The crowd continued to push deeper into the desert.
Kaizen hadn't noticed anything unusual just yet.
Ponzu's bees hadn't found anything either.
Everyone's spirits were high, and their pace was quick. They were all desperate to get their hands on the legendary Sand Bandit King's hidden treasure.
Some planned to trade the treasure with Kroll.
Others wanted to claim it for themselves.
The brown-haired woman hadn't revealed exactly what the treasure was, but everyone had their own guesses.
...
"Hey."
Nina approached Kaizen.
"What's up, Nina?"
"There's something off about the whole Sand Bandit King story."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there have always been rumors about the Sand Bandit King himself, sure—but talk of a hidden treasure only started circulating a few months ago."
Kaizen paused, thinking it over.
"In that case, there are two possibilities," he said. "Either someone recently found evidence of a treasure, or... the rumors were planted on purpose."
And instinctively, Kaizen felt it was the latter.
...
By now, when people looked back, all they could see was endless yellow sand. Nothing else. Everyone had gone deep into the desert's heart—but still, there were no signs of any treasure.
Normally, if a treasure truly existed, there would be some kind of ruins or landmark. So that's what everyone was searching for. But all they kept finding was more sand.
It was going to take quite a while to get out of the desert at this point. And on foot, no one could make it out in less than two days—unless they were running. But after several days under the desert sun, even the strongest couldn't keep that up.
Food and water had become serious problems.
The adventurers hired for this job were no amateurs—they had combat skills and knew how to prepare for a desert journey. They'd brought plenty of supplies. But it had gone on too long.
The brown-haired woman had promised to handle resupply, but when the time came, her follow-through was lacking.
Some people were already in bad shape.
The thought of retreating was starting to creep in.
...
Then, a rumor spread: someone had found a clue to ancient ruins.
Excitement exploded through the crowd.
"If the ruins are here, the treasure must be close!"
"It has to be just ahead!"
"Which direction? Let's move!"
Everyone surged forward in the direction of the rumor—only to find nothing. After a day or two of fruitless searching, morale dropped again.
Then another message spread—this one more convincing, more detailed. People's hopes reignited.
Kaizen watched all of it quietly.
The timing of these rumors was too perfect. Just when people were about to give up and head back, a new "discovery" would miraculously appear and reignite their greed.
The back-and-forth was stalling the entire expedition. And now, most of the group was in rough shape.
Kaizen didn't believe for a second that this was all coincidence.
...
And he wasn't the only one beginning to suspect something was wrong.
Some people had started sneaking off toward the edge of the desert, trying to leave.
But leaving wasn't going to be that easy.
Bzzzt!
A bee zipped through the air and landed on the pendant around Ponzu's neck, disappearing into the small hive hidden within her conjured aura space.
"Captain," Ponzu said, walking up to Kaizen.
"What is it, Ponzu?"
"Someone's missing," she said. "One of my bees saw them near the outskirts. They circled around and then just... vanished. They never came back."
"Vanished?" Kaizen's expression turned grim. "How?"
"They were pulled into the sand."
"Do you know the exact spot?"
Ponzu nodded and pointed.
"Over there."
Kaizen nodded.
"Let's check it out."
...
Before long, Kaizen and Ponzu arrived at the scene. A bee hovered in the air to mark the location. The area was no longer on the outskirts—the shifting crowds had moved closer to it.
There were people above the spot, but they weren't in danger.
Which meant the missing person didn't fall into quicksand.
They were attacked.
"Spread the word," Kaizen said.
He didn't linger, returning quickly to where Shizuku and the others were waiting.
The absence of quicksand told him everything—this was a setup.
And the fact that it was being done so quietly meant the attackers wanted to keep it secret, at least for now.
Which meant Kaizen had to expose it fast.
...
"Nina," he said, "use your ability."
Whoever was behind this was likely watching from the shadows.
Kaizen didn't want to reveal his hand just yet.
But Nina's ability could spread information without drawing attention to herself. She could subtly control others and plant the message.
"There are monsters underground. Someone was attacked and dragged down."
The already worn-out group fell into panic.
People began abandoning the mission outright. One after another decided to flee the desert.
...
In a dark chamber somewhere beneath the sands...
Kroll's face darkened as he watched the shift in the situation.
"What happened?" he asked coldly, turning to the brown-haired woman beside him. "Why was it discovered so soon?"
The woman lowered her head in shame.
"I'm sorry, Kroll-sama. It was my fault. I was careless. I'll figure out a way to make up for it."
"Make up for it?" Kroll's voice was calm but sharp. "What could you possibly do to fix this?"
The woman had good intentions—but no real solution.
Kroll exhaled slowly, voice cold and resolute.
"Rosgel-sama's body hasn't fully recovered. We need more lives to bring him back."
"We must gather enough life energy."
"These people… they're just the right offering."
"If even one of them escapes, Rosgel-sama won't be revived."
He turned to the others, voice rising.
"We'll have to move in force now."
"But they're not weak enough yet. Killing them in this state won't be easy."
"This will be an uphill battle."
"Be ready to sacrifice everything…"
"Even if it means my life."
"For Rosgel-sama!"
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)