Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert
Chapter 359

Chapter 359

Zeon furrowed his brow.

At first, he thought he was seeing things.

A grotesque face full of wrinkles, large molars jutting between its lips.

A necklace adorned with unidentified bones, and in its hand, a large bone spear.

It was an orc.

An old orc, whose age Zeon couldn't even guess, was hiding behind a boulder, observing Kim Jinsoo and the Awakened as they hunted Armored Ants.

Unlike humans, who weaken with age, orcs are different.

The older they get, the stronger they become.

The orc world is governed strictly by survival of the fittest.

Age earns no respect. Only the strong survive to old age.

Weak orcs never even live long enough to grow old—unless they're extremely rare types like shamans. In the orc world, the elderly are not weak—they're powerful.

Powerful enough to hold their own against younger orcs, and even surpass them with accumulated experience and skill.

The old orc hiding behind the rock was likely one of those formidable beings.

‘Was there ever an orc settlement near here?’

Zeon tried to recall but was certain—he had never seen orcs around this area before.

‘A new tribe must’ve settled in.’

If that was true, it would be troublesome.

Orcs never tolerate others hunting in what they consider their territory. Anything visible to them is deemed part of their domain, and they label all living things that move within it as enemies.

There were countless orc tribes spread throughout the desert.

Even though Zeon had taken care of an Orc Lord and his subordinates, many orcs had survived and were breeding rapidly.

Eradicating them completely was impossible.

"Hold the right side! Ants are breaking through there!"

Kim Jinsoo's urgent shout rang out.

The defensive line on the right had been breached.

If the Armored Ants poured through that gap, the hunt would turn chaotic. Hence the shouting.

Luckily, an Awakened with some breathing room rushed over to assist and stabilized the line.

Zeon, who had momentarily looked away, turned back to the rock where the old orc had been hiding.

But it was gone—vanished without a trace.

"Tch."

Zeon clicked his tongue.

Something about it unsettled him. But by now, it was too late to track the old orc.

If it had already crossed the chasm, it would’ve disappeared without leaving a trace.

Old orcs never leave tracks in the desert. Tracking one down was not easy.

In the end, Zeon cleanly gave up on the pursuit.

Hunting the Armored Ants was the more urgent task.

Drawn by the scent of the Flame Armadillo, the ants kept pouring out of the crevice.

They had already taken down more than two hundred.

Any more would be pointless.

There weren't enough transport vehicles to carry them all.

Zeon shouted to Kim Jinsoo.

“Throw the Flame Armadillo carcasses into the crevice! That should stop more ants from coming up!”

“Understood!”

At his reply, Kim Jinsoo had the Flame Armadillo bodies tossed into the crevice. Immediately, the number of ants emerging decreased dramatically. Before long, not a single one appeared.

Only then could Kim Jinsoo and the Awakened collapse to the ground and rest.

“Haah… haah… I’m dying.”

“I finally got to use my skills without holding back.”

“Damn, how many did we take down?”

“Shit, that felt good.”

The Awakened burst into laughter.

They’d fought in countless battles before, but this was the first time they had completely overwhelmed a monster horde like this.

There had been moments of crisis, but they had pulled through by working together.

Levin’s contribution had also been immense.

Thanks to his Purple Lightning, which electrocuted and paralyzed the ants, they had been easy to finish off.

Even after taking down so many Armored Ants, they still had energy left to spare.

Zeon approached Kim Jinsoo and his group.

“If you’ve rested enough, let’s load up the carcasses and get out of here. They’re probably too preoccupied with the Flame Armadillo remains now, but once those are gone, they might swarm us for revenge.”

“Got it. You heard him! Load the bodies and let’s move out!”

“Roger!”

“Yes, sir!”

The Awakened and porters worked together to load the Armored Ant carcasses into the transport trucks.

It took less than an hour to load them all.

“All set!”

“Okay! Let’s get out of here before the bugs come crawling back for payback.”

“Right!”

With a thunderous reply, the vehicles began to depart from the crevice.

Once they had put some distance between themselves and the crevice, the Awakened burst into cheers.

“We pulled it off without a single casualty!”

“Feels amazing!”

“Woohoo!”

More than the success of the mission itself, it was the fact that not a single person had died that brought them the most joy.

Even those used to living close to death like the Awakened found it hard to bear the grief of losing comrades.

They had mourned countless fallen friends until now—but not this time.

They couldn't even remember the last time they had felt so lighthearted.

They traveled further away from the crevice.

At a suitable location, Zeon instructed the armored bus to stop.

“This should be far enough. We must be tired—let’s rest here tonight and head back to Neo Seoul tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

Kim Jinsoo agreed readily.

Once the camp was set, the porters got to work.

They arranged the armored bus and transport trucks in a circle and prepared dinner in the center.

Kim Jinsoo shouted,

“The hunt was a success! Bring out all the food we brought!”

At his call, the Awakened and porters cheered loudly.

After days of eating tasteless rations, they were starving for real food.

“Yes!”

“Unload everything we’ve got!”

“Let’s feast tonight!”

The workers brought out all the special provisions they had prepared.

Zeon, Brielle, and Levin also took seats among them.

Several Awakened approached Levin.

“Thanks, man! You made this hunt so much easier.”

“You saved my life back there. I owe you.”

All of them were people whom Levin had helped during the battle.

Levin blushed slightly and replied,

“It’s nothing. Just did what I had to.”

“If you ever need anything, let me know. We’ll help however we can.”

“Yeah, we’re all from the slums—come find us anytime.”

“You’re our brother now.”

Awakened from Neo Seoul and those from the slums were fundamentally different.

Neo Seoul Awakened tended to be more calculating, while slum Awakened were more emotionally driven.

A sense of camaraderie formed through shared hardship made them bond quickly.

Once they went through something like this together, they accepted each other as friends—regardless of how little time they’d known each other.

To Kim Jinsoo and the Awakened, Levin was already a comrade, a brother.

And Levin felt the same.

He had come from the slums too.

Soon, Levin and the others were chatting and laughing like old friends.

Kim Jinsoo approached Zeon.

“Thank you for your invaluable lessons. Thanks to you, we now know an efficient way to hunt Armored Ants. I won’t forget this favor.”

“It’s nothing. Anyone could’ve figured it out with a little thought.”

“I’ve faced a lot of monsters, but I never thought of hunting them the way you do. If it weren’t for you, I’d never have learned these methods. We would’ve had a lot more casualties. Maybe it’s nothing to you—but for bottom-tier Awakened like us, your knowledge boosts our survival rate dramatically. Thank you.”

Zeon scratched his cheek at the lavish praise.

It made him a little self-conscious.

Trying to shake the awkwardness, he glanced toward the vehicles forming a wall around their makeshift camp.

The large transport trucks were packed with Armored Ant carcasses.

With this much, they could produce enough sand hardener to build homes for tens of thousands.

The carcasses of F-rank monsters—considered trash in Neo Seoul—might just become a miracle for the slums.

Now, they just had to deliver the carcasses safely back.

That alone made this expedition more than worth the effort.

* * *

After the feast, Zeon and Brielle returned to the armored bus.

―Beep!

Gaia, who had been left alone, greeted them joyfully.

Swimming through the air, the creature wagged its tail happily around Zeon and Brielle.

Brielle hugged Gaia tightly and apologized.

“Sorry! You must’ve been so bored alone.”

―Beep!

“Thanks for understanding!”

Zeon also patted Gaia’s head and said,

“You didn’t cause any trouble, even while alone. Good job, Gaia!”

―Beeep!

“Go on, now. Play with Brielle all you want—no one’s going to bother you.”

Outside, Levin and the Awakened were still chatting and laughing.

They hadn’t touched any alcohol, but the mood was festive—like a celebration.

Levin and the others were boasting about their heroic feats.

Since the chatter didn’t seem like it would end anytime soon, Zeon and Brielle had come inside early.

Zeon reclined his seat and said to Brielle,

“I’m gonna sleep now.”

“Okay. I’ll stay up a bit longer to talk with Gaia.”

“Alchemy?”

“Yeah, something just popped into my head.”

“Go ahead.”

Brielle’s creativity had been soaring lately.

Ideas constantly popped into her mind. Even on their journey here, it had happened several times.

Each time, she either jotted notes in her notebook or conducted small experiments with Gaia.

Now, she and Gaia retreated to a corner at the back of the bus and began whispering.

Trying not to disturb Zeon’s sleep.

“The Armored Ants climbed up because they smelled the Flame Armadillo’s scent. I mean, how else would they have known a carcass was up there? It must’ve been the smell, right? So instead of going through the hassle of catching one, why don’t we just replicate the scent? If I can make a perfume that mimics the scent of a Flame Armadillo, we could lure the ants more efficiently!”

―Beep!

“Exactly! The problem is the composition. We’ll have to catch a Flame Armadillo on the way back and analyze it.”

―Beep beep!

“Alright.”

As Zeon listened to their conversation, he drifted off to sleep.

How long he slept, he didn’t know.

But Zeon suddenly woke up with a strange premonition.

Inside the bus was dark—Brielle and Gaia were fast asleep, breathing softly.

He stepped outside, careful not to wake them.

Around the campsite, the Awakened, porters, and Levin were lying about, deep in slumber.

Zeon quietly looked around the camp, then climbed atop one of the transport trucks.

“Sir, why are you up already? It’s still early morning…”

Kim Jinsoo, who was on night watch atop the vehicle, looked at Zeon in surprise.

“Hold on.”

Zeon cut him off and stared out into the darkness beyond the transport trucks.

Kim Jinsoo tensed instinctively.

This was the first time Zeon had acted this way since they’d left Neo Seoul.

As Zeon silently watched the darkness, his brow furrowed deeply.

“I think we need to wake everyone up.”

“…Sorry, what?”

“There’s a monster.”

“Are you sure?”

“If you listen closely, you’ll hear the sound of teeth clicking. It’s Armored Ants.”

“What?”

Kim Jinsoo did as told and focused his hearing.

Soon, a faint sound reached his ears.

Click… Clack…

Just as Zeon had said—the sound of mandibles clicking.

Without hesitation, Kim Jinsoo shouted toward the camp.

“Everyone up! Monsters!”