* * *

The ‘Desert of Blood’ lay between the capital city of Arhem and ‘Dorne’, a city on the edge of the border. Cadel’s goal was to safely break Lydon’s seal in the desert and then escape to Dorne.

He adjusted his uncomfortable turban and looked back at Mamil. Mamil stood with his arms folded, displeasure plastered across his face, staring at Cadel.

“I’ll be going now, Mr. Mamil. Expect to see me back, stronger than ever!”

“If you’re going to die, die gracefully. Don’t make it a mess in your dreams.”

“Thanks for the support!”

Cadel smiled wryly and bowed to Mamil. He turned to leave, but Mamil held him back. His face was still tinged with boredom, but his eyes were serious as he looked at Cadel.

“Whatever you must find in this Desert of Blood, do not go beyond four days. You will not make it past the fourth night with your current abilities. Do you understand?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“……If you dream of the future, you can’t afford to be dead.”

Mamil’s grip on his shoulder tightened as he realized that Cadel reminded him of Jenga Lytos. Cadel nodded his head sternly as if reciprocating his advice, and hurried back to his group.

Van, Lumen, and Lydon. The three of them were waiting for Cadel in the carriage that had been summoned for them. Cadel climbed into the seat next to Van, and the coachman who had been waiting with him drove off.

“The Desert of Blood lies beyond the gates of Arhem. We’ll arrive during the day, so we’ll avoid the guards’ patrols. The entry itself should be easy.”

Cadel took the walnut Van offered and looked back at the group.

“As I said, our goal is to find the ‘Shrine of Balance’ to break Lydon’s seal, and since Lydon can sense its aura, we shouldn’t have to wander around without knowing where it is.”

“Even then, the limitations are too obvious. There’s no place to rest in the desert, and we’re constantly dealing with sandstorms by day and monsters by night.”

“You’re right.”

After a quick glance at Lumen, Cadel spoke again.

“However, the plan to return to Arhem after visiting for a few days is impossible. Lydon won’t be able to find the way back. So, hold out for up to four days, then escape to Dorne.”

Van, who had been listening to the story and cracking walnuts for Cadel, shook his head.

“But it’s going to be hard to find our way through the sandstorm, Commander. Wouldn’t it be hard to get to Dorne or Arhem in time?”

“It’s okay, I’ve already done the legwork.”

With that, Cadel raised his right hand. A familiar-looking ring on his index finger. Van’s eyes widened at the sight of it.

“That ring is……!”

“Mr. Mamil and I split it up, and while we’re in the Desert of Blood, he’s going to go around the city to Dorne, so we can follow the red thread in three days.”

It was a pretty good plan. Lumen nodded his head in agreement, and Lydon was busy looking out the window, seemingly pleased.

And Van, clutching a shattered walnut shell, muttered grimly.

“Why are there so many of Commander’s fated person…….”

* * *

The Desert of Blood was known for its vicious sandstorms throughout the day, but not all of the desert was in the range of the storms.

The point was to navigate around the storm, avoiding its path as much as possible. If you inevitably encountered a storm, you’d need to find a place to hide or deploy a magic shield.

‘Well, of course, aside from the sandstorm, I expected a lot of things to make navigation difficult……. But isn’t this wind a bit too much?’

He wore the turban he’d prepared and tied the cloth tightly over his nose and mouth, but the wind was still strong enough that he could clearly feel the grains of sand slapping against him. Cadel squinted, trying to secure his blurred vision.

“Lydon, do you feel anything?”

“Hmm, I’m detecting a different aura, but…… It’s too faint, I can barely make out the direction.”

As soon as they entered the desert, Cadel released the spell that changed Lydon’s appearance. There would be times when his wings would be needed. Cadel looked at the two pitiful pairs of wings that were busy beating against the sand and sighed bitterly.

He wasn’t expecting to find the temple so soon after entering the desert, but he wasn’t happy to hear that his destination was a long way off.

It was hard to take a step forward. He’d thought he’d gotten stronger, but he’d been deluded. Cadel moved his legs as best he could, leaving footprints in the sand.

He put his head down and focused on moving forward, and at some point, he felt the wind die down a bit.

‘Did we get away from the sandstorm……?’

Hopeful, Cadel glanced ahead and saw a broad backboard blocking his view. It was Van. He was blocking the wind from the front and making it a little easier for Cadel.

Cadel looked up, impressed, and Van turned his head slightly as if he felt Cadel’s gaze. His eyes, barely visible through the fabric, traced a gentle arc toward Cadel.

Unfortunately, the exploration didn’t last long. A sandstorm was closing in on their path. Fortunately, there was a cave nearby, and the mercenary corps quickly took shelter inside.

“Wow, it’s no joke.”

The sandstorm didn’t reach deep into the cave. As soon as Cadel was sure he was safe, he untied the cloth he’d pulled up to his nose and grimaced.

“Are you okay, Commander? Please rinse your mouth.”

Van, who loosened the tightly wrapped cloth, handed over the water bottle. Without refusing, Cadel took a sip and swirled it around in his raggedy mouth. He spat out the sandy water, feeling slightly refreshed.

“We don’t know when the storm will pass.”

Lumen said, peering out from the mouth of the cave. None of them had a clear answer, as none of them were fluent in desert climate change. Only Lydon sprawled out on the floor and spat out pessimistic remarks.

“I don’t know about the storm, but the sun is about to set. The smell of the monsters is rising…… How disgusting!”

“Lydon, can you get a sense of how many monsters are around?”

“I’m guessing there are at least ten of them in this cave right now.”

Cadel let out a pained sound mixed with laughter at the answer.

‘We haven’t even walked a mile and it’s already time to fight the monster. That’s not very efficient.’

The sandy winds made it difficult to navigate quickly, and if they pushed themselves too hard, they wouldn’t have enough stamina to deal with the monsters that appeared at night. That was not to say there wasn’t a way around it.

‘We can only hope to find the temple as soon as possible.’

Cadel rubbed his tired face, the stuck-on sand scraping his skin.

“The winds are picking up, Leader. This must be a pretty big storm.”

“……We’ll be stuck here tonight.”

Wandering around the desert in a storm was suicidal. Instead, it was better to deal with the monsters in the cave and wait for the storm to pass.

“Then let’s start a fire.”

The desert nights were unimaginably cold. Cadel had bought a ‘mana-infused bonfire’ in advance. Van took a piece of wood about the size of two fingers out of the bag and laid it on the ground. It was a thick piece of wood with neatly trimmed ends.

Cadel formed a small fireball above it, and the embers began to burn smoothly. Within moments, the embers were five times the size of the first, amplifying the heat and raising the temperature in the cave.

Leaning against the cave wall, Cadel closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the bonfire. This wasn’t going to be solved by rushing things, and at a time like this, he needed to relax.