Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 16

The sixth great extinction completely changed the world’s climate.

Most of the land turned into deserts, leading to the extinction of many life forms.

Even those who barely survived, eventually fell prey to the monsters that emerged.

Consequently, a significant portion of existing life forms became extinct. Yet, some species managed to survive.

One such species was the Bactrian Camel.

As creatures that originally lived in the desert, they persisted through the cataclysmic event.

Not only did they survive, but also evolved into formidable F-rank monsters.

Their necks bore evolutionary markers in the form of a mane. Each strand of the mane exhibited a resilience akin to sturdy wire.

The Bactrian Camel utilized these spine-like mane as a means of defense, launching them when threatened.

The utility of these spines extended beyond defense.

They acted as a sort of radar, enabling the detection of other monsters from a distance.

Thanks to this evolution, they managed to survive in the seething desert of monsters.

Scavengers traversed the desert riding on the Bactrian Camels.

These camels were unparalleled as a mode of transportation.

Dozens of Scavengers rode the Bactrian Camels, heading towards Archelon.

Though the distance was still considerable, it would soon shrink.

Pavilsa clicked his tongue.

“These persistent bastards! They’ve managed to chase us this far. Of all the groups, it had to be the notorious Black Shark Group.”

“Black Shark Group?”

“They’re a group whose power has suddenly increased tremendously. Their leader is a D-rank Awakened.”

“D-rank?”

“For a leader of a Scavenger group, that’s quite a high rank. With that level of skill, he could easily enter Neo Seoul, but for some reason, he chose to remain as the leader of the Scavengers.”

Pavilsa furrowed his brow deeply.

At that moment, Zeon and Kailey entered.

“Scavengers.”

“We saw it too.”

“Shall we move Archelon?”

“We should, but they’ll just follow again.”

“Should we fight?”

Kailey asked cautiously.

“I’ll handle this.”

The one who answered was Dyoden.

Pavilsa wasn’t surprised.

He had expected this kind of response from Dyoden.

Dyoden spoke to Zeon.

“You take care of the Scavengers.”

“Me?”

“Since you’ve received the treasure, it’s time to pay the price.”

Hearing Dyoden’s words, Zeon bit his lip.

He had fought monsters several times, but facing humans would be a first.

Naturally, hesitation crept in.

Seeing this, Dyoden sneered at Zeon.

“If you’re scared, just back off.”

“What would happen if I do?”

“What do you think?”

In Dyoden’s eyes as he gazed at Zeon, there was madness.

Even without a response, it seemed clear.

“I’ll fight.”

“Good choice.”

Zeon went outside the Archelon.

Watching Zeon, who walked alone towards the Scavenger group, Pavilsa commented,

“Are you really going to let that lad fight the Scavengers alone? It’s risky.”

“If he can’t handle that much, he might as well perish.”

“Hah! Still as reckless as ever.”

Pavilsa shook his head vehemently.

Despite not having seen him for a long time, Dyoden hadn’t changed a bit.

His fierceness drove everyone away, leaving him alone.

With folded arms, Dyoden observed Zeon’s departing figure. Kreion remained untouched.

It was evident he had no intention of intervening. But Pavilsa knew that this displayed Dyoden’s utmost confidence.

Pavilsa looked at Zeon with an expression of interest.

‘What potential do you hold, young lad?’

***

“Ugh! That fucking old dog.”

Zeon cursed at Dyoden, watching the Scavenger group rapidly closing in.

He had anticipated a day when he would have to fight humans, but never expected it to be today.

Fortunately, his physical condition was good, and he had the gauntlet he received from Kailey. Plus, he had recently ascended to an E-rank Awakened.

As there was still some distance left, Zeon calmly surveyed the surroundings.

He had learned this from following Dyoden.

The basics of battle started with observing the environment and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of opponents.

Once you had these basic details, the next step was to let your imagination roam.

Based on the information gathered, envision how to efficiently strategize an attack.

The crucial aspect was the detailed imagination.

‘My weapon is the sand. The entire desert is my weapon.’

Although his control over it was still weak and he could only move the sand around him, with that alone, he could exert tremendous power in the desert.

Zeon clenched his fist, observing the Scavenger group rapidly approaching.

Roughly counted, there seemed to be more than forty people.

Zeon, draped in a robe with only his eyes visible under a cloth wrapped around his face, stood amidst the approaching Scavenger group.

The man at the forefront exuded an unusually intense aura of aggression.

He was a large man, almost a head taller than the rest, and was riding a camel with his arms crossed.

There were no visible weapons on him.

Judging from his physique, demeanor, and attire, he seemed to belong to the Martial Arts category of Awakened, particularly those who didn’t wield weapons.

An action that cannot be performed unless one has a certain degree of confidence in their own strength.

He was Gawain, the leader of the Scavenger group.

Gawain was a D-rank Awakened.

Like most Martial Artists, he possessed incredible physical prowess and skills.

His skill was the Shockwave,

A skill that allows him to generate shockwaves by striking the air with his bare fists.

It was a challenging skill to master, and his power was so great that there was no one among theScavenger group that could contend against him.

Upon awakening, Gawain rallied the desert wanderers, forming the Scavenger group.

While most who followed him were ferocious but incompetent, a few were fortunate enough to awaken abilities.

Among them were Klayne and Mashimoto, who were considered Gawain’s right and left arms.

Klayne and Mashimoto were Awakened Martial Artists like Gawain, each wielding a scimitar and katana as their primary weapons.

They were a rank lower, E-rank, compared to Gawain but were reputed to be more brutal than him.

A grotesque smirk formed on Gawain’s ruthless face.

“Finally caught up. Hehe!”

The Archelon, ridden by the *Motte Tribe in the desert, was known as a treasure trove. Rumors circulated about the treasure piled within its shell, likening it to a mountain.

[TL/N: Changed from “Mot tribe” to “Motte Tribe.”]

Hence, Gawain also set his sights on the Archelon.

Although concerned about the massive turtle-like creature, known for its gentle nature and formidable defense but lack of significant attack capabilities, Gawain figured that attacking the people without provoking the Archelon would suffice.

Raising his fist, Gawain shouted.

“Don’t touch the Archelon, kill all the others. The treasure inside belongs to us!”

“Kahaha!”

“Wooah!”

The Scavengers roared.

As they neared the Archelon, someone stood in their path.

It was Zeon.

Gawain furrowed his brow.

“What’s this now?”

A man standing between the Archelon and the Scavengers, judging from the aura he extruded, he clearly intended to confront them.

“Arrogant! Crush him.”

Gawain’s command prompted the Scavengers to accelerate.

In an instant, Zeon and the Scavengers were close.

The distance between them was now ten meters.

At that moment, Zeon took off his robe’s hood and raised his head.

The gazes of Zeon and Gawain met in the air.

The moment their gazes met, Gawain felt an inexplicable unease. But it was too late to halt the camels charging forward.

Then it happened.

Kuuung!

Suddenly, the sand in front of Zeon collapsed.

The cascading sand swiftly formed a deep trench in an instant.

Utilizing his control over the sand, Zeon created a sand pit ahead.

Although it was only about ten meters wide and merely a meter deep, it was enough to disrupt the charging Bactrian Camels.

Kughiing!

“Aargh!”

“Ugh!”

The Camels and the Scavengers screamed as they plunged headfirst into the sand pit.

“What’s this?”

“This is insane!”

The camels Gawain, Klayne, and Mashimoto were riding, were the first to crash headlong into the sand pit. Yet, as Awakened, they propelled themselves mid-air, using the camels’ backs as leverage.

After landing on the opposite side of the sand pit, they turned to look back.

“What’s happening?”

“Unbelievable!”

“My god!”

The entire Scavenger group, except for them, were stuck in the sand pit.

The issue was the injuries they sustained, broken limbs and necks from the heavy camels crashing down.

A few subordinates managed to struggle out of the sand pit, but either dazed or incapacitated, they sat collapsed on the ground and could not do anything.

Gawain shouted at Zeon.

“You coward! You dug this sand pit in advance!”

“No need for words, Captain! A guy like that needs his head to be plucked off from his neck.”

Mashimoto, wielding his katana, charged at Zeon.

His katana emitted a crimson aura—an injected aura.

This surge instantly increased the cutting power of the katana several times over.

Mashimoto swung his katana with the intent to sever Zeon’s head in a single stroke.

Swoosh!

The katana sliced through the air, swiftly reaching Zeon’s neck.

But it failed to fulfill its goal, halted by a sudden wall of sand that surged upward unexpectedly, striking only the sand wall instead of Zeon’s targeted neck.

Crash!

Struck by the aura-infused blow, the sand wall burst, disorienting Mashimoto’s view. Thus, he became unable to see.

Amidst the scattering sand, Sand Missiles were interspersed.

Phwoom!

A Sand Missile pierced Mashimoto’s head.

“Mashimoto!”

Enraged by his comrade’s demise, Klayne charged at Zeon.

His scimitar also harbored a similar red aura.

“Hah!”

Zeon took a deep breath.

Everything had gone according to the plan he envisioned so far.

By creating the sand pit to cripple the enemy’s mobility and inflict maximum damage, He aimed to eliminate the leadership amidst the chaos.

That was Zeon’s plan.

It had gone perfectly until now. However, failing to execute the final act could ruin all his efforts.

Zeon raised his hand.

Instantly, five strands of sand rose around them, like creeping vines.

Zeon hurled the sand strands toward Klayne.

It was a Sand Blaster.

Klayne chuckled,

“Hah! I’ll cut this down in one stri—”

Rumble!

As he swung his sword, the Sand Blaster exploded entirely.

In the moment Klayne attempted to sever Zeon’s neck, a warning came from Gawain.

“Watch out below you!”

Klayne glanced downward.

At that instant, a condensed strand of sand shot up like a spear.

It was a Sand Missile.

The speed was so fast that Klayne couldn’t even think of dodging.

Boom!

The Sand Missile pierced straight through Klayne’s lower abdomen.

“Argh! You coward…!”

Glaring at Zeon with an indignant expression, Klayne collapsed, just like Mashimoto, losing his life.

“This bastard…!”

Gawain, who lost his strongest subordinates in an instant, rushed forward.

Zeon met Gawain’s gaze with cold eyes.

The showdown had begun.

It was time to draw the final stroke of the dragon he had envisioned.