The air hung heavy with the sharp sting of burnt scales and spilled blood. Kael dragged his blade through the sand, eyes locked on the massive carcass of the Desert Fog Lizard sprawled before him.
"You took down a mid-tier beast like this?" His voice was calm but carried a note of surprise—and respect—as he glanced at Bai Yi and the others.
A faint smile tugged at Bai Yi's lips. "We had some help. Zhang Cang distracted it before it could make a run for it."
Kael turned to the burly soldier, whose armor bore fresh claw marks.
"Yes, my Lord," Zhang Cang answered, bowing respectfully. "I couldn't hold it off long, but with the barrier at my back, I was confident enough to bait it."
"Smart and brave," Kael said simply. "Good work."
He pressed his hand against the lizard's cold, rough scales. His Dominion flared with a familiar golden pulse.
[Do you wish to claim the spoils?]
"Yes."
A burst of light exploded from the corpse as it shattered into a shower of loot—Mist Cores glimmered like tiny moons, shimmering strips of flesh, water skins… and a recruitment book bound in heavy black iron.
The soldiers gasped, eyes wide. Zhang Cang froze, staring like a man witnessing gold rain down from the sky.
Kael scooped up the Sword Shield Soldier Recruitment Book, feeling the latent power hum beneath his fingertips. Without hesitation, he strode to the Gate of Summoning and tossed the book into its swirling vortex.
From the portal stepped a soldier clad in gleaming armor, shield in one hand, sword in the other.
"Huang Shi, reporting for duty, my Lord!"
"Stand tall," Kael commanded, reading the man's aura—elementary strength, but with potential to grow. One more weapon added to his arsenal.
His gaze drifted beyond the barrier, to the endless desert stretching out before him. If more lizards dropped these books… he could forge an unstoppable legion.
The thought sent a thrill through him, but cold logic tempered the rush. This wasn't a game world where monsters endlessly respawned. The desert was vast, and not every beast would yield a soldier.
Still, Kael pressed on relentlessly. Each new book was flung into the Gate, summoning soldier after soldier. Within two hours, his ranks had swelled to ten—five with intermediate potential, and one even advanced.
Around them, the sands for hundreds of meters lay littered with fallen lizards. Bai Yi, bloodied but unbroken, had risen in rank. The spoils piled high: dozens of corpses, hundreds of Mist Cores, mounds of flesh, and…
One prize that shone above the rest—a skill book glowing faintly with desert heat: Sand Stealth.
Kael wasted no time. The moment his fingers brushed the pages, golden light surged into his mind. The sand beneath his boots shifted, almost alive—ready to obey his will.
"In this land of dunes," he whispered, "I will become a ghost no enemy can catch."
Bai Yi stepped forward, sweat and dust streaking her face. "My Lord, the perimeter is secure. Shall we push further—beyond the safety of the barrier—and hunt?"
Kael's lips curled into a slow, dangerous smile. The desert wind hissed around them, like a warning.
"Further," he said. "Let's see what else the desert is hiding from me."
The hunt was only beginning.