Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 298

It was no surprise that there wasn’t a single survivor left in the underground village attacked by scavengers.

As they searched the area, Zeon and Brielle found the bodies of ten people.

They were all elderly, their frail and sickly appearances painfully evident.

Zeon knelt on one knee, gazing at the corpses.

To the untrained eye, the deceased looked to be in their seventies. But Zeon knew better—they were no older than fifty.

In Neo Seoul, where people enjoyed the benefits of modern civilization, they often appeared younger than their actual age.

Conversely, those who lived in survivalist conditions in places like this underground village aged rapidly, often looking ten or even twenty years older than they truly were.

The village itself was pitiful.

To protect themselves from monsters, they had dug out an underground space, but everything was severely lacking.

Food and water were scarce. The villagers must have rationed what little they had, living frugally.

The lack of nutrients caused their bodies to age prematurely, leaving them vulnerable to diseases.

This was the harsh reality for people in survivor villages.

Brielle asked in a trembling voice.

“Why didn’t they go to Neo Seoul? They could have lived in the slums.”

“They couldn’t, not that they didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“You know how infested the desert is with monsters. For ordinary people, reaching Neo Seoul without being caught is nearly impossible.”

Even for Awakened, crossing the desert was a life-threatening challenge. For regular people, it was virtually a death sentence.

“A few hundred kilometers might not be much for you or me, but for them, it’s a death trap. They wouldn’t have made it even a few dozen kilometers before becoming monster fodder.”

“I… I guess that makes sense.”

―Beep!

Brielle bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, her eyes red and watery as if she were about to cry.

The survivor village was a miserable place.

At most, it was the size of three or four small homes, littered with crudely made household items.

The tools scattered around were primitive, closer to something from prehistoric times than medieval.

The thought of people huddling together in such a poorly ventilated, unlit space brought tears to Brielle’s eyes.

Compared to this, her room in the slums felt like paradise.

“Haa!”

As she wiped her tears away in sorrow, Zeon was examining the walls of the village.

“This is interesting.”

Sand, by its nature, lacks cohesion.

Normally, digging out a space below would cause it to collapse or flow downward—unless it was sandstone like in the Iron Fortress.

But this wasn’t a sandstone area.

It was pure sand, which should have made creating an underground space impossible.

Yet these people had managed to build a livable area within the soft sand.

Zeon was intrigued by the secret behind it.

Tap, tap!

When he knocked on the walls, a solid reverberation came from the sand.

Though it appeared to be sand, it had hardened. That’s why the village hadn’t collapsed.

“They must have had a special method to harden the sand.”

“Why does that matter?”

Having just composed herself, Brielle asked with a puzzled expression.

“Think about it. What’s the biggest issue in Neo Seoul?”

“There are so many.”

“There are, but the biggest problem is the severe lack of housing. Buildings need to be constructed to house people, but there aren’t enough materials.”

“Ah!”

“Sure, they mine stone from existing mana stone mines, but it’s not enough. On top of that, even if there were land to build on, there’s a shortage of materials. That’s why new buildings haven’t gone up in ages. But what if you could easily harden sand to construct buildings?”

“Ah!”

“It might not solve Neo Seoul’s problems, but there’s plenty of space on the outskirts of the slums. If you build there, even survivor migrants could have homes.”

For people struggling to survive in the desert, even a slum would feel like a blessing.

At least in the slums, they wouldn’t have to worry about monster attacks.

Neo Seoul’s anti-monster field offered protection, so there would be no need to dig underground and hide.

“It’s a shame! Whoever knew how to harden sand could’ve been highly valued in Neo Seoul.”

“Doesn’t this seem strange, though?”

“What’s strange?”

Brielle’s sudden question made Zeon look at her.

“If this is a village, shouldn’t there be young people and children? But all the bodies here are elderly. Where are the others?”

“You’re right!”

Brielle’s observation snapped Zeon to attention.

He had assumed the scavengers killed everyone, but scavengers didn’t always kill their victims.

Young or healthy people could be captured and sold elsewhere.

Brielle added.

“They must have taken them, right?”

“Probably.”

“What are you going to do?”

She looked at Zeon cautiously.

“I’ll save them.”

“Really?”

“I can’t just ignore it now that I know the truth.”

The desert had its own survival rules.

In this lawless and brutal environment, atrocities that would be unimaginable in civilized places like Neo Seoul were common.

Zeon didn’t deny those rules.

The strong preying on the weak was natural, even if it went against morality.

It was the way of this barbaric age.

In such a world, even a hyper-advanced city like Neo Seoul couldn’t extend its influence far.

The Earth’s current environment was overwhelmingly hostile to humans and other lifeforms.

Not even Zeon, with all his abilities, could save everyone scattered across the desert.

But that didn’t mean he could turn a blind eye to tragedies unfolding right in front of him.

Zeon, Brielle, and Gaia exited the underground village.

By now, night had fallen, and darkness blanketed the land.

“We’ll start tracking at dawn.”

“Not right away?”

“It’s too dark to follow their trail accurately. We might end up searching in the wrong place. It’s better to wait until daylight.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Brielle nodded in agreement.

In the desert, no one could escape Zeon’s tracking.

Not even scavengers who had spent their entire lives surviving in the sands.

The group set up camp a short distance from the survivor village to rest.

Normally, Brielle would have been excitedly chatting away, but the sight of the destroyed village weighed heavily on her heart. She remained silent.

―Beep!

Gaia comforted her.

Brielle hugged Gaia tightly without saying a word.

* * *

Men wearing turbans and white robes called ‘dishdasha’ were gathered in the middle of the desert, eating meat.

Chomp! Chomp!

With grease-stained hands, the men devoured their meals ravenously. They were members of the Helbrin mercenaries.

Though they called themselves mercenaries, they were essentially scavengers.

Their life consisted of raiding survivor villages or taking on missions for whoever paid them.

Their leader, Hassim, sat in the center of the group.

Hassim was in his early fifties.

His dark skin and thick mustache gave him a commanding presence, while his dense eyebrows and sunken eyelids added to his intimidating appearance.

Chewing on a bone, Hassim remarked.

“This haul isn’t great. We just looted beggars.”

His gaze fell on a group of about ten people tied together and crouched on the ground.

These were the survivors captured during the raid on the village.

Had they been old or sick, they would’ve been killed, but since they were young and healthy, they were taken instead.

The oldest among them appeared to be in their early thirties, while the youngest was around seven.

All of them trembled in fear.

That morning, they had lived peacefully.

Though they lacked much, they had survived in the desert by sticking together.

They had thought today would be just another day.

But the Helbrin mercenaries attacked, slaughtering the elderly and capturing the rest.

The village had two Awakened defenders.

The eldest of the village, a D-rank combat Awakened, had once been strong but had grown weak with age and illness.

He was killed mercilessly by Hassim.

The other Awakened was an alchemist in his early thirties—an F-rank Awakened.

In Neo Seoul, he might have found ways to develop his abilities. But in the barren desert, his alchemical skills were nearly useless.

With limited resources, the best he had managed was creating a sand hardening agent.

It was thanks to this alchemist’s efforts that the underground village had held together for so long.

‘But what’s the point? I couldn’t protect the village.’

During the raid, the alchemist had cowered in a corner, helplessly watching as the villagers were slaughtered.

After the massacre, he and the other survivors were dragged here.

Sniffle! Sob!

Some of the captured survivors wept quietly.

They had chosen to live like animals, hiding underground to avoid monsters and scavengers. But now, even that desperate choice had led to tragedy.

Hassim tossed aside his bone and spat.

“Ugh! This meat’s too tough.”

“Monster meat’s always like that.”

One of his subordinates replied, grimacing as he struggled to chew his own portion.

Hassim’s gaze shifted to the captured villagers.

He looked at them not as humans, but as livestock.

“Should we slaughter one?”

“Heh, why not?”

One of his men grinned as he forced down a chunk of monster meat.

Human meat was undoubtedly more tender and delicious—a fact they all knew too well.

One of the subordinates stood, drawing a large blade.

“I’ll handle it.”

As the captured villagers shook with terror, a high-pitched noise suddenly emanated from the pendant around Hassim’s neck.

Beep! Beep!

Hassim raised his hand, stopping his subordinate.

“Wait.”

“Yes, sir.”

The subordinate reluctantly sheathed his blade.

Hassim channeled mana into the pendant, activating it. A voice emerged.

― “Boss! It’s Etley.”

The pendant wasn’t ordinary—it was an artifact found in a dungeon.

It allowed communication across hundreds of kilometers, unaffected by the interference Neo Seoul struggled to overcome.

It was a one-of-a-kind item.

“Yeah? How’d it go in Neo Seoul?”

― “The Spider Queen wants a hundred slaves within ten days.”

“A hundred? Where am I supposed to find that many? The survivor villages have dried up.”

Hassim’s tone turned cold, prompting Etley to respond hastily.

― “She promised sufficient payment…”

“What kind of payment?”

― “Weapons. Neo Seoul-made weapons.”

“That changes things.”

Hassim’s eyes gleamed with madness.

The rise of the Iron Fortress had drawn survivors away, leaving scavengers like him with little to plunder.

But if he could obtain Neo Seoul’s weapons, he might have a chance to deal with the Iron Fortress once and for all.

Hassim ended the call and addressed his men.

“Treat the slaves with care. They’re about to turn into weapons.”

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]