In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

It is of good quality and can be reused many times.

With these items, the guards' vision will not be obstructed by the swirling yellow sand, and they can deal with the threats of sandstorms more calmly.

"Monster."

Rod read it aloud and then put on his goggles and sand-proof suit.

At the same time, longswords were drawn, and together with the Attia mercenary group, they stood ready on the other side of the suspension bridge.

Talk about it.

This was the first time Rhode had drawn the sword that Desia had given him in actual combat.

Just as Dixia said.

This is an old sword.

There were some visible scratches on the sword.

Despite the scratches, the sword is still of very high quality, much better than the weapons used by most people in the village.

At Attiyah's suggestion.

Rhodes did not stand at the very front of the team, but rather in the middle of the guard squad, responsible for providing support from both the front and rear.

Because many monsters can fly.

But monsters are different from wild beasts.

Wild beasts typically attack without a strategy, charging blindly forward. Monsters, on the other hand, usually launch attacks in coordination. Moreover, the higher the level of the monster, the thicker its scales, making it difficult for ordinary arrows to penetrate.

In order to deal with the attack of this advanced monster.

The Atia mercenary group is equipped with two giant weapons resembling ballistae, which were developed by scholars of the Theological Seminary.

On the other side of the Order of the Church, weapons that require five people to operate have long been obsolete.

The weapons currently used by the Order of the Instruction are all fully automated and mechanized; once set up, one person can complete the loading and firing process.

However, weapons discarded by the Order of the Fathers would still be considered deadly weapons in the desert.

This type of crossbow is loaded with a giant arrow that is about 2.3 meters long and as thick as a forearm.

It would be extremely difficult to draw a bowstring capable of launching such a huge arrow.

Operating such a crossbow requires three people to manually pull the bowstring to the predetermined position and fix it using auxiliary pulleys and other auxiliary equipment. Then, two other people load the arrows, and finally, the operator is responsible for aiming and firing. The whole process takes about five minutes.

Atia had demonstrated the power of this complex and cumbersome weapon to Rhodes once.

Across this suspension bridge, which is about fifty meters long, a single shot can pierce through the thick mountain rocks on the other side.

It's a direct penetration, not just a simple stab and that's it.

What surprised Rhodes even more was...

After such a high-speed collision with the mountain rocks, the sharpness of the arrowhead remained completely unaffected.

In other words.

These arrows are reusable.

In terms of power, even mountain rocks would be pierced through in this way.

No matter how tough the scales of those monsters are, they will die once they are hit.

This made Rhodes marvel once again at the advanced technology of the Church.

Don't say anything else.

Even in Rhodes's technologically advanced past, this ballista could be considered a masterpiece of immense power and incredible force.

Various sophisticated and complex mechanical structures bring with them terrifying power capable of penetrating mountains and splitting rocks.

In an era without computers and precision numerical control, it's truly hard to imagine how they were manufactured.

Once both ballistae were fully loaded, the large-scale sandstorm that had been warned of arrived as expected.

Rhodes swore.

This was the largest sandstorm he had ever seen in his life.

Yellow sand.

As far as the eye could see, all there was was yellow sand.

All that could be heard was the howling of the wind.

The sandstorm had just hit when all that was left in Rhodes's eyes was a golden yellow. He couldn't see the monsters in the sandstorm, or even the people around him.

at this time.

Several dazzling white lights suddenly tore through the yellow sand, revealing the scene within to the guards on the suspension bridge.

This is also a device that Aru Village obtained from the church to deal with sandstorms.

This is precisely to prevent a complete loss of vision, as is the case now.

"Roar--"

A white light appeared, followed by a deafening roar of beasts.

All the guards on the suspension bridge tensed up at the sound of the beast's roar.

It can transmit sound so clearly even in a sandstorm.

There is no doubt that there are indeed monsters in this sandstorm, and they are likely large, high-level monsters.

Followed by.

The foreseen crisis then unfolded.

The rustling sound of things breaking down the obstacles began to echo on the suspension bridge.

"Grip your weapon tight and focus!"

"Archers, prepare!!!"

Upon seeing this, Atia immediately roared.

His sand suit was equipped with a megaphone, ensuring that his instructions could be clearly heard by everyone.

Rhodes narrowed his eyes, raised his sword in his right hand, and gathered a ball of ice elemental power in his left hand, ready to be unleashed.

The sound is getting closer.

The guards responsible for maintaining visibility from the rear also pointed their two lights at the suspension bridge.

When the first dark shadow began to appear.

Atiyah immediately gave the order: "Crossbows! Fire!!!"

For an instant.

The clattering of the bowstrings was incessant.

The guards of Aru Village are equipped with a type of crossbow that can fire in rapid succession. The arrow box is a replaceable structure, and a single load can fire thirty-six bolts, making it an excellent weapon for dealing with small monsters and beast hordes.

The launch method is a rotating launch.

In other words, half of the crossbowmen would fire while the other half prepared. When the first wave of crossbow bolts ran out and needed to be reloaded, the other half of the crossbowmen would take over the attack. By the time they needed to reload, the previous batch of crossbowmen had already finished reloading. This cycle was repeated to ensure that the crossbow bolts could always maintain a dense coverage.

At this time, the longbowmen and guards armed with melee weapons were focused intently on the sky to prevent any attacks from falling from above.

Rhode was always amazed by the seamless teamwork of the Attia mercenary group.

This group of mercenaries, who are usually lax in military discipline, actually possess combat power that is no less than that of a regular army. From Rhode's perspective, this is indeed somewhat incredible.

Just as the rain of crossbow bolts halted the monsters' attack on the suspension bridge, the threat from the sky also became apparent.

Flying Hilichurls, mushrooms drifting in from all directions, and slow-moving Floating Spirits.

Of these, the most eye-catching is...

It was a giant, bird-shaped monster with its entire body crimson red.

"Oh no! It's a Sacred Beast!!!"

After uttering a curse, Atia shouted anxiously, "Archers, hold off the Holy Beast!!! Ballistae! Find an opening!!"

The Sacred Beast.

This is a monster that, according to legend, once devoured the bodies of gods.

This is also one of the most terrifying monsters in the desert.

Not only is its outer shell hard and difficult to penetrate, but its attack capabilities are also extremely terrifying.

These flying sacred beasts are considered the overlords of the skies in the monster-infested desert regions. Let alone ordinary people encountering them, even seasoned adventurers would often meet their demise if they were not careful.

The sacred beast before them displayed its unparalleled defensive capabilities and the ability to dominate the skies.

Such a dense rain of arrows could not slow it down in the slightest. It charged left and right, and it only took the blink of an eye to go from appearing to closing in on the guard squad.

Before the only ballista capable of breaking its defenses could even take aim, the sacred beast's claws were already on the ballista operator's head.

At this critical moment.

An ice shield made of ice suddenly appeared, covering the entire ballista convoy below.

A thin layer of ice shield, through which you could even see the claws of the sacred beast.

Yet this unassuming thin shield managed to withstand the aerial attack of the Holy Beast.

at the same time.

A figure in icy blue flashed by, and wherever it passed, the sand and dust dispersed, frost rose, and even the gale seemed to be frozen in the extreme cold, no longer able to howl.

Rhodes remained calm as he slashed his sword at the relatively softest part of the sacred beast's body: its abdomen.

To prevent the sword from breaking, he also covered the blade with ice elemental power.

Faced with this attack that could threaten him.

Even the Holy Beast, which was extremely confident in its defensive capabilities, flapped its wings and intended to temporarily avoid the attack.

However, the force that used to allow the plane to take off easily suddenly stopped halfway through takeoff this time.

I bent down to take a look.