The Scorched Desert's Sand Mage (Novel) - Chapter 156

Chapter 156

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Shao Lun’s brows were tightly furrowed. Even more wrinkles had formed on his already deeply lined face.

“So you’re saying that bastard refused my offer?”

“My apologies. My ability was lacking…”

Pan Cheng-tian trailed off from where he sat in a wheelchair. Since all four of his limbs had been broken, he could not even walk under his own power and had been reduced to relying on the chair. Shao Lun looked at Pan Cheng-tian with an expression of disdain. He had kept him as a close aide despite his arrogance because he had ability, but now he had come back in such a disgraceful state. His limbs had not been severed, so with treatment he would likely recover his former strength. The problem was that Shao Lun’s heart had already turned away from Pan Cheng-tian.

“Did he really control sand?”

“Yes. I saw him freely manipulate sand.”

“Then he really is a sand mage. What am I supposed to do about this?”

Tap tap. Shao Lun tapped his finger on the table.

“Does that mean there is no room left to restore the relationship?”

The crocodiles who had been supplying him with drugs had been slaughtered by that man, and even Tajik had lost his life.

Now even Pan Cheng-tian had returned as a cripple.

The very first button had been fastened wrong, and now everything after it had gone crooked as well.

To repair a relationship that had gone off course, one would have to return to the beginning and start again.

There was no way that could still be possible.

“In the end, there is no choice but for him to become our enemy.”

“You must not underestimate Zeon. He threatened that if we treated him as an enemy, he would join hands with the other districts.”

“And then?”

“Pardon?”

“Did you merely listen to that bastard’s threat?”

“I had no choice. If he joined hands with the other districts, we would be in danger.”

“To my ears, it sounds like you begged for your life because it was too precious to lose.”

“Absolutely not. Everything I did was for the sake of Shao Lun…”

“How disappointing, Cheng-tian. If that bastard threatened you, then you should have fought him even if it meant dying. Instead you tucked in your tail and came back, damaging your master’s face. If that isn’t begging for your life, then what is?”

Shao Lun’s voice was chillingly cold.

At once, Pan Cheng-tian hurriedly threw himself down from the wheelchair and knelt.

The pain was immense because his bones had not yet set, but he paid it no mind.

“Please forgive me, Shao Lun.”

“Cheng-tian, Cheng-tian. You pitiful thing. If you were meant to be a fighting dog, then you should have fought and died like one. Instead you came back with your tail tucked in and made your master lose face?”

“Please…”

At that moment, a fierce light burst out from Shao Lun’s eyes.

Terror filled Pan Cheng-tian’s face.

“N-no.”

Instinctively, he tried to avert his gaze from Shao Lun’s eyes.

But their eyes had already met.

Crack.

His body began turning to stone.

It started from his toes, the part farthest from his heart, then climbed to his calves and thighs.

Seeing his own body turning to stone, Pan Cheng-tian pleaded, “No. Forgive… Shao Lun.”

“I may forgive defeat, but I can never tolerate anyone tarnishing my dignity.”

“I served you with such doglike loyalty.”

“Yes. I will remember your loyalty for a long time.”

“Aaaah.”

With that final scream frozen on his face, Pan Cheng-tian became stone.

A living, breathing man had been turned into a statue.

This was Shao Lun’s Awakened ability, Petrifying Eyes.

It was a monstrous power capable of turning anyone whose eyes met his into stone.

Those who had known him from long ago called him Basilisk for that reason.

Petrifying Eyes did not work on everyone.

It was ineffective against those of a higher Awakened rank than Shao Lun or those who possessed skills capable of defending against it.

But there were very few such people.

Of course, once he used it, the backlash was significant, so it was not something he could use often.

With a cold gaze, Shao Lun looked at the statue that Pan Cheng-tian had become.

Once someone had turned to stone, they could never be brought back.

Shao Lun gave a small wave of his hand.

Bang.

With a thunderous crash, the statue shattered to pieces.

“Clean it up.”

“Yes.”

The moment Shao Lun finished speaking, waiting attendants appeared and removed the remains of Pan Cheng-tian.

Left alone, Shao Lun looked out the window.

In his field of vision stood the City Hall building rising high in the distance.

“Surely he won’t go and join hands with Jin Geum-ho.”

* * *

Several days passed after the clash with Pan Cheng-tian.

During that time, neither Shao Lun nor the South District showed any movement.

Thanks to that, Zeon was able to rest in peace.

Watching Zeon take out and put on his robe early in the morning, Brielle asked, “Where are you going?”

“Mm.”

“Where?”

“I’m going to step into Neo Seoul for a bit and then come back.”

“Neo Seoul?”

“Want to come too?”

“No, that’s fine. It’s just too crowded, and it’s not my style.”

Brielle shook her head.

Neo Seoul was a city where everything was controlled.

From the moment one stepped into Neo Seoul, everything was monitored and recorded.

Brielle hated that kind of atmosphere.

To an elf who loved freedom, Neo Seoul’s cold and rigid air brought a deep sense of dread.

Zeon smiled as if he understood.

“Then I’ll go alone and come back.”

“When are you coming back?”

“Since I’m going in anyway, I’m planning to stay a few days. But I won’t be gone too long.”

“All right. Have a safe trip.”

“Yeah.”

Zeon waved his hand and stepped outside.

Once outside, he headed straight for the entrance to Neo Seoul.

Awakened were standing guard at the gate leading into Neo Seoul.

As Zeon approached, they became wary.

“Stop and identify yourself.”

If his identity was not clear, they looked ready to attack at any moment.

Zeon held out the pass he had received from Seo Tae-ran.

“I was invited by City Hall.”

“City Hall?”

An Awakened took the pass and examined it.

The mayor’s seal was stamped on it.

“Would you happen to be Zeon?”

“I am.”

“Our apologies. You may pass.”

The Awakened guarding the gate had already received orders to let Zeon through.

Zeon accepted the pass back and entered Neo Seoul.

Watching his back, the Awakened guarding the front gate began whispering among themselves.

“So that’s the sand mage?”

“Fuck. Some slum beggar hit the jackpot with a good Awakened ability and had his whole life change.”

“Shh. Be quiet. He might hear you.”

“Why? Did I say anything wrong?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Ha. I’m jealous. If I’d gotten an ability like that, women would’ve been lining up for me.”

“Fuck off. With that face? Even then, no chance.”

“What did you say, you bastard?”

The Awakened suddenly started bickering among themselves.

But Zeon paid them no attention and simply kept walking.

It was about ten minutes later.

Screech.

A car came to a stop in front of him.

It was a vehicle powered by magic stones.

The person who stepped out of the car was a woman in a red jacket and skirt.

Zeon recognized her at a glance.

‘Seo Tae-ran.’

It was none other than the mayor’s secretary, Seo Tae-ran.

A slight expression of surprise appeared on Zeon’s face at her arrival.

Only ten minutes had passed since he entered through the main gate.

The fact that City Hall had already known and sent Seo Tae-ran to meet him was what surprised him.

“It’s good to see you.”

“How are you already here to meet me?”

“The moment your pass goes through the main gate, a signal is sent directly to City Hall.”

Seo Tae-ran answered as if it were nothing unusual.

He did not know exactly how the signal was sent, but it was obvious that the movements of anyone holding one of those passes were tracked by City Hall.

‘So this is what they call Big Brother.’

City Hall and Jin Geum-ho were not ignoring the districts and the various Awakened because they did not know what was happening.

They were almost certainly tracking their movements as clearly as if reading the lines of a palm.

Zeon found it frightening.

No one here raised objections to it or even found it strange.

Because it had been the established system since the very beginning of Neo Seoul, everyone simply accepted it as natural.

No colony Zeon had ever visited besides Neo Seoul possessed anything like this.

Perhaps this system itself was Jin Geum-ho’s greatest weapon.

After Zeon got into the car, it started off smoothly.

The cars used out in the desert were extremely noisy.

That was because they were built to push through harsh terrain, with no concern given to comfort or convenience.

By contrast, the vehicles operating in Neo Seoul placed emphasis on quietness.

“This is a nice car.”

“If you come to live in Neo Seoul, you too could ride in cars like this, Mr. Zeon.”

“I’m not especially interested in cars…”

“I suppose that’s true. You wouldn’t really need one, seeing how you can move anywhere freely as long as there’s sand.”

“And if there isn’t sand, then I have to walk the hard way. Like in Neo Seoul.”

The streets of Neo Seoul were clean.

There was not so much as a stone to be found, let alone sand.

That was thanks to the magic circles and barriers protecting Neo Seoul.

Sand from outside could never pass through those magic circles.

Because of that, the air here remained clean at all times.

That clean air was the greatest benefit the people of Neo Seoul enjoyed.

People in the slums, by contrast, had to live breathing stale, dusty air at all times.

They existed in the same overall space, and yet they were entirely different worlds.

This advanced city where not a grain of sand could be found even if one washed one’s eyes and searched for it was fundamentally incompatible with Zeon.

“Is there really any reason for you to use sand inside Neo Seoul? There are so many convenient means here.”

“It still feels empty without it.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

At Seo Tae-ran’s words, Zeon gave no further response.

They were not words worth answering.

Telling a sand mage to live in a place where he could not use sand was no different from stripping fangs and claws from a demonic beast.

Seo Tae-ran did not press further.

If he were the kind of man who could be won over with a few casual words, then he would already have been taken in by another faction.

‘A man like a wolf. Rather than entering someone else’s pack, he’d sooner become the leader of his own.’

Seo Tae-ran had already completed a full investigation into Zeon.

She had not been able to learn how he had lived during the eight years he spent out in the desert, but she had dug thoroughly into everything from his childhood to the time after he returned to Neo Seoul.

As a result, she had come to understand his nature and temperament better than anyone.

The way one approached him had to vary depending on who he was.

The approach used by Dongdaemun or the South District, the kind that relied on brute force and pressure, would never work on this man.

‘With a man like this, you have to approach him rationally.’

If it had been any other Awakened, she would never have gone this far.

Martial, magic, curse, and mechanized Awakened were common enough to be stepped over.

But Zeon was the only sand mage.

It was not merely that he was rare, but that his ability itself was equally exceptional.

City Hall had to recruit him.

While Seo Tae-ran was briefly lost in thought, the car arrived in front of City Hall.

Zeon stepped out and looked up at the enormous City Hall building.

There was a great difference between seeing City Hall from afar and standing directly beneath it.

It felt as though a giant were standing there.

He felt a powerful gaze from atop that giant’s head.

Even without Seo Tae-ran explaining it, Zeon knew who the owner of that gaze was.

‘Jin Geum-ho.’

From the highest point of Neo Seoul, he was looking down at Zeon.

Goosebumps rose along Zeon’s spine, and his fists clenched on their own.

His body was reacting before his mind to Jin Geum-ho’s gaze.

This was the first time he had ever felt something like this.

It did not feel as strong as when he had faced Leviathan. It felt stronger.

City Hall itself felt like Jin Geum-ho’s body.

“Whew.”

Zeon paused for a moment and steadied his breathing.

Only then could he free himself, at least a little, from the overwhelming pressure bearing down on him.

Zeon said to Seo Tae-ran, “Let’s go up.”

“Pardon?”

A spark of surprise lit up in Seo Tae-ran’s eyes.

There had been others who had felt Jin Geum-ho’s gaze here before, but Zeon was the first who had regained his composure so quickly.

‘Does that mean he’s even more impressive than I expected?’