Racing over the dunes, the Palace Guards did not dare look back.

Every one of them focused solely on escaping, fearing that the slightest hesitation would cost them their lives.

Their bodies were covered in perspiration, their hearts pounding heavily against their ribs.

Cold sweat drenched their armor despite the scorching heat of the Bleeding Desert.

They shouted continuously, urging their mounts to flee.

For the first time in their lives, this was the first time they had ever felt their mounts were moving too slowly.

The Greater Dune Scorpions pushed their powerful legs to the limit, kicking up waves of crimson sand as they desperately raced across the desert.

Looking over his shoulder, the Palace Captain wanted to catch what was chasing them, but there was nothing except the endless desert.

But he was not complacent enough to believe their enemy had retreated.

It was the other way around.

His instincts were screaming, urging him to run with all his might.

Enemies that could be seen were not as scary as enemies that couldn’t be seen.

"Ahhh!"

Suddenly, a miserable scream came from his right as one of his men fell off his mount.

His body was lacerated into two, blood splattering onto the Greater Dune Scorpion.

The clean wound looked as though an invisible blade had sliced straight through his body without giving him the slightest chance to react.

Noticing its rider gone, the Greater Dune Scorpion screeched and charged in the opposite direction, running for its dear life.

Even the beast’s survival instincts had completely overwhelmed its training, causing it to abandon everything in a desperate attempt to escape.

Seeing this, all the palace guards tensed up.

Their muscles stiffened as terror completely took over their minds.

Each could hear their blood racing through their veins.

Their breathing became uneven, while their trembling hands gripped their weapons tightly, though none of them knew what they were supposed to strike.

Perhaps, if they hadn’t seen the endless corpses on the battlefield, they might still have the ignorant confidence that they could confront the enemy and win.

However, the scene of endless corpses was etched deep into their minds, reminding them constantly of the fate that awaited them if they wasted even a single second.

Even their captain, a Level 38 Scorpion Man, was pushing his mount to the limit.

If even their strongest leader chose to flee without hesitation, then none of them could imagine what kind of monster they were facing.

’Should I jump off and run on my own?’ the Palace Captain couldn’t help but think.

His gaze briefly landed on the rapidly moving legs of his Greater Dune Scorpion before immediately rejecting the idea.

Even though he was riding a Level 38 Greater Dune Scorpion, its speed was too slow for his satisfaction.

Every passing second felt unbearably long, while the invisible threat lurking behind them seemed to draw closer with every heartbeat.

"Ahhh! Ahhh!"

Just then, two cries of anguish came from both his left and right at the same time.

The miserable screams echoed almost simultaneously before both voices abruptly fell silent, causing everyone’s faces to turn deathly pale.

’What in the Three Bloody Moons...’ he cried in his heart.

His pupils shrank violently as panic completely overtook his mind, because until this very moment.

He still had not seen a single enemy.

Whoosh!

Without hesitating, he leaped forward from his mount and landed steadily on the ground, racing forward with all his might.

Sand exploded beneath his feet as he pushed his body to its absolute limit, leaving his Greater Dune Scorpion behind without the slightest hesitation.

He did not care if his mount was fast or not.

To him, racing with his two legs gave him more survival confidence than standing on the scorpion’s back.

At least on the ground, he could change direction at any moment instead of becoming an obvious target.

The few remaining Palace Guards were stunned when they saw their captain jumping off his mount and racing on foot.

Their eyes widened with disbelief as they watched the strongest among them abandon his trusted mount without a second thought.

How could this be?

The thought only lingered in their minds for a mere second before each of them ditched their mounts and followed him.

Now was not the time to think about their pride.

Currently, it was a matter of survival.

If their legs were going to allow them to survive, they wouldn’t care and used them to race with all their might.

Their weapons bounced against their armor as they sprinted desperately through the crimson desert, completely abandoning the dignity expected of the King’s Palace Guards.

Unfortunately, their enemy did not care if they used their mounts or not.

It hunted them with frightening accuracy.

Like invisible reapers.

Swiss!

A head flew into the sky, rolling through the air for a couple of seconds before gravity pulled it down.

Thud!

The terrified head landed on the ground, blood gushing out.

Its lifeless eyes remained wide open, still carrying the terror it experienced moments before death.

As for his headless body, it continued to run forward for a couple of meters before it fell to the ground.

Fresh blood poured from the cleanly severed neck, dyeing the crimson sand an even darker shade of red.

Watching the scene, fear gripped the few guards to their core.

"No... I don’t want to die!"

"Please..."

Swiss! Swiss!

The undead Sanguine Vultures did not listen to their pleas.

High above the clouds, they silently spread their crimson wings, diving one after another before disappearing back into the sky before anyone could catch sight of them.

They did not feel pity.

Empathy was not written within their soul fire.

Reasoning was far from them.

The only thing they knew, and knew better than anything else, was to follow their master’s command to the T.

And that was exactly what was happening on the Crimson Dune.

One after another...

The fleeing Palace Guards fell.

One after another...

The desert claimed fresh corpses.

A minute later, a figure was panting heavily, racing with all his might as he rushed through the desert dunes.

His breathing had become ragged, while every muscle in his body screamed in exhaustion, yet he refused to stop for even a heartbeat.

It was none other than the Palace Captain.

Climbing over the last dune, he saw the city in the distance, and traces of hope appeared in his heart.

The towering walls of Scorpion City finally entered his sight, causing his dimming eyes to regain a faint glimmer of life.

’Just a little more...’

’Just a little more and I will...’

Swiss!

The deadly cry echoed in his ears, and all his muscles stiffened. His thoughts slowed, and his expression became etched with dread as an overwhelming sense of death descended upon him.

His instincts screamed.

His pupils shrank violently.

But it was too late.

Thud!