Chapter 52: The Land of Yellow Sands
He also disregarded the escort missions unless one caught his particular interest. His focus, therefore, was on disaster elimination tasks.
With clear objectives and straightforward rewards for clearing the threat, this type of mission was the simplest. Plus, if the disaster was a creature, he could potentially consume it and make full use of it.
Harvey found more than he expected in terms of monster-hunting tasks, though it made sense— not every planet was as secure as Earth. He selected a task involving a desert creature on Mogri Prime.
The task description indicated that the creature caused widespread destruction by burrowing and kicking up sandstorms, causing significant problems for the inhabitants of Mogri Prime. The mission was posted 11 years and 74 days ago, with a bounty of 5 million credits and 687 attempts.
This bounty had seen many attempts but no completions—either the hunters had died or abandoned the task. Nonetheless, Harvey was undeterred. After choosing the task, a starship route appeared on his transparent display, indicating the destination was 30 light-years away from Shandar Prime.
The display also showed that the bounty could be claimed directly from King Ob Mogri of Mogri Prime upon completion.
Lacey, initially intending to offer additional advice, saw Harvey accept the mission. Knowing her chances of getting those promised drinks were slim, she offered a final parting wish, "Good luck, Mr. Kassadin."
"See you later, Miss Lacey," Harvey replied with a nod before leaving.
"Looks like you wasted your efforts, Lacey."
"Don't remind me. I'm in a bad mood."
"I'd bet that guy won't complete the task and will probably die trying."
"Who would be foolish enough to bet on that? I'll bet he'll die, and you can bet he'll survive."
"Everyone's tempted by the 5 million bounty, but you need to stay alive to claim it."
"He's new to the field and hasn't seen real danger. He probably thinks he can handle it."
"I left my right leg and fighter plane in that desert."
"Facing such a disaster-class monster, if you can return with your life, you're lucky."
In the bounty hunting profession, it was rare to retain one's original body for long. Many ended up with prosthetics. The lifestyle of spending money freely and living on the edge made it impossible to return to a peaceful life. As long as they had the ability, they would continue until the end, even if most did not end well.
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After leaving the bounty bar, Harvey teleported instantly from Shandar Prime into space. He followed the direction and distance indicated for the mission.
While others might need a spacecraft to search for wormholes over such a vast distance, to Harvey, even a journey of thirty light-years was just a step away.
As he gazed at the stars, he soon located a yellowish planet nearby. A third of this planet was covered in desert.
Harvey stepped down, and a black void appeared, making him vanish from his original location. Moments later, he reappeared atop a vast expanse of yellow sand.
The planet's gravity was twice that of Earth, and the temperature was like a scalding hot stove. The air shimmered from the intense heat.
In such conditions, a person without protective gear would soon perish from dehydration and high temperatures, becoming a skeleton. Even those piloting spacecraft would struggle to survive if their craft were destroyed.
Walking on the yellow sand, Harvey could see everything beneath it. Three hundred meters below the sand, numerous crustacean monsters thrived, making the desert a monster's paradise.
The deeper he went, the larger the monsters became. The largest ones were twenty meters wide and over fifty meters long, with tails extending to a hundred meters.
The desert's deepest level, two thousand meters below the surface, was where the main monster resided. This creature, resembling a colossal scorpion, ruled the desert. Smaller scorpions, each over ten meters long, burrowed through the sand, searching for prey on the surface to feed the giant below.
The monster could cause sandstorms, and its deep-seated location explained why so many had failed the mission. A sandstorm combined with the massive creature's attacks was nearly unstoppable.
Encountering an enemy, would trigger a sandstorm and retreat to the desert's depths. For most, this desert was a fiery hell, but for the monster, it was the perfect shield.
Even a fleet would struggle to pose a threat. Destroying the desert would be necessary to kill it, but the task's bounty was only 5 million credits. It seemed the planet's king and residents were unaware of the monster's true power.
Harvey decided not to ask for more money, as this was his first task, not a designated one. Completing it successfully was more important.
As he warped directly above the monster, it sensed being watched and opened its eyes. Years of hunting had honed its danger perception.
The heavy quicksand didn't impede its movement but rather aided it, creating a swirling vortex to drag Harvey down.
Harvey simply levitated, summoning purple energy spikes that struck down into the sand. The void spikes pierced through the sand, causing a massive explosion.
The desert trembled as a colossal pit formed, and torrents of quicksand poured in. A massive shadow emerged from the desert's depths, letting out a thunderous wail.
The yellow sand whipped up into the air, and the wind carried it, changing the landscape. Before the giant beast, Harvey appeared armored in a layer of purple energy, completely shielded from the sand.
Watching the monster's agonized cries, Harvey transformed his right hand into a purple scythe and moved with precision, delivering sixteen swift strikes.
The monster's wails ceased abruptly as its massive body was sliced into neat chunks, purple blood staining the desert's yellow sands.