Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 69

[TL/N: Nice ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

The mature scent of a woman wafted into his nose.

It was the first time a woman had leaned in so close to him like this.

Zeon asked, struggling to maintain his composure.

“You know old man Klexi?”

“Do I know? I’m just itching to catch and kill him.”

“Is it that serious?”

“If I could, I would.”

Yoo Se-hee’s gaze turned cold.

The playful demeanor she had just moments ago while teasing the merchants was nowhere to be found.

If Zeon were an ordinary person, he might not have been able to breathe properly under her overwhelming presence.

Fortunately, Zeon was not an ordinary person, and he wasn’t weak enough to be overwhelmed by such a gaze.

Yoo Se-hee also realized that Zeon was not an ordinary person.

Above all, she knew that Klexi would never give his precious card to just some nobody.

“How did you meet Klexi?”

“Would you believe me if I said it was a coincidence?”

“It seems like you have no intention of telling me.”

“So, you don’t believe it either.”

“It’s not you I don’t believe, it’s Klexi. There’s no way he would give his precious card to someone he met by coincidence.”

“It does seem ominous.”

“You seem no less ominous yourself.”

“Me?”

Zeon wore an expression of injustice.

Yoo Se-hee carefully scrutinized Zeon’s face.

She had to admit at least one thing.

That was, she couldn’t read his thoughts just by looking at his face alone.

It meant that Zeon was thorough in concealing himself.

She might be able to figure it out if she used her unique skills, but she didn’t want to go that far.

Her skills were formidable, but the repercussions of using them were not to be underestimated.

If he had come with a recommendation from Klexi, he probably wasn’t someone who would cause trouble at the Goblin Market.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Zeon.”

“Where do you live?”

“Are you investigating me now?”

“Yeah! Are you not going to answer?”

“I live in the anthill.”

“Shinchon?”

“Yes!”

“Then I guess we’ll be seeing each other often. Alright, you can go now.”

Yoo Se-hee waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.

Zeon said to her, slightly lowering his head.

“Well then….”

Yoo Se-hee watched as Zeon disappeared into the crowd with a sharp gaze.

The Black Lion spoke quietly.

“Should we tail him?”

“No! Klexi has probably already put someone on him. We just need to share information, so there’s no need to waste valuable manpower.”

“Understood.”

The Black Lion acquiesced.

He knew as much about Klexi as Yoo Se-hee did.

Klexi was extremely meticulous and tenacious.

Yoo Se-hee took a step forward.

“The atmosphere around the colony has been chaotic lately. I heard a pack of Fire Wolves attacked an armored bus a few days ago?”

“Yes! Hordes of monsters are increasingly appearing near Neo Seoul. It seems like the rumors about Neo Seoul’s anti-magic field weakening are true.”

What set Neo Seoul apart from other colonies was the presence of an anti-magic field.

For some reason, Neo Seoul had a powerful energy present, which kept the monsters at bay and prevented them from approaching.

Thanks to this, humans could escape the threat of monsters and develop Neo Seoul.

Neo Seoul amplified the anti-magic field into magical barriers, enhancing its effectiveness.

The range of this reinforced anti-magic field exceeded dozens of kilometers.

Thanks to this, not only Neo Seoul but also the slums could be safe from the threat of monsters.

Humanity was able to buy time and develop cities like now because of the anti-magic field. However, for some reason, the anti-magic field of Neo Seoul was gradually weakening.

As evidence, people heard that monsters were gradually appearing closer to Neo Seoul.

In the past, this would have been unimaginable.

To hunt monsters, teams had to go far from Neo Seoul. But now, monsters were visible not far from Neo Seoul.

The notion that monsters feared approaching Neo Seoul had become a thing of the past.

Yoo Se-hee looked beyond the towering skyscrapers, beyond the massive wall, where the rulers of Neo Seoul resided.

“What exactly are they doing inside that’s causing the weakening of Neo Seoul’s anti-magic field? Have they already forgotten the lessons of that day?”

Her voice was filled with deep concern.

***

Zeon left the Goblin Market and walked along Yeonnam-ro.

Meeting Yoo Se-hee, the owner of the Goblin Market, was beyond his expectations.

Zeon thought Yoo Se-hee was incredibly strong.

‘She unleashed lightning magic in an instant.’

Usually, casting magic required some preparation time.

Magic was essentially the manifestation of thoughts.

Bringing what was envisioned in the mind into reality was the essence of magic.

It usually took time to manifest thoughts into reality.

Those with exceptional talent might have a very short time, but for others, it inevitably took longer.

However, Yoo Se-hee didn’t seem to have such a time gap.

What she did was summon lightning instantly into reality, and even then, it was only with enough force to push Theo and Brixton back without injuring them.

Just the fact that she unleashed the most destructive lightning magic without causing any harm to either side spoke volumes about her incredible talent.

Although he didn’t know Yoo Se-hee’s rank, it was undoubtedly at least B-rank or higher.

With that level of power, there would be hardly anyone in this slum who could oppose her.

What was more impressive was the Black Lion accompanying her.

The Black Lion emitted such an intense aura that it made Zeon flinch slightly.

The overwhelming energy filled his body to the point where it overflowed naturally to the outside.

It was the first time Zeon had seen such a powerful Martial Arts Awakened being in the slums.

The Black Lion subtly reminded Zeon, who had somewhat underestimated the slums, to be cautious.

That alone was enough of an achievement.

Zeon thought he made the right decision to visit the Goblin Market.

He believed that by continuing to use the Goblin Market, he would be able to adequately understand the situation in the slums.

“Haa!”

Zeon returned home and took off the robe he was wearing.

His home was still empty.

Apart from the bed and sofa, there was nothing else.

The light bulb flickered uneasily.

It was because the electricity supply was unstable. But once the small mana generator arrived, the situation would change.

Being able to supply power independently would allow the use of various devices, not just the lights.

In a way, it meant enjoying a proper civilization from that point on.

Zeon sat on the sofa, waiting for the mana generator to be delivered.

The merchant had said he’d send it today, so it should arrive soon.

Then it happened.

Boom!

With a tremendous explosion, the building shook as if it would collapse at any moment. Glass from the windows shattered and flew into the house.

Zeon frowned and got up from his seat.

Through the broken window, he saw the intersection outside in ruins.

In the middle of the intersection, a truck was on fire.

It was clearly the result of an attack.

Incidents like this were common in this area, so Zeon tried not to pay much attention. But as soon as he saw the pattern on the broken truck, he couldn’t help it.

The truck bore the symbol of a goblin.

The goblin symbol was the symbol of the Goblin Market.

It meant that a transport vehicle from the Goblin Market had been attacked.

‘What if the vehicle?’

Zeon felt a foreboding.

He leaped out of the window without hesitation.

His apartment was on the eighteenth floor. Nevertheless, he jumped out without a moment’s hesitation.

Just as Zeon’s body was nearing the ground at a terrifying speed…

Sand piled up on one side of the street shot up like a pillar, gently catching his body.

The impact was cushioned using the sand. But there was no one to witness this.

Everyone on the street was too busy watching the burning vehicle to notice.

Zeon hurriedly pushed through the crowd and approached the vehicle.

Fierce flames were raging inside the vehicle, making it difficult for people to get close.

Their faces were filled with greed.

“Damn it! There must be valuable stuff inside there, right?”

“If only the fire would weaken a bit.”

They had no intention of extinguishing the flames engulfing the vehicle.

They were only concerned with how to get close enough to steal whatever was inside.

No one cursed them out.

It was the nature of the slums itself.

Zeon pushed past such people and approached the vehicle.

The intense flames engulfed his body, but they had no effect on him.

Zeon finally reached the front of the vehicle.

The first thing he checked was the driver’s seat.

Two bodies were already melting on the driver’s and passenger’s seats.

One of them was the merchant from the Goblin Market whom Zeon had dealt with.

A long slash wound was clearly visible on the merchant’s neck.

It was evident that they had been killed before the vehicle exploded.

Zeon furrowed his brow and returned to the cargo compartment.

The cargo compartment door was wide open, spewing out fierce flames. Although his vision was obscured by flames and smoke, Zeon clearly saw that the cargo compartment was empty.

“Ha!”

Zeon sighed deeply.

It was clear that the mana generator he was supposed to receive had been stolen.

With the merchant dead, there was no possibility of receiving compensation for his loss.

“What kind of bastards dare to…?”

His expression turned sharp.

He wanted to live quietly if possible. That’s why he tried to overlook minor incidents.

But the theft of his mana generator was not something he could easily overlook.

He had to find and punish the attackers and recover the mana generator.

First and foremost, it was urgent to identify the attackers who had stolen the mana generator.

Zeon surveyed the area around the burning vehicle.

Not far away, he found a piece of metal debris.

It was clearly not a part of the vehicle.

The surface of the metal debris, scorched by the fire, bore the inscription “FB130―.” Although the rest was not visible, this alone was enough of a clue.

Someone had attacked the vehicle, killed the merchant and his entourage, stolen the mana generator, and then destroyed the vehicle in an explosion to erase all evidence.

Even if the Goblin Market did an investigation, no one would assume that the mana generator was stolen; they would simply think it burned along with the vehicle.

Fortunately, Zeon arrived before the flames completely engulfed the transport vehicle; otherwise, the truth would have been completely consumed by the fire.

Zeon turned away from the flames and moved on.

There was no point in asking the people who were blinded by greed.

Zeon knew he had to ask the people at the bottom of this street about what was happening.

Fortunately, he knew them well.

Zeon headed towards the shady parts of the street.

At first glance, it seemed chaotic, but even here, there were addresses.

However, the method of assigning addresses was different, making it difficult to find for those not familiar with the area.

Zeon navigated his memory as he walked.

After passing through several alleys, he arrived at a warehouse on the ground floor of a large building.

Zeon opened the warehouse door without hesitation and walked in.

“What the hell?”

“Who the hell comes in without permission?”

There was an abrupt and rough response.

Inside the warehouse, there were men sitting around, emanating a tense atmosphere.

They expressed hostility towards the uninvited intruder. However, as soon as they saw Zeon’s face, the hostility vanished instantly.

“Keuk!”

“You?”

Their faces turned pale.

The warehouse was the lair of Red Skull.

The ones who paled at the sight of Zeon were none other than Jo Sang-hyuk and his subordinates.

Jo Sang-hyuk, the leader of the Red Skull, stuttered.

“Uh, why are you here, sir? I told all my little brothers, I don’t think we’ve done anything wrong…”

Zeon said to Jo Sang-hyuk.

“I have something to ask. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course.”

Jo Sang-hyuk nodded his head at lightning speed.