Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert - Chapter 393



Only Noblemtl

Episode 393

“Fuck! I’m going to die from the heat.”

Kim Jin-su of the first convoy stuck his head out of the buggy window and took in the breeze. The air conditioner was broken, and the inside of the buggy was as hot as a furnace.

Kim Jin-su got angry at his subordinate.

“That’s why I told you to keep it properly maintained. What is this?”

“Where is it my fault? Why are you getting angry at a strict person for something like sand?”

“I don’t know! What the hell! It’s all your fault anyway.”

“Hey! Hey!”

“Answer straight.”

“yes!”

“Haa! Fuck life… … .”

Kim Jin-su sighed.

He knew it too.

This means that the air conditioner’s breakdown was not due to the subordinate’s negligence in maintenance.

This damn sand that covers the earth is the natural enemy of all electronic devices. I don’t know why, but most electronic devices stop working when they go out into the desert.

Because of that, you can’t go far into the desert by car.

The driver muttered.

“When I was driving with Jeon, the car was fine… … .”

“That gentleman must be a sand wizard for nothing. He must have protected the vehicle with his powers.”

“It’s really amazing. How can you manipulate sand so freely?”

“That’s right.”

“I hope to hang out with you again next time, Jeon.”

“Me too. I had a hard time at the end, but I still managed to get a lot of armored ant corpses easily.”

“Thanks to you, our fortunes have improved a bit.”

“What the hell is my fate? What the hell! I was dragged out into the desert like this, what do you mean my fate is fixed?”

“Hey! But at least this is a good thing. I got a huge bonus. My wife was so happy when I gave her some.”

Kim Jin-su’s expression suddenly distorted at his subordinate’s words.

“Who are you kidding? You’re married, and I have nobody. You little punk!”

“Can’t the captain do whatever he wants if he puts his mind to it? The problem is that he gives all his money to prostitutes.”

“If it’s not fun, what’s the point of living in this world?”

“Anyway… … .”

The subordinate shook his head.

The best convoy of the Goblin Market goes on many expeditions due to the nature of their mission.

The magic stone mine, the recently developed dungeon, and the demon hunting grounds were all the stages of their expeditions.

Because of that, I spent a lot of time away from Neo Seoul.

Since leaving once meant being away for a week to ten days, it wasn’t easy to build a stable family.

There were some who started families like their driving subordinates, but most, like Kim Jin-su, spent all their hard-earned money in the red-light district.

Because of that, Kim Jin-su didn’t have much money left. Still, Kim Jin-su had no regrets.

‘You only live once, how can you live looking at only one woman?’

One of Kim Jin-su’s goals was to have fun with as many women as possible while he was alive.

Now they were on their way to a long journey to carry the by-products of the demonic world.

The rarer the monster, the higher the value of its by-products.

This time, the beast hunted by the awakened people of the goblin market was a beast called the Ghost Beetle.

It was given this name because the pattern on its shell resembled a ghost.

The Ghost Beetle was one of the rarest beasts.

Although it was only a C-grade, its shell was so strong that it was not easy to hunt.

The bark of the ghost beetle was one of the essential materials used to make the protective gear of the Awakened.

Depending on how it is alloyed with other metals, its performance varies greatly.

Some workshops created armor with magic resistance using the bark of the scarab beetle.

Armor with properties that could resist magic was not easily available.

The problem is that the Ghost Beetle is a very rare beast.

The habitat is not clearly known, and the number of ghost beetles found is very small.

That’s why it was worth calling.

“Hunting a group of ghost beetles? I caught one, Hyung-woo.”

“That’s right. They say even a centipede can roll.”

“Hey! Hyungwoo isn’t a snail.”

“That’s what I’m saying. You little brat! You’re definitely going to spit it out.”

A smile appeared on Kim Jin-su’s face as he pretended to hit his subordinate on the head with a stick.

The name of the one leading the Awakened ones who hunted the Ghost Beetle was Go Hyeon-woo. He was close friends with Kim Jin-su.

Although we don’t meet often because of our different duties, when we do meet, we get along so well that we play all night long.

Kim Jin-su looked around and said.

“Didn’t you say the coordinates were around here?”

“Yes! I think we’re almost there.”

“But why can’t I see it?”

I looked around, but the hunting team led by Ko Hyeon-woo was nowhere to be seen.

When a hunting party is successful, they usually plant a large flag or light a colorful smoke bomb to help the convoy find it.

But there was no trace of anything around.

Suddenly, an ominous feeling came over Kim Jin-su.

“Fuck! This feels weird.”

“Why, Captain!”

“I don’t know! I don’t feel well. Get the kids ready.”

“yes?”

“Get ready to fight, kid!”

“yes!”

Kim Jin-su’s cold voice made his subordinates realize the atmosphere in which they were returning.

Phew!

A red smoke grenade exploded at the rear of the buggy.

It was a signal to prepare for battle.

“what?”

“Suddenly ready for battle?”

Tension filled the faces of the Awakened who were following in the rear vehicle.

It was the best escort unit that had been working closely with Kim Jin-su for a long time.

They knew very well how sharp Kim Jin-su’s intuition was.

“Everyone, be careful!”

“Be on guard.”

They prepared themselves for battle and stood on edge, even without separate instructions.

At that moment, Kim Jin-su’s face distorted.

Because I smelled the scent of blood carried by the wind.

“Go up there.”

Kim Jin-su pointed to the sand dunes on the left.

“yes!”

The subordinate drove the buggy up the sand hill without saying a word.

The first convoy, which had reached the summit of the sandy mountain with difficulty, saw the hunters’ temporary shelter.

“Fuck!”

Sparks flew from Kim Jin-su’s eyes.

Because the hunters’ temporary shelter was terribly destroyed and corpses were strewn everywhere.

The first convoy ran straight towards the shelter without a second thought.

A look of anger appeared on the faces of Kim Jin-su and the Awakened when they arrived at the shelter.

“Everyone… … is dead.”

“What kind of kids… … .”

All of the dead were hunters belonging to the goblin market.

Kim Jin-su approached the most horribly damaged body.

The corpse, mutilated like slaughtered meat, was none other than his friend, Ko Hyeon-woo.

Kim Jin-su’s eyes became bloodshot as he looked at Ko Hyun-woo’s body.

“Hyun… … Wooya!”

Go Hyun-woo’s wide-open eyes were visible.

The amount of pain he had been through was evident in his expression and eyes.

“What kind of kids treat people like this… … .”

Kim Jin-su’s shoulders trembled.

The body was mangled, as if it had been tortured.

If it weren’t for his close friend Kim Jin-su, he wouldn’t have known that the body belonged to Ko Hyeon-woo because it was so badly damaged.

The same was true of the other corpses.

There wasn’t a single body that was in good shape.

Kim Jin-su shouted at his subordinates.

“Hey! Look for a monster nearby.”

“yes!”

Several of his subordinates scattered in all directions.

After a while, Kim Jin-su regained his senses and took a deep breath.

“Fuck! I don’t know who those bastards are, but I will never forgive them.”

“Boss! The warehouse has been completely robbed. They took everything.”

One of his men pointed to a large tent.

It was a tent carried around for the purpose of storing the by-products of the Demonic Cult.

The tent was in shambles and empty inside.

If it was a demonic attack, there was no reason for them to take the ghost beetle’s shell. There was no reason for the demon to covet the hard shell, let alone fresh meat.

It was clearly the work of a human who coveted the dung beetle’s shell.

“A scavenger?”

The first thing that comes to mind are the scavengers, the desert raiders.

They could easily target the demon hunters.

The problem is that the level of the demon hunters led by Ko Hyun-woo is very high.

Go Hyun-woo was a B-class, and all of his team members were C-class.

They were of such high rank that even the average scavenger group would not dare to target them, and they were all veterans with thick bones from the desert.

Even though they were attacked by scavengers, they were not weak enough to be defeated like this.

And yet, they were unilaterally annihilated.

“They’re not scavengers. They’re more disciplined humans.”

After a while, all the subordinates who had scattered in all directions returned.

“I don’t see a single one.”

“There is absolutely no trace left.”

Kim Jin-su’s expression became even more distorted at his subordinates’ report.

“Are you already far away?”

In that case, tracking would have been impossible.

Because the desert sand covers all traces.

It was impossible to find the beasts in the desert unless there was a sand wizard like Zeon.

Kim Jin-su gave the order.

“We are now collecting the bodies and returning to Neo Seoul.”

“No, are you saying you’re going back without looking for the evil spirit?”

“We must get revenge, Captain!”

Kim Jin-su spoke coldly in response to his subordinates’ objections.

“Then how are we going to find those who have decided to hide in the desert?”

“that…….”

“There’s no other way. In that case, it would be better to track them back to Neo Seoul.”

“How do you say that?”

“Ghost beetle shell. Where are you going to dispose of that?”

“ah!”

The subordinates let out gasps.

No matter how good an item is, it can only be sold if there is a place that will accept it.

The only place that could sell large quantities of ghost beetle shells was Neo Seoul.

If you search through the black markets, including the Goblin Market, you will definitely find the ghost beetle shell.

“Got it? So, we’re going back to Neo Seoul right away. The later we go, the harder it’ll be to catch them.”

“Net! Captain!”

The subordinates hurriedly collected the body along with the answer.

The faces of the Awakened were filled with rage as they stuffed the corpses of their comrades into the car they had brought to fill the ghost beetle shells.

“I will definitely find you and cut off all your limbs.”

They headed to Neo Seoul, vowing bloody revenge.

＊＊＊

Jang Woo-hang took out the leaf map and placed it on the table.

The number one (一) was clearly engraved on the smooth surface of the sword.

Jang Woo-hang caressed the surface of the numbers with his fingertips.

The cold sensation transmitted to his fingertips made him shiver.

“Good!”

Yoo Yeop-do was almost like his alter ego.

After receiving the Yuyeopdo, he never left it on his body for even a single day.

He was so proud of this leaf that he could say that if he had just one of these leaves, there was nothing in the world he could not cut.

Of course, reality is different.

After coming here, he felt a wall.

Jin Geum-ho, Jeon, and Xiao Lun also made him feel like a wall.

But he was not discouraged.

He would never have been able to overcome them alone, but he had his colleagues.

The scouts of the subterranean world never move alone.

Ten people move in a group.

Although the other elite soldiers of the Jijeoseong clan who set out together were all killed in the attack of the demons, Jang Woo-hang’s group survived by sticking together.

“But why aren’t these kids coming? Did they get into some kind of trouble?”

Jang Woo-hang felt slightly uneasy.

His brothers are all good, but they sometimes go wild.

If there was a Jang Woo-hang, it would be a bit more controllable.

“Come quickly, my brothers… … .”