Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 574

Chapter 574

Seventy percent of the Awakened who had come out to stop Behemoth were dead or injured.

It was the first time in decades that so many Awakened had died or been wounded at once.

It was truly a great catastrophe.

The survivors collected the bodies of their fallen comrades and loaded the wounded onto transport vehicles.

Having lost many companions, their atmosphere was subdued. But they were not frustrated or disappointed.

In any case, they had protected Neo Seoul from the threat of a super-giant magical beast.

Though Zeon held the largest share of the contribution, they felt pride in the fact that they too had not retreated and had fought head-on.

For an Awakened, this kind of experience and pride was an immense asset.

“I… ranked up.”

“My God! Me too….”

All around, Awakened who had advanced in rank began to appear one after another.

The experience and stats that had accumulated to their limits had broken through the wall through the battle with Behemoth.

Watching the cheering Awakened, Seong Hoyeon muttered,

“As expected, high risk, high return.”

“Only those who face danger can see the world beyond it.”

Old Man Go agreed with Seong Hoyeon’s words.

He too had grown through countless battles.

Especially those who had fought many powerful magical beasts experienced explosive growth.

Behemoth was a powerful magical beast rarely seen.

Having fought such a beast in a fierce battle, growth was only natural.

Seong Hoyeon’s gaze suddenly turned toward Zeon.

“Just how many magical beasts has he fought?”

“Probably more than can be counted. A combat style like that could never come without countless real battle experiences.”

“In any case, it is fortunate that he is on our side. Without him, we might have been annihilated.”

Seong Hoyeon let out a sigh.

All of his skills were specialized for combat against people.

If it were humans or small-type magical beasts, he was confident he could kill them all even if they came by the dozens of truckloads.

No matter how strong they were.

But against a super-giant magical beast like Behemoth, his attacks did not work well.

It was not because he was weak.

Their compatibility simply did not match.

Perhaps in Neo Seoul, the only Awakened who could display such might against a super-giant magical beast like Behemoth was Zeon.

Old Man Go patted Seong Hoyeon on the shoulder and said,

“That is why the Mayor is paying special attention to Zeon. It seems preparations are complete, so let us return.”

“Yes!”

The two headed side by side toward the armored bus.

At that moment, Old Man Go noticed Zeon’s group moving separately instead of boarding the vehicle.

“Oh? You’re not coming with us?”

“There is somewhere we must go.”

“Somewhere? Ah, don’t tell me you mean the Iron Fortress?”

“Yes.”

The Numbers knew about the Iron Fortress.

Jin Geumho had informed them in advance.

Seong Hoyeon said to Zeon,

“May I come along as well? I would like to see it with my own eyes.”

“Later. Right now, things over there are chaotic….”

“Chaotic?”

“The situation is complicated. I’ll explain later.”

“I understand. Then we will meet again later.”

Seong Hoyeon withdrew cleanly.

His personality was sharp by nature, and he disliked clinging persistently.

Seong Hoyeon led the Awakened and departed for Neo Seoul.

When they disappeared, Tesserina said to Zeon,

“We’re going right away, aren’t we?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go too.”

Levin stood beside Zeon as if it were only natural.

“Wait! Before that, let’s check the teleport gem.”

“Teleport gem?”

“It still seems intact….”

Zeon took out the teleport gem he had seized from Behemoth from his subspace.

When Behemoth had vanished without a trace, he had naturally assumed the teleport gem would disappear as well. Yet separate from Behemoth, the teleport gem remained intact.

Seeing the grape-cluster-like teleport gem hanging from Zeon’s hand, Tesserina’s eyes gleamed.

“That came from Behemoth’s body?”

“It seems to be the medium for teleportation.”

“May I take a look?”

“Of course.”

Zeon readily handed over the teleport gem.

Teleportation was an authority not even granted to dragons.

Blink or short-range teleportation was possible, but extremely distant long-range spatial movement was difficult even in their true forms.

Yet Behemoth had shifted through space with a body larger than a dragon’s.

It was only natural for Tesserina to be curious.

Tesserina infused mana into the teleport gem and analyzed it.

“As I thought….”

“Why?”

“It was possible because he itemized a part of his own body.”

“Then that’s an item?”

“Yes. Shall I tell you something more interesting?”

“What?”

“Look. There are seven teleport gems attached.”

“And?”

“This can also be used as a portal.”

“A portal?”

When Zeon showed interest, Tesserina explained eagerly.

“The largest teleport gem in the center is the main one. The others are auxiliary.”

“So?”

“Wherever the main teleport gem is, you can move at any time to the places where the auxiliary teleport gems are. And vice versa.”

“So with one main and six auxiliaries, that means you can install portals that allow free movement to six locations?”

“Exactly! With just this, you can travel freely between World Tree Village, Primordial Village, and the Iron Fortress.”

“The constraints of distance and time would disappear.”

Zeon’s heart pounded fiercely.

Neo Seoul’s greatest problem was its isolation.

Of course, magic stone mines were scattered throughout the region, but reaching them required taking countless risks.

Naturally, to travel somewhere far like the Iron Fortress required thorough preparation. Even then, there was no guarantee of arriving safely.

But with this teleport gem, there would be no need to take such risks.

“So that means six locations can be connected. Is it possible to move between auxiliary teleport gems as well?”

“Unfortunately, that is impossible. Movement is only possible through the main teleport gem.”

“So the main teleport gem is the hub.”

Looking at the teleport gem, Tesserina said,

“Congratulations on gaining great power. Depending on how Zeon uses this, the fate of each village and Neo Seoul will be decided.”

“That’s not particularly welcome. It’s not something I can entrust to someone else….”

“Of course you cannot. If the one entrusted with it misused it, strangling the lifelines of each village would be effortless.”

“Mm.”

Zeon nodded.

“The owner of this item must be Zeon. If using it directly is troublesome, you can have it engraved to you as the owner and entrust operation to another.”

“That’s possible?”

“If Behemoth were alive, it would be impossible. But now it is possible. What will you do?”

“Engrave it.”

“A wise choice. I’ll do it right away.”

Tesserina immediately drew Zeon’s blood and absorbed it into the teleport gem. Then she used magic to engrave Zeon as its owner.

Handing the teleport gem back to Zeon, Tesserina said,

“Now the owner of this item is Zeon. You can designate someone as administrator to operate it as you wish. If you dislike it, you can revoke the authority instantly.”

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

Tesserina smiled faintly.

As a dragon, she had accomplished it easily. If it had been left to the researchers at City Hall, it would have taken ages just to discover how to use the teleport gem.

Zeon stored the teleport gem back into his subspace.

There was still time, so he planned to install it later at leisure.

Right now, the safety of the Iron Fortress came first.

“Let’s go.”

As Zeon soared into the air riding the sandstorm, Tesserina and Levin followed behind.

＊＊＊

“What should we do? We failed to find the World Tree, which was our true objective, and only lost Refo and Lamor.”

Taboaru muttered with an expression as if he had lost everything in the world.

Kelota, who had withdrawn his forces together with the Zella tribe, said,

“This matter has gone beyond our control.”

“Then?”

“We return to El Harun and report.”

“Return with nothing gained?”

“Do you have another option?”

“That is….”

Taboaru hesitated.

He too could think of no sharp solution.

Kelota looked directly at Taboaru’s face and said,

“It is true that Refo devised a mad plan. And we agreed to it. But that does not make it acceptable for the humans and elves to betray us. We must inform Lord Del Roa and have them punished.”

“And if the humans and elves withdraw from El Harun because of that?”

“Hmph! Do you think they have such courage? Yes, perhaps the humans led by Liala might withdraw. But would a place called the Iron Fortress truly accept all the humans? No matter how large the fortress is, how could it accommodate that many? And what about food and water? Would the humans really take such risks and follow Liala?”

For these reasons, Kelota believed that only some of the humans would follow Liala.

After thinking for a long while, Taboaru agreed with Kelota’s words.

“That may be so.”

“So let us postpone searching for the World Tree and return to El Harun first.”

“Very well. Let us do that.”

Thus the Zella tribe and the Giant Dwarves began their return to El Harun. But their return was not easy.

—Kwaaa!

Magical beasts attacked.

Giant centipedes that had been hiding in the sand ambushed the Zella tribe and the Giant Dwarves.

“Damn it!”

“Urgh!”

Warriors at the front lost their lives in the sudden attack.

“Fuck! What are you doing? Respond!”

“Everyone, get a grip!”

Kelota and Taboaru shouted as they attacked the giant centipedes.

Boom! Crunch!

With explosive sounds, the attacking giant centipedes were smashed apart.

But they were given no time to catch their breath.

More giant centipedes crawled out from underground.

They were five meters long and had dozens of sharp legs.

Their appearance was so grotesque it made one want to vomit just by looking at them.

The giant centipedes crawled out endlessly from the sand.

“Block that side!”

“Unleash magic!”

The Giant Dwarves swung their battle axes to hold back the giant centipedes, and in the gaps, the Zella tribe poured out magic.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!

Powerful magic repeatedly struck the bodies of the giant centipedes.

Fortunately, their defense did not seem particularly strong, and the bodies of the centipedes burst apart when hit by magic.

The problem was that no matter how many were killed, the giant centipedes continued to crawl up from underground.

—Kreee!

—Saa!

The giant centipedes, fearless of death, charged at the Giant Dwarves and the Zella tribe.

“Aaagh!”

“Ugh!”

Screams erupted everywhere.

The giant centipedes seized Giant Dwarves and Zella tribe members in their mouths and dragged them underground.

There was no need to see with one’s eyes how horrific their end would be.

“Everyone retreat!”

In the end, Kelota ordered a withdrawal.

Thus the Giant Dwarves and the Zella tribe retreated. But their ordeal was not the end—only the beginning.