At the bottom of the canyon, shrouded in shadows cast by the sheer walls of over 400 meters in height, lay the imposing carcass of a rock scorpion.

The creature, now motionless, seemed like a natural extension of the arid soil — its carapace was a mosaic of irregular plates, with a rough texture and coloration ranging from earthy, gray and ochre tones, as if it had been carved directly from the desert rocks.

Sharp, jagged spines sprouted from its back and limbs, some worn by time, others serrated from past battles. Its exoskeleton, cracked in some places, revealed a dark, dense flesh, impregnated with minerals, exuding a metallic odor.

The canyon stretched for about 30 meters wide, enough to allow light to enter at the top, but still plunging the bottom into a cold gloom. The rock scorpion's carcass lay near the center, its imposing presence contrasting with the sandy soil, stained by the remains of crystallized vital fluids.

Near one of the walls, Edith inspected the system of ropes and pulleys they had installed, ensuring that everything was ready for the hard work that lay ahead.

The equipment consisted of three main pulleys strategically fixed: two of them anchored to iron stakes driven into the canyon walls, reinforced with safety hooks, while the third was directly above the lifting site, attached to an improvised crossbeam made of reinforced wood and ropes made of extremely strong materials.

The lifting ropes were made of blueberry fiber, a flexible and absurdly strong material, capable of easily supporting the weight of the load – the same material as Anya's ropes.

Everything was in place. Now, all that was left was to dismantle the scorpion.

Meanwhile, Mary crouched beside the carcass, one hand sliding along the sharp spines of the rocky carapace as she studied the creature with her sharp feline gaze.

Her golden eyes reflected the little light that reached the bottom of the canyon, and her tail swished slightly as she took in every detail of the specimen.

Her lean, muscular body was relaxed, but her claws were slightly exposed, an instinctive reflection of her nature. Her ears moved subtly, picking up any sounds around her as she listened to Edith fiddling with the equipment.

Mary stood next to the rock scorpion's gigantic pincers, touching the hard, naturally grooved surface. She clicked her tongue, assessing the rigidity of the exoskeleton.

"That's a beautiful specimen. How old could it be?" Mary asked, leaning in slightly, her feline eyes fixed on the carcass.

Edith approached silently, her tail swishing slightly as she took in the scorpion's details.

"Seven or eight years…" she replied, her voice neutral, almost indifferent. She touched the hard shell and examined it with her fingertips. "A young male at the peak of level 2, almost reaching maturity. Another six months and he would reach level 3, but he would hardly reach level 4, not even in another thirty years."

Edith continued her inspection with calculated gestures, kneeling beside the scorpion and sliding her hand over its rough exoskeleton. She clicked her tongue when she noticed a small damage near its abdomen. Then she moved to the claws and stinger, examining them with a critical eye.

Without ceremony, she climbed onto the carcass, stepping firmly on the cracked chitin, and dipped her fingers in the dried blood. She stood there, analyzing the stickiness for a few moments, before finally descending with a sigh.

"Nothing special. An ordinary specimen." She wiped her hands on the cloth attached to her belt, her tone emotionless. "It was healthy, but that doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't stand out in any way. It's not worth spending too much time on. Let's discard the meat and take only the tail, the pincers, and the best parts of the exoskeleton. The rest is trash."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Mary crossed her arms, her golden eyes narrowed. "Stiff as always…"

"I'm just being realistic." Edith shrugged, as if it were obvious. "We wouldn't gain anything by selling its meat, we'd just risk staying here too long."

Mary took a deep breath and clenched her jaw. Her tail moved slowly, a lazy movement, but the gleam in her eyes betrayed her irritation. "Have you forgotten that we came to hunt level 1 and 2 aura beasts? To discard such a prize just because we have something better on hand doesn't make sense."

Edith crossed her arms, her gray pupils fixed on her friend. "That's greed, Mary."

Mary snorted, a lopsided smile appearing on her face. "Call it what you will. I want to get as much out of this as I can. It would be a huge disservice to the Dragon Lady to waste this gift."

Edith sighed and rubbed her temple with two fingers.

"Mary… Unlike that Crotalus Desertignis we saw, clearly at the peak of level 4 at just over twelve years old, this rock scorpion is a mere level 2. Do you want to risk everything for a fifth-rate beast?"

Mary let out a dry laugh and crossed her arms. "Good to know that the spiders we hunt every week, nearly dying several times, are mere fifth-rate critters."

Edith opened her mouth to retort, but stopped. Her eyes roamed over Mary for a second, as if weighing her friend's stubbornness against the risks involved. Then she raised her hands in surrender. "Okay. Okay… You win. But we have to be quick."

Mary smiled with satisfaction and began to open her backpack. The two of them took out their cutting gear, spread out the tarps, and prepared for work.

For several minutes, the only sound was the scraping of blades against the hard carapace, the flesh being separated with surgical precision. The metallic smell of fresh blood mixed with the hot dust of the canyon.

_____________________________________

Meanwhile, taking care of the precious loot, Millie and Billie were on standby when they finally spotted a carriage emerging at the top of one of the many dunes.

The structure was robust and specially designed to withstand the extreme conditions of the desert. It had two types of wagons: a smaller one, intended for passengers and light luggage, and a much larger and more reinforced one, made to store heavy loads. The yellowish paintwork blended in with the desert sand, camouflaging itself in the scorching landscape.

The passenger wagon was compact, about 2.5 meters wide, 3 meters high and 4 meters long. Its sides were reinforced with heat-resistant metal plates and its windows were narrow, covered by screens that filtered the sand.

In contrast, the freight wagon was a colossus, sturdy and completely enclosed except for the movable rear end, which lowered to form a loading ramp. Its internal structure measured 3.5 meters wide, 2 meters high, and 6 meters long, ensuring plenty of room for supplies.

Each wagon was supported by sturdy axles spaced two meters apart, equipped with three parallel wheels. Each wheel was wide and sturdy, with a special rubber coating on the tires that allowed the carriage to move over loose sand without sinking, making the journey surprisingly fast.

It covered about two kilometers in just ninety seconds, an impressive speed for such a massive structure.

The driving force behind this speed came from two imposing Desertikeras, Level 1 Aura Beasts similar to rhinos, but with three sharp horns and skin covered in tough plates of gray chitin.

Each of them was three meters tall and almost seven meters long, with a little over a meter wide. The pair of beasts were more than enough to overshadow the passenger carriage and command respect from any desert traveler.

At the helm of the carriage, seated on a makeshift bench on top of the passenger carriage, was a young tiefling of striking appearance. Tall and strong, his crimson skin shone in the bright sunlight.

His horns curved back, while his golden eyes took in every detail of the terrain ahead. But contrary to the robustness of his physique, he had a round and soft face, highlighting a kind of striking and attractive beauty.

He wore a practical outfit, consisting of a reinforced leather jacket and thick gloves, clearly adapted for long journeys in the desert.

As he approached, he pulled firmly on the reins, bringing the Desertikeras to a gentle stop in front of the piles of materials.

As the carriage approached, Peter pulled firmly on the reins, causing the Desertikeras to slow down in a smooth but powerful transition. Sand rose around the creatures' hooves as he finally stopped next to the piles of materials.

"Hello, girls…" He jumped out of the carriage nimbly, his feet sinking lightly into the warm sand. His golden gaze scanned the piles of cargo before landing on them with a smirk. "Anything I need to know or anything you want to tell me?"

"Peter… I'm hungry!" Billie didn't even have time to respond. In an instant, she was clinging to his arm, looking down at him with pleading eyes, almost dramatizing her own need as if she were on the verge of collapse.

Peter let out a heavy sigh, but the small smile was still there. "Tsk… I knew this would happen." He pulled a key from his pocket and tossed it to Millie. "Lower the ramp while I get something to eat."

Without waiting, he got into the carriage, leaving Millie and Billie to happily walk to the freight car. They unlocked the lock and lowered the back cover with a creak, revealing the inner compartment.