Chapter 44: The King of the Desert – (2)
(I)
If there were one advantage that the undead held over humans, it was their inability to tire.
Having already died once, they had no need for food, no reason for rest, and no cause for sleep.
They moved tirelessly, only following the orders of the master who summoned them to this world, until the very end of existence.
“….”
…Whether it rained or snowed, whether the sun rose or set, my undead army marched ceaselessly forward.
By urging on the phantom steeds and skeleton soldiers without pause day and night, we reached the entrance to the Silent Desert merely four days after leaving Lavaheart.
For ordinary humans—
“The Desert of Silence….”
The Desert of Silence.
The largest and most perilous passage leading to the fortress city of Nevirthol.
If one were to name the largest desert on the continent, the Desert of Silence would undoubtedly rank at the top.
The scorching sun and the endless hell of sand gripped travelers by the ankles.
Moreover, the turbid magical elements swirling in the air would render most living beings unable to survive for more than a day.
Even after a thousand years, it was a place completely severed from the human world, deserving of being called a maze made of sand.
Even the most thrill-seeking adventurers would likely be satisfied just catching a glimpse of this desert’s entrance.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have that luxury.
…Instead, I felt an overwhelming desire to cross this desert as swiftly as possible.
“How amusing.”
Standing at the forefront of the undead legion, I smiled as I stepped into the searing sand hell.
***
(II)
“Master.”
“Hmm?”
While I was advancing across the sandy terrain atop my phantom steed, Tina, who was at my side, cautiously spoke up.
I tilted my head and looked at her, and the zombie maid smiled sweetly before asking a question.
“Do you know why the Desert of Silence is called the Desert of Silence?”
“Why is it called the Desert of Silence…?”
Scratching my head at her question about the origin of the name, I replied,
“…I’m not sure.”
I had never paid much attention to a desert like this, neither a thousand years ago nor now.
I hadn’t bothered to research it specifically.
Moreover, this wasn’t originally a region included in the Avalon’s Tower setting, so it wasn’t even explained in any lore books.
All I knew about this desert came from the stories I had heard.
It was extremely hot, mixed with sunlight imbued with harmful magical energy, and crawling with all kinds of monsters.
If I had to speculate on the origin of its name, perhaps it was called the Desert of Silence because those who entered it died before they could even scream.
“Oh, correct!”
Tina clapped her hands and grinned brightly.
Acting like a teacher, she raised her finger into the air and began to explain in more detail.
“During the day, there’s the scorching sun. At night, there’s a bone-chilling cold. And there’s the constant threat of monsters at every moment!”
“….”
“Everyone who entered the desert perished before they could even scream, so it was so eerily silent that adventurers started calling it the Desert of Silence about 1,500 years ago.”
“Oh….”
Impressed by Tina’s detailed knowledge, even providing the year and the organization that named it, I looked at her with interest and asked,
“You know quite a bit.”
“Hehe…”
Blushing at my compliment, Tina scratched her chin and answered in an embarrassed tone.
“Well, I skimmed through a related book at the library once. Since it’s an unknown location, I thought having at least minimal information would be necessary.”
“Indeed, good job.”
Knowledge is power. Having essential information on hand whenever possible makes tasks exponentially easier.
…And that was precisely why I had headed straight to Ermaile’s library the moment I was released from my seal.
“Still, this sunlight is truly brutal.”
“The sunlight?”
“…Yes.”
This time, Tina squinted her eyes and stared at the blazing sun shining down from above.
“…It’s already unbearably hot, but the desert’s lethal magical energy mixed with it makes it worse. Most humans wouldn’t even survive stepping into the entrance.”
“Is it really that bad?”
Frowning, I extended my hand to feel the sunlight for myself.
“I can’t really tell….”
What I felt was nothing more than a warm sensation, like sunbathing. There was no trace of lethality to me.
“Is it because of my resistance…?”
Could it be due to the high-level status resistance possessed by Elzerba?
Even after basking in the sunlight for some time, all I felt was slight discomfort.
“…Now I understand why they couldn’t scream. For ordinary humans, their body’s moisture would evaporate all at once, leaving them dried up in an instant.”
“….”
…But considering Tina’s remarks, it must truly be deadly sunlight from the perspective of regular living creatures.
If the opportunity arose, it might be worth cursing one of my revenge targets with unending life and forcing them to wander this place for eternity.
If possible…
“…Perhaps our noble saintess would be the perfect candidate.”
Among the targets of my revenge, aside from the hero and Lilianel, there was still that damn saintess of Serion left.
As the one who had sealed me away for a thousand years with a Sealing Orb, she too deserved a punishment that would make her suffer for at least a millennium.
“…This seems like a fun place.”
Feeling as if I had stumbled upon a wonderful treasure, I let out a faint smile.
A desert filled with the sunlight of death and terrifying monsters. Just this location alone could inspire hundreds, even thousands, of torture methods.
…And as I pondered the various ways to exact my revenge using this desert, a single question crossed my mind.
“Monsters? Monsters, huh….”
Indeed, it was said that monsters inhabited the Desert of Silence.
But their habitat was a hell of sand scorched by the sunlight of death, which dried up anything it touched.
That should logically apply to monsters with blood in their veins as well. So, what kind of evolution allowed them to endure this sunlight?
“Hmm, I’m not sure….”
At my question, Tina furrowed her brow.
“No one has ever returned alive from the desert, so there aren’t any detailed descriptions of the monsters living here. The little information that exists, though….”
“Yeah? What does it say?”
“…It only mentions some really, really big green thing.”
“A really big green thing….”
Hearing the vague piece of information from my zombie maid, I made a puzzled expression.
When thinking of desert monsters, creatures like sandworms, undead in the form of mummies, sphinxes, or Anubis-like monsters based on various myths came to mind, but none of them were green.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I really have no idea,” Tina said, shaking her head.
“I was so curious that I kept thinking about it, but I just couldn’t figure it out.”
She thumped her chest in frustration, as if the uncertainty were suffocating her.
“To survive in this sunlight, they should have evolved to reduce their exposed surface area and be smaller. But instead, it’s something huge? It must require an enormous amount of energy to move, and it would need a lot of food. Ugh! I don’t get it!”
In the end, she lost her battle with her internal struggle and slumped over her phantom steed with a groan.
“Hmm….”
…And I stared at her with a blank expression.
“…Well, this is convenient.”
A sly grin formed on my lips.
“Huh? What do you mean, convenient?”
“It’s convenient because it seems like your curiosity will be satisfied soon.”
“Uh…?”
At my words, Tina tilted her head in confusion.
But I ignored her bewilderment and simply gazed straight ahead.
“They’re coming.”
…My sharpened senses, honed more than anyone else’s as Elzerba, began to tremble.
At the same time, an unmistakable presence of foreign magical energy became vividly clear.
An unwelcome guest was approaching me and my undead legion rapidly.
“…!!”
It seemed Tina also noticed something now. Her expression twisted, and she quickly raised her massive, grotesque Greatsword from her back.
“….”
What followed was a silence befitting the Desert of Silence itself.
After a brief pause, the ground began to tremble, as though an earthquake had struck.
The sands rippled like a precursor to a tsunami, and vibrations strong enough to make it difficult to maintain balance coursed through the land.
And then,
-KIIYAAAAAAAHHH!!!
…From the vast expanse of sand emerged an enormous green creature.
“…What perfect timing for a grand entrance.”
The “huge green thing” Tina had mentioned, the monster reigning over the Desert of Silence, had chosen the perfect moment to appear before us.
“Well, it doesn’t look exactly like I imagined….”
I murmured as I observed the massive creature that had fully revealed itself.
I had envisioned something impressive and majestic, like Godzilla. But the reality before me was… a giant cactus.
“Uh….”
Tina, too, seemed disappointed, staring at the creature with a grimace.
To think the mysterious monster everyone speculated about would turn out to be a giant cactus—it was certainly deflating.
-Pathetic creatures.
“Oh?”
…Surprisingly, my interest, which had plummeted to the ground, was reignited when the massive plant-like monster spoke in a language we understood.
“…The cactus can talk?”
A talking cactus? My crimson eyes lit up with sudden excitement.
-Do you know where you dare trespass?
“….”
The cactus-like monster roared threateningly, revealing sharp teeth capable of chewing through metal. It directed its intimidating presence at me and the Skeleton Soldiers.
-…This is the Land of Creation, and I am its sovereign ruler.
“….”
-Kneel before me and offer your worship at once.
—
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