Time passed in the blink of an eye, and noon of the next day had arrived.
The scorching sun hung high in the sky, pouring down rays that seemed capable of roasting everything beneath them.
Vekaura, nearly deserted, resembled a ghost town in the desert, desolate and devoid of life.
After over ten hours of evacuation throughout the night, the majority of the city's residents had already departed. Those who had difficulty moving followed the soldiers to the eastern part of Vekaura, seeking refuge in the underground shelters magically constructed by Taliyah.
On the high platform of the Sun Temple in the city center, Nasus sat alone, cross-legged beneath a crude replica of the Sun Disc.
With his eyes closed, he basked in the warmth of the sun, the votive bands of obsidian on his muscular body swaying gently in the midday heat.
Suddenly, Nasus sensed the presence of ancient magic outside Vekaura, and a metallic, sour taste filled his mouth.
He abruptly opened his crimson eyes, grabbed the long-handled battle axe beside him, and stood up.
"Xerath," he murmured softly.
Yesterday evening, Li Lin and Kassadin had left with Sivir, accompanied by the kind little girl who could manipulate rocks.
Azir, upon receiving Nasus's message, had immediately set out for Vekaura. This city was his mother's birthplace, and he would not tolerate Xerath's destruction of it.
By calculations, Azir, traveling at full speed, should arrive here by late afternoon.
Nasus stood at the highest point of the city, gazing into the distance towards the east of Vekaura, then turning to the south, where Li Lin and Sivir had departed.
Before they set off last night, he had promised Sivir to protect the remaining residents of Vekaura. Taliyah's shelters were well concealed, almost impossible to find from the outside.
The rebellious followers of Xerath were of little concern; the only one to watch out for was Xerath himself.
Nasus took a deep breath.
He had already heard the sounds of over a hundred warriors riding into the city from the western wall, their mounts emitting excited and malicious roars.
As long as he could delay Xerath for a few hours until Azir arrived, even if they couldn't seal him again, it would be easy to severely wound him...
As Nasus contemplated, several warriors, wielding curved blades and long swords, clearly from different tribes, began climbing the temple stairs.
These people were obviously from hostile tribes, and encounters in the desert usually ended in bloodshed. Yet now, they fought side by side.
They knew they faced a godly warrior, but their eyes, flickering with blue flames, showed no fear.
Xerath had already taken control of them...
Nasus thought to himself as he stepped down the stairs.
Swinging his long-handled battle axe, he effortlessly blocked the attacks from five warriors coming at him from different angles.
Then, in one swift motion, Nasus raised his hand and deflected their weapons.
Two of them, unable to control their momentum, were sent flying backward by the tremendous force, crashing heavily onto the ground at the base of the temple stairs, lifeless.
At the same time, Nasus tightened his grip on the battle axe in his right hand and swiftly swung it horizontally, cutting the remaining three warriors in half at the waist.
He descended into the square and headed straight for the eastern part of the town.
Dozens of fierce warriors from various tribes who came rushing towards him were effortlessly slain by him, as if squashing ants.
Feeling the ancient arcane magic flowing in the air, Nasus walked out of the city and into the desert, far from the city walls.
In an instant, over a hundred warriors armed with various weapons, wearing almost no protective armor, surrounded him, kicking up a cloud of yellow sand.
Nasus narrowed his eyes slightly, his red gaze piercing through the swirling dust and gravel.
A blue-white magical energy mass floated about ten meters above the ground, composed of dark energy and astral magic, emitting crackling sounds like "papapa."
He was entwined with rusty chains and the core of an ancient sarcophagus specially used for sealing.
"Xerath!!"
Nasus roared angrily, instantly intimidating all the warriors surrounding him with his aura.
And in the next moment, he felt Xerath's burning anger sweep over him like a towering wave.
Nasus hastily tightened his grip on the battle axe, channeling magic to construct a black-purple magical barrier in front of him, blocking Xerath's arcane magic attack.
But the hundreds of warriors who had just surrounded him were also affected by the scorching energy shock.
In the span of a heartbeat, all of them, including their mounts, turned to ashes, scattered by the surging winds, as if they had never set foot in this world.
Nasus gritted his teeth, glaring at the blue spirit entity, tightening his grip on his axe as he strode forward.
Provoked by Xerath's taunt, the warrior spirit and fury long buried within him were reignited.
"Hmph, if it isn't the archmage... the coward who imprisoned me underground for a thousand years?"
Xerath's voice, just like when he was still mortal, sounded as sweet as honey.
"Where have you hidden Azir's descendants?"
Nasus ignored his question, springing forward with a mighty leap, the axe in his hand infused with the power of the gods, aimed straight for Xerath's head.
"I will send you back underground!"
Xerath's figure flashed, effortlessly dodging his merciless blow.
Nasus's heavy body fell to the ground, creating a small crater in the yellow sand.
"It was with the help of your beloved brother that you barely managed to suppress me." Xerath sneered, "And now, since the opening of the cage door, have you heard the rumors about Renekton?"
"Don't you dare mention his name!" each word sprang from Nasus's hoarse throat.
"Have you seen him now?"
Xerath smirked slyly, descending slowly from the air, stopping tens of meters away from Nasus, who wore a grim expression.
Seeing Nasus's silent response, Xerath became even more audacious.
"Of course, you haven't seen him. Now he would kill you on sight."
Nasus didn't engage him further on this topic. "You are not the chosen one of the sun; your power originally belonged to Azir."
He took heavy steps, slowly approaching Xerath, whose limbs were surrounded by tongues of fire and arcs of blue lightning.
"Renekton isn't either, but he has ascended."
"Don't mention his name!" Nasus roared furiously.
Swinging his axe, Nasus struck at Xerath with earth-shattering force.
Xerath simply smirked and dodged, not retaliating.
"Your brother is weak... oh, you should know this, just like you."
Nasus knew that Xerath was trying to provoke him, making it easy for him to reveal weaknesses in his subsequent attacks.
He knew he shouldn't be provoked by such petty tricks, but the evil mage repeatedly mentioning Renekton made it impossible for him to control his emotions.
"In fact, he is even weaker than I imagined." Xerath persisted in his mocking tone.
With his head hung low, Nasus's axe, enchanted with ancient metal and astral magic, creaked under the grip of his claws.
In just a moment, a raging sandstorm enveloped him, swirling into a hurricane that covered a hundred meters around him.
Xerath's heart skipped a beat, hastily backing away from Nasus, his hands raised as lightning and arcane energy flames surged around him.
With a sweeping motion, Nasus controlled the towering sandstorm, infused with magical energy, as if it had a life of its own, continuously injecting it into his body.
His limbs brimmed with power, and his dark body swelled terrifyingly with the influx of countless grains of sand, as if releasing all the accumulated anger of endless ages.
In the blink of an eye, Nasus had grown to nearly the size of a hundred meters.
And the giant axe, inset with sapphire gemstones, also grew with him, transforming into a colossal weapon.
This was Nasus's true divine form - Fury of the Sands!
(End of this chapter)
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