Chapter 177

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A straight path opened toward the ancient castle. The quicksand pushed back on both sides, forming walls of sand dozens of meters high. Wriggling clusters could be seen in the cross-sections of those sand walls. The sight of spiders, each one about the size of an adult forearm, squirming there filled people with terror. At least the fortunate part was that the spiders did not seem willing to come out of the sand.

Zeon said, “It would be best to cross the quicksand quickly. I won’t be able to maintain this for very long.”

“Understood.”

Lee Ji-ryeong nodded and gave the order to the Pegasus Raid Force.

“We break through the quicksand zone as we are.”

“Yes!”

“Move!”

Lee Ji-ryeong took the lead and stepped into the quicksand zone.

It felt strange to walk along the path Zeon had opened.

The spiders were still writhing inside the walls on both sides.

With about two-thirds of their bodies fixed inside the sand, they stretched out the rest as if trying to suck the blood of the Awakened.

Fortunately, the path Zeon had opened was wide enough that the spiders’ mouths could not reach them, but it was still terrifying enough.

Zeon spoke to Levin and Brielle.

“You two cross as well.”

“Then what about you, hyung?”

“Don’t worry about me. Once my mana recovers, I can get over this much quicksand in no time.”

One of the reasons Zeon had come here in the first place was to let Levin and Brielle gain dungeon experience.

Both of them had tremendous potential for growth.

The more dungeons they experienced, the faster that growth would accelerate.

Zeon looked at Levin.

“You protect Brielle. Can you do that?”

“Of course.”

“Then go.”

“Yes!”

Levin nodded and looked at Brielle.

Brielle looked like she did not want to be separated from Zeon, but she neither complained nor refused.

Pulling her newsboy cap down low, Brielle said, “I’ll go ahead and wait.”

“All right.”

“Come quickly.”

Without even waiting for Zeon’s answer, she entered the quicksand zone together with Levin.

Like that, everyone entered the path Zeon had opened.

Lee Ji-ryeong and the front ranks were almost at the other side.

That was when the spiders suddenly showed strange behavior.

Kiiiii!

With shrill cries, the spiders shot themselves out of the sand.

Like bullets, they flew through the air and latched onto the bodies of the Awakened, sinking in their fangs.

“Urk!”

“The spiders are attacking!”

Those Awakened who had still not escaped the quicksand zone panicked at the sudden barrage.

“Damn it! You little…”

One Awakened burned the spider attached to him with a flame skill.

That became the trigger.

“Die!”

“Aaaaah!”

The Awakened began attacking the spiders that had burst out of the sand.

What made them frightening was when they hid inside the sand. Once they came out, they were not nearly as threatening.

The spiders that had leaped out, greedy for human blood, were helplessly struck down by the Awakened’s attacks.

“You filthy spiders. Try coming at me again.”

The Awakened who had first burned one of them glared at the sand wall with a triumphant expression.

But madness had already filled his eyes.

The other Awakened saw that look and froze.

“Hey, stop.”

“Shit! That bastard’s eyes are gone.”

In the next instant, the maddened Awakened attacked the spiders writhing inside the sand.

Whoosh!

Superheated flames burned the spiders squirming within the sand itself.

The spiders writhed in agony as they burned.

“Tch! You things are nothing…”

Just as the Awakened who had attacked with fire spat on the ground and looked down at the writhing spiders, Rumble!

A violent tremor suddenly spread through the sand.

At once, Zeon’s expression changed.

He could feel all the spiders scattered throughout the quicksand begin to move at once.

They were all gathering where the burned spiders were.

‘They are all connected. They accept the pain of their own kind as their own pain.’

Zeon knew all too well what that meant.

He shouted loudly.

“These things are a swarm beast. Get out of the quicksand zone now.”

At the words swarm beast, several Awakened turned pale.

“Shit! No wonder…”

“Run!”

They were the first to sprint at full speed.

Those left behind looked at one another, not understanding, and then one of the runners shouted, “You idiots! Don’t think, just run.”

“What…”

Puhwahk!

That was the moment.

Something enormous suddenly burst through the sand.

It was a giant spider that looked as if dozens, hundreds of spiders had been stretched and merged together.

It swallowed in one bite the Awakened who had been left behind.

Crunch!

“Aaaagh!”

“Save me!”

The swallowed Awakened let out desperate screams.

Levin and Brielle opened their eyes wide at the horrific sight unfolding before them.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know. Just run.”

“Y, yes!”

Levin grabbed Brielle’s hand and ran.

Even then, more giant spiders tore through the walls and appeared.

They attacked the Awakened who were still inside the quicksand zone.

The giant spiders attacking the Awakened were not single organisms.

They were colossal bodies formed from thousands and tens of thousands of spiders fused into one.

That was the terror of a swarm beast.

An individual specimen was nothing special, but once they gathered, they exerted terrifying power.

Spiders that were only D-rank or E-rank on their own became B-rank beasts or higher once thousands and tens of thousands of them joined into one body.

And now there were dozens of such creatures breaking through the sand walls and revealing themselves.

B-rank and higher beasts developed force fields.

That was why ordinary attacks from mediocre Awakened would not work on them.

The giant spider beasts had force fields wrapped around their whole bodies as well.

That was proof they were B-rank beasts.

“They’re just spiders in the end. Burn them all.”

The Awakened who had provoked the spiders into combining used his flame skill again.

Whoosh!

Superheated flames poured down as if to incinerate the giant spider.

But those high-temperature flames failed to deal any damage at all to the B-rank spider.

Instead, the only thing his attack did was draw the attention of the giant spider.

“Ah, no!”

The giant spider opened its huge jaws and swallowed the Awakened whole.

Crunch!

Inside the giant spider’s mouth, the Awakened was crushed outright.

After swallowing him, the giant spider moved in search of another victim.

More than half the Awakened still had not escaped the quicksand zone.

Levin and Brielle were among them.

If he left them like this, the two of them would inevitably come under attack from the giant spiders as well.

“Hoo. Can’t be helped.”

With a sigh, Zeon unleashed Sand Blaster.

Pak! Pak!

The Sand Blasters shot out at terrifying speed and hammered against the giant spiders’ bodies.

At the sudden impact, all the giant spiders focused their attention on Zeon.

Wriggling, they closed in on him.

Because they were so huge, the distance vanished in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, more than dozens of giant spiders surrounded Zeon.

Watching from afar, Brielle cried out loudly.

“Zeon!”

Craaaack!

At that moment, the floor collapsed under the weight of the spiders.

Zeon and the spiders instantly plunged deep underground.

At the unexpected disaster, Levin and Brielle screamed.

“No!”

“Zeon!”

But by then, Zeon and the spiders had already disappeared into the sand.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Right after that, the quicksand that had split to both sides rushed back and buried the path Zeon had created.

“Haah! Haah!”

“I’m… still alive?”

“We almost died.”

The Awakened who had barely escaped the quicksand collapsed to the ground, panting.

Fortunately, because Zeon had drawn the spiders’ attention away, the damage to the Awakened was not that great.

Lee Ji-ryeong clicked his tongue.

“Could he really have died here?”

“No matter if he is the sand mage, once he was surrounded by that many spiders, there was nothing he could do. On top of that, he had almost exhausted his mana, hadn’t he?”

Bronson, the attack team leader, stared at the sand with a doubtful expression.

As if nothing had ever been severed, the quicksand was flowing grandly once more.

It was proof that Zeon’s control no longer worked there.

“Tch! What a waste. He still had plenty of use left in him.”

“He was never the sort who would bow his head to anyone anyway. Maybe this is for the best.”

The corners of Bronson’s mouth curled upward.

He had never liked Zeon from the beginning.

He had only stayed quiet because Lee Ji-ryeong, the captain of the raid force, had wanted to use Zeon.

Thanks to Zeon, they had crossed even the quicksand zone safely, so now his value had been used up.

From here on, it was the Pegasus Raid Force’s stage.

Lee Ji-ryeong turned and spoke.

“Forget Zeon. We focus on taking the castle.”

“Yes!”

“Everyone, follow me.”

“Move!”

“Waaaah!”

Following Lee Ji-ryeong, the Pegasus Raid Force and the Awakened headed toward the ancient castle.

Left behind, Levin muttered, “There is no way hyung would die this pointlessly.”

“Of course not.”

“Huh?”

“Did you forget who Zeon is? The sand mage dying inside sand? Say something that makes sense.”

Brielle’s response made Levin blink in surprise.

“You know something?”

“No.”

“Then why…”

“Even so, I know Zeon isn’t dead. Zeon is alive.”

“Really?”

“Zeon was born with the blessing of sand. There is no way sand would kill Zeon. If we go to the castle, Zeon will definitely come there too.”

Brielle’s voice was full of certainty.

Levin stared at her face for a moment and then nodded.

“Right. There is no way hyung would die from just this.”

“Of course.”

“All right. Then let’s go to the castle. If he’s alive, he’ll definitely come there.”

“Yeah.”

“Be careful. We can’t trust the other Awakened.”

“I never trusted other people from the start.”

Brielle snorted.

Very few humans were worthy of her trust.

All the rest were enemies to her.

At that moment, several Awakened from the Pegasus Raid Force approached the two of them.

“From now on, we’ll be protecting you.”

“Protecting us?”

“That’s right. The captain ordered us to protect you.”

“You don’t need to trouble yourselves like that.”

“It’s the captain’s order. You have no right to refuse.”

The Awakened replied in a cold voice.

It was called protection, but in truth it was surveillance.

The two people who had lost Zeon were far too valuable.

One was an Awakened with a rare ability, and the other was an elf.

Their utility was boundless.

Lee Ji-ryeong had no intention whatsoever of letting either of them go.

Levin ground his teeth.

‘So this is how you’re going to play it? Fine. Let’s see if you can still act like this after Zeon hyung comes back.’