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"Say that again? I'll let you live, so take all your tribe members and get out of here right now."
"A young punk with a little power thinks he's invincible."
"Looks like becoming a sand person has made you blind too."
"Foolish."
Swish, swish.
The sand behind the tribal chief stirred.
One by one, the people of the Dijehrte continent began to rise from the sand.
"Attack."
At the chief's words, they drew their weapons.
Iron nets, tridents, and large curved blades were their main weapons.
The tribal chief reached out towards Davian.
The sand beneath his feet was sucked up, and his arm stretched out.
The tip of his hand quickly turned into a sharp awl shape.
Thwack!
Davian easily dodged the chief's attack.
The long, extended sand awl was driven deep into the spot where Davian had been standing.
Swish, swish, swish.
The sand moved rapidly along the chief's elongated arm.
The chief's body emerged from the spot where his arm had been impaled moments earlier.
Slash!
Bonita reacted the fastest.
Bonita's sword accurately sliced through the chief's torso, which had appeared beside her.
However...
Like cutting through sand with a sword.
Bonita's sword merely passed through the chief's torso.
The chief's torso, made of sand, was no different than before it was cut.
"It's useless. I am the desert, and the desert is me. I will not die until the desert's lifespan runs out."
Sand awls sprouted from various parts of the chief's torso.
Four sand awls accurately extended towards each member of Davian's party.
Davian and Bellum dodged nimbly.
Bonita cleaved the center of the sand awl into two.
Nubes...
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Instinctively turned his body and blocked with his forearm.
"Hey, Big Guy. Looks like you're in charge of that chief."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Seems like you can't kill each other, right? You're a good match."
"This hurts a lot!"
"No blood, though. You're not scared or disgusted by the sand man, are you?"
"No."
"Then you take him on."
Following the chief.
The attacks of the tribe members also began.
Boom!
A Dijehrte continent resident hit by Davian's Fireball was roasted alive and sent flying far away.
Bonita also seemed to have plenty of spare time while dealing with two or three opponents simultaneously.
Bellum and Nubes worked together as a duo.
When Nubes grabbed and tore the net, Bellum stabbed his sword into the gap.
Even if the opponent somehow dodged Bellum's sword, they would be hit by Nubes's shield and sent flying far away.
"Hey, Big Guy. I've told you to just leave the sword behind, right? You only ever fight with your shield anyway."
"But I'm a swordsman; how can I just leave my sword behind?"
"You don't even take it out anymore; you just carry it on your back."
"It's because it's inconvenient to have one in each hand. But it'll come in handy at important moments."
Even in the middle of the fight, new enemies kept popping up from all directions.
The chief appeared from beneath their feet and from the sand above their heads, harassing Davian's party.
Even if they cut him with a sword or blasted him with a Fireball, it was only temporary.
They could not inflict any damage on the chief, who would smoothly turn back into the desert and disappear.
How long had passed?
Bonita called out to Davian.
"Davian."
"What?"
"This space is getting smaller, right?"
Bonita was right.
Davian was already aware of it.
The hemispherical underground space was gradually shrinking.
Now it was half the size it had been originally.
"Are we going to get buried in the sand at this rate?"
The skills of the tribe members were also superior to those of other settlements they had encountered so far.
Above all, they were unable to easily win because of the sand man chief's unpredictable attacks.
Even in the midst of all this, the underground space continued to shrink.
"Guess we have to get out, huh?"
Clang!
Bonita, after pushing aside one of the enemy's swords, nodded.
"Buy me some time."
At Davian's words, Bonita, Nubes, and Bellum moved quickly.
The three formed a triangular formation with Davian in the middle.
Their movements were in perfect sync, as if they were a party that had been working together for a long time.
Thanks to the 'Leader's Dignity' trait, they were also receiving a 20 percent buff to their combat power.
As his three friends joined forces to create a defensive line, Davian could focus on circulating his mana without worry.
It did not take long for the wind element magic containing all of his 7-star mana to manifest.
Rumble, rumble.
Tornadoes containing immense mana spewed out from Davian's hands.
The resistance of the sand flowing above his head was also severe.
In the end, a large hole was torn open following the tornadoes, revealing the black night sky.
The tornadoes that Davian created carried sand grains and spread out widely, becoming a massive sandstorm.
The tornadoes subsided.
The semi-circular space beneath the desert that the tribal chief had created was now a concave terrain with an open top.
"Up!"
At Davian's shout, his friends began to rush up the sand dune.
The Dijehrte continent people started to follow again like moles, but Davian's party was a little faster.
Even in the midst of all that, the chief's sharp attacks were extended from beneath their feet.
His friends narrowly avoided the chief's attacks and arrived on top of the hill.
"Davian!"
Oliver Axel, who had been stamping his feet on the desert while waiting, shouted.
"You made it out!"
Davian nodded and pointed to one of the wagons.
"Now?"
"Now!"
An action that had already been agreed upon before starting the encampment.
As Oliver gestured to the caravan guards, they separated one of the wagons and opened the tightly closed roof of the wagon.
Whoosh.
Davian lifted the separated wagon high into the air with Telekinesis.
Followed by Mana Acceleration.
Crack!
There was no need to open the roof.
The wagon was protected by defensive magic, but it shattered in mid-air due to Davian's Mana Acceleration.
Small, white pieces of stone that had been inside the wagon covered the sky.
Pat, pat. Pat.
Soon, large and small stones fell like hail into the desert.
The item that the caravan was carrying was natural soda.
Natural soda, which is only produced in some saline lakes in the Batian Lake region, is mainly used to make soap or to create glazes for ceramics.
The use is not important, but since the production area is limited and transportation is difficult, it is traded at a high price.
And as usual, since natural soda is traded at a high price, wealthy nobles enjoyed using soaps made from natural soda or ceramics coated with natural soda glaze.
One of the means of flaunting wealth.
The current caravan led by Oliver Axel was carrying out the task of transporting natural soda from the Batian Lake region to the southwestern city.
If they could complete the transport safely, they could earn several times the price they paid in the Batian Lake region.
'Okay.'
Davian looked around.
Large and small lumps of natural soda were spread widely across the desert.
'Preparation complete.'
While Davian and Oliver were scattering natural soda in all directions.
The Dijehrte continent people were narrowing the encirclement and circling under the desert.
Davian lowered his voice and spoke to his friends.
"Like I said earlier, we have to lure the chief into the middle."
"Got it."
"Okay."
The battle on the ground began again.
The remaining caravan guards also followed Davian's advice and were working together to fend off the enemy's attacks.
Swish!
Of course, it was not without casualties.
"Aah! Ugh!"
One of the guards on the outer edge of the formation was caught in an iron net and dragged down into the desert.
The guard next to him quickly grabbed his shoulder.
Thwack.
A trident that had sprung up slightly to the side pierced the arm of the guard who was trying to help.
"Ugh!"
As the guard desperately pulled his arm away.
The guard caught in the net was sucked straight into the ground.
Oliver Axel shouted.
"Everyone be careful! Especially watch out for the net attacks!"
At Oliver's shout, the caravan guards stood even closer together.
Meanwhile.
The chief began to concentrate his attacks on Bellum, who appeared to be the weakest of Davian's party.
"Eek!"
Whack!
Nubes raised his shield high and then slammed it down hard.
The sand tendril that was trying to wrap around Bellum's torso was cut off by the edge of Nubes's shield.
The sand tendril that was not connected to the desert turned into sand grains and scattered.
"Good job! Nubes! Keep protecting Bellum like that!"
Nubes looked towards Davian with a bright face.
"Okay! Don't worry!"
Davian looked at the sand tendril that was disappearing under the desert.
He could clearly see that they were obviously trying to make a trade again, with Bellum's life as the price, rather than aiming for a fatal attack.
'As if I'd let that happen.'
On the contrary.
It was Davian who was getting his way.
'Good job. Bellum, Nubes.'
Bellum and Nubes were gradually moving towards the center of the area where the natural soda had been scattered, as Davian had instructed in advance.
Pretending to be surprised by the chief's surprise attacks.
Pretending to barely protect their friend from the chief's attacks.
It was a mistake for the chief to choose the weaker one.
At the same time, it was Davian's accurate prediction.
If the chief had continued to attack Davian or Bonita, they would not have been able to naturally retreat while pretending to be pushed back, and lure him to the desired location.
The chief would have already known that Davian and Bonita were not that weak.
On the other hand, there was Bellum, who was still screaming and dodging the chief's attacks, and Nubes, who was reacting late and barely cutting off the attacks in the middle with their clumsy teamwork.
There was no way anyone could tell that they were pretending.
Because that was their real skill.
Bellum whispered.
"Hey! Nubes! Don't you think we're almost there?"
Nubes rolled his eyes to look around without being obvious.
"This seems to be the center, right? But what did he say to do after we got here?"
"Ugh, Big Guy. What would you have done without me? Have you already forgotten?"
"I've been too busy fighting."
"He said to pretend to be attacked, drag out the sand man, and then call Davian."
"Oh, right."
Swish, swish.
The sand near Bellum and Nubes seemed to be moving.
A sand tendril quickly stretched out.
This time, the target was Nubes, not Bellum.
Apparently, they thought that Nubes was a little slower.
Bellum gestured with his eyes.
'Now!'
'Okay!'
Nubes's thick arm, which was intentionally swung wildly, cut through the air.
He failed to hit the sand tendril by a narrow margin.
The sand tendril that dodged Nubes's fist began to wrap around his body.
The chief's upper body emerged above the desert.
The sand tendril was the extended form of his right arm.
Grasp.
The chief, who had wrapped his arm around Nubes's body three times, began to tighten his arm.
"Ugh! Davian! Help me!"
Nubes shouted.
Whoosh.
Bellum's body rose high into the air.
Bellum Amandoria flying far away in a large arc.
Telekinesis.
Swoosh!
A sharp gust of wind cut off the chief's right arm.
Wind Element Magic.
Whoosh.
Nubes's body also rose high into the air.
Again, Telekinesis.
It all happened in an instant.
Bonita clicked her tongue.
'What kind of magician can fire off magic in rapid succession, even faster than a swordsman can see? And it's different types of magic too. This is too much of a cheat.'
Bonita, who was about to move to catch Bellum and Nubes flying far away, decided to just watch what Davian was doing.
'It's the desert, so they probably won't die even if they fall.'
At that moment.
Davian's lips moved.
"Festival of Fire."
Whoosh.
The small Fireball that Davian fired was aimed at the spot where Nubes had been standing.
The chief, who had not yet descended into the desert.
Perhaps judging that this attack was not a threat.
Stood facing the Fireball head-on.
"You cannot kill me with such attacks. You may be able to burn a few grains of sand, but I am the chief of the Sakum tribe and the desert itself."
Davian replied.
"I don't intend to kill you. I'm going to melt you."
"What?"
Bang!
The Fireball collided with the chief's body.
The chief scattered into sand grains, as if to show off, and tried to merge back into the desert.
Then.
"No! What is this!"
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