“Ginli, give them some food,” Rosie said.
The dwarf took off the crude basket woven from twigs from his back, which contained the roasted scorpion jerky.
He grabbed a few handfuls and held them out to the four mercenaries.
The mercenaries practically snatched them, wolfing them down and swallowing after only chewing a few times.
In moments, the jerky was completely gone.
One mercenary swallowed his last bite, licked his fingers, and asked in a raspy voice, “Is there any water?”
The dwarf hesitated for a moment, pulled his waterskin from his lower back, and handed it over.
The mercenaries each took a large gulp from it before passing it to the next. By the time it had gone around all four of them, the waterskin was more than half empty.
They wiped their mouths and returned the waterskin to the dwarf. “Thank you.”
The dwarf took the waterskin, hefted it, said nothing, and tied it back to his lower back.
“Now, tell us what happened to you,” Rosie said.
The bearded mercenary took a deep breath and began to recount their experience.
After leaving the camp, they had explored all the way south, gathering information and valuables along the way, gradually wandering further and further.
Then, they discovered a massive ruined building half-buried in the sand in a wide desert area. Thrilled, they couldn't wait to go inside and see what was there.
However, halfway there, a sandworm suddenly burst out from beneath the sand, costing them one of their team members.
The remaining four had escaped by taking refuge on a nearby ruin that protruded from the sand.
The sandworm circled around outside a few times before finally sinking back into the sand and disappearing.
They didn't dare go down until their food ran out, forcing them to bite the bullet, retrace their steps, and head back to camp to bring reinforcements.
As luck would have it, they managed to leave safely, and they ran into Rosie and the dwarf on their way back.
After listening to the mercenaries' tale, Rosie explained everything that had happened back at the camp.
When she mentioned that the Count had turned on them and ordered everyone killed...
“What?!”
The torch in the mercenary's hand shook, the firelight reflecting the utter shock on all four of their faces.
Rosie's gaze swept across their faces. “Count Morris will kill anyone who knows about the underground world. You are no exception.”
“Then what about Kaluk, who hired us?” one mercenary asked.
“He's either in league with the Count, or he's already been taken out by him,” Rosie said.
“Where are the two of you heading now?” the bearded mercenary asked dryly.
“The exit is likely occupied by the Count's men, so we plan to try our luck elsewhere,” Rosie said.
The men exchanged looks, and the bearded one spoke up: “We're coming with you!”
“Sure, but what supplies do you still have on you?” Rosie asked.
The mercenaries immediately took off their backpacks, placed them on the ground, and began pulling items out one by one.
Four empty waterskins, a rope over ten meters long, a flint, a few tools, and two intact torches.
The rest was just the leather armor and weapons they wore—nothing more.
Rosie looked at the pitiful pile of items on the ground and fell silent for a moment.
“First, we'll find a water source and hunt for some food. We need to make sure we're fully supplied before going anywhere else.”
“But where are we going to find water and food?” one mercenary couldn't help but ask.
“I know a place with a water source. But we have to move quickly; the Count and his men might be heading there too,” Rosie said.
The dwarf's eyes rolled. “You mean going back to the prison?”
Rosie shook her head. “Of course not. Have you forgotten that I looked at the map? It was marked on there. Why else do you think I ran in this direction?”
The dwarf grinned. “You didn't say a word, so how was I supposed to know?”
“Well, you know now. Let's go.”
With that, Rosie turned and walked forward.
The dwarf followed closely behind.
The four mercenaries exchanged looks and followed as well.
After walking for a while, one mercenary couldn't help but ask, “Miss Rosie, we just came from that direction. We didn't see any water source.”
Without turning around, Rosie's voice drifted back, “Didn't you find a massive ruined building? It's right there.”
“There's water inside?” the mercenary asked in surprise.
“Ancient ruins are full of wonders like that,” Rosie said.
“But what about the sandworms? They're very dangerous, and...”
The mercenary cut himself off and swallowed the rest of his words.
What he meant was: now that they didn't have a mage, who was going to deal with the sandworms?
Rosie smiled slightly. “Did you forget how the first sandworm died?”
The mercenaries suddenly realized.
The first sandworm had been killed right before their eyes, with Rosie thrusting a spear down its throat and slicing its body open with her sword.
It was only because the mage's dazzling Fireball had been so flashy afterward that it had overshadowed Rosie's feat at the time.
The uncertainty in the mercenaries' eyes gradually faded.
The group continued their march.
Eventually, they arrived at a vast desert area.
The ceiling here hung much lower than before, but the crystals on it were densely packed like stars in the night sky, illuminating the entire area as bright as day.
In the distance, a massive ruined building loomed, half-buried in the sand.
“Miss Rosie, that's it over there,” the bearded mercenary said, pointing toward the building.
Rosie squinted and estimated the distance. “It looks to be about five kilometers away.”
“There don't seem to be any sandworms at the edge. We only got attacked once we were almost halfway there,” the bearded mercenary added.
Rosie thought for a moment, set down her scorpion shield, and began unbuckling her plate armor.
She removed her breastplate, backplate, pauldrons, and greaves piece by piece, handing them to the mercenaries behind her. “Hold these for me.”
The mercenaries froze for a second, then quickly stepped forward. Each of them took one or two pieces, cradling them in their arms.
Wearing only her gambeson and holding her meteoric iron sword, Rosie picked up the scorpion shield and strode out onto the sand.
“I'll lead the way. Follow behind me and keep your distance.”
Every so often, she would stop and tap the sand a few times with her scorpion shield, waiting a moment to confirm there were no vibrations before continuing forward.
The others followed from a distance, their eyes locked tightly on her.
After walking nearly halfway, Rosie stopped again and tapped the sand with her scorpion shield.
This time, the sand beneath her feet vibrated slightly.
It was faint, but definitely there.
She raised her right hand, signaling those behind her.
The followers immediately halted, making no sound.
Rosie drew her meteoric iron sword, walked forward a bit further, and tapped the sand again.
The vibration became more distinct, carrying a rhythmic pulse.
She closed her eyes, carefully feeling the frequency beneath her feet.
Then, she suddenly snapped her eyes open and lunged forward.
At almost the exact same instant, the sand beneath her feet exploded. A massive head burst out of the ground, its maw stretched to its limit, snapping down with a blast of hot, humid, and foul-smelling air.
Rosie planted her foot firmly in the sand and leaped backward.
Using the momentum of her charge, the meteoric iron sword in her right hand slashed across the rubbery, tough side of the sandworm.
With a soft ripping sound, a long gash was torn open along the sandworm's flank.
Brown fluid sprayed from the long gash, sizzling and emitting white smoke the moment it hit the sand.
The sandworm let out a low screech, twisting its body frantically as fluid splattered in all directions.
Rosie had already raised her scorpion shield to block.
The highly corrosive fluid splattered against the smooth scorpion shell like rain on tiles, sliding down the face of the shield and sizzling on the sand.
Rosie thrust her meteoric iron sword into the sand to coat it, then charged forward behind her shield, scraping the blade hard against the shield's surface.
The friction between blade and shield sent sparks flying, landing on the flowing fluid on the sandworm's body.
Flames ignited instantly.
The fluid acted like burning oil, spreading rapidly and engulfing the sandworm's body in fire.
The sandworm thrashed wildly, but the more it struggled, the fiercer the fire burned.
Rosie quickly dodged to the side.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, the sandworm's body blew apart. Burning fragments scattered in all directions, continuing to smolder on the sand.
Rosie sheathed her sword, slung the scorpion shield onto her back, and looked back at the figures in the distance.
“Haha! We don't need Butcher Anna to roast a worm!”
The dwarf's booming laughter echoed from afar.
Rosie continued walking forward, testing the ground as she went.
However, the sand beneath her feet remained exceptionally quiet. Aside from the sandworm that had just been blown to pieces, the entire desert showed no response.
Ultimately, she confirmed there was only one sandworm here.
Rosie was slightly disappointed.
Fewer sandworms meant a sparse food chain in this area.
This also explained why the mercenaries had been able to run back so easily.
Still, having less trouble was ultimately a good thing.
She quickened her pace, striding across the sand, while the mercenaries carrying her plate armor followed closely in her footsteps.
Half an hour later, the six of them finally stood before the massive ruined building.
Although the building was mostly buried in sand, it was still grand and imposing.
Standing at the entrance, Rosie set her scorpion shield aside, took her plate armor from the mercenaries, and put it back on piece by piece.
As the joints clicked into place, a familiar sense of security returned.
“I hope that thing is still working, or we came all this way for nothing,” Rosie muttered as she stepped inside.
The other five followed closely behind, their footsteps echoing in the empty hall.
“Tsk, tsk. There aren't any of those annoying metal doors here,” the dwarf's voice rang out exceptionally loud in the empty space.
“This is the Exhibition Center. It's a building meant for visitors,” Rosie said.
“Ha, I forgot. What kind of Beast Park was this again...”
The dwarf muttered, looking around.
“Spread out and search for water and anything useful,” Rosie ordered briefly.
She had effectively become the leader of the group, and no one objected.
After all, she was someone who could hunt a sandworm on her own; strength spoke louder than anything else.
The group dispersed, heading in different directions across the hall.
Footsteps echoed throughout the spacious building before gradually fading into silence.
Rosie walked along the perimeter of the hall, inspecting the building's interior.
Before long, everyone gathered back in the hall.
No one had found water, nor had they discovered anything useful.
“Nothing at all,” the bearded mercenary said, shaking his head.
“No water, and we didn't find anything we can use either,” another mercenary added.
Just as Rosie was about to speak, a mercenary who had just walked into the hall shouted, “I found stairs going down over here!”
Rosie slapped her forehead.
The sand had buried the lower levels of the building. They were actually walking around on the upper floors, so how could the water source be up here? This wasn't some modern building.
“Let's go take a look,” she said.
The group followed the mercenary to the stairs leading to the lower level.
It was a wide stone staircase winding downward into pitch-black darkness with no end in sight.
Having darkvision, the dwarf shouldered his axe and took the lead without a word to clear the way.
Rosie followed behind him, holding the scorpion shield in one hand and keeping her other hand on the hilt of her sword.
The four mercenaries lit their torches and followed closely. The flames flickered in the darkness, casting their shadows into distorted shapes.
Rate on N.U.
