After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Before coming to the Western Regions, the caravan had encountered a terrifying black sandstorm in the desert. This time it didn't seem to be a black sandstorm. Judging from the noise, it should be an unknown wild beast that belongs only to the desert.

Chen Futu stared at the distant rising dust and asked Xuan Yuanrong beside him, "What's that noise? It sounds rather ominous."

Xuanyuan Rong remained silent, staring at the smoke and dust for a long time before her expression suddenly changed drastically. "Not good! It's a drought demon! Quickly, speed up our journey!"

The expression on the face of the Left Deputy Commander Chongming also changed. He urged the caravan to hurry up, and even Zhang Sanfeng showed a hint of solemnity.

The Drought Demon is a unique monster found only in the depths of the Black Sand Sea, and it is also a wild puppet born due to the natural environment.

In other words, the special creature born from the creation of heaven and earth is far more powerful than the bronze-armored corpse. Among those present, only Zhang Sanfeng could probably hold off the drought demon. Xiaobai might be able to handle it in his current state as well. As for Chongming and Wang Zhaojun, they would definitely be no match for that thing.

"One shout can command the power of heaven and earth; I really want to catch one and take it home."

Chen Futu did want to capture a drought demon for research, but considering the momentum just now, he was really unsure. Besides, this was the Black Desert, the drought demon's natural hunting ground. Fighting on its territory, he wasn't sure if Zhang Sanfeng could handle it. If possible, it would be better to avoid fighting.

The caravan sped up, and with Wang Zhaojun's Ice Soul True Qi protecting them, everyone felt refreshed and moved very quickly.

The black smoke followed closely, seemingly wary of the icy atmosphere, remaining a few hundred meters behind, neither too close nor too far.

In a daze, Chen Futu saw a pair of dark red eyes staring menacingly at the caravan through the smoke, their sinister aura as chilling as a leech.

The caravan didn't dare stop that night, and traveled continuously for a day and a night until they finally set up camp in an open area in the afternoon.

Liu Yun, as the mercenary captain of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, was not very strong, but he had rich experience in the wild. He ordered the guards to pile up firewood around the nearby sand dunes and set it on fire at night, so that they could have a clear view of the environment around the camp.

Everyone was exhausted from the continuous journey. Chen Futu ate something quickly and fell asleep. Xiaoqing lay down by the bed, and Wang Zhaojun sat cross-legged beside him, keeping watch.

As for Xiaobai, she was carrying a chicken leg and looking around the camp. She shouted to Zhang Sanfeng, "Old man, Silly Girl smells a stinky smell coming from the wind."

Zhang Sanfeng nodded without saying a word. His aura locked onto the area around the tent, and no problem could be hidden from him.

After Xiaobai finished eating the chicken leg, he went to sleep, and the camp finally quieted down.

Liu Yun and Chongming took turns keeping watch at night; Chongming did the first half of the night, and Liu Yun did the second half.

Nothing went wrong in the first half of the night, but in the second half, Chen Futu was half asleep when he suddenly heard screams outside, "Boss, they're dead! They're all dead!"

The shouts startled everyone awake, and they rushed out of their tents.

Shen Lu rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked what had happened.

A member of the guard pointed tremblingly to several tents on the outskirts, "All our brothers are dead!"

Following the direction of his finger, the outer tents still had campfires burning, but at some point, bloodstains appeared on the white tents, resembling a series of fierce and grotesque abstract paintings.

Chen Futu frowned and asked Zhang Sanfeng, "Didn't you notice?"

Zhang Sanfeng shook his head. "I didn't sense anything approaching. Something's strange."

"This is trouble."

Unexpectedly, something could actually escape Zhang Sanfeng's notice. That damned system is still upgrading, so we had to call everyone together to discuss countermeasures. Just to be safe, no one should go too far. From now on, Zhang Sanfeng will personally keep watch.

"I gonna go see."

Liu Yun mustered his courage and wanted to go to the tent to check, but Shen San quickly stopped him, "No, it's not too late to check tomorrow."

Shen Lu was now sober and stopped Liu Yun from going over. Being able to approach the caravan silently and instantly kill the members of the outer guard team meant that he was extremely terrifying.

"Damn it, how am I going to explain this to their wives and children?"

Liu Yun sat irritably by the fire, and for a moment everyone fell into a stifling silence.

"You wait here, I'll go and take a look."

After speaking, Zhang Sanfeng walked alone towards the camp covered in bloodstains.

Everyone secretly worried for him, but only Chen Futu and a few others knew that he couldn't possibly be in trouble. If he really encountered a great terror, he would most likely be able to kill the other party.

Whoops!

Zhang Sanfeng lifted the tent flap, revealing half a corpse, its blood staining the sand red.

From a distance, a dark wind blew, carrying a strong smell of blood. Everyone's face turned pale, and even Xuan Yuanrong couldn't help but feel frightened. "It must have been the drought demon. It's catching up with us."

Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Sanfeng carefully inspected the tent, then used his qi to pull back the half-blood corpse, which turned out to be a rather talkative member of the guard team. Chen Futu remembered that he had given him some ice before. He did not die in the black sandstorm when he came, but died at the hands of the drought demon, and in such a tragic state, with half of his body completely torn apart and most of his skeleton exposed to the air.

“Ah Hu…”

Liu Yun knelt down in front of the corpse, his hand gripping the battle sword trembling.

The man did not shed tears, but he did not go to the sad place.

It is heartbreaking to see his subordinates, who have followed him for many years, fall into such a state.

Shen San and his group of guards all looked extremely grim. They had arrived peacefully, so why did they encounter such terror on their way out?

"You should go and rest first. Everyone is nearby, so I don't think there will be any more trouble."

Xuanyuan Rong said in a low voice.

Chen Futu sighed helplessly and could only return to his tent. Then, Xiaobai rubbed her big eyes and followed Wang Zhaojun in, muttering, "Big brother, silly aunt is here to protect you."

She said that, but rubbing her sleepy eyes, she climbed into bed and fell fast asleep. Little Qing scurried into her arms, peeking out with her little head and looking around.

Chen Futu and Wang Zhaojun were left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

This little thing is quite clever; it knows Xiaobai is powerful, so it keeps snuggling into her arms.

Unexpectedly, Chen Futu lost his sleepiness and simply sat cross-legged to meditate.

Fortunately, nothing else went wrong that night. With Zhang Sanfeng personally overseeing things, Chen Futu managed to get enough rest by dawn.

As for the others, they hadn't slept well either, and they were all listless, even Xuan Yuanrong had dark circles under his eyes.

Chen Futu said disdainfully, "You are the Holy Maiden of the Desert Sea, yet you have no way to deal with the drought demon?"

"What do you think that is? What would a creature born of nature be afraid of me? Besides, at that level, what is there to fear?"

Xuanyuan Rong felt deeply aggrieved.

As the Holy Maiden of the Desert, she was helpless against the "wild hostile" forces within her territory—who would believe it?

If there's anything the drought demon fears, it's most likely Wang Zhaojun's unique Ice Soul True Qi.

Soon, Liu Yun and the others carried over several mangled corpses.

Last night, the campfire was dim, so I couldn't see very clearly. Now, seeing the corpse with those white legs is simply appalling.

It was a terrible scene; there wasn't a single intact part of his body.

In the end, Liu Yun burned the body, packed the ashes into the convoy, and set off again.