Chapter 186: The Stone Golem's Heart, Discovery of Intelligent Beings
After encountering a few desert scorpions.
Tang Zheng and the Evil Spirit Hound continued onward. The existence of living creatures at least meant there was a chance of finding intelligent life here.
As long as he could obtain some basic information, this trip wouldn't have been for nothing for Tang Zheng.
But it was simply too desolate.
The air was dry, and the midday temperature could exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Besides sand, there was only gravel.
Even with desert scorpions, Tang Zheng was lucky to encounter just one or two in half a day during his ongoing exploration. It seemed that even tenacious monsters struggled to survive in this land.
Furthermore!
Tang Zheng had also discovered a critical point: so far, he had not found any source of water in this desert-like gobi.
Since he arrived in this area, there had been almost no clouds in the sky, with the sun blazing down relentlessly.
The reason those desert scorpions could survive was likely due to groundwater.
Tang Zheng's item box contained plenty of spare water pouches, so he didn't need to worry about water. Even if all the water in these pouches was depleted, he still had the Great Wine Jug obtained from the Lizardman.
On the seventh day since entering the Gobi Desert.
Tang Zheng patted the sand and dust off his clothing. His throat felt a little dry. He picked up a water pouch, took a few big gulps, and then handed it to the Evil Spirit Hound beside him.
"Awooo~"
The Evil Spirit Hound was panting, its tongue lolling out, as it hastily opened its mouth to catch the water flowing from the water pouch.
As a monster covered in thick fur and used to living in a forest, it was clearly not adapted to this kind of desert environment.
"Good work. Keep searching." After pouring most of the water into the Evil Spirit Hound's mouth, Tang Zheng reached out and patted its head.
"Roar."
The Evil Spirit Hound licked the water from the corner of its mouth, nodded, then its body rapidly shrank, transforming into a goshawk that soared into the sky.
Tang Zheng put away the water pouch, scanned his surroundings, and walked toward a nearby half-man-high black rock. He raised his palm and gently pressed it against the black rock:
"Magic mark."
Currently, after traveling a certain distance, he would leave a magic mark on a conspicuous stone nearby to ensure he wouldn't get lost in this vast Gobi Desert.
He could also use it to determine his direction of travel through perception.
*Bang!*
Just as Tang Zheng removed his palm from the black rock, he saw the black rock begin to vibrate. Immediately after, the ground around the black rock also began to shake.
"This is…"
Tang Zheng's gaze lifted. He leaped back, leaving his previous spot and putting about six to seven meters between himself and the black rock.
*Boom! Boom!*
The sand around the black rock began to sink, pulling the surrounding grit into quicksand that continuously converged toward the center.
Meanwhile, the black rock's vibrations intensified, as if some kind of creature had been abruptly awakened.
The half-meter-tall black rock suddenly began to rise and undergo a slight transformation, actually turning into a stone head.
Along with a loud rumble!
Arms made of rock emerged from the desert and slammed heavily onto the sand. A completely black Rock Giant, over five meters tall, climbed out from under the sand.
*Boom!*
The Rock Giant's stone eyes, set in a blurry face, looked down at the seemingly tiny Tang Zheng below. It raised a thick rock arm and smashed it down toward him.
"It's actually a living thing."
A look of surprise and delight appeared on Tang Zheng's face. Facing the heavily descending rock arm, he pushed off with his right foot and dodged to the left.
*Bang!*
With a loud bang, a large crater was smashed into the sand.
"Charm Species!" Tang Zheng activated the magic. This was the first Race resembling an intelligent creature he had seen since arriving in this region.
This wasn't the northwestern corner of the continent where Humans lived; most of the continent was ruled by Demi-humans and Heteromorphic Races.
Therefore, it wasn't strange to encounter any kind of peculiar Race in this unknown territory.
A wave of magic spread out, flashing over the Rock Giant's body!
Hm?
Tang Zheng was stunned. He leaped back again as the Rock Giant's other arm smashed down with a roar.
"Charm Species" actually had no effect!
A racial trait?
Some unique Races did indeed possess the ability to be immune to mental-type effects.
"My apologies if I disturbed your slumber."
Tang Zheng dodged the attacks of the somewhat frenzied Rock Giant while speaking, attempting to communicate with it:
"Excuse me, where is this place? I was wondering if we could talk properly?"
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
The Rock Giant continuously swung its thick arms, smashing at Tang Zheng, showing no intention of speaking.
"Can't you speak? Or are you not an intelligent race, but just some unique kind of monster?" Seeing that it not only wouldn't speak but also seemed to lack any emotion, Tang Zheng couldn't help but frown slightly.
*Bang!*
The Rock Giant, seeing that its continuous attacks couldn't hit this annoying little thing dodging back and forth, retracted its raised arms and its whole body shrank.
Transforming into a large, rolling ball of black stone, it charged forward fiercely.
The rolling ball of black stone had already reached Tang Zheng after just two rotations, exuding a terrifying, unstoppable momentum!
"Since communication is impossible."
Facing the encroaching shadow, an iron sword appeared in Tang Zheng's palm. The moment the black stone ball reached him, he had already swung the iron sword.
*Screee—*
A spark flared at the moment the sword blade made contact with the Rock Giant. Its terrifying momentum plummeted, and then it rolled to a stop behind Tang Zheng.
Tang Zheng stood unharmed, retracting the iron sword. "Only around Level 20. It really is all brawn. But the hardness of its rock body isn't bad."
[Experience Gained: 3271]
[Experience Bar: 11162/120000]
*Rumble!*
*Crack!*
Behind Tang Zheng, the giant rolling stone shattered into two halves, crashing onto the rocks on either side with a roar.
Tang Zheng turned to look at the Rock Giant, which had turned into rubble. There was no blood like a normal creature, only a shattered body with the same composition as ordinary stone.
"What's this?" In the center of the Rock Giant's shattered body, Tang Zheng saw something at its chest reflecting a brownish light.
He walked over and picked it up.
It was a fist-sized black stone from which he could clearly feel fluctuations of magic power.
"Item Appraisal."
...
Item: Stone Golem's Heart
Level: Middle Class (21-30)
Effect: A magic material containing earth-attribute energy. If placed underground, there is a certain probability that a new Rock Giant will be born.
Introduction: I am not yet dead!
...
Tang Zheng glanced at the appraisal information and stored it in his item box. It was a decent material, an unexpected gain.
"I'll have to leave a new 'magic mark.'"
With the Rock Giant dead, the magic mark on it was also destroyed. He would have to find another rock to serve as a new marker.
*Whoosh—*
In the sky, the blur of the transformed Evil Spirit Hound rapidly returned from a distance. At the same time, Tang Zheng also sensed something, and his eyes lit up.
At this moment!
About five kilometers from Tang Zheng's position.
A wooden cart was struggling through the desert, with three figures pulling from the front and two pushing from behind.
These five figures were not tall, only about one and a half meters in height, but their bodies were exceptionally strong, with well-developed, bulging muscles.
The wooden cart was piled high with all sorts of ores.
After traveling for some distance, they all stopped to catch their breath.
"I wonder if the war over at the oasis has ended."
"Haha, with that bunch of trash who don't even have a few decent weapons?"
"Don't be ridiculous. You can't even call that a war. Does that lowly, stupid Race deserve to live in the oasis?"
"That's right! Our real enemies are those bastards outside Shadow Valley! We will rebuild our Kingdom and take back everything that belongs to us!"
"Um, I heard an old rumor…"
"Shut up!"
"You idiot, you actually believe a rumor like that."
"..."
The voices of the five figures sounded intermittently.
(end of chapter)