Versatile Mage: Get the Desert Emperor clone at the start

Chapter 80: Lizards lead the way, sandstorm strikes
The military mages far away in the border area could feel the impact of this battle. In the distance, two mountain-like figures were colliding and the ground was shaking.

Suddenly, the scream of Anpu, the observer at the front, cut through the night sky: "Nile! Look at the Nile!"

As far as the eye could see, they saw hundreds of Nile crocodiles swimming madly down the river under the moonlight.

These usually ferocious demons were now like stray dogs. The most horrifying thing was that their bronze scales were all covered with strange traces of desertification.

Captain Luca hurriedly sent a message: "The Nile crocodile tribe in the Khartoum area is migrating on a large scale. Repeat, the Nile crocodile tribe in the Khartoum area is migrating on a large scale. Pay attention and be vigilant."

He knew very well what the consequences would be if these demons, whose average combat power was close to that of a commander, broke into human settlements.

But then they saw an even more terrifying scene - the rushing Nile River was disappearing before their eyes.

It was as if an invisible giant mouth was swallowing the river water, and the exposed riverbed was covered by yellow sand at a speed of hundreds of meters per minute.

Soon after, they saw a mountain-like black shadow slowly falling on the distant horizon.

Even at such a distance, the dull sound of the collision still made everyone's heart skip a beat.

Some people said that this must be the death of a very powerful demon, but after saying this, the people around him did not feel happy at all, because the remaining demons were even more terrifying to them.
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On the other side, the Sandstorm Emperor transformed into a sandstorm tornado, walked out of the desert, and gradually moved towards the south.

He decided to chase after the Snake and Scorpion Ancestor, but he did not leave alone - in front of it, a terrifying army of demons was advancing.

On the desert on the left is the desert monitor tribe. Their monarch is the monitor lizard lord who defeated the Sphinx when conquering the Egyptian pyramids.

Each monitor lizard was like a moving fortress, clad in scales that looked like they were fused together from obsidian and gold dust. Their massive tails plowed deep furrows in the ground as they dragged along. The deep, guttural roars of the monitor lizards as they moved were like the simultaneous beating of countless war drums, shaking the sand for a hundred miles.

On the right wing of the legion, the newly recruited Medusa Legion was weaving a horrifying marching picture.

Thousands of snake women snaked forward, their upper bodies voluptuous women, their lower bodies the bodies of giant scorpions covered in emerald scales. Their tails, pierced with venomous stingers, dripped with sand-corrosive mucus. The sand they passed through instantly crystallized, transforming into dark green clusters of toxic crystals.

Leading the group is the Gorgon Lord Medusa, along with three other ordinary monarch-level Medusas.

When the army of the Sand Storm Emperor had just rolled over the last sand dunes of the Sahara, the alarm bells were already ringing in the Magic Castle at the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

Inside the "Starfall Hall" of the Cape of Good Hope Demon Castle, nine figures draped in star-shaped robes sat around an ancient oak round table. On the holographic sand table in the center, a red dot of light, representing the Sandstorm Emperor's army, slowly advanced southward.

The gray-robed archmage sitting at the head of the group tapped the table, a dull echo echoing. "Everyone, this demonic movement is unusual. Two major demonic tribes have left the Sahara. Our top priority is to determine a response strategy."

"The demon has already taken the initiative to attack, and we must do our best to stop it."

"Reckless! Wasn't the previous lesson from the Serpent Tribe's migration enough? If the Emerald City defenders hadn't rashly attacked, how could the subsequent three-month poisonous fog disaster have been triggered?"

"The snakes, scorpions, and demons at that time migrated south. If we hadn't taken the initiative, the losses wouldn't have been so great."

...While the debate here is still going on, on the other side, at the edge of the northern Sahara buffer zone, a gray-white military fortress stands in the yellow sand.

The outer walls of this base, known as the "Last Fortress," were covered in magical marks, which flickered as the sandstorm tornado approached from afar.

Inside the observation tower, an old man stood silently, his white beard trembling violently in the gust of wind. Then, his bony fingers pressed against the observation crystal, his cloudy eyes reflecting the sky-and-earth-stretching sandstorm and the raging demonic army.

This person was none other than Xiu Lao, the forbidden spell wizard who had decided to fight the demons and not retreat easily.

"Master Xiu!" Young adjutant Lin Zhao burst through the heavy oak door, his uniform collar soaked with sweat. The compass in his hand vibrated wildly. "The demon army, led by the sandstorm, has crossed the seventh boundary marker! All bands of magic communication have been interrupted."

Old Xiu slowly raised his head, and looked at the red dot on the sand table that was moving southward with his cloudy eyes.

The demon army was moving in the direction of Licheng, a border trade hub with a population of 200,000.

"Leave the city." The old man's cracked lips trembled slightly, and he vaguely recalled drinking a bowl of apricot blossom wine under the sycamore tree in Licheng fifty years ago when he was still an apprentice. His teacher who taught him water magic at the time had said, "Guarding the border is to ensure that this kind of fireworks atmosphere can continue forever."

"Activate the 'Great Wall' protocol." Then, the entire fortress suddenly rang with the sound of ancient machinery. "Open all magical energy reserves. The purpose of this fortress has been achieved."

This fortress is a forward-looking fortification that Xiu Lao insisted on building within the buffer zone after the desert erosion, so that the movements of demons in the distance can be seen at any time.

Many passionate and unwilling military mages gathered here and did not want to leave easily.

Because they did not invade the territory of the Shurima Empire and were in the buffer zone left by humans, Azir ignored them. If they dared to stay in the yellow sand, they would have been eliminated long ago.

"Listen, children," the old wizard suddenly said, adopting the tone he used to instruct his students thirty years ago. "The most difficult thing in a demon war isn't holding out, but holding on despite knowing you're going to die."

"My life is almost over." The old man chuckled, revealing a few yellowed teeth. "I'm going to support the Licheng Fortress immediately. After I leave, you can leave too. You are still young, there is no need to stay here."

Lin Zhao's voice was filled with tears: "We."

Then Xiu Lao stepped into the air and left.

Lin Zhao looked at her teacher's back as he disappeared in the dazzling golden light, and finally understood what a true "watchman" was - they were not guarding a city or a place, but the last bottom line of civilization.

"One more fight before I die."

Xiu Lao's voice was very soft, but it was clearly heard in the boiling storm of magical energy, and his hunched back straightened inch by inch.

A relieved smile appeared on the old man's lips. This battle might be his best destination.

However, if he knew that the Sandstorm Emperor's target was not him at all, his actions might anger the other party, and who knows how he would feel.

(End of this chapter)