes around him. All he could see was a dry desert coupled with the scorching hot sun.
"Whoa, this world must have experienced some kind of massive sandstorm in the final chapter," Leyan commented after he finished looking around.
"Maybe what's under the sand is a city," said Kiara in a gloomy tone.
Clyde looked down. In his head, he imagined the same thing as what Kiara said. There was a city that was originally prosperous and advanced, which was suddenly buried by sand that came from nowhere.
Inside the city, it is clear that there are buildings that are inhabited by poor humans trapped inside. All the buildings and their occupants must also have been killed by the various Chapters in the Selection Stage.
There are also other possibilities. That the humans and buildings have been reduced to dust and sand, not buried under it.
Whatever it was, now it had no meaning because now everything was over.
"Is this where they will appear?" Clyde asked.
"Yes. I got another description from a Senior Council via telepathy," said Samuel. "They will be here one week from now and there are four of them."
"Have you ever met the Senior Council in person?" Clyde asked while looking at him.
"No." Samuel shook his head.
"Why?"
"I don't have permission."
Clyde got the impression that Samuel didn't want to elaborate more on that particular topic. He even turned his head away from him and stared ahead as if he was thinking of a plan seriously.
When Clyde looked at the other party members he got the same impression. It was as if they shared the same mind with Samuel.
Clyde sighed because surely they didn't want to talk about it, somehow.
'I'll find out later myself.'
After a few moments of just observing, Haru asked. "Will there be monsters here?"
"Like every Ruin that exists, we have to expect monsters to appear here later," Samuel replied. "Let's get started. We still have to walk a bit more to get to the actual place."
They walked on the sand which was so hot on their feet. The sun, which seemed to never move from its position at the top of their head, did not make their trip any better.
Luckily, Kiara took the initiative to use her power and created a thin ice dome that covered them from direct sunlight.
The ice dome not only blocked out the sun but also created coolness from above them. Making this desert land more bearable.
After about ten minutes of walking, they could finally see something sticking out from the sand. It looked like the top of a building.
As they got closer, they noticed that there wasn't one but maybe dozens of building tops sticking out of the sand.
"It is a city," said Kei.
"Yeah. There, they'll look for the artifacts," Samuel replied.
"Why don't we just take the artifact first?" Clyde asked.
According to him, it is an obvious thing. If they already knew where and when Uriel's party had appeared, why not take the artifacts first so they wouldn't have to bother fighting them?
Clyde turned to the rest of the party. He hoped that they would agree with his idea. However, they didn't show any reaction and allowed Samuel to answer.
"We have no information on what the artifact is or how to get it."
"The information from the Senior Council didn't give you that?" Clyde is suspicious. They could tell when and where Uriel's party showed up but not about what artifacts would they take. That sounds a little odd.
"If that's the case, why should we be worried? The information provided by the Senior Council is always limited to that. And we have to fight to overcome the rest," Leyan added.
Clyde didn't say anything else in return. If that's the reality then it can't be helped. He should have realized that from the start when he saw these people get scared when he heard about the task they were about to carry out.
There is no other way than to fight against the party that Uriel sent.
"Instead of us wasting time looking for those artifacts, it's better for us to immediately prepare a plan for ambushing them," Samuel said then took the lead to get closer to the ruins of the city that was buried in the sand.
But suddenly a rustling sound created from the friction of sand was heard. They immediately looked around in all directions to find the origin of the sound.
Turns out, the sound didn't only come from one point but from several points around them. There are approximately ten spots where the sand appears to be moving indicating that something beneath them wants to surface.
The six people immediately prepared their respective weapons. And enter into battle mode.
"What monsters will we face now?" Kiara asked. At the tip of her wand, there was already a cold bluish mist which she created in no time.
"I don't know. I didn't get any information about that," Samuel replied.
Clyde cursed at how limited information they had.
"Here they come!" Haru said.
A moment later from the sand appeared something like a worm with a circular mouth equipped with sharp teeth like saws.
Four long claws were growing around that mouth. Presumably to stab and pull their prey to devour inside their circular mouth.
The worm's skin is brown like copper and looks very tough. When the worms finally jumped out of the sand in a way known only to them - as there were no visible legs to propel their long bodies - it was finally seen that their bodies were about ten meters long.
Without waiting for Samuel's order, one by one the party members immediately fired their attacks.
Arrow from Leyan that was bigger than normal arrows shot through the splashed sand curtain that was created when the worms came out and landed on the worm's skin.
However, the arrow only stuck for a moment and then fell. Showing that the arrow wasn't enough to penetrate the worm's skin.
Kiara shoots ice spikes at the worm in front of her. Her attack gave the same result as Leyan so she could only click her tongue in annoyance.
Samuel, Haru, and Clyde who were fighting with melee weapons lunged at the worms before they got closer to the other members.
Samuel thrust his spear with all his might. The damage he did was greater than Leyan's arrow, but he still couldn't hit the worm's body. The hard skin became tough and troublesome armor.
Meanwhile, Haru swerves with her agile body avoiding the claws beside the worm's mouth. Then she stuck her dagger and used it to pull her body up the worm's head.
Haru studied the brownish skin. She gritted her teeth with an angry expression when she realized that the skin was proven too tough for her daggers. It's not a surprise because her daggers are not the best quality weapons.
'I have to find this worm's weak point!'
So Haru proceeds to look for spots on the worm's body that are not protected by the skin. Or look for spots that have the least amount of protection.
She poured Mana into her legs to keep her body steady on top of the worm's moving body.
On the other hand, Clyde looked calm when he approached one of the worms in front of him. His face remained straight as if he would not encounter any significant problems just because of the worms.
Clyde tightened his grip on his sword. He decided not to use Mana for now and tested how strong his body was after he raised his Stats.
Only when later he feels unable, he will use his Mana.
*KKRRRKKK!!!*
The worm that was closest to him moved his teeth so that they rubbed against each other creating a disturbing sound.
The claws that were around the circular mouth also moved forward simultaneously. Make a stabbing motion.
The worm lunged at Clyde slithering across the sand like a snake from a nightmare. Clyde calmly sped up his run.
He kicked the sand and sent himself flying into the air. Then he raised his sword with both hands above his head.
The worm raised its head and greeted Clyde who was in a falling-down position. It should be a dangerous situation. However, Clyde wouldn't put himself in a dangerous position like that if he didn't know what he could do.
*SRAATTT!*
Clyde swung his sword and slashed the worm's head and made it split in two different directions. He fell onto the sand along with the worm's lifeless body.
The worm's body did not completely split in two. The slash only sliced through its head to the midsection of its body but it was more than enough to kill the worm.
Clyde nodded with satisfaction. It turns out that his strength has indeed increased greatly. He who hadn't even put all his strength behind the swing had already managed to kill the worm, even nearly splitting its body.
*KKKRRRKKK!!!*
Hearing the sound of another worm behind him, Clyde immediately moved again to kill it.
~~~
