Reed scratched his head and hurriedly replied with a sheepish grin, "Of course, of course..."
Once again, Reed had witnessed An Kai's terrifying strength firsthand.
At that moment, he recalled how he had once sought revenge against An Kai.
Thinking back on it, their survival had truly been a stroke of incredible luck.
If An Kai had used today's methods back then, not even scraps of them would have remained!
With that thought, Reed suddenly realized that An Kai definitely counted as a kindhearted person in the Desert.
After all, he had chosen to hold back against them when they were weak.
As for the possibility that An Kai had gained this strength recently...
The thought never even crossed Reed's mind.
How long had it been? Had it even been five years?
Could he have improved this much?
Impossible!
Even that old bastard, the God of Magic, might not have managed it!
Standing before An Kai, Reed vaguely sensed an oppressive aura of superiority, though he wasn't sure whether he was imagining it...
On second thought, An Kai most likely had a hidden identity as a powerful figure, just like Hanks.
So that air of superiority was perfectly normal!
How could he have known?
That oppressive aura of superiority came from An Kai's [Mage's Body] talent!
His [Mage's Body "Lv2"] talent naturally suppressed Reed's [Wizard's Body "Lv1"] talent!
With a thought, An Kai withdrew the aura of his [Mage's Body "Lv2"] talent.
After experimenting and observing Reed's expression...
An Kai confirmed that his [Mage's Body] talent did indeed have other useful applications!
Little did he know that his actions had sent Reed into another frenzy of wild speculation.
"Are you going to keep courting death in the Desert, or will you return to Chaos City?"
"Sir! We're going back to Chaos City!"
Upon hearing the question, Reed chose to follow An Kai back to Chaos City without a moment's hesitation.
The Desert was crawling with Orcs. One careless mistake, and they could very well end up strung together on another "skewer..."
An Kai stood up. Before leaving, he first cast [Summoning].
He intended to summon a mount to do the hard work for him. In this heat, even taking a single step made him feel like sweating.
Although his Freezing Spell could make him feel as though he were inside a freezer even in this scorching weather...
Still... why walk himself when he could sit?
A Six-Pointed Star Array appeared beneath his feet as mana elements gathered!
Light flashed, and a new pet appeared!
[Stone Statue Giant: Lv11] [Quality: Elite]
An Kai's face lit up with delight. He hadn't expected to summon another [Elite]-quality pet!
The [Lv11] [Stone Statue Giant] stood five meters tall, his entire body made of blue-green stone.
He was nearly twice the size of the [Lv9] [Stone Statue Giant]!
When he looked at Reed and his three companions, his eyes openly gleamed with menace.
Only when he looked at An Kai did his gaze settle into calm gentleness...
At An Kai's mental command, the [Stone Statue Giant] knelt on one knee and lowered his head, allowing An Kai to sit on his shoulder...
Only after An Kai was seated did he slowly rise...
"Let's go."
With that call, he headed toward Chaos City...
Reed wanted to warn him that this might be a little too conspicuous.
But when he looked at the [Tier Two, first stage] information displayed on his detector...
He knew his warning would be entirely unnecessary.
According to gossip Hanks had once shared, a mage capable of summoning a tier-two pet had to be at least tier three himself!
In the Desert as it was now, someone at tier three had every right to go wherever he pleased.
Reed swallowed and led his three companions after An Kai, who had deliberately slowed down...
Then, at An Kai's instruction, he explained what had happened in the Desert recently.
As well as what had happened to Hanks...
In the side story, An Kai had only seen that First Prince Booklin had deployed an Orc army in the Desert.
He didn't know the details.
Only now, after hearing Reed's explanation, did he understand exactly what the Orcs were doing in the Desert...
One day later.
Looking at the Orc squad manning a checkpoint one kilometer from the entrance to Chaos City...
An inexplicable fury surged through An Kai.
Were they hunting on his turf now?
"Sir... perhaps... we should take a detour? I know a small path..."
Beside the [Stone Statue Giant]'s feet, Reed tilted his head up and cautiously made the suggestion.
He feared that a poor choice of words might cause An Kai to misunderstand and casually dispose of him...
"People like us were already forced to wander the Desert just to survive, and now other races are bullying us too?!"
Seated on the [Stone Statue Giant]'s shoulder, An Kai looked utterly indignant!
As he grew more worked up, he abruptly stood, as though he truly were standing up for the Desert Humans.
Hearing An Kai's declaration, Reed lowered his head and shrank back.
This sudden sense of justice from An Kai left him at a loss...
It was true that circumstances had forced them to wander the Desert...
But that was because they had committed crimes and fled here after being wanted by a duchy or kingdom...
What decent people were there in the Desert?!
Reed and his companions were no exception. When they encountered a destitute noble, their first thought wasn't how to save him, but how much they could sell him for...
"Reed! Tell me! What should we Desert Humans do when other races bully us?!"
"Run...?"
"Hm?!" An Kai's eyes widened in a fierce glare. The [Brute Force Staff] appeared in his hand, gleaming darkly, as though he were ready to club Reed to death...
"No! No! I misspoke! What I meant was, these other races aren't running even after encountering you, sir? What outrageous nerve!"
"I suggest you rid the people of this scourge and uphold justice on heaven's behalf! Fight for us Desert Humans!"
Seeing An Kai's savage expression, Reed immediately changed tack and hurriedly went along with An Kai's sudden sense of justice.
His words seemed to strike exactly the right chord with An Kai.
He relaxed and sat back down on the [Stone Statue Giant]'s shoulder...
The three warriors behind Reed sincerely admired how he had handled the situation.
Putting themselves in his shoes, they were sure An Kai would already have smashed that great iron rod down on their heads!
"Reed, do you know how long they've been here, preying on us Desert Humans?"
From the [Stone Statue Giant]'s shoulder, An Kai questioned Reed as casually as if they were making small talk.
"Sir, I don't know exactly. I'd guess two or three months..."
"Two or three months?! How much wealth must they have amassed!"
"No, I mean, how many Desert Humans must they have victimized!"
"Ah!"
An Kai stood again, looking at the Orcs manning the nearby checkpoint with longing written across his face...
A sense of justice?
An Kai believed he had one. It was merely a question of how much.
He refused to follow Reed down the small path because, by his reckoning, those Orcs nearby had been entrenched here for two or three months, so close to Chaos City!
They must have stockpiled plenty of resources!
His eyes reddened. An Kai's eyes had gone red!
The thought of all the unfortunate souls those Orcs must have robbed clean made his hands itch.
As for whether he could handle them...
An Kai had a clear plan: if he couldn't beat them, he would run!
After all, he still had four pieces of cannon fodder who could help him test the Orcs' strength...
"The hatred between us Desert Humans and the other races is irreconcilable! Any of us has the right to slay them on sight!"
"For the sake of our fallen brethren, I, An Kai, cannot stand idly by!"
On the [Stone Statue Giant]'s shoulder, An Kai rose once more, gripping the [Brute Force Staff] tightly, his expression brimming with righteousness!
"Reed, the four of you go lure those Orcs over here!"
"Sir! I..."
"Don't panic! I'll take action!"
Thanks to Book Friend 2022...076, Changing This ID Cost Me Thirty Thousand Points, Dolphin Listening to the Wind No. 1, Wings of Hongmeng, and Book Friend 2022...591 for the monthly tickets, and thanks to Full Moon Curved Saber Demon and Book Friend 2022...436 for the tips.
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