Rek'Sai Reappears

Endless yellow sand rushed towards his mouth, nose, and ears, and the suffocating feeling made the bandit leader feel suffocated.

But just as the bandit leader felt he was about to die, a tremendous force came from his shoulder, and he was pulled out of the desert.

Peace has been restored... or at least most of it.

This was Yuan Chen's first time fighting with the power of the Dragonmancer. Even though he had mentally prepared himself, he still felt as if a raging fire was burning in his chest, as if reminding him that these blood-stained bandits in front of him were not worth dying for, and that the wrath of the Divine Dragon would tear them to shreds.

It was true that death was nothing to regret, but being unfamiliar with Shurima, Yuan Chen suppressed his anger and asked:

"Where are you from? Where is the nearest town?"

"I told you, can you let me live?"

The bandit leader stared intently at Yuan Chen. From his eyes, Yuan Chen was certain that if he disagreed, this guy wouldn't utter a single word.

With that thought, Yuan Chen shook his head indifferently, then loosened his grip, and the man was immediately swallowed by the sea of sand.

Despite being born and raised in this vast desert, he was powerless to resist under the binding of the Unyielding Stone Pact. In just a moment, the desert returned to its original tranquility. With a gust of wind, not only were the traces of battle covered, but even the sand stained with blood was buried by the sandstorm.

For this desert, nothing lasts forever except itself. As time has passed, even the once Shurima Empire now slumbers beneath the yellow sand.

Although the bandit leader didn't say it, upon closer reflection, what difference would it make even if he didn't speak? In the face of demons in the spiritual realm, simply remaining silent is utterly useless.

He raised his head, his nose twitching.

The wind carried the scent of unrestrained pleasure. Following the scent, one looked into the distance and saw a valley nestled in the Gobi Desert.

It's not just the scent of pleasure, but also the scent of song... Singing Valley, the unique landscape sculpted by the Shurima, is also an important stronghold for sand bandits.

Yuan Chen hadn't noticed it before, but now that he had, and even encountered it, there was absolutely no reason for him to sit idly by... Yuan Chen didn't intend to become a monster like Ryze, devoid of any emotion except for his own mission and obsession.

Similar to what was mentioned earlier, the Singing Valley itself is a valley composed of a large number of hollow stones. The desert wind blows through, and the friction between the stones and the hollows creates melodious songs.

Following the scent of pleasure, Yuan Chen, who was traveling swiftly across the sea of sand, soon spotted a hidden campsite.

Located on one side of the Singing Valley, it is a huge man-made cave. A tent is pitched there, and you can vaguely see several bandits sitting there drinking and chatting happily. Inside the cave, which is dark and only lit by torches, there are merchants and tribal civilians who serve as slaves.

No one felt there was anything wrong with this, because the Shurima Empire had been a large slave-owning empire until its destruction. Although Azir intended to reform and abolish slavery, the Great Collapse overwhelmed everything with Xerath's rebellion.

However, that's all ancient history. The reason Yuan Chen came here now, besides upholding justice, is also to inquire about the current state of Shurima.

Thinking it over, Yuan Chen slowly walked towards the cave.

The cave was large, and Yuan Chen could sense many escape routes. However, this was not a concern, as the routes Yuan Chen had entered in this area had been blocked by yellow sand.

"Who is it! What are you doing here?!"

The bandit guarding the gate asked arrogantly, and the only response he received was Yuan Chen's bulging muscles and the blood-red armor emanating from his body.

About an hour later, amidst the corpses, Yuan Chen snapped the neck of the last person.

Looking at the trembling slaves behind him, Yuan Chen paid no attention to their thoughts and simply asked the same question he had just asked.

This time, someone finally answered Yuan Chen's question.

"The nearest city is the Marrowmark Market. Just leave the Singing Valley and head north; you'll see it after crossing just one mountain. However, the terrain is quite steep, so you'll mostly be traveling along mountain paths."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen nodded thoughtfully, then walked out of the cave, glanced at the mountain the man had mentioned, and asked with some doubt:

"Why take that mountain path? Isn't there a gentle sandy area right next to it?"

"You can't go there."

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, the man quickly waved his hand and said, "Benefactor, that's the Sand Beast Basin. Although it looks flat, many Xer'sai Beasts hunt there. Although the Xer'sai beast herd isn't as strong as before, they still hunt from time to time."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen nodded thoughtfully.

But while Yuan Chen was still pondering, the man continued:

"By the way! These bandits said the Queen of the Sand Beast Basin has returned, but she's severely injured for unknown reasons and is now attacking caravans and travelers in the surrounding area. If you really intend to go there, you'd better be careful to avoid it..."

The Queen is back? Does that refer to Rek'Sai?

Upon hearing the man's words, Yuan Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

Although Ixialia won Ixialia Void War, Yuan Chen and the others hadn't really paid attention to Rek'Sai's whereabouts.

At least in Yuan Chen's memory, Rek'Sai's last appearance was when Nedeli threw the Dawn Spear towards the core of the Void Rock Hive Herald, attempting to take her place, but unfortunately, she couldn't block the Dawn Spear's edge and was pierced through.

After that, the Hive Herald forcibly transformed all the Void Creature, encasing them in Void Rock and causing them to fight desperately.

At that time, the flesh of the Void Creature had turned into a mass, with you inside me and me inside you; heaven knows if Rek'Sai was inside it.

But now it seems he truly lives up to his reputation as Bel'Veth's right-hand man. He actually managed to escape underground before the forced transformation, and now he's back in his hometown recuperating...

Thinking about it, a serious look appeared in Yuan Chen's eyes.

Other Void Creature were one thing, but Yuan Chen had no intention of letting the Xer'sai go no matter what.

Because the troublesome Xer'sai isn't just the one Rek'Sai, but also includes the epic Void Beast Burrowing Titan lurking throughout the desert, though they are rare, there are multiple of them.

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Chen nodded and said, "You all rest for a bit and then leave together. I have some things to take care of there first."