In a flash, a chilling cross scythe was pressed against Franco's neck, the blade drawing a faint line of blood on his skin.
Franco tilted his neck back, holding his breath, not even daring to swallow, afraid the bob of his Adam's apple would hit the edge.
"You lech, say one more word, and I guarantee you'll never get the chance to speak again," Antilene said coldly, her arm holding the cross iron scythe rock steady.
"Daring to harass Lady Antilene—talk about a death wish," a man with a hideous knife scar on his face mocked.
He was tall and burly, a blood-red greatsword hanging at his waist, one of Antilene's followers. Though just a follower, he was qualified to help Antilene delve deep into the Eight Greed Kings desert for exploration—definitely a one-in-a-thousand warrior from the Slane Theocracy.
Franco shot wild glances at EeDechi and Barrett, his eyes darting around, clearly screaming, "Save me, quick—I'm about to shit myself!" But EeDechi and Barrett just stood there with arms crossed, totally unmoved.
Seeing the punishment had done its job, Antilene lowered the cross scythe and stowed it in her spatial ring. She set the milk tea porcelain cup on the ground, draped a white cloak over her shoulders, and nodded slightly to Barrett. "Thanks for the hospitality."
Then Antilene and her three followers mounted their camels, ready to leave without so much as a goodbye.
"Hey, Antilene, want to travel together? Strength in numbers out here in the desert," EeDechi asked kindly.
"No need. Too many people are just dead weight. We've already lost a lot of our own." Antilene gave Barrett's trio's camp an indifferent glance, her brow furrowing slightly. "I don't know how you even got here."
"Dead weight? Forgot already? I'm the Divine Envoy." EeDechi shrugged, really hating Antilene's cold attitude. "Is it because I once had you pinned under me and ground you down, so you're holding a grudge?"
"I've never seen a Divine Envoy as undignified as you." Antilene snorted coldly, clearly still holding a grudge over EeDechi subduing her in the past.
"Lady Antilene, as I see it, these three adventurers just want to bum a ride on our camels—ignore them," the scarred male follower said, perched between the camel's two humps, looking pretty smug.
"Let's go." Antilene shook the reins, spurring her camel to turn and head off.
"Ride your camels?" EeDechi was so mad she almost laughed. She'd clearly offered out of kindness, seeing how tough it was for them on camels, but they twisted it into something shady. Without another word, EeDechi pulled out the glass bottle holding the Ride the Wind and Break the Waves. She twisted off the brass cap and released the yacht.
The magic-powered ship swelled up in size like a storm, instantly turning into a decent-sized yacht. EeDechi, Barrett, and Franco boarded the minimalist white yacht one by one.
"This is the City Alliance's arcane tech," Antilene said, staring at the sleek yacht with eyes full of shock.
On the vast sandy expanse, the yacht looped once around Antilene's group of four, and their faces turned downright ugly.
Especially the scarred guy—he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground. Just a bit ago, he'd mocked EeDechi's trio for not even having camels, clueless that they traveled by magic ship.
EeDechi lost any urge to give them a lift, and Antilene couldn't bring herself to ask. The two groups split up, the Ride the Wind and Break the Waves yacht blasting off across the desert.
...
Sand whipped through the air, dust choking everything.
A towering ruined ancient city lay half-buried in the desert. Even with the clock tower toppled and the battlements worn away, the thick, sturdy walls and barriers made it clear—this had once been a grand, magnificent city.
Mare Bello Fiore stood before the city ruins, his eyes heterochromatic with red and blue pupils. He leaned on a wooden staff, wearing a white pleated short skirt and reddish-brown high-heeled leather boots.
The yellow sand had already stained his originally pristine dress, and Mare was desperate to get out of here soon and take a good, thorough bath.
Mare was dragging a large cloth sack behind him, stuffed with gold, silver, and jewels he'd scavenged from the ruins. But in these ruins, he'd found something far more powerful than mere wealth—something that could massively boost the strength of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Mare couldn't wait to tell Lord Ainz about this item, but the problem was, he was lost... The magic currents in the Eight Greed Kings desert were wildly chaotic, communications kept failing, and even homing pigeons with magical beast bloodlines had lost their sense of direction.
Luckily, a break came. Mare had sharp eyesight, and from a distance, he spotted a small boat racing through the desert, heading straight for the ruins at top speed.
A ship that could sail in the desert—Mare couldn't help but find it intriguing. He raised his right arm level with his shoulder, clenched his fist, and stuck out his thumb in the classic hitchhiker's pose.
The sleek white yacht came to a steady halt, the cabin's tinted window rolled down, and a golden-haired man with a handsome face leaned out, brimming with enthusiasm as he asked, "(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ Hi, beauty, need a lift?"
"Actually, I'm not a girl..." Mare said bashfully, fidgeting with the hem of his skirt in both hands. In his mind, he'd already made up his decision—if this golden-haired guy wasn't the ship's pilot, he'd kill him later.
"This ship? You're boarding it whether you want to or not." EeDechi stuck her head out from the cabin window, her gaze razor-sharp.
Mare froze...
Then the yacht's cabin door swung open, and several vicious, hulking brutes poured out, lunging at Mare like starving wolves on a helpless lamb.
Mare reacted lightning-fast, instantly clutching his wooden staff and channeling earth magic. The dozen earth-walking magical beasts he'd tamed in the desert erupted from the soil!
A massive jaw rose from the yellow sand, its enormous teeth snapping shut, on the verge of crunching the yacht to bits. Meanwhile, a dozen razor claws ripped up the ground, grotesque red pupils flickering wildly as they charged ferociously at EeDechi and the others, jaws snapping.
EeDechi, with her short black hair, bellowed, "Sticky Finger!"
The burly, muscular phantom of Dragon Endbringer reappeared behind EeDechi. He immediately unleashed his death domain, instantly sapping the life force from the horde of terrain magical beasts, leaving them to collapse lifeless on the ground.
Mare was stunned, but he slammed his staff hard into the earth. In a flash, the ground heaved and overturned with overwhelming force!
Mare excelled in natural magic that controlled earth and plants. Though plants were few and far between in the Eight Greed Kings desert, anywhere with soil was his turf!
The sand and ground flipped and surged like a deck of cards being shuffled, gathering into a massive mountain that turned the world upside down, crashing wildly toward EeDechi. EeDechi and her group were on the brink of being buried under this sky-blocking mound of dirt.
Martial Art: One Sword Opens the Heavens!
EeDechi gripped her giant sword, slashing with brutal power. The surging sword force cleaved through the sand, tore the air apart, and carved out a patch of clear blue sky.
In the dust-choked Eight Greed Kings desert, a long strip of azure sky was ripped open—this was the might of EeDechi's One Sword Opens the Heavens.
Perched at the top of the sand pile, Mare's view was blocked by the swirling dirt, so he couldn't dodge and took the hit square on. His chest dress burst open, and blood gushed from the corner of his mouth.
Dragon Endbringer teleported behind him. BOOM! With a thunderous crash, Dragon Endbringer's fist smashed into the back of Mare's head.
Mare tumbled onto the sand, his head throbbing in agony, feeling like needles stabbing his entire skull. He gritted his teeth, reaching out to grab the nearby staff for a counterattack.
But before his fingers could touch the staff, EeDechi's giant sword came slashing at full speed, shattering the precious staff into wooden splinters.
"That's a gift from Lord Ainz! I'll fight you to the end!" Mare roared in fury, lifting his head, his red-and-blue heterochromatic eyes blazing like they were about to shoot flames.
But the next second, what greeted him was EeDechi's giant sword slap.
BANG! The giant sword smacked him right in the face! With the sharp crack of skull bones fracturing, Mare blacked out completely.