A foreign force suddenly disrupted the intricate battle between the enraged Phoenix and Dug's men.

With powerful crossbows in hand, a group of hunters came charging at them while shooting all the while.

"Who the hell is that?! And are they... riding Minecrawlers?!" Gerald exclaimed.

But he was wrong. Although the beasts looked similar, they were, in fact, not the same. The beasts, known by the name Sandcrawlers, had light brown stomachs and dark brown chitin armor everywhere else.

Their feet were also much flatter and spread out to allow walking on soft soil, and their mandibles weren't nearly as dangerous looking as those of their close cousins that lived deep underground.

They quickly skittered across the red rock as they spread out in a semi-circle around them.

"What the fuck! Where did these bandits come from?!" Dug erupted in anger. Now was the most crucial moment in battle. The Phoenix was still tangled in the net and was getting pelted from all sides, yet still wasn't going down.

If they gave it time to recover, it would be impossible to kill!

"Damn it!" Dug gritted his teeth. From all the possible things that could go wrong, who even imagined they would get attacked by a rival group of hunters?! And at the exact wrong time too!

"How did they even find us?! We are literally in the middle of nowhere!"

But then realization hit him. "Oh, right, the light pillar…"

"Ah! Boss, we can't do this! Fighting just the Phoenix was hard, and now…" one of the men shouted as he hid behind a newly erected stone wall. His magic was pretty much useless in battle, but over the years he made enough effort to learn a few defensive spells.

Now he was glad he spent all those long days training when his friends were having fun with ladies of the night. At least now he could protect himself from arrow fire. A few short chants and a stone wall was formed.

And not a moment too soon, either.

An arrow whizzed by just above his head and smashed into the stone nest behind him. But the situation was quickly escalating. The flames behind him were becoming increasingly hotter as the Phoenix raged, tangled in the magic net.

It was getting too dangerous to stay that close, even with the fire-resistant mucus running down his face.

"Damn it!" Dug cursed and took out the fancy box. "I was really hoping I wouldn't need to use it!"

He opened it and took out what was inside. A massive light-blue crystal appeared in his hands, filled to the brim with Mana. Intricate golden runes were carved on its surface, revealing the extreme value the thing had to have.

"Just one spell, but who do I use it on?!" Dug hesitated. He was quickly looking back and forth between the group of desert bandits that surrounded them and the Phoenix.

He had to choose one. Either kill the newcomers or the fiery bird. Both choices were bad, and he had hoped he wouldn't have to make the choice.

Wish granted!

An arrow came flying at him, striking right between the armor plates and piercing his flesh under the armpit. The sudden strike and flash of pain made him exclaim in pain as he dropped the crystal from his grasp.

At the same time, the Phoenix shot out a ring of flames from its body and managed to break through the encirclement. Despite not being able to fly, the bird was still fast as it ran, quickly disappearing from their reach.

"Stop it!" Dug shouted. Anger welled up within him as he aggressively pulled the arrow out and chugged a potion. One disaster after another. Just when he thought something was finally going their way, this happened.

Unfortunately for them, the bandits surrounded them and didn't let them chase after the bird.

"Kill them all, quickly! No mercy!" Gustav hollered and took charge. The rest of the warriors capable of battle also got on their feet and counterattacked.

Gerald was in a dilemma. On one hand, he wanted to help these guys, but then again, the Phoenix was right there!

'What to do, what to do?!'

"Ah, screw it!" He jumped off the lizard and knelled near the guy that was shot first. He yanked the arrow out of his back and stuffed a Health Potion and a Stamina Potion down his throat. As the guy came to, he took a bunch of scrolls out of his Ring and stuffed them in the guy's hand.

"Do you know how to use them?" he asked in a loud and urgent voice.

"What…? Yes, I do!" came the reply as the guy nodded.

"Good!" Gerald pulled him up and pointed, "Take those guys out, I'm going after the Phoenix!"

He then jumped back in the saddle and kicked the Earth Dragon with his heels.

"Make sure you don't die!" he shouted as his mount picked up speed and ran in the waddling kind of manner, stereotypical of the giant lizards.

"Will do!" the guy shouted back and then looked at the many scrolls in his possession. He squeezed his fist and looked at the enemies. "We might just make it after all…" he murmured.

"Wait for me! Let's kick some bandit ass!" he shouted and tore the first scroll.

***

The quick burst of speed the Earth Dragon was capable of was quite amazing. The Phoenix was quickly becoming bigger in Gerald's eyes as they were gaining ground.

But the big lizard wasn't a marathon runner, it was an ambush predator that relied on quick bursts of speed to hunt.

As such it quickly became slower as its stamina was depleted. Walking for the entire day was fine, but a full-on sprint could be sustained for only a few dozen seconds.

"Damn it, don't give up on me now!" Gerald exclaimed after noticing his mount stop to catch its breath. "It's right there, let's go!" he urged.

But the Earth Dragon was done. He slowed down to a crawl and just walked the rest of the way.

"Fuck! If only I could fly, that's so annoying!"

Having no other option, Gerald even considered running himself. Surely he could be faster than this fat lizard walking. He could just drink a Stamina Potion and…

"Wait… A Stamina Potion…? What if…?"

He got a crazy idea, and it was worth a try.

He jumped off and took out ten vials and gave them to the lizard to drink.

"I seriously hope this works…" he murmured. He wasn't sure if Earth Dragon biology was compatible with human alchemy, but he had no other choice. Now he just had to sit tight and wait.

And indeed, soon the lizard became much more active. It began with light shaking and swinging of the tail, and soon the beast picked up speed by itself and began running.

"Yes, yes! Go, go, go! Run after that stinky bird! Go!" Gerald encouraged it with his shouts.

Soon the Earth Dragon was speeding across the Fiery Plateau, leaving a trail of dust and sand rising into the sky behind them.

As they came closer, the Phoenix immediately noticed them and started firing off fireballs and bursts of flames in their general direction. But with the Earth Dragon's new super speed, they avoided it all without a problem.

They were already close enough to clearly hear the beast's angry screeches, and yet Gerald still urged his mount to get closer. As they came within shouting distance, he prepared to do something crazy, something he had meant to do for a long time but couldn't.

He took a deep breath, flexed his muscles, and then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty!"