Night.
About twenty kilometers west of the Valley of the Wind.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but rolling sand dunes and an endless gray-green "wall" rising to the west: the edge of the Sea of Corruption's forest.
This was the Eftal Desert, named after an ancient kingdom, on the outskirts of the Sea of Corruption.
People who lived in the Valley of the Wind could easily fall under the illusion that the whole world was as peaceful and prosperous as their home.
But all it took was a step beyond that narrow mountain road for the truth to hit them: ruin and desolation defined this land.
The climate here was not dry in itself. Days of rain had left pools of varying sizes among the dunes, their surfaces shimmering in the moonlight.
During the rainier seasons, vast lakes could even form.
The true reason the Eftal Desert existed was the miasma clouds that periodically erupted from the Sea of Corruption.
Those highly poisonous clouds spread with the wind, stripping the land of life for hundreds of kilometers around, until only this barren desert remained.
The so-called "nations of the Sea of Corruption" were nothing more than settlements scattered sparsely across the desert, surviving on the remnants of their ancestors' legacy.
Even with all their territories combined, their area was probably smaller than the smallest province of the Torumekian Empire.
Under the moonlight, a figure in a pure white sand cloak trudged unevenly across the dunes, two wicker baskets swinging at her waist with every step.
A few strands of pale golden hair slipped from beneath her hood. She was a girl who looked only sixteen or seventeen, with bright blue eyes.
No longer deliberately lowered, the voice in which she talked to herself beneath her mask also carried a hint of childishness.
"Damn it... what on earth was that..."
Even now, Selene still went cold all over at the sight she had witnessed two days ago.
As an infiltrator, she would not put complete faith in a traitor like Yiduo, who could be bought so easily.
Some information had to be verified in person.
She had managed to hide in the Valley of the Wind for months without leaving a trace, so naturally she had her own special means of concealment and investigation.
On the day of the Festival of Grace, she had taken advantage of the gathering crowds and the guards' diverted attention to sneak to the forest's edge.
Then she had activated her "gift," extending her senses into the forest-
"No! I can't think about it anymore!!"
Selene clutched her head and fell to her knees atop the dune, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Every time she recalled the scene reflected in her soul, she was overwhelmed by irresistible terror.
The instant she lost control of her emotions, a lurid purplish-red flashed in her eyes, then vanished without a trace.
In any case, she had immediately packed all her belongings, erased every trace, and fled the Valley of the Wind, without even stopping to notify her several "subordinates."
She only hoped that a certain terrifying being would not discover her.
Poor Yiduo and the others still had no idea that the "lord" they thought about day and night had long since cast them aside like discarded rags.
"Those fools in the Valley of the Wind... they have no idea what they're worshipping. They'll get everyone killed!!"
"I have to get back to the forest..."
She got to her feet, but suddenly stopped and frowned toward the south.
A faint glow of fire and the sound of commotion came from behind a dune, seemingly only a few hundred meters away.
After a moment's hesitation, she quickened her pace and headed in that direction.
She crossed the crest of the dune, and the scene below came into view.
A short distance away stood a small village, with a low wall crudely built from sand, earth, and thornbushes.
Many people carrying torches hurried through the village, hauling things away.
They dressed no differently from the inhabitants of the nations of the Sea of Corruption.
They wore tough leather coats and hoods to protect against wind and sand, and strange masks to ward off miasma. Beside them were their long-endurance Horseclaw mounts, draped in armor plates.
They looked like a merchant caravan.
But a closer look revealed that every one of them carried an automatic firearm and wore homemade explosives at their waist. She even saw a small cannon being pulled by a Horseclaw-that was not something a merchant caravan would have.
Only sand bandits who lived by plunder and slaughter would be armed like that.
Besides, Selene's gift allowed her to perceive the appearance of things from afar.
Even at this distance, the stench of blood and brutality was so thick it made her sick, forming indescribable scenes in her mind.
The entire village had become a hell on earth.
The sand bandits kicked open every rickety door, smashed any earthenware jar or box that might conceal something with their gunstocks, and rummaged through and seized everything they could see.
A young man had barely started to rise in resistance when he was shot. He fell to the ground and lay still.
A woman shielded the swaddled baby in her arms and struggled desperately, but was soon knocked to the ground with a punch.
Without so much as glancing at the crying baby, her attacker bent down, pulled a metal ring from the woman's hand, and casually tucked it into his coat.
Then, with a savage grin, he reached for the front of the woman's clothes...
Similar scenes were playing out in every corner of the village.
In their cruelty, even the notoriously brutal warrior monks of Dorok's Monk Council or Tolmekia's most ruthless Witch's Imperial Guard would probably be left far behind.
At least those were armies. The ones before her were beasts in human skin.
An exceptionally tall, burly figure stood outside the village entrance.
He wore a heavy green felt coat and an orange-red helmet shaped like an insect's head, which completely covered his face.
The respectful way the sand bandits around him treated him showed that he was their leader.
Before long, a sand bandit beside the leader noticed something unusual in the distance.
"Look! What's that over there?"
The white cloak stood out starkly against the predominantly black, damp desert.
When the moonlight revealed that the newcomer was a slender young girl, lewd whistles and filthy abuse erupted at once.
"Look, Lord Ohara, it's a girl!"
"Haha, who'd have thought we'd find a piece like that in this godforsaken place?"
"We're in for some fun tonight!"
The sand bandits grinned lecherously and urged their mounts forward to surround her.
But the burly leader called "Ohara" suddenly swung his hand back.
Smack!
The sand bandit who had tried to rush ahead of him was sent spinning through the air by the slap and crashed heavily onto the sand.
Judging by the crisp crack of his neck just now, the man clearly would not survive.
The entire group fell instantly silent.
What was going on? Why was the boss so furious over a woman?
Ohara ignored the corpse and jogged forward.
Then, facing Selene, he lowered his head and bowed deeply with the utmost respect.
"Honored Sen... no, esteemed miss. As you ordered, I have gathered the men and prepared to head for the Valley of the Wind... what brings you here?"
"The situation has changed. The original plan needs to be altered."
Although the blond girl paid no heed to his deference, Ohara lowered his head even further.
"Please, give the order. I would not shrink from death ten thousand times over!"
"Destroy the Valley of the Wind." Her voice was completely flat, as though she were describing something utterly trivial. "Don't leave a single blade of grass or tree standing. Understood?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a stir and a murmur of whispers arose among the sand bandits behind him.
Hadn't they agreed that once they occupied that prosperous valley, they could plunder and enjoy it as they pleased? How had it turned into destroying the place completely?
Selene's frown deepened. What a pack of greedy, shortsighted jackals.
But she added, "Do as you please in the process, but in the end, I want nothing left there but scorched earth and ashes-just like what you're doing now. Understood?"
At those words, the doubts in the sand bandits' eyes were instantly replaced by excitement and cruelty. Even the recent killing of their comrade was thrown to the back of their minds.
They didn't understand what had happened, but they could run wild again!
"Did you hear that? The boss... uh, the miss said we can have whatever fun we like!"
"We can finally put the treasure we stole from Pejite to good use!"
"Kill, kill, kill!"
Before long, the group moved out, the "jackals" howling as they raced south toward their temporary camp.
After a raid, they needed a short rest before pouncing on their next prey.
Only a graceful figure in white remained, continuing toward the forest.
"Still not enough. I have to... tell the others..."