Chapter 190: 190. Desert Hunt

Zone 12 was a wasteland.

Endless sand stretched in every direction. Dunes rose and fell like frozen waves. The heat was different from the volcanic regions—dry, searing, suffocating. Two suns hung in the sky, one larger and orange, the other smaller and white. Their combined light made the sand shimmer like liquid metal.

Owen and Gorvax had been traveling for six hours. No shade. No water sources visible. Just sand and heat.

Owen’s CE dropped passively. 3 points per minute to regulate body temperature and prevent dehydration.

“Ugh, How far to the hunting grounds?” Owen asked.

Gorvax checked a crude map Korvan had sketched for them. “Another two hours northwest. There’s an oasis. Natural water source. Predators congregate there.”

“And those crucible King patrols?”

“Korvan said they pass through every three days. We just need to avoid—”

Gorvax stopped.

Owen felt it too.

Movement. Below the sand.

His Dragon’s Eye activated. CE vision penetrated the surface. Three signatures. Large. Tier 5, four-stars each. Moving fast beneath them.

“Burrowers,” Gorvax said. “Sand predators. They sense vibration.”

The sand exploded.

A creature erupted ten meters to Owen’s left. Massive. Serpentine body covered in armored plates. No eyes—just sensor organs along its head. A circular mouth ringed with rotating teeth.

[THREAT DETECTED: SAND SERPENT]

[ESTIMATED TIER: 5, FOUR-STARS]

It struck like a spear. Jaws wide.

Owen dodged. Momentum Shift. 7 CE. He appeared behind it.

The serpent’s body was still emerging from the sand. Twenty meters long. Maybe more.

Two more erupted. One targeting Gorvax. One circling for another strike at Owen.

Gorvax’s scythe manifested. He swung in a wide arc. The blade cut through armored plates like they were paper.

CRACK!

The serpent’s head separated from its body. Both halves thrashed. Then dissolved.

[KILL CONFIRMED: SAND SERPENT]

[CREDITS EARNED: 9,000]

[SHARED KILL BONUS: +4,500]

The remaining two serpents dove back underground. Circling.

Owen felt their movement through vibrations. They were coordinating. Pack hunters.

“They’re coming from below,” Owen said.

“Jump on three,” Gorvax replied. “One. Two. Three!”

They both leaped.

The sand beneath them erupted. Two serpents burst upward, jaws snapping at empty air.

Owen activated Dragon’s Breath mid-air. 150 CE.

Black flames poured down onto the nearest serpent. Fire consumed its exposed body. It shrieked. Dove back underground, trying to extinguish the flames in sand.

Didn’t work. His new flames didn’t need oxygen.

The serpent surfaced again. Thrashing. Dying.

[KILL CONFIRMED: SAND SERPENT]

[CREDITS EARNED: 9,000]

[TOTAL CREDITS: 653,000]

The final serpent fled. Dove deep. Disappeared.

Owen landed. His CE at 2,890.

Gorvax touched down beside him. “They’ll be back. These serpents hold grudges.”

“Then we gotta keep moving.”

They continued northwest.

—

Four hours later, they reached the oasis.

It wasn’t large. Maybe fifty meters across. A pool of water surrounded by sparse vegetation. A few withered trees. Rock formations providing minimal shade.

But it was life in a dead zone.

And predators knew it.

Owen counted at least five different CE signatures around the oasis. All Tier 5, three to five-stars. Drinking. Resting. Hunting each other.

“This is neutral ground,” Gorvax said. “Predators don’t fight at the water during the day. Truce. They wait until something weak comes along.”

“We’re something.”

“But not weak.”

They approached carefully. Hands visible. Non-threatening.

The predators watched. Evaluated. A massive six-legged creature with crystal spikes along its back. A reptilian hunter with chameleon skin. Something that looked like living shadow with too many eyes.

None attacked.

Owen and Gorvax reached the water. Knelt. Drank.

The water was cold. Clean. Pure. Owen’s body absorbed it gratefully.

They filled makeshift containers—hollowed gourds Korvan had given them.

Then they retreated to the rock formations. Found a defensible position. Settled in to wait.

“We’ll hunt at dusk,” Gorvax said. “Predators get aggressive when the suns set. They fight over territory. We pick off the winners when they’re wounded.”

“Sounds efficient enough.”

“Survival isn’t about fighting fair. It’s about fighting smart.”

Owen nodded. He cycled his RCT. Slowly recovering CE.

2,890… 2,920… 2,950…

Hours passed.

The suns descended. Orange and white light turning the desert red and gold.

And as predicted, the predators grew restless.

The six-legged crystal creature challenged the reptilian hunter. A territorial dispute over the best drinking spot.

They clashed.

Crystal spikes met camouflaged claws. Both Tier 5, four-stars. Both evenly matched.

The fight lasted ten minutes.

The crystal creature won. Barely. Its opponent fled, wounded, leaving a trail of blood across the sand.

The crystal creature roared victory. Limped to the water. Drank deeply.

Its guard was down.

Gorvax moved first.

Silent. Fast. His scythe appeared mid-swing.

CRACK!

The blade cut through the creature’s rear leg. It collapsed. Roared. Tried to turn.

Owen was already there. 200 CE punch to its exposed underside.

BOOM!

The creature’s crystalline armor shattered. Internal organs ruptured.

It collapsed.

[KILL CONFIRMED: CRYSTAL STALKER]

[CREDITS EARNED: 11,000]

[SHARED KILL BONUS: +5,500]

[BONUS: OPPORTUNISTIC KILL – +3,000]

[TOTAL CREDITS: 672,500]

The other predators scattered. Fled. The oasis belonged to Owen and Gorvax now.

At least until morning.

They set up camp in the rocks. Took turns keeping watch.

As night fell, the temperature dropped drastically. From searing heat to near-freezing cold.

Owen adjusted his CE expenditure. 2 per minute to stay warm.

The desert sky was clear. Stars visible. Millions of them. Unfamiliar constellations.

Somewhere among those stars, Yuki was waiting. The hatchlings. Drak’thar. His world.

’I’m coming home. I promise.’

A notification appeared.

[SURVIVAL TIME: 5 DAYS, 3 HOURS]

[PRISONERS REMAINING: 177 (Season 47) + ~300 (Lifers)]

Owen checked the broadcast interface. Viewer engagement was high. 340 million people watching his feed specifically.

Comments scrolled past:

“False Fist + Sower alliance is OP”

“How long until Crucible Kings find them?”

“Betting 50k credits he survives Month 1 hunt”

“No way. The Nullborn hunter will wreck him”

Owen dismissed the interface. He didn’t care what the viewers thought.

He cared about credits. About survival. About going home.

Gorvax sat nearby. Staring toward the north. Toward the Tribunal HQ billions of light-years away where Seri waited.

“You think she’s watching?” Gorvax asked quietly.

“Probably.”

“She hates this. Violence. Death. All of it.” Gorvax’s voice was soft. “Five hundred years together. I tried to keep her away from what I did. The harvests. The killings. She knew. But I never let her see.”

“And now she’s watching you fight for your life.”

“Yes.” Gorvax’s hands clenched. “Every kill. Every wound. She sees it all.”

Owen was quiet for a moment. Then: “She’s watching because she believes you’ll survive. Because she loves you enough to endure it.”

Gorvax looked at him. “You think that makes it better?”

“No. But. it makes it meaningful.”

Gorvax turned back to the stars. “When we get out—if we get out—I’m done. No more harvesting. No more running. I’ll find some quiet corner of the cosmos and spend her remaining years in peace.”

“That’s a good plan.”

“What about you? If you earn the pardon?”

Owen thought of his valley. His cave. The view of distant mountains. “Get stronger. Go home. Back to my world. Protect my people. Live quietly. Maybe build something instead of destroying it for once.”

“Simple enough.”

“The best plans usually are.”

They sat in silence.

The desert night surrounded them. Cold. Vast. Unforgiving.

But they were still alive.

Still fighting.

—

The next three weeks passed in a rhythm.

Hunt. Kill. Survive. Rest. Repeat.

Owen and Gorvax became a precise hunting team. Gorvax drew attention with overwhelming power. Owen struck from angles predators couldn’t defend.

Their credit counts climbed.

Day 6: 741,000 credits (Rank #43)

Day 8: 896,000 credits (Rank #39)

Day 11: 1,124,000 credits (Rank #35)

Day 14: 1,487,000 credits (Rank #31)

Day 18: 1,923,000 credits (Rank #27)

Day 21: 2,456,000 credits (Rank #23)

They avoided Crucible King patrols. Twice they spotted groups of veterans passing through Zone 12. Each time, they hid. Waited. Let them pass.

No unnecessary fights.

They encountered other Season 47 prisoners occasionally. Most fled. Two tried to fight. Both died.

[PRISONERS REMAINING: 164 (Season 47) + ~298 (Lifers)]

Owen’s combat skills sharpened. His CE control improved. His Dragon’s Eye allowed him to predict movements earlier. His Cosmic Impact Fist became more refined—same damage, less energy cost.

His base CE climbed through constant RCT practice: 5,600 → 5,800 → 6,000.

Gorvax’s combat efficiency was already brutal. But working with Owen made him faster. More precise. Less wasteful.

They were becoming apex predators themselves.

On day 24, they returned to the oasis at dusk.

Something was different.

The usual predators weren’t there. The water was undisturbed. The area was silent.

Too silent.

Owen’s CE sense flared. He scanned the area.

Nothing.

But his instincts screamed danger.

“We should leave,” Owen said.

Gorvax agreed immediately. “Yes.”

They turned to go.

A voice spoke from the rocks. Female. Amused.

“Leaving so soon? And I came all this way to meet you.”

Owen’s blood ran cold.

He knew that voice.

A figure emerged from the shadows. Tall. Furred. Horned. Golden eyes gleaming.

Raxka.

The Nullborn hunter.

Tier 2, two-stars.

She grinned. Sharp teeth. Predatory.

“Hello, whelp. Miss me?”

The Month 1 Hunt had arrived early.

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