In the vast Tukla Desert in the far northwest of the Angela Empire, vultures flocked together, and not a soul was in sight.
Yellow sand filled the skies over the boundless Tukla Desert. Even the greediest caravans dared not venture here. The vultures that survived by picking at corpses had gone so long without food that they were all skeletal, circling endlessly with a ravenous, crazed gleam in their eyes.
A sandstorm howled past, sweeping sand into the sky and shrouding a vast expanse in a yellow, foglike haze.
Insects and ants as numerous as the grains of sand gathered in dense swarms, devouring every living creature. Even the Magical Beasts that appeared in the desert could not escape their onslaught. Wherever the swarms passed, those beasts became stark white skeletons. It was a chilling sight.
All along the way, the bleached bones of strange and bizarre beasts lay everywhere, and unknown dangers lurked across the land.
Traveling on foot was a rule of the Calamity Church. Han Shuo had his own plans for this visit, so he followed their rules to the letter, trailing Woaofu and Bert Zili. None of them flew through the air; instead, they walked into the depths of the desert.
Hungry vultures circled constantly above the three of them. Whenever one could no longer bear it and swooped down, it would usually turn to ash in a flash of light.
Yet even so, the hungry vultures never left. Perhaps they truly had gone mad with hunger, for they kept following Han Shuo and his two companions closely.
"These vultures really are a nuisance. You've killed seven along the way, and they still haven't learned to stay away." Han Shuo glanced up at the vast sky and spoke mildly.
"There is something you may not know,