Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 165

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 165

The next morning, the Pegasus Raid Force departed from the Mana Stone Mine.

The exhaustion was evident on the faces of those leaving the mine.

Most of the raid force had partied as if it was their last night on earth. The aftermath was visible on the day of departure.

However, Lee Ji-ryeong didn’t reprimand them.

He knew that once they entered the desert, they would have to be mentally fortified whether they wanted to or not.

When they arrived at the Mana Stone Mine, they had thirty vehicles, but by the time they left, the number had increased to forty.

This was because the vehicles carrying the Awakeneds from the West District had joined them.

The sight of forty vehicles racing across the desert was magnificent.

As the vehicles moved, clouds of dust rose like a wave.

Mandy joined Zeon, Brielle, and Levin in their vehicle.

Sinking deeply into her seat, Mandy commented.

“This is nice. It’s always uncomfortable traveling with others.”

Being a supervisor was an uncomfortable role.

Reporting the movements of the raid force to the City Hall didn’t endear her to anyone. Most people avoided or ostracized supervisors dispatched by the City Hall.

Mandy asked Zeon.

“By the way, do you know what kind of dungeon we are heading to?”

“I don’t. They said it’s buried deep in the sand and hasn’t been fully identified.”

“The Pegasus Raid Force is amazing. Finding a dungeon buried deep in the sand is no easy task.”

“They must have an excellent Detector.”

“Indeed. Rumor has it that the Pegasus Raid Force’s Detector has exceptional dungeon sensing abilities.”

“Then they must get a lot of scouting offers.”

“That’s why the Pegasus Raid Force takes special care of him.”

“Do you know him?”

“As a supervisor, I know at least some of their personal information.”

All raid forces in Neo Seoul must submit their personnel information to the City Hall.

Neo Seoul classified this information as top secret.

Supervisors naturally had the right to access this information.

“The man leading the Pegasus Raid Force’s Expedition Team is named Gesling. He’s both a Detector and the Team Leader. Under him, there’s Lee Chi-woo, the dungeon mapmaker; Obroi, the guide; and McNine, the protector.”

“Protector?”

“A Martial Arts Awakened. He’s there to protect the Expedition Team with his exceptional combat skills.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, these four are all outstanding Awakeneds. That’s why Lee Ji-ryeong treasures them so much.”

“Understandable.”

Zeon nodded.

Finding a dungeon in the desert was no easy feat.

It was like finding a needle in a haystack. The Expedition Team drastically improved those odds.

A raid force with an excellent Expedition Team had a higher chance of finding and raiding more dungeons.

Naturally, Lee Ji-ryeong would cherish them.

Watching Zeon’s profile, Mandy suddenly thought.

‘Wait a minute! Many dungeons are buried in the sand. Finding such dungeons is the job of the Expedition Team. So, this man…’

Zeon was the only Sand Mage in this world.

He had proven his exceptional control over sand during the fight with Balrog.

Even though it was weakened after awakening, it was still a formidable disaster-class monster.

A person capable of subduing such a monster could surely find dungeons buried deep in the sand.

‘How many dungeons has he found and raided?’

Curiosity gnawed at her, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask directly.

At that moment, Zeon, who had been looking out the window with a blank expression, suddenly spoke.

“There are watchers.”

“Huh? What do you mean, watchers?”

“Over there, on that sand dune, someone is hiding and watching this convoy.”

Zeon pointed to a particularly high sand dune.

At first glance, the sand dunes of the desert didn’t seem high, but many of them were several hundred meters tall.

The dune Zeon pointed to was one of those.

The sand dune, hundreds of meters tall, glowed golden under the sunlight.

Mandy squinted and stared hard, but she couldn’t see anything.

“There’s a watcher there?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“There are two of them. Ah, they’ve just disappeared.”

The figures Zeon had sensed vanished.

They must have used stealth skills or left the area.

Had they been closer, Zeon might have caught their movements. But the buggy was moving quickly, and their movements were discreet, so he lost track of them.

Levin asked.

“Hyung, could it be the person I saw yesterday?”

“Possibly…”

“Things are getting interesting from the start.”

Mandy interjected into their conversation.

“What about yesterday?”

“Oh, Levin said he saw a suspicious person yesterday.”

“A suspicious person?”

“It’s hard to describe, but he didn’t seem to fit in with the mine.”

“Really?”

Mandy frowned.

The beginning was always important.

If there were impurities from the start, more obstacles were likely to appear later.

“Could they be scavengers?”

“Maybe.”

“Would scavengers target such a large group?”

They had nearly three hundred and seventy Awakeneds and over forty vehicles.

Such a force could easily wipe out a large monster.

Even if the scavengers had lost their minds, they wouldn’t attack such a force.

“They were probably just scouting. There’s no need to worry too much. Scavenger groups are usually only a few dozen strong.”

Scavengers were tough enough to survive in the desert, but even they couldn’t form large groups due to the scarcity of resources.

Most scavenger groups ranged from a few dozen to about a hundred members.

With such numbers, it was impossible to take on the Pegasus Raid Force. They would be wiped out before getting close.

Zeon nodded at Mandy’s words.

“You’re right.”

“We have a long journey ahead, so you should rest. I’ll take a nap too.”

Mandy leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

* * *

[Translator – Peptobismol]

“Why did we leave? We could have watched more.”

“It didn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?”

“It felt like something was scanning my entire body.”

Unknowingly, Aslan reacted sharply to the woman’s response.

Just a moment ago, Aslan and the woman were the ones observing the Pegasus Raid Force from afar.

They were surveying the raid force to assess its exact size.

But suddenly, the woman grabbed Aslan’s back and retreated several kilometers.

Until now, he had been dragged around like a pack mule, unable to say anything.

“What the hell are you talking about? There’s nothing there.”

“I definitely felt something.”

“Ah, seriously…”

“If you say one more word, I’ll tear your mouth open.”

“Gah!”

Aslan quickly shut his mouth.

Despite being together for a while, he momentarily forgot that the woman was an assassin.

And not just any assassin, but one of a much higher rank compared to Aslan.

He dared not confront her; crossing her could mean losing his life without even realizing it.

In fact, he had seen several people die like that.

The woman’s name was Duduyan. She was a B-rank assassin.

Duduyan spoke up.

“Let’s go back.”

“Why? We should gather more information.”

“I have a bad feeling. Let’s return and report.”

“Alright. Damn it.”

Aslan nodded as if there was no other choice.

They climbed onto the prepared Bactrian Camels.

Evolved Bactrian Camels were the best means of transportation for scavengers.

Even after running in the desert for a long time, they wouldn’t get tired, and the humps could detect the presence of other creatures like a radar, allowing them to avoid danger.

Because of this, scavengers always rode Bactrian Camels.

“Let’s go!”

They raced through the desert on the Bactrian Camels.

The camels rushed towards their destination at terrifying speed.

After a while, they arrived at a place with numerous tents and herds of Bactrian Camels arranged.

Outside the tents, people gathered, tearing into something to eat.

Although there seemed to be tens of thousands of tents, there were several times more people outside.

It was astonishing how such a large number of people could be there without making much noise.

Duduyan and Aslan pushed through the crowd towards the center.

In the center, there was a fairly large oasis, and in front of it stood an unusually large tent.

Like other tents, a fire was burning in front of it, and something unknown was cooking on it.

A big man was sitting by the fire, tearing into the meat, while a sturdy woman beside him carefully spread the meat. Around them, children were playing noisily.

It looked peaceful in a way.

Aslan and Duduyan approached the man.

“Leader!”

“I’m back, Urtian!”

At their voices, the man raised his head.

He had a rugged appearance befitting a man. His face was full of tattoos with meanings unknown. But more noticeable than the tattoos were his pointed ears.

The man was not human but an elf.

The elf man called Urtian opened his mouth.

“You two did well. Have some of this. The Sand Angler meat is amazing.”

The meat cooking over the fire was Sand Angler.

The woman who had been listening to Urtian’s orders cut the Sand Angler meat and put it on plates for Aslan and Duduyan. Then she handed them over.

“Eat, Aslan. Duduyan.”

“Thank you, Deborah.”

“We’ll enjoy it.”

Aslan quickly ate the meat on the plate, while Duduyan took off her robe’s hood. Then her appearance was revealed.

With exceptionally dark skin reminiscent of obsidian and black pupils, and pointed ears.

She was also an elf.

However, her complexion was much darker and blacker than a typical elf.

That’s why her comrades called her the Dark Elf.

Both of them enjoyed the Sand Angler meat since they were hungry.

The Sand Angler was not an easy monster to catch.

It was a rare monster caught only once every few years.

Watching the two of them eat the Sand Angler, Urtian said,

“I was lucky enough to catch it. I’ve shared enough with the others, so eat as much as you want.”

“Thank you, Urtian.”

“Anyway, how’s this expedition going? It seems quite large in scale.”

“There are around forty vehicles and close to four hundred Awakeneds mobilized.”

The one who answered was Aslan.

“So many Awakeneds have been mobilized? They must’ve discovered a big dungeon somewhere, right?”

“It seems so. With so many people mobilized, food and supplies must be overflowing.”

“Is that so?”

Urtian looked interested.

At that moment, Duduyan spoke cautiously.

“What if we skip this raid?”

“Why?”

“I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Really?”

At that moment,

“It’s not possible. We’ve already reached our limit. If we don’t secure food this time, people will starve to death.”

Someone approached, raising a counterargument.

He looked to be in his thirties.

Unlike Urtian, he was human.

Urtian looked at him.

“Kormac!”

“Leader, we need food. Right now.”

The man called Kormac spoke emphatically.

Urtian smiled and looked at Duduyan.

“You heard that, right? The Red Storm is in immediate need of food.”

“Urtian!”

“Then, tell me everything you’ve learned so far.”

The voice of Urtian, the leader of the Red Storm, a large group of scavengers combining elves and humans, contained an irresistible power.

[Translator – Peptobismol]