A Segment's End

Nanzhu Bay.

Nanzhu Bay had been developed because, thirty years ago, a hot spring had suddenly burst forth from underground here.

As a result, in just thirty years, it had become a large settlement. If nothing unexpected happened, a brand-new Sand Tower would surely be built here in a few decades.

But building a Sand Tower here would not be easy.

First, the desert nearby was riddled with countless Quicksand Traps that swallowed travelers.

Some said the Furnace Ants had once been responsible, but that was later proven to be nonsense. It was simply a natural phenomenon.

Second, the hot spring here was unstable. Occasionally, it would spew black, polluted water and even corpses in bizarre shapes.

Some suspected that an ancient battlefield lay beneath the spring.

Finally, the distance to the Seventy-Third Sand Tower was simply too short—only a few hours by the hourglass. This greatly limited the settlement's development.

Some said it could only truly prosper once the water supply of the Seventy-Third Sand Tower had completely dried up.

Regardless, this was still a city home to more than a hundred thousand Moro. It had over a thousand permanent garrison soldiers, and with terrifying tales of evil demons spreading through the desert in recent days, its defensive forces had doubled.

"Hey, have you heard? They say traces of evil demons have been found near the Seventy-Third Sand Tower."

"Those two-legged monsters?"

The garrison soldier asked in alarm.

Those bizarre, wicked creatures had appeared out of nowhere, seemingly two months ago.

Since then, the United Kingdom had scarcely known a day of peace. Sand Towers were constantly reported destroyed, countless Moro were left homeless, and everyone lived in fear. The mere mention of the creatures made people turn pale.

"Do you mean those soldiers who escaped here this morning?"