After the bandit's escape, Alex faced his most immediate challenge: the giant earthworm. Outmatched in strength but not in cunning, Alex traversed the desert in search of a tactical advantage. Finally, his eyes settled on a prominent rock, a high point in the vast sea of sand that offered both a strategic advantage and a respite from the relentless desert floor.
With the scorching heat bearing down on him and thirst beginning to take its toll, Alex led the worm towards the rock. His plan was simple but dangerous: he would provoke the worm to charge into the rock, trusting that the impact would disorient the beast enough to allow him to deliver the final blow. And so it was, with a war cry, Alex dodged at the last second, and the worm, with its blind momentum, crashed into the rock with a dull thud.
Seizing the moment of the creature's confusion, Alex leaped from the rock, his sword descending in a precise and deadly arc. The blow was true, and the giant earthworm fell, defeated, dissolving into the sand that had once housed it.
The victory was bittersweet. The bandit remained at large, and Alex found himself alone in the desert, without water or guidance. With the sun beating down, the heat intensified, every step a test of his will and endurance. Thirst became his constant companion, every breath a cloud of hot dust.
Alex roamed the desert, searching for signs of life or any clue that would lead him back to the bandit's trail. But the desert was vast and treacherous, and in its immensity, the silence felt almost overwhelming. There were no signs of the bandit, no traces of living beings, only endless sand and the relentless sun.
In this vast emptiness, Alex was left alone with his own thoughts, reflecting on his next move. The desert, with its relentless heat and endless expanse, was an enemy as formidable as any beast or bandit. But within him burned a fire, a determination that would not be extinguished. With each step, he promised himself that he would survive, that he would find the bandit and reclaim what had been taken from him.