The Scorched Desert's Sand Mage (Novel) - Chapter 119

Chapter 119

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The ones leading the caravan entered Neo Seoul, passing through the slum under the escort of Logan and the Awakened. The rumor that they had entered soon spread throughout all of Neo Seoul.

“A caravan?”

“Yes.”

At Kim Jae-gyeong’s report, Johan’s eyes flashed fiercely. Right now Neo Seoul was in a festive mood because a caravan had made contact for the first time in years. That was true not only of Neo Seoul, but of the people of the slum as well. Caravans carried goods unique to their own region and came to trade. The cargo wagons would surely be filled with things that could not be seen in Neo Seoul.

“How valuable are the goods they brought?”

“We have not identified that yet. The mammoth refused to enter Neo Seoul and stopped outside….”

“Because of the anti-demonic force.”

“At least it was such a huge mammoth, so it managed to approach that closely. If it had been a smaller species, it would have stopped dozens of kilometers away.”

“Hmm. That would make sense.”

Pushing up the glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose, Johan looked out the window. Beyond that high wall, City Hall could be seen.

“By now, they must have entered City Hall.”

“Yes.”

“This is a meeting that has happened for the first time in decades. If it were an ordinary caravan, it would never have made it this far. They are surely carrying a great many valuable goods.”

Johan’s eyes behind his glasses shone chillingly. Whatever goods the caravan had brought, none of them would flow into the slum. Even if they did, it would be much later. Johan wanted to inspect the goods they had brought immediately. If he could, he wanted to make them his own.

“Find a way to make contact with the caravan.”

“Understood.”

“If possible, brainwash someone at the level of their person in charge.”

“Yes.”

Kim Jae-gyeong nodded. Johan muttered, “A variable appeared at a moment I never expected.”

Johan liked situations that were firmly under control.

He hated the appearance of unexpected variables like this to an extreme degree.

“The other men will be moving busily as well.”

This was a meeting with another colony for the first time in decades.

It was obvious that not only Mayor Jin Geum-ho, but also the rulers of Neo Seoul’s districts, would all be moving busily.

Not only the goods the caravan had brought, but also the route they traveled, the state of the desert, the distribution of demonic beasts, all of that information would soon become power.

The power obtained that way was strong enough to completely shake Neo Seoul’s power structure.

If they were rulers within Neo Seoul, they would never let this opportunity pass by.

‘If I fall behind here, I’ll never be able to catch them. If I want to advance into Neo Seoul, I absolutely have to get the caravan into my hands.’

* * *

The White Bear Caravan that entered Neo Seoul had a total of seven members.

Every one of them wore the hoods attached to their robes low over their faces.

Because of that, it was impossible to see their faces.

Logan stole glances and tried his hardest to examine their faces, but in the end, he learned nothing.

Logan led the members of the White Bear Caravan into City Hall.

Though he had long carried out missions for Neo Seoul, this was Logan’s first time entering City Hall as well.

Because of that, Logan’s face was frozen stiff.

Word had apparently spread that a caravan had arrived, so they were able to pass through the main gate of City Hall without any special procedures.

It was when they reached the first-floor lobby of City Hall.

“So you are the people of the White Bear Caravan from Akutsk Colony. Welcome. I am Seo Tae-ran, the mayor’s secretary.”

A beautiful woman wearing a tight red outfit that clung to her body greeted them.

Her blond hair was neatly brushed back without a single strand out of place.

Her beautiful yet strong eyes and proud nose called to mind an ancient Northern European goddess.

The woman was Seo Tae-ran, a martial-type Awakened and the secretary of Mayor Jin Geum-ho.

Though she was displaying a courteous attitude, there was something confident and chilly about her atmosphere.

Gulp.

The moment Logan saw her, he swallowed dryly.

Because he was also an Awakened, he could feel her power.

He could not tell exactly what rank she was, but he could tell at least that she was stronger than he was.

The goosebumps running down his back and neck proved it.

At that moment, a particularly large man stepped out from among the people of the White Bear Caravan and removed his hood.

Then his true face was revealed.

His head was bald down to below the crown, but that only added to the tough impression and fierce gaze he gave off rather than making him look funny.

His sunken eyes were savage like those of a brown bear, and his tightly pressed lips conveyed tremendous resolve.

He introduced himself.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Aleksandro Purchenko, owner of the White Bear Caravan.”

“So you are Caravan Master Purchenko. We sincerely welcome your visit to Neo Seoul.”

“Please feel free to call me Aleksandro. Thank you very much for welcoming us.”

“This is your first visit in years, so of course we should receive you warmly. May I ask you to introduce the others as well?”

“Ah, these are the Awakened who protect our caravan. All of you, remove your hoods and greet them.”

“Yes.”

With that answer, the Awakened all removed the hoods attached to their robes.

Their atmospheres were every bit as tough as Aleksandro’s.

Seo Tae-ran’s gaze passed over them one by one, then stopped at the last man.

That was because his atmosphere was different from the others.

The others all had sturdy builds and tough impressions that called white bears to mind.

By contrast, the last man had an unusually slender build and strikingly handsome features.

Rather than a rugged man, he looked more like a handsome youth.

Seo Tae-ran showed her curiosity.

“Is this person an Awakened as well?”

“He is. Personally, he is my nephew.”

“I see. May I ask his name?”

“My name is Damian.”

The Awakened pointed out by Seo Tae-ran introduced himself directly.

His voice was as pleasant to hear as his face was pleasing to look at.

Smiling, Seo Tae-ran replied, “Then I will call you Damian-nim.”

“You may call me Damian comfortably.”

“Very well. Damian, I sincerely welcome your visit to Neo Seoul. Now, let us go up to meet the mayor. The mayor has been waiting for your arrival.”

Seo Tae-ran put Aleksandro and his group into the elevator.

Woooong.

In an instant, the elevator carried them to the top floor of City Hall.

Caravan Master Aleksandro let out an exclamation of admiration.

“Hah. Neo Seoul has surpassed the level of technology that existed before the fall. Truly amazing.”

“It is all thanks to the mayor’s efforts.”

“He must be an extraordinary man.”

“He is. He truly is extraordinary. If not for him, the Neo Seoul of today could never have existed.”

“Our Akutsk Colony is so busy just defending against demonic beast attacks that we could never even dream of this sort of highly advanced civilization. I want to meet the mayor as soon as possible and hear the secret of it.”

“That will happen very soon. Once you pass through this door.”

The elevator opened, and the doors to the mayor’s office appeared before them.

Seo Tae-ran carefully knocked on the door with her fist and said, “I have brought the master of the White Bear Caravan.”

“Let him in.”

“Yes.”

At Jin Geum-ho’s permission, Seo Tae-ran opened the door to the mayor’s office.

Against the backdrop of a full window pouring in light beyond the doorway, Jin Geum-ho stood there.

Seo Tae-ran said to Aleksandro, “Please go in.”

“Thank you.”

Aleksandro nodded and then entered the mayor’s office.

The moment the Awakened escorting him tried to follow, Seo Tae-ran blocked their way.

“The only person allowed to enter the mayor’s office is Caravan Master Aleksandro. Everyone else will wait here.”

“That is not possible.”

“We are those who protect the Caravan Master. We absolutely cannot be separated from him.”

The Awakened raised their voices angrily.

The sight of them was like great bears baring their rage.

Even faced with their threatening appearance, Seo Tae-ran’s expression did not change in the slightest.

Still smiling brightly, she said, “It is a rule of the mayor’s office. Only one person at a time may stand before the mayor. Since you have come to Neo Seoul, I would appreciate it if you respected the rules of this place.”

“How can we trust Neo Seoul and leave the Caravan Master alone?”

“Then perhaps you would rather return as you are.”

“What did you say?”

At Seo Tae-ran’s words, the Awakened bristled.

They looked ready to shove Seo Tae-ran aside and storm into the mayor’s office at any moment.

It was then that the slimmest and most handsome youth, Damian, spoke.

“Brothers.”

As if by magic, the Awakened stopped their threatening actions.

Damian continued, “Surely the mayor of Neo Seoul is not going to harm the Caravan Master? Let us simply wait here for the Caravan Master to come out.”

“Mmm.”

“All right. We’ll do that.”

Seeing the Awakened who had been radiating such ferocity suddenly calm down as if by magic, Seo Tae-ran thought, ‘Then is this boy Damian the true center of this group? I thought he felt different somehow.’

* * *

The White Bear Caravan set up camp in the middle of the desert far from Neo Seoul.

The cargo wagons that the mammoth had pulled all the way from Akutsk were made from a special material, making them light, sturdy, and tall.

Once the wagons were arranged in a circle and stacked five levels high, they became a fortress in and of themselves.

This was one of the secrets behind how caravans survived in the desert.

Once such a fortress was made, it could safely protect its people even from the attacks of desert demonic beasts.

Because the cargo wagons were so large and tall, it was impossible to determine the situation inside from the outside.

That was why everything remained thoroughly veiled, from how many people there were, to how many Awakened they had, to what goods were loaded in the wagons.

After staring at the camp for quite a while, Brielle asked Zeon, “Have you ever been to Akutsk, Zeon?”

“No.”

Zeon shook his head.

Over the last seven years, Zeon had visited quite a few colonies.

But the places he had traveled were mostly concentrated to the south and east of Neo Seoul.

He had not had enough time to go west, and the north was so far that he had not even dared attempt it.

This was the first time he had ever learned that there was a colony at Akutsk.

Akutsk had once been the capital of the Sakha Republic in Russia’s Far East, a place so cold that winter temperatures could drop to minus fifty degrees Celsius.

It was an environment difficult for humans to live in, but paradoxically that was why it had been able to survive and build a colony.

It was true that Russia and the Akutsk region had turned into desert just like everything else.

Only the temperature was different.

Because it was much farther north than Neo Seoul, the climate there was considerably cooler.

Thanks to that, many people had survived and been able to gather their strength to build a colony.

‘They must have had quite a capable leader. Even if the environment was better than Neo Seoul’s, it still couldn’t have been easy to build a colony.’

For a moment, Zeon grew curious who the leader of Akutsk Colony was.

But he soon dropped his interest.

From experience, not a single memory of getting too deeply entangled with another colony had ever ended well for him.

There was comfort in keeping an appropriate distance from everything.

“Let’s go back in now.”

“Already?”

At Zeon’s words, Brielle made a disappointed face.

Smiling, Zeon said, “If you’re curious, then you can keep watching.”

“Really?”

“Just don’t get too close. It may look gentle, but a mammoth is a violent demonic beast. If it goes berserk, the slum will be devastated.”

“Okay.”

Brielle nodded vigorously.

Zeon watched Brielle for a moment, then turned away.

The streets were packed with people who had come out to see the caravan.

Such a rare spectacle after so long stimulated the curiosity of the slum’s people.

The eyes of the slum people looking at the small fortress visible in the distance were filled with all kinds of desire.

Zeon clicked his tongue softly.

‘So Brielle wasn’t the problem.’

Desire was the driving force that moved people.

Good desires made people grow.

But twisted desires drove not only oneself, but also the people around one into ruin.

Zeon had seen that countless times.

This time, he hoped that would not happen.