Chapter 322: Broken Core, Centaur Blacksmith

After understanding what Faraway meant, everyone quickly sprang into action.

In an instant, players unleashed a barrage of Combat Skills, Magic, and Prayers. They slammed into the walls of the Sand Castle, creating a thunderous roar and leaving behind a mess of holes and craters.

The entire topmost level of the Sand Castle was now on the verge of collapse.

Seeing this, the Golden Sand Venerable Lord grew frantic. His eyes bulged as he screamed himself hoarse.

“Stop! Stop it!”

“Damn it! You damned outsiders!”

“Why… Argh… Why are you forcing my hand!”

He unleashed a frenzied barrage of attacks, but it had no effect on them.

Realizing he couldn’t stop them, he steeled himself. With a look of agony on his face, he retreated, apparently to make his Last Stand.

A moment later, a voice thick with suppressed pain drifted down from the topmost level.

“Master of Agony… I offer everything to you… I beseech your favor…”

“Here, I…”

“…offer you… the ultimate pain!!!”

The thunderous crash of the walls was loud, but the Golden Sand Venerable Lord’s final, desperate roar still reached the players’ ears.

The players all had a bad feeling, but they had no time to dwell on it. They could only redouble their efforts to destroy the walls.

BOOM!

As Luo Ge’s charged Giant Stone Skill slammed down, light streamed through the cracks, and the entire topmost level of the Sand Castle finally came crashing down.

At the same time, a black-red mist erupted from where the top level had been. It seemed something terrifying had just descended.

A heart-wrenching wail echoed across the entire island…

…

「A few minutes earlier.」

After getting Faraway’s permission, Shore quickly made his way to a house near the Sand Castle, the one where the hammering was loudest.

Pushing the door open, he saw a massive, golden figure made of sand. He was so startled that he instinctively moved to cast a spell.

But he quickly realized the figure was just an inanimate object with no intention of attacking him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

As if sensing his arrival, the hammering suddenly stopped. A weathered, hoarse voice spoke.

“If you haven’t brought the materials, there’s no need to rush me.”

Hearing the voice, Shore scanned the room and found a set of stairs leading down. After a moment’s thought, he cautiously descended.

CLANG, CLANG.

The hammering resumed. The owner of the voice seemed to have thrown himself back into his work.

When he reached the basement, Shore finally got a clear look at the speaker, and his eyes went wide.

The speaker’s upper body was human and his lower body was that of a horse. He carried a massive brass contraption on his back, from which extended several pairs of crystal Prosthetic Limbs.

However, nearly every part of his body was damaged or incomplete in some way, covered by sections forged from brass or crystal.

The centaur-like creature was currently swinging two stout arms, hammering an object on a forging table. The Prosthetic Limbs on his back worked in perfect concert, methodically supplying him with materials or sorting tools.

He stopped abruptly, undoubtedly having sensed Shore’s presence. He turned slowly, revealing a weathered face obscured by long, matted hair.

“Who… are you?”

He looked puzzled, seemingly oblivious to everything that was happening at the Sand Castle.

Shore was taken aback. He hadn’t expected to find a scene like this. He quickly gathered his thoughts before speaking.

“I am a Candle Spirit from Candle Island. I’ve come in search of the Broken Core.”

“And who are you? Why are you here?”

As he spoke, Shore subtly tightened his grip on his Magic Staff, remaining wary of the creature.

Although he didn’t know anything about this centaur NPC, he suspected the Prosthetic Limbs on his body were related to the Gaelguda he’d read about on the forums.

However, since he clearly resided within the Sand Castle, there was a good chance he was an enemy.

“The Broken Core…”

The centaur noticed Shore’s hostility but seemed unconcerned.

“I don’t have that here. Leave. Please do not disturb my work. Thank you.”

The centaur’s reply was flat. He showed no intention of introducing himself, simply turning back to the object he was forging.

Faced with this situation, Shore was momentarily stunned, unsure of what to do.

He was just about to message the others when a furious roar, accompanied by a massive tremor, shook the area.

RUMBLE—

The entire basement shuddered. The centaur involuntarily stopped his work. After a moment’s thought, he looked at Shore, his brow furrowed slightly.

“What happened?”

Distracted by the sudden turn of events, Shore forgot all about the centaur before him.

Li Miao had just explained everything clearly in the team channel.

“The Golden Sand Venerable Lord has been pushed into a corner and is using his ultimate! Get over here, quick!”

Shore immediately bolted for the exit.

…

In the open ground at the center of the Sand Castle, the collapsed top level lay in smithereens. The Golden Sand Venerable Lord had fallen with it, landing with a THUD. He lay half-buried and motionless, apparently dead.

But a black-red aura was continuously pouring from his body, coalescing into the form of a savage, roaring demon that let out a silent scream.

An eerie Power spread out in ripples. Countless Painful Evil Ghosts began to claw their way out of the ground, while flocks of ominous black birds began to circle in the sky.

The entire Sand Castle was now a scene of armageddon.

“Aaargh—”

The moment Shore stepped outside, before he could even react, a Painful Evil Ghost lunged right at his face, grabbing him in a death grip.