Including Ali and Yaya, a total of five mbers of the Desert Hawk survived. William suffered minor injuries, while Buhara and Gel erged unscathed.
The sand bandits were completely wiped out, but only a little over a hundred people remained in the settlent… a result that was hard for them to accept.
If they were unfortunate, then the fifty captives brought by the sand bandits were lucky. Due to a montary decision by Geralt, they had temporarily avoided disaster.
And because of Law's presence, they were freed from the grasp of the sand bandits.
In front of everyone, they did sothing unexpected: they silently knelt before Law, pressing their foreheads to the ground.
The sudden gesture left Law frozen in place, utterly bewildered.
"What are you doing?" Law looked at the group of people kneeling silently before him.
From his perspective, he couldn't fully grasp the overwhelming joy and relief these people felt, as if birds freed from a cage. In this battle, he had obtained over 140 pages for his book. To him, that was likely the only reward that mattered.
Kneeling in gratitude might have seed overly formal, but their prostration wasn't just a simple act of thanks.
"Only you… only you can…"
A rough-faced man with a thick beard raised his head, tears streaming down his face… a sight that clashed sharply with his tough appearance.
His lips trembled as he stared at Law and said in a shaky voice, "Only you, sir, can save them now!"
"What?" Law was completely lost. By then, the rest of the kneeling people had also lifted their heads, their eyes filled with desperate hope as they gazed at him.
"Let explain."
Millia stood up from the crowd. She was the calst and most composed among them.
Law looked at Millia's dirt-streaked face, feeling that her obscured features and voice were sowhat familiar.
Millia stared intently at Law, her eyes sharp, as if she had glimpsed so hidden truth.
At this point, Law had stopped altering his voice with his throat, so his speech now carried his natural tone.
Just by hearing his voice, Millia imdiately recognized him as the black-haired boy from before. But what truly confird his identity for her wasn't just his voice, it was Kuro.
"They… want to ask you to rescue the prisoners held by the sand bandits at Red Rock Canyon." Millia said.
"He has no obligation to agree to your request. Moreover, you still don't understand the current situation, do you?" Before Law could respond, Salin stepped forward, cutting off the extrely difficult plea.
In her eyes, the request was utterly ridiculous.
The sand bandits had stood unshaken for years, giving even the three great oasis nations a headache. There had been attempts to eradicate them completely, but every effort had ended in failure.
If even the combined forces of three major nations couldn't solve this problem, how could they push it onto her junior?
Law watched as Salin stood protectively in front of him, having done him a small favor.
Without knowing the full strength of the sand bandits, even if rescuing the prisoners would grant him many more pages for his book, he couldn't recklessly agree to such a request.
Salin calmly scanned the group of people kneeling before her and said indifferently, "Those who've entered this place can no longer leave. Instead of clinging to your hopeless plea, you should focus on how to live well here."
"What… do you an?" Millia's eyes trembled.
"You'll understand soon enough."
With those words, Salin pulled Law away, leaving behind the crowd with confused expressions.
The corpses of the sand bandits were piled into a small mountain. Transporting them to the grassland for disposal was a tedious task, mainly because there were simply too many bodies.
Law didn't help with the cleanup, only sending Buhara to assist. Despite having only one arm, Buhara's efficiency was over ten tis that of an ordinary person.
The freed captives also joined in the effort. When they saw how the bodies were being handled, they were all deeply shocked.
Salin used this task as an opportunity to show all the newcors, including Gel, the true horror of the ant colony.
What could be more convincing than seeing it with their own eyes?
Inside an ancient, visibly repaired building, oil-fueled lamps lined the weathered walls, illuminating the interior. Neatly arranged stone shelves held a variety of antiques, creating a dazzling display.
"I have a way to leave the grassland."
Law stared at the nearly thousand antiques in the room, taking a deep breath to suppress the excitent in his chest before turning to Salin with his declaration.
Salin tilted her head to look at him and asked, "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely."
"Is it Nen?"
"Yes, my Nen Ability can isolate the ant swarm. Leaving isn't difficult, but the number of people I can take with is limited."
Law reluctantly tore his gaze away from the stone shelves, where faint white light shimred from the antiques, and turned to et Salin's expectant eyes.
He could clearly see the flicker of hope in her expression… only for it to dim the mont he added his last sentence. He sighed inwardly.
"Can't you take everyone?" Salin asked, unwilling to give up.
"If we can't take them all, are you saying you won't leave?" Law countered.
"Yes." Salin nodded silently, "If I leave, who will deal with the mutant ants?"
The army ants of the grassland wouldn't invade the imperial capital, but the mutant ants could.
Had the settlent not suffered such heavy losses, she wouldn't have hesitated. But now, she couldn't just abandon them.
Law could tell that Salin was serious. If she couldn't take everyone, she truly wouldn't leave… even if there was still family waiting for her outside…
Taking everyone at once was nearly impossible. Ordinary people moved too slowly, and if he tried to carry even one at a ti, Law was certain he'd be overwheld.
After all, while his Domain could isolate the ant swarm, but maintaining it drained his Aura continuously. If countless ants surged forward like a tidal wave, the strain would multiply.
In that scenario, trying to rescue slow-moving civilians would be like saving a drowning person… only to be dragged down with them.
"Sabro is waiting for you." Law suddenly said.
Salin froze for a mont before smiling wryly, "That's good. If you get out, you can pass on a ssage for ."
Law exhaled heavily and rubbed his temples. "Actually… there might be a way to get everyone out."
"What way?" Salin's eyes widened urgently.
"Exterminate the swarm." Law raised a finger, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
Salin let out a bitter laugh, "That is a solution. But do you have any idea how many ants are out there? Even a million sand bandits would be devoured in minutes."
"Ordinary thods wouldn't work, no. I can't even guarantee I can do it. Just… think of it as giving you a sliver of hope." Law lowered his hand and walked toward the shelves of antiques.
Salin stared at his back before calling out, "Do you realize what it would an if you could wipe them out?"
Law paused and glanced over his shoulder, "That everyone could leave the Forbidden Zone?"
"No."
Salin shook her head slowly and said seriously, "It would be a legend."
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