Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 97

The Inazuma raid team blinked their eyes.

“What… is that?”

“He’s not a Fire Mage but a Summoner?”

Around Zeon stood soldiers resembling him.

Though their features were blunt due to being made of sand, their physique closely resembled Zeon.

Sand Soldiers.

Soldiers made of sand.

Zeon summoned Sand Soldiers equal to the number of Inazuma raid team members.

“Now, let’s begin.”

As soon as Zeon finished speaking, the Sand Soldiers attacked the Inazuma raid team.

“Do you really think we’ll be defeated by such summoned creatures?”

“Argh!”

The Inazuma raid team unleashed their skills, attacking the Sand Soldiers.

Thud!

Byrun’s axe deeply pierced the chest of a Sand Soldier.

Though the Sand Soldier struggled for a moment, it crumbled and returned to sand.

“Heh! That was nothing.”

He grinned, showing his white teeth.

At that moment, something astonishing happened.

The Sand Soldier, which had turned into sand, stood up again.

“What?”

Bang!

The Sand Soldier attacked Byrun, who was defenseless.

Hit in the abdomen, Byrun flew nearly ten meters and slammed into the ground.

“Argh!”

He got up with a frustrated expression.

The Sand Soldier was now rushing towards him.

‘Fearless and emotionless. Being lifeless summons, they have no fear of death.’

That’s why Zeon enjoyed summoning Sand Soldiers.

But Byrun wasn’t the only one in trouble.

“Shit! Even after being smashed, they regenerate again.”

Wind Mage Yuri was startled.

Despite being shattered into pieces by Wind Blades, the Sand Soldiers were perfectly restored.

Shuhan and Komein were also in dire straits.

Shuhan, who was trying to assess Zeon’s power, was threatened by the Sand Soldiers, and Komein saved him.

Komein’s ability was Blink.

It was a rare ability to teleport to wherever the line of sight reached.

But Blink couldn’t be used indiscriminately.

The number of uses and distance were determined by the rank and amount of mana.

Around thirty times within twenty meters.

That was the distance and frequency of Blink that Komein could use in a day.

Even though he had used it only ten times against the Hell Moles, he had already used it fifteen times against the Sand Soldiers.

Now, he had only five uses left.

Komein shouted to Kouji.

“Captain! Do something about this.”

“*Chikushou!”

[*”Chikushou” means “Shit/Dammit” in Japanese.]

Kouji spat out a curse.

He never expected to be overwhelmed by mere summons, not even Zeon himself.

Sand Soldiers that revived endlessly were nothing short of a nightmare.

“There must be a core.”

All inanimate summoned creatures usually had a core.

Kouji closed his eyes and heightened all his senses.

He activated one of the skills of a swordsman, Body Perception.

He wasn’t sure if it would work on the lifeless Sand Soldiers, but it was better than doing nothing.

Luckily, he was able to find the core of the Sand Soldier.

“It’s on the right side of their waist.”

Swish!

He swiftly cut down the Sand Soldier.

Perhaps because he severed the core, the Sand Soldier did not regenerate again.

“Great!”

“On the right side.”

Seeing that, his subordinates attacked the right side of the Sand Soldiers’ waist.

Swish!

The Sand Soldiers with broken cores turned back into sand. And they didn’t revive again.

“Haah! Haah!”

“Damn it! I thought we were done for.”

Yuri gasped for air, while Byrun cursed and raised his axe.

Komein and Shuhan also managed to defeat the Sand Soldiers.

They glared at Zeon.

“Now it’s your turn.”

“I’ll cut you down to the bones.”

Having struggled against the Sand Soldiers, their anger pierced the sky.

While they fought like madmen, Zeon leisurely watched them with his arms in his robe pockets.

Even though all the summoned Sand Soldiers had turned back into sand, Zeon didn’t change his expression and muttered.

“Is this the limit against Awakeneds?”

From the beginning, he did not expect the Sand Soldier to have as much combat power as the Awakeneds.

Even if Zeon’s will influenced the Sand Soldiers, they couldn’t move and fight like Awakeneds who acted on their own thoughts.

That difference was evident now.

All the Sand Soldiers he summoned had turned back into sand, and the Inazuma raid team was attacking him.

Swish!

Kouji’s katana, emitting a sharp sound, flew towards him.

Yuri’s Wind Blades surrounded him from all sides.

Byrun’s axe followed suit, and Komein’s Blink approached from the side in an instant.

All of this was vividly clear to Zeon.

With a calm voice devoid of any sense of danger, Zeon muttered.

“If five aren’t enough, how about twenty?”

As soon as he finished speaking, twenty Sand Soldiers stood up around Zeon.

“Insane!”

Kouji, who was swinging his katana, shook his pupils.

The Inazuma raid team, which was in serious jeopardy with just five Sand Soldiers, was now faced with twenty.

Their hearts sank at the sight of them.

“What the hell? What is this? Damn it!”

Kouji’s cold facade cracked.

Underneath the broken mask, Kouji’s true face was terrifyingly distorted.

Zeon observed his expression carefully and said.

“Did you attack me without even knowing that?”

“This bastard…”

Bang!

Sand splattered in all directions with a loud noise.

One of the Sand Soldiers blocked Kouji’s katana with its body.

The attacks of the other Awakeneds were also nullified by the Sand Soldiers.

The Sand Soldiers didn’t flinch, even when they were destroyed and exploded.

They threw themselves without hesitation to protect Zeon.

The Inazuma raid team attacked the right side of the Sand Soldiers’ waist, where the core was supposed to be. But they couldn’t feel the core.

“The position of the core has changed.”

“Damn it!”

The destroyed Sand Soldiers were instantly restored and attacked them.

The Sand Soldiers were nightmares to them.

“Argh!”

First, Shuhan screamed and fell.

As he had the lowest combat ability, he was the first to go down.

Next was Komein.

Having used up all his Blink charges, Komein was an easy prey for the Sand Soldiers.

“Argh!”

He screamed and fell, never to move again.

Kouji, Yuri, and Byrun’s eyes were bloodshot.

Their comrades’ deaths had taken away their reason.

Normally, a raid team formed once would be maintained until the end unless there were extraordinary circumstances.

Naturally, they would know each other well and develop deep bonds.

It was almost like a family relationship.

Losing such family-like comrades, it was understandable that their minds were turned upside down.

They disregarded defense and rushed forward.

To Zeon’s eyes, they looked like moths flying into a flame even though they knew they would die.

Zeon unleashed flames upon them.

“Fire Rain!”

It was a firepower unlike anything before.

Combined with the attacks of the Sand Soldiers, it was overwhelming.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tremendous explosions shook the dungeon to its core.

—

Brrrr!

Jack and the raid team knelt, losing their balance due to the tremendous vibration and shaking under their feet.

“Argh!”r

“What’s happening? Did the dungeon collapse?”

Sometimes, when a dungeon collapses, it can cause tremendous shockwaves in the surrounding area. However, it was the first time the entire area shook like an earthquake.

“What’s going on? What about the people inside the dungeon?”

When a dungeon collapses, the people inside naturally perish.

Of course, they should have escaped before the dungeon collapsed.

Jack’s voice trembled.

“Surely, they didn’t fail to escape, did they?”

“What… They didn’t manage to escape?”

At that moment, a voice came from behind.

It was the voice of Old Man Klexi, who had been carried on his back.

“Guild Leader!”

“I handed over the guild to Se-hee. I’m no longer the Guild Leader.”

“It’s fortunate that you’re safe.”

Jack quickly put Old Man Klexi down on the ground.

Old Man Klexi shook his head and said.

“What were you talking about?”

“What?”

“They couldn’t escape? Who?”

“Well…”

Jack couldn’t easily continue his sentence.

Old Man Klexi prodded.

“What happened? I remember being captured by the Hell Moles, but how did you save me? Your abilities alone wouldn’t have been enough.”

Though just coming to his senses, Old Man Klexi quickly regained his sharp wit.

It was the Hell Moles dungeon, where even the raid team he led had failed. He couldn’t understand how Jack’s raid team, with inferior skills compared to his own, had managed to rescue him.

“Well…”

“Spit it out properly.”

In the end, Jack spilled the truth.

“In fact…”

After hearing the whole story, Old Man Klexi clicked his tongue.

“So you left Zeon behind?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Was that Se-hee’s decision?”

“It was a decision she had no choice but to make as the Guild Leader. Awakeneds were being deployed to other dungeons, and we were woefully understaffed…”

“Even so, you join hands with Xiao Lun? How cunning that person is. He’s not someone Se-hee can handle.”

“Actually, it’s not Xiao Lun but someone named Tajik…”

“Tajik is someone raised and trusted by Xiao Lun. It’s not an exaggeration to call him Xiao Lun’s copy. And you fell for the bait he offered. Did I hand over the Guild leadership too easily?”

He wasn’t concerned about Zeon’s safety.

Although Zeon was an interesting presence, he wasn’t more important than his granddaughter.

What was regrettable was Se-hee’s immaturity in accepting Tajik’s proposal too easily.

“It’s a shame. He was a guy with more value to exploit.”

Old Man Klexi licked his lips, thinking of Zeon.

He was already convinced that Zeon was dead.

No matter how much they denied it, there was a big difference between the Awakeneds of the slums and those of Neo Seoul.

The Inazuma raid team was recognized for its capabilities even in Neo Seoul.

Old Man Klexi thought that no matter how strong Zeon was, he would be powerless against their organization.

As Old Man Klexi was gazing in the direction of the dungeon with a faint look in his eyes.

Swaaah!

Suddenly, a streak of dust shot up into the sky from the direction of the dungeon.

“Huh?”

“What’s that?”

Others also murmured as they saw the spectacle.

Then, something emerged from the soaring dust.

The object that popped out rapidly flew towards where Old Man Klexi was.

Old Man Klexi widened his eyes.

“It can’t be?”

It wasn’t just him who widened his eyes.

Jack and his subordinates’ eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

In their sight, the object that was flying rapidly approached them.

It took only a few seconds for them to realize that it was a human being.

Thud!

The object that flew landed smoothly in front of Old Man Klexi and Jack’s raid team.

“H-how?”

Their voices trembled involuntarily because the object that landed in front of Old Man Klexi was someone they knew.

Old Man Klexi spoke to him.

“You’re alive? Zeon!”

The one who flew from afar was none other than Zeon.

Zeon smiled and said.

“Oh! You woke up?”