I should be where the nearest oasis is located but I don’t see anything. Let’s check underground. Edward sent his aura probing the sand below him, with its extended range searching a few hundred meters below ground level wasn’t a problem. As he expected he found hints of the oasis deep below the current sand level. He could sense traces of life, as well as broken trees.

Well, they won’t be able to use this one. Actually, I wonder, how do oases form, will there be another one forming on top of all that sand in the future? If those oases are lost forever there may be long-term repercussions. It’s something to worry about for another day, let’s head for the next oasis.

As he was moving away, Edward was now paying more attention to what was happening underground. That’s when he detected a large presence moving under the sand. He stopped in place. Is this a sandworm? It’s moving quite fast for its size. There is only one way to find out.

Edward threw a few bombs made from his aura, using the simple version without aura blades, his intention was only to draw the worm’s attention, there was nothing to destroy here but sand.

Edward monitored the worm as it suddenly changed direction heading for where Edward had thrown the bombs while coming closer to the surface. A moving dune formed as the worm came closer before it exploded in a cloud of sand revealing the worm’s full form.

Edward was standing on a platform ten meters above the sand, but the worm was towering above him. It was a good twelve meters large, its cavernous mouth more than large enough to eat a small house, and its body was at least a hundred meters long from what Edward could tell with his aura. He whistled in appreciation, not quite used to monsters of this size, even Wyrms and Mare Irae had been smaller. That’s a good catch. I wonder how much blood essence it will give me.

He flung a twenty-meter large aura blade casually. The worm shook from the hit, the force behind it enough to make it stagger, but he resisted the blow, the aura protecting his body flickering under the strain. It has aura armor as well. Not that that will help it. Edward formed a second aura blade, charging it with double the power he had used before. This time the worm was unable to resist the strike and its body collapsed in two parts, Edward’s blade having cleaved right through it. It may be large but it’s not that particularly powerful. Though it would require a group of predators to penetrate its armor, and something this big could wreak considerable damage in the meantime.

Edward teleported above the clean-cut, redirecting the fountain of blood spurting out so as not to waste it. Even in death, the worm was trashing his body around and Edward had to use his aura to restrict its movements. It was the first time that he was using his aura in such a way, and he wasn’t sure it was worth it for such large opponents, the expenditure was quite massive. However, the worm was already dead and its movements slowed down before coming to a stop, letting Edward absorb its essence in peace.

The worm had a large quantity of blood essence but its quality was inferior to monsters such as Manticores or six-legged panthers. All in all, it was worth around five times the amount of an average monster at the predator level.

Doratham told me encountering sandworms was a rare occasion, but with the range of my aura, it’s much easier for me to find them. Also, I doubt people usually cross the same amount of distance as I do. My teleportation let me explore a large area in a quick fashion. I should try to find others if I can.

Edward pursued his journey heading for an oasis further away from Nagh Kuldohr, far enough to have been spared by the sandstorm and reportedly situated in lizard territory.

As he came neared it Edward detected a large number of bipedal lizards surrounding it. There must be at least a hundred of them. I wonder how they can sustain with such a number in a small oasis, they must feed more on mana than on organic matter. Most of them are at the awaken level, but they also have eight predators. It would be indeed a difficult endeavor for the city to get rid of them.

Edward was ready to slaughter them but wavered when he sensed smaller life forms among them. They have children. He stopped to pay more attention to them. The lizards didn’t have any tools or clothes, but they were gathered in small groups and it was apparent they had at least a rudimentary language.

They are not just mindless monsters. I wouldn’t call them a civilization yet, but they are at least another sapient race. I can’t wipe them out.

But letting them stay here will be a problem as well. I doubt they will take it well if humans try to take their water. And Doratham was saying they were raiding oases regularly as well.

Edward sighed. In an ideal world, if there were enough resources for everyone, I would just let them live their life. Let’s attempt diplomacy first at least.

Edward teleported in front of their encampment, immediately lizards hissed all over the camp sounding the alarm. Dozens of two-meter-tall sand-colored bipedal lizards stood threateningly in front of him, staring at him with yellow-slitted eyes.

“Hello, my name is Edward, I wish to talk with your leader,” he told them as non-aggressive as possible.

“Can you understand me?” he added as the lizards watched him without showing any reaction but baring their teeth.

One lizard twice as big as the over made his way through the gathering crowd. He stopped for a second and made a powerful thrumming sound with his throat enough to make Edward’s chest vibrate. The next moment the crowd of lizards charged at him with alacrity, faster than humans were capable of at the same level.

Edward let out another sight. “They can’t say I haven’t tried.” The lizards were fast for their rank but none were close to the patriarch stage. Edward didn’t even have to use his acceleration. He waved through their ranks, a single swipe enough to kill them. Before the lizards even had the time to understand what had happened half of their ranks lay dead in the sand, their leader included.

This dampened their mood significantly and the rest of the lizards eyed him warily without daring to make another move. Edward shook his head. This feels like a waste of time. Though how would they have behaved if I had been at the awaken level? They are no threat to me but letting them live means others weaker than me might die.

Leave it. There are no good answers. I will kill the predators and leave the rest alive. It’s the best I can do, remove the threat while keeping the slaughter at the minimum. Anyone at the awaken stage traveling alone in the desert has a death wish anyway, you need to at least have someone at the predator stage to be remotely safe.

This time Edward activated his acceleration. With his increased speed, he was way too fast for the lizards to even perceive what was going on. In their field of vision, Edward disappeared for a moment only to come back with the corpses of all their greatest warriors.

The lizards hissed and pulled away, further increasing the distance between themselves and Edward. However, they made no sign of leaving the oasis. They didn’t make any attempt to communicate either.

Edward shrugged. So be it. He absorbed the blood essence of the predator lizards not caring about the few awakens he had slaughtered. All of this is for an additional eight meters worth of teleportation. This feels like a waste. Let’s not spend another minute here.

He teleported away as if he had been but a mirage. The lizards would have thought about it as a nightmare if not for the corpses Edward had left behind.

******

A few hours later Edward was roaming within the desert hunting for sandworms. With his travel speed, he had already visited several other oases, but he had enough of it. Killing those lizards didn’t feel right, it was more akin to an execution rather than hunting monsters. They were not a threat to him, couldn’t fight back, and the survivors were left gazing at him with fear. Moreover, each encampment only earned him the equivalent of six to nine predators each, barely more than a sandworm.

He had delayed as much as possible between each oasis to explore more of the desert. Until now he had managed to hunt three more sandworms. They weren’t a threat to him either, but at least it was hard to picture them as anything less than monsters, and their size made for impressive encounters.

He had relayed what he had discovered to Doratham as well as his choices concerning the lizards’ tribes. Doratham hadn’t been pleased to learn that Edward was sparing most of them, but he had the tact not to complain about it. Edward had already done more for them than he thought possible although he had been the leader of Nagh Kuldohr for several years already. Dealing with hundreds of awaken sentient lizards was not that simple, but it was within their range of capabilities given the city had a few predators.

All right, I’ll visit one more oasis and leave. I can’t spend more time than this, it’s not worth it. I need to hunt something stronger than a few predators here and there. It’s a shame though, the scenery is nice. Edward gazed at the night sky glowing brightly with stars and two moons, with no artificial lights the stars were particularly clear, he was sure that he had never seen such a clear night sky back on Earth.

Edward teleported reaching the next oasis in a few minutes. What the hell happened here? Edward expected the oasis to be another lizard encampment. It seemed to have been the case at one point, but in the present time, the only thing left over were bisected corpses.

His first emotion was shock, the second was excitement. Whatever caused this must be quite powerful. This may finally be a worthy opponent.

Edward focused his senses, his aura probing for any signs of the one responsible for this massacre. His aura revealed many tunnels crisscrossing below the oasis. At the entrance of such tunnels, the concentration of disremembered lizards increased. A burrower. But not a sandworm, the size doesn’t match and it would have gobbled the lizards whole instead of cutting them apart.

Edward didn’t detect any sign of life. Did it already leave? He teleported above a tunnel and bent down to pick up a dismembered leg. The cut is clean and yet not clean enough to have been made with aura.

He sensed air displaced behind him and teleported into the air by reflex while staying in his domain where his teleportation had no cooldown. After spending days in Pescara in the company of giant snails, ambushing panthers, and Nephelin itself, teleporting before thinking was already etched deeply in his body.

My aura is not picking anything. He sensed movement near him again and teleported once more. And it’s fast. “Rèng khwāmrĕw”, he used his acceleration.