He remembered the direction they had fled earlier and turned toward it.
"They went that way."
With a thought, he pulled out the summoning whistle.
The sharp sound echoed across the desert as he blew into it.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a tiny black speck appeared high in the sky.
The dot grew larger and larger until a powerful gust of wind swept across the dunes.
A majestic figure descended from above.
Massive wings spread across the sky as Mira landed gracefully before him.
Kael didn’t waste any time and climbed onto her back.
"Let’s go find them."
With a powerful flap of her wings, Mira launched into the air.
The desert rapidly shrank beneath them as they sped toward the direction Adam and Zoey had escaped.
---
Several kilometers away, a group of escaping hunters finally stopped running.
Some of them dropped onto the sand immediately.
Others bent over while catching their breath.
One of the hunters glanced behind them before letting out a relieved sigh.
"I can’t sense the worm anymore."
Several others visibly relaxed.
"Thank God."
"I thought we were dead."
"We got lucky."
The tense atmosphere gradually eased.
They started talking again and even laughed nervously now that the danger seemed gone.
Only Adam and Zoey remained quiet.
Neither looked relieved.
Instead, both wore troubled expressions.
The Sand Worm might have disappeared, but that only made them think of the person left behind.
Kael.
Neither wanted to imagine what might’ve happened after they escaped.
As they stood there worrying, a large armored man approached them.
His silver armor gleamed beneath the sunlight, and despite the bulky equipment, his massive frame remained obvious.
He stopped a few meters away.
"Worried about your friend?"
Zoey hesitated before nodding.
"I keep thinking about whether he survived."
The armored man followed her gaze toward the desert.
"I don’t know your friend," he admitted. "But because of him, we managed to escape."
A trace of respect appeared on his face.
"So I hope he made it out too."
Before the conversation could continue, a mocking snort came from nearby.
"Survive?"
Several hunters chuckled.
The man who had spoken stepped forward with a sneer plastered across his face.
"Did you see the size of that Sand Worm?"
He laughed.
"That kid is probably halfway through being digested by now."
Adam’s face darkened immediately.
Zoey wasn’t much better.
Even the armored man frowned.
"What’s wrong with you?"
The armored hunter crossed his arms.
"The kid literally saved our lives."
"The least you can do is show some gratitude."
The man merely shrugged.
"Nobody asked him to do it."
His tone carried obvious disdain.
"Actions have consequences. He chose to play hero and now he’s monster food."
Several of the hunters behind him laughed.
Adam clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.
The man ignored him completely.
Instead, his eyes shifted toward Zoey.
Something ugly entered his gaze.
Something that immediately made both Adam and Zoey uncomfortable.
"Speaking of that..." he said slowly.
His eyes traveled across her figure without any attempt to hide his intentions.
"Since you’ve lost a teammate, why don’t you join our group?"
A grin spread across his face.
"It’s dangerous out here."
"We’ll keep you safe."
The way he emphasized the last sentence made Zoey’s stomach turn.
Adam stepped forward instantly.
"We don’t need your protection."
His voice was cold.
"And Kael isn’t dead."
The man laughed.
"Really?"
His smile widened.
"That’s funny. You didn’t sound nearly as confident earlier."
Adam’s face reddened with anger.
He looked ready to attack.
Fortunately, Zoey grabbed his arm before he could do anything reckless.
She could sense the strength of the hunter standing before them.
Adam wasn’t his opponent.
More importantly, they were heavily outnumbered.
Starting a fight now would only make things worse.
The hunter’s smile widened after seeing her reaction.
"You seem like a smart woman."
His voice softened slightly.
"So why don’t you come with us willingly?"
"We’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you."
Zoey met his gaze calmly.
"I’m not interested."
Without waiting for a response, she turned around and began pulling Adam away.
"If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be leaving."
The smile disappeared from the hunter’s face.
Immediately.
He raised a hand.
Several hunters stepped forward.
Others moved around them from the sides.
Within seconds, Adam and Zoey found themselves surrounded.
Their path was completely blocked.
Zoey’s expression turned cold.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Even the armored hunter looked stunned.
"What are you people doing?"
His gaze swept across his teammates in disbelief.
"Have you all lost your minds?"
Nobody answered him.
The apparent leader simply looked toward the surrounding hunters and nodded.
"Get them."
His voice was calm.
Far too calm.
"We’ll kill the guy."
His eyes settled on Zoey.
"And then we’ll have some fun with the girl."
The surrounding hunters immediately grinned.
Weapons began appearing one after another.
Swords. Spears. Axes.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Adam’s heart sank.
Zoey’s face hardened.
The armored hunter looked even more shocked than they did.
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
Then realization hit him.
Plunderers.
These weren’t ordinary hunters.
They were criminals.
The kind that hunted other hunters.
The kind that entered rifts looking for victims instead of monsters.
The armored man’s expression darkened.
His usual teammates were still recovering from injuries, forcing him to join a temporary party he had found through the Hunter Association.
Until this moment, he hadn’t suspected anything.
Now everything suddenly made sense.
Without hesitation, he made his choice.
A flash of light appeared.
An enormous shield materialized in one hand while a heavy battle axe appeared in the other.
He stepped forward and positioned himself beside Adam and Zoey.
The three exchanged brief glances.
No words were needed.
The situation was obvious.
This wasn’t ending peacefully.
Adam summoned his weapon.
Zoey did the same.
Across from them, the plunderers slowly tightened the encirclement.
The desert wind swept across the sand as both sides prepared for battle.
The next move would decide everything.