For the next two hours, Damon hunted nonstop. He had to search for the fairies, but he did not have to search for the Umbra hand's assassins. Like moths drawn to flame, they came after him one after the other.

Damon grinned as he slaughtered all of them, not leaving a single one to escape. He could only thank the fairies for all the good luck coming his way. Naturally, he did that by hunting them down even more vigorously.

At the two-hour mark, he arrived at the designated meeting spot. The Withered Grove was nothing like the rest of the enchanted forest. Where other areas had thrummed with life, here trees stood pale and gnarled.

Spots like this were sort of rest spots in the dungeon where one could take a break and wait safely without having to worry about a fairy attack. However, it was not always 100% safe. Everything was relative.

He stepped into the heart of the grove and paused. His crimson eyes swept the area, scanning shadows and branches. No movement. No mana pulse. No sound. For a brief moment, he wondered if the woman had tricked him.

But then, a breeze stirred and the sand clone reformed with startling smoothness, swirling into shape like a sculpture rising from desert wind.

"You're on time," she said, crossing her arms as her eyes locked with his. "And alive. Impressive."

Damon tilted his head. "You look disappointed."

"Not disappointed," she replied coolly. "Cautious. You've drawn the attention of the Umbra Path now. They don't forget those who managed to get the upper hand on them. They very much like the challenge. They won't rest until you are dead."

Damon only shrugged. If anything, he welcomed it. "So, what now? You said you would lead me to the edge of the sealed zone."

The sand-woman turned without another word and beckoned him to follow. "Come then." For some reason, she even gave a mysterious smile. Damon was pretty sure some sort of ambush was waiting for him, but he really did not care at this point. The more the merrier.

Lirae and Erelion could start moving again any time now. So the faster he was done with all of this, the better. He still had some time, even if they started moving. Just not a lot of time.

Damon followed along, and soon the clone arrived at another spot. She suddenly stopped and turned around. "You should activate Stealth. There are a lot of fairies here. They will eat you alive."

Without warning, the girl became one with the ground they were walking on, and only a faint dust trail marked her path.

Damon did not say anything. He wanted to take a stock of everything first before acting. He activated [Stealth] just like the woman suggested and followed her. Within seconds, he understood why. There were dozens, if not more fairies all over the place. He had stepped into the inner circle of the Enchanted Forest.

Damon had to hold his breath and walk since no amount of Stealth would be enough to throw dust in these many observant eyes. But the woman's voice whispered in his ears. "Stay close to me and you won't get caught."

Damon's senses immediately prickled as he caught the whiff of a small slithering snake. The snake looked harmless enough. It could even be considered cute. The small thing wiggled across the ground here and there. Its skin had a slight shimmer on it, and its amber eyes looked very lively and adorable. In fact, one could keep watching it forever.

Damon found himself dazed for a moment before snapping out of it. He then looked at the dust trail that was moving very fast, almost leaving him behind. "Oh no, you don't." Damon quickly caught up.

"Not bad. You are better than I expected." The woman's voice whispered again, amused.

Damon did not say anything as they finally crossed the danger region and entered another place where not even a single fairy dared to set foot in. The dust trail stopped, and in its place, the clone appeared again.

"You did well." Her face had a smug smile.

Damon chuckled. "That was cute, but if you try anything like that again, then don't blame me for using my special skills."

"Hmmm… Are you threatening me, bloodsucker? On my soil?" The sand abruptly started solidifying, and from within a woman stepped out. This time, flesh and blood. She had Egyptian features, dark amber skin kissed by the sun, and eyes lined with black ink.

She had long black hair that fell to her slender hips, and her attire was not at all of the usual type. It was more of a bikini with some thread attachments than anything else.

Gold runes shimmered faintly across her exposed skin, pulsing in rhythm with her mana. Each step she took made the earth beneath her respond, as if the sand itself was waiting for her command.

Damon's crimson eyes roamed her once, unbothered. "Nice upgrade," he said dryly, his gaze lingering not on her body, but on the runes etched along her abdomen and collarbone. "I am guessing an enchantress of some sort?"

The woman smirked. She stepped closer, and the air turned heavy, sweet, and intoxicating. Her mana wrapped around Damon in a sultry whisper, testing him, caressing his skin like a phantom touch. But instead of pulling back, Damon stood indifferently.

"I told you already," he said. "I have wives. Plural. You really think a simple seduction technique would work on me?"

"Oh, I'm not trying to seduce you," she replied with a smile. "This is just how I always am. It's my aura." She quickly looked away as a blush of embarrassment crossed her face, along with a tinge of irritation. She hid both, but not quickly enough, as she took out an hourglass from her cleavage.

Damon enjoyed the lush, bountiful view as he wondered what the hell the trinket was. The woman became even more exasperated. This was the first time she was being so openly oggled at, and yet there wasn't a single effect.

She snorted and then snapped the hourglass in her hand, letting all the sand inside fall down. The moment the sand touched the ground, the grains turned into a bunch of men fully cloaked in light brown robes from top to bottom.

Damon raised an eyebrow, unimpressed but mildly curious. "I see you brought your fan club."

Surprisingly, the bunch of men completely ignored him. All of them knelt on their knees the moment they appeared and bowed. "Your command, princess?"

"Princess?"

The enchantress then proudly responded. "Yes, princess, bloodsucker. I am Alzara, the princess of the Great Western Empire."

Damon blinked, momentarily caught off guard. He had naturally heard of the name. Unlike the center, the east, and the south, the west was whole and united. There was only a single Western Desert Empire, and the Emperor of the whole territory had only a single daughter, famed to be a great beauty.

In fact, his other sons paled in comparison to the prowess of his daughter. It was a famous topic often discussed in many places. Many drunks and adventurers boast about how they met the beauty in person? Even players considered it a huge achievement.

Damon's brows lifted slightly as he regarded her anew, this time with genuine interest. "So you're that Alzara," he murmured. "The Sand Jewel of the West. The Desert Flame."

"Hmmm?" Alzara looked surprised as if she had never heard of these names.

Damon realized that the great beauty probably hadn't fully matured yet, and some event in the future would likely trigger something.

Sure, the woman standing in front of him was beautiful enough, but Erin, Kate, and Aurora were hands down more stunning than her. She would have to be a really bad enchantress if this were all the charm she had.

Still, Damon wasn't one to underestimate potential. If the legends were true, then this version of Alzara was still just a seed, unbloomed but steeped in promise. He tilted his head, giving her a once-over from head to toe.

Perhaps she gets something good in this dungeon? If there is indeed something interesting in this dungeon, would that work on Kate maybe? His eyes lit up in anticipation.

Many of the men immediately radiated killing intent. Damon chuckled. "Relax. I was just trying to assess her strength. I am married, boys."

Alzara let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes. "That's enough nonsense. I have already cast the die, and the umbras will be here any time now. Prepare yourself. Otherwise, we won't be able to escape this place alive. He is not from here, so the fool doesn't know. Do I also have to remind you all about the kind of enemies we will be facing?"

The cloaked men immediately fell silent at her words. Whatever irritation they had toward Damon's gaze vanished in the face of her warning.

Alzara waved her hand, her expression tightening as mana began to stir around her. "The Umbra's Hand isn't sending their outer clan assassins anymore. If my intel is not wrong, they are sending one of the Twelve."

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