I can find treasures in my dreams.

The moment Task Force 117 landed, a strange desert landscape entered everyone's vision interface.

This is a unique landscape of the Deathly Black Sand Sea—the undulating sand waves, like solidified giant waves, converge towards the center, eventually forming a giant sand vortex with a diameter of over three kilometers.

The sand grains at the edge of the eddy flow in a spiral, like a giant eye lurking beneath the sea of ​​sand, exuding an eerie stillness.

Even more alarming is that there are hundreds of such giant sand vortices scattered across the entire map of the C126 area. They are arranged in a spiral array like stars, forming an even larger macroscopic vortex.

This is clearly not something that could be created by natural geological movements.

Gabamuda's metallic eyes flickered, and he muttered to himself, "Necrovortex."

The so-called "Necrovortex" is the name given to this landform by various civilizations.

This is one of the many strange phenomena in the Black Sand Sea.

In areas covered by the Necromancer Vortex, the sand layer density is typically about 20% lower than in normal areas.

This is because the sand grains are filled with a lot of tiny air gaps, making it soft and loose when stepped on, and you will sink up to your calves if you put a little pressure on it.

For the monsters in the Black Sand Sea that rely on the sand to move, this is undoubtedly a natural "high-speed passage".

The sparse sand layer greatly reduces movement resistance, and the energy consumption is only 70% of that in normal areas. Therefore, the area around the Necrovortex has always been a high-risk zone where monsters gather, and countless deadly threats lurk.

Moreover, due to some unknown reason, perhaps it is a law, or perhaps something else, the power of the Black Sand Sea monsters' abilities will be significantly enhanced in this place, by about 5% to 10%.

Also.

The Necrovortex is not a permanent landform; its lifespan generally ranges from one month to six months, and its size shrinks rapidly towards the end.

When it shrinks to a critical point, usually when its diameter is reduced by half, the necromantic vortex will suddenly disappear, and the gravel in the area will sink to form a huge crater.

After several primordial days, the endless gales will carry countless grains of sand to fill the pit, completely erasing it from the earth's surface as if it had never existed.

At this point, if personnel are sent out to conduct large-scale excavations in the area where the necromantic vortex appears, many bones will be unearthed.

The Ironfist Civilization once organized an excavation, unearthing at least 30,000 skeletons of varying sizes.

No one can say for sure where all these bones came from.

That is why it got the name "Necrovortex".

Because of the extremely high danger of the Necrovortex, all civilizations that have developed the Black Sand Sea have listed the Necrovortex around the World Gate as a key monitoring target.

Once any unusual activity is detected, warriors will be dispatched as quickly as possible to eliminate the monsters surging from the necromantic vortex.

so far.

Neither the Ironfist Civilization nor the Azure Civilization knew much about the Necrovortex.

According to Gabamda's understanding, many research institutions in the pioneering city have been dedicated to studying the formation of the Necromancer Vortex for many years, but they have not made much progress and have only learned some superficial things.

If it were the Iron Fist civilization, they would have given up after failing to figure it out.

But the people of Canglan did not stop their research; on the contrary, they continued to increase their investment every year, even though they could not see the slightest hope of solving the problem.

This is one of the reasons why Gabamuda admires the Canglan people.

At this moment.

Within Gabamuda's spiritual vision, a dense array of data related to the necromantic vortex was scrolling by.

The sheer number of unfamiliar professional parameters left him feeling overwhelmed.

Clicking on any parameter with your mind will bring up a window with a lengthy explanation.

Because he had never received systematic training, he even had great difficulty understanding explanations.

Gabamda's gaze swept over the two lines of data marked in bold red text, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.

[Sand layer density: 25% lower than the baseline value]

[Internal gravel flow velocity: 13% higher than the baseline value]

The Iron Fist Warrior has some understanding of the Necrovortex and fully comprehends what these two data points mean.

Gabamuda said in a deep voice, "This necromantic vortex seems to have a problem. Its activity level is far beyond what is normal. Could this be related to that knight-level monster?"

"Yes."

Guo Nannan gave an affirmative answer.

He thought for a moment and then explained in more detail: "This knight-level monster should have the ability to control the Necromancer Vortex. It is using some unknown means to increase the volatility of the Necromancer Vortex, thereby continuously expanding its coverage area."

The voice just fell.

"Boom——!"

A deep, muffled roar suddenly came from the depths of the sand, like the low growl of an ancient beast.

This loud noise undoubtedly confirmed Guo Nannan's conclusion—the monster was indeed actively controlling the necromancy vortex and expanding its range!

Gabamuda's heart sank, and he subconsciously gripped the two giant energy swords tightly.

Iron Spirit's intuition told him that the sand beneath the task force's feet was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Guo Nannan's voice, however, revealed an irrepressible excitement: "This is a major new discovery about the Necromancer Vortex to date! The monster can not only utilize the energy of the Necromancer Vortex, but also actively control it. It has extremely high research value and may help us unveil a corner of the mystery of the Necromancer Vortex."

Gabamuda opened his mouth, wanting to ask, "How can you be so sure that this knight-level monster can utilize and manipulate the energy of the Necromancer Vortex?"

But being on the edge of the battlefield, it was not the time to discuss academic issues, so I had to force myself to suppress my questions.

The Iron Fist Warrior solemnly expressed his concern: "Mr. Guo, judging from the energy fluctuations that just erupted from deep within the sand, the monster's power has exceeded our initial expectations."

"The Necromancer Vortex is its energy source. Fighting in this vicinity allows it to continuously gain energy from the environment, temporarily boosting its combat power by at least 20%, or even more."

"Personally, I think it's not a wise choice to confront it head-on at the edge of the Necrovortex. Perhaps we should lure it away from this area and then strike when the opportunity arises."

Guo Nannan flatly rejected the suggestion: "There's no need for that!"

His tone was filled with strong confidence: "The monster is indeed very powerful, but I am very confident that I can kill it, or at least severely damage it, and obtain the samples needed for research."

Gabamuda instinctively wanted to retort, "Are you crazy?"

To rashly start a war when the enemy has an absolute advantage in the environment is tantamount to suicide!

But as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered the "special weapon granted by the People's Federation" that Guo Nannan had mentioned earlier, and he shut his mouth tightly.

Another moment passed.

Guo Nannan's eyes suddenly lit up, and her voice carried an undisguised certainty: "Everyone, I have sensed the target's hiding location. Now I will share the marker with you!"

Gabamuda's eyebrows shot up suddenly, his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment.

Although Mr. Guo has condensed his Yuan Gang and is only one step away from the Knight Realm, he has not yet truly broken through. Moreover, that monster is not only a mid-grade Knight-level combatant, but also hides deep within the chaotic vortex of the dead. How can Mr. Guo accurately pinpoint its location?

soon.

A blinding red halo simultaneously appeared in the spiritual vision of all the warriors.

The edge of the aperture flickered with rapid, warning red light, like a red-hot branding iron, firmly "pinned" to a certain area of ​​the Necromancer Vortex.

Even the important parameter of "hidden depth" was given – 872 meters.

At this depth, conventional detection instruments simply cannot reach it.

With a thought, Gabamuda immediately switched his view to a high-altitude perspective.

Although the previous reconnaissance drone swarms had been destroyed by the monsters, the Frontier City's drone reserves were as plentiful as the stars in the sky.

Even now, a steady stream of drones of all types continues to hurtle in from afar, weaving an impenetrable surveillance network over the Necrovortex. The field of vision rapidly expands, reaching an altitude of one thousand meters in the blink of an eye.

The powerful intelligent image processing system, like an invisible hand, directly "peeled away" the sky-covering sandstorm, revealing the vast and strange landscape of the sand below.

The Iron Fist Warrior's gaze instantly locked onto the red circle—that was the nine o'clock position of the Necromancer Vortex, about twenty-three kilometers from the center of the vortex where the energy was most concentrated.

This location makes sense; the monster was clearly very cautious and did not hide in the core area of ​​the Necrovortex.

Gabamuda glanced at it carefully and pushed the power of the Iron Spirit to its limit, but he couldn't detect anything unusual.

At this time.

Guo Nannan's voice suddenly became urgent: "The target has noticed my spying. Everyone, pay attention and prepare for battle!"

Once discovered by a powerful knight, it usually becomes the starting point of a battle.

Guo Nannan then shouted, "Squad B, Squad C, proceed according to the plan!"

This operation was not a lone effort by Task Force 117. Task Forces 118 and 119 also jumped from two other assembly rooms to two other locations in the Necrovortex, forming a triangular encirclement.

next moment.

Gabamuda vaguely saw that Guo Nannan's armor on her chest gleamed slightly, as if something had shot out at an unimaginable speed.

In that instant, an inexplicable chill swept over the Iron Fist Warrior's entire body without warning.

This is not a physical chill that the skin can perceive, but a chill that penetrates deep into the soul, like thousands of ice needles piercing the soul.

The chill came quickly and went even faster, vanishing in the blink of an eye as if it had never existed.

"Special weapon!"

Gabamuda's heart skipped a beat, and a few words instantly popped into his mind.

After a while.

Gabamuda's eyes widened suddenly, his face filled with astonishment.

In the red circle in the overhead view, the once calm sand suddenly erupted into a raging torrent.

Countless grains of sand, as if stirred up by a raging giant, surged wildly into the air.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of sand waves, each thirty meters high, rose from the ground, like ferocious yellow dragons, dancing and surging wildly between heaven and earth.

The tops of the sand waves churned with murky sand mist, their edges crackling with electricity as they rubbed against each other at high speed, and they roared as they crashed to the ground.

The sand below was like boiling water, constantly bulging up huge sand dunes several meters in diameter, which then suddenly burst open.

Even more terrifying is that the sand waves collide and crush each other, forming a "sandstorm vortex" with a diameter of hundreds of meters. The sand layer at the center keeps sinking, revealing a bottomless darkness, as if it is about to swallow the entire world.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A dull, rumbling sound echoed through the sand, and the ground beneath our feet trembled violently, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

Gabamuda was stunned, his heart filled with turbulent waves.

This scene is enough to prove that Mr. Guo's markings were absolutely accurate.

Only a monster of knightly caliber could stir up such a vast and turbulent sea of ​​sand with the flick of its finger.

Not only did Mr. Guo actually pinpoint the powerful monster hidden deep within the Necrovortex, but he also seemed to have dealt the target a devastating blow with just a mysterious "special weapon."

This weapon is incredibly powerful!

Guo Nannan stood on the edge of the sandy shore, her heart filled with a mixture of surprise and joy.

The "special weapon" in his hand was a crystal ball that was pure white with a dark purple glow inside—it was the Soul-Controlling Beast Soul granted by the Human Alliance.

The core of this bead is the Soul-Devouring Demon Beast that Yang Donglin captured while controlling the divine weapon "Fierce Spirit Chariot" in the Lost Sand Abyss Secret Realm, taking advantage of the super sandstorm sweeping across the world.

Relying on his father's Venerable-level strength, Yang Donglin easily transported these "valuable resources" back to the Canglan Civilization intact.

Then, through various powerful secret techniques, the core power of the Soul-Devouring Demon Beast was sealed in a special container, ultimately creating the "Soul-Controlling Beast Soul" that could be controlled by warriors.

The most ingenious thing is that the knight monster possesses the ability of "ethereal body," which allows it to roam freely in the desert, and the pioneering city really doesn't have a good way to deal with it.

Unfortunately, the Soul-Eating Demon Beast's abilities are specifically designed to target the soul, which perfectly counters the knight monster's ethereal abilities.

just now.

Three Soul-Devouring Demon Beasts swiftly traversed dozens of kilometers, precisely locking onto the monster hidden deep within the desert.

The monster's attention was initially drawn to the Azure Warrior, and due to the difference in their ranks, it inevitably underestimated him.

To its utter surprise, the enemy resorted to such tactics.

Caught off guard, the monster had no time to cast a soul defense spell and was directly attacked by the Soul-Devouring Demon Beast, which struck its soul core.

One wrong move and the very essence of his soul was severely damaged, causing his supernatural powers to nearly spiral out of control.

To be honest, the effectiveness of this attack and the terrifying power of the Soul-Devouring Demon Beast shocked Guo Nannan.

"what--!!!"

A sharp, piercing screech suddenly erupted from the boiling sand.

at the same time.

In the spiritual vision of all the soldiers, a distorted phantom suddenly broke through the churning sand waves and soared dozens of meters into the air!
This was a monster that looked exactly like a giant spider, but it was a hundred times more ferocious than an ordinary spider.

Its entire body appears as a gray-black phantom, seemingly composed of condensed shadows and soul mist. Its twelve thick limbs twist like withered wood, each segment covered with barbed soul spikes.

Its abdomen swelled up like a giant sac, its surface shrouded in twisted black and red soul mist, within which countless tiny fragments of soul could be vaguely seen struggling and writhing.

This thing is over thirty meters long, and even though it's in a phantom state, it still exudes a suffocating sense of oppression.

At this moment, the monster was no longer as ferocious as before. As soon as it broke out of the sand, it began to roll wildly, its twelve segmented limbs flailing erratically.

Undoubtedly, the excruciating pain of its severely damaged soul caused it to completely lose its reason.

The surrounding sand dunes were sinking at a visible rate, and the already loose sand layer seemed to have lost its support, forming funnel-shaped pits with diameters of tens of meters.

Guo Nannan commanded without hesitation, "Attention everyone! Immediately use the 'Spirit Locking Chain' to capture the target!"

The so-called "Spirit-Locking Chain" is a large-scale supernatural binding weapon developed by the Azure Civilization based on the interface transfer island.

The use of this weapon requires the warrior to use their mental energy as a guiding anchor point to help project the power of the transfer island in the interface from a distance.

This is not new equipment; it was officially deployed to Kaituo City two years ago.

With this powerful weapon, Pioneer City has captured and hunted thirteen Black Sand Sea monsters of knight level.

Five seconds later.

Dozens of chains, half illusory and half real, as if carved from crystal, descended from the sky and instantly bound the giant spider.

Thick ice rapidly condensed, freezing the knight monster into a large block of ice in the blink of an eye.

Guo Nannan glanced at it and smiled, "Just as I sensed, this thing is indeed a mid-level knight."

He was able to accurately sense the monster's situation just now by using the Soul-Controlling Beast Soul.

After acquiring this powerful Soul-Devouring Demon Beast, his strength was enhanced in every aspect.

Gabamuda watched this scene, his heart filled with emotion.

A group of warriors hunted down a powerful monster of knight-level strength, and it became so easy for them!
Iron Fist Warrior genuinely felt that the Azure Man's rate of improvement was like a rocket launch. (End of Chapter)