Endymion cast a Windstride Spell on his mech, and sure enough, its speed increased—but only marginally. The boost was barely noticeable. After all, Windstride was the lowest-tier wind magic, his magical proficiency was still limited, and the mech itself was far too heavy. A minor buff like that couldn't do much.
Eventually, he gave up and canceled the spell. It wasn't worth wasting mana—better to save it for when it might matter.
Meanwhile, Lin Yun fought like a machine. Her lightblade pierced yet another monster, but her movements were slowing, her grace giving way to exhaustion. She was bone-weary, but she held the line. Piles of monster corpses littered the ground, yet more kept coming, as if they were endless. Behind her lay Duanmu Xiaoya—unconscious inside her mech.
Though not the weakest among them, Xiaoya had been the first to collapse from sheer exhaustion. On the other side, Duanmu Bai was barely holding on. The twin brothers, Duanmu Xiaozhuang and Duanmu Xiaopang, were still standing, but their mechs were clearly damaged—something none of them had expected.
Who could have guessed these creatures could bite through a mech's armor?
"Is this really the end?" Lin Yun's heart sank bitterly. It was only the second day of their trial, and they were already at the brink. Their mechs were nearly drained of energy. They couldn't recharge here in the wilderness, and the only way to fight these beasts was through constant use of particle beams—even her particle cannon had come into play. And yet, for every wave she felled, another surged up from the sand. It was unnatural.
Another monster lunged. Same old attack pattern—but this time, Lin Yun found herself too slow to dodge. Fatigue tugged at her like chains.
In that instant of hesitation, the creature's massive jaws clamped down on her mech. She heard the metallic crack as armor gave way. A chunk was ripped off.
The beast lunged again——but before it struck, a particle beam seared through its flank. It screamed and collapsed.
Endymion had arrived.
Beam after beam fired from his mech, cutting down monsters with lethal precision. His arrival turned the tide.
Reinvigorated, Lin Yun joined the offensive. She could no longer spare energy for her weapons, so she took the risk of ramming the monsters directly. To her surprise, it worked better than expected. With Endymion providing cover fire, their enemies were quickly reduced to a handful.
And then—silence. The last beast fell.
Lin Yun slumped forward, finally giving out. The desert was quiet. No more monsters emerged from the sand.
Xiaoya remained unconscious. Lin Yun and the others were technically still awake, but completely drained. Endymion wasn't faring much better. His physical endurance had never been strong, and this extended mech battle had left him at his limit.
If even one more monster appeared, all six of them would die here.
"Eat something. Regain your strength. We need to find a safe place to rest," Lin Yun's voice came through weakly. She climbed out of her mech and headed toward Xiaoya.
One hour later.
Xiaoya was awake, and everyone had recovered somewhat. Meanwhile, Endymion had taken it upon himself to investigate the monster corpses.
He had hoped they might be edible—after all, food supplies were limited. If these beasts could be eaten, that would ease their burden significantly.
But he was quickly disappointed.
Their "flesh" didn't feel like flesh at all. More like sand—dry and coarse, nearly identical in texture and color to the desert around them. Even stranger, there was no blood, not a single drop from any of the wounds.
There were no bones. No muscles. No internal organs. These creatures seemed to be made entirely of compressed sand.
"Where's the heart? Even mechanical beasts should have a core," Endymion muttered, dissecting deeper.
It took him over two hours to dig through one corpse. But finally, he found it.
A fist-sized crystal, buried deep within the monster's body. Unlike the rest of the beast, which resembled plain yellow sand, this gem was jet black, pulsing faintly with light. Most astonishing of all—it radiated magical energy.
Could this be a magic crystal?
Excitement surged through him. It didn't resemble the magic crystals of the Auro Continent, but perhaps this planet's version was simply different.
He poured a wisp of mana into the gem, probing its interior. The reservoir of magic it contained was immense—and it wasn't just magic. There was another kind of energy too.
Wait… he knew this energy—it was mech energy, the exact same kind his machine used to operate.
"Ha ha ha!" Endymion burst into laughter, unable to contain his joy. The heavens hadn't forsaken them after all.
This crystal was a miracle—a dual-source energy core. With it, they could recharge their mechs.
"What are you laughing at?" Lin Yun's sharp voice cut through the moment. She had just called everyone to move out. Instead, Endymion had been crouched over the monster corpse, grinning like a madman.
"Ah—nothing," he replied quickly.
"Forget him," Duanmu Bai scoffed. "If he wants to hang out with these disgusting beasts, let him."
"We're leaving? Where to?" Endymion asked, snapping back to the present.
"Anywhere but here," Bai said coldly. "We can't stay in this spot forever. And don't worry—just stick with us. Not that you'll be much help."
"That's enough, Duanmu Bai," Lin Yun snapped. "Don't forget—if Endymion hadn't arrived when he did, we'd all be dead by now."