First, Striking at the Root

The movement of the quicksand was much quieter than Shane had imagined. If not for Sara's warning, he probably wouldn't have noticed it until it was right before his eyes.

However, Shane was not without a solution. Following Sara's warning, Shane looked at a long stone about a hundred meters away. It was roughly half a meter tall, its top painted with eye-catching red pigment.

Behind it, spaced ten meters apart, were similar stones, totaling seven in all.

These stones were arranged in a straight line, alternating left and right so they wouldn't block the line of sight.

Sara had helped gather the stones and pigment. Even Shane had to admit that Sara was far more responsible than he had expected. Aside from the time she spent raising her larvae, she spent most of her time helping monitor the quicksand and coordinating with their work.

As he was thinking this, the first stone suddenly shifted. At first, it was just a slight tremor, and then it began to slowly drift to one side.

A few seconds later, Shane noticed that the stone had clearly sunk a bit. Then, the second stone also began to wobble slightly.

By the time the second stone started moving, the first had already submerged into the quicksand, vanishing from sight.

“Ksaz.”

Shane suppressed his inner tension, his voice remaining calm as he instructed Ksaz on what to do next. “The quicksand is moving faster than expected. I need you to stand by twenty meters away and only act when you hear my command.”

Hearing this, Ksaz didn't leave immediately. He first glanced at the approaching quicksand, then looked at Shane with deep concern. “Are you going to stay here, sir? The quicksand is already right in front of us.”

As the third stone began to wobble, Shane knew there was no time for long explanations, so he quickened his pace. “We don't have enough soul bones, so I have to fill the gap myself. During this time, I must remain completely still. My skeletal warhorse won't hold out for long, so I'll need you to step in when the time comes.”

“If we succeed, there will be no casualties. But if we fail...”

Shane looked at Ksaz, his meaning clear.

But there was not a hint of fear on Ksaz's face. Instead, he raised his hand and thumped his chest hard. “Understood, Mr. Leynas. Rest assured and leave the rest to me. I will make sure you remain safe and sound.”

With that, Ksaz turned and ran outward, stopping about twenty meters away from Shane.

Shane took a deep breath and looked at the stones. The fourth stone had already disappeared. He knew it was time; he could wait no longer.

He raised his hand and glanced at the Ring of the Exiled on his finger—the very artifact that suppressed most of his power. With a soft chuckle, he raised his hand above his head, spread his fingers, and slowly closed his eyes.

The death magic within his body began to surge wildly through his circuits, gathering and rising until it began to manifest in his palm.

Under Shane's continuous channeling, the dark green glow grew larger. Its surface swelled and boiled, eventually forming a massive sphere of magic.

Then, like flowing liquid, the magic sphere began to stream downward. It slipped through Shane's fingers, ran down his body, and dripped onto the ground.

At this moment, the sixth stone began to tilt, and the death magic beneath Shane started spreading toward the bone pillars.

The moment the first bone pillar came into contact with the death magic, it trembled violently. A crisp, cracking sound echoed between its joints as strange patterns began to surface on its exterior.

A dark green glow emerged from these patterns, spreading across the entire bone pillar.

Then, the death magic continued to spread. One by one, the bone pillars transformed from their original pale white to a deep, dark green, resembling black jade.

Finally, when the seventh bone pillar was completely transformed, the sandy ground had changed entirely. The original yellow-brown sand had turned into a dark green, viscous substance.

Shane kept his eyes closed, but his raised arm slowly lowered, pointing straight ahead.

And the dark green sludge beneath him, as if hearing a command, began to advance toward the quicksand.

The quicksand, which had already swallowed the seventh stone, showed no fear. It slowly shifted its mass toward the sludge.

Twenty meters, ten meters, five meters... three meters, two meters...

One meter!

The quicksand and the sludge slowly merged. However, the violent collision one might have expected did not occur. Instead, it was like oil meeting water—mixing together, yet remaining distinctly separate.

But the quicksand did not stop there, continuing its slow crawl toward the oasis.

Soon, carrying the sludge with it, the quicksand reached Shane. The skeletal warhorse's bony hooves were gradually covered by the sand, and its body was slowly dragged down into the yellow dunes.

Yet, Shane did not panic, for the effect of the bone pillars was only just beginning to take hold.

Although the time to craft these tools had been rushed, because he had refined them countless times before, their quality had not suffered.

Their purpose, aside from amplifying a necromancer's magic, was to influence the surrounding magical elements.

Their deeply buried bone spurs, much like plant roots, could disrupt the surrounding elements—excluding death magic.

Therefore, this was Shane's first line of defense against the quicksand—magic interference.

“Ksaz!”

“Coming!”

With Shane's command, his skeletal warhorse was on the verge of being swallowed by the quicksand. Ksaz, who had been waiting anxiously on the side, rushed to him the very instant he heard the order.

Ksaz reached out, lifted Shane onto his shoulders, and stood in place of the skeletal warhorse, planting himself firmly in the sand.

At that moment, Shane clenched his outstretched palm. With this motion, the sludge that had only been floating on the surface of the sand began to grow active.

No longer like slick oil merely swirling on the surface, it became slicker and finer, beginning to permeate deep into the sand.

In moments, the sand and the sludge became indistinguishable from each other.

But the vortex did not stop, still advancing slowly, though its speed seemed to have decreased compared to before.

“Ksaz, hold on a little longer. Once I give the next command, we can withdraw.”

Hearing this, Ksaz nodded. The dark green sand had already risen past his knees, yet he remained motionless, as if the surrounding environment had absolutely no effect on him.

Then, just as the sand was about to reach the top of his thighs, Shane's command came again: “Alright, let's withdraw!”

Instantly, a faint golden light shimmered across Ksaz's body, the patterns on his scales pulsing. He slammed his foot down, causing the surrounding sand to shudder. Freeing his legs from the sand, he raised a hand to steady Shane on his shoulders and sprinted toward the high sand slope.

The moment he left, the bone pillars suddenly erupted with intense magical fluctuations. In an instant, they actually caused the quicksand's rotational speed to slow down.

“Did we succeed?”

Glancing back at the slowing quicksand, Ksaz asked. But Shane replied with his usual expressionless face, “No, this is just the beginning.”

Sure enough, as soon as Shane spoke, the slowed quicksand surged into motion once more. But this time, it was no longer spinning—it was rushing straight toward the oasis.