Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

"There's more?!"

"This is an organized attack."

Leng Ruolan drew her twin swords, her voice chillingly calm.

"These aren't random wild sandworms. They're using some kind of tactic to trap us in the middle, applying pressure from three directions simultaneously, leaving the last direction as our escape route."

"Where might there be an ambush?"

"There definitely will be. The desert lord might be waiting in that direction."

"So, you're saying that running away means death, and fighting means death too?"

"uncertain."

Leng Ruolan's lips curled slightly. "They thought we'd be thrown into chaos by their hunt, then flee in panic toward their pre-set trap. But they don't know one thing—"

"What is it?"

Leng Ruolan then looked at Ou Yun, "We have a map-wide attack."

Ou Yun paused for a moment, then looked down at the Abyss Sword in his hand, which was 100% charged.

"You mean—"

Leng Ruolan began to explain carefully: "First, use energy resonance to silence them and disrupt their rhythm. Then, use energy release to bombard one direction and create a breakthrough. We don't need to annihilate them all; we just need to break through the encirclement and then break out in a direction they didn't expect."

Ou Yun thought to himself that all he needed to do was raise his hand, "Which direction?"

Leng Ruolan looked at the coffee worms—one of the coffee worms' straws wasn't pointing in the direction of any of the sand worms, but directly upwards.

"In the sky?"

Ou Yun looked up at the night sky in disbelief. There was nothing there except for the stars.

"It should be the top of the stone pillar."

Leng Ruolan pointed to the tallest wind-eroded stone pillar.

"There's something up there. It's been there since we set up camp, but nothing's been done."

The main issue was that she wasn't entirely sure at the time—and after observing for a while, nothing happened. There were too many strange things happening in the forbidden area, and she really couldn't be sure.

"What is that?"

"I don't know. But since the other sandworms don't dare approach this stone pillar—"

Leng Ruolan looked at Ou Yun with great seriousness.

"That means that even the desert lord is wary of what's on this stone pillar."

*

The sandworms are closing in.

The ripples moving across the sand were clearly visible, with the closest one less than thirty meters from the camp.

Douglas could already see through the scope the barbs on the inside of the sandworm's mouthparts gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

"Twenty seconds left to enter attack range!"

His voice betrayed his tension.

"The first three are heading due east, two meters deep, advancing side by side! Two larger ones follow, four meters deep; this should be the second wave of attack!"

"receive."

Leng Ruolan turned to look at Marcus, "Marcus, climbing gear."

"Climbing equipment?"

Marcus paused for a moment, then immediately realized, "You want to climb that pillar?"

"I'll go up with my older brother, the four of you stay on the ground and hold on."

She tucked the dagger back into her waistband and took a roll of rope and several rock spikes from Marcus.

"Since the thing on the stone pillar can keep the sandworms away, it means it's either very strong or has some kind of ability to control the sandworms. Either way, it's an opportunity for us."

"What if it attacks us?" Ou Yun asked.

"Then let's fight, since you've already charged up."

"...Your tactics are too simplistic and brutal."

"Simple and effective tactics are good tactics."

"All right……"

Leng Ruolan was the first to rush to the base of the tallest stone pillar.

The stone pillar is about thirty meters high, and its surface is pitted and uneven from wind erosion, providing many natural footholds for climbing.

She hammered the piton into a crack, secured the safety rope, and began to climb up, her movements clean and efficient.

Ou Yun followed behind, her movements not as fluid as hers, but not slow either.

After being tempered by his time living in the forbidden area, his physical fitness was many times stronger than when he first entered—although he was still far from being a professional athlete like Leng Ruolan, he could easily climb a stone pillar.

The two climbed up, one in front of the other.

The battle on the ground began when they were halfway up the mountain.

Douglas's precision rifle fired first.

Three bursts of fire accurately hit the edge of the mouthparts of the foremost sandworm, blasting open three black, tumor-like structures.

The sandworm, in pain, leaped out of the sand and crashed right into Alexander's powerful hammer blow.

boom!

The sandworm was smashed and sent flying sideways, carving a long furrow in the sand.

But it did not die—sandworms are extremely resilient; unless they are hit in a vital spot, they will quickly burrow back into the sand to regroup and launch another attack.

"Too many!"

Alexander shouted as he swung his hammer, "They're pressing in from the east and west! And from the south too! We're surrounded!"

"Coffee bug! Report the movement patterns of those two to the south!"

Douglas observed the position of the swarm of coffee bugs, then turned his gun around and fired a preemptive shot at a patch of sand ahead of the route.

The bullet pierced through the sand and accurately hit the sandworm's head carapace.

The sandworm was forced to emerge from the sand prematurely, just as it entered the attack range of Alexander's hammer.

Meanwhile, Marcus wasn't idle either.

He unfolded all the remaining folding steel plates and built a temporary defensive wall around the camp.

Although it cannot stop the sandworms from charging head-on, it can at least slow them down, creating opportunities for others to attack.

Nanbei struggled to stand up from the stretcher.

Its wound was still throbbing, but when it saw Leng Ruolan climbing the stone pillar, it instinctively wanted to follow.

Red Bean stood in front of it, rubbed its head against its neck, and meowed.

Boss, your injury hasn't healed yet, I'll go.

Nanbei let out a low growl, but ultimately lay back down on the stretcher.

Hongdou turned and ran towards the stone pillar, quickly reaching Ou Yun's feet.

"Red Bean is catching up!"

Ou Yun shouted to Leng Ruolan above.

"Let it come along! It's always good to have an extra helper!"

Red beans are much better climbers than humans.

It certainly doesn't need rock bolts or safety ropes; its four claws grip the depressions on the surface of the rock pillar, and it shoots upwards like a silver-gray lightning bolt.

It quickly overtook Ou Yun and caught up with Leng Ruolan's feet.

"Good cat."

Leng Ruolan glanced down at it, and Hongdou wagged its tail triumphantly.

The group of three climbed for about twenty minutes and finally approached the top of the stone pillar.

The top of the stone pillar is much wider than it appears from the ground.

It is a circular platform with a diameter of about ten meters. The surface of the platform is unexpectedly flat, as if it has been deliberately polished by something.

Ou Yun was climbing the mountain, looking around—then he suddenly stopped, looked like he'd seen a ghost, and tugged at Leng Ruolan, "Captain Leng, look..."

Leng Ruolan's expression was colder than ever before. "Shh! Don't speak!"

In the very center of the platform is a concave circular pit filled with crystal-clear water.

The starlight was reflected in the water, and the surface was as calm as a mirror.

And by the water's edge, sat a person.