Lord: I can see loyalty.

"Yes, my lord!" the two replied in unison, then raised their hands together.

As siblings, Luca and Winnie could only unleash ordinary fireballs individually, which were even weaker than Vio's. But that changed when Vio had them try the combination spells in his spellbook.

The two put their hands together, and a magic circle quickly appeared, then expanded at a visible speed until it was as tall as a person!

call out!call out!call out!

Countless fireballs flew out, raining down on the giant scorpions like arrows. After piercing their bodies, they did not dissipate but instead changed direction and flew towards the next one!

In just a short while, a portion of the giant scorpion swarm had disappeared.

Duke looked at the magic released by the two and was equally surprised. As a magic apprentice, he had already vaguely touched the threshold of becoming a magician.

And these two people in front of me, who are not even magic apprentices, are able to cooperate so well to unleash a large-scale magic spell at the level of a magician!

"Don't attack their torsos, attack their heads!" Duke shouted at them as if he had just remembered something.

With the cooperation of the shield-bearing militia and the mages, the giant scorpion swarm's attack began to slow down.

Vio was currently confronting a giant scorpion that had broken through his defenses. Before the scorpion could make its move, he didn't hesitate and used his speed to raise his hand, gathering magic.

A sharp stone materialized as it had on the first day magic was used, and then shot towards the giant scorpion.

boom!

The magic struck the giant scorpion, but only broke one of its legs. Seeing the scorpion's spikes coming at him, Vio gave up on preparing another spell.

With the significant increase in speed brought by his intermediate level of knightly swordsmanship, Vio easily dodged the attack and then quickly counterattacked, landing several sword strikes on the giant scorpion's joints in an instant.

"Phew." Vio sighed softly. This thing really works.

Looking ahead again, the giant scorpion swarm had been wiped out, leaving only a pile of corpses and a sandstorm slowly dissipating in the distance.

"My lord, the shells of these giant scorpions are made of excellent materials. Many nobles collect them, and they can fetch a good price."

Duke stepped forward and pointed to the still relatively intact scorpion shell. Vio's eyes lit up, and he ordered the militiamen who were still physically fit to begin cleaning up the scene.

After a short while, the entire desert fell silent once again.

"My lord," Duke approached Vio again, his face showing difficulty, and said, "It's probably no longer safe here. That Eclipse God should have noticed us by now."

Vio nodded, turned his gaze to the militiamen who showed no signs of fatigue after the fierce battle, and said to Jimmy beside him, "Jimmy, tell them to prepare and head to the location of the Eclipse God."

After leaving some militiamen and the wounded to guard the area, the main force quickly followed Vio and his men to continue deeper into the territory.

As they ventured deeper, they drew closer to the strangely glowing spectacle, but at the same time, the beauty vanished, replaced by an eeriness.

After advancing for an unknown amount of time, they finally arrived at a pile of haphazardly stacked boulders.

The giant rocks covered a large area of ​​sand, bathed in that strange light, as if this were the end of the desert.

Vio glanced at Duke, and after the latter nodded in confirmation, the group led some of the elite militiamen inside, leaving the others outside.

Passing through a gap several meters high, they arrived inside the pile of boulders, and Vio's eyes widened slightly.

Although it looks like an ordinary boulder, the interior walls are covered with seal patterns, which become more complex and numerous the further you go in.

But what Vio found strange was that they hadn't seen a single enemy along the way.

Walking at the front of the group, Vio always felt a vague unease, as if...

call! ! !

A whooshing sound interrupted Vio's thoughts. Looking up, he saw a figure descending from the sky, wielding an extremely twisted scimitar, and attacking him!

Vio instantly gathered his strength and leaped to create distance, causing his opponent to miss his target.

Without hesitation, Duke drew his weapon and charged forward to fight the enemy.

clang!

Du Ke stared intently at the enemy, and when the dust settled, his eyes widened.

The enemy was dressed exactly like him, with the same cracked skin and lifeless eyes. He was an immortal soldier!

Before everyone's astonishment could subside, a figure slowly emerged from the pile of stones at the end of the path. Vio recognized the face.

Neil Donovan!

"The lord of Bordeaux Village? Hmph..." Neil strolled toward the group, his upper body bare despite the cold night in the Nemantu Desert, his white, muscular skin covered with golden lines.

"They actually dared to follow us all the way here? Haven't they heard of the legend of the Eclipse God?" Neil shook his head again, then sneered, "But that doesn't matter anymore... I've already received the Eclipse God's blessing!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the golden patterns on his body emitted light, and several golden rays shot out from the large patterns on his chest and back, which then transformed into the shape of a pair of hands!

Bang!

The golden hand slammed down on Vio and the others, throwing the militia into disarray. Vio quickly dodged and then gathered all his strength into his feet.

With a "bang," Vio's figure disappeared from the spot and appeared behind Neil, who was still manipulating the golden light.

call!

He swung his sword down, and Neil seemed to want to condense a golden shield to block it, but he was a step too slow. The sword pierced through the still-forming golden light and landed on Neil's shoulder.

"ah!!"

Neil screamed in agony, unable to maintain the golden hand on his body any longer. It lost its light for a moment, and the militiamen, freed from the golden hand's harassment, rushed towards him.

"Get out of my way!" Neil roared, and the golden patterns on his body flashed briefly!

A powerful shockwave sent Vio and the others flying.

After escaping mortal danger, Neil, clutching the wound on his shoulder, ran toward the end of the pile of boulders, muttering something repeatedly.

"Lord Eclipse God... I need your..."

"Lord Eclipse God...this is..."

Finally, before Vio could make another move, Neil, head down, crashed into a patch of darkness.

There was no faint glow from the sealing patterns here, nor the eerie golden light of the God of Eclipse.

He slowly raised his head and placed his hands in front of him. After gathering his strength, a golden light flashed from his body!

The entire end of Stonehenge was instantly illuminated, and Vio finally arrived behind him, striking him on the head with all his might.

Just as the blade pierced his head, Vio saw what was happening before him.

At the end of the pile of boulders is a huge, transparent crystal, inside which a massive monster is trapped, as if time has been frozen.

The monster was enormous, its body covered as if draped in a huge gray rag, beneath which were several twisted limbs, and its head was also covered as if draped in a cloth, revealing several pairs of golden pupils.

In that moment of shock, Neil, who was supposed to have his skull opened, suddenly emitted golden light from his eyes and mouth. Then, the flesh that had been cleaved open by the sword on his head began to writhe, intertwine, and heal like a living thing under the golden light!