Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 52

The landscape could only be described as one that had been swept by a sandstorm. Otherwise, there was no way to explain the scene that unfolded before them.

Zahar and his team dismounted from the Bactrian Camels and entered the goblin village.

Bodies of goblins, half-buried in the sand, lay scattered around.

The state of the goblins was truly grim.

It seemed as if the sandstorm had scraped away their skin, leaving muscles exposed, and internal organs spilled out, staining the sand a dark red.

The faces of the goblins were contorted in a grotesque manner, indicating the intense fear and agony they experienced moments before death.

“What on earth happened here?”

Zahar muttered as he touched the corpse of a goblin.

The warmth of the body was still palpable.

“It died less than an hour ago.”

“Just within an hour? Wouldn’t we have seen the sandstorm approaching, then?”

Felix expressed disbelief.

Occasional desert sandstorms could wreak havoc on everything.

The terror of an approaching sandstorm filling the horizon was known only to those who had experienced it.

Even the most formidable Awakened would not guarantee their survival against a massive sandstorm, revealing the frailty of humanity in the face of colossal natural disasters.

The problem was, if a sandstorm of such magnitude occurred, Zahar and his team should have been aware of it.

Even if the towering sand dunes obscured their view, a sandstorm capable of swallowing the goblin village whole would have been impossible to miss.

“What’s really going on?”

“What the hell happened here?”

The team members looked around in confusion.

No living goblins were in sight.

With over a thousand goblins present, not a single one had survived.

The situation was beyond their comprehension based on common knowledge.

Mandira knelt beside a goblin corpse, examining it closely.

This goblin was no ordinary monster.

“It’s a Hobgoblin.”

Hobgoblins were stronger than dozens of regular goblins combined, some even possessing special skills.

Even Awakened individuals below E-rank would find it challenging to confront a Hobgoblin.

Yet, this powerful creature lay dead in a pitiful state.

Flesh was torn, bones exposed, and even the eyeballs of the Hobgoblin retained a lingering light of terror.

No matter how they looked at it, it didn’t look like it had been caused by a naturally occurring sandstorm.

Mandira furrowed her brows involuntarily.

“A Hobgoblin could have avoided the sandstorm easily. It’s not like they couldn’t leave the village due to camaraderie. I don’t understand. What exactly happened here?”

She scratched her head nervously.

That’s when it happened.

“Team Leader! We’ve got survivors here!”

Seido urgently called Zahar.

Zahar, along with Mandira and the others, rushed towards Seido.

Pointing to the ground, Seido spoke frantically.

“It seems to be an underground prison.”

“A prison?”

Zahar’s gaze focused on the ground.

“Help us!”

“Please get us out of here.”

Faint voices of people trapped below echoed.

Goblins were not the source of these voices; they were unmistakably human.

Zahar shouted urgently.

“Quick, dig through the sand!”

“Yes!”

Team members immediately began digging without hesitation.

With the combined strength of multiple Awakened individuals, they quickly cleared more than a meter of sand, revealing the ceiling of a prison made of stones.

Daren smashed the prison’s ceiling with his fist.

Boom!

With a resounding crash, the ceiling crumbled, exposing the faces of people confined inside.

Zahar recognized them immediately.

“Rothen, Jack!”

The man called Rothen was the leader of Team 2, and Jack was a member of his team.

Both were formidable Martial Arts Awakened, possessing strength that could not be underestimated.

They looked up at Zahar, their arms and legs bound.

They had black bruises on their faces, swollen to the point where their features were unrecognizable.

Team 7 quickly pulled out the two individuals and loosened their bindings.

Zahar asked Rothen.

“What happened?”

“We were ambushed. Sneaky goblins set traps and waited to ambush us.”

“What about the other team members?”

“They’re all dead. The goblins caught and ate them.”

“Hmm.”

“We were about to be eaten alive too.”

Rothen shuddered at the thought, even just imagining it seemed horrifying. Jack, another team member, had a face frozen in terror.

The goblins killed and devoured their comrades before their eyes. The sight of people being torn apart while still alive, disappearing into goblin mouths, left an indelible trauma.

Even for Awakened accustomed to facing death, witnessing the gruesome scene of comrades being eaten alive was exceptionally rare.

Mandira asked Rothen.

“What about the sandstorm?”

“Huh?”

“What happened to the sandstorm?”

“I don’t know! It suddenly came in and covered the entire goblin village.”

“Suddenly?”

“We were in chaos, about to be eaten, so we couldn’t focus. We didn’t have time to survey the surroundings. But when we finally regained our senses, a massive sandstorm had engulfed the goblin village.”

“Are you saying you didn’t notice any signs beforehand?”

“That’s right.”

Mandira furrowed her brow at Rothen’s response.

She wasn’t concerned about how Rothen survived; her focus was on understanding why the goblin village ended up like this.

At that moment, Rothen cautiously spoke.

“I might have been out of my mind for a while, but I think I heard a human voice then.”

“What?”

“I faintly heard a human voice amidst the sandstorm.”

“Human voice? Are you sure?”

“I can’t be certain. I wasn’t exactly in my right mind at that moment.”

Rothen wore an uncertain expression.

Zahar intervened.

“Let’s hold off on the interrogation. He’s not a prisoner.”

“Alright.”

“Take Rothen and Jack back to the shelter.”

Following Zahar’s orders, the team members escorted Rothen and Jack out of the goblin village.

Mandira lingered at the rear, looking back at the goblin village buried in sand.

Despite rescuing Rothen and Jack, many unanswered questions remained.

“Venturing this far might still be too risky for humans…”

***

The shelter established by the Pathfinder Team was located in a region where sand had solidified into rocky terrain over a long time.

The shelter, made of specially developed materials from Neo Seoul, measured fifty meters in width, fifty meters in height, and five meters in height.

Inside the shelter, there were no individual spaces; it was a temporary dwelling with a straightforward design.

On one side of the shelter, several trucks were parked, being examined by technicians for sand damage. On the other side, Awakened were busy with various tasks.

That’s when Team 7 entered the shelter.

Zahar shoute.

“Team 2 is down. Attend to them quickly.”

“What?”

“Shit!”

Awakened individuals rushed over.

Two healers came together and treated Rothen and Jack

The leader of Team 1 asked Zahar.

“What happened? Team 2?”

“They were ambushed by a massive goblin horde.”

“Attacked by goblins?”

“It was a massive tribe of over a thousand goblins. Even if it was Team 1 instead of Team 2, the outcome wouldn’t have been different.”

“There really were over a thousand goblins gathered together?”

“I confirmed it with my own eyes.”

The expression of Team 1’s leader hardened at Zahar’s revelation.

“Crazy. A horde of over a thousand goblins.”

There had never been a group of goblins this large near Neo Seoul.

Even though they are low-tier monsters, if a thousand of them gathered, it would pose a serious threat, so it’s crucial to exterminate them preemptively.

Team 1 leader, despite being an experienced Awakened, had never encountered a goblin horde of a thousand or more.

“To think there’s such a massive goblin army. Unbelievable!”

Fundamentally, goblins were considered the lowest-tier monsters.

While they exhibited powerful force when forming a horde, it was challenging for them to maintain a group beyond a certain level.

Before establishing a hierarchy, they often became prey to other larger monsters.

Goblins were the bottommost layer in the monster ecosystem. They were constantly busy avoiding attacks from larger monsters.

Due to this, despite possessing incredible reproductive capabilities, forming a large tribe was difficult for them. However, in this area, there existed a sizable village with as many as a thousand goblins.

It meant the environment here was ideal for goblin reproduction.

Zahar, realizing Team 1 leader’s concerns, spoke up.

“Fortunately, a sandstorm completely wiped out the goblin village.”

“What?”

“It may sound absurd, but it’s true. I confirmed it with my own eyes.”

“If it’s true, then that’s fortunate.”

It was only belatedly that Team 1 leader sighed in relief.

Kwoong!

Suddenly, the shelter shook violently.

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

Those inside the shelter were startled, looking at each other in surprise.

Kwoong!

At that moment, the shelter shook once again.

Team 1 leader quickly gave orders.

“Find out what’s going on.”

“Yes!”

Team 1 members rushed outside, and after a while, they returned with solemn expressions.

“Trouble, we’re in big trouble. A Cyclops has attacked from outside.”

“What? Cyclops?”

“Yes! It’s attacking the shelter.”

The faces of those inside the shelter changed dramatically.

Cyclopes, together with Ogres, belonged to the highest danger category among monsters.

Although officially classified as B-rank, they were considered more dangerous than A-rank monsters.

With a colossal stature exceeding seven meters, overwhelming strength, and incredible resistance to magic that could deflect most spells, Cyclopes were formidable adversaries.

Moreover, they possessed bipedal movement and demonstrated signs of intelligence, setting them apart from Ogres.

This innate intelligence, surpassing instinct, contributed to Cyclopes being deemed more hazardous than Ogres.

Kwaaang!

A colossal vibration resonated as the Cyclops attacked the shelter.

The impact caused the shelter to crumple, revealing a fissure, and the eye of a one-eyed giant appeared.

It was undoubtedly a Cyclops.

“This is insane!”

It was impervious to the attacks of most monsters. Yet, the shelter was crumpling and tearing like a sheet of paper.

It meant that the Cyclops’s attack power exceeded the shelter’s defenses.

Allowing Cyclops’s attacks any further would result in the shelter collapsing. They had to subdue the Cyclops before that happened.

Just as Team 1 leader was about to issue the attack command,

Kwaang!

Again, with a deafening sound, the shelter shook.

The opposite wall tore open, revealing two more Cyclopes.

“It wasn’t just one?”

“Unbelievable!”

Despair flickered in the eyes of those inside the shelter.

Handling one Cyclops was nearly impossible. Yet, facing three Cyclopes?

Team 1 leader and Zahar exchanged determined glances.

Team 1 leader gave the order.

“Abandon the shelter. Escape by team and return to Neo Seoul.”

As soon as his order was given, the Pathfinder teams rushed outside.

Thud!

A massive club dropped onto the head of an Awakened attempting to escape.

The Cyclops had attacked.

The Awakened couldn’t even scream before meeting an instant death.

“Hehehe!”

The Cyclops gleefully chewed on the lifeless body like fish meat.

As if not satisfied with consuming just one person, it attacked others.

“Arghhh!”

“Kueck!”

Screams echoed continuously around the shelter.

The Cyclopes formed a triangle, surrounding the shelter, attacking the Awakened and enjoying their feast.

Most of the Awakened couldn’t escape the Cyclopes’ encirclement and fell victim to the relentless onslaught.

As Team 7 ran forward, a massive Cyclops blocked their path.

An unusually massive one.

It was undoubtedly the leader of the Cyclopes.

The leader needed to be distracted.

Zahar shouted to Annika.

“We need a sacrifice.”

“Okay!”

Having been together for a long time, Annika quickly understood Zahar’s intentions.

A surge of electricity emanated from Annika’s hand, striking Mandira in the back.

Her magic, Lightning Bolt, exploded.

Mandira, paralyzed by the lightning bolt, couldn’t even utter a scream.

Annika muttered, spitting on the back of Mandira’s head.

“I never liked you from the start.”

That was the last thing Mandira remembered.

Soon, an overwhelming darkness enveloped her.

And then Mandira lost consciousness.