Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 330

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 330

"Ha! Damn it."

Eloy collapsed to the ground.

Her legs were shaking, and she could no longer hold herself up.

She weakly lifted her head and looked at Zeon.

His arrival was nothing short of dramatic.

The fact that he showed up just in time, or even a little late, would have meant the complete destruction of all these people, and that realization drained the energy from her.

"Damn it! When I get back to Neo Seoul, I’m retiring as a Supervisor."

She had come here to supervise the expedition, but somehow ended up responsible for the lives of countless people.

Leading the group for such a short period felt like it shaved decades off her life.

But now that Zeon had arrived, she felt she could drop the heavy responsibility and fight with ease.

Regaining her composure, Eloy approached Zeon.

"Human! Couldn’t you have come a little faster? No, wait, I’m grateful you came at all. Ha! Damn it."

"You've done well."

With the tension easing, Zeon gently patted Eloy on the shoulder as she rambled.

Only then did Eloy regain her stability. freewebnøvel.coɱ

"Phew! I never want to go through that again. I'd rather face a giant monster, anything but having a comrade turn into a zombie and attack us."

"It seems the master of this space is a necromancer."

"A necromancer? That makes sense. That cursed being..."

"Do you know anything about necromancers?"

"No! I just know that such a class exists."

"Hmm! As expected."

Zeon wasn’t disappointed.

This was the first time a necromancer had appeared on Earth.

Naturally, there was almost no information available.

Only someone like Serion, who came from Kuraian, might have detailed knowledge.

Ultimately, they had to face the necromancer without any prior information.

'Before anything, I need to find the others. If I leave them, they’ll be picked off one by one.'

After organizing his thoughts, Zeon spoke to Eloy.

"We don't have time to rest. We need to rescue the others and regroup."

"Right! The longer we delay, the stronger they’ll become."

"That’s the danger of a necromancer."

"Let’s move quickly."

There was no time for a leisurely break.

Even now, the necromancer would be expanding his forces rapidly.

His strength grew with every person turned into a zombie.

So, they couldn’t afford to give the necromancer time.

Time was on his side.

Old Man Go approached Zeon.

"If the opponent really is a necromancer, shouldn’t we engage with a small elite force?"

"That’s the plan. Once I rescue everyone, you should lead them and get out of the barrier."

"If you do that, your power will be weakened."

"Better to weaken my power than let the necromancer grow stronger."

"Hmm!"

Even so, Old Man Go couldn’t hide his unease.

Necromancers, like Zeon’s sand magic, were a newly emerging class of Awakeneds on Earth.

There was no data on them, and naturally, it was unsettling.

Zeon walked ahead and said.

"Let’s rescue the people first. The longer we wait, the more casualties there will be."

"Right."

Zeon’s group moved quickly.

Behind them followed hundreds of awakened survivors from the zombie attacks. They had no time to rest, but not a single complaint was voiced.

They, too, were eager to escape this hellish place.

They’d rather face the Kraken in the Mana Stone Mine than fight the dead again.

Zeon moved toward the second group.

Hundreds of survivors followed him in silence.

Even though they were caught in an unexpected situation, they were elite awakeneds.

They knew exactly how to behave in such circumstances.

Move quietly, and with order.

Keep your senses alert, but your mouth shut.

This way, they could detect and respond to even the smallest changes.

Fortunately, finding the next group wasn’t too difficult.

After walking for about thirty minutes, loud noises ahead reached their ears.

"Stop them! If they breach here, we’re all dead."

"Damn it! If we die, we’ll become zombies. Hold on as long as we can!"

"AAAH!"

The shouting and curses of the people reverberated painfully in their eardrums.

Zeon ran ahead, speaking quickly.

"Let’s go."

"Understood."

Old Man Go hurried to follow him.

Moments later, a massive underground chamber appeared before them.

Inside the chamber, hundreds of Awakeneds were fighting zombies and other creatures.

It seemed that many had already perished, with even Awakeneds among the zombies.

The zombies that were once awakened now used the skills they once had to attack the living.

Though their abilities had significantly diminished, it was still enough to pose a serious threat.

Zeon spoke to Old Man Go.

"Please."

"Leave it to me."

Old Man Go stepped forward and unleashed the dual barrier.

The twins placed their hands on his shoulders as though it was a given.

A translucent barrier expanded explosively, pushing the zombies that had been attacking the awakened out of the area.

Once only Awakeneds remained inside the barrier, Zeon activated his sand mixer.

GAAAAANG!

Outside the barrier, the sand spun at an incredible speed.

Everything caught in the sand was shredded to pieces.

The Awakeneds watched in stunned silence as countless zombies that had been threatening them turned into blood and sand, vanishing without a trace.

They dropped to the ground, exhausted and relieved.

"Damn it! Are we alive?"

"We’re alive, you idiot!"

"Haa! I feel like crying."

"To think a Sand Mage could pulverize so many zombies in an instant."

The surviving awakeneds looked at Zeon with awe in their eyes.

"Haa!"

"Phew!"

Both Zeon and Old Man Go sighed simultaneously.

Having used powerful skills one after the other, both were drained of mana.

Luckily, Old Man Go had some help from the twins, allowing him to conserve a bit of mana, but Zeon had to handle everything on his own. The backlash was considerable.

Zeon took a deep breath and scanned the surroundings.

It seemed about five to six hundred people had survived between both groups.

He decided not to think about the dead.

Right now, saving more survivors was the priority.

Seo Tae-ran approached Zeon.

"Shouldn’t we take a break?"

"If we rest, more people will die."

"I thought so. Alright, then, let’s move on."

Seo Tae-ran nodded and led the way.

Brielle, watching this, scowled.

"How unlucky."

"Agreed."

Eloy echoed her sentiment.

At that moment, Levin approached Brielle.

"You’ve done well getting this far."

Earlier, they had been in such a rush that there hadn’t been time for formal greetings, but now, with a moment’s pause, Levin stepped forward.

Brielle looked Levin up and down and asked.

"Are you hurt?"

"No!"

"Did you get bitten?"

"No! If you get bitten, do you turn into a zombie?"

"Not at all! You only become a zombie if you’re dead. If you get bitten by one, it just hurts."

"Oh!"

Levin looked embarrassed.

He had been desperately trying to avoid being bitten, thinking it would turn him into a zombie.

"Really?"

"I was told that in Kuraian. Unless they evolve, it’s the same on Earth."

"Then, it’s nothing."

"Zeon will join us, and he’ll grind up those zombies in no time."

"You think necromancers only control zombies? Zombies are nothing more than pawns for necromancers. The real threat is what comes next."

"What’s the real threat?"

"If it’s a high-level necromancer, something like a Death Knight. If the master of this place is really Pilgrim…"

Brielle shuddered as though she couldn’t even imagine it.

Seeing her like that, Levin asked.

"Who’s Pilgrim?"

"He’s someone. A deathlord born in the darkest of places. If he really followed us to Earth, things won’t end this easily."

"Someone that terrifying exists?"

Levin’s expression became serious.

He knew better than anyone that Brielle wasn’t the type to talk nonsense about such things.

Her expression now was one of genuine fear.

It was hard to imagine how terrifying someone could be for Brielle to show such a face.

But Levin remained hopeful.

"At least we have Zeon with us."

"Yeah!"

Brielle nodded without hesitation.

Zeon was the strongest person she knew.

Some might mention Jin Geum-ho, the ruler of the West District, Kim Hyun-soo, or Shao Lun, the champion of the South District, but Brielle believed Zeon was the strongest.

It was just a feeling she had, but she thought Zeon had never shown his full power.

Even while hiding his strength, he had built a dominant position comparable to the rulers of other districts and Jin Geum-ho.

There was no way someone like Zeon would lose.

Even if the opponent was a legendary necromancer like Pilgrim.

Brielle truly believed that, and her belief had never once wavered.

Levin patted Brielle’s shoulder and said.

"We need to rescue the others first. If we’re late, we might have to face a zombie army made up of Awakeneds."

"We can’t let that happen. Alright! I’ll snap out of it."

Smack!

Brielle slapped her own cheek with both hands.

Only then did she snap to attention.

She now followed Zeon with bright, determined eyes.

They didn’t know how long they had walked.

Before they realized it, the scenery had changed.

"What is this?"

Seo Tae-ran couldn’t hide her confused expression.

She hadn’t even noticed the change in surroundings.

‘Damn! Did I get tricked by my own perception? Is that even possible?’

She hadn’t become Jin Geum-ho’s secretary for no reason.

She had powerful abilities, which is why she had become his closest aide. Naturally, her senses were far sharper than those of ordinary Awakeneds.

Yet, without noticing, everything had changed.

It was like a cavern pierced chaotically, resembling the innards of a sea anemone.

The walls were soaked in blood, and corpses were hanging like works of art.

Each body hung on the wall in a grotesque pose.

Levin suppressed the urge to vomit, barely holding it in.

‘This bastard has a more twisted sense of humor than that son of a bitch.’

The most sadistic person Levin knew, a serial killer, was nothing compared to the one who had created this wall.

What was even more horrifying was that the cave walls really squirmed like the insides of a beast.

Every time the wall writhed, the corpses slowly melted away.

It looked like the process of an animal's intestines digesting its food.

Even though the bodies had already been horribly mutilated, watching them gradually melt away was something no sane person could bear.

"Shit!"

"Ugh!"

Some of the more squeamish people vomited their stomach acid onto the ground.

It was no wonder, because those being digested in the beast-like cave were all their comrades.

What was even more horrifying was that some of them were still alive, their eyes wide open.

"Ughh!"

"Please, kill me! Please!"

They begged not to be saved, but to be put out of their misery.

The pain they were feeling was that immense.

Zeon spoke.

"Ease their pain. There's no chance of them surviving even if we save them."

"Damn it!"

Thud! Thud!

The awakeneds swallowed their tears, one by one putting their still-living comrades out of their misery.

Blood tears flowed from their eyes.

Zeon brushed his hair, drenched in sweat.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve been this pissed off."

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]