Chapter 352 351: No Need to Run, I Can One-Shot Them

In the boundless Desert Sea, three figures walked among the hills, ravines, and stone cliffs. The vast starry sky hung overhead, seemingly in clear view. The sky was black, yet the Desert Sea was awash with a clear light.

Even though the environment could be called night, they could all move and see as if it were broad daylight. It was as if the atmosphere had vanished, allowing the light of countless stars to shine directly upon the Desolate Realm.

VMMMM—

After crossing a few sand dunes, Jiang Qiu was the first to stop. He stood still and gazed into the distance. At the edge of his vision, a sandstorm surged up like a tsunami, slithering in their direction, followed by a strange vibration from beneath their feet.

Reaching out with his senses, he could perceive a creature capable of traveling through the sand. It was massive, likely comparable to the Hundred Machines Giant Kite from Blue Star. Its back could easily accommodate a group of over a hundred people.

'This looks like some kind of transport for the Desert Sea...'

"Sir, the Sand Vehicle Worm is coming! Should we take cover?" Seeing the sight, the grandfather subconsciously tightened his grip on Ni'Er's hand and turned to ask for instructions. "The ones riding it are probably a band of Desert Sea Robbers. They love stealing our Sand Ore..."

"Are they strong?"

Jiang Qiu asked casually.

"Er, that depends on who you're comparing them to. For us natives, they might as well be the Dominators who roam near the many small oases," the grandfather licked his dry, cracked lips, his voice laced with worry. "We usually call them Desert Sea Robbers. Even though they aren't as powerful as the Desolate Realm Robbers, they can easily hold the lives of unarmed natives like us in their hands."

Desert Sea Robbers were robbers who roamed the desert. They usually didn't have particularly powerful weapons. They mainly operated by obtaining the larvae of giant desert beasts through special means, raising them, and then riding the grown beasts to plunder the lands.

Among them, there were often incredible Cultivators with indestructible bodies, immense strength, and incredible speed. For the natives, they were a nightmare.

If natives faced the Desolate Realm Robbers in their huge flying machines, there was still a sliver of hope, as the robbers might not deign to notice them. But these Desert Sea Robbers specifically preyed on natives like them, who toiled to gather Sand Ore in the Desert Sea!

This was how they made their living!

"Hmm. So you're saying this bunch specializes in robbery, and for the natives living in the nearby small oases, they're considered a Dominator Level threat? Quite formidable, then?"

Jiang Qiu stroked his chin. As the distance closed, he carefully probed them to gauge their strength.

There were seventy to eighty Hyena Men, all sitting on the Sand Vehicle Worm's back. The Sand Vehicle Worm was similar to an articulated bus from Blue Star, with as many large legs as a centipede. When it ran, its leg movements were incredibly fast, giving off a strange, almost comical ferocity.

The Desert Sea Robbers sat on the wide back of the Sand Vehicle Worm. Each one had a crude chair, so battle-worn they lacked armrests. They gripped specially installed poles to avoid being thrown off during the ride.

'Their Realm is approximately... wait, they don't have a Realm?'

Jiang Qiu didn't sense any fluctuations of Spirit Charm. Apart from the Sand Vehicle Worm itself being imbued with some Kun Earth Spirit Charm, those Hyena Men showed no trace of it whatsoever!

"Yes, they're incredibly powerful to people like us. I've had my Sand Ore stolen by this gang several times myself." Seeing that the group of Desert Sea Robbers had locked onto their position, the grandfather's heart raced, and he instinctively took a step back. "Sir, will you permit us to flee?"

Fleeing at the sight of Desert Sea Robbers was common sense for survival in the Desert Sea. If not for the Sir standing right there, they would have already fled the moment they saw the sandstorm rising on the horizon.

From this far away, it wasn't impossible for two legs to outrun a Sand Vehicle Worm with hundreds. If they were lucky enough to find a nearby cliff face to hide in, they might get away. The robbers couldn't lock onto life signs directly, and it would be difficult to spot their tracks with the naked eye.

But it was too late for that now. All they could do was pray that the Sir would permit them to flee...

"There's no need to run."

Muttering to himself, Jiang Qiu made a casual grabbing motion, and suddenly the Chuyuan spear appeared in his hand. The chilling glint of the spear tip stung their eyes. They stared wide-eyed, as if witnessing a miracle.

At that moment, Ni'Er recalled the myths her grandfather often told. In the most advanced Oasis Cities, they sold priceless treasures capable of storing the very stars.

Those treasures had an astonishing capacity and could hold countless items. A mere swipe of the hand would make an item appear, and a single thought could recall it.

This was the kind of treasure one could almost only see inside a Great Oasis City. Of course, even in a place like Celestial Star Oasis City, only a select few nobles were able to possess one.

'Grandpa was right. This Sir really is from an incredible place. Maybe he truly is from the Outer Realm.'

'They say all the great lords from the Outer Realm possess such spatial treasures, and without exception, their capacities are enormous...'

SWISH—

The sturdy spear was casually thrown, kicking up an earth-shattering gale. A black shadow seemed to cross a few miles in the span of a single thought, and a rumbling sonic boom carved a long trench through the sand.

BANG!

The distant Sand Vehicle Worm suddenly exploded amidst the swirling yellow sand. A monstrous flame swept across the desert. Vaguely, one could see the sand in that area shining as brightly as the stars as it flowed like red-hot sludge.

Crystalline fragments rained down everywhere, a truly magnificent sight.

And this all happened in an instant. From the moment Jiang Qiu produced the spear to the moment it vanished, carving a trench and blowing up the Sand Vehicle Worm miles away, there was no wasted motion.

SWISH—

Another piercing whistle tore through the air, growing closer. With a THUD, the spear slammed back into Jiang Qiu's right hand. The resulting shockwave knocked Ni'Er and her grandfather flat, and they tumbled twice down the sand dune.

When they looked up again, their wide eyes were filled with astonishment and awe. They saw Jiang Qiu give his spear a casual flick. "Problem solved. Let's go. We'll see what those Desert Sea Robbers had on them."

'Killing a few dozen Hyena Men was no different from killing a few dozen members of the Demon Race. Besides, they were robbers, guilty of heinous crimes.'

'Now that they're dead, I can see what treasures they were carrying—assuming their treasures weren't destroyed by my Fiery Flame Spirit Charm.'

'Of course, if they could be destroyed by that level of Fiery Flame Spirit Charm, they wouldn't be much of a treasure to me anyway.'

"Yes, yes, of course! Ni'Er, get up, quickly! We're following the Sir."

The grandfather grabbed Ni'Er's wrist and scrambled to his feet, his eyes filled with a desperate will to live. He was certain his guess had been correct: the man before him was a terrifyingly powerful lord from the Outer Realm.

After all, throwing a weapon barehanded over such a great distance... that was the kind of feat you only heard about when the corrupt nobles in the oases were bragging.

That was a feat only a noble from a top-tier Oasis City could possibly perform!