Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 39

Dwarf Gofrey narrowed his bead-like eyes.

“Typical of the human race, so devious. Pretending to be unconscious.”

“Who’s calling who devious? A land-runt like you, barely the size of a finger.”

“Grr!”

Dyoden’s scorn twisted Gofrey’s face into an ugly expression.

His face was filled with the gleam of anger.

He had heard rumors about Dyoden.

He knew he was an Awakened who harbored a strong animosity toward his own kind and possessed formidable skills.

From an Earthling’s perspective, he could understand.

They might view their own kind as potential invaders. But their own choices were made for survival.

There was no reason to be criticized for fighting to survive, and it was only natural that the strong thrived and dominated.

At least that was the case in Kurayan, where they lived.

“Prepare to witness the might of our dwarven power.”

Gofrey raised his hand, and immediately, dwarven warriors stationed in the Valley of Death revealed themselves.

The dwarven warriors rode vehicles fitted with large cannons.

Originally, vehicles didn’t exist in Kurayan.

They were creations inspired by Earth’s technology.

These vehicles, a combination of dwarven technology and magic, were equipped with mana particle cannons.

Although not yet perfected, they were confident it was sufficient to kill Dyoden.

Appearing around the dwarves were elven rangers.

The elven rangers were riding crimson horses.

These horses, named Red Blood, had come with the elves from Kurayan. They had a peculiar trait of being carnivorous, fierce enough to prey on small monsters.

The elven rangers tamed and rode these Red Bloods.

In the desert, their mobility was unmatched.

The elven rangers were all dressed in light armor, wielding bows and arrows.

They were rushing in at incredible speed.

Dyoden’s mouth twisted.

“Haha! No wonder I couldn’t spot anything even after scouring the desert. You insects were hiding and creating such things.”

“Know this with honor, human! You’ll be the first sacrifice to the mighty mana particle cannon crafted by the great dwarves.”

“Hehe, just another pawn of the dragon’s… ”

“Who’s a pawn? We merely made a deal with him.”

Gofrey snapped.

“A deal? A deal with a dragon. Do you halfie bastards even have such capability?”

“Shut it, human! Do not disrespect our power that created El Harun. Even the mighty dragons cannot treat our city, El Harun, lightly.”

“El Harun, you say. The name of the city you created.”

“Ugh!”

Gofrey sucked in a breath.

Unintentionally, he had divulged a great secret.

Just as humans had built colonies to survive after Earth turned into a desert, these beings from Kurayan had clandestinely constructed a city.

A place where human eyes cannot reach.

The name of the colossal city where different races like humans, elves, dwarves, among others, coexisted was none other than El Harun.

Elves led, dwarves designed, humans provided scientific expertise and funding, and other races contributed equally to its completion.

Not only was its scale and location a secret, but its existence itself was shrouded in mystery. Yet, he had blurted out the existence of El Harun.

Dyoden said to Zeon.

“Did you hear that?”

“Yeah!”

Zeon nodded.

Gofrey had casually said a few words, but they held a wealth of information.

First, the revelation of the city of El Harun’s existence.

The proximity of El Harun’s location not being far from Kamchatka Colony.

A city akin to Neo Seoul, harmonizing magic and science.

Their disdain toward humans.

Lastly, their cooperative relationship with a dragon named Haeltoon.

Their exact intentions were unknown. However, the fact that they stood united posed a significant threat to the humans of this land.

Hammerson muttered, glaring at Gofrey for revealing the secret.

“You stupid dwarf!”

“Shut your mouth! Human! Who do you dare to insult?”

“Aren’t you the one who leaked the secret?”

“Once everyone here is dead, there won’t be a secret to leak, will there? After all, wasn’t that the intention behind bringing the mana particle cannon?”

Hammerson’s expression distorted at Gofrey’s words.

Seeing this, Zeon murmured to himself.

‘They’re working together, but it’s not perfect. All three races don’t completely trust each other.’

An elf stood at a distance, sighing as if feeling isolated.

From their past conversations and current reactions, it was evident that despite being an inherent trait of elves, they were uncomfortable being with dwarves and humans.

Dyoden sneered at them.

“Haha! You lot are amusing. Kidnapping innocent passersby and now fighting among yourselves. Maybe you’re lacking in the head?”

“Shut it!”

Gofrey snapped sharply and stepped back.

Hammerson and the elf followed suit.

As they moved, the dwarves in the Valley of Death fired the mana particle cannons.

Boom! Boom!

With a deafening noise, the mana particle cannons flew towards Dyoden and Zeon.

Dyoden didn’t evade the mana particle cannons.

“Hahaha!”

He brandished Kreion and charged towards the incoming beam of light.

“He’s really a crazy old man.”

Zeon shook his head.

He had no intention of facing the mana particle cannons head-on like Dyoden.

Sand barriers rose around Zeon.

Crash! Thud!

Immediately, the mana particle cannons detonated.

Sand exploded outward, soaring into the sky.

The intense heat melted the sand, and a tremendous shockwave burst in all directions.

It was truly a devastating force.

“Urgh!”

Zeon grunted.

Despite continuously erecting sand barriers to shield himself, the penetrating impact shook his body like a hammer.

“You’ve created something quite good.”

At this level, it could easily obliterate most monsters in an instant.

Whether mana particle cannons existed in El Harun was unknown, but they would undeniably pose a significant threat.

The sand barrier alone had its limits in stopping the mana particle cannons.

Zeon hurriedly delved deeper into the sand.

Swiftly burrowing into the depths, Zeon changed direction.

Directing towards the direction of the Valley of Death.

‘I need to neutralize the mana particle cannons.’

He unleashed Exion. Sand receded, creating a space for him to move.

Zeon extended his Sand Strides and advanced.

Sand surged around Zeon, pushing him backward.

With no clear visibility and an erratic direction in the deep underground, Zeon moved precisely, as if he could see it with his eyes.

The sand within a radius of dozens of meters relayed information to him accurately.

Crash!

Even then, the external impact was gradually transmitted.

The mana particle cannons continued pounding the ground.

However, at some point, Zeon no longer felt the impact of the mana particle cannons.

Coincidentally, Zeon reached the entrance of the Valley of Death.

Emerging from the sand, Zeon witnessed a scene of carnage.

“I will kill you all.”

Dyoden was recklessly rampaging.

Despite being repeatedly hit by the mana particle cannons, Dyoden remained unscathed.

The cannons’ impact only seemed to fuel his rage.

Boom!

With a single slash from him, the vehicle carrying the mana particle cannon exploded.

Kreion pulverized not only the vehicle but also the dwarves inside.

“Aaargh!”

“Aaaah!”

The screams of the dwarves echoed in the Valley of Death.

It was truly a one-sided massacre.

Realizing that the mana particle cannons were ineffective, the dwarves armed themselves with battle hammers and various weapons.

They, too, were Awakened.

They couldn’t just escape because of Dyoden’s terror.

They attacked Dyoden with all their might.

Even the elven rangers joined forces.

Firing mana-infused arrows, they attempted to contain Dyoden. But their attacks didn’t reach him.

The aura emitted by Dyoden repelled all the arrows.

Thud!

“Argh!”

Dyoden’s sword shattered the dwarves’ heads.

He could have killed dozens at once, but he meticulously took them down one by one, which made his actions appear even more brutal.

“H-how cruel…”

Hammerson trembled, his shoulders twitching involuntarily.

Dyoden’s ruthlessness was terrifying him.

Even not long ago, when he received the request from Haeltoon, Hammerson looked down on Dyoden.

He thought that humans on Earth might be strong, but there would be limits to their strength. However, Dyoden’s sheer prowess surpassed his imagination.

“Aargh!”

“Krgk!”

Dyoden was systematically overwhelming and killing the powerful dwarven warriors and elven rangers. Despite their combined efforts, they couldn’t land a single blow on Dyoden.

It was akin to witnessing a dragon in action.

“Darn it! We’re pulling back.”

Hammerson ordered his subordinates.

“Do you mean to abandon the elves and dwarves?”

“We’re not abandoning them. It’s a tactical retreat.”

Hammerson coldly retorted to his subordinate’s question.

“But…”

“Make sure to keep the Guide safe. Even if we capture only him, it won’t be a loss.”

“Understood.”

As his subordinates replied and withdrew, unexpected voices of confusion came from behind.

“Ugh!”

“Shit!”

Hammerson was startled as he looked back and couldn’t spot Damian anymore.

“What? What happened?”

“He… he disappeared into the sand.”

His subordinates wore bewildered expressions.

Damian, whom they had been carrying, vanished into the sand in the blink of an eye.

Damian reappeared at a distant location, having been transported through the sand by Zeon.

Zeon asked Damian.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m… fine.”

Damian shook his head, equally disoriented.

Hammerson shouted.

“Catch ’em!”

Hammerson’s subordinates charged toward Zeon and Damian.

They unleashed various skills, proud of their Awakened abilities, aiming at Zeon. However, Zeon easily neutralized their attacks with sand barriers.

Boom!

Their attack skills couldn’t penetrate the sand barrier and disintegrated.

“What?”

“He’s using strange skills.”

“Block him from using skills!”

The Awakened swiftly approached, trying to break Zeon’s sand barrier themselves.

Crash!

With a deafening sound, the sand barrier collapsed. But Zeon, who should have been behind it, was nowhere to be seen.

He had moved underground behind the sand barrier.

Emerging again, he was behind the Awakened.

Silently revealing himself, Zeon unleashed Sand Missiles.

Swoosh!

A dozen Sand Missiles aimed for the back of the Awakened heads.

In an instant, over half a dozen Awakened had their heads shattered into dust. Only then did the others realize Zeon had moved behind them.

“He has a weird skill.”

“Blink?”

Confusion painted the faces of the Awakened.

Zeon smirked slightly at them.

“Still too early to be surprised.”

“Arrogant human!”

“Get him!”

The Awakened charged at Zeon with fury.

As they rushed forward at full force, Zeon murmured.

“Sand Mixer!”

Grrrr!

The sand beneath the Awakeneds’ feet started rapidly rotating.

“Wh-What’s… happening?”

“Sand?”

The Awakened were engulfed by the swirling sand, leaving no chance for escape.

In an instant, the sand ground them into dust, leaving behind a red-tinted whirlwind.

“Aargh!”

“Aaahh!”

Amidst the rapidly spinning sand, their desperate screams echoed. Yet even those were completely gone after a short while.

As the sands, stained red with blood, settled, Zeon turned to Hammerson.

“Now only you’re left.”