The desert was desolate, with only scorching winds whipping up clouds of yellow sand.Leoric cursed as he swayed unsteadily on his camel; it had been three days since he left Spiritshade City.

  On the first day, everything went smoothly, more or less uneventful apart from some sandstorms. On the second day, they encountered a few ferocious desert cats, whichLeoric promptly froze into shards with a icy orb of magic. Today was the third day, and so far, so good. Judging by the map, he estimated that they should reach the "Black Road" tomorrow or the day after.

  In this world, there were certainly no cement roads. The so-called Black Road, as seen on the map, was actually a trade route connecting a dozen oases across the entire desert. Strangely enough, after studying Prince Brennus's map for a while,Leoric discovered that across this vast desert, there were only a dozen oases of various sizes along the "Black Road" – or rather, it was these oases that formed the "Black Road." Elsewhere in the desert, there were no signs of oases at all.

  This was too coincidental, perhaps they just weren't marked on the map,Leoric thought.

  It was already afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set, but the desert heat showed no signs of abating.Leoric was drenched in sweat; his clothes dried and wet again repeatedly, now crusted with salt, making them feel rigid like armor. Although he had no experience of desert travel, he knew that water was the most precious commodity. Over the past few days, he hadn't even washed his face, let alone taken a bath, and his hair was now filled with sand, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

  Once out of the desert, the first thingLeoric wanted to do was find an inn and jump into a bathtub for a good soak.

  Leoric pondered, and this was currently his greatest aspiration.

  Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard shouting and roaring. Looking up, he saw a group of people vaguely in the distance, circling around a towering pillar, somewhat resembling a hunting scene. As he approached, he saw more clearly and almost jumped in shock.

  "This... is it a Bone Worm?"

  What seemed to be a towering pillar was actually a terrifying monster, resembling a giant centipede standing upright, about dozens of feet tall. Its body was patchily covered with charred and decaying flesh, revealing its skeletal frame beneath. Between the bones, hundreds of distorted, incomplete faces emerged from the decaying flesh, roaring loudly, emitting strange sounds like chants or prayers, yet filled with obvious hatred and mockery. It had no distinct head, looking like a pillar made of bones.

  In front of the monster were about a dozen people, men, women, and children, dressed oddly, resembling whatLeoric knew of Arabs in his previous life. All wore white turbans and pointed black boots, riding camels, with another dozen wagons loaded with supplies and luggage. They didn't resemble a caravan but more like a nomadic tribe relocating. Another ten burly men held gleaming scimitars, guarding in front and confronting the bone monster from a distance.

  The monster stood upright, not attacking, but what truly blocked it wasn't these scimitar-wielding men; it was someone else.

  Less than ten feet from the monster stood three people.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  They all wore shimmering silver armor, glowing even in the sandstorm-obscured desert, appearing sacred and majestic. Forming a triangle, they encircled the monster, each holding something high in the air, like badges, also radiating dazzling white light.

  The monster seemed very afraid of the white light, retreating and dare not approach, but it was already surrounded. The three people held up their holy badges and shouted a certain name –Leoric noticed that one of them shouted a different name from the other two.

  The white light grew brighter, shining on the monster. The charred and decaying flesh turned into smoke and dispersed, revealing more bones beneath. But immediately, black-green flames emerged from the monster's skeleton, growing patches of decaying flesh; it clearly had the ability to self-regenerate. The hundreds of distorted, incomplete faces roared in pain, their voices getting louder and more indistinct, blending together into an incoherent buzz like giant flies.

  Leoric recognized this monster; it was an undead creature called a Bone Worm, which he had heard about from a professor at the wizard school. Bone Worms were formed from the bones of dead people in the desert. After death, the soul journeys to the realm of the deity they believed in, and the body naturally decays. But sometimes, bodies continue to move supported by negative energy, becoming undead.

  Zombies and skeletons were common undead creatures thatLeoric had seen at school. But hundreds or thousands of skeletons coming together to form such a huge body like the Bone Worm was very rare and very tricky to deal with.

  These three people must be clerics,Leoric thought.

  Spiritshade City was Shar's domain, and all residents were Shar's clerics, but that didn't meanLeoric didn't know about other deities in the world. The world of Faer?n was well-known for its many deities, a fact that the Church of Shar didn't deny because it couldn't.

  The Shadowfell also had undead creatures, most commonly bodaks. WhenLeoric was in Spiritshade City during military exercises, he had encountered them before, witnessing Shar's clerics in the army raise their holy badges, shouting the goddess's name, able to suppress or destroy these undead creatures, just like these three people were doing now.

  Although clerics could suppress undead creatures, it depended on the comparison of their power. An undead creature as massive as the Bone Worm, formed from the remains of hundreds of deceased individuals, amalgamating their grievances from life, was far from ordinary zombies or skeletons. These three clerics could steadily suppress it, clearly indicating they were no ordinary figures.

  However, suppression was one thing, truly destroying it was another. Judging by the current situation, the two sides were confronting each other, with the clerics having the upper hand, but victory was difficult to achieve.

  Leoric urged his camel forward, intending to help, when suddenly he heard the sound of hoofbeats. Turning his head, he saw a white steed galloping towards them from the east. The rider, clearly from the same group as the three clerics, wore dazzling silver armor and a helmet, holding the reins in his left hand and a huge silver longsword in his right, charging towards them.

  In the blink of an eye, the rider was near. Leaping from the horse, the rider soared several feet high, gripping the sword with both hands, which suddenly radiated brilliant light, enveloping the entire person. Both rider and sword seemed like a burning little sun, crashing straight into the Bone Worm struggling against the clerics.

  With a thunderous bang, bones rained down like hail, and the giant undead was shattered by a single blow, with blazing fires erupting on the ground.Leoric was startled, wondering if the rider had been burned to death, but saw the black-green flames flip and roll, revealing a figure walking out. It was the rider, still clad in dazzling silver armor, holding the greatsword, as if unharmed, strolling out of the inferno.

  The three clerics raised their holy badges, emitting dazzling white light, jointly suppressing the flames until they gradually died down. The rider emerged from the inferno, nodded at the three clerics, and reached up to remove his helmet.

  By this time,Leoric had arrived nearby and was about to speak when the rider took off the helmet, revealing her face.Leoric glimpsed it and was taken aback.

  The knight who had destroyed the giant Bone Worm with a single strike was actually a little girl who hadn't lost her childlike innocence.