Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert - Chapter 385
Only Noblemtl
Episode 385
Jang Woo-hang looked at Neo Seoul with his arms crossed.
He was in a guest room on the fifteenth floor of the city hall.
It was only the middle floor of a city hall building with over 50 floors. The view was only a part of Neo-Seoul.
To those living in Neo Seoul, this was nothing special. But to Jang Woo-hang, this place seemed like a new world.
Tall buildings packed so densely that not a single space can be seen, and cars and people passing by on the streets.
The cars move smoothly and people dress stylishly.
The air inside Neo Seoul, protected by various barriers and magic circles, felt refreshing.
“How can a small country’s colony be this advanced? I don’t understand. Isn’t this not just a restoration of civilization before the Great Destruction, but an even higher level?”
It was something that was beyond his common sense.
I thought that the colony in Jang Woo-hang’s hometown was quite developed, but it didn’t seem to be able to reach the level of Neo Seoul.
Jang Woo-hang bit his lip out of a sense of inferiority.
“This is ridiculous! What kind of magic did you actually use?”
You could tell the level of this place just by looking at the accommodations in the city hall.
A variety of electrical appliances on a soft bed.
These were things you couldn’t even see in the underground city of Sacheon.
If you took something like this, it was clear that everyone would turn their eyes and come running at you.
“Damn it! It’s amazing that a small colony survived, but how could they achieve such a highly developed civilization?”
Thick tendons bulged out above his clenched fist.
I felt like breaking the window of my room right away, going outside, and wandering around.
After finding out all the secrets of Neo Seoul, his heart wanted to take them back to his hometown.
That was when.
“Can I come in?”
The voice of the Awakened one guarding the entrance was heard from outside.
In that moment, Jang Woo-hang regained his original appearance as if he had never been agitated before.
“Come in.”
The door opened and the Awakened One came in.
“The mayor has permitted us to meet you.”
“Right now?”
“Yes! Follow me.”
“All right.”
Jang Woo-hang followed the Awakened One into the elevator.
While riding the elevator up to the mayor’s office, Jang Woo-hang’s pupils shook incessantly.
This is because the higher you go, the more splendid the scenery becomes.
The numerous lights illuminating the city center reminded me of a city that never sleeps.
Jang Woo-hang asked the awakened person.
“No, are you saying that even though the lights are on, the demons won’t attack?”
“Neo Seoul has never been directly attacked by the devil.”
“What is the reason? Is there some secret behind it… …”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know anything. Even if I did know, I can’t tell you.”
“hmm!”
Jang Woo-hang’s eyes turned cold at the Awakened’s firm answer.
In fact, while being guided to his accommodation, he asked several questions to other people, but no one could give him satisfactory answers.
Because of that, I was seething with anger inside.
Jang Woo-hang tried hard to suppress his anger.
This was not his home.
A colony in a distant foreign country.
I couldn’t do whatever I wanted like I did back home.
I had to suppress my emotions and never show them.
Tiring!
While he was suppressing his anger, the elevator arrived at the mayor’s office, the top floor of the city hall.
As the elevator door opened, Seo Tae-ran appeared in a red two-piece suit.
“welcome.”
“Are you there too?”
“I’m the mayor’s secretary. I always accompany him on official business.”
“okay.”
Jang Woo-hang nodded at Seo Tae-ran’s indifferent answer and got off the elevator. A huge window appeared in front of him.
In front of the large window that gave a clear view of Seoul, a man in a suit was standing with his luggage behind his back.
It was Jin Geum-ho, the ruler of Neo Seoul.
The moment he saw Jin Geum-ho’s back, Jang Woo-hang felt a pressure as if a huge rock was pressing down on his entire body.
Jang Woo-hang shuddered at the overwhelming presence he had never felt from anyone he had ever met before.
‘Was there a person of that level in a small country? Well, it would be a person of that level to build a city of this size.’
Jang Woo-hang tried to keep a calm expression.
Seo Tae-ran bowed to Jin Geum-ho and said.
“I brought Mr. Jang Woo-hang from Sacheon, Mayor!”
“okay?”
Only then did Jin Geum-ho turn around.
Jin Geum-ho looked at Jang Woo-hang with a kind smile.
“It was hard coming from afar. I am Jin Geum-ho, the mayor of Neo Seoul.”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Jang Woo-hang and I come from Sacheon Underground City.”
“Your colony appears to be underground.”
“Yes! We couldn’t live above ground, so we built a city underground.”
“That’s amazing. You survived like that.”
Jin Geum-ho nodded his head.
The most precious resource on Earth today is humans.
If we were to defeat the demons that ruled the desert and make it a human land again, the more people that survived, the better.
Jang Woo-hang said.
“The truly great one is Jin Daehyeop.”
“Great Swordsman?”
“In our underground city, someone who is respected and worthy of following is called a great swordsman.”
“Is that so?”
“The mayor is a man who deserves to be called a great swordsman.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say by flattering me like that.”
“I mean this sincerely.”
“I see. So it took you a year to get here? It seems like things aren’t going well in the city.”
“It’s embarrassing, but it is.”
“Tell me more.”
Jin Geum-ho pulled out a chair and asked.
Jang Woo-hang continued speaking while sitting on the chair Jin Geum-ho had given him.
“More than three hundred thousand people live in a cramped underground city.”
“Three hundred thousand people? Is the city big enough to accommodate that many people?”
“As I said, it’s cramped. It’s a bunker originally built to prepare for a nuclear war. It was built to shelter key party figures and their families.”
“Isn’t that too big for something like that?”
“The bunker was originally big, but it continued to expand as the number of people increased.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. It can accommodate three hundred thousand people.”
Jin Geum-ho was honestly surprised.
The total population of Neo-Seoul, including the slums, was 20 million.
Honestly, I thought it was a miracle that this many people lived in this small city.
Fortunately, Neo Seoul was built above ground, so even though so many people gathered there, no major problems arose.
In any case, there is still room for expansion, even if it means raising the building’s floors. However, the basement was different. No matter how much it could be expanded, there was a limit.
The ground where the underground city is located is relatively solid, but if you dig incorrectly, the ground will collapse and sand will rush in, burying you alive.
The population continued to grow, but there was no room for expansion, so various problems arose one after another.
That’s why, as a last resort, Jang Woo-hang and his subordinates came out into the world to contact an outside colony and solve the problem.
“You lost all your men on the way here?”
“Yes! We were attacked by demons… … .”
“Still, it’s amazing that you came all the way here living alone.”
“It was a stroke of luck. In fact, I didn’t even know that a colony like Neo Seoul existed here.”
“That’s right. We didn’t even realize that so many people were still alive in that far away place.”
“Honestly, I never imagined that in this day and age, a city with such an advanced level of civilization would exist. So… … .”
“It looks like you have something you want.”
“I know it may be a bit much to ask, but I would appreciate it if you could teach us the magical engineering of Neo Seoul.”
“Magic engineering?”
“Isn’t it because of magical engineering that the city is safe from the devil? If only we had advanced magical engineering that combined magic and civilization, our underground city could quickly grow like Neo Seoul.”
“That’s interesting! And what’s the price for it?”
“Wouldn’t it be possible for you to show mercy out of love for humanity? I will definitely repay this favor when the underground city develops in the future.”
“So you’re asking me to teach you everything about Neo Seoul, including magical engineering, through trauma?”
“I am ashamed. However, we at Junghwa will never forget the favor we have received. If you teach us the magic arts, we will repay you a hundredfold, a thousandfold later. I promise this on the honor of Jang Woohang.”
Jang Woo-hang looked straight into Jin Geum-ho’s eyes and said.
It was an intense gaze that an ordinary person would not dare to look at. However, Jin Geum-ho accepted Jang Woo-hang’s gaze with ease.
“True Great Hero!”
“I will refuse.”
“yes?”
Jang Woo-hang blinked.
This was because he was unable to properly assess the situation due to Jin Geum-ho’s unexpected and firm rejection.
After a while, he came to his senses and opened his mouth with difficulty.
“What does that mean?”
“Let me say it again. Your proposal is unacceptable. Asking me to teach you about magic engineering means handing over everything Neo Seoul has built up over the past hundred years. There is no such thing as a robbery symbol. I will pretend not to hear your proposal. However, I will provide some support on humanitarian grounds.”
“But Jin Daehyeop… … .”
“I’m done talking. If you have anything else to say, talk to my secretary.”
“This can’t be happening. How did I get here… … .”
“No matter how hard you try, what can’t be done can’t be done.”
“but…….”
“I have another appointment, so I would like you to leave now. Taeran, take care of the guests.”
Seo Tae-ran nodded at Jin Geum-ho’s words and stepped forward.
“Let’s go to the accommodation first.”
“but…….”
“The mayor hates to be talked over.”
Jang Woo-hang got up with difficulty at Seo Tae-ran’s firm words.
His face was distorted in disgust and humiliation.
Jang Woo-hang, who was glaring at Jin Geum-ho with scary eyes, immediately got on the elevator and went down.
As he disappeared, Jin Geum-ho muttered.
“They are still the same.”
“What do you mean? It’s still the same?”
“It’s the habit of coveting other people’s things even though you don’t have any. Even before the great destruction, you were like that, swindling other countries’ backbones, and you still haven’t been able to get rid of that habit.”
“But isn’t that too firm?”
“That’s how it is for them. If you show them even a little kindness, they will cling to you and suck your marrow out.”
For Jin Geum-ho, the safety of the residents living in Neo Seoul was more important than the safety of the 300,000 people in another country.
It was okay to call me cruel, and it was okay to call me an ignorant person.
Because criticism was familiar to him.
“Above all, it’s not clear.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There is something hidden. Something is hiding his true nature and deceiving my eyes. I do not trust such a sinister person.”
***
“Eww!”
Jang Woo-hang returned to his lodgings, threw his belongings, and screamed.
Thanks to the good soundproofing, no one could hear Jang Woo-hang making a fuss outside.
After venting my anger for a long time, the anger that had been building up to the top of my head finally subsided a little.
“Haa! Haa! You ignore me like this because you have a little power?”
When I thought of Jin Geum-ho, the anger that had barely subsided began to surge up again.
“You’re an old dog. I’ll tolerate it for now, but one day I’ll bring all the city’s troops and destroy this place.”
Jang Woo-hang suppressed his anger and vowed revenge.
“It’s a waste of time to get that old man to cooperate. We have to find another way.”
The underground city in Sacheon was currently overcrowded.
Because the underground city was expanded indiscriminately, cracks were appearing in numerous places.
Surviving the demon’s attack was a secondary issue, and if things continued this way, the underground city might collapse first.
To keep such an underground city safe, Neo Seoul’s magic and engineering combined with magical engineering was needed.
In addition, I had to figure out a way to protect this huge city from the devil.
If only we could figure out the secrets of Neo Seoul, the underground city of Sacheon would be able to create a civilization as advanced as, or even more advanced than, Neo Seoul.
Just as it was before the great destruction.
“Jin Geum-ho, laugh as much as you want. Right now, you may seem like the winner, but in the end, I will be the one laughing last. I will find out all the secrets you have kept hidden, no matter what.”
Jang Woo-hang was no ordinary Pathfinder.
If that were the case, I wouldn’t have survived and gotten here.
His official title in the Sacheon Underground City was Scout.
A being that scouts ahead of the main force.
He was skilled in assassination, intelligence gathering, disruption and dissension.