Nolan was standing next to Aslan. He looked at the yellow sand outside the convoy with a solemn expression. His sharp eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the sand and see what was inside.
"Some kind of minor monster?" Locke was puzzled. Although the surrounding air was filled with faintly discernible mana, it was only in quantity. Its quality was average, and it didn't feel as strong as the moonlight wolf.
"Not bad," said Aslan. There was a circle of air around him that blocked the acid falling from the sky. Releasing impetus was one of the powers of a high-rank Knecht.
The acid in the sky was still falling along with the yellow sand, but he could feel that the frequency was much lower than before.
"It's coming!" Nolan took out his magic staff and stared at the yellow sand in front of him.
The wind in the air gradually weakened, and the sand in the desert slowly fell to the ground without being pushed by the wind.
When the scene in front of them gradually became clearer, a large number of yellow crustaceans suddenly appeared around them. This was the first insect that could grow to the size of a human head that Locke had seen. Eight black needle-like claws rubbed against the sand, making a rustling sound.
Two grey wings were tightly attached to the back of the yellow insect. They were as thin as cicada's wings and glowed faintly.
Their mouths were like flower petals, and they kept swallowing the sand on the ground. Yellow foam dripped from both sides of their mouths.
"What the hell are these things?" Locke looked at the hundreds of yellow insects in front of him in astonishment.
The appearance and size of these insects had completely changed Locke's understanding of them.
"Sandworms are unique to the desert, and they only live in places with a higher level of magic," Nolan explained. "We must have accidentally broken into their lair."
Locke was speechless. The route had been planned in advance, and Faustian had always used this route to communicate with the Aomar Empire over the years. The sudden appearance of these scarabs meant that they had either taken the wrong route, or that they had moved their nest.
The latter was more likely. After all, major monsters also needed resources. Just like the scorpiondrake family that lived in Morphey Forest, they could only reproduce and grow if they had enough flesh and other resources.
They must have moved here not long ago, or else they wouldn't have appeared when the Aomar envoys passed by.
There was no point in thinking about it. Locke and Aslan commanded the soldiers to stop the invasion of the Sand Demons.
The sandpipers living nearby didn't seem to be very friendly to the caravan approaching their home.
Hundreds of Sand Puppets marched forward in an orderly manner like an army. There was no doubt that they could tear everything in front of them apart.
"The sand lizard's weakness is its abdomen." After Nolan finished speaking, he and the other Magi began to chant their spells. The elemental fluctuations around them became even more chaotic, which further stimulated the attack of the Scarabs.
The Sand Crawler with eight claws and thin wings quickly approached the caravan. It was the first to make contact with the Royal Guards who were guarding the outermost area.
The tough armor of the Royal Guards was like a peeled walnut under the erosion of the acid, revealing the tender flesh inside. The Sha Zhao's sharp claws easily tore the Royal Guards' armor.
The Royal Guards' spears and swords could only leave white marks on the backs of the Sand Crawlers. They didn't cause any substantial damage to the Sand Crawlers.
The battle was one-sided at first. In a hurry, the Royal Guards couldn't resist the Sand Crawlers' attack very well. It was their first time facing such an opponent.
But soon, the most elite troops from the Faustian royal capital showed why they were elite.
With General Aslan as the center, a few captains of the Imperial Guards stood firmly against the attacks of the Scarabs like reefs standing abruptly in the midst of a mudslide.
They were all at least low-rank Knechts. Other than Aslan, who was a high-rank Knecht, there were also two mid-rank Knechts. These knights were strong enough to face mid and high-rank major monsters. After being caught off guard at first, they quickly adjusted to the situation.
If it weren't for the fact that the Sand Crawlers were short and had an extremely hard carapace on their backs, the jarls might have even pushed them back.
Most of the Royal Guards were second-rate soldiers. Not many of them had practiced impetus, but they had a solid foundation as Royal Guards. Everyone was tall and sturdy. They followed behind Aslan's jarls and quickly formed a defensive line.
The Shadow Guards behind the Royal Guards also took action. The Shadow Guards were better at assassination and protection. The Sand Crawlers' weakness was their abdomen. It was difficult for the Royal Guards to attack that area, but the Shadow Guards moved smoothly. Sharp arrows were shot from the dark. They first shot the Sand Crawlers lying on the ground, then the arrows that represented death quickly pierced into their abdomens.
Thick yellow liquid flowed out of the wounds of the Sand Crawlers that were shot by the arrows. After a while, their eight claws gradually stopped moving.
Although the monsters were strong, they could only cause chaos in the early stage when faced with an organized human army. As long as the soldiers could stand firm, they would be a nightmare for the monsters.
Why would the lord of Morphey Forest, the scorpiondrake, bow down to the Faustians who occupied Shalor? It was because the scorpiondrake, who had lived for thousands of years, understood that no matter how many major monsters and monsters there were in Morphey Forest, they would never be a match for the regular Faustian army.
Locke followed Aslan closely and rushed into the group of Sand Crawlers.
The power given to him by the low-rank Knecht allowed him to barely break the scarab's carapace. Coupled with the steady flow of impetus into his arms and the unusually sharp bright yellow longsword, Locke had already killed three Sand Crawlers in just a few minutes.
The casters next to him had already stopped chanting. Some were fireballs, some were ice cones, some were lightning bolts, and they smashed into the group of Sand Crawlers. The power of magic was much stronger than the meager Dou Qi of the knights. Every wave of magic created a storm of flesh and blood in the group of Sand Boas.
After the spells smashed into the ground, only some broken limbs and internal organs were left scattered around. Locke pursed his lips as he looked at the scene.
Aslan had prepared a blue ball. The ball stayed in front of Master Asra for a long time. Aslan stared at the group of Sand Crawlers carefully, as if he was looking for something.
After the initial resistance and counterattack by the capital guards, the group of scarabs was caught off guard by the fierce attack of the shadow guards and the unfathomable power of the spells.
Magical beasts were all intelligent. Although the Sand Devils were just magical creatures, the magic power had given them not only a strong body, but also a flexible mind.
Not all demonic creatures would choose to fight their enemies without thinking.
"Hiss! Sharp! Sharp! " A short and loud scream suddenly came from the back of the group. It seemed to be an order. All the Sand Crawlers trembled and supported each other, preparing to retreat.
Aslan's eyes narrowed. It seemed that he had found a direction to attack. With a stroke of his palm, the light blue ball glided in the air and suddenly rushed towards the place where the scream had just come from.
"Bang!" A light blue mist appeared and the surrounding temperature dropped a little. The screams from the group of Sand Crawlers were ear-piercing. They slowly turned into hissing and finally disappeared.
Locke was one of the people who had been paying attention to Aslan. He had always wanted to know how a high-rank Lehrling was stronger than a knight.
After the light blue mist dissipated, lifelike statues appeared right behind the group of Sand Crawlers.
Nearly ten Sand Centipedes were frozen into ice sculptures in this attack. Among them, one Sand Centipede that was twice the size of the other Sand Centipedes was the most obvious.
In the transparent ice sculpture, the large Sand Crawler with a green shell was motionless. Its eyes were dim and it was already dead.
Before Locke could react, Aslan, who was the most experienced among them, immediately pulled out his longsword and shouted, "Follow me!" Countless capital guards and shadow guards rushed into the group of Sand Crawlers.
The group of Sand Crawlers was not as orderly as before. Without a leader, they were cut and surrounded by the soldiers. Every two or three soldiers dealt with a Sand Crawler and they were soon broken into pieces.
However, the number of soldiers was limited. There were only about two hundred soldiers. They only killed about a hundred Sand Crawlers and the rest all ran away. After a while, they disappeared without a trace.
A gust of yellow sand blew. There were only a few scratches, scattered limbs and Sand Crawlers that were not completely dead. There was nothing left on the ground.
This sudden attack left as quickly as it came.
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