Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode
Chapter 340: Desert Again

Chapter 340: Desert Again

A portal opened in the middle of a vast desert.

This was the same place where Clyde had fought the second anomaly, alongside Leyan and Samuel. The land was still fractured, with chunks of sand and rock floating in the air, held aloft by an invisible force.

The remnants of the anomaly he had slain—the black substance and its strange energy—were now completely gone, as if they had evaporated after the true host had been destroyed.

Yet, according to Graemory, the black substance could still survive if infused with enough magic power. That meant the reason it had vanished here was likely due to the absence of any remaining energy to sustain it.

It was just another mystery—one more thing that left Clyde uneasy.

Shaking off the thought, he resumed his journey across this ruined world, searching for more monsters to hunt. He needed to kill as many as possible to gain Exp.

But deep down, he knew there was a chance he might encounter something far worse—a creature tainted by the anomaly that twisted into something new.

Clyde then flew through the air, his body cutting through the dusty winds of the ruined desert. The sky above was a dull orange, the sun now obscured by a haze that never truly lifted. This desert is dry, but not as hot as before. something clearly changed.

After a few minutes of flight, he spotted movement below, monsters lurking within the endless dunes.

A group of serpentine creatures with brown scales slithered across the desert, their long, sinuous bodies blending seamlessly with the golden sands. Their scales were cracked and dry but still lookes resilient, and their eyes glowed a dull amber as they sensed Clyde’s presence.

These creatures were fast. They burrowing beneath the surface in an instant as if waiting for the right moment to strike.

Clyde didn’t waste any time. He raised his hand, and lightning crackled around his fingertips. He activated his [Pure Lightning] skill.

A bright bolt shot from his palm, striking the sand just as one of the drakes attempted to burrow underground. The electric surge rippled through the ground, forcing the creature back up with a violent shriek. Sparks danced along its body, stunning it.

Clyde descended like a hawk, his Elderglass sword gleaming in his grip. The transparent blade shimmered, shifting from clear to deep blue as it absorbed the lightning energy.

He landed with a sharp thud, kicking up a swirl of sand, and swung his sword in a swift arc. The charged blade carved through the stunned drake’s thick hide with ease, splitting its head cleanly in two.

The remaining drakes hissed, their long forked tongues flickering as they circled him. They were smarter than they looked and can coordinate themselves, waiting for the right opening.

One lunged from behind.

Clyde spun, switching his sword’s element. The blade turned crimson, heat rippling off its surface.

He slashed through the air, and a wave of fire erupted from his sword, scorching the charging drake mid-air. The beast let out a pained screech as flames engulfed its body, turning its scales into molten slag. It crashed into the sand, writhing before falling still.

The last drake that seeing its kin slaughtered in seconds, attempted to flee and try digging into the ground with frantic speed.

Clyde lifted his sword, channeling fire through its edge until the glass-like blade glowed white-hot.

He thrust the sword forward and a spear of fire launched from its tip, piercing through the sand with a thunderous roar. A second later, the drake’s agonized wail echoed from beneath, the fire consuming it even underground.

Clyde exhaled, letting the heat from his sword fade. The Elderglass cooled instantly, its color returning to a neutral, translucent state.

He surveyed the battlefield. The three dead monsters were charred and motionless. Exp notifications flickered in his mind, but he ignored them because their number is meaningless for him.

This was only the beginning.

Because at this point he could feel it. Something stronger was lurking in this desert and he intended to find it.

Clyde moved at a relentless pace, cutting down every monster he encountered as he advanced toward the point where he sensed the presence of a powerful creature. Exp notifications continued to appear but he ignored them. He was only a little past the halfway mark toward leveling up, but it didn’t matter right now.

He kept killing, his sword slicing through beasts effortlessly, but his mind was elsewhere—churning through the things he needed to do. There were some truths that only he knew, things he should have told Graemory earlier. But his thoughts had been so cluttered that he had forgotten.

He should have asked about the Angel with the long hair, pale face, and overwhelming presence. And what was Asmodeus doing now, after Clyde had taken his precious artifact from the Burned Ruin?

More importantly, Clyde recalled how the anomaly had mentioned Asmodeus’s artifact. It knew about it. It wanted him to take it.

Why? What was the artifact’s true purpose?

His mind continued to race, even as he effortlessly cut through the sand-dwelling monsters that emerged in his path. They were too weak to warrant his full attention—his body moved on instinct, slashing and burning everything in his way.

Then, he saw it.

A towering figure loomed in the distance, its aura heavy and suffocating. This was the source of the sensation he had felt earlier. A true monster he was supposed to look for.

Clyde landed in front of the creature.

It was humanoid.

Its body was wrapped in a tattered black robe, the fabric frayed and worn as if it had endured centuries of decay. A stone-like mask covered the lower half of its face, rough and uneven—though Clyde couldn’t tell if it was an actual mask or if its face had corrupted into stone over time.

Despite its humanoid form, its proportions were unnatural. It stood nearly five meters tall, its towering presence casting a long shadow over the sand. Clyde’s gaze flickered to its exposed hands—its skin looked hardened, almost as if made of solid rock, while the parts of its body that peeked through the robe carried the same rough, stone-like texture.

Then, its eyes met his.

A cold, unsettling familiarity ran through Clyde.

Those were the same eyes as the anomaly he had fought here before.

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