Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert
Chapter 367

Chapter 367

“Let go of me!”

An elderly dark elf with snow-white hair was being dragged by Floa.

He struggled with all his might to escape her grasp, but it was no use.

Floa, a warrior who protected their clan, possessed strength far beyond what the aged dark elf could resist.

“Do you think you’ll go unpunished for treating me, a clan elder, this way? Floa!”

Having failed to break free, the dark elf resorted to threats.

Floa flung the elf she had dragged across the gathering ground in front of the assembled dark elves.

“Urgh!”

The dark elf who fell face-first into the sand couldn’t hide his look of shock.

His name was Karode.

He was the Second Elder of the dark elf village.

His authority had once been absolute, and no one dared to defy him in the village.

Under normal circumstances, even Floa would have obeyed his orders. But now, Floa and the other dark elves looked upon him with eyes filled with contempt.

“What is the meaning of those stares? How dare you look at me like that? Warriors! What are you doing? Restrain these insolent fools!”

Karode shouted in fury. But no one responded to his command.

Floa looked down at him and said coldly,

“Seems you still don’t understand the situation.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Siding with the orcs to oppress your own kind?”

“I—I had no choice. Had I not cooperated with them, our village would’ve been wiped out by the orcs!”

“Bullshit! If you hadn’t sided with them, we wouldn’t have been so helpless!”

“You’re mistaken. Everyone knows how much I’ve sacrificed for our village—how much I’ve devoted myself. Isn’t that right?”

Karode looked around, hoping for support. But not a single dark elf responded.

All of them glared at him with murderous eyes. Karode finally realized something was truly wrong.

He abruptly changed his tone and dropped to his knees before Floa.

“I—I was wrong. Please, spare me!”

“Do you know how many of our people died because of you?”

“I told you, I had no choice!”

“And was killing the First Elder also part of that ‘no choice’?”

“That was…”

Karode’s voice caught in his throat.

Floa shouted aloud.

“To the traitor of our clan—death!”

“Death to the traitor!”

The other dark elves echoed her cry.

Despair appeared on Karode’s face.

Ever perceptive, he realized there was no way out of this.

Karode crawled on his knees to Floa and grabbed her legs.

“Please, spare me, Floa!”

“Seek forgiveness from the First Elder and the others you condemned to death.”

“Floa?!”

Slash!

In that moment, Floa’s blade sliced through Karode’s neck.

His severed head rolled several meters across the sand.

After putting an end to Karode, Floa looked around at the gathered dark elves and said,

“As you all know, our clan is in grave danger. The First Elder who led us has passed, and the Second Elder who betrayed us is gone. From here on, we must survive in this desert on our own.”

“……”

The dark elves fell silent, hanging on Floa’s every word.

And still, her speech continued.

“As you can see, we’ve defeated the orcs—but our home lies in ruins. Now we must decide: shall we stay and rebuild, or shall we leave and seek new lands?”

Floa paused and looked around the village.

The other dark elves followed her gaze.

Their expressions darkened.

They could feel it too—

That restoring their devastated home to its former state was simply impossible.

The damaged houses could be rebuilt with beast hides, given their prowess in the hunt.

But the real problem was the land.

When the bone necklace exploded, it had tainted the earth, turning it black. It wasn’t just discoloration—it emitted a foul stench.

The energy from the bone necklace had contaminated the land.

All attempts to purify it had failed. Once the land was corrupted, it could not be restored.

Brielle had been studying the tainted soil but had yet to find a solution.

“It’s not just the land. A sinister force has taken root here. If we don’t purify it, this place will become a land of death.”

Floa and the other dark elves had all heard Brielle’s warning.

If they couldn’t find a way to cleanse the land soon, the contamination would become irreversible.

Then someone shouted,

“Let’s leave!”

“If restoring this place is impossible, let’s find a new land!”

The voices came from the younger dark elves.

They were the ones who, due to the elders’ policies, had never been able to leave.

Now they saw an opportunity to start anew elsewhere.

Rebuilding here would only mean returning to the same dull, stagnant life.

The hopes of the young spread to the others.

“Let’s migrate. Anywhere is better than this place!”

“We’ve got nothing left anyway. Everything we had is ruined. This is our chance to move on!”

Those in favor of leaving were now the majority.

Even the elders had no choice but to agree.

They had lost their power the moment Karode betrayed the clan by siding with the orcs.

Hearing everyone’s opinion, Floa finally made her decision.

“Then I will take it as unanimous consent. We’ll leave this place and seek new lands. You have one hour to pack. We depart immediately.”

There was no hesitation in her words.

Floa was now the de facto leader of the dark elves.

No one dared defy the one who had slain the Second Elder.

After giving orders to the clan, Floa approached Zeon.

She looked at him briefly, then suddenly dropped to her knees.

“What are you doing?”

Zeon moved to help her up, startled. But Floa shook her head and refused.

“Please help us.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know it’s shameless. But if it’s not you, we have no hope. Please help us.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“We need land. A new home. You’re a sand mage—you can find a place for us to live.”

Floa desperately wanted Zeon’s help.

She had cast aside her pride, her dignity.

Kneeling before Zeon proved just that.

Then Brielle spoke softly to him.

“I’m asking too. Let’s help them.”

Brielle, who rarely asked for anything.

Normally, she would push useful gadgets into Zeon’s hands, insisting on repaying her debts. For her to make such a request—how could he refuse?

“Alright. Let’s find a new land together.”

“Really? Thank you!”

A bright smile bloomed on Brielle’s face.

Zeon playfully tapped the top of her pointed hat and said to Floa,

“Let’s find it together. There’s got to be a place out there for you.”

“Thank you. I’ll never forget this kindness.”

Floa finally smiled.

Zeon helped her to her feet and asked,

“Do you have any particular place in mind?”

“No. As you know, we never strayed far from this region. We don’t know what lands are good or bad.”

“I see.”

Zeon let out a faint sigh and looked around at the dark elves.

More than a hundred pairs of eyes were watching him.

They were people lost in a strange world.

Some sought refuge in Neo Seoul, others in El Harun’s protective embrace—but not them.

They had chosen to survive on their own.

Dark elves, much like high elves, needed a land of their own.

‘I wonder if there’s any land left where they can live.’

All habitable land had already been claimed—by beasts, orcs, or other races.

But now that it had come to this, he had to try his best to find a place.

‘Alright. Let’s do this.’

Zeon steeled his resolve.

＊＊＊

In less than an hour, the dark elves were ready to depart.

There wasn’t much left worth taking anyway, so there wasn’t much to prepare.

“Let’s move out.”

“Yes!”

At Floa’s command, the dark elves began to march.

At the front were Zeon, Brielle, and Levin.

Levin glanced back at the line of dark elves and muttered,

“What a spectacle. We came just to hunt some Armored Ants, and look at how big this got.”

“You didn’t know? It’s always like this when you hang around Zeon.”

“True. But at least it’s never boring. Hehe!”

Levin smiled, chatting happily with Brielle.

Others might’ve been annoyed at the lengthening journey through the desert, but not them.

They preferred this to the stifling life in Neo Seoul.

Another change brought about by meeting Zeon.

Zeon looked up at the sky.

The scorching sun beat down overhead.

The entire desert radiated an oppressive heat, like a giant furnace.

He quietly scanned the blazing sands.

To others, it was all the same. But to Zeon, it was different.

The heat varied by sand type.

Even under the same sunlight, some sands were hotter, others cooler.

Zeon moved toward the cooler sands.

The dark elves silently followed.

Even for those used to the desert, walking across burning sands was no easy feat. But no one uttered a word of complaint.

Not even the youngest among them, just barely able to walk.

Dark elves were born warriors.

They possessed far greater physical and mental strength than ordinary elves.

Complaining about this ordeal would only shame their pride.

The dark elves moved in formation like ants, silently trailing Zeon.

A show of trust—they would follow him, no matter what.

And so, Zeon and the dark elves walked for days.

During rests, the children gathered around Zeon.

“Big Brother Zeon!”

“Big Brother!”

Even after just a few days together, the dark elf children had grown attached to him.

They also clung to Brielle and Levin.

Especially to Brielle, the high elf—who fascinated them greatly.

“Sis! Can you teach me alchemy?”

“How do you make this? Sis!”

“Sis!”

Some of them refused to leave Brielle’s side at all.

To the dark elves, a high elf was a being of wonder.

“Get off me already. You’re annoying.”

Even as Brielle scolded them, the kids didn’t budge.

They knew she didn’t mean it.

Despite her exasperated expression, Brielle tried her best to answer their questions.

The dark elf warriors and adults watched with warm smiles.

Seeing their children laugh and play freely lifted all their burdens.

‘We have to find them a good place to live.’

Despite their worries about the future, they couldn’t help but feel hopeful.

It was then—

As Zeon scanned the area while Brielle and Levin watched the children, something caught his eye.

“This landscape looks familiar…”

It looked like any other desert terrain—but Zeon quickly remembered when he had last come this way.

“This place is definitely…”