Chapter 48: Crossing the Sea of Sand
The matters on Seven Knights IV had nothing to do with Leon. His only task was to send his undead troops in the three directions pointed out by the arrows to scout the path. Whether these undead could return was not his concern.
After understanding his task, Leon took a step back, positioning himself in a spot with a better view, while he began to mobilize the undead that followed beneath Seven Knights IV.
Since he wasn't a necromancer, the undead summoned through his soul-calling technique couldn't be controlled as precisely as the elite ones he created himself. He could only manage their general numbers and direction; the rest was left to the undead's instincts.
Because of this, Leon classified his undead. Most of them continued to follow behind Seven Knights IV, while he picked a few to control and send them toward the directions indicated by the arrows.
These undead were of the weakest rank, ground-based types. Though they weren't fast on the quicksand, they were agile enough not to sink into it.
After these undead had traveled about thirty meters, Seven Knights IV slowly stepped into the quicksand river. As it was specifically designed for such environments, it could move freely not only on the quicksand but also within it, at a speed no slower than on solid ground.
In just a few steps, Seven Knights IV had already caught up with the previously dispatched undead.
At this moment, Leon retracted the undead from the other two paths and sent new ones toward the three newly indicated routes.
They proceeded this way, stopping intermittently, and after about ten minutes, no issues had arisen. Both Leon, who was controlling the undead, and Lynn, who was piloting Seven Knights IV, had relaxed their guard.
But just then, the newly dispatched undead suddenly disappeared.
Leon was startled and immediately shouted, "Stop! There's something wrong with this path."
Lynn had already issued the command to move forward. Hearing this, she was initially reluctant to comply, but considering the subsequent plans, she forcibly halted Seven Knights IV.
However, Lynn turned to Leon with an expectant gaze. If he couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, she would certainly start berating him.
Leon didn't say much. He simply directed an undead toward the spot where the previous one had disappeared. After walking only a short distance, everyone saw a flash of cold light, and the undead vanished from sight.
Surprisingly, the quicksand ahead showed no changes. There was no sign of where that cold light had come from.
Seeing this situation, Lady Ember halted her own Seven Knights IV- Adrian Solis and, after inquiring about the situation, operated the machine.
Moments later, a bright white beam shot out from the eyes of Seven Knights IV- Adrian Solis, landing on the spot where the undead had disappeared.
With this strike, the entire patch of quicksand turned to glass, and traces of high-temperature explosions could be seen around.
Afterward, Lady Ember turned to Victor and said, "Send another undead over to check."
Leon didn't care about Lady Ember's lack of trust. At this moment, he was fixated on the spot where the undead had disappeared, feeling that there might be something useful there.
Victor's undead stepped onto the glass and cautiously walked forward. Just as it was about to leave the danger zone, the glass suddenly shattered, and a giant mouth, about four to five meters wide, emerged, swallowing the undead whole.
The mouth was split into three sections, each lined with countless sharp teeth. Upon closer inspection, many of these teeth appeared to be made from mechanical components.
The mouth disappeared into the quicksand just as suddenly as it had appeared. The glass and everything else vanished along with it, as if nothing had changed.
After a brief pause,
Lady Ember exhaled and said, "It's a [Mechanical Sandworm]. If we fight it head-on, we'll suffer heavy losses. Let's go around."
[Mechanical Sandworm]
[Species: Semi-Mechanical Beast]
[Level: Lv0 (12 stars)]
[Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 7, Constitution 5, Spirit 1]
[Description: A worm that lurks in quicksand, devouring anything that passes over its head. Due to consuming too many machines and humans, its body is gradually becoming mechanized.]
Leon had some understanding of the data on the Mechanical Sandworm. He also knew that while this map was slowly downgrading, these originally powerful entities hadn't become any weaker despite the level reduction. Though they had all been standardized to Lv0 (12 stars), their combat techniques and experience remained.
If they were to engage such enemies, there was no way Leon's group could pass through unscathed.
Encountering this kind of foe, choosing to go around was the best option.
But everyone knew that the range of the Mechanical Sandworm's movement was quite large, typically spanning one to two kilometers, so they would need to take a long detour.
Thus, Lady Ember redirected Seven Knights IV to another path, steering them far from the danger zone.
They soon bypassed the Mechanical Sandworm's range, but the issue was that this sea of sand contained more than just one of these creatures. There were many dangerous entities here.
Each time, they had to skirt around the hunting ranges of these perilous creatures, and they were occasionally attacked despite their caution.
After numerous small skirmishes, what should have been a one-day journey took them three full days. Of the hundred undead that had followed Seven Knights IV, fewer than thirty remained.
Even so, both Seven Knights IV units were severely damaged. The weapons and equipment installed on them were now useless; the only functioning part was the movement system.
Even so, Seven Knights IV's mobility had significantly slowed, and collapse seemed imminent.
Fortunately, they were not far from their destination. After avoiding two more undefeatable enemies, they arrived at the edge of a massive quicksand vortex.
The vortex was about five kilometers in diameter. Despite the absence of wind, it constantly churned. No one knew where it led, nor what lay beneath.
Upon reaching the edge, Lady Ember glanced at the map again and finally confirmed that this was the entrance to the forward base they had been searching for.
After another glance at the battered Seven Knights IV, Lady Ember said seriously, "Send a request to enter and check if the main functions of the base are still operational."