"So what if I say it again?" Rahman clearly had no idea who Lora really was. He continued, "Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was exactly that kind of god. Despicable and shameless. She betrayed the great King Deshret and seized the so-called title of Dendro Archon! The people of the desert will never forgive that vile god!"
"Good."
Lora set down the drink in her hand and said to Nahida, "Hold this for me."
"Auntie, go easy on him..." Nahida quickly reminded her, already knowing what Lora was about to do.
Even though the people of the desert did not worship the Dendro Archon, Nahida still believed that, as Sumeru's god, she had a duty to protect everything in the desert.
Lora reassured her, then walked toward Rahman.
Lumine and Paimon silently stepped aside to make room for her. Dehya had originally wanted to say something, but the moment she felt the pressure coming off Lora, she immediately shut her mouth.
Rahman frowned as he watched Lora approach.
"What are you trying to do? Get back!"
The other Eremite mercenaries rushed forward at once, weapons raised at Lora.
But in the blink of an eye, their weapons were sent flying. Then, one by one, every Eremite mercenary was thrown into the air by Lora before crashing back into the sand.
Lora stopped in front of Rahman. She was a little shorter than him, but in terms of sheer presence, she completely overwhelmed the leader of the Eremites.
Then she slammed Rahman's head straight into the sand. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free from her hold.
"Despicable? Shameless? Are you talking about Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, or about you desert mercenaries who've grown used to forgetting?" Lora asked slowly as she looked down at Rahman with his face pressed into the sand. "You're just a bunch of pitiful fools, yet you really think you've grasped the truth of this world? And now you can't wait to use it to trample others?"
"Miss Lora, although this is an extraordinary situation, using private punishment on a prisoner still isn't ideal. Please stop before it goes too far," Cyno said, speaking up because he thought Lora might kill Rahman. "We still need him to help us find those mad scholars."
"It's fine. Even without him, I can still find the mad scholars." Lora shook her head, then looked at Rahman and continued, "Since you insist on slandering Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, I'll show you what the truth back then actually looked like."
With that, Lora grabbed Rahman by the hair and dragged him deeper into the desert.
"Hey... Lora!"
The others were stunned to see her drag him off just like that. Nahida sighed and said to everyone, "Let's follow her. Auntie knows what she's doing."
Lora dragged Rahman to the area near the Mausoleum of King Deshret, then threw him to the ground.
Rahman looked at Lora with fear in his eyes. He was a well-known mercenary in the desert, yet in front of her, he had absolutely no ability to fight back. It was terrifying.
"Relax. I'm not going to kill you," Lora said in a low voice as she looked at the panicked Rahman.
Only then did Rahman realize he had been brought near the Mausoleum of King Deshret. Looking up at the towering structure, he frowned.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"To show you real history, of course." Lora shot him a glance. "Be quiet."
One look from Lora was enough to make Rahman close his mouth.
Nahida and the others arrived a little later. Paimon was panting.
"Lora, you... you were moving way too fast. We could barely keep up!"
"But you did catch up, didn't you?" Lora took her drink back from Nahida, then walked toward an open patch of desert nearby. After taking a few steps, she looked back and said, "Be careful. You might feel a little dizzy in a moment."
"Dizzy?" Paimon looked at Lora in confusion.
Before she could even understand what Lora meant, Lora stomped hard on the desert floor.
The entire ground immediately began to tremble. The stretch of desert beneath them suddenly started spinning at high speed, forming a vortex. Sand poured downward into the center, dragging everyone with it.
Amid all the chaos, only Lora and Nahida remained completely calm.
After they fell into the hollow below, vines summoned by Nahida caught everyone, keeping them from getting hurt.
"Where is this?" Paimon looked around in astonishment. "I can't believe there's a place like this under the desert! This is amazing!"
"Is that a gate?" Alhaitham noticed an unusual structure at the far end of the pit. Walking over, he carefully examined the giant carved patterns on the wall. "These are... symbols from King Deshret's civilization. It seems this is a long-buried ruin from that ancient civilization."
"King Deshret..." Rahman stared at the symbols on the gate, his eyes full of longing.
"All the truth lies behind that door," Lora said slowly as she stood beside Nahida. Her gaze fell on Rahman. "Are you ready to accept everything?"
"Accept everything?" Rahman frowned and instinctively took a step back. By now, he had developed an uncontrollable fear of Lora.
Lora didn't bother saying anything else to him. She walked straight up to the temple gate and kicked the massive stone door into pieces.
"Excuse me, Amon!"
Amon: You've got some nerve.
Nahida: "…"
Was this really okay? Nahida didn't understand, but all she could do now was follow along.
The others followed Lora into the temple as well.
They might not have noticed anything outside, but the moment they entered the temple, they immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Alhaitham spoke in a low voice. "This is a temple of King Deshret, but the power flowing through it belongs to the Dendro Archon..."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward Nahida, as if hoping she could explain the truth behind it.
Nahida shook her head.
"I don't know."
"It really is strange... Why would the Dendro Archon's power exist within King Deshret's domain?" Dehya frowned as she looked at the lush greenery around them. It was already rare enough to see such a sight in the desert, let alone underground.
Cyno's gaze fell on Lora ahead of them.
"If we want answers, we'll have to keep following her deeper inside!"