Chapter 954 - 22: Priest Death Warriors

However, before Sun Hang could get closer to observe, he and Nuer's whereabouts were discovered by other remnants.

First, there was a brief panic, followed by dozens of desert sea remnants holding bone spears and wearing skull masks made from human bones charging out from behind the Bone Mountain, surrounding the two of them.

"They are the Priest's Death Warriors." Nuer raised his bone spear, facing off with this group as he quickly said to Sun Hang, "I can only hold off one of them at most, the rest..."

Before Nuer could finish his sentence, the group of Death Warriors surrounding them were blasted away, collapsing a large group of ordinary remnants watching from not far away.

Nuer was visibly stunned for a moment. He had thought this outlander might be formidable, but never imagined he would be this powerful.

This group of Death Warriors had been meticulously selected by the Priest from the blessed; not only did they receive top-tier supplies, but their bodies were also subjected to extremely harsh modifications—according to Nuer, the first test to become a Death Warrior was to soak in a potion personally mixed by the Priest for three days and nights.

Nuer had witnessed the ceremony firsthand—thirty-three strong remnants were immersed in the potion, and by the end of the first day, almost half had become part of the potion... In the end, only two crawled out alive.

Yet, those two had bodies completely transformed, almost invulnerable to knives or spears. Hunters wielding bone spears blessed by the Priest found it difficult to pierce their skin and muscles, let alone the flimsy bone knives used by ordinary remnants.

In unarmed combat against ordinary remnants holding knives, a single Death Warrior could fight against a dozen people without disadvantage, and if they were armed, no number of ordinary remnants would be enough to stop them.

Nuer dared to say he could hold off one only because he had several blessed bone spears—if he could aim at vulnerable spots like joints, eyes, or the throat, the bone spears could inflict effective harm on a Death Warrior.

As a top hunter who had long pursued Sinking Sand Giant Worms, Nuer had confidence in his combat skills, hence his bold claim to help Sun Hang hold off a Death Warrior.

But unexpectedly, without the outlander even moving, this powerful group of Death Warriors was blasted away by an invisible force.

In Nuer's understanding, such a feat could only be accomplished by the Priest himself.

Considering the outlander bore a "Sacred Ring" similar to the Priest's on his arm, a new level of astonishment appeared in Nuer's gaze toward Sun Hang.

The stunned Death Warriors quickly got up from the ground, accompanied by the screeching sound of metal as they drew short knives from their waists.

These were not the bone knives every ordinary desert sea remnant carried, but military daggers made of metal. Sun Hang could even see the numeric inscriptions on the back of the blades.

These were relics of an old civilization, and judging by their well-preserved condition and uniform style, Sun Hang had every reason to suspect these remnants had discovered an old civilization's ammunition depot buried deep in the Desert Sea. Perhaps in that palace atop Bone Mountain, there were also firearms and cannons.

The lead Death Warrior let out a low growl and leapt towards Sun Hang—at the instant he was about to hit Sun Hang, he was hurled back with even greater speed, crashing into the cluster of shacks behind.

Dozens of shacks met their demise instantly, with supporting bones snapped, and the patchwork leather layers wrapped around the Death Warrior's body, mummifying him alive.

The remaining Death Warriors exchanged glances and charged at Sun Hang simultaneously—in their eyes behind the masks, Sun Hang saw no fear whatsoever... or to be more accurate, he saw no emotion at all, as if these people were puppets without self-awareness.

"Enough." A resonant voice echoed in the large cavity, instantly halting the Death Warriors' movements, while the surrounding ordinary remnants shivered and prostrated themselves on the ground.

Sun Hang glanced at Nuer, noticing a flash of fear on his face. His knees instinctively bent slightly, but ultimately, he did not lie down like the others. Instead, he tightened his grip on the bone spear.

"Is that your Priest speaking?" Sun Hang couldn't locate the source of the voice and turned to ask Nuer.

"Yes..." Nuer answered softly.

"Outlander." The Priest's voice sounded again, "Come to the Holy Temple."

"Holy Temple?" Sun Hang lifted his head and looked at the palace atop Bone Mountain.

The Death Warriors made way, and the desert sea remnants parted, a straight path to Bone Mountain unfolding before Sun Hang.

Sun Hang attempted to extend his sensory tendrils toward the palace, but it was shrouded in an invisible force field. The tendrils, stretching hundreds of meters, weakened significantly, disintegrating as soon as they touched the field.

He needed to get closer.

Sun Hang signaled Nuer to stay put and strode towards Bone Mountain.

Bone Mountain wasn't very tall, only about a hundred meters. As Sun Hang ascended, he closely examined the bones composing Bone Mountain.

The bones on the surface of Bone Mountain were mostly normal human skeletons. However, peering through the gaps between them revealed that the mountain was truly supported by the bones of giant creatures, each piece larger than an entire shack at the mountain's base.

Sun Hang couldn't tell whether these bones belonged to other bizarre entities from the Desert Sea or the "convicted" mentioned by Nuer.

A few minutes later, Sun Hang finally stood at the entrance of the palace.

Two Death Warriors pushed open the heavy, rusty iron gate, and a faint light immediately streamed out from within the palace.

Sun Hang heard exclamations of joy from the remnants at the mountain's base. Some even wept with joy, kneeling and bowing repeatedly toward the light emanating from the palace.

To these remnants, the presence of the Priest was not much different from that of a god—if they even had the concept of "god".

Sun Hang stepped into the palace.

The inside of the palace was simple, or rather, it wasn't a palace at all, but a research facility left behind by an old civilization.

Everywhere he looked, equipment he didn't recognize but clearly represented the pinnacle of technology from that era filled the space. Some had long since gone silent, while others still operated, their indicator lights blinking, emitting constant "beep beep" sounds.

"This is a research facility for studying infectees from the old era." The central processor's voice whispered in Sun Hang's ear.

"A research facility for infectees? How did they manage to move it entirely into the Sinking Sand Giant Worm's remains?"

"It's not entire... it retains only the most core part: the Artificial Hunter Breeding Chamber."