Quickly, Thoren began to distribute his force. If he was going to end this battle in one clean swoop, he needed to plan carefully.

He did not want any of his prey to escape.

Ten minutes later, the hundreds of undead servants had surrounded the four groups, pinning them to the center.

With this, he nodded with a pleased smile creeping up his face.

"Let the show begin," he whispered softly.

Whoosh!

From the sky, the four undead Sanguine Vultures came down to kill, their terrifying bloody sharp feathers hardened like deadly daggers.

Seated on the ground, the four people drinking an unknown liquid laughed softly among themselves.

They were two young men and two young women.

Couples.

To them, the night was tense but still manageable.

They had survived many dangers in the Bleeding Desert, and they believed their caution was enough.

Suddenly, one of the women raised her brow.

"Something is not right," she whispered and rose to her feet.

Swish!

Before the others could even process what she was saying, blood splattered on their faces.

They froze.

One of them recovered quickly, he looked at the headless corpse of his girlfriend.

"Noooooo!"

His scream was cut short when his head was separated from his neck together with the three others beside him.

Even though death claimed them quickly, the short scream alerted the others.

Quickly, those sleeping began to wake up, but before they could wrap their heads around what was going on, a tingling sound echoed in their minds, shaking their souls to their core.

Argh! Argh! Argh!

Many screamed, holding their heads in pain.

Swish! Swish!

However, the undead Sanguine Vultures would not miss such a clean chance.

They shot through the air at blinding speed, harvesting every unfortunate soul in their path.

Blood sprayed under the moonlight.

Heads rolled down the dunes.

Bodies convulsed on the sand before going still.

The night that had been silent only moments ago became a field of panic.

"...R Run..." the group leader shouted, shaking his head as he managed to endure the pain.

His face was contorted in fear and panic. His eyes widened, looking around, trying to see where the enemies were coming from.

Everything happened in a blink.

Too fast.

Too swift.

It was coming from all sides.

Just as he prepared to escape, all the hair on his body stood on end.

Danger!

Without hesitation, he threw himself to the side with all his might. He fell on the ground and rolled a couple of feet before coming to a stop. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, his instinct flared once again. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

’Oh no...’

This time, he was not given the opportunity to perform his gimmick before he felt a metallic liquid rush to his mouth. He opened his mouth, and a guttural sound escaped.

Thud!

Coming to Mantis Town, he thought it was going to be his turn to shine and spread his prestige. As a Level 35 Vanguard that had survived more than two years in the Bleeding Desert, he thought nothing could kill him if he was being careful.

But who would have thought?

A massive scorpion tail had pierced through his back and emerged from his chest.

The undead Dune Scorpion behind him slowly lifted its tail, raising his body slightly from the ground.

Thud!

His body collapsed to the ground with a wet, sickening sound.

His belly was filled with regret.

Unfortunately...

Regret could not save the dead.

In another tent, people scrambled to their feet. Their eyes were layered with tension and confusion.

Who would be courageous enough to attack them?

However, the eighth group did not have the liberty to consider that question as they were trying desperately to fight.

"Formation!" a voice screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Archers!"

"M Mage..."

Ahhhh!

The eighth group leader could barely complete his command when he rolled to the side, avoiding the undead Sanguine attack by a hair’s breadth. Even at that, his left arm was separated cleanly from his body.

He groaned and cried in pain.

Fear and panic filled his face.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Spells erupted around the tent.

Screams filled the air.

Fireballs exploded against the sand, throwing dust into the sky.

Wind blades shot upward, trying to cut down the crimson shadows diving from above.

Arrows flew blindly, disappearing into the darkness.

But the undead Sanguine Vultures were too fast.

They twisted between the attacks like living streaks of blood.

"Hold the line!" someone shouted.

But there was no line to hold in the first. The attack was coming from the sky.

Worst of all, they couldn’t catch the attacker’s trail.

With their life on the line, many ditch the fragile line and prepare to escape deep into the desert. To them, that would be safer than staying like a fool waiting for death.

However, before they could move three feet, they understood their situation.

No one was allowed to escape.

From the other side of the dune, the undead Vanguard appeared, their cloaks swayed with the desert wind.

"W-What’s that?" Another figure screamed.

With the threat coming from the sky, the few remaining were to occupy to care about what was coming.

Ahhh! Ahhh!

Crush!

Hmm!

The sound of a skull crushed into paste woke those focused in the sky and they turned their attention in the direction of the black cloak figure.

They looked at the crushed skull splattered on the ground and many trembled, retreating a couple of steps. Their hearts pounded heavily against their chest, ready to flee.

Fear gripped their heart like a vice.

Swiss! Swiss!

From the sky, an undead Sanguine Vulture dove down at an extreme speed, bypassing a Mage wind defense shield, cutting her body into two.

Her death woke the stunned people back to their senses.

Previously, they thought the attacks were merely coming from the sky but now. They knew better.

Hunter rushed forward.

Assassins rushed forward.

Warriors rushed forward.

Each pushing their skill to the limit, hoping to buy them their escape.

Some moved in two trying to escape but it was too late. With the undead vanguard present, their fate was already sealed.