Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert - Chapter 355



Only Noblemtl

Episode 355

Knock knock!

“Zeon! Wake up. It’s already seven o’clock.”

Brielle had been knocking loudly on Zeon’s door since morning.

“Hooam! What’s going on this morning?”

As Zeon opened the door, rubbing his eyes, Brielle and Gaia came in.

“Did you forget? Didn’t Yoo Se-hee ask you to meet her today?”

“Ah! That’s right.”

Zeon scratched his head as if he had just remembered.

A few days ago, Yoo Se-hee sent someone to ask me to come to the goblin market. He said that by then, the preparations that had been in progress would be complete.

I was so tired at the time that I didn’t even ask what he had prepared.

Since Dongdaemun was destroyed, it was Jeon’s job to take care of the aftermath.

If Xeon had wanted to at that time, he could have taken Dongdaemun into his own hands. But that was not what Xeon wanted.

Jeon sent back all the remaining Dongdaemun personnel, including Joshua.

Jeon naturally thought that Joshua, the heretic inquisitor, would take control of Dongdaemun.

This was because he was the strongest of the surviving Dongdaemun believers. However, the situation did not turn out as Jeon had expected.

An internal conflict broke out among the surviving leaders of Dongdaemun.

When there was a strong central figure like John, no one dared to covet the throne. But when John disappeared, all the surviving leaders coveted the throne.

They refused to go under someone else.

In terms of awakening abilities, Joshua, the heretic inquisitor, was the strongest, but unfortunately, he had no political ability.

Although he was excellent at torturing and killing people, he was not suited to rallying and leading others.

Ultimately, Joshua’s lack of political ability caused problems, and those with ambition fought for control of Dongdaemun.

Dongdaemun was a group of fanatics.

If they were ordinary people, they would have realized that John was not the savior after his death and left the church. However, those who were unable to think rationally could not accept John’s death and believed that he would be resurrected one day.

Until then, they thought it was their duty to protect and maintain the church.

The surviving leaders took advantage of the minds of such people and declared themselves the guardians of the sect.

He said that he would guard and develop the church until John returned in resurrection.

With so many people claiming to be the guardians of the religious order, internal strife naturally arose.

Because of this, countless people died and Dongdaemun became a lawless zone.

Taking advantage of the chaos in Dongdaemun, numerous scavengers and criminals moved in, further worsening the chaos.

Jeon told Eaton to check Dongdaemun’s activities frequently.

Because it was clear that the chaos in Dongdaemun would affect the entire slum.

Although the chaos was still confined to Dongdaemun, it was clear that over time it would affect places like Sinchon and Guro.

‘That’s why I didn’t want to get involved with fanatics.’

Zeon put on his robe with a bitter smile.

Anyway, this happened because he killed John.

He is also partly responsible for the series of events.

Because of that, they were keeping a close eye on Dongdaemun and were ready to intervene at any time.

Of course, the best thing would be for him not to intervene at all. But the world is unpredictable, so you can’t let your guard down.

As a result, Zeon was quite mentally tired.

If Brielle hadn’t woken me up, I would have continued to sleep, forgetting that I had planned to meet Yoo Se-hee today.

Zeon, who had just washed up, spoke to Brielle.

“let’s go!”

“huh!”

“Can’t you see Levin?”

“I went to the crocodile den last night.”

“I go there often.”

“I guess Zetoya and Remura are worried. They come down here and there with a lot of stuff in their subspace backpacks.”

Zeon chuckled at Brielle’s answer.

Although it was Levin who went down to the underground, it was clear that Brielle had obtained all the items that filled the subspace backpack.

Both Levin and Brielle were exclusive to others, but they were generous to those within their own fold.

They reject people they see for the first time or are strangers, but when they are sure that they are on their side, they take care of them kindly.

Zeon came out of the house with Brielle.

Even though it was early morning, the sun was hot.

The two moved to the shade to avoid the sun and arrived at the goblin market.

Yoo Se-hee welcomed Jeon and Briel.

“You came quickly. I thought you’d be a little late.”

“Brielle, hurry up.”

“Even a little kid has his uses.”

Brielle frowned at Yoo Se-hee’s words.

“Huh! I wasn’t rushing to hear your compliments. I heard the sand hardener is finished?”

“That’s right! I even built a house to test it out.”

“Really? How is it?”

“Go and check it yourself.”

Yoo Se-hee smiled and headed towards the outskirts of the slums.

The outskirts of the slums were immediately connected to the desert.

It is completely exposed to the desert sand without any barriers.

There was no material to build a house, no matter how hard you looked. That’s why no one lived there.

But in the middle of the desert, there was a house standing tall.

It was a house whose walls and roof were made entirely of sand.

It wasn’t big or fancy, but it looked pretty solid.

Just then the door opened and someone came out of the house.

Zeon recognized his identity at a glance.

“Bryce.”

“Ah, Lord Zeon!”

A man came out of the house and came running, beaming.

He was Bryce, the creator of the sand hardener.

After losing his village to the Helbrin mercenaries and being captured, Jeon saved him and entrusted him to Yoo Se-hee.

“Is this a house made with sand hardener?”

“Yes! The walls, ceiling, and roof are all made of sand. It is no exaggeration to say that, except for the doors and windows, everything is made of sand.”

“Can I come inside and take a look?”

“Of course. Come on in.”

Bryce opened the door and let the three of them into the house.

The moment I entered the house, I felt a cool breeze.

The sun is blazing outside, but there is no heat inside the house.

“Does the hardener also act as an insulator?”

“I see. You’re right. The hardener blocks the heat from the outside and keeps the temperature inside the house cool.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Not only that, it’s coated with sand so that when it rains, it all runs off.”

“But the reason they built their houses underground was because of the scavengers?”

“That’s right. In the desert, we built our homes underground to protect ourselves from scavenger attacks, but in Neo Seoul, we don’t need to do that.”

Bryce smiled brightly.

His goal has always been the same.

It was about living just like a human being.

He thought that beggars who dug caves to live in to avoid animals and danger, but that humans should have a home on the ground.

In the slums, there were countless people who did not have their own homes and had to live in other people’s houses.

Why else would there be people who cannot find a place to live on land and live in crocodile dens?

As long as you have sand hardener, you can build any number of houses on the outskirts of the slums.

All you need is sand hardener and sand.

Of course, things like doors and windows would have to be purchased separately, but in any case, the most basic foundation could be easily laid.

At that time, Yoo Se-hee intervened in the conversation between the two.

“But there is one problem.”

“What is it?”

“We are running low on sand hardener material.”

“Can’t you get it at the Goblin Market?”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have told you. The body fluid of the ironclad ant is the key ingredient in sand hardener. As you know, ironclad ants dig holes hundreds of meters underground, so it’s not easy to hunt them.”

The armored ant was an E-class demon.

Each one of them did not have much power. The problem was that they were pack beasts that lived in groups.

They live in groups of at least a few hundred to tens of thousands.

Moreover, their burrows are dug tens to hundreds of meters underground. If they decide to hide, it is impossible to find them.

The body fluid of the armored ants currently being distributed in the goblin market is obtained by hunting stragglers, so it is only a very small amount.

Bryce bowed his head like a sinner.

“The fluid from one ironclad ant can make ten buckets of sand hardener. If you dilute ten buckets of sand hardener, you can build a hundred houses like this.”

“It’s simple. One hundred houses per ironclad ant. If you catch a hundred, you get ten thousand houses. Then, ten thousand people? No. If you think about three people living in one house, that means at least thirty thousand houses.”

“you’re right.”

“Then there is no reason not to hunt.”

“But armored ants are so hard to hunt that it’s not easy to catch even one or two.”

The burrows of the ironclad ants were more complex and narrow than a maze.

The burrows of the armored ants were so narrow that even one adult could barely squeeze through them. Therefore, it was impossible to send in a large force to capture the armored ants.

That is why the body fluid of the ironclad ant is precious.

“It is impossible to hunt down ironclad ants, and it is also difficult to find out where they live.”

“I guess so.”

Zeon nodded.

It was impossible to find the ant hole that extended hundreds of meters underground unless you had special abilities.

Akashi was the only one in the Goblin Market who had the ability to detect demons, but even he found it impossible to find the armored ants hundreds of meters underground.

Jeon said to Yoo Se-hee.

“Can you prepare ten C-class or higher Awakened Magicians, twenty porters, and ten transport vehicles?”

“That’s possible at any time. Why, do you want to step forward yourself?”

Yoo Se-hee looked at Jeon with a face full of excitement.

Because if Zeon came forward, hunting the armored ants wouldn’t be that difficult.

Zeon nodded and answered.

“That’s right.”

“I don’t doubt your abilities, but first we need to find out where the armored ants live. Do you know where they live in groups?”

“yes!”

“really?”

Yoo Se-hee made a face of disbelief.

“Once you understand the physiology of the ironclad ants, it’s not that difficult to find their burrows.”

“What is that?”

“They like blue wolf moss.”

“What is that?”

“Blue wolf moss lives off of white snow cactus… … .”

“What about the white snow cactus? Oh, that’s enough! Don’t tell me any more. I won’t tell you. Anyway, if you find the white snow cactus, you’ll find the blue wolf moss, and that means there’s a burrow of armored ants nearby, right?”

“Usually, yes.”

“This time it’s different, I guess. Am I right?”

“Yes! If I come with you, you can skip those cumbersome methods.”

“You already know the habitat.”

“That’s correct. You’re really smart.”

“I’m not happy with any of that compliment.”

Yoo Se-hee glanced at Jeon.

Separately, her head was spinning at a frightening rate.

‘The convoy is resting right now, so if we mobilize them, the Awakened and the porters will be taken care of. The remaining vehicles can be brought in from other places.’

If someone else had made this suggestion, I would have thought about it for days. But it was Xeon who made the suggestion.

No one knew the desert better than he did.

Since Zeon had set out, this was an expedition that was sure to succeed. So there was no reason to hesitate.

“Okay! When are you leaving? Tell me and I’ll get everything ready by then.”

“Why hesitate? We’ll leave tomorrow.”

“That quickly?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, there isn’t any!”

Yoo Se-hee shook his head.

Even if there is a problem, it must be eliminated.

If Zeon changes his mind in the meantime, you will no longer be able to obtain the corpse of the armored ant.

“I’ll have the Awakeners, porters, and vehicles all ready by tomorrow morning. All you have to do is come in person.”

“All right.”

“If we just raid one large anthill, we can provide housing for tens of thousands of people. This is truly a great event.”

Yoo Se-hee clenched his small fist.

Even the mayor, Jin Geum-ho, could not expand Neo Seoul any further. That was because there was no place for people to live.

If we could secure enough sand hardener, there would be more places for people to live.

She ends up solving a problem that even Jin Geum-ho couldn’t solve.

As the sand hardener is secured, Yoo Se-hee’s power will also increase.

As her power grew, the Goblin Market and Sinchon became safer. There was no reason not to do it.

‘The future of Neo Seoul depends on this expedition.’