Hoo…
The wind whipped up the sand and dust on the ground, spinning them into several tiny whirlwinds that quickly vanished.
Looking back at the city gradually fading into the pale yellow sands, Holly took a deep breath.
Master had told her before… this was supposed to be the final stop on their journey.
Their destination seemed to be a certain ruin somewhere in this desert.
After exploring the ruin, everyone would return to the Crystal Capital.
Over the past month, among everyone… Holly had changed the most.
Under Amisa’s training, she had gradually grown accustomed to the exhausting hellish regimen, and could even, just as Master said, slowly learn to enjoy the fatigue and the ache of her muscles.
Of course, only… a little, just a little~
At this moment, her entire figure was far more toned than before, and she even seemed a little taller.
It wasn’t just the training—the meals with the Lady were different as well.
Three meals a day, each both filling and delicious; this was something… completely unimaginable back at home.
Along the way, they had to deal with wild beasts and bandits more than once.
During one fight with a bandit leader, Holly suddenly felt a strange sensation inside.
It was as if… her “soul” was wearing ill-fitting clothes, uncomfortably tight.
While the others didn’t interfere, Holly fought the bandit leader with her Holy Sword for several intense rounds!
Finally, seizing a chance, the instant she beheaded the villain…
The “button” of that “ill-fitting outfit” popped open inside her!
And the young lady wielding the Holy Sword felt a sudden clarity and exhilaration!
According to Amisa, that was the sign of a breakthrough.
Her basic strength had now reached the lowest Knight level, Brass Rank, but if she wielded Desire Paradise…
Holly might even be able to touch the threshold of Sub-Bronze Rank!
That was actually quite remarkable—so much so that Amisa privately called her “disciple”… a genius second only to the Lady.
Just a month.
With the Holy Sword’s blessing, Holly’s performance and reaction speed in battle could even be compared to Reliel’s.
It must be known, Reliel had lived as a mercenary since childhood.
Her strength among Sub-Bronze Rank was already at the top, and with a little more, she could break through to White Silver Rank.
White Silver Rank… was a dividing line between Knights and ordinary humans.
A Knight who broke through to White Silver Rank was no longer just a martial expert to common folk, but a superhuman whose strength and speed surpassed the limits of ordinary imagination.
Someone of that level could become the leader of a large mercenary company, dominating a region… truly one in a hundred.
So…
With the Holy Sword, Holly had reached a level in one month that ordinary people might not reach in ten years.
Although she was a little pleased with her achievements… unfortunately…
Even though Holly had reached Brass Rank, and could barely achieve Sub-Bronze Rank with the Holy Sword in good condition… she was still the weakest in the team.
Ah… right, there was also the team’s mascot, little Veil-senpai.
But compared to her… Holly still felt a bit ashamed.
“You… what are you staring at?!” Sitting across from Holly, Veil noticed the odd look Holly was giving her and tilted her head in confusion.
And that look… felt rather offensive!
“Huh? Ah… it’s nothing, nothing~” Holly smiled awkwardly, and, almost without thinking, reached out to grab a piece of jerky from the paper bag Veil was holding and popped it into her mouth.
Mmmph!!
That move left the Goddess Young Lady stunned for a moment, then she immediately bared her teeth at Holly! Like a puppy whose bone had been snatched!
This brat! Scoundrel!!
Compared to the noisy pair over there, Ileya, on her side, was examining the map spread out on the table and the booklet in her hand.
The map showed the area around Gillis City in detail.
It was much more precise than the hand-drawn map provided by the Lighthouse School elder.
After cross-checking, Ileya confirmed their destination: the Delan City Ruins.
This was once a human city, but now it was completely abandoned.
Actually… not just Ileya’s group.
Even some ordinary merchants from the trading companies, when caught in a storm in the Gobi and passing the city ruins, would go inside for shelter.
Apart from the severely weathered buildings, there was almost nothing particularly dangerous inside.
If the kingdom truly wanted to reclaim Delan City, they would just need to station some troops, drive out the foreigners, or manage it like Gillis City, and it would be easily done.
But… the kingdom hadn’t done so.
The reasons… others might not know, but Ileya felt certain it had to do with the Supreme Being.
As for the dangers around the Delan City Ruins, aside from the “Antfolk” tribes on the Gobi…
There were also massive Sandworms hiding underground.
Of course… saying “near the ruins” wasn’t quite right; these unpredictable threats could be found anywhere in the Gobi.
With luck, you might not encounter them at all; with bad luck, you could be attacked by a Sandworm the moment you left the city gates.
They’d been traveling for most of the day, but hadn’t run into any Sandworms; as for Antfolk… earlier, they saw black shapes flitting around the distant Gobi boulders—probably them.
At least, those creatures hadn’t tried to attack them.
All in all, the journey had been safe and uneventful… right?
Boom!!
Just as Ileya was thinking this, the carriage that had been traveling so smoothly suddenly shook violently!
“Hm?!”
The Lady frowned slightly, about to ask Amisa at the reins what was happening up front, when Amisa’s voice called from outside.
“Lady! It’s an earthquake! And… the ground ahead has split open!”
What?
Ileya opened the window and curtains next to her, and sure enough, saw a massive crack in the ground ahead…
Long and deep, stretching out of sight.
The two horses pulling the carriage neighed incessantly, clearly very uneasy.
That wasn’t surprising; animals always sensed natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons ahead of time.
But… Ileya jumped down from the carriage and looked into the distance.
It was already sunset.
She could just make out ruins in the far distance.
That was probably their destination—if not for the crack, they could have reached it by nightfall.
But now, they’d have to make a big detour.
More importantly, it was dangerous!
The Gobi had been weathered for years, the sand and soil fragile. If someone fell…
A wise person wouldn’t stand under a crumbling wall, let alone a Lady, who wasn’t exactly “wise”… um… a young lady~
Rubbing her chin, Ileya made a decision.
Detour!
Crack… Just as she made her decision, she—and everyone else—heard a crisp sound in their ears.
Rumble!!
Then the ground shook violently again!
Another earthquake?!
Crack crack crack… Before Ileya could get back in the carriage, before Amisa could drive…
The ground beneath the carriage collapsed in an instant, like a biscuit unable to bear the weight!
And in the next moment… it caved in completely!
Whoosh——!!
“Ahhh——!!”
In an instant! The girls’ screams and the horses’ whinnies mingled together!
The broken ground opened like a huge, pitch-black maw, swallowing everything above…
Devouring it all!