At the temple entrance, Brand stood behind the crowd, not rushing to be the first to enter the temple.

In front of him, four or five people had already rushed forward recklessly.

Just as they were about to reach the entrance, a burst of golden light suddenly emanated from the temple door, transforming into several long spears that pierced through the approaching people with incredible speed.

Only then did Brand charge towards the temple entrance, and nothing happened once he crossed the threshold.

As he had suspected, there seemed to be some kind of protective barrier at the temple, but it would not persist indefinitely.

Brand walked right past the corpses of several individuals, some of whom had been his teammates. He didn't spare them a glance.

After entering the temple, he discovered a golden box being worshipped there.

Brand hesitated for a moment, then conjured a long knife with his magic power and used it to push the lid of the box open.

He had already braced himself for the anticipated attack, but nothing happened, indicating the box itself was safe.

Just as he was about to investigate the contents of the box, two immensely powerful presences arrived.

The two Lizardman Leaders, upon hearing disturbances and finding the temple ablaze, charged over in extreme anger.

Their massive bodies, carrying unparalleled momentum, smashed through countless oasis trees as they barreled directly towards the temple entrance.

One of the Lizardman Leaders instantly locked eyes on Brand, raised a spear in its hand, and hurled it with incredible speed.

Brand's eyes were filled with reluctance, but there was no time to take treasures from the box, so he immediately activated a demonized item on his body, appearing hundreds of meters away.

After escaping to this point, he immediately began running outward, not looking back.

With him were several others who, upon seeing the Lizardman Leaders arrive, were all terrified by their aura and couldn't care less about the temple treasure.

Duke noticed they were escaping in his direction, swore, and said, "Run fast!"

That group fleeing this way would undoubtedly attract a large Lizardman pursuit, including the Lizardman Leaders.

Since they were right in this direction, they would also get caught up in the chaos.

Duke and his group immediately began fleeing as well. This time, the Lizardmen seemed thoroughly enraged, and a large number rushed out from the oasis, pursuing them relentlessly.

The two Lizardman Leaders charged at the forefront. Duke glanced back just in time to see a Wizard Apprentice getting ripped apart by a Lizardman Leader.

The Lizardman Leader, relying on its formidable strength, tore the slow-running Wizard Apprentice in half.

Brand, with the help of his demonized item, quickly distanced himself from those behind, even catching up to Duke's group.

They exchanged a glance without speaking, all just focused on running forward.

Brand's short-range teleportation demonized item seemingly couldn't be used indefinitely, as he hadn't used it since reaching this point.

Soon, the once dark and peaceful night became incredibly noisy.

A large group of Lizardmen continued chasing Duke and the Wizard Apprentices relentlessly, seemingly bent on pursuing them to the end.

Two Lizardman Leaders followed the Wizard Apprentices closely, intermittently catching up to and killing one of them.

Duke felt his heart sink; at this rate, they were all doomed.

He immediately said to Simon and the others, "Run sideways, don't follow in their direction."

In the urgency of the moment, Duke manipulated the sand below to form a skateboard-like surface, instantly increasing the distance between them and the rest.

Simon and the others followed closely, though not as quickly as Duke, but at least they headed in a different direction from those behind.

Duke had only recently figured out this mode of movement, which worked well in the desert.

However, this method could only be used by him since no one else had his affinity for Earth Element.

It was almost like a roller-coaster ride as Duke glided over one sand dune after another, soon losing sight of those behind.

When he stopped, he suddenly thought, "What if I return to the oasis now..."

With most of the Lizardmen spilling out of the oasis and the two strongest Lizardman Leaders pursuing others, it was the oasis's weakest defensive moment.

Duke could seize this opportunity, relying on his sand skateboard to return at high speed.

Thinking it worth a try, he swiftly changed direction and circled back from the side.

Duke slid quickly across the desert, with the sound of the wind whistling past his ears.

He soon reached the vicinity of the oasis, finding only a few scattered Desert Lizardmen active inside.

Duke chose a secluded direction and silently slid down a high cliff with the help of sand.

He crept near the temple, spotting a Desert Lizardman feasting on the corpse of a Wizard Apprentice.

Silently, Duke gathered a Water Arrow Technique. Upon reaching the oasis, the water elements were present enough that he could cast Water Magic again.

A Water Arrow shot out instantly, shattering the head of the Desert Lizardman crouching in the distance.

Duke hadn't forgotten his earlier lesson; immediately after, another Water Arrow pierced the Lizardman's tail, shattering most of it.

After disposing of this Lizardman, he entered the temple, reaching the treasure chest.

Seeing the chest's lid half-pushed open, Duke initially thought Brand had succeeded and felt a bit disappointed.

Upon closer inspection, he realized there were no signs of disturbance inside; a transparent diamond-shaped crystal was placed within.

Not caring what it was, Duke grabbed it and tossed it into his Space Ring before turning to leave.

Before departing, he drew the Black Sword, decapitated three Desert Lizardmen, and stored their heads in the Space Ring before leaving.

Although the task only required submitting four, having an extra might come in handy.

Duke's actions went unnoticed by the other Lizardmen; only a few remained scattered within the oasis, all far from here.

Most of the Lizardmen had gone out to hunt the Wizard Apprentices; the one just killed was likely posted at the temple entrance, unaware someone would return.

Silently, Duke left the oasis, rapidly distancing himself with his sand skateboard.

Due to his speed, he even caught up with Simon and the others ahead, who were heading back to their original direction.

Duke thought for a moment, then circled around before appearing in front of them.

"Duke!" Simon was delighted to see Duke, having feared they had been separated.

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