—


    The assemges of Desertborn Brigands increased the deeper Kieran and the others followed them inside the hideout. Eventually, the surroundings grew dark and ominous as Kieran switched ces with Altair.


    “I’ll lead for now since my vision is better. But that doesn’t mean you can ck off, Aatrox. Keep your senses peeled,” Altair said while brushing past Kieran.


    Kieran lifted his head with an amused chuckle. “Now, why would I ck off? There is so much to be done. This is only the beginning, so cking off is not an option.”


    “I’m just saying,” Altair shrugged.


    Afterward, the party followed Altair’s lead, who moved more carefully than Kieran since he could see the Desertborn Brigands’ action. They sometimes paused to converse with each other, which led to Altair stopping the party.


    Only once the Desertborn Brigands resumed their movement did Altair unclench his raised fist and motion for them to continue.


    However, after following these brigands for just over 20 minutes, a change urred.


    “Stop…” Lux whispered.


    “What is it?” Altair muttered. Although he was skeptical, he listened to Lux’s suggestion. The senses of an elite yer like Lux were not to be ignored, even if they were more or less in the same caliber of skill.


    “My passive is going haywire. It’s like something far more powerful than anything else in thispound is nearby.”


    Kieran pondered Lux’s words before nodding. “It must be the be Head of the Desertborn Brigands. It’s safe to assume we’re approaching their location. We’ll have to be even more careful from here on out.”


    “Right. We’re not looking to start a fight just yet. We need to map out the location before attacking them in batches,” Altair answered in a calm voice._.


    All of a sudden, everyone noticed that approximately 20 meters ahead, numerous Desertborn Brigands entered a wall on the left.


    “A false wall?” Ezra’s brows furrowed.


    “Perhaps. Or it might be another mechanism activated with Sand Maniption. Either way, we have located where the brigands are gathering.”


    Kieran inched closer and hugged the wall while confirming his suspicions. Before the brigands entered the wall of sand, it rippled like water. The same ripple present in the maze outside.


    Kieran turned around and looked at Altair, Lux, and Luna. “We’ll wait a while longer, and then you three will venture throughout thepound so the system can plot a proper map.”


    Without a cartographer in the party, Kieran could only rely on the system to record the ces they’ve visited.


    It might take longer than a cartographer drawing up a draft of the map, but that’s why Kieran had those with the highest Agility assist him.


    Once Kieran confirmed that all the Desertborn Brigands inside thepound entered the Deep Sands Chamber, he split off from the ground and changed into the attire of one of the murdered brigands.


    If he used his heavy armor to record the hideout’syout rapidly, his chances of being spotted were extremely high. There was no telling how keen the senses of the high-ranking members were, so Kieran decided to use the light garments the Desertborn Brigand wore.


    “We can do that?” Lux asked in a dazed voice. He seemed baffled after watching Kieran change into a brigand’s attire.


    “What do you think? It’s an infiltration mission. What better way to infiltrate than to blend in? While they aren’t the best, the desert garments provide some protection,” Kieran answered.


    However, Lux shook his head. “I mean, I thought we could only equip and unequip items in the character panel.”


    “Oh….” Kieran stretched after feeling the weight of his heavy armor removed. “No, why do you think the realism update happened? Small matters like these are also included with the increased realism.


    “I see.”


    Lux looked around at the others, but their expression revealed their simrck of knowledge.


    “I’m going to change then. If I can make it past that obstacle, I may even infiltrate deeper.”


    Altair joined Kieran in switching his garments from his usual dark clothing. He looked no different from the Sand Thieves they battled against on their escort mission.


    After exining their course of action, Kieran took the northern section while the others split off into the other three directions.


    Whoosh!


    Kieran drained some of his Health with Blood Mania until his movement speed experienced a substantial increase.


    With the boost active, Kieran quickly traveled through the northern area, paying close attention to the areas absent from his mini-map.


    ‘This northern area is vast and needlesslyplex. Actually, it somewhat resembles the crisscrossing pattern of the Sand Wormwork. Their leader must have drawn inspiration from those Sand Worms,’ Kieran thought.


    Even though his movement speed was double its initial value, Kieran didn’t even map out half of the northern structure after sprinting for more than ten minutes. Thankfully, Stamina was no issue for him.


    Kieran turned to the Party Chat and spoke: “How is the progress? My side is almost halfway there.”


    Altair was the first toment. “My progress is more or less simr. I’ve activated my speed-enhancing ss buffs, so I should be finished in the next ten minutes.”


    Roughly 15 minutester…


    Everyone returned to the meeting point, but Altair stopped midway and hid. A lone Desertborn Leader entered thepound and headed toward the Deep Sands Chamber.


    Altair saw this as an opportunity.


    “We’ve got one,” Altair whispered into the chat before stealthily following behind the Desertborn Leader while activating Conceal. This skill reduced his presence, weight, and the noise of his actions by 50%.


    Due to Conceal, Altair’s movements were akin to a silent ghost as he crept behind the brigand.


    “?!” The Desertborn Leader turned around after feeling a presence on their back. However, when they saw nothing, they grunted and resumed their advance.


    Altair resumed following the Desertborn Leader, who seemed exceptionally on edge. ‘Is it because of the blood at the entrance?’ It’s possible a member returned with wounds that required tending to.’


    Kieran didn’t just leave the dead bodies in the open; he moved them to a remote corner where barely any brigand foot traffic urred. This area’sck of attention made for the perfect location to hide dead bodies.


    The Desertborn Leader turned around multiple times, but Altair secured a decent hiding spot every time. Eventually, the Desertborn Leader felt they had gone insane due to the nerves of their uing invasion.


    The Desertborn Leader soon arrived at the Deep Sands Chamber doorway and activated it, but at that moment, Kieran and Altair appeared like ghosts. One severed the Desertborn Leader’s achilles tendon while the other slit their throat and soundlessly carried them away.


    “Shh,” Kieran silenced the party before entering the Deep Sands Chamber alone.


    …


    Inside the Deep Sands Chamber…


    The Deep Sand Chamber resembled a spacious auditorium where everything was constructed using sand. The seats were situated in ascending levels like a grand theatre, so Kieran chose a seat near the exit where he could make his presence sparse.


    After taking a seat, Kieran noticed the floor was upied by a few people dressed in noticeably more luxurious garments.


    ‘Are those all the high-ranking members?’ Kieran wondered. He looked at the man in the middle with a jeweled turban and understood their power outssed the rest. ‘Definitely the leader.’


    Aside from Dusvim, Facina was also present on the central tform below.


    Dusvim cleared his throat and spoke in a deep, maizing voice. “Rejoice, my people! A day of sacred reckoning shall soon be upon us.”


    Hoorah!


    The Desertborn Brigands chanted while Kieran continued to listen to the speech.


    Dusvim’s expression grew solemn. “However, the events that have led up to this reckoning are unfortunate. Our precious Deserea is no more. And for this, the Desertborn Brigands must exact their revenge!”


    Exasperated gasps filled the Desertborn Brigand popce as murmurs grew prominent inside the Deep Sands Chamber.


    “Revenge!”


    “Revenge!”


    “Justice for Deserea!”


    “Someone had the gall to kill our Deserea, desecrate her corpse and several other of our brethren. This is uneptable, but we already know the culprit—the Aeredale Kingdom! They must know the might of our drowning sand!”


    Dusvim’s voice carried a sort of hypnotizing effect as every brigand agreed with his views without a single expression of dissent.


    Dusvim then took a step back, allowing a young man dressed in simr robes to take the stand. This man was Desertborn Brigand’s second inmand, Dusvim’s only son, Vidal.


    “The ruthless murder of my dear fiance is uneptable. We will avenge her swiftly and mercilessly. This atrocity shall not stand. Our first target—Aeredale City. We will settle the score,” Vidal said coldly.


    A sand squall erupted around his body as he gazed into the crowd. In terms of pure talent, Vidal outssed Dusvim. But the disparity in their age caused a natural chasm in their strength.


    ‘Fiance?’ Kieran thought with a cold gleam in his eyes. ‘Don’t worry. You’ll be joining her soon enough. A wondrous reunion in the afterlife, what a beautiful gift.’


    “We will move soon. Everyone is to return to their quarters and prepare your minds and body for war,” Vidal spoke. His voice was filled with an authority that wouldn’t tolerate disobedience.


    Kieran had only joined during the end of the assembly, but he gathered enough information.


    Crrrck!


    Kieran cracked his neck and stood up before following the Desertborn Brigands that exited the Deep Sands Chamber in droves.