Instantly, a dumbfounded look appeared on Jason's face, his eyes narrowing solemnly.

"Just as I guessed… it's the same day that…"

"You mean?" Aella widened her eyes, staring at Jason in shock as she also made the connection in her mind.

Realisation also dawned on Arthur as he understood that it had been exactly around the time these strange desert storms began forming that the dungeons also started popping out randomly.

In essence, there was some sort of connection between the two of them.

Rubbing his chin slightly, many thoughts surged through Arthur's mind.

He glanced at the other two and noticed that their eyes were also flickering with thoughts.

"Another mystery, huh?" Arthur gave an amused chuckle and rubbed his bald head.

"Let's keep going. Keep your guard up so you won't get possessed." Arthur advised the others as he climbed onto his horse.

Arthur felt a slight regret as he wrapped his hands around Nephis' waist.

Previously, he thought the spirit that had possessed him was the spirit guardian that the system had mentioned.

'Now it seems there's something more terrifying.' Arthur was lost in thought as he settled onto the horse.

He felt the warmth of Nephis' curves, causing his tension to lessen slightly.

Clicking his tongue at the sight, in jealousy Jason climbed onto his horse, still retaining his vampiric state as he stared around cautiously.

Aella seemed to be in a brief sequence of thought for a few seconds before climbing onto her own horse.

The place fell silent once more, save for the rustle of wind blowing around them.

She regained control of the wind from Titan, who Arthur unsummoned.

Then, they continued on their way in silence.

However, as they drew nearer to the edge of the sandstorm, there was an unsettling amount of tension in the air, which only grew with time.

Arthur sighed softly and quietly glanced around once more, just as he had been doing since he first felt the unsettling tension in the air.

Just then, the air rippled slightly, and Arthur felt a surge ripple through the atmosphere.

The next moment, more than ten pairs of glowing eyes appeared midair.

Instantly, everyone's breath caught in their throats as they stared at the figures that seemed no different from ghosts.

They stared at the figures in apprehension as ice began to materialize around Aella instantly.

It was clear that she didn't want to be a victim like the last time.

The glowing pairs of eyes remained fixed on them, as though they were unwilling to attack.

Arthur gave Nephis a light peck on her neck, then whispered into her ear.

"Go…"

Instantly, Nephis felt her heart in her chest explode.

Her face turned beet red, and the next instant she vanished like the wind.

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as the warm lips of Arthur pressed against her neck, consistently sending jolts of warmth through her body.

She didn't even realise when she had killed all ten spirits.

Arthur and the others wore looks of shock, and even Jason had terror etched across his face as he glanced at Nephis.

All they saw was Nephis disappearing from Arthur's side and then, the next moment, all ten spirit heads lay severed, the glowing eyes beneath the shadowed desert sand growing dim almost instantly.

Nephis returned like a shadowy mist rising from the desert sand, unharmed.

There wasn't even a sign of sand on her body, as though the sands themselves resisted staining her clothes.

Her cheeks were still flushed, and she was slightly embarrassed as she climbed back onto the horse.

Arthur helped her up and then gave her a warm smirk.

"Let's continue." Arthur said to the others after settling Nephis perfectly in front of him and tightening his grip on her waist once more.

Arthur's words shook the other two out of their thoughts.

However, their minds were screaming in alarm as countless thoughts surged through them.

It seemed… Arthur had a great secret on him.

Strangely, Titan had gotten the space element, and not only that, but Nephis' strength had also increased to a frightening extent.

Just recalling the chilling sight of her killing all the spirits without giving them any chance to react sent a wave of shock rippling through them.

'She's stronger than me!' Jason didn't want to believe it before. After all, he was level 18. But with the strength Nephis had just displayed, he knew he couldn't match her.

In fact, if he tried, he most likely wouldn't even know how he died.

Many thoughts flooded his mind, and seeing that the others had already started moving, he followed behind them without hesitation.

The tension seemed to have lessened slightly as they moved.

Because of this, Arthur rested his head on Nephis' shoulder as they rode.

His warm breath against her skin caused her to tremble repeatedly, her face remaining beet red the entire time.

The others noticed them but didn't do anything to interrupt the happy moment of the… couple?

Silence stretched between them.

…

In this fashion, more than a few hours passed.

Occasionally, whenever spirits appeared, Nephis was swift to eliminate them without hesitation.

Because of this, they didn't suffer any casualties.

Returning from killing more than twenty spirits this time, Nephis looked at Arthur like an excited little girl waiting for her reward.

Arthur shrugged and helped her onto the horse before planting a kiss on her cheek midway.

It was a sort of reward he had developed for her whenever she killed the spirits.

"After killing more than 300 spirits, I'll reward you with a kiss on the lips."

Arthur said with a faint, teasing smile.

Instantly, Nephis' eyes narrowed as she scanned the surroundings like she was stalking her prey.

'I just have to kill roughly 100 more then… a kiss…' Nephis' face heated up as she gulped subconsciously, recalling the taste of Arthur's lips from before.

Arthur stared at her and grinned, relaxing slightly as he tightened his arms around her.

Nephis wriggled her ass slightly, as though she wanted Arthur to touch more of her.

…but Arthur wouldn't give her that satisfaction.

With a faint smirk on his lips, his muscular arm remained firmly in place as Nephis could only sigh and wriggle in frustration.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, and without hesitation she vanished from Arthur's grasp, dissolving into a shadowy mist.

Then, she returned after killing more than ten spirits.

'Just roughly, 87 remaining.'

Nephis felt a sense of anticipation bloom in her young heart as she counted silently.

For a moment, she glanced at her surroundings hatefully, as though the spirits themselves were now reluctant to come out because she had been promised a reward.

Sighing in frustration, she climbed back onto the horse once more.

Arthur helped her up as they continued onward.

Soon, the number of kills began piling up, and so did the anticipation in Nephis' heart.

Just then, a dreadful pressure crashed down onto the group.

The entire desert storm seemed to move in the wake of this dreadful force.

The storm rippled violently, beginning to condense into the form of something… or someone.

The massive creature soon formed, a rippling mass of sand and jagged rocks.

Towering nearly four meters tall, it gazed down at them in pure disdain.

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