The sun is scorching, and as far as the eye can see, it is still a desert.
A vast expanse as far as the eye can see.
This place is located to the west of the defense circle, less than ten kilometers away from the front line of the defense line.
Behind are lush forests, mountain peaks, and outposts built in steep places.
ahead,
The lush green grass is getting sparser and sparse, as if a line has been drawn, with green on one side and yellow sand on the other.
A team of five hundred scouts, dressed in uniform combat uniforms, formed battle formations and advanced in an orderly and rapid manner.
After a while, we went deep into the desert, and our figure was submerged in the yellow sand flying in the sky.
"Chief instructor, this desert covers nearly 100,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to half the area of the original Tiannan Province. How can we find the target in such a vast place?"
As he spoke, the sand surface exploded with a bang, and a dark brown scorpion tail suddenly pierced a member of the outer battle formation.
It's a desert scorpion!
A kind of strange beast that is very common in the desert environment. It is not very strong, but it is good at hiding. Even high-level awakened people may be caught by it if they are not careful.
There was no panic. After reacting, several desert scorpions that sneaked up on him were quickly killed.
Today's elite scout team members have the lowest awakening level at the ninth level, and have rich combat experience. Sneak attacks by some strange beasts are not much of a threat.
Yet no one is relieved.
The harsh environment brings them a lot of trouble.
The strong wind swept through, and the flying gravel hit each team member hard. If it were not for the full body protection of combat uniforms and helmets, even if their bodies were tempered to have rough skin and thick flesh, they would not be injured.
Advancing in such sandstorm weather requires poor visibility, and the physical exertion is much greater than usual. In addition, there are attacks from demonized beasts and alien beasts from time to time. It is impossible for them to rummage through the entire desert.
but,
When the team members looked at the iron tower-like figure at the front, everyone felt extremely confident.
Chief Instructor Luo is their belief!
Garrison Corps, Survey Corps... Every batch of members who graduated from the new barracks and joined the major corps have listened to the teachings of the chief instructor, not to mention that many of the instructors in the new barracks were disciples led by Chief Instructor Luo!
Nowadays, Chief Instructor Luo rarely takes action personally.
This time, if the chief instructor hadn't been so quiet and restless, they wouldn't have been so lucky to follow the chief instructor on the mission.
In the roaring sandstorm, the five hundred team members walked swiftly across the sand.
Luo Zhe was wearing heavy black armor, and his heavy combat boots left no trace on the sand.
Part of the reason why he personally took action this time was that he was stuck at the bottleneck of breakthrough and could not find an opportunity.
Breaking through eight cores was ultimately too difficult for him.
But now that he has the opportunity, how could he be willing to take the path of mediocrity.
Another part of the reason is this desert.
Originally it was supposed to be hidden in the interlayer of space, like a star road, appearing as the planet recovered. Now there are many similar situations on the earth.
There are forests, deserts, lakes, glaciers near the equator, vast lakes in desert areas, etc. The entire earth has expanded at least dozens of times and continues to expand.
And this desert is embedded in Tiannan Province.
It's half the size of Tiannan Province, and it's full of dangers. Few adventurers are willing to explore this kind of place... More importantly, it's too close to the defense circle!
Not long ago, an extraordinary beast rushed out of the desert and attacked an outpost, killing more than twenty soldiers of the garrison. In the end, it cost a lot to kill the extraordinary beast. Insects repelled.
That was in a mountain forest environment. In the desert, the ground-burrowing sandworms were more threatening. They were also good at hiding and difficult to detect.
In the center of the square array, several team members set up a huge energy level detection device that could detect high-energy reactions within a certain range.
The perception department in the investigation team, or the team members with special investigation skills, use their own methods to detect the surrounding environment.
Luo Zhe's senses spread out.
The cactus in the distance, the strange beast hidden under the desert...
Scenes appeared in his mind.
He suppressed the power of perception, not daring to be too unscrupulous, for fear of scaring away the extraordinary beast.
Information about ground-burrowing sandworms flashed through his mind.
This strange beast mostly lives in deserts, but can occasionally be seen in other places.
Digging sandworms are not considered powerful among alien beasts. They are generally four or five levels in adulthood. The elites in the group may have seven or eight levels. Some of the larger groups of digging sandworms may have their leaders break through the tenth level. This is the bottleneck for high-level awakening.
But that’s about it.
Compared to the mid-level and high-level alien beasts such as the Golden-winged Eagle and the Moon Sirius, the digging sandworm's talent is not considered high.
Luo Zhe had to think about the reason for the sudden appearance of an extraordinary leader.
There was a sandstorm and the light was a little dim.
The team of the exploration corps marched in the desert for several minutes and found no trace of the ground-burrowing sandworms. Instead, they destroyed several desert scorpion nests.
In this desert, there seem to be many strange beasts such as desert scorpions, gerbils, and sand sculptures.
Hidden in sandstorms, they attack the exploration team from time to time. The team members are determined, but their physical strength has inevitably declined a lot - potions cannot completely replenish this loss.
suddenly,
Luo Zhe raised his eyebrows and put his palm on the hilt of his sword.
"Be on guard." He said solemnly, continuing to hold back his breath.
The team members were attentive.
In an instant, the energy level detection device in the center of the square array lit up with red light, flashing and blinking, and the sound of "didi, beep, beep" sounded, getting more and more urgent.
"Come on, come on!"
The sand beneath their feet was stirred up like water waves, forming a huge vortex of gravel that was about to swallow everyone.
The members of the expedition team who had been well prepared jumped out of the gravel vortex. The heavy energy level detection device was also carried by one of them. They stepped on the vortex and splashed sand and dust, and took a few steps to get out of range.
The gravel rotates faster and faster, and the vortex sinks like a big mouth.
Boom!
In the sky full of wind and sand, the sand splashed dozens of meters high.
A huge alien beast sprang out from under the sand, standing upright like a building.
It looked like an insect magnified countless times, with rough yellow-brown skin, mouthparts that opened and closed, and tentacles flying. It looked extremely ferocious and ugly.
But it's not a demonized beast.
Rather, it is a native and exotic beast.
The rising sandworm roared, layers of sound waves spread out, and a terrifying momentum was released.
It knew these two-legged beasts. A few days ago, it walked out of this desert for the first time. It was accidentally injured by the weapons of these two-legged beasts.
But now, this is a desert.
And it is the overlord of this desert!
All Twolegs must die!
The Digging Sandworm King roared, and a huge pillar of fire spit out, shaking the sand at the same time, and the sand surface was blasted forward like a wave layer by layer.
"Blood-cut-"
Bloody light bloomed, the huge fire pillar was split open by the blood-red sword energy, and the stars scattered in all directions.
The bloody sword light continued to slash upward, but it was already dimmed by more than half compared to before.
The Digging Sandworm King panicked. He twisted his long body away and fell quickly. He avoided some damage, but was still scratched by the sword light with a wound several meters long, and blood spurted out.
How come Twolegs are so strong!
In its eyes, Luo Zhe, who was much the same as the others, raised his sword again and jumped into the air.
"Breaking through the air"!
An even bigger white sword light slashed out, passing by like light.
A line of blood appeared on the upper body of the Digging Sandworm King. With a bang, the entire head was cut open and fell heavily, with red and green blood spilling out.
The huge body of the Sand Worm King struggled, kicking up sand and dust all over the sky.
Boom!
The yellow sand was separated like water, and most of the body of the Digging Sandworm King suddenly burrowed under the sand surface.
It's not dead yet!
Although it has not reached the second level, the characteristics and vitality of the Digging Sandworm King have made it still survive even if it lost its head!
Waves of invisible fluctuations spread.
The sand surface surged, and countless ground-burrowing sandworms several sizes smaller emerged from under the sand surface and pounced on Luo Zhe and others from all directions.
far away,
As if being disturbed by the passive silence, more and more demonized beasts gathered, and a dark wave of demons rushed towards them.
Humans, sandworms, and demonized beasts are fighting each other.
boom!
Luo Zhe's momentum was finally released without reservation, and he slammed his foot on the ground. A deep pit was created on the sand surface, and gravel exploded.
He chased after the Sand Worm King's aura and struck out with one sword, one sword, and one sword after another.
The dunes were blown down and turned into sand valleys.
Buried under countless gravels, the shattered body of the Sand Worm King can be seen.
Luo Zhe made a leap and blasted away the sand. Then he picked and scratched and broke open the abdomen of the Sandworm King. He got in and groped for a while. When he came out, he still looked clean, and he was holding a pebble in his hand. Earth-yellow round beads.
He looked at it carefully and put it away.
Back at the original place, the battle was coming to an end. All the menacing demonic waves were killed, and the ground-digging sandworms fled in all directions from the moment the sandworm king was completely killed.
The huge head of the Sand Worm King is not far away. Several team members have stepped forward to dig out the source crystals. Some are collecting valuable materials from the demonized beasts and ground-burrowing sand worms. Nearly half of the remaining team members are still holding their hands. Weapons on alert.
In the wild, no matter what the circumstances, never let down your guard.
Luo Zhe inquired and learned that only a few people were slightly injured in the battle just now.
At this time,
A squad leader stepped forward, hesitated for a while, and finally spoke:
"Chief Instructor, I feel a little strange. It seems that... the soul power I just absorbed has become less."