The Scorched Desert's Sand Mage (Novel) - Chapter 122

Chapter 122

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Eaton gathered the Awakened. Most of them were E-rank, a force of no real use in actual battle. But they were enough for the sake of appearance. With a powerful existence like Zeon present, there was no need for other Awakened. But if they were to show their strength to the White Bear Caravan, they had to accompany them. The number of Awakened gathered that way was twenty. Adding Eaton, Zeon, and Brielle made it twenty-three. They left the slum and headed for the White Bear Caravan. But they were by no means the only ones heading toward the White Bear Caravan.

“Those are the Dongdaemun bastards.”

“Huh? You’re right.”

Those who spotted a group in the distance heading toward the White Bear Caravan began murmuring. A large group of men in gleaming heavy armor were walking with a flag bearing a cross at the forefront. In Neo Seoul, there was only one group that marched under a cross.

That was Dongdaemun, led by Johan.

Eaton’s eyes flashed.

“Did Johan come out too?”

“Johan isn’t visible. Ah, I see Brixton.”

At his subordinate’s answer, the corners of Eaton’s eyes twitched.

“Brixton? That berserker is there?”

“The one carrying that huge hammer is definitely Brixton.”

“Fuck. Has Johan gone mad? Sending that crazy son of a bitch to a place like this.”

Eaton made a horrified face.

At Eaton’s reaction, Zeon looked at Brixton.

A massive frame far beyond that of ordinary people, heavy armor to match, and a huge hammer that looked capable of smashing the heads of most demonic beasts in an instant.

Just looking at him was enough to make one’s legs feel weak from the pressure.

The man’s name was Brixton.

He was not called Berserker for nothing.

Once he started rampaging with that huge hammer in hand, there was no one who could stop him.

He was a fanatic of Johan.

If it was Johan’s order, he was prepared to jump into even hell.

But he was so simple-minded and stupid that he was not suited for carrying out complex orders.

At that moment, a woman walking side by side with Brixton entered Zeon’s field of vision.

Uniquely, the woman walking through the sand in a nun’s habit was someone Zeon knew very well.

‘Kim Jae-gyeong.’

She was Johan’s right hand and a woman who possessed a brainwashing ability.

The fact that she herself had come meant this was no ordinary matter.

It was then.

Kim Jae-gyeong, having apparently recognized Zeon as well, flinched with a startled expression.

That was only natural, since she had already once nearly been done in by him.

She said something to Brixton.

Then Brixton glared at Zeon.

There was chilling madness in his gaze.

Brixton led his subordinates and walked toward Zeon’s group.

At last, arriving in front of Zeon, Brixton opened his mouth.

“Are you Zeon?”

“And you’re Brixton?”

“That’s right. I am Brixton, the right hand of Lord Johan.”

Brixton answered while thumping his chest.

With a faint smile, Zeon asked, “You didn’t come all this way just to exchange greetings, so what is it?”

“I came to give a warning.”

“A warning?”

“That’s right. Our Dongdaemun will monopolize trade with the White Bear Caravan. Neither you nor Sinchon will ever be given a chance, so it would be best if you turned back here.”

“Did the White Bear Caravan say they’d give Dongdaemun exclusive rights?”

“Hmph. Whether they like it or not, that is how it will turn out. We will make sure of it.”

“If it really turns out that way, then we’ll withdraw cleanly.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll trust your word and withdraw for now. It would be best if you keep that promise. Otherwise, I’ll smash your head to pieces with this hammer.”

As if to show off his strength, Brixton swung the hammer resting on his shoulder through the air, then turned back.

“That arrogant bastard.”

Only after he was gone did Eaton belatedly explode in anger.

At the sight of Eaton complaining after the fact, Brielle gave a faint smile.

‘This uncle is secretly such a coward.’

It was not that she couldn’t understand.

Not just Eaton, but any Awakened would probably flinch in front of Brixton’s oppressive appearance.

It was Zeon being calm that was strange, not Eaton.

Zeon, as if he had already forgotten Brixton’s warning, calmly continued walking.

At last, when Zeon arrived at the fortress built by the White Bear Caravan, he let out an exclamation.

“So there was a way to use cargo wagons like this. They must have put a lot of thought into it.”

“This really would be useful for sleeping out in the desert. Ordinary demonic beasts wouldn’t even be able to approach.”

Brielle agreed with Zeon’s thoughts.

Eaton offered his own opinion.

“These don’t seem to be ordinary vehicles. They seem to have been reinforced with some very special material.”

“Probably.”

An ordinary vehicle could never cross the desert.

They had clearly reinforced or strengthened the bodies of the wagons with special materials.

Otherwise, there would be no explaining why there was not even a scratch on their surfaces.

It was then.

“Where have you come from?”

An Awakened guarding the entrance of the fortress approached Zeon’s group.

When Zeon gave him a glance, Eaton stepped forward.

“I am Eaton of Sinchon. We have come to trade with your caravan.”

“Eaton of Sinchon? Confirmed. You may enter.”

It seemed the White Bear Caravan had already grasped Neo Seoul’s balance of power.

Thanks to that, Zeon and Brielle were able to enter the fortress comfortably by putting Eaton at the front.

Inside the fortress, it was far wider than it had looked from the outside.

And no wonder.

It was a fortress built using fifty huge vehicles.

It was so broad and tall that one of the slum’s small buildings could fit inside whole and still leave room.

At that moment, one of the White Bear Caravan’s Awakened approached Eaton’s group.

“Are you Eaton-nim’s group?”

“We are.”

“I am Sergei of the White Bear Caravan. I will guide you.”

“Ah, yes.”

Eaton tilted his head.

Now that they were inside the caravan, he thought all they had to do was pick out goods and buy them, so he wondered whether they really needed someone to guide them.

As if reading his thoughts, Sergei smiled and said, “The goods we brought are all things the Awakened of Akutsk secured at the risk of their lives. There are corpses of demonic beasts, and there are items that came from dungeons as well. For convenience, we have arranged all the goods into five ranks.”

“How were the ranks divided?”

“D-rank goods such as demonic beast corpses and unusual materials are arranged on the first floor. Unusual materials excavated from dungeons are displayed on the second floor as C-rank goods. On the third floor are magic stones extracted from dungeon bosses, and items made in Akutsk Colony and other colonies. On the fourth floor are items unearthed from dungeons, and finally, the goods on the fifth floor are….”

“Why did you stop talking?”

“I am sorry, but the goods on the fifth floor cannot be revealed yet because they are for auction later.”

“An auction? Just what kind of goods could those be?”

Eaton pressed him for an answer, but Sergei did not answer.

Sergei led the group to the vehicle on the first floor.

“Waaah.”

The moment she entered the wagon, Brielle exclaimed.

It was not because of the goods displayed on the first floor.

It was the vehicle itself that astonished her.

When Zeon looked at her, Brielle secretly whispered, “There are multiple magic circles engraved into the wagon.”

“Multiple magic circles?”

“Yeah. It’s made by layering several magic circles together, and it’s incredibly elaborate.”

“Can you tell what kind of purpose the magic circles serve?”

“At my current level, that’s impossible.”

Brielle made a dejected face.

She did not know whose handiwork it was, but the magic circles cast across the fifty wagons were so advanced that she could not understand them at all.

They had clearly been created by a magic-type Awakened far superior to Brielle.

“It’s okay. The multiple magic circles aren’t what’s important anyway.”

“Even so….”

“Just focus on whether there’s anything you need. You might not be able to buy it even if you have the money.”

“Right.”

Only then did Brielle come to her senses.

People from Dongdaemun had already entered.

There was no knowing how many more would come later.

If competition started, then even the goods on the first floor might end up being auctioned.

“I really have to stay sharp.”

Slapping both cheeks with her palms, Brielle braced herself.

Zeon smirked and looked up toward the fifth floor.

Then, all of a sudden, his expression hardened slightly.

That was because he could feel a rather powerful presence coming from the fifth floor.

It had clearly been sealed with a magic circle or a barrier, and yet it was still strong enough to leak through.

That was proof that the goods kept on the fifth floor were extraordinary.

This was the first time even Zeon had ever encountered an item radiating such a powerful presence.

‘What kind of thing did they bring for it to be this strong?’

Naturally, between Awakened of the same rank, the one who possessed better items held the advantage.

The higher the rank, the greater that gap became.

Having a good item did not guarantee victory, but that still did not change the fact that it could put one in a more advantageous position.

That was why higher-ranked Awakened risked their lives to obtain good items.

That was why the workshops of Neo Seoul did such good business.

The items the workshops made with their own secret techniques made Awakened far stronger.

That was why famous workshops naturally had Awakened lining up for them.

But there were some goods even workshop technology could not match.

Those were the items sometimes excavated from dungeons.

Such items, which could themselves become the core of a dungeon, boasted overwhelming power that even Neo Seoul’s technology could not match.

In particular, the items excavated from high-risk dungeons possessed even greater might.

However, because it was extremely rare for items to be excavated in complete condition, it was said that not many people actually owned them.

If the thing on the fifth floor really was an item excavated from a dungeon, then the competition over it would be no joke.

‘This item alone might throw all of Neo Seoul into an uproar.’

It was then.

Bang!

Suddenly, a loud explosion went off from the opposite side of the first floor.

Just as everyone turned their confused gaze in that direction.

“That crazy bitch tried to use a brainwashing skill.”

“Goddamn it!”

“We’ve been exposed. Kill them all.”

Suddenly, people began to tangle together and fight.

The Dongdaemun Awakened who had entered at about the same time as Zeon’s group had clashed with the White Bear Caravan’s Awakened.

Brixton, who had confronted Zeon’s group earlier, swung his huge hammer while protecting Kim Jae-gyeong.

Kim Jae-gyeong’s face was full of dismay.

Zeon immediately grasped what kind of situation this was.

‘So that woman tried to use her brainwashing skill again and failed.’

Kim Jae-gyeong had tried to use her brainwashing skill on Zeon as well.

Fortunately, Zeon’s mental barrier had been firm and it had failed, but if it had succeeded, it would have been quite dangerous.

The brainwashing skill was not omnipotent.

It did not work on those with a strong mental barrier or those who possessed an item that protected the mind.

It seemed this time had been one of those cases as well.

The Awakened who had shouted wore a blue-glowing necklace around his neck.

It seemed the necklace had protected the Awakened from the brainwashing skill.

Thanks to that, Kim Jae-gyeong’s attempt to use the brainwashing skill had been exposed, and the enraged White Bear Caravan’s Awakened attacked.

“You motherfucking bastards. Who the hell do you think you’re attacking with such nerve?”

While protecting Kim Jae-gyeong, Brixton blocked the White Bear Caravan Awakened’s attacks with his whole body.

Kwa-kwa-kwang!

His thick heavy armor protected Brixton perfectly even under the barrage of all kinds of skills.

His armor too was a specially made item, boasting powerful defense against all kinds of physical attacks.

“Khuhuhu. It doesn’t even tickle. Is that all? If so, it’d be better to just take it by force.”

Madness flashed in Brixton’s eyes.

The original plan had been for Kim Jae-gyeong to brainwash the person in charge and make them hand over the goods to Dongdaemun at a throwaway price.

But now that he had fought them directly, Brixton had gained the confidence that they could just seize them by force.

Kim Jae-gyeong said urgently, “We need to get out now.”

“Shut up. How dare someone who failed give orders? From here on, I command.”

“You mad bear bastard. This is the time to withdraw and control the situation.”

“I do not listen to the orders of failures.”

Brixton and his subordinates went even more mad.

Just when it looked as though no one would be able to stop Brixton’s rampage.

“That’s enough, fanatic.”

A man just as gigantic as Brixton threw a punch.

It was Aleksandro, the master of the White Bear Caravan.