Chapter 2295: Ripples in the Sandspine Waste (Part 3)

Huu~!

Khavin couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief after reporting to Shin.

Even though he had only been speaking through a virtual call, he could still feel the immense pressure coming from Shin despite being separated by the call.

It felt as though that invisible pressure alone could suffocate him to death.

"Tsk! Tsk! Even his virtual projection is as scary as the real body—as expected of the Battle God," Khavin muttered, feeling as though he had just survived an imminent disaster after ending the call.

He could still feel the terrifying gaze hidden behind Shin’s mask, sending an intense shiver down his spine.

"I have to make sure this operation goes smoothly!" He clenched his fists tightly, firming his resolve to deal with anything that might come their way.

He was fully committed to earning the trust Shin was willing to place in him, so he had to make sure they could withstand the pressure from the three Powerhouse Forces operating in the area.

"At worst, we can just relocate our base out of Monolith Forest once everything is over," he repeatedly comforted himself with the thought that they could still become a partnered group of the Hand of Midas once this operation was successful.

Khavin was still trying his best to calm himself down when Serv suddenly arrived.

"Big Brother!" Serv greeted him in a slightly heavy tone.

Hearing the tone of his right-hand man, Khavin instantly knew that real trouble had finally come knocking at their door.

He immediately stood up and asked, "How is it?"

Serv reported at once. "There aren’t many problems along the routes leading to the place where the ’Big Bosses’ are carrying out their operation."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "But we’ve detected suspicious movements from both Illusion Dream and Mirage Soul within the area."

Khavin smirked. "Are they planning to make their move?"

Serv continued, "They seem to be making contact with the guilds under the Desert Sun Coalition in the region as well."

Khavin stroked his chin upon hearing this, immediately realizing what those two sides were planning. "Are they planning to team up?"

He repeatedly clicked his tongue, finding the situation somewhat trickier than before. "Those sly foxes sure know how to play dirty."

If it were only one side, Khavin was confident that the forces stationed within the designated area would be more than enough to handle the situation.

After all, neither of those Powerhouse Forces had stationed their strongest experts in the Sandspine Waste merely to monitor the region.

Unfortunately, it would be quite difficult for the Desert Bandits to withstand a joint attack from two Ultra Guilds and a Hyper Guild.

"How do we handle this, Big Brother?" Serv asked.

Khavin thought for a moment before waving his hand. "We don’t have to worry too much about the Desert Sun Coalition."

"They might have overwhelming numbers, but the terrain in this area isn’t suitable for large-scale battles. They can only send batches of their people against us, attempting to exhaust our strength through relay attacks."

A confident smirk appeared on his face as he continued. "We can use the canyons to our advantage, especially the elevated platforms where our mages can bombard their incoming forces with spells."

He fully understood that sheer numbers were of limited use in tight spaces, so he wasn’t particularly worried about the overwhelming forces of the Desert Sun Coalition.

"Only Silver Steve and Marlon are worth our attention among the forces the Coalition has stationed here," he added. "Even then, those two aren’t particularly troublesome."

"One is a falling star who’s losing his edge, while the other is a greenhorn Ranker who’s still wet behind the ears," Khavin said with a confident smirk.

"Our Captains should be able to handle those two after teaming up and using the formation technique they’ve been practicing."

He paused for a moment before his expression turned solemn. "The ones we really need to worry about are those from Illusion Dream and Mirage Soul."

"Those two Ultra Guilds have stationed two Maverick Gods here, so their strength isn’t inferior to ours. They might even be stronger," he said with a slight sigh.

Khavin was confident in his own abilities. With his current strength, he even believed that he could contend with some of the weaker Godlike Players and Maverick Gods.

But those two were geniuses whom Dream Entertainment had invested heavily in, so they couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

They might even surpass them when it came to the quality of their equipment and the rarity of their Legacies.

"Fleeting Dream and Black Soul," Serv muttered seriously, fully understanding that neither opponent would be easy to deal with.

Khavin thought for a moment before gesturing toward Serv. "Tell our boys to concentrate our forces along the routes and abandon the other areas."

"Since those guys are planning to team up, we’ll retreat deeper into the canyons and let them come to us," he scoffed.

"They want to bully us with numbers? Then let’s not give them any opportunity to use that ’weapon’ against us."

"Bandits never fight battles that are unfavorable to them!" he laughed, seemingly mocking the foolishness of the opposing side.

"Moreover, our job is just to buy enough time for the ’Big Bosses’ to finish their operation. We don’t need to fight those guys to the death." He then gestured for Serv to execute his orders.

"I understand, Big Brother," Serv responded before leaving.

Khavin watched his right-hand man leave before a smirk once again appeared on his face. "I also want to see how those arrogant fellows from the Powerhouse Forces react once they realize who’s backing us."

***

In the area where the Desert Bandits were running rampant, the scouts Black Soul had sent to monitor the situation suddenly noticed something strange about the movements of their targets.

"Is it just me... or are the members of the Desert Bandits in this area decreasing?" one of the scouts asked after noticing something unusual.

His partner had also realized the same thing and immediately replied, "I thought it was just me. So their numbers really are decreasing."

"Could it be a shift in their assignments?" the first scout asked while glancing toward the sky. "It’s already close to twilight."

His partner nodded. "And they just changed their shifts earlier."

"Should we report this to the boss?" the first scout asked. "Or..."

His partner shook his head. "Let’s investigate what they’re up to first. The boss will scold us if we report something useless."

After discussing it for a while, the two decided to venture deeper into the canyon where the members of the Desert Bandits were supposed to be gathering.

However, right before they could go any farther—

Shing! Shing!

Flashes of light suddenly cut through the air, severing their heads in an instant.

Their heads flew through the air for a brief moment before falling onto the ground with a soft thud.

Thud! Thud!

A moment later, a group of people materialized above their headless corpses.

Garnet stepped forward alongside them and glanced at the dead scouts before turning toward the others. "Continue! Make sure to eliminate any scouts who try to enter the area."

"Remember! Make it look like we’re deliberately luring them in and forcing them toward our trap. Don’t let them think we’re retreating deeper into the canyons!"

He emphasized the final instruction, making sure everyone understood their new mission.

"Understood, Sir!"

Immediately afterward, everyone disappeared into the surroundings, searching for their next targets.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

...

Meanwhile, Black Soul, who had just finished discussing their temporary alliance with the Desert Sun Coalition, couldn’t help but frown deeply after receiving another unpleasant report from his people.

Noticing his heavy expression, Fleeting Dream couldn’t help but ask, "What happened?"

Black Soul’s expression remained grim as he answered, "I’ve lost another team of scouts. This should be the third team already!"

Hearing this, Fleeting Dream immediately realized that something was wrong. "How can that be? Those are your elite scouts, right? How could they get discovered so easily?"

"I’m not sure either." Black Soul shook his head. "The other team only reported that they noticed some strange movements from the Desert Bandits, so they tried to investigate."

His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Then they were ambushed before they could learn anything more."

"A luring trap?" Fleeting Dream asked, already familiar with such a common strategy for dealing with scouts.

However, Black Soul shook his head. "That’s how it looks on the surface, but something about their strategy feels wrong."

"Like what?" Fleeting Dream asked.

Black Soul shook his head again. "That’s what I’m not sure about."

"I know something is wrong, but I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is," he muttered, trying to pinpoint the source of his suspicion.

The two were still discussing the matter when Black Soul suddenly received another message from the Desert Sun Coalition.

"I guess we’re not the only ones suffering from these ambushes," he said after skimming through the message. "Our ’old friends’ on the Coalition are also losing their scouts to the same strategy."

Now, he was certain that something was terribly wrong with the current situation.

...