I, the Supreme Overlord, Start by Enslaving the Zerg Queen

The exit of Rock Fortress was crowded with people eager to leave as soon as possible.

The area around the exit of Rock Fortress was heavily guarded by the Serpent Empire's sentinels. One of the officials from the Serpent Empire was meticulously explaining to the surrounding crowd why they were not allowed to depart from within Rock Fortress.

"Everyone should be acutely aware that a jailbreak incident has occurred in the prison of Rock Fortress. The vast majority of the prisoners have already escaped. Until all these prisoners are recaptured, none of you are permitted to leave Rock Fortress."

The official's words caused widespread dissatisfaction among the crowd.

Voices of skepticism and discontent echoed incessantly within the throng of people.

A man who looked like a merchant elbowed his way to the front of the crowd.

He loudly questioned the official, "I am a merchant. I came to Rock Fortress merely to sell my goods. My caravan still has many items that need to be sold in other towns.

If we are kept here indefinitely and these goods get damaged, will you compensate us? If you don't intend to compensate us, what right do you have to detain us here?"

Confronted with the merchant's challenging questions, the official responded with a hint of irritation.

"Your losses are not caused by us, so why should we compensate you? No matter what, you will not be allowed to leave Rock Fortress immediately! This is a direct order from the General!"

Having finished his statement, the official from the Serpent Empire turned and walked away without hesitation.

The crowd jammed at the exit of Rock Fortress grew even more dissatisfied in an instant.

A booming voice emerged from within the crowd, "Since they do not intend to let us leave, we shall make our own way out!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a figure darted out from the crowd, rapidly approaching the direction of the Serpent Empire's guards.

Faced with this sudden situation, the Serpent Empire's guards immediately went into combat mode.

However, upon closer inspection, they realized that the charging figure was merely a phantom.

While their attention was fixated on the phantom, the crowd at the exit of Rock Fortress surged forward, breaking out of Rock Fortress.

Charles and his companions were, of course, among the crowd.

In fact, the phantom was conjured by Medusa, Medusa and Charles had flawlessly coordinated to divert the attention of the Serpent Empire's guards.

Thus, Charles and his companions successfully escaped from Rock Fortress.

Upon entering the Desert of Sands, Charles and his companions soon separated from the crowd.

After all, Charles and his companions did not need to move with the crowd to ensure their own safety.

During the recent operation, both Eck and Johann were extremely tense.

They were acutely aware that if their actions were discovered by the guards of the Serpent Empire, a fierce battle would be inevitable. In such a battle, Eck and Johann couldn't even guarantee their own safety.

However, after successfully escaping, both Eck and Johann felt an immense sense of relief.

Moreover, they found the recent operation exceedingly thrilling. They had never encountered such excitement while exploring with other members of The Explorer's Association.

"Even though unexpected situations always arise when I'm with you, I still very much enjoy adventuring with you. Because adventuring with you is the true essence of exploration."

Eck expressed his sincere feelings to Charles.

With a smile on his face, Charles nodded, "I'm glad you can get used to it. After all, my two companions have unfathomable strengths. When trouble arises, they always adopt some daring strategies."

Charles would never admit that his own abilities were extremely top-notch.

Although he had once directly confronted a Serpent Knight in the inn, at that time, neither Eck nor Johann had realized that Charles possessed such formidable power.

Eck and Johann merely assumed that Medusa and Little Green had successfully dealt a heavy blow to the Serpent Knight.

After half a day of traveling through the Desert of Sands, the group found a large boulder.

"We must rest under the shelter of this boulder for the night. No matter how strong we are, we cannot travel at night."

Charles placed his luggage beneath the boulder and began setting up the necessary items for the night's rest with Medusa and Little Green.

Eck and Johann naturally offered their assistance as well.

After all, they couldn't just do nothing throughout the journey.

Nightfall came swiftly.

As darkness enveloped the Desert of Sands, all sorts of strange sounds began to emerge from what was once a very quiet place.

Though Eck and Johann had encountered similar situations before.

However, each time they heard those eerie sounds, they felt an immense amount of pressure.

"You two don't need to be so tense. There are no particularly powerful monsters around us. Even if we do encounter something, our companions can provide us with protection."

Charles reassured Eck and Johann.

He didn't want these two to be overly anxious because overly tense individuals tend to make very poor decisions when faced with danger.

Eck and Johann nodded in response.

However, they really couldn't calm down, so they ended up keeping watch with Little Green.

Medusa and Charles felt no pressure whatsoever and quickly fell asleep.

In the dead of night, Eck and Johann attempted to ease their tension by talking to each other.

At that moment, Little Green suddenly said to them, "You two should stop talking. It seems like something is approaching us from not far away."

Little Green's words made Eck and Johann even more anxious.

They tightly covered each other's mouths, determined not to make even the slightest noise.

Little Green did not take any rash actions.

She merely extended her consciousness, attempting to locate the presence hidden in the darkness.

The environment around Charles and the others suddenly became eerily silent. All those strange noises from before vanished completely.

Charles abruptly awoke from his sleep.

"Why is there no sound at all around us?" Charles directly asked Little Green.

Little Green didn't provide a verbal response, she simply pointed ahead with her finger.

Charles followed the direction of Little Green's finger and immediately saw a massive shadow in the darkness.

A gigantic scorpion emerged slowly from the dark, its blood-red eyes fixated on Charles and the group.

Eck and Johann were so terrified by this sight that they were on the verge of tears.

Although Charles managed to stay calm when facing the Desert Giant Scorpion, he was inwardly a bit worried.

Charles knew very well that the strength of this enormous desert scorpion far exceeded his expectations.

The Desert Giant Scorpion's power was at the seventh tier.

This also meant that even if Charles, Medusa, and Little Green joined forces, they might not be able to swiftly defeat the desert scorpion.

And if the battle were to drag on, it could very well attract more monsters.

The Desert of Sands harbors numerous terrifying creatures within its depths.

Under normal circumstances, these monsters do not gather together.

However, if they sense the presence of prey, they will all converge, following the scent.

If too many monsters gather, Charles and the others would find themselves in an extremely perilous situation.

"We must finish this quickly! We absolutely cannot allow too many monsters to gather!" Medusa, who had just awakened, glanced coldly in the direction of the Desert Giant Scorpion and stated.

Charles nodded in agreement.

"You two stay here and don't go anywhere! The three of us will take down the Desert Giant Scorpion."

Charles instructed Eck and Johann. After issuing the command, he dashed towards the direction of the Desert Giant Scorpion at full speed.

Medusa and Little Green naturally followed Charles' lead.

In no time, the three of them surrounded the Desert Giant Scorpion.

The Desert Giant Scorpion immediately chose to target Charles for its attack.

As a creature of seventh-tier strength, the Desert Giant Scorpion possessed a highly developed ability to assess the power of its enemies. It quickly discerned that Charles was the weakest among the three adversaries.

When the Desert Giant Scorpion launched its attack on Charles, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Charles' mouth.

Without hesitation, Charles tore off The Pale Mask from his face. The moment The Pale Mask was removed.

Charles' power surged back to mid-level fifth tier.

The Desert Giant Scorpion was momentarily caught off guard, and Charles successfully blocked its attack.

Seizing the opportunity, Little Green and Medusa launched a direct assault on the vulnerable underbelly of the Desert Giant Scorpion. In an instant, the Desert Giant Scorpion found itself at a disadvantage in the battle.

However, despite this, it was unlikely that Charles and his companions could easily vanquish the Desert Giant Scorpion.

After all, seventh-tier strength was considerably more formidable than mid-level fifth-tier strength. Even when faced with unexpected circumstances, a creature of seventh-tier prowess could struggle for a prolonged period.

Charles was merely hoping that the venom Medusa had employed would take effect swiftly.

During the earlier skirmish, Medusa had injected her venom directly into the delicate underbelly of the Desert Giant Scorpion. Although the Desert Giant Scorpion possessed formidable defenses, its resistance to toxins was not particularly high.

This meant that the Desert Giant Scorpion could very well be gradually eroded by the venom during the course of the battle, ultimately succumbing to Medusa's poison.

All Charles and his team needed to do during this process was to keep the Desert Giant Scorpion occupied, there was no need to launch an all-out offensive.