The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

"The seventh time..." Yunefu wiped away a handful of yellow sand that had splashed around his mouth and smashed the sand armor to pieces with another punch.

This stuff gets harder over time; could this be a manifestation of "iron sand"?

The recoil force surged up the finger bones to the entire arm, only to be forcefully suppressed by the hardening of the entire skeleton brought about by [Breakthrough Bones]...

Yoniv's second punch followed immediately!

The sand was blasted into the air by the blast, but then, as if attracted by a magnet, it swirled and clung back to the sand armor...

In the blink of an eye, the tattered cloak grew even longer, swaying irregularly in the scorching sandstorm!

Beneath the helmet of the sand-armored knight remained empty, like the moon, yet it gazed at the black-robed figure for a long time before continuing its attack…

With a mighty sweep of the greatsword in its hand, ordinary grains of sand were transformed into tiny bullets capable of piercing through conventional armor, each one aimed precisely at Yunevo!

Using the power of [Oak Skin] and [Swift Charge], Yunefu burst forward, leaping several meters to the side and drawing a "Z" shaped trajectory on the ground...

[Corrosive Spray] It is precisely sprayed out along the churning throat!

The dark green venom landed on the sand armor, mixing with and corroding the grains of yellow sand into a thick, charred, gelatinous substance...

This time, the sand armor's regeneration speed was finally a fraction slower. It had to peel away the corroded sand grains and draw new "flesh and blood" from its feet!

"Its movements...are indeed much heavier than before," Yonivo observed carefully.

It must be admitted that the Sand Knights' ability to regenerate into sand at any time is a real headache.

There's no escape; even the alchemical array can't lock onto the target...

Yonivore couldn't possibly be so ruthless as to destroy the entire desert; he couldn't, at least not without paying an even more devastating price.

But as Iseria said, it takes time to establish that kind of "connection".

Yune lowered his body and stepped forward, clenching his slightly pale right fist—tiny granulation tissue was constantly intertwining on the newly formed wound, causing a slight itch.

Then let's keep going until one of us gets bored...

We'll keep fighting until this damn thing runs out of ammunition and supplies!

The aftermath of the battle shaved the surrounding sand dunes flat!

Once again, Yunevo dodged the incoming heavy sword, swung his right arm horizontally, and was about to retaliate with another [Slam]...

The sand-armored knight lowered his center of gravity, spun around, and began to spin in circles with his greatsword!

A violent sandstorm suddenly erupted from the center of the arena, seemingly threatening to engulf everyone in its wake!

"Iseria!" The black-robed alchemist turned and rushed towards the girl, his left hand firmly gripping her shoulder to steady himself, his right arm half-bent to block, held horizontally in front of his chest, his eyes fixed on the sand curl.

Closer... Once the eye of this sandstorm gets even closer, we'll destroy it completely!

Yonivore's breathing grew heavier, and he dared not relax even for a moment!

Sand and dust rose up, obscuring the battlefield...

The setting sun shone in with a feeble light, casting the shadows of this scene onto the darkened sand.

Yunevo's black robes billowed wildly in the wind, obscuring half of Iseria's flushed and astonished face. The silhouettes of the two gradually merged with the mirage that had appeared behind them at some unknown time...

This forms a picture that spans time!

The salon roll has stopped...

The figure of the sand armor reappeared.

The empty helmet was slowly tilting and twisting, and even the Crimson Sand Heavy Sword it was holding had somehow fallen to the ground.

Morse is a breeding ground for curses... Yunefu dared not hesitate, gritting his teeth as he activated [Spiritual Vision] again, attempting to find any strange fluctuations on the sand armor!

The silk threads rooted at the feet of the sand armor were trembling at this moment, along with the thing deep underground, as if a mechanism buried for hundreds of years had been triggered!

"Damn it..." Yunevo continued to protect Iseria, who was frowning and trying to summon the Aether element again.

The next moment, an absurd scene unfolded.

Sand Armor lowered his head slightly, sheathed his heavy sword behind his back, and then loosely grasped his broken right hand, made of sand and gravel, and slammed it heavily against his breastplate!

boom!

The collision of sand against sand produced a clanging sound like steel being struck, like the most sincere farewell ceremony when a knight bids farewell.

It began to disintegrate... like sand flowing in an hourglass, slowly disappearing from their sight.

A night wind suddenly rose from the ground, making Iseria shiver.

The dust has settled, but where is the knight now?

"It...it just...disappeared?" The girl's voice was filled with disbelief.

"It's also possible that he completed some kind of mission, like acquiring pheromones to facilitate curses or something..." Yunefu frowned, examining his body with some suspicion.

His usually accurate intuition told him that this matter was far more complicated than it appeared.

Monsters like these that run away halfway through a fight... are incredibly troublesome.

"A curse? But... but I really didn't feel anything just now," Iseria helped Yunevo check as well. "However, speaking of which... that tornado seemed to be deliberately avoiding us."

"Then... why did it still use this indiscriminate attack method? Even though it ended in an absurd way," Yunevo pinched his cheek.

As if she had thought of something, Iseria continued, "It probably remembered something, or wanted to verify something, like 'going home for dinner,' so it left."

"Yonev, do you...believe me?" Iseria seemed to find this argument completely ineffective and chuckled to herself as she tapped her head.

The black-robed alchemist nodded subconsciously, but his mind was racing.

Something's really wrong... Those ancient texts record that Morse's curse was even more insidious than the "Seven Arrows of Nailhead".

Yonivore had every reason to suspect that the other party had obtained everything it wanted during that strange pause...

The "Colossus of Justice incident" reveals that Iseria possesses a certain ability of "empathy," yet she claims "nothing happened"...

That's so weird.

As the sandstorm subsided, the outline of a trade route emerged beneath their feet, leading into the distance.

"The golden trade route..." He pulled up his hood to cover his ever-changing face, his voice low.

"Yonev, if there really is some kind of curse, please stay by my side..." Iseria tugged at his sleeve. "The little 'ethers' told me that they can intercept those strange black things in time."

"Then I'll trouble you, Iseria..." The black-robed alchemist relaxed his shoulders slightly, glanced at the flat sand, and looked towards the desert horizon.

"We shouldn't stay here any longer," he said, pulling Iseria closer as they stepped into the cold, yellow sand of the night, each step filled with a unique kind of caution.