Jax charged toward the source of the Sandworms, while Silas, Gareth, and Kaleb broke into a sprint for the valley exit.
Upon reaching his designated position, Jax immediately felt the impact of the upgrades. The Sentry Towers' range had expanded drastically. Previously, the area beyond the Walls had been a blind spot, but now the towers picked off targets in that zone with ease. Between the boosted attack power and increased firing speed, the Sandworms were being mowed down in droves.
Surveying the field of corpses littering the ground, Jax felt a surge of satisfaction.
"Haha! These Tier 2 Sentry Towers are no joke! I wonder what a Tier 2 Howitzer Turret can do? I’m dying to test it out, but damn... gathering the resources for these upgrades is a nightmare."
Jax waded into the fray. The surviving Sandworms hissed and lunged, but fear was a thing of the past. With a Bio-Score of eighty-one, he physically outclassed them. Combined with his enhanced hammer, he crushed their carapaces with casual, devastating swings.
In moments, he was drenched in alien ichor, the sticky fluid washing away only under the torrential downpour. He slaughtered dozens in the driving rain until no creature dared approach.
Yet, the System remained silent.
A sinking feeling took hold—had the remaining Sandworms fled?
"No way... Did they actually retreat?"
Jax steeled himself and peered into the valley's depths. Pitch black and moonless, the maw of the canyon looked grim and foreboding. He jogged back to the high platform to check with the lookout.
"Any targets left on your side?"
Annie, who was monitoring the perimeter, did a quick sweep of the platform’s surroundings. "Clear, Jax! No Sandworms here."
He hurried to the valley exit. "Silas, did you three see any come this way?"
The trio looked blank. "No! We thought they hadn't arrived yet! Boss, are you saying they never showed up?"
Jax was speechless. "Holy shit, did I wipe them all out solo?"
He frowned, realizing the implication. "Damn it! The mission isn't complete. That means the rest must have escaped."
Kaleb suddenly recalled Jax’s earlier orders. "So... the Sandworms left?"
"Looks like it," Jax said grimly. "But the mission requires total annihilation. I have to go into the valley and hunt down the stragglers."
The trio froze, staring at him in disbelief.
"Are you insane?" Gareth blurted out. "The valley is a death trap! What if we get swarmed by Rodent-Maw Creepers?"
Kaleb interjected nervously, "We should go with you. Safety in numbers... one more person is one more layer of security."
Gareth’s heart tightened at Kaleb’s suggestion. He was terrified of entering that place, but seeing Silas nodding in agreement, he felt the pressure to conform.
In the end, Gareth gritted his teeth. "Fine... fine! We're coming with you!"
Jax considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. The Sentry Towers will cover the base. Let's move."
Leading the way, Jax plunged into the darkness toward the valley, the three men following close behind. They held resin-soaked Torches high, the magical flames burning vigorously despite the heavy rain.
As they pushed deeper, their pace slowed. Occasionally, they dispatched a wounded straggler that had been tagged by an arrow, harvesting the Cores and discarding the carcasses before moving on.
Ten minutes later, they reached the ominous bend from Jax's previous expedition.
Seeing the familiar turn, Kaleb’s grip tightened on his blade. "We're at the bend."
The warning hung heavy in the air. Danger lay ahead.
Jax pushed down his own hesitation. If he failed to kill the remaining Sandworms, his Builder level would drop, and he would lose the upgrade permission for the Howitzer Turret. Failure was not an option.
He turned to the group, his expression serious. "Let's go. If we encounter Rodent-Maw Creepers, I'll deploy my clone as a decoy. When I do, you run. Understood?"
They nodded, faces grave.
Rounding the corner, a forest of Hive Spires barred their path, just as before.
The sight of the stone protrusions made the men exchange fearful glances. They all remembered the story Kaleb had told—the tale of his first venture here with Jax.
Imagining the densely packed swarm of Rodent-Maw Creepers, Silas white-knuckled his weapon. Beside him, Gareth felt a sudden, humiliating urge to urinate.
No, I can't hold them back! Hold steady!
Gareth pinched his thigh hard, trying to use pain to ground himself, but the terror was bone-deep.
Jax whispered a warning. "These Hive Spires might contain eggs left by the Spiked Dune Lord. Last time I was here with The Vanguard, we found them everywhere. Disturbing the spires could summon the Lord itself. Step carefully."
The group nodded, eyeing the dense cluster of stone shoots with dread.
Jax led them forward, weaving through the spires with painstaking care.
Suddenly, a faint shhh-shhh sound drifted from the darkness ahead. The noise froze them in their tracks.
Gareth stumbled back two steps, his voice trembling. "Did... did you hear that? Something’s coming!"
Kaleb swallowed hard. "I heard it. Might be Rodent-Maw Creepers... don't panic. They make that sound when their shells rub together."
Though Kaleb tried to sound reassuring, the group was terrified.
Jax took a few cautious steps forward and spotted a silhouette in the torchlight.
"Look! A Sandworm!"
The others squinted in the direction he pointed. Sure enough, a Sandworm was writhing on the ground. It had two arrows jutting from its hide and was moving sluggishly.
But then, the ground behind it rippled. A mass of thick, twisted mucus bubbled up from the earth, oozing across the sand.
"Damn! No way..."
Jax recognized the slime instantly from his time with The Vanguard. His memory of that day was razor-sharp.
"Fuck! Spiked Dune Lord! It's the Spiked Dune Lord! Run!"
Gareth snapped. He screamed and bolted back the way they came.
Jax cursed under his breath, spotting movement in the shadows—long bristles flickering in the gloom.
"Damn it! Quit screaming, you idiot! Stay calm!"
He turned to grab them, but Gareth and Silas were already gone, vanished into the rain. Only Kaleb remained, his legs shaking so hard he couldn't move.
"Useless! Why are they so scared?"
Jax thrust his Torch forward, finally illuminating the horror ahead.
In the distance, the mucus and sand churned into a ring-shaped mound. A monstrosity covered in black spikes erupted from the earth, roaring as its maw opened wide, ready to devour the wounded Sandworm whole.
"Hell no! That Sandworm is mine!"
Jax roared, raising his hammer to throw, but the distance was too great. He glanced at Kaleb, who was paralyzed with fear.
"Is... is that the Spiked Dune Lord?"
"Yes! Give me your sword!"
Kaleb numbly handed over his long knife.
Jax gripped the hilt, took aim at the distant Sandworm, and hurled the blade like a javelin.
Thwack!
The long knife buried itself in the Sandworm's skull an instant before the Spiked Dune Lord sucked the carcass into its gullet.
The sickening crunch of bones echoed from the monster's mouth, but a sweet chime rang in Jax’s mind.
[Mission Completed. Obtained Tier 2 Howitzer Turret upgrade permission!]
"Got it!"
Jax grabbed the petrified Kaleb by the collar and hauled him toward the exit. "Move!"
They sprinted for ten minutes, lungs burning, before Jax finally dared to slow down. He looked back, gasping for air, but the darkness was empty. The Spiked Dune Lord hadn't followed.