Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert - Chapter 378



Only Noblemtl

Episode 378

Zeon was sitting on a large tree branch.

It was the largest tree in the Black Forest.

If I told you that this tree was just a tiny sprout a few days ago, no one would believe it.

I accepted it because I saw and experienced it myself. If I had only heard it through words, I wouldn’t have believed it either.

“Wahahaha!”

“Catch me if you can.”

“Hehehe!”

Children were running around under the tree.

Human and dark elf children playing together.

The children laughed heartily as they ran from tree to tree. The children’s laughter seemed to be contagious to the adults, and all the workers had happy smiles on their faces.

It had only been ten days since Yuri was born.

In a short, if brief, time the forest had almost regained its former appearance.

Before the amazing miracle, humans and dark elves became one.

Human Awakened people guarded the forest from the outskirts, while dark elves tended the trees.

The rapidly growing tree was accelerated thanks to the powder sprinkled by Yuri.

If we grow a little more, we might be able to build a house out of wood like we did in Kurayan.

Because of that, all the dark elves worked hard to grow their own homes.

Brielle was also among the dark elves.

A bright smile appeared on Brielle’s face as she touched the dirt with her sleeves rolled up.

Even though her whole body was covered in dirt, she didn’t care.

Because it is not the rough sand that we have been tired of stepping on.

It was black soil full of vitality.

Not only Brielle, but even the dark elves were unable to come to their senses at the sensation of the pitch-black soil that they were touching for the first time in their lives.

Josephine, who had become friends with Brielle, said, picking up a handful of dirt.

“Look at this! Brielle. There’s a sprout here too.”

“It’s true!”

Brielle’s eyes widened.

Even in the dirt in Josephine’s hands, unknown grasses were shyly revealing themselves.

Josephine said with a big smile.

“See? Now the whole forest will be covered with grass like this.”

“Yes! It would be so beautiful.”

Brielle closed her eyes for a moment and imagined a forest covered in green grass.

A green island that exists alone in the middle of the desert.

It’s a bit disappointing that it’s small, but as the forest becomes denser, its territory will expand further. I had a pleasant imagination that if it grows that large, one day the entire Earth will become green again.

Josephine carefully placed the soil on the floor so as not to damage the sprout she was holding, then took Brielle’s hand.

“why?”

“Let’s go! There’s a kid I’ve marked with your tree.”

“really?”

“I told you. I’ll grow a tree for you. I already got permission from the adults. Let’s go.”

“huh!”

Brielle followed Josephine with a happy expression.

Zeon watched from the treetops as Brielle and Josephine disappeared into the forest, holding hands.

At that moment, Levin, who had become a ghost, landed next to Zeon.

“I think I’m going to die. I’m afraid I might end up saying I don’t want to go home.”

“If that’s Brielle’s decision, then we have to respect it.”

“Wouldn’t it be a shame if that happened?”

“What do you think?”

“It’s a shame, but I have to do it if it’s for Brielle.”

“Me too. To elves, the forest is the source of life. They are a race that cannot survive without the forest, so if Brielle wants it, I will do so.”

The two people smiled similarly.

They truly wanted Brielle to be happy. If she was happy here, they were willing to leave her behind.

Zeon asked as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him.

“By the way, how are the demons?”

“It just magically disappeared.”

“okay?”

“I don’t know if it’s because of Gaia, but I can’t see any griffins or wyverns.”

Levin flew through the sky to scout whenever he had time. But strangely enough, after that day, all the flying demons disappeared.

The demons that had been running wild because they couldn’t catch the spirit disappeared as soon as the spirit was born.

I don’t know if it’s because of the glass or because of Gaia being attached to it.

Then Levin suddenly frowned.

“Look at me. Look at my eyes… .”

Where his gaze turned, there was Gaia and Yuri.

The two were floating in the sky, stuck together as if they were making love.

-Beep!

Gaia’s joyful cries echoed throughout the sky.

Every time, the dark elves who were tending the tree raised their heads and looked at Gaia.

Their faces were filled with smiles as they looked at Gaia.

As if enjoying their gaze, Gaia spun her streamlined body around. Yuri quickly followed suit and spun around with her.

“I really don’t know if I’ll end up having a baby if I keep doing this.”

“That’s right.”

“No! Gaia is still young.”

“If you look at it that way, Yuri is even worse. She was only born a few days ago.”

“That’s true. But aren’t you saying it can’t be done anyway?”

“I don’t know. The life of spirits is different from ours.”

Zeon looked at Gaia with a smile.

Then Flora climbed up the tree where Zeon and Levin were sitting.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“Us? Why?”

“I think it’s time to start discussing how to protect this forest.”

Flora’s face looked noticeably haggard.

That’s because he’s been discussing ways to protect this forest with Goduwon and the older dark elves for the past few days.

If we were to compare it to people, the forest was now in its infancy.

Depending on how you spend this time, it could either become lush or run-down.

While the other dark elves were excited at the thought of reclaiming their forest, she couldn’t help but wonder how she could effectively protect it from the outside world.

Zeon asked her with a puzzled expression.

“What do you want to discuss with me? Just do as we decide at the meeting… … .”

“That’s why I need your help.”

“What if I help you?”

“I plan to strike the Great Plains until the forest is complete. The forest still needs protection.”

After a long meeting, the conclusion reached was to build a large perimeter around the forest.

“A great barrier? Are you saying that there is a barrier that can hide this entire forest?”

“Fortunately, one of the elders in the village taught me how to strike the Great Sword. He said that in the old village, it was impossible because there were no materials or spirits, but it is possible here.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Zeon looked genuinely relieved.

The future of our planet will depend on how we preserve and nurture this place.

Once they learned of the existence of this forest, there were more than a few beings who would become greedy.

Neo Seoul, Scavengers, other elves and numerous other races.

It was clear that they all wanted a rich forest.

The moment the forest is exposed to the outside world, everyone will come rushing to take it away.

A grand plan was necessary to protect the forest from them.

Zeon asked.

“You said you needed me to open the Great Barrier?”

“Yeah! He said he absolutely had to get your help.”

“Of course I should help if there is anything I can do. Let’s go.”

Zeon rose from the tree branch.

“Thank you! I will never forget this favor.”

“Okay. I’m not asking for your thanks. This is absolutely necessary for everyone’s survival, so there’s no need to be so grateful.”

“Still, the fact that you are our benefactor remains unchanged.”

“Oh my… … .”

Jeon could only laugh in vain at Flora’s stubborn appearance.

＊＊＊

The place where Flora took Zeon was an open space in the center of the village.

It used to be just a barren place, but now there are trees and grass growing around it, giving it quite a bit of charm.

There were dozens of rocks in the vacant lot where people could sit.

It was a rock from the corpse of a rock crocodile that had attacked the Black Forest.

Since rocks were also valuable materials, people did not throw them away but placed them in various places in the forest.

“Welcome, Zeon!”

“My Lord Zeon!”

When Zeon appeared with Flora, everyone gathered stood up to welcome him.

At the center of it all was Ko Du-won.

The human Awakened and the dark elves gathered together around the village chief, Goduwon.

Even Go Du-won, who was awkward at first, seemed to have adapted now and was coordinating the opinions of both sides well.

“Come in.”

“You said you were going to protect the village with a great barrier?”

“It was everyone’s decision. We will protect the forest and the village until they can survive on their own. I would like to open the village and accept more people, but everyone says it is too early.”

“I think that would be better. If we open it up carelessly, we don’t know what kind of beings might come in here. We should block it from the outside world until we have the power to protect the forest and the village.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

During that time, Go Du-won also had many worries.

Whether it is right to not open this forest, or whether it is a selfish decision for only themselves.

Because of that, I couldn’t sleep properly for several days. But after hearing Jeon’s answer, I felt a little relieved.

Then an old dark elf approached Zeon.

His face was covered with wrinkles, as if he had lived a long time. Nevertheless, his eyes were clear and deep, without a hint of cloudiness.

The dark elf suddenly knelt down on one knee and bowed to Zeon.

“Greetings from Theriwden of the Dark Elves, to the Benefactor of the Forest.”

“There is no need to do this.”

“No. Lord Zeon is the benefactor of us dark elves. Our clan living in this forest will never forget Lord Zeon’s kindness.”

Zeon couldn’t hide his awkward expression at Teruden’s stubborn attitude. He felt like he would break out in hives if he were treated with such excessive courtesy. However, he couldn’t just refuse when the old elf was being so polite.

In the end, Zeon had no choice but to wait until Teruden’s example was over.

Fortunately, Terrywooden quickly got up.

“I apologize if this old man’s actions have made you uncomfortable, Lord Zeon. However, as the eldest member of the clan, I cannot help but show courtesy.”

“Don’t do this again.”

“I will do that.”

“You know about the Great Barrier?”

“Yes! Our village in Kurayan also had a great siege. I participated in that work. After discussing it with you, I concluded that it would be possible to create a great siege here as well. However, I cannot do it alone. I definitely need your help and that of Master Zeon.”

“What if I help you?”

“The terrain surrounding the village needs to be changed to be suitable for a large-scale attack. It would be good to have sand hills in the four directions of the village, east, west, south, and north.”

“It’s a mountain… … .”

Only then did Zeon realize why Terious had come looking for him.

The area around the Black Forest was almost like flat land.

Because of this, it was not suitable for defending against demons.

“How high should it be?”

“It doesn’t have to be that high. Even if it’s only about a hundred meters, you’ll be able to bury the sacred relics.”

“Holy relic?”

“This is a treasure of the clan that has been carefully preserved since the days of Kurayan. This relic will become the foundation of the Great War through interaction. Of course, there are many other tasks that need to be done, but that is not for you, Lord Zeon, to worry about. Lord Zeon, you only need to create a sand mountain to install the relic.”

It was a sacred relic that had been carefully preserved since Kurayan.

It was so treasured that it wasn’t even used in a village that was occupied by orcs.

The use of such a holy relic meant that the dark elves had also risked their lives here.

Xeon confirmed it.

“Is a hundred meters okay?”

“Yes! That’s enough.”

“Okay, let’s get started right now.”

“Right now?”

“If we’re going to do it anyway, wouldn’t it be better to do it sooner rather than later?”

Zeon’s condition was excellent as he had been resting well for the past few days.

Zeon immediately left the village and used his dominance.

Whew!

The wind blew.

It was a sand storm.

The sandstorm grew stronger as time went on.

Zeon’s figure was hidden by the sandstorm.

The sandstorm cleverly avoided the village.

After the sandstorm that had been raging for two hours ceased, four tall mountains emerged around the Black Forest.