After a busy day, night fell. The Last Defender of the Way adventurer team hastily ate dinner, set up camp in a corner of the ruins, and prepared to turn in for the night.
According to Barrett, ever since entering the desert, the journey had deviated too far from the original plan, leaving their water reserves running low. To avoid dying of thirst in the wasteland on the way back, they had to start rationing water now.
The desert night was still and peaceful. Not even wild insects chirped; the only sounds were the occasional rustle of scorpions scuttling across the ground or rattlesnakes slithering over the sand.
EeDechi was on watch for the first half of the night. Sitting on a rock with her eyes closed, she let out a long yawn. Then she casually lifted her eyelids—and spotted a blazing fireball arcing through the pitch-black sky, hurtling straight toward them!
EeDechi jumped in shock, drew her giant sword, and sprang high into the air to slash the fireball apart. The giant sword collided with it, erupting in a blast that lit the dark night sky a fiery red.
The entire camp jolted awake. Barrett scrambled out of his tent and looked up to see seven or eight fireballs plummeting like meteors. EeDechi only had time to block a few before the rest exploded across the campsite, whipping up waves of heat. Flames roared over the ground, leaving devastation in their wake.
"Is everyone okay?" EeDechi brushed away the black smoke in front of her eyes and anxiously scanned her companions.
"Cough... I'm fine. Just swallowed some sand." Barrett climbed up from the ground. The clothes over his chest had been torn open, leaving a large, charred hole. Luckily, his tough constitution meant tanking a fireball head-on wasn't a big deal.
Franco and Antilene crawled out from beneath the remains of the blasted tent. On the other side of the camp, the bound Mare tried to sneak away in the chaos, but Franco stepped forward and hauled him back.
Several jets of flame erupted in the distance. A moment later, more fireballs shot into the sky and arced toward EeDechi and her group.
EeDechi surveyed the camp, now blasted to pieces, and anger surged through her. She stamped both feet against the ground and shot toward the source of the cannon fire.
More fireballs rained down in a barrage. EeDechi charged straight into them, knocking the orbs aside with her giant sword as explosions thundered one after another.
After vaulting over two sand dunes, she spotted a skeleton dressed in a red formal suit, flanked by a bizarre-looking construct.
The construct had no legs. Instead, it moved on six wheels as large as millstones. Five thick, blackened cannon barrels rested along its steel back, while a square metal head sat tucked between them, making the machine look for all the world like a porcupine.
"Kill the living intruder!" the red-suited skeleton rasped. It jerked one arm upward and cast a summoning spell. Skeleton soldiers clawed their way out of the sand, scrambling forward on all fours like a horde of spiders surging toward EeDechi.
"All of you—die!"
EeDechi gathered her strength and brought her giant sword down in a sweeping slash. A broad wave of sword energy ripped across the ground. The force of the strike scattered the skeleton horde into shattered limbs and fragments.
Before the pieces had finished falling, EeDechi was already closing on the red-suited skeleton.
Sensing things going south, the red-suited skeleton sank its legs into the sand, gearing up to burrow away. It dropped leisurely, as relaxed as if lounging in its own backyard pool. If she let it slip away like that, all EeDechi's months of fighting would be for nothing.
She had battled her way from Re-Estize to the Eight Greed Kings desert, facing more enemies than she could count. The most brutal clashes, where a single mistake could have meant death, had tempered her will, judgment, and skill.
EeDechi was no longer a greenhorn whose body moved on combat talent and instinct alone.
The red-suited skeleton's lower half sank into the desert sand. The flickering soul fire in its eye sockets seemed to mock EeDechi.
She narrowed her eyes, gathered her strength into her wrist and shoulder, and hurled the giant sword.
The broad blade shot forward like a sniper bullet. It pulverized the skeleton soldiers in its path, then struck the red-suited skeleton and shattered its chest into fine powder.
Bone shards sprayed across the sand. All that remained of the red-suited skeleton was a withered yellow skull, still connected to its shoulder blades and one arm, clattering over the ground.
EeDechi raised her hand and summoned her giant sword back. She strode forward and loomed over the skeleton, lifting one foot to crush it beneath her heel.
"Wait!" the skull rasped hoarsely. "I can give you the Eight Greed Kings' treasure!"
"Oh?" EeDechi regarded the skull with interest and waited for it to continue.
"You fell for it!" The soul fire in the skull's eye sockets suddenly narrowed, forming a smug grin.
BOOM!!
Behind EeDechi, the same massive cannon construct thundered once more. The shockwave whipped up her hair as a fireball hurtled toward her exposed back.
EeDechi made no attempt to dodge. She stood rock-steady as the fireball burst against her with a deafening bang. Smoke and dust billowed around her, but her stance never shifted.
When the skull saw that EeDechi was unharmed, it immediately began scraping at the sand with the single arm still attached to its shoulder blades, trying to drag itself away.
EeDechi planted her foot on the arm and asked coldly, "Are you the Skeleton Queen?"
"Who I am is of no concern. What matters is that you dared to trespass into the Eight Greed Kings' ancient city. You are as good as dead!" the skeleton rasped. Its lower jaw clacked against the upper one with a grating sound.
Woo... CLANG!
In the dark sky deep within the ancient city, dozens of streaks of light exploded across the heavens, accompanied by someone's agonized roar.
EeDechi looked toward the firelight in the sky, a hint of surprise entering her eyes.
"Looks like someone's beaten you to the punch," the skull cackled. "But to get the Eight Greed Kings' treasure, you need the approval of those 30 lords. It seems his brute-force attempt failed."
"Who is this 'he' you're talking about?" EeDechi pressed her foot more firmly against the skeleton's arm. "And who are these 30 lords?"
"Hee hee hee!" The skull laughed maniacally. "Arrogant outsider! You do not even know of the 30 lords. How pitiful. How pathetic."
"Answer my questions properly," EeDechi said, unfazed. "Your 30 lords might not be a match for me."
"Is that so?" The skeleton's voice dripped with mockery. "I admit that you are strong. Unfortunately for you, the 30 lords are all retainers of the Eight Greed Kings, and every one of them is Level 100."
"Every one of them is Level 100?" EeDechi's expression finally changed. "Thirty Level 100 guardians?"
"The 30 lords welcome guests from afar, but they have no fondness for rude ones. The one who came before you has already thrown in the towel."
"Who came first?" EeDechi demanded. "Who threw in the towel?"
The skull cackled. "You are another rude, ill-mannered guest. Why not meet the masters yourself and find out?"
"Answer honestly," EeDechi said, her expression flat, "or I'll crush you into bone dust."
The skull clamped its jaws together before speaking again, its raspy voice growing more frenzied.
"Come on, then. Crush me. The fate of the remnants, waiting for the emperor who'll never return. I've long... wanted to die. This is the price of immortality. This is the Equivalent Exchange..."
The skull twisted and roared, "Artillery Shieldguard—kill the living intruder!"
Behind EeDechi came the heavy CREAK of machinery turning. Heat gathered rapidly, growing as fierce as the light and warmth of the sun. A vast amount of energy was on the verge of release.
EeDechi shook her head, then brought her foot down and crushed the skull. Its soul fire abruptly went out.