Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Ever since killing that group of vampires, Lin Gui has been acting "carefree and irresponsible."

At least that's how it seems to Elvia.

Red soil desert.

This is a damn famous place in all of Akara's forbidden areas.

But this guy acted like he was there on vacation.

But everything that followed illustrated one word.

What a scare! But all was well...

This also taught Elvia what it means to be unpredictable.

Throughout the entire journey, it was this ant that led them through one dangerous forbidden area after another.

Avoid the traps that would kill you if you touched them.

Lin Gui's Night Gauze Robe has barely been used.

Elvia had always been curious.

How exactly did Lin Gui manage to cross the Red Earth Desert with his mid-level strength?

It's true that the Night-Blooming Veil is powerful.

However, his mid-level magic power was simply insufficient for Lin Gui to cast spells even a few times at that time.

That's high-level magic, and it's high-level magic that consumes a lot of resources.

On the way to the capital of Carter, the other party frequently took her and Shia to rest at various stops.

And now...

It seems that Lin Gui, that bastard, was carried away by ants.

He played almost no role throughout the entire process.

Besides feeding the ants.

So after experiencing it, Elvia was very...reluctant...

I understand Lin Gui's leisurely behavior all the way here.

But now, the other party suddenly became serious.

Elvia carefully observed the red sand nest.

It doesn't seem to have anything special about it; it's just a very standard desert demon's lair.

She had seen similar ones near the capital of Carter, but none were this big.

The ground was covered with holes of all sizes.

The sand was compacted by frequent comings and goings, and the edges of the hole were worn smooth.

The air was filled with a pungent, damp smell mixed with the stench of blood.

Occasionally, a sand centipede would peek halfway out of the hole and then retract back inside.

Several giant burrowing scorpions crawled along the edge of their nest, their pincers gripping scraps of leftover bone.

Everything seemed orderly and well-organized, like a demon's lair in perfect working order.

And the Red Sand Nest??

How come she didn't find the name in the forbidden area of ​​the Red Earth Desert?

Elvia nervously leaned close to Lin Gui's ear and asked in a low voice:

"What dangers are inside?"

"An epic demon that attacks indiscriminately?"

"Or is it that the demigod demon, buried in the Red Earth Desert and undiscovered by the Alliance, is down there?"

Lin Gui frowned, then replied:

"No, none of them."

"No demigods, no epics."

"Legendary ones... there are dozens of them."

"This place doesn't even meet the threshold of the forbidden area."

Elvia paused for a moment, then punched Lin Gui in an annoyed tone.

"If you don't even have an epic theme, why are you trying to scare us?"

Lin Gui frowned, his tone showing no sign of relaxation:

"I wasn't trying to scare you."

"At least, I almost died here, twice."

"For us who are merely extraordinary or high-level beings..."

"The most deadly part is not the core area of ​​the Red Earth Desert, nor the dozen or so core embedded forbidden areas."

"It's the outskirts of the red desert."

"The veil of night would confuse the ants' judgment, so..."

"Put on your soft armor; a fierce battle awaits us."

He took a woman's soft armor out of his storage space and tossed it to Elvia.

"Give your semi-divine artifact shield item to Lillian."

Elvia took the soft armor heavily, her fingertips touching the cold metal surface.

She paused for a moment.

He then took the blue crystal amulet out of his pocket and put it into Lillian's hand.

Lillian was stunned when she took it.

She looked down at the amulet in her palm, which glowed with a faint blue light, and her lips parted slightly:

"This...this..."

"Isn't this the museum's prized possession?"

Elvia didn't answer her, but turned around and began to put on her soft armor.

The metal buckle clicked crisply on her fingertips.

Her gaze fell on the red sand nest, as if she were assessing something.

"Can't we fly there?"

"The airship starts moving, and with a whirlwind, we won't even need to cross this area."

Lin Gui shook his head:

"In dire situations, any patch of sand may harbor deadly dangers, such as poisonous scorpions or quicksand."

"As for the sky..."

He paused for a moment.

"To the best of my knowledge, no low-level, mid-level, high-level, heroic, or legendary Sky Demons have ever been found in the Red Earth Desert."

"As for the reasons behind it... I think it's best if we don't try to verify them."

Lin Gui dared to use his flying boat to speed through the Blackwater Forest, the Deadwood Wilderness, and even the Wall of Sighs.

But he had no interest in the red desert.

The spirit properties of the Wailing Wall make even epic-level demon overlords extremely slow.

But Lin Gui wouldn't dare gamble on the red soil desert.

He lowered his head and looked at the ironback army ants beneath him.

The ant stood quietly in place, its antennae twitching slightly, as if waiting for instructions.

Lin Gui reached out and gently patted its head twice.

"Let's go."

The ants began to move, their segmented limbs treading towards the red sand nest.

The three people on the ant's back tensed up at the same time.

Elvia's hand rested on the hilt of her sword, her fingertips touching the cold metal, her sharp gaze sweeping across both sides.

Lillian huddled in the middle, clutching the blue crystal amulet tightly in her hands, her palms damp with a thin layer of sweat.

The iron-backed army ants' footsteps made a soft rustling sound as they stepped on the soft sand.

Their arrival immediately attracted the attention of the lair demons.

Several sand centipedes at the edge of the cave raised their heads, their compound eyes facing the direction of the ant colony, and their antennae twitched in the air.

A giant burrowing scorpion crawled out of its cave, its pincers slightly open.

But no demons attacked them.

It seems that a delicate balance has been formed among the demons in this lair.

Or perhaps the ants' elusive movement allowed them to avoid the sight of those tyrannical and aggressive demons.

The latter is the most likely.

The ants did not travel in a straight line through the middle of the road.

Occasionally, we would pass through a few demon lair tunnels and briefly descend beneath the sand.

In the dim light, Elvia lowered her voice and asked:

Where were you attacked last time?

"What danger occurred that nearly killed you here?"

Lin Gui's voice came from the front, calm yet tinged with tension:

"My experience at the time is not relevant."

"The terrain of the red desert changes every year."

"The red sand nest before my eyes is completely different from what I remember."

He paused for a moment.

"But one thing is certain: they are still here."

Elvia frowned and pressed for an answer.

"they?"

"Who are they?"

The ants are crossing a relatively open area.

Above us was a thin layer of red sand that was slightly translucent.

The light filtered through the sand, casting a hazy reddish glow in the air.

The sand underfoot was soft, and stepping on it gave a slightly sinking sensation.

And just as Lin Gui opened his mouth...

His voice carried a chilling undercurrent.

His grey eyes were fixed on the soft ground before he picked up his staff and stood up.

"The natural enemy of the iron-backed army ant..."

"Brain-Digging Demon".

Before he could finish speaking...

The sand ahead suddenly exploded open.

A giant sandworm bursts out of the ground.

Its body resembles a thick tree trunk.

Its surface is covered with a dark gray carapace, and its mouthparts consist of four curved fangs that open outwards.

The inside of its fangs was covered with fine serrations, which it used to strangle the ant colony.