The vast and boundless desert, accompanied by gusts of wind howling past, caused the flying sand to dance in the air, forming a golden world.
Zhou Yan, while chatting with the women, walked towards this golden world as if he were merely taking a leisurely stroll.
Several desert worms burrowed out of the sand. Before they could even attack, soldiers stepped forward and cut them down, dropping several items.
Apart from Soul Coins, the drop rate for Earth Ore was not high. If this item had a good drop rate, it would be a great boon for him.
They continued their journey, encountering sporadic desert worms along the way. However, they did not run into any swarms of monsters; these creatures were rather scattered, making them difficult to find.
As the windstorm in the sky grew more intense, it became increasingly difficult to traverse the environment.
He instructed the soldiers to find a place to shelter from the sandstorm. Half an hour later, a soldier reported, "Lord, a cave has been discovered ahead. It should provide shelter from the sandstorm."
"Oh, caves can be found in desert areas? Let's go take a look."
Zhou Yan led everyone towards the location. They discovered that it was situated in a shallow pit, which explained why they hadn't spotted it from afar.
They leaped down into the large pit and proceeded towards the cave.
Zhou Yan took out several illuminating orbs, casting clear light on the cave's interior. They entered the cave and found it to be quite spacious, extending deep underground.
"It's a bit scorching hot deeper in this cave. Could there be a volcano or something underground?"
Zhou Yan mused.
"Lord, there are remains here," a soldier ahead exclaimed upon discovering something unusual.
They moved closer to investigate.
Lying on the ground was the skeleton of a monster, appearing quite old.
"Doesn't the skeleton of this monster resemble that of a desert worm?" Diao Chan inquired.
"It looks like a desert worm's, but this one seems to be a bit longer," Zhen Mi commented.
"Perhaps it was a leader-level or higher monster," Sun Shangxiang speculated.
"It looks like this monster has been gnawed upon by something."
"We'll know once we go inside," Zhou Yan said.
"Let's proceed and see what's inside," Zhou Yan instructed.
"Yes, Lord."
They continued their advance. The soldiers divided into two teams, with five at the forefront and five at the rear, diligently protecting Zhou Yan and the others in the middle.
"Halt!"
About a kilometer into the cave, Zhou Yan ordered everyone to stop. He heard some unusual sounds.
"What is it?" Diao Chan asked.
"Prepare for battle. Something is approaching us," Zhou Yan stated.
The soldiers tightened their grip on their weapons, forming a protective circle around Zhou Yan and the women, waiting silently for the monsters' arrival.
Zhou Yan's strength allowed him to sense the monsters' movements before the others.
Not long after, Zhen Mi also remarked, "I can feel something approaching us as well."
"There seems to be quite a few of them," Cai Yan replied.
Her hands brushed across the strings of her Jiao Wei Qin, emitting radiant beams of light that enveloped everyone around them. All felt a significant enhancement in their attack, defense, speed, and spirit.
"Sash, sash, sash!!!!"
The monsters drew nearer, and soon they saw a swarm of cat-sized scorpions crawling out of the cave. These scorpions were all red in color, with sharp barbs laced with potent venom.
There were numerous scorpions, a dense multitude akin to ants.
Zhou Yan clicked to examine the monsters' information.
[Monster: Blood Scorpion]
[Quality: Normal]
[Race: Scorpion]
[Level: 30]
[Special: Venomous Stinger]
[Description: They crave the blood of other creatures. Once they detect the scent of another living being, they will devour it completely.]
The monsters' level was not particularly high. Apart from the venomous stinger, there was nothing else requiring significant caution.
These monsters were likely the ones that had gnawed on the desert worm outside. With so many Blood Scorpions, it was no wonder even a leader-level desert worm couldn't contend with them.
The soldiers drew their weapons and began attacking the monsters on the ground. They continuously swung their weapons, felling monsters one by one, which dropped various items.
Zhou Yan picked them up to inspect.
[Item: Blood Crystal]
[Quality: Two-star]
[Description: Can be used to refine bloodline potions, pills, and enhance bloodlines.]
"Good stuff!" Zhou Yan chuckled and said, "The items dropped by these scorpions are excellent. Kill them all."
"A crystal for enhancing bloodlines is indeed very good," Diao Chan remarked.
"It seems there are quite a few Blood Scorpions here."
Zhen Mi's hand flashed, and she held a spirit-grade Ice Staff. She then began casting spells, releasing a wave of icy power into the cave, instantly freezing all the Blood Scorpions on the ground and thus annihilating them.
"Sister Zhen Mi is so powerful, she annihilated so many monsters at once," Sun Shangxiang praised enthusiastically.
Classes like Sorcerer and Mage, when attacking, were akin to elemental defense towers. Facing these dense swarms of monsters, Zhen Mi became their nemesis.
"These monsters seem to be quite afraid of ice-element spells," Zhen Mi observed.
Ever since Zhen Mi cast the ice-elemental spell, they noticed the Blood Scorpions becoming hesitant and reluctant to approach.
"These monsters prefer dry and hot environments. Your ice magic is their bane," Zhou Yan deduced after observing for a while.
"Since they won't come out, I'll go in and kill them," Zhen Mi once again began to cast spells, actively attacking deeper into the cave.
Another wave of ice covered the cave ahead, and countless Blood Scorpions fell to the ground once more.
Zhou Yan instructed the other soldiers, "You collect the spoils from behind."
"Yes, Lord!"
After giving his instructions, Zhou Yan followed Zhen Mi as they pushed their way into the cave ahead. Faced with these low-level monsters, no one else needed to act; Zhen Mi alone could handle them completely.
It was all thanks to Zhen Mi's formidable magical attacks.
Besides dropping Blood Crystals, these Blood Scorpions also dropped a fixed amount of Soul Coins.
Compared to the desert worms, these Blood Scorpions were at a lower level, dropping only about 60 Soul Coins each. However, their sheer numbers compensated for this.
With a single spell from Zhen Mi, a large group of Blood Scorpions would perish, resulting in a much greater harvest than from the desert worms.
Desert worms were hard to find, and they usually came out to their own demise.
These scorpions were different; once their nest was found, a concentrated attack could wipe out the entire brood.
He actually felt he had brought too few soldiers. He should have brought a hundred people to collect the spoils.
He hadn't expected to encounter these monsters; they had simply appeared at such an inconvenient time.
He wondered if scorpions were edible. Perhaps with a grill and cumin, they would be a delicacy.