Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 562

Chapter 562

A pact was concluded between Liala and Urtian.

The detailed terms were known only to those who had attended the negotiation, but one thing was certain.4

If Liala truly brought people later, they would accept them without hesitation.

Thanks to that, Liala’s expression had grown noticeably brighter.

She asked Zeon,

“What are you going to do now?”

“I need to find Behemoth.”

“That’s obvious.”

“I haven’t thought of anything else.”

“And the other races? What do you plan to do about them?”

“That is for Lady Liala and Lord Urtian to handle.”

“I thought you’d say that.”

Liala gave a bitter smile.

“I understand not wanting to clash with them if possible. But I think it’s time we clearly decide our course.”

“We should.”

Once they had decided to relocate to the Steel Fortress, a clash with El Harun’s other races was unavoidable.

There was no way they would simply let the humans go.

Humans were like lubricant to El Harun.

Without them, El Harun would not function smoothly.

“It will be a difficult fight, won’t it?”

“When has anything ever been easy? We’ll just have to endure.”

“It’s possible the other races have already discovered this place.”

“That’s why I intend to remain here for the time being.”

The Taboaru and the Zela tribe were cunning and quick-witted.

When they had clashed with Urtian, they must have already sensed that there was a base nearby.

“If that bastard truly discovered this place, he’ll gather every other race and storm in. This place lacks only the World Tree—otherwise it has everything they would covet.”

A place where one could live without the World Tree’s blessing was exceedingly rare.

A place like the Steel Fortress, where there was no need to worry about drinking water, was even rarer.

It was more than enough to stir the greed of El Harun’s other races.

“I don’t know how many will migrate here, but for their sake as well, this place must be defended. Even if I must stain my hands with the blood of the other races.”

Liala’s resolve was firm.

“I understand. Then I will leave this place to you, Lady Liala.”

“You have my deepest gratitude.”

“Pardon?”

“Is it not thanks to you that we came to know of this place?”

“Haha!”

“You likely know of places even more mysterious than this. But I will not ask. We are more than satisfied with this one.”

Liala had the feeling that Zeon knew where the World Tree grew.

It was only a feeling, but she trusted her instincts absolutely.

She knew that highly developed intuition was little different from foresight.

Zeon only smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.

At that moment, Urtian asked Zeon,

“What will you do now?”

“I need to search for Behemoth.”

“You intend to leave immediately?”

“The more time we give him to recover, the worse it becomes for us. We must find him and eliminate him as quickly as possible.”

“I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to help.”

It was not because they were cowards.

It was because they would only become a hindrance to Zeon.

They had already confirmed that their attacks were ineffective against a transcendent monster like Behemoth.

In such a situation, rushing in together would only weigh Zeon down.

Zeon smiled.

“It’s fine.”

“Whew…”

“I was planning to take only Tesserina and Levin from the start.”

When hunting a colossal monster like Behemoth, ordinary Awakened were of no help.

Only those who had awakened special abilities, like Levin, could inflict any meaningful damage.

Tesserina would not be able to participate in battle because of her special relationship with Behemoth, but the knowledge she possessed would be of great assistance.

He had no intention of bringing anyone else.

After confirming Zeon’s intention, Urtian said,

“Then at least let us provide support. If there’s anything you need, say the word. We’ll prepare it all.”

“For now, it’s fine. I’ve already made thorough preparations.”

“Is that so? Very well.”

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Mm.”

Urtian nodded.

He would have liked to continue the conversation, but neither he nor Zeon had that kind of leisure.

If Zeon had to track Behemoth, then he had to prepare for battle against El Harun’s other races.

“Good luck. Make sure you deal with that monster.”

“Thank you. I’ll stop by again later.”

“Do so.”

Zeon left with Levin.

Once outside, they saw Tesserina waiting for them.

“We’re leaving right away, aren’t we?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Let’s.”

The three of them immediately departed from the Steel Fortress.

“Bye!”

“You have to come back! Zeon hyung! Levin hyung!”

The children of the Steel Fortress saw them off.

＊＊＊

“Damn it! I will never forgive you, Zeon!”

The giant commander Lamore shouted toward the sky at the top of his lungs.

Burns covered his entire body.

They were the marks left by Zeon’s White Phosphorus Flame.

Once it latched on, Zeon’s White Phosphorus Flame would never extinguish until it burned everything away.

Under normal circumstances, Lamore should have burned to death without even a trace of bone left.

But Taboaru’s magic had saved his life.

Taboaru had cast a spell, creating a vacuum around Lamore.

He had cut off the oxygen supply to the White Phosphorus Flame at its source.

When the flame weakened without oxygen, he deployed a barrier and separated it from Lamore.

Thanks to that, Lamore barely managed to survive.

However, horrific burns remained across his body like brands.

They were wounds that could never be healed, even by the healing magic of the magical race, the Zela tribe, or by the giants’ natural regenerative abilities.

“Zeon! Zeon!”

Like a madman, he repeated Zeon’s name over and over.

As if he would never forget it, even in death.

Taboaru did not consider Lamore foolish.

If he were in the same position, he too would harbor deep resentment toward Zeon.

At that moment, Repo, who had remained silent until now, spoke.

“Damn it! The plan to use Behemoth to destroy the human city has failed.”

Repo wore a look of genuine regret.

He knew such a golden opportunity would never come twice.

When would they ever encounter a giant monster like Behemoth in the desert again?

And there was no guarantee such a beast would move according to their intentions.

After his battle with Zeon, Behemoth had disappeared.

They scoured the surrounding area in search of him, but found no trace.

A beast as massive as a mountain had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Taboaru spoke.

“The plan to use Behemoth is scrapped. We don’t even know if we can find him, and there’s no guarantee a wounded beast would move as we wish. We’d be lucky if we weren’t eaten instead.”

“Tch! I suppose so. What a waste! We were on the verge of success, and then we were interrupted.”

Killing intent filled Repo’s face.

It had been his plan—conceived and executed by him.

If it had succeeded, it would surely have left a great mark in El Harun’s history.

That it had failed due to interference was deeply frustrating.

“As expected, Zeon is the problem.”

“When he first came to El Harun, we should have eliminated him somehow.”

Just recalling Zeon caused their faces to twist.

The sight of Zeon displaying divine might against Behemoth—a being the other races had not even dared oppose—had left fear in their hearts.

Repo said,

“If we cannot kill Zeon, we will live with fear of him for the rest of our lives.”

“But how? Even the Beast of Calamity tucked its tail and fled.”

“We cannot deal with him now. But if we wait, an opportunity will surely come.”

“Repo! I understand your feelings, but…”

“Taboaru. I have no need of your help. When the opportunity comes, I will hunt him with only myself and the Beastmen. Do not think to stop me. I am not seeking your consent.”

Repo bared his sharp fangs and growled.

Taboaru’s lips twitched, but he suppressed his anger.

Now was not the time for allies to fight among themselves.

It was then.

From afar, raising a cloud of sand, a group came running toward them.

Taboaru identified them.

“The Giant Dwarves.”

“The dwarf brats are coming.”

Lamore sneered.

Giant Dwarves were by no means small.

They were far larger and stronger than ordinary dwarves, hence the modifier “Giant.” 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But no matter how large they were, compared to a giant like Lamore, they were little more than dwarfs.

That was why Lamore despised the Giant Dwarves in particular.

At last, Kelota arrived, leading the Giant Dwarf tribe, and joined them.

“So you were all here. I was looking in the wrong place.”

“When did we send word to you, and you only arrive now?”

Repo’s glare at Kelota was fierce.

It had been Repo who first encountered Behemoth and improvised the plan to use him to destroy Neo Seoul.

To that end, he had informed El Harun’s scattered races throughout the desert and urged them to join.

The Zela tribe led by Taboaru and the giants led by Lamore had joined immediately, but there had been no word from the Giant Dwarves led by Kelota.

Naturally, Repo’s temper had reached its limit.

There was no way his words would be pleasant.

Kelota noticed Repo’s foul mood but continued regardless.

“Easy, easy. Calm down, tiger head.”

“What? Are you picking a fight with me?”

“Khuhuhu! I mean calm down literally. If you hear what I have to say, you’ll understand why I was late.”

“If you fail to convince me, I’ll break both your legs and turn you into a true dwarf.”

“As expected of tiger head, only harsh words.”

Despite Repo’s threat, Kelota did not shrink in the slightest.

In terms of ferocity, the Giant Dwarves were no less than the Beastfolk.

Once they picked up their battle axes, they charged without discrimination at Beastfolk or giants alike. Their aggressiveness was much like that of a badger.

Kelota said,

“The moment I heard your message, I rushed over.”

“Then why are you late?”

“Heh! Because I found something interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“Yes. Very, very interesting.”

“Stop circling and say it.”

“I discovered a fortress.”

“A fortress?”

“There’s a human fortress halfway up the Red Sandstone Mountains.”

“So what? There are plenty of such places. What’s so special?”

On their way here, they had seen quite a few survivor villages.

Small settlements where at most dozens or hundreds gathered to live.

Repo and the others had not even spared them a glance.

They merely huddled together to survive, their level of civilization miserable.

In the eyes of the other races who had once lived in El Harun, they were not even worth the attention one would give to insects.

Kelota grinned.

“It looks like at least several thousand live there.”

“Several thousand?”

“That’s a conservative estimate. It might even be over ten thousand.”

“So many? Wait! Then did those bastards come from there?”

Lamore and Taboaru’s eyes flashed.

“Those bastards?”

“The human bastards who interfered with us.”

“Is that so?”

“Where is it? Lead the way.”

Killing intent colored Lamore’s voice.