By Zephyria 
It was incredibly easy to cut down monsters whose movements were slowed by magic. It wasn’t much different from gleaning fallen ears of grain in a field. We easily dispatched the goblin pack.
After that, another pack of orcs came.
After we dealt with the returning orcs, a horde of trolls then charged at us.
No one was laughing anymore.
Even without deep thought, it was an abnormal and bizarre occurrence. In this vast desert, why would monsters specifically target only our party?
Wiping the troll’s blood on the sand dune, everyone in the party nervously scanned their surroundings.
Leon was the first to speak, his voice rough. “Perhaps the smell of monster blood is attracting other monsters. For now, let’s…”
“Yes, let’s move our position first. Just in case, let’s reorganize our formation.”
“Understood.”
Marianne, who could use magic from a distance, and Nadish, who couldn’t freely command spirits as a Spirit Master, mounted their camels and gathered the reins of the other camels. The remaining ten of us formed a triangle around them to protect them and their mounts as we moved.
The camels’ steps faltered, spooked by the brutal scene, so we weren’t moving at a satisfactory speed. As we walked, Ann casually struck up a conversation.
“I’ve been to the Shatun Desert a few times, but this is the first time I’ve seen trolls in the desert.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. And the orcs and goblins that came before all had pale skin and wore cloaks… Weren’t the trolls a bit strange?”
Now that she mentioned it, that was true.
The dark-skinned trolls were typically found in the northeastern part of the Widdrow Duchy or in the middle reaches of the Yuil Mountains. Between the Yuil Mountains, Owen, and the entrance to the Shatun Desert where we were, the Dunmel Canyon was deeply carved, making it impossible to cross the mountains.
From where had they come, charging at us so recklessly?
Ruben, pondering this as he listened, asked Nadish, “Are we still far from the divine realm?”
“No, we’re… we’re almost there…”
“Has Shinui said anything?”
“…No… Strangely, it’s been quiet since this morning…”
Nadish shook his head with an uneasy expression.
At that moment,
Kugugugugu…
A strange sound echoed. We saw a sand mountain in the distance begin to stir. Something enormous raised its head, pushing through the gap where sand mountains collided and crumbled. It was a bizarre-looking worm with sharp teeth inside a round mouth, and another mouth cave within that.
“…Sandworm…”
“Are you kidding me, no, how long have we been in the desert…? No, that can’t be.”
Ugh…
The sandworm looked around, then slowly crawled towards us.
No, it wasn’t slow enough to warrant a “crawling” sound. Its sheer size meant that with every movement, three dunes collapsed. It was a sight I couldn’t believe even as I saw it.
I knew about the existence of sandworms.
At a past Hunting Festival, the Chilopoda-Worm was a subspecies of the sandworm. The one I had defeated back then was a young, smaller specimen, but I had already heard that a fully grown worm monster could exceed 20 meters in length.
However, knowing something in my head and seeing it with my own eyes were entirely different matters. The adult creature seemed alive. It had no eyes, only a mouth, and within that mouth were hundreds, thousands of sharp, needle-like teeth. Its thick scales gleamed, reflecting the light.
Ruben quickly wrapped his right hand and sword with cloth. It seemed like a task that couldn’t be overcome with ordinary resolve. But Ruben’s job wasn’t to cut down the monster, but to dodge and survive without getting hurt. I clicked my tongue in exasperation.
Hugh Benson, taking out a scimitar he rarely used instead of his usual dagger, I casually asked, “What’s its weak point?”
“Weak point? It doesn’t have one. It attacks by biting or ramming with its body. Be careful of its mouth, and there’s no poison or anything…”
Saaaaah…
He hastily conjured a magic barrier in front of the party, but it was clearly limited, not a solid cave. Fortunately, Marianne’s immediately cast Magic Wall swept the strange, red-glowing Poison Sand behind the sandworm’s body.
“…Shit, there is.”
“…”
The sandworm seemed puzzled that its attack hadn’t worked. It lowered its head, scooped up a large amount of sand with its massive mouth, and repeatedly spat it forward. Each time, the terrain changed dramatically.
After blocking the Poison Sand twice more, Marianne cried out, “I can’t do any more!”
“Fall back!”
Hugh Benson shouted loudly.
Throughout our travels together, I had seen Marianne desperately weave spells many times. A wizard draws Mana into their body and converts it into magic, and the Middle Dantian, or Circle, heated up intensely with larger, more urgent spells. The sheer volume of Poison Sand was immense, and she had clearly overexerted herself.
The martial artists stepped forward to buy Marianne time to recover. Elvin immediately charged to the monster’s right. I also instinctively charged straight ahead. Leon headed to the left, voicing his concern, but I just nodded and said it was fine.
Had I not yet told the mercenaries that I had poison resistance?
I slashed my sword towards the monster’s gaping maw, not wanting to give it time to swallow sand. It was a wide swing from below my left waist to above my right shoulder. A bright blue Sword energy flew out like a giant arrowhead and struck. Tong, a strangely hollow sound echoed.
Kugugung, kwang, kung, kkaang.
It sounded as light as hitting paper or a drum.
I was dumbfounded. Even the three strongest among the party had struck it, yet it only sustained minor scratches on its hide and remained unharmed. The sandworm, shaking its head that had been bent upwards, began to writhe its entire body. It scattered and dug up the sand around it, trying to bury those standing on it.
But no one here would be unable to withstand such an attack.
Instead of worrying pointlessly, I focused my gaze on its head. It had no horns, a different color, and even no legs, but I could tell it was a monster from the same lineage as the Chilopoda-Worm.
Now, everyone except Marianne, Nadish, and Ann, who was protecting them, stepped forward.
It would be troublesome if the monster targeted the weaker side first, leaving the children far behind. While considering their positioning, Rubel moved to Hugh Benson’s side at his gruff command.
Just as I was starting to feel relieved,
The sandworm raised its head ever so slightly. I immediately lunged.
Kkaaaang!
I was late, but those standing in that spot were unharmed.
Ann had succeeded in blocking the sandworm’s sharp tail armor with her sword.
The impact of its strong force buried me up to my chest in the sand dune, but I laughed. Even a nail hammered into soft wood would bend. Relieved, I also let out a laugh.
Marianne immediately set fire to the sandworm’s tail. I don’t know how she did it, but it wasn’t hot even standing close by. However, it seemed to be fire effective against monsters. The sandworm thrashed, trying to extinguish the fire on its tail. I reached out and pulled Ann, who was stuck in the ground, out with a yank.
“Wow, this is more fun than I thought.”
“It’ll be a big problem if it’s fun twice, sister.”
The thrashing sandworm buried its tail in the sand dune. Did the fire conjured by magic extinguish in the sand? Or had the magic simply run its course?
There was no time for idle thoughts or dwelling. The sandworm, having roughly extinguished the fire on its tail, began to greedily swallow the surrounding sand. Seizing the opportunity, Leon tried to climb onto the sandworm’s head, but it shook its body violently, causing him to fall and roll onto the ground.
“Wow, crazy… There’s no room to step anywhere!”
“Does the captain need to climb it to know that?”
“No, you never know!”
They acted playfully even when facing a grave danger. Eight Sword Masters against one large monster. Even if we discounted Benjamin and Rubel, with a wizard added, it wasn’t something to be overly afraid of.
I stood in front of the sandworm again.
“There’s a scale upside down on the back of its head! Go!”
“Is that real?”
“I don’t know!”
“Easy for you to say, I’ve never ridden a moving mirror!”
“Do it!”
At Hugh Benson’s shout, Peter, who had been grumbling for a moment, grabbed John’s arm. I watched to see what he would do, and John simply threw Peter. I let out a hollow laugh at the crude sight. The sandworm, seeing the small body approaching its head, quickly dodged its head as if it had eyes.
I immediately drew my dagger and threw it.
Hugh Benson and I had the same idea. The daggers thrown by me and Hugh became stepping stones. Peter leaped from one airborne dagger to the next, hopping his way to the sandworm’s head. His agile body, bouncing like a weaver crossing a bridge, was a pleasing sight.
Perhaps the intention wasn’t just to attach it to the sandworm’s head, but to launch it higher.
Seeing Hugh Benson perform well, I stopped throwing daggers and instead generated Sword energy. If I struck the sandworm’s head, wouldn’t its skull resonate? I hoped to catch it off guard, even for a moment, by not letting it divert its gaze.
Then, this time, it opened its mouth wide towards me and dropped down as if shooting.
Kang!
I blocked it properly. From afar, I heard screams. Peter’s apology for losing track of the sandworm’s movements, and Rubel’s voice asking if I was okay, sounded muffled. The sandworm’s saliva dripped onto my forehead, but it didn’t damage my clothes.
I firmly gripped one of the sandworm’s teeth that was trying to swallow me with my left hand, and pushed its lower jaw away with my foot, holding my ground.
“Yes, I’m fine!”
I shouted loudly and stabbed the root of the tooth I was holding several times with my sword. It was incredibly slippery and gruesome, but it seemed to have some effect, as I saw blood. As it shook its head so violently that I had to let go and jump onto the sand, I even felt motion sickness.
“…Are you going to take that?”
“No, I plan to leave it.”
After successfully pulling out the root, I deeply embedded the sandworm’s front tooth into the sand dune and surveyed the surroundings.
Giselle, with a strange expression, stepped back about five paces from me.
When had she come this way? Besides Giselle, Hugh and Rubel were also there where I had landed.
Although I didn’t feel any poison emanating from it, I knew the sandworm had spat poison several times, and a sense of unease settled in. Thinking it wasn’t good to be close, I gestured for Ruben to step back further when,
Kwaaang!
It seemed thoroughly enraged. The sandworm’s head, which had struck with a force that made my arm ache, was blocked once more. Solidifying the ground to avoid being buried in the sand dune had been a great help. Startled by the momentum, Ruben, who had straightened his sword, hesitantly opened his mouth, looking at me.
“…A-are you okay?”
“Ruben?”
“I’m… I’m okay too.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Seeing the humans alive and defiant, the sandworm let out a strange cry.
It sounded like a hawk’s cry, or like scraping coarse stones. I immediately activated my Aura Barrier, enveloping myself to block the sound, but I could see a few people far away staggering.
Immediately after, it plunged its head into the sand and burrowed inward, escaping. Although it hadn’t landed any effective blows, it felt like a waste to let it get away when it was within our grasp. I immediately ran after the monster, but the desert was silent all around.