Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert - Chapter 326



Only Noblemtl

Episode 326

There were more than a hundred visible corpses.

There seemed to have been a fierce battle, as not a single intact body was visible.

Most of the corpses had their limbs cut off, and many of them did not even retain their shape.

“It looks like there was a fierce battle.”

“Why can’t other people see it?”

Brielle muttered with a puzzled expression next to Zeon.

She also knew that more than three thousand people had crashed here. There was no trace of the rest except for a hundred.

The person who answered was Seo Tae-ran.

“It seems like they’ve all scattered.”

“Scattered?”

“Look at the floor. The footprints are all going in different directions.”

Seo Tae-ran’s eyes shone sharply.

The biggest reason she was able to become Jin Geum-ho’s secretary was her sharp analytical skills and intuition.

Now her analytical skills were shining.

“The footprints on the ground show that they were split into at least seven groups. Each group was heading in a different direction. It looks like people were grouped together in a large attack group.”

Although the city hall led this expedition, its members were renowned raiders from each district.

According to Seo Tae-ran’s understanding, at least seven large attack forces participated in this expedition.

Perhaps when the crisis came, they seemed to take the initiative and move separately.

The old man examined the body carefully.

“It looks like I was attacked by a small demon. If it had been a large demon, it wouldn’t have ended with only these minor injuries.”

“Are you saying there are demons in this basement too?”

“It’s creepy.”

The twin sisters looked around as if they were terrified.

A terrible darkness had descended upon the earth.

There was no light at all, so you couldn’t see an inch ahead of you except where they were.

Seo Tae-ran approached Jeon.

“Zeon, you’ve had a lot of experiences like this, right? What’s this place like?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Zeon answered honestly.

Whether this is a dungeon or a naturally formed space, you cannot know its true nature until you experience it firsthand.

“One thing is certain, there are demons living here. We don’t know what they are, though.”

“Is that so?”

A look of disappointment appeared and disappeared on Seo Tae-ran’s face.

‘Did I expect too much from this guy?’

I thought that since Zeon was so experienced, he would be able to give me the answer right away.

But since he only gave general answers, he unconsciously showed signs of disappointment.

Zeon also noticed this fact, but he didn’t pay much attention to it.

Because I didn’t come here to meet Seo Tae-ran’s expectations.

This type of terrain had to be navigated carefully.

If you jump to conclusions and act accordingly, you won’t be able to make a proper judgment due to preconceived notions.

When exposed to an unfamiliar environment, I had to assess the situation as coolly as possible.

Now, Xeon was gathering information while keeping all possibilities open.

‘Underground, darkness, devil, these are too common keywords. I need to gather more information.’

Zeon examined the traces on the floor closely.

As Seo Tae-ran said, it was clear that the people were divided into seven large groups.

I don’t know what happened between the seven groups, but they didn’t stick together and acted independently.

The problem is to figure out which group Levin and his friends belong to.

‘If it was Levin, he would have definitely left some traces.’

Levin may be young, but he is not immature.

Since he had a lot of experience following Zeon around, he probably wouldn’t have acted recklessly like a fool.

He must have known that Zeon would come looking for him. If so, he must have left a trail so that he could be tracked down.

After looking around for a while, Zeon discovered traces left on the ground.

The dirt on the floor had melted and crystallized like crystal.

It was a unique trace that appeared when a high-temperature current was applied momentarily.

‘It’s Levin.’

A smile appeared on Zeon’s lips.

He is a good student.

Because I am faithfully implementing what I have experienced and learned.

Brielle whispered to Zeon.

“What did you find?”

“It’s a mark Levin left behind. He marked his membership in this group.”

“You melted the ground with electricity? Well, you’re not completely stupid, are you?”

Brielle chuckled.

Then the old man asked Jeon.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Why are you asking me that? There’s a leader over there.”

“leader?”

The old man looked in the direction Jeon pointed and snickered.

Because Seo Tae-ran was there.

“I’m not ignoring her, but she’s not a leader. She’s more suited to being second in command, a secretary at best. She’s not the type to figure out a situation and take the lead. She needs someone to give her orders.”

“Are you talking about someone like the mayor, for example?”

“that’s right!”

“Then, the elders will take on the role of leader… … .”

“I am even less qualified. I have lived my entire life following orders, so how can I expect you to lead a group overnight? These twin sisters are even less qualified to be leaders. Our group, or in this case, a party? In any case, you are the leader of our party. You have to lead us.”

At the old man’s words, Jeon frowned silently.

Because I never once thought of myself as a leader.

He was used to acting alone.

Because after spending eight years in the desert, I got used to that way of acting.

Being responsible for someone else was something I wasn’t used to.

At best, Briel and Levin were among the people he was responsible for.

But now that things have come to this, I have to lead them even though I don’t want to.

At that time, Seo Tae-ran approached Jeon and said.

“Tell me what to do. But you are the one who is most familiar with this situation among us. So you would know best how to deal with it.”

“Will you follow my orders without question?”

“sure.”

Seo Tae-ran answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Although she was not attractive, I couldn’t say that I couldn’t host the party because she answered so firmly.

“Okay, we’ll go this way.”

The direction that Zeon pointed to was where Levin’s group had disappeared.

Seo Tae-ran answered right away.

“all right.”

Regardless of his true intentions, he acknowledged Zeon as the party leader.

Zeon and Brielle walked in the direction where Levin had disappeared.

The light shining from above the barrier completely disappeared, and they were greeted by terrible darkness.

It felt very uncomfortable to see it as just simple darkness.

It felt like I was in a sticky swamp.

Jeon said to Seo Tae-ran.

“Have you prepared anything like a flash?”

“Of course.”

As soon as Seo Tae-ran finished speaking, his subordinates took out small flashlights from their arms.

Although small in size, it was a very powerful, high-performance flash.

As soon as I turned on the flash, the surroundings became bright.

I thought it would clear my vision, but I was completely wrong.

“what’s this?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this.”

Seo Tae-ran and the old man Ko couldn’t hide their embarrassed expressions.

It was exactly five meters.

Only a few meters around where the flash was turned on was bright, and the rest was shrouded in complete darkness.

The light from the flash could not spread any further, as if it were trapped in a hemisphere with a diameter of about five meters. It was as if the darkness was blocking the spread of light, as if it could not allow it to go any further.

It was a phenomenon that went against the laws of nature.

The old man said.

“What a strange place.”

“It definitely feels like a dungeon. The barrier above and the energy inside… … .”

“What a coincidence that there was a dungeon underground where the Magic Stone Mine raiding party was stationed. What bad luck.”

“That’s right.”

Zeon nodded and looked around.

The thick darkness was like a curtain, completely blocking the view.

Because of this, it was impossible to collect proper information.

In order to figure out what threats exist within this darkness, what kind of demons live there, and who is in charge of this dungeon, there was no other way than to experience it firsthand.

Zeon thought of the Kraken on Earth.

‘So, is it because of the dungeon that an S-class demon was born?’

Occasionally, demons exposed to the dungeon’s energy would grow rapidly.

Then it makes sense that the Kraken is occupying the magic stone mine.

I feel sorry for those who were raiding the magic stone mine, but they were out of luck.

Why did you build a camp on top of a dungeon?

‘First of all, our first priority is to find out what kind of dungeon this is.’

You need to understand the type of dungeon to be able to conquer it efficiently.

Zeon warned his party.

“Everyone, be careful. Now that we’re here, the dungeon is definitely going to react in some way.”

“Okay.”

It was time for the old man to answer on behalf of everyone.

Swish!

Something appeared through the darkness without a sound or movement.

A wide open mouth and large canines with drool dripping from them.

The thing that attacked the group was a huge wild dog.

But it wasn’t an ordinary wild dog.

It was translucent, like a ghost.

The translucent dog attacked one of Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates who was behind him.

The subordinate did not panic and immediately counterattacked.

Wedge!

His fist struck the dog’s head.

Normally in this situation, the dog’s head would be smashed. But this time it was different.

Swish!

The subordinate’s fist passed through the dog’s head in vain.

“… … .”

While the subordinate opened his eyes wide in surprise, the wild dog fought back.

Kwajik!

The wild dog bit the subordinate’s head and shook it from side to side. Then the subordinate’s head broke like a piece of tofu, and blood and brain matter spurted out in all directions.

Other subordinates rushed to save the one bitten by the wild dog, but their attacks were in vain as they passed through the dog’s body.

In the meantime, the wild dog completely ended the life of the subordinate it had in its mouth.

It was when the wild dog was about to attack its next victim.

Hurrruk!

Suddenly, the dog’s body caught fire.

Zeon fired a fire missile.

“Jeon said as he saw the burning dog startle and run wild.

“Physical attacks won’t work, so you’ll have to use something like magic.”

Seo Tae-ran shouted after hearing Jeon’s words.

“Everyone, put on the Gauntlets of Slaughter.”

Crunch!

As soon as she finished speaking, the subordinates’ wristwatches transformed into gauntlets.

“Gauntlets of Slaughter?”

“Let me show you Neo Seoul’s technological prowess.”

A cold smile appeared on Seo Tae-ran’s lips.

The men attacked the dogs again.

The wild dog ignored the attacks of his subordinates as if he believed in their abilities.

As Zeon said, it was clear that he knew that physical attacks would not do anything to him.

But it was a misjudgment on the part of the dog.

Drop!

Hurrah!

Suddenly, electricity and flames burst out from the gauntlets the subordinates were wearing.

The high temperature, high pressure flames and electricity struck the dog directly.

Kang!

With a single scream, the wild dog disappeared.

Seo Tae-ran said.

“This item was created to complement the weaknesses of the awakened martial artists. As you can see, it changes the mana in the body into elements such as electricity or fire.”

The principle itself was not that difficult.

Among the items excavated from the dungeon, there were many items with similar effects. Compared to those dungeon-made items, the power of the gauntlets that Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates were wearing was insignificant.

This is because while dungeon items have special powers, human-made items cannot have such dramatic effects.

The important thing is that these items can be created by humans and mass-produced.

Xeon believed that one of Neo Seoul’s greatest strengths was its mass production capabilities.

Since it is standardized and mass-produced, everyone’s power increases equally. Thanks to this, the power of all awakened people also increases together.

That’s how Neo Seoul becomes stronger.

That was when.

Swish! Swish!

A large number of wild dogs appeared through the darkness.

The wild dogs attacked with terrifying force, and Seo Tae-ran’s men fought back.

The wild dogs were no match for Seo Tae-ran’s men, who were wearing the Gauntlets of Slaughter. The moment the Gauntlets of Slaughter were activated, the wild dogs disappeared without a trace.

Brielle, who had been watching the scene closely, spoke as if she had realized something.

“They are already dead. This is clearly the dungeon of the dead.”