44: Chapter 44 Sandman Ambush! The Fusion Skill Blocked for the First Time?
Just as Lin Feng stuffed the skill book into his wanxiang ring, he caught a glimpse of yellow light attacking from his left out of the corner of his eye.
It wasn't just one ray, it was a whole wave.
At least dozens of them!
They were incredibly fast, letting out a sharp "shoo-shoo" whistling sound as they sliced through the air.
"What is that?!"
Startled, Lin Feng instinctively rolled to his right.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!!!
Dozens of energy arrows glowing with an earthy yellow light slammed into the spot where he had just been standing.
The arrows sank half a foot into the ground, their fletching still vibrating violently.
If he hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been turned into a pincushion by now.
"Who's there?!"
Lin Feng crouched on the ground, his left hand bracing himself while his right hand already gripped the tree demon scepter tightly.
He looked up toward the direction the arrows had come from.
A hundred meters away, the dust kicked up by the collapsed building was slowly dissipating.
Within the dust, dozens of figures emerged.
They were humanoid.
But they were definitely not human.
Standing between 1.7 and 1.9 meters tall, their entire bodies were covered in sandy, yellowish-brown skin, the surface crisscrossed with fine patterns like cracked earth.
The strangest part was—they had no hair.
Their heads were completely bald, lacking even eyebrows and eyelashes.
Their facial features were similar to humans, but their eyes were pure black with no whites, looking like two pieces of obsidian embedded in their faces.
They wore simple Leather Armor, with some parts reinforced by unknown beast bones or shells used as protection.
In their hands, they held crude but sharp bone weapons—spears, machetes, and bows.
Standing at the very front of the group was a figure draped in a tattered black robe.
The robe was very loose, concealing its form, though it was clearly a head taller than the average Sandman.
It held a twisted staff that looked like it was pieced together from some kind of insect carapace and dead wood.
The top of the staff was inlaid with a murky yellow crystal that emitted a faint glow.
[Sandman Warrior (Elite)]
[Rank: 18]
[Health Points: 400]
[attack power: 25-350]
[defense: 20-250]
[Skills: Sand Arrow Shot, Sand Armor Hardening, Sand Escape]
[Description: A native intelligent race of the Desert Golden Sea, possessing the ability to manipulate sand and soil; they are extremely threatening when fighting in groups.]
[Sandman Spearman (Elite)]
[Rank: 19]
[Health Points: 380]
[attack power: 30-400 (Throwing damage is higher)]
[defense: 18-230]
[Skills: Precision Throw, Armor-Piercing Spear, Sandstorm Cover]
[Description: A long-range unit among the Sandmen, specializing in medium-range throwing attacks.]
Lin Feng's gaze swept over these Sandmen before finally locking onto the black-robed figure.
[Sandman Priest · ??? (Boss Level)]
[Rank: ???]
[Health Points: ???]
[attack power: ???]
[defense: ???]
[Skills: ???]
[Description: A spellcaster of the Sandman tribe, with intelligence far exceeding ordinary Sandmen, specializing in various sand-based Spells.]
"Question marks...?"
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes.
He counted them; there were about seventy or eighty ordinary Sandman Warriors and Spearmen combined.
Including that black-robed priest, the total number was under a hundred.
But they were all elite monsters.
Furthermore, looking at their ambush position and the timing of their attack...
"Intelligent, tactical, and they know how to scavenge for kills."
Lin Feng sneered inwardly.
Clearly, these Sandmen had been hiding nearby for a long time.
They had waited until he exerted himself to kill the Black-Horned Magic Snake and his state was less than full before jumping out to reap the rewards.
"The 'Sand Bandits' Supervisor Zhao mentioned must be you guys, right?"
Lin Feng stood up and patted the dust off his clothes.
He checked his magical shield—the Water Shield was still active, and it had blocked most of the previous wave of arrows.
However, the shield value had dropped by a third.
"Interesting."
Far from being afraid, Lin Feng actually grew interested.
After being in the Secret Realm for so long, he had finally encountered decent opponents.
And intelligent opponents at that.
They were much more interesting than those snakes and scorpions that only attacked by instinct.
"Hey!"
Lin Feng shouted toward the black-robed priest, his voice echoing across the empty ruins.
"What kind of skill is a sneak attack? If you've got guts, face me head-on."
He deliberately used a provocative tone.
The black-robed priest slowly raised its head.
Under the hood, it revealed an even older Sandman face, with wrinkles as deep as knife carvings.
Black eyes stared at Lin Feng, and without its lips moving, a raspy, dry voice sounded directly in Lin Feng's mind.
"Human... intruder..."
The voice sounded like sand rubbing together, making one's teeth ache.
"Hand over... the holy relic... leave... and I shall spare your life."
"holy relic?"
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow.
Following the black-robed priest's gaze, he looked toward the building that was still collapsing.
Within the dust, a glowing object was becoming increasingly visible.
It was a... stone tablet?
No, it looked more like a metal plate embedded in the ground.
Its surface was covered in complex patterns, emitting a soft, earthy yellow light.
"So you guys are after this thing."
Lin Feng smiled.
"What if I don't hand it over?"
The light in the black-robed priest's black eyes turned cold.
"Then... die."
He raised the insect staff, and the yellow crystal at the tip flared with light.
"Sand Guard... attack!"
"Roar—!!!"
Seventy or eighty Sandmen let out a low roar simultaneously.
The sound was perfectly synchronized, carrying a certain rhythmic quality.
Then, they moved.
They didn't just swarm forward in a chaotic mess.
Instead, they deployed into a formation with clear order.
The warriors were in front, arranged in three rows, holding bone shields and bone sabers as they advanced steadily.
The spearmen were behind, split into two flanks, with bone spears already raised in a throwing stance.
The black-robed priest stood at the very rear, pointing the insect staff at Lin Feng while chanting under its breath.
"Quite professional."
Lin Feng clicked his tongue.
He stopped wasting words and raised both hands, gold and cyan light gathering in his palms.
"Since you want to play... let's play."
"Wind Maelstrom!"
This time, he only injected one thousand mana points, condensing a three-meter-wide cyan-gold energy blade.
The energy blade spun as it flew toward the densest area of the Sandman formation.
Lin Feng wanted to test the waters first.
He wanted to see how strong the defensive capabilities of these Sandmen were.
However—
Just before the energy blade hit the front-row warriors.
The black-robed priest waved its insect staff.
"Sand Bulwark!"
Boom!
The ground in front of the Sandmen suddenly bulged!
It wasn't just a wall; an entire section of the sandy ground seemed to come alive, instantly rising into a sand wall five meters high and ten meters wide!
The sand wall was over half a meter thick, with earthy yellow energy light flowing across its surface.
Thud!
The Wind Maelstrom slammed hard into the sand wall.
The sand wall vibrated violently, a deep trench being sliced into its surface.
Yellow sand trickled down.
But... it didn't break!
The energy blade exhausted its power and dissipated into the air.
Though the sand wall was scarred, it still stood firm.
Furthermore, the damaged areas were being repaired by flowing sand at a speed visible to the naked eye.
A few seconds later, it was restored to its original state.
"What?!"
Lin Feng's pupils contracted.
His Fusion skill... had been blocked for the first time!
Although it wasn't a full-power strike, a Wind Maelstrom with one thousand mana points was more than enough to insta-kill an elite monster of the same Rank.
It was actually stopped by a single sand wall?
"This defense... doesn't make sense."
Lin Feng's expression grew solemn.
He carefully observed the sand wall.
He noticed that the frequency of the earthy yellow light flowing on the sand wall's surface matched the light from the crystal on the priest's staff.
"It's that priest maintaining the sand wall!"
Lin Feng understood.
This wasn't just an ordinary pile of sand; it was an energy bulwark reinforced by a Spell.
"A bit interesting."
Instead of being discouraged, he became even more excited.
He had finally met an opponent that required him to take things seriously.
"But... you think a single wall can stop me?"
A cold smile curled on the corner of Lin Feng's mouth.
He raised both hands again.
This time, he changed the combination.
Left hand—Fireball Technique + Blasting Light Flame Technique (Double Explosion).
Right hand—Lightning Strike Technique (Penetration).
"Triple Skill Fusion—Thunderfire Blast Orb!"
A crimson-purple thunderfire orb whistled forth, twice the size of the previous Wind Maelstrom!
The target wasn't the sand wall, but the Sandman troop behind it!
So what if you can block the front?
I can just use a parabolic trajectory, right?
The thunderfire orb traced a high arc, clearing the sand wall and crashing toward the spearmen in the back row.
However—
The black-robed priest waved its insect staff once more.
"Sand Dome!"
Above the sand wall, an arched curtain of sand suddenly expanded like half an eggshell, enveloping the entire Sandman troop within.
The thunderfire orb smashed into the sand curtain.
Boom!!!
The explosion was deafening.
Crimson-purple light swallowed the top of the sand curtain.
The sand curtain shook violently, large cracks appearing on its surface as sand poured down like a waterfall.
But... it still didn't break!
The energy of the thunderfire orb was dispersed and absorbed by the sand curtain, finally exhausting itself.
Although the sand curtain was severely damaged, under the energy infusion from the black-robed priest, it began to repair itself rapidly again.
"This priest... has some tricks."
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes.
He could see it now.
This Sandman Priest's casting speed was incredibly fast, and its control over sand was absurdly precise.
It could instantly change its defensive form based on the battle situation.
This wasn't something an ordinary boss-level monster could do.
"It looks like... I have to take out this priest first."
Lin Feng changed his tactics.
He no longer attacked the sand wall or the sand curtain, instead locking his target onto the black-robed priest itself.
"Light Bullet Technique Rapid Fire!"
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Five golden light bullets were fired in a fan shape, attacking the black-robed priest from different angles.
This was a probe to see the priest's self-protection capabilities.
As expected.
The black-robed priest didn't even try to dodge.
The sandy ground in front of it automatically rose, forming five small Sand Shields that precisely blocked every single light bullet.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
The light bullets exploded against the Sand Shields, kicking up nothing but a cloud of dust.
"Omnidirectional defense..."
Lin Feng's brow furrowed.
This priest was a complete package of offense and defense, and it could command a troop.
It was practically a commander on a small-scale battlefield.
"No wonder Supervisor Zhao said Sand Bandits are troublesome..."
Lin Feng took a deep breath.
He knew he couldn't hold back anymore.
This group of Sandmen was harder to deal with than any enemy he had encountered before.
They weren't beasts fighting on instinct; they were enemies with organization, tactics, and intelligence.
Furthermore, that glowing thing...
Lin Feng glanced toward the collapsed building.
The earthy yellow light was getting brighter and brighter, and he could vaguely see the patterns on the metal plate flowing as if they were coming to life.
"That's definitely something good."
Lin Feng's heart began to race.
Something that would make a Sandman Priest try to seize it at any cost certainly wasn't simple.
"Since you want it..."
Lin Feng gripped the tree demon scepter, a look of determination flashing in his eyes.
"...then you'll have to get past me first."
He stopped probing and stopped holding back.
He slowly pulled his hands apart in front of his chest, palms facing each other.
Gold, red, purple, cyan, blue, yellow...
Six-colored lights began to converge and swirl between his palms.
This time, he was going to get serious.
The Sandman troop seemed to sense the danger.
The black-robed priest held the insect staff high, letting out a hurried, incantation-like sound from its mouth.
All the Sandman Warriors raised their bone shields simultaneously, an earthy yellow halo appearing on their body surfaces—Sand Armor Hardening.
The spearmen took a few steps back, their bone spears poised and ready, the tips glinting with a cold light.
The air seemed to freeze.
On the ruins, the two sides faced off.
On one side was a Sandman troop of less than a hundred, in tight formation and brimming with Killing Intent.
On the other side was a lone youth, the six-colored light in his palms growing brighter and brighter as his Aura rose steadily.
"Human..."
The black-robed priest's voice sounded in Lin Feng's mind again, this time with a trace of solemnity.
"You are strong... but the holy relic... belongs to the Sand Clan."
"Hand it over... or die."
Lin Feng smiled.
He smiled very brightly.
"You want it?"
"Come and get it yourself."
The moment the words left his mouth.
The six-colored light in his palms erupted.