The sand bandits were annihilated, and the prisoners locked in the dungeons saw the light of day again, though they were barely alive. Still, they at least had a chance to recover.
Law spent two days resting in the canyon to restore his Potential Aura.
During that time, he took the opportunity to loot the sand bandits' warehouse. Unfortunately, he found no antiques… only gold, jewels, silk, and other such items, which left him somewhat disappointed.
Sand bandits were just bandits, after all. They probably had no interest in antiques, which were harder to sell, which was why there wasn't a single one in their warehouse.
Once his Potential Aura was fully restored, Law didn't linger a moment longer. He immediately left the canyon and headed for the Forbidden Zone.
As for the women and prisoners in the canyon, Law wasn't charitable enough to worry about how they would leave the canyon and return to the three oasis nations.
The sand bandits had been the biggest obstacle, and now that they were gone, if these people couldn't even manage the most basic 'self-rescue', then that was just their limit.
During his two days in the canyon, Law converted over 1,400 blank pages. He still wasn't entirely clear on the criteria for the increase in pages… was it based on his own sense of having saved these people, or was it tied to some kind of causal relationship?
In any case, the tangible gains made the trip to Red Rock Canyon worthwhile.
A few days after he left the canyon, a combined army of 3,000 soldiers from the three oasis nations arrived at Red Rock Canyon.
Previous attempts to subdue the sand bandits had failed multiple times, leading the three nations to abandon the idea.
Now, after so many years, they had unexpectedly joined forces and marched on Red Rock Canyon again, which is a rare occurrence.
What had prompted them to take such action?
When the army stormed into Red Rock Canyon, that reason no longer mattered. What lay before their eyes stunned everyone.
From that moment on, rumors of the young man and the cat began to spread.
…
Ten days later, Law returned to the Forbidden Zone.
As he traveled alone, he easily breached the sandstorm, navigated the mountain path, and crossed the grassland, which is now devoid of any ants, before arriving at the Millennium Imperial Capital.
The few remaining members of the Desert Hawk were still alive.
When the previous inhabitants had left, they could only take a limited amount of food, leaving behind considerable stockpiles.
These became the lifeline that allowed the Desert Hawk to remain in the Forbidden Zone.
Law was surprised that Ali and the others hadn't left yet. After exchanging a few words, Ali recognized Law by his voice, and Law learned why they had stayed behind.
They had wanted to gather more wealth, picking out the most valuable treasures from the imperial capital.
Since their numbers were few, they could only carry so much, and as a result, they had overstayed.
By the time they tried to leave the valley, they found that the Armored Bulls left for them were on the verge of death.
The Armored Bulls were crucial for crossing the sandstorm. Without them, the group was trapped in the Forbidden Zone.
The colony of army ants had been wiped out by Law's poison. If he hadn't returned to the Forbidden Zone, the Desert Hawk would likely have starved to death once their supplies ran out.
Law first reassured Ali and the others, then asked about William's whereabouts. He learned that William had been wandering the grasslands and mountain paths all this time, seemingly searching for something.
…
That night, by the campfire.
"At this point, I don't know if I should regret it or not." Ali murmured, staring into the flickering flames, his expression lost in thought.
His words might have been directed at Law, or perhaps he was just talking to himself.
The ambitions and dreams he once had were now nothing but ashes.
For dreams, for goals, for desires…
There were countless Hunters in the world, professional and amateur alike, all chasing something. Whether it was a dream or a desire, dying for it was the most natural outcome.
In the past, many members of the Hunter Association had been willing to throw themselves into the flames, knowing full well how dangerous the Forbidden Zone was. The Desert Hawk was no exception.
Law didn't respond, silently finishing the dried rations in his hand.
Perhaps he had just been lucky.
Whether it was surviving the fall from the cliff in his past life or encountering people in this world who could change his fate, he had been fortunate.
The next day, Law collected over a thousand antiques from Salin's stash, storing them inside Kuro.
Even then, there was still plenty of space left.
Since he didn't plan on returning here, he headed to the imperial capital to gather more valuables… like the golden chamber and the many gem-encrusted ornaments.
The Desert Hawk had mostly picked out delicate jewelry, especially pieces adorned with gemstones, as they were valuable and easy to carry.
Law quickly grew bored of searching and simply targeted the golden chamber, cutting it into bricks and stacking them one by one into Kuro's mouth until there was almost no room left.
Nearly all the valuable items had been taken by Law, so he could only say 'sorry' for those who came after.
After all, with the grassland ant colony wiped out and the survivors spreading the news, countless people would surely flock to the Forbidden Zone in the future.
But by then, they'd find very few treasures left. And when they finally cracked open the treasure vault, only to discover piles of books inside… what kind of expression would they have? The thought alone was amusing.
After finishing his looting spree, Law went to look for William. He knew William had come to the Forbidden Zone searching for a specific set of remains. But the place was littered with countless bones, so finding one particular skeleton was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Law found William in the eastern mountain path, sifting through a pile of bones.
"What will you do if you never find it?" Law asked.
"Keep looking until the end," William replied, glancing up at him.
"Having an extra pair of hands would speed things up."
"Okay."
…
Goro Oasis, early morning. (T/N: The RAW is Wate Oasis, but Fatima is in Goro Oasis not Wate Oasis, so I changed it.)
The Desert Hawk returned safely from the Forbidden Zone, their gains modest but not empty-handed.
Still, those who had died would never come back.
William led Law to his friend's house. Standing outside, they spotted Fatima leaning against the windowsill, lost in thought.
When she saw William finally return, Fatima jumped down from the second-floor window and threw herself into his arms.
The two hugged each other, neither saying a word.
Law watched quietly but didn't leave… he still needed to ask Fatima for a batch of human skin masks to play around with.
William hadn't found the remains he was looking for, but he had recovered a personal keepsake. He handed it to Fatima, and Law watched as she burst into tears like a child.
According to William, it was something their mother had left behind.
Law stayed in Goro for a long time. He asked William and Fatima if they planned to return to Elba, but they remained silent.
Maybe, even if they wanted to, they couldn't go back.
Though not an absolute rule, gaining something often meant losing something else.
Over the course of two months, Law taught Fatima Nen, and in return, she crafted twenty human skin masks for him. Her diligence was likely due to him recovering her mother's keepsake.
However, what makes Law even more furious is that each of these human skin masks is uglier than the last!
Once he had everything he wanted, Law put on one of the hideous masks and left Goro, heading back to Elba.
Afterward, rumors of 'the young man and the cat" spread widely across the three oasis nations, along with the name 'Law'.
No one knew that the young man who had stormed Red Rock Canyon and wiped out the sand bandits was now a grotesque-looking man working in Sabro's shop.
Time flew.
Law spent two years in the Kandhia Desert before following Linne to many other places… mostly forbidden zones where ordinary people dared not tread. Each location required at least several months of stay.
The journey wasn't overly rushed, leaving him with some freedom.
Whenever he had free time, Law would bring delicious food to the Zoldyck Family's Estate, nurturing the appetites of two little foodies.
Six years passed in the blink of an eye. Both Law and Buhara had grown significantly… the former accumulating vast experience, the latter evolving from a mere glutton into something closer to a true Gourmet Hunter.