"How did he disappear again?" EeDechi squinted her eyes, scanning all around. Just moments ago, she'd noticed that in the instant Dragon Endbringer vanished, it seemed like some soul had whisked past her like the wind.
But there was no time to think further—Dragon Endbringer's shadow suddenly appeared behind her, trying to launch a sneak attack. EeDechi snorted coldly, her giant sword whipping up a storm of sand and wind that forced Dragon Endbringer back three steps.
EeDechi was about to raise her sword for another slash when Dragon Endbringer's figure vanished once more.
"What the hell is this thing? Wait, he is a ghost to begin with."
EeDechi thought cautiously. Dragon Endbringer was no match for her, no doubt about it, and he had a way to make his figure disappear—so why not run? Judging by his sneaky demeanor, he didn't seem like some proud dragon warrior.
On the deck of the three-masted warship Emerald Sandboat, Franco stumbled over, gasping for breath as he said:
"This young master got ambushed—didn't even have time to react. Then it was death and revival over a dozen times in a row. Is this supposed to make me do sit-ups? It left me no gaps to chant my spells."
"Franco, fly me up into the sky. I need to observe the pattern of Dragon Endbringer disappearing and reappearing," Barrett said to him.
"Got it—grab my foot." Franco knew the situation was dire. He floated up right away, Barrett clutched his ankle, and the two soared into the sky together, looking down below.
EeDechi shouted up at Barrett: "Dragon Endbringer's already on the ropes, and he's got a trick to hide his form, but why isn't he fleeing? He's just flickering in and out around here. Help me figure out why."
Next, Dragon Endbringer appeared several more times beside EeDechi, and she didn't hesitate to smash him over the head with her sword each time. Dragon Endbringer's armor shattered and cracked, his body spewing out blood-like mist, growing weaker and weaker in his counterattacks.
Barrett calmly stared down at the desert below. Dragon Endbringer not fleeing was one red flag, but in Barrett's view, another was how Dragon Endbringer could stay active for so long in the scorching desert under the blazing sun.
After being defeated by the Eight Greed Kings, Dragon Endbringer had his soul ripped from his body and tuned by top-tier necromancy spells. He was in spirit form now. The Eight Greed Kings clearly had a twisted fondness for enslaving the strong, forcing their former enemy Dragon Endbringer to serve them and guard their empire.
A soul was just a soul, after all—in such a brutal desert environment, a pure spirit couldn't last long. Barrett didn't buy that Dragon Endbringer could wander the Eight Greed Kings' desert relying solely on his soul state. He had to be depending on some kind of container to survive.
From Barrett's years of adventuring experience, it was like how a lich needed a phylactery—certain magic items could also house spirits.
A spirit couldn't move the magic item it depended on for survival, but this Dragon Endbringer was roaming the desert, taking the initiative to attack the three-masted warship Emerald Sandboat. How was he pulling that off?
Spotting the dull yellow bones of some skeletal soldiers on the sand, Barrett couldn't help but think of an answer: there was a third party holding Dragon Endbringer's spirit-housing magic item and ordering him to assault the warship.
Barrett looked down from above. In this vast desert, besides EeDechi locked in fierce battle with the constantly flickering Dragon Endbringer, where was that third party?
Flying in the sky let him clearly track Dragon Endbringer's disappearances and reappearances. Summing it up, it was like he was constantly popping up at points within an invisible circle. Dragon Endbringer couldn't stray from his spirit vessel, and that circle was his operational range!
Barrett vaguely had an idea. He pointed to the desert spot that might be the center of the circle and said: "Franco, bombard that area."
"Chain Bombardment Arrow!" Franco raised his wand, muttering incantations. Magic gathered under the guidance of his spell words, forming spinning orbs of light in the sky, which then shot toward the ground like meteors.
BOOM BOOM BOOM! A series of earth-shaking explosions rang out, blasting craters into the desert, with sand and dust billowing everywhere.
A skeletal figure was climbing out of a sand pit. It had buried itself in the sand originally, now trying to escape under the cover of the dust. EeDechi's eyes were incredibly sharp; she spotted it in an instant, her giant sword tearing through the storm to strike.
"Damned living!" the skeleton rasped. It didn't get to say more before EeDechi cleaved it into shattered bone fragments. Amid the scattering yellow bone shards, an intricate box woven with gold and red dropped into the sand.
"Dragon Endbringer! Protect me!" A red skull on the ground rolled around, its mouth opening and closing in a hoarse roar. EeDechi's giant sword came down, smashing the skull into powder like a hydraulic press crushing pebbles.
Dragon Endbringer's dark red shadow materialized behind EeDechi, his body emanating black mist, his long-handled axe about to chop down at her.
EeDechi didn't even turn to look, backhanding her sword to block his greataxe, then withdrawing to hack the intricate box on the ground to pieces. Fragments of metal and springs erupted in countless sparks, a small black pearl-like stone splashing into the dune.
"Interesting..." Dragon Endbringer roared unwillingly, his figure along with the long-handled axe dissipating.
"All done, finally took out this guy." EeDechi breathed a sigh of relief, calling her companions down to check the situation.
Barrett and Franco landed from the sky, and the crew from the ship came down too. Earlier, a few crew members had been dragged into the yellow sand by weird magical hooks.
The crew started digging into the sand, trying to find their missing comrades. They dug meter after meter underground, but saw no trace of their companions—those dragged away by the chains were already gone without a trace, bones and all.
"What a weird desert," Barrett sighed.
"Interesting humans." A clear voice that didn't quite harmonize rang out behind EeDechi.
EeDechi turned her head and saw Dragon Endbringer materializing behind her, his body billowing black smoke. But the red metal ball in his mouth was gone, and now he was speaking with a much more pleasant voice.
"You're back from the dead!"
EeDechi twisted her waist and spun, her iron-hard heavy fist slamming solidly into Dragon Endbringer's face. His features twisted, and he spun 720 degrees in the air before stopping.
EeDechi grabbed her giant sword, ready to cleave him in two. Dragon Endbringer dropped to his knees immediately, begging frantically: "I'm an ancient Dragon Lord, one of the three dragon gods. Now I'm no longer under the Eight Greed Kings' control—I've got a free heart."
"Hmph!" EeDechi snorted coldly, bringing her giant sword down on his head.
"I can be your companion!" Dragon Endbringer shouted, covering his head with both hands. "And I'm very familiar with the ancient city in the Eight Greed Kings' desert!"
The blade halted steadily on Dragon Endbringer's helmet. EeDechi tilted her head. "Really? Yeah, your appearance seems different—the red metal ball you were biting is gone."
"My pure captain, that's called a ball gag—a sex toy," Franco chimed in helpfully from the side. He eyed Dragon Endbringer's muscular build and chuckled. "Looks like the Eight Greed Kings had some fans of beefy guys."
"In the Eight Greed Kings' era, I was often forced to wrestle other men," Dragon Endbringer said, his cheeks flushing pink. "Thinking back on it now, it's still kind of thrilling."
"Thrilling my foot!" EeDechi landed an uppercut on his chin, sending Dragon Endbringer flying backward into a sand dune.
Barrett walked over to the side and picked up a dark black pearl-like stone from the ground. It felt icy cold in his hand, a deathly chill surging straight to his chest.
"Looks like this is the magic item where Dragon Endbringer's spirit was housed," Barrett said, carefully examining the black pearl stone in his palm.