The Second Elite Armament

The sand waves slowly receded.

Lu Yuan waited until both the Sand Crocodile and the cat-kin girl had disappeared completely from sight before finally rising to his feet.

He dusted off his clothes, exhaled, and resumed his march toward the Ancient Sea Oasis.

Of everything he had encountered over these past two days of travel, the two that left the deepest impression were undoubtedly the Boss Grade Sand Crocodile — and the cat-kin girl who had been chasing it.

...

Sand Crocodiles were a common fixture in the desert regions surrounding Sandy Rock City. Their preferred hunting method was to bury themselves beneath the sand and ambush Gene Warriors traveling overhead, and Lu Yuan had seen more than enough complaints about exactly that on the city's regional forums. He had run into them himself several times on this journey alone.

He had studied their entry in Sandy Rock City's Feral Beast Compendium long before setting out. Common Sand Crocodiles ranged from 50% to 80% tempering, with shoulder heights anywhere from half a meter to a full meter. Their hides could be worked into leather armor; their fangs — four of them, each over ten centimeters long — made serviceable material for daggers and short blades. He had seen that complaint in the forums more times than he could count, too.

Elite Grade specimens, however, possessed a signature technique: the Sand Claw Combat Technique.

A pity that an earlier kill had dropped nothing of note — just a Common Grade armor set. And a pity that Sand Crocodiles weren't known for their speed. That combination made most encounters with them more trouble than they were worth.

Just then, the sand nearby exploded upward.

Lu Yuan's pulse spiked. He snapped his head around — and found himself staring straight into a yawning maw lined with rows of jagged fangs.

His pupils shrank to pinpoints. He drove both feet into the ground — sand burst outward in a small crater — and he was already moving sideways as the massive dark shape crashed into the spot where he had been standing a moment before.

He turned and got a clear look at his attacker.

A Sand Crocodile. Earth-yellow scales, four limbs splayed wide, body enormous. The raw intensity radiating off it announced its strength without need for further elaboration.

But what drew his eye most was the size. Crouched flat against the ground, its shoulder height was already around one and a half meters.

That was not normal. Far beyond the range of any common Sand Crocodile.

*An Elite Grade Feral Beast.* He raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. *How long has it been?*

The last Elite Grade Feral Beast he had faced had been an Elite Grade Stone Man, back in the Sandy Rock Underground Palace on his previous trip into the Land of Origin.

He grinned. "Today just wasn't your lucky day."

The Sand Crocodile, having failed to land its ambush, roared — yellow eyes blazing with killing intent — and charged at him on all fours.

Lu Yuan gripped his greatsword in both hands, planted his feet, and launched himself forward to meet it.

He closed the distance in almost an instant, greatsword carving through the air in smooth, fluid arcs — one stroke flowing into the next without a break, each slash clean and effortless.

The Sand Crocodile twisted with surprising agility and ducked under the blade. Its thick, powerful tail swept sideways at Lu Yuan.

He met it with a kick.

*Thud!!*

A dull, heavy impact. Lu Yuan skidded back two steps. The Sand Crocodile's enormous body, caught full by the force of the blow, was sent flying nearly ten meters and crashed sideways into the sand.

He moved to press the advantage — but the creature had already flipped back onto its feet before he could close the distance.

*It's strong.* Slightly below him in raw power, but only slightly. An 80% tempered Elite Feral Beast would be more than a match for any standard Gene Warrior at full tempering. There weren't many people in all of Sandy Rock City who could genuinely threaten a beast like this.

Unfortunate for it that it had run into Lu Yuan.

This time, the Sand Crocodile did not rush him recklessly. It had developed some degree of intelligence — a trait that came with higher tempering. It crouched and watched him, a new wariness visible behind those yellow eyes.

Then the sand around its claws began to move.

Streams of pale yellow sand swirled and gathered along each claw, condensing into curved, razor-edged talons of compressed sand. It lunged forward.

"Sand Claw Combat Technique?"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. He knew about it from the compendium — an Assault Type Combat Technique that channeled sand through the claws to amplify striking force. Explosive. Direct. Devastating in output.

*Clang!!*

Sand Claw met greatsword. Lu Yuan was shoved back several meters, the force traveling up both arms.

His Guardian Type Combat Techniques could not match Sand Claw in raw offensive power — that was simply the nature of the type difference. But backed by his Black Iron Body reinforcing every cell in his body, and his Moonstone providing all-around amplification, he did not need to match it blow for blow. He just needed to outlast it.

And he could.

The Sand Crocodile, seeing its strike land without breaking him, roared again and charged forward.

Lu Yuan charged in return.

*Clang!! Clang!!*

The ring of steel on scales filled the desert air. The Sand Crocodile parried the first few of his strikes with its Sand Claws, holding its ground — but each exchange cost it. After the fourth or fifth block, one of his strokes found the gap: the blade bit deep into the scales on its flank, tearing open a wide, ragged gash. Blood sprayed in a bright arc.

The Sand Crocodile let out a shrill, desperate screech and tried to wheel and flee.

Lu Yuan gave it no such opportunity.

He closed the gap without pause, greatsword descending in sweeps of black light — continuous strikes hammering the creature as it faltered, each blow driving it back further, each one reopening the wound. At last, a final thrust punched clean through the scales at its throat.

The Sand Crocodile went rigid and collapsed heavily to the ground.

It did not move again.

...

Lu Yuan pulled his sword free and shook the blood from the blade, eyes already fixed on the carcass with quiet anticipation.

Spirit Crystals materialized — a whole heap of them. He counted quickly. Three hundred and forty-nine. Comparable to what a hundred-plus Stone Men would have dropped combined.

But the Spirit Crystals were not what held his attention.

On the Sand Crocodile's body, a soft green orb of light was slowly gathering.

*An Elite Grade item!*

A smile broke across his face. He snatched the orb before it could drift away.

The Land of Origin fed the information directly into his mind.

His smile sharpened.

*A weapon-type Gene Armament!*

Of course — an Elite Feral Beast at 80% tempering would naturally produce a Gene Armament of superior quality to something lower-ranked. And as for the significance of the drop: this was only his second Elite Grade item ever. The first had been the Beetle Claw. The Moonstone did not count — that was Boss Grade.

He immediately retrieved his previous Gene Armament and absorbed the new one.

The Desert Ambush Battle Armor took shape around him — a full set in earth yellow, complete from the armored boots to the full-body plating to the gauntlets, covering nearly every part of his body. Compared to the original beetle exoskeleton armor he had started with, it was visibly more refined — more comprehensive in its coverage, more polished in its construction.

The armament's primary enhancement was strength. Defense and agility followed as secondary bonuses, layered on top of the armor's own inherent protective value. All told, a solid piece of equipment.

He felt the effects settle in immediately.

His strength rose by roughly ten percent. His defense improved as well, though not as dramatically — his baseline defenses were already high enough that the proportional gain was modest. His agility climbed by close to five percent.

For where he currently stood, that was a meaningful improvement across the board.

He took stock.

Over these four days, he had absorbed every last piece of Moonstone Spirit Essence he had been carrying. The special properties of the Spirit Essence were finally making themselves felt — his physical defense and strength had risen another notch, adding to everything his Black Iron Body and Moonstone already provided. His current strength was still slightly below a same-tempering Assault Type warrior's, but only slightly. As a Guardian Type, his physical endurance and toughness far exceeded other types by default, which more than compensated.

Worth noting: at his current strength level, the Beetle Claw greatsword's bonus to his power no longer even reached ten percent. He had come a long way.

His Gene Chain tempering stood at 91%.

Almost there.

He collected the materials from the carcass: the tough hide, workable into leather armor, and the four fangs — each well over ten centimeters long — useful for crafting daggers or light blades. The rest was not worth hauling, so he left it behind. He pocketed the Spirit Crystals as well.

Then he straightened up, brushed the sand from his hands, and walked on.

...

Two days later.

Lu Yuan crested a sand dune and stopped.

Spread out before him, beyond the last stretch of open gobi, was a deep sweep of green. A real forest. Trees.

He exhaled slowly.

"Ancient Sea Oasis," he said. "Finally made it."

He stepped forward.