It might be night in the desert and is extremely cold but that does not mean that the dangers are no longer present. Desert monsters that do not appear in the morning will be more likely to appear during this time. It is said that it is more dangerous at night because you are not able to see the dangers that you are about to face.

As the group is only three hours away from their destination, they ought to encounter beasts by now, but they were not able to. The reason for this is that Sirius, who is hiding in Adrian's shadow, is actually releasing his aura at intervals to scare away other beasts. Adrian's soulbounds leveled up a lot after defeating the horsemen which is why they are very powerful right now.

Beasts that are driven by instinct immediately avoid coming to their direction but that does not mean they are entirely safe. After passing to what seems to be areas with sunken sand, small rumbles started to appear as monsters emerged. Three monsters that look like large scorpions suddenly appeared before them and it looks like they are hungry as well.

Monster Name: Armored Dune Scorpion

Species: Armored Scorpion

Tier: Rare

Level: 190

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

Description: An armored scorpion species that have adapted extremely well in the harsh desert environments. Due to them being in the harsh desert environments, their poison tails can excrete extremely deadly poison that can kill people if injected with large amounts. Their hard exoskeleton also makes them impervious to stabbing attacks. The spikes covering their exoskeleton are also laced with paralytic poison that can incapacitate anyone that is just grazed by them.

"A monster! Everyone get into your formation!" Shara shouted as the Sand Guardians surrounded Adrian and the Goddess Bastet.

"The battle will be fierce so be sure that you will not leave our encirclement. It will be dangerous if you get stung by those Armored Dune Scorpions. We currently only have one person that can cast Detoxify which is why we must make sure that only one gets poisoned at a time." Shara stated as she honestly gave her evaluation of the scene.

"If that is the case then you make freely attack the monsters because I can heal all of you should you get poisoned." Adrian stated.

"Are you actually a priest, Sir Xon?" Shara asked as Adrian actually introduced himself as Xon and Tet for the Goddess Bastet.

"I am not a priest, but I am a summoner. A servant must always be flexible for her master after all." Adrian stated as he summoned Saena.

Adrian then explained that his soulbound could cleanse status ailments. The player in the Sand Guardians did not find it strange that a white bird could do that as it has surged in popularity when Equinox showed off his soulbounds.

A lot of summoners also have bird familiars that are white and could even cast white magic like Detoxify or Cleanse. Some churches even have birds that symbolize them which is why holy birds are usually white in color. The fight continued on without a fuss as the Sand Guardians could now rest easy that they have great support although they still doubt if a bird could cleanse them.

"Saena is almost ready to evolve. I only need one more item for that to happen. I hope Piggy Bank is working hard for finding that item for me." Adrian thought as Saena already overshoot the level requirement for her to evolve.

There are currently three Armored Dune Scorpions that rose up from the sands. The Sand Guardians consists of twelve people which is why four are facing one at a time. The level range of the Sand Guardians are 170 to 180 which is not bad, and they will definitely be able to fend off the Armored Dune Scorpion with their strength. It is also the reason why Adrian did not bother to show his strength and instead become a support.

Although Adrian is itching to battle, he knows that there are many beings that are gazing at them. He could feel something in the back of his nape which means they are already being observed. He already noticed this when they arrived at the Western Continent but the ones observing them are not making any moves.

"As long as they do not make a move then I will also not make a move. They are practically just waiting for me to reveal my strength." Adrian thought to himself as he observed the battle.

The Sand Guardians seem to be proficient in handling the Armored Dune Scorpions as they moved in a way where you could see that they have battled it countless times. The timing of the dodges and attacks are perfect and well time. The Sand Guardians move like a cohesive unit that understands and trusts each other to a great degree.

The vanguard carries a scimitar and a buckler which is different from typical warriors in the central continent. The warriors in the western continent move fluidly compared to the central continent warriors. A reason of this might be the fact that they are battling in the desert where footing is not always secure which means one must be light on their feet but heavy on their attacks.

When the Armored Dune Scorpion will attack with their pincers, the vanguard would parry it with their scimitar. When the Armored Dune Scorpion will attack with their tails, the vanguard would deflect it with their bucklers. After successfully deflecting the attacks, the group will then pivot to using magic.

The magic that the western continent mages use is different from those of the central continent as they use a different set of runes. Also, most of the magic users in the western continent have wind and earth affinity. If a water elemental mage should appear then those mages will immediately get scouted by large kingdoms as water is a precious resource here.

The Armored Dune Scorpions are not a difficult opponent from Adrian's standards, but it is due to him being immune to poisons to a degree as he can just brush it off. His attacks also have piercing properties because of his sub job class as the Scribe gives magic penetration which is rare.

"Are you sure that you will not help them?" The Goddess Bastet asked Adrian as she could see that he was observing the battle closely.

"They can handle it themselves but why did you not cast protection magic to buff them? I am sure that you said that you actually favor them." Adrian said with a curious tone as he knows how soft hearted the Goddess Bastet is.

"This is their trial, and they accepted a job to protect us. It would be rude of me to question or challenge their resolve by greatly strengthening them. Of course, I know that you will intervene should they fall into great danger." The Goddess Bastet stated as she already knows that Adrian only acts a bit detached, but he actually is observant and caring.

The battle with the Armored Dune Scorpions carried on for at least half an hour as their exoskeleton are extremely durable. The Sand Guardians had to pinpoint a specific area where the exoskeleton is soft in order to greatly injure the Armored Dune Scorpions. The soft part in the exoskeleton does not have a fixed position but it is in the general area of the underbelly.

After a few attempts of continuous attacks, one Armored Dune Scorpion fell, and another followed soon after. There have been people that are stung but Saena immediately absorbed the poison as Adrian commanded. He wanted to have a great number of poisons just in case they get ambushed by other people or monsters.

The battle ended in about thirty-five minutes which is not bad considering that they are weaker than the Armored Dune Scorpions. Another reason for the lengthy battle is the fact that the equipment of the Sand Guardians is not well maintained. Adrian already noticed this which is also a reason why he gave them enough money for their equipment repairs as well.

"We actually defeated them at record time. This might be the best time that we did for defeating the Armored Dune Scorpions. We usually only face one at a time, but we were able to defeat three easily with Sir Xon's support." Shara stated as they rested for a bit to recover from the fatigue.

"It is not that important as you guys were the ones facing the danger. All I did was mitigate it a bit of the danger." Adrian stated as he suddenly felt a presence that is almost equal to him scurrying to their location.

"Sirius, deal with that monster coming to this location." Adrian commanded via their Soul Link.

The Sand Guardians did not even feel or see that a shadow came out from Adrian's shadow. They did not know that a great danger has been averted.